mcnach

They tried that with me once with my little laptop. So I opened my carry-on small suitcase, and put it inside. Ten metres later, after I got my passport checked, I stopped and took the laptop out again, in full view of the staff member who had tried to charge me earlier. Give a small minded person a few rules and a bit of power, and they'll be happy to ignore the fact they have a brain... I *hate* flying. Not because of the flight itself, but because of all the idiotic hoops we are made to jump through and we're supposed to smile. Like the first time I flew after they started restricting the volumes of fluids onboard. I had to throw away my shampoo. It was bigger than 100ml. I asked "if I carried my shampoo in two 100ml containers would it be ok?". She gave me a look that made me realise she already hated her life and didn't mind taking me down with her. Or what's with having to put those things in a transparent plastic bag? What is really the difference between them being loose or in a plastic bag? Yes, I asked that too, another time. At least this guy seemed human: he shrugged and just told me "I know, but that's the rules and if we don't enforce them we get in trouble". Ugh. I often think of the beginning of the Long Dark Tea Time of The Soul, by Douglas Adams... Thor in the queue to check-in at the airport... I know exactly just how he felt, and I wish I could do what he did too.

That's one possibility. But rest is not always the best way to get better, it depends on the nature of the problem. I endured months of pain, resting my arm as much as possible, and in the end what I needed to do was ensure that certain little forearm muscles were exercised carefully: resting was actually delaying my recovery. That's why I think going to a physio could be the best strategy. Modifying or selling instruments is an adaptation but it's better if you can actually fix the issue.

Go to a good physio and figure out what the problem really is. There's no guarantee, but I've had several occasions of weird pains (well, sometimes I knew the source, but not always), and was able to track it down to a specific muscle/tendon. From then, it was a matter of doing the right exercises to get back to normal. Hopefully your issues can also be sorted relatively easily (even if they may take a few weeks to go away) and you can continue to enjoy your favourite basses.

I thought that the "Original" and the 62 CS were different pickups? I am using both the Original and the Model P, and I'd agree that they're great pickups (different sounds). The Model P in particular is easy to find used and nost costing much at all.

At first I felt the same way. So I found a local teacher and went in for a couple of lessons. My bass made all the right sounds in his hands, so I knew it was just me, and he showed me how to start. Then I went home and practiced. Going for a lesson or two here and there could be very useful. You don't need to commit to a long series of lessons, just find someone who will teach you what you want to learn.

Not mine!

Indeed. Which is why this one remains a favourite of mine, and turned me on to the sound of a Precision slapped: and the bassline in detail by the guy himself:

Like most things, when abused it's a terrible thing, but slap bass can be done tastefully and it can be very nice in the right context. If your timing is failing you, I think it just means you need to practice it more. I think the key is to not try to put in more notes/percussive tones than we're able: make it sound good for the song first, simplify the line of you must, and once you get it grooving and you're comfortable, you can worry about adding more elements to it if you want to. I know that when I started to learn, my timing could be all over the place and I was far too tense, my arm would hurt sometimes and I needed to consciously relax it. Also, I'd move my hand/arm far more than is necessary, so I was very rough. By doing it again and again it gets easier and you relax more, and when you relax more it gets easier, and then you relax more, and then it gets easier, and then... you see the pattern, right?

:D !!!

If the sound is good, is the lower level a problem? If you change the preamp you may not prefer the new sound, and it doesn't guarantee the level will match the other bass anyway: a preamp does not give you a higher level necessarily. Some preamps are hot, some are not, some allow you to set the level... The John East MMSR I have in my Stingray is comparable to most passive basses I have, and a bit lower than some, for example (there may be a trim pot inside, I never checked because it doesn't bother me as I only use one bass at any given gig). If the signal is a bit low... turn up the amp up? If the issue is having to match another hotter bass when switching basses live you could probably use an EQ pedal set flat but with some boost (or use a clean boost pedal, there's a few of those too) to switch between them.

Great combination

A guitarist who is not a musician does that, maybe, yes. There are a lot of people who are not interested in showing off but rather care about 'music'. It's a tired stereotype that one, in my opinion and experience.

We're going to have to agree that we have different takes on what *simpler* means in this context

Is that really important? I see it as desirable, but... important? And what's with the "bass player I reckon"

Ask him if he'd like to move to Edinburgh, please?

Same here in that I prefer stage left, for the same reasons you mentioned. We have a new keyboard player who is very good at keeping off the lower registers, perhaps because he's a bass player himself (he used to be the bass player in this band a few years ago, but family life meant he had to quit). The problem I have with him is he doesn't seem to realise that I'm not made of ether and need some physical space. Every-single-time I need to go through a whole process of showing him my gear, showing him the space he is leaving, and showing him the much larger space he has farther along. He always seems surprised, and not happy to be asked to move. I thought that if I put my stuff in first he would get it, but no... he'd set up right against my amp. And I like to wait until the drummer is done, unless we have a big enough stage, before I set my stuff, to give him room to manoeuvre. Last weekend I arrive and the drummer is still setting up his kit. next to him, his monitor. And next, keyboard's monitor and himself. Literally no space for me. I said nothing, dumped my two cabs, head and bass case in front of him and went to get a beer, then sat there watching. - "You're not setting up?" - "I don't see where, so I thought I'd have a beer and watch you instead" Still didn't get it. I sat there for 5 more minutes, chatted with a few people for a bit, and then just had to go and do the usual routine. He moved to the left and angled himself a bit, I put my stuff in, and all was good. We have 2 weeks off now as we're going to be recording, and in two weeks we have a couple of gigs. If he learns the trick by the second one, then there's hope. If not, I am just going to either start moving things myself, or bringing a lot of extra equipment and take up all available space until he chooses to change sides :D

Speaking for myself, I find it harder to find a bass that feels just right than to make a bass sound just right. If I find a bass that feels great but the sound is not quite there, I can do a few *easy* things to help it get where I want it to be. I don't always succeed but most times I get where I want or even surpass expectations. Some people really hate messing about with the electronics and even have other people set up their instruments for them. Other people even enjoy doing that, electronics are relatively cheap if you know how to use a solder iron, and setting up an instrument is trivial if you have experience. So why not?

Indeed. Regardless of age. It's the only way men with my... physical characteristics, ahem, have a chance

I don't think he means the mid-scoop sound, but the thin trebly weedy bottomless sound you get when you wire the pickups the wrong way around.

Indeed. I don't find the 3EQ Stingray as nice as the 2EQ (the EQ curves are different on both preamps, their 3EQ is not a 2EQ plus mids). So the 2EQ + additional mids module on the MMSR is perfect, I think.

I have a 2002 2EQ, and what I did was install a John East MMSR 3-band 3-knob preamp. It retains the character of the 2EQ as it's based on John's own '76 Stingray, but it adds a mids module that allows you to select the centre frequency of the midrange (from 100-1000 or 200-2000Hz - which one of the two ranges is selectable with an internal switch). With the mids at the centre detent, you have the classic 2EQ and the mids add nothing. That's the best of both worlds, for me, and it transformed my bass from a bass I loved to play but soundwise was not perfect into The One. While I was at it, I asked John if it was possible to have a preamp bypass switch, and he said yes. So when I pull my volume knob I am in passive mode. Not often that useful, but it saved me at a festival once when despite my best attempts to replace batteries regularly, I failed. It took me a few seconds to realise something was wrong, pulled on the knob and continued, with a slightly different sound but it was still good.

Good answer, but beware of the "volume at noon = half the power". That is an assumption we cannot make, and if that Markbass is designed with the same taper as other MarkBass amps I've owned, noon would be significantly higher than 50% power. But the main message of the post stands. It sounds like a reasonably safe combination provided we don't go crazy boosting lows or turning everything too high. Be sensible, and listen for unwanted distortion, and you'll be ok.

They were 20 years apart. Yes, it does sound like a lot, but when you look around it's not THAT crazy. It happens. Without riches. My own girlfriend is 16 years younger. I dated one that was 24 years younger too. Trust me, I'm not a model or a millionaire... but because of my work I seem to be surrounded with people a lot younger than me and I haven't become a grumpy old man, so while my white beard may give my age away I can chat and mix with anyone. THAT does it.

Pretty much. The best ones that last longer are big enough to have a substantial online presence and to afford to bulk buy to get competitive prices... but even then they eventually die, it seems. It must be hard to compete with the big ones online that can afford to have a big warehouse full of gear. But it's also the fact that we became used to "I want X and I want it yesterday". When I started buying music equipment, in the early 90s, I'd do my research based on magazines mostly, I'd wait for weekends to go to shops... and it would often be a week or two from the moment I decide to buy something until I was able to go out and buy it. In person. Now I think we often order stuff and we expect to have it in our hands in a couple of days. It's not unusual to order something on Monday or Tuesday that we want to use live on FRiday night... Online shopping is too convenient, and for a lot of things, having a physical shop with humans is not a huge advantage from a buyer's perspective. To buy an instrument... it's different, but a lot of people are happy to buy unseen, knowing they can return it if not to their liking. Smaller shops that do online end up paying for shipping costs, and I can imagine that must hurt if it happens often. When I bought my first guitars, buying unseen seemed like a crazy idea. We'd go to shops, or to private sellers' homes and spend time trying an instrument, and usually not buying because we wanted the one that felt and sounded right. Now we seem to buy more unseen and unless obviously wrong we just keep it. I rarely go to shops, but I went a couple of weeks ago to Guitar Guitar in Glasgow to try a couple of specific basses they had in stock. I very nearly ordered one unseen/untested but I thought I'd try the shop first. I had forgotten what good service felt like. The sales guy was great, knowledgeable, helpful. I tried the basses and found that... they weren't right for me based on the physical design (Thunderbird inspired shape: neck feels too long and balance was not ideal). So I ended up ordering a different bass that will be much much more what I really want. It's a custom order so it's still 'unseen', but every custom order will be. However, I was able to get as many details that mattered to me hammered down as possible, especially defining the neck profile, and I'll end up with a bass I could not really order online. I mean, I could, but it would have been a completely blind purchase. The sales guy helped a lot in my decision. Physical shops can be extremely useful, but I don't think they can subsist the way they operated in past decades. They need to reinvent themselves a little, and that personal service is the obvious place where they can offer something that no online shop ever can. The question is whether there's a market big enough.

I would play with pickup heights first. Then, see if an external preamp is able to get you closer to the sound you want. If it does, then an onboard preamp may be a good idea, but if it doesn't it suggests that the basic sound of your bass with those pickups is not what you are after and I'd change pickups leaving the preamp alone. In general: try to get a basic sound right first, then worry about preamps. Onboard preamps with active EQ are great to tweak the sound, and some offer a huge tonal range (like some John East preamps with semiparametric mids, for example), but it pays to get your basic sound right first, rather than adding multiple layers of EQ trying to fix things.