jazzyvee

I'm gigging at The Watering hole perranporth beach, Cornwall on Saturday Night 22nd February [url="http://www.the-wateringhole.co.uk"]http://www.the-wateringhole.co.uk[/url] I hope it stays above water. Jazzyvee

Interesting thread. I've read that older instruments sound better partly because they have been played a lot and somehow this helps in relieving the stresses in the wood and hence allow it to vibrate more efficiently and ultimately getting a better sound. Maybe one of these ToneRite devices could help give a newer instrument a vintage sound.... [url="http://tonerite.com/3rd-generation"]Bass Guitar [/url] But then I've read here often that the tone is in the fingers so maybe you need old fingers to get a vintage sound and not a vintage bass. Jazzyvee

[quote name='The Dark Lord' timestamp='1392390210' post='2368094'] I think it is simple. The tone is in your head. Your "good basic rock tone" is probably entirely different from mine. The ideal tone in your head has been put there by years of listening to the music you like. Now, you've got to buy and sell amps, pedals and basses on a trial basis, after to listening to the advice of others too - and one day you will hit on the kinda thing you need. [/quote] Then you need a sound guy who understands your tone and tries at least to give you that out front rather than giving you the same bass sound as every other bass player that comes through his desk.

From my own experience of slapping, you have to carefully observe what you are doing so that you can locate wherever the extraneous sounds are coming from when you are belting the strings. I'm not a great slapper by any means I just do what is needed for a song so for example when I was learning to play marcus millers version of What is Hip? I realised that there was a really high pitched harmonic, very much like pinched harmonics that guitarists do, pinging away all the time. I tracked it down to my slapping thumb resting momentarily on the string underneath the one hit before the upstroke and causing that string to lightly touch the top of the fret resulting in the high pitched sound . So I slowed things down until I could consistently get the right movement that didn't cause any noise. My bass is very resonant so for other types of slapping I've also taught myself to stop the lower pitched strings ringing by touching them very lightly with the tip of my fretting finger as i play. The rest is down to accuracy especially if you have a narrow string spacing. I hope you find a way to tame that sound. Jazzyvee

[quote name='1976fenderhead' timestamp='1392671499' post='2371520'] Those are sexy, if a bit expensive at about £11 a pair for what I can see. Do you get them cheaper somewhere? [/quote] I got a set of 6 off ebay for £29.70, they came from a company called. [url="http://www.rattleanddrum.com/"]http://www.rattleanddrum.com[/url] Hope that helps. Jazzyvee

Hi Skelf thanks for your input I hope you don't think that I am attacking your product. I was careful not to make that implication. If I can get to the show I will certainly pop by to check out the new system. Jazzyvee

I've had ACG filters installed into one of my alembic basses for a few years now. That bass is a 5 string Europa with a single low pass filter, q switch low and mid cut and boost switches, pan and master volume.. I had The ACG installed as i was trying to remove the GAS I had for an alembic series bass and thought it would give me a similar setup to an alembic Series II bass but with the addition of the high pass filter. However whilst I gained a lot of tonal flexibility, I found that I the character and punch that original electronics had was not there, and as a result I hardly gigged with that bass at all which is a shame as that was my first call bass prior to the mod. So....at the weekend I put the original alembic guts back in and it's like meeting up with an old friend again. I must clarify here that I don't think there is anything wrong with the ACG filters I think they didn't suit that bass. I could get the really low dub bass sound which is what I need sometimes but not the right character tone or punch in the lower mids to carry the groove in the band. I have recently bought a bolt on bass so they may end up in there as I have read bolt ons have a natural punch in the mid range. If I get to bass day I may have another chat to Alan and John about this and see what they suggest. Since having the ACG filters I've acquired a series II alembic and they are tonally very different. Jazzyvee

I have my ticket for Leamington Spa. I don't know anything about them so I'm going on the strength of watching Guthrie's you tube video's and recommendation from a guitarist friend of mine. Jazzyvee

[b] [size=6][font="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"][color="#000000"]Boss TU-3 Chromatic Tuner Pedal. I've used this one for a few years now and not had any issues with it. I did dally with a strobostomp tuner but the first was faulty and i took it back and got another which i tried before leaving the shop and that too was faulty so got a refund and stayed with the boss.[/color][/font][/size][/b] [font="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"][color="#000000"][size=1]Jazzyvee[/size][/color][/font]

[quote name='Zenitram' timestamp='1392639375' post='2370862'] There's nothing wrong with them. Some people like every part of the signal path to be of the highest quality, whereas others don't care or don't feel it matters, and are happy to use the cheapest options available (within reason; quality things tend to be made to last and so tend to, er, last longer, which can make pricier cables better value for money, if your gear gets a lot of battering). Other people want very short leads between connections; some people just like to fiddle around with stuff. And so on. That's all. [/quote] I have used those style of Gear4Music cables in the far distant past when I started making up my own leads but I found that the weak point was how the jack was secured to its mounting plate. Far too many times this joint came apart leaving the jack free to spin or flex round causing crackling and signal drop. I then started using neutrix right angled plugs which I use for my home made instrument cables now. I recently changed the patch cables on my bass rack to these fender ones and they seem pretty good, robust and well made. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5-Pack-FENDER-6-1-4-Right-ANGLE-Instrument-GUITAR-Cable-CORD-Effect-Patch-BLACK-/141162458553?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item20ddf02db9 Some of the cheaper moulded jack cables have questionable tolerances and don't fit effects properly and can be noisy when moved but other than that I can't say I've ever heard any difference in sound quality of jack cables but certainly the quality of the jacks make a big difference in their durability. One benefit of cheap cables is that can provide free access to northern european radio stations that you can listen to while practicing or even at a gig. :-) Jazzyvee

Here is another with some bass porn. [url="http://www.station-music.de/index.html"]http://www.station-music.de/index.html[/url] Always good to see a nice alembic section . http://www.station-music.de/bass/alembic.html Jazzyvee

[quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1392138588' post='2365224'] Get him to play bass instead? Nobody will notice then. [/quote] Well I guess that would depend on genre. In reggae which is what I do most gigs in these days, fluffing up the bass line is pretty serious matter. Whenever I've done that, which thankfully isn't that often, i try to think what was going on just before the duff note and usually its due to my concentration drifting on to something outside of the stage or even the gig and then it's usually on the song with the simplest of bass lines. The more intricate tracks don't give your mind a chance to drift. Maybe your guitarist is not focussed on the music and is being distracted by this thoughts. Jazzyvee

[quote name='mrtcat' timestamp='1392050535' post='2364057'] I have a busy work life and often work from my workshop at home on a weekend too. I gig 1-2 times a week but every penny I earn from it (after travel expenses) goes into our holiday fund pot and has therefore paid for some really great trips away with the wife including Maldives, USA, new Zealand and tons of snowboarding trips so she's really happy for me to gig. In fact if I have a gig free weekend she starts mentioning the next holiday planned to remind me I need to get out and earn for it lol. [/quote] Sounds like a good idea. I have used my gig money over the years to top up my funds towards new/replacement gear. But I guess I pretty much have all the gear I need now so maybe it's time to divert funds to holiday. :-)

In recent years apart occasional tours abroad I haven't had enough regular gigs on a week by week basis to find the balance a problem. These days its maybe one or two a month, although I'd like more. The times when I have had to learn a lot of music in a short period of time for session gigs have kept me out of social circulation but that isn't that often. Work wise I'm a freelancer in my day job and I have been able to negotiate terms so that I can do gigs and/or touring without affecting my clients. I have found that telling the client at the end of an interview I feel confident of, about my musical life usually pays off since they know in advance that I may have to take time out for gigging. As far as relationships go, my gf loves live music also and we support that regularly, so she is happy to come gigs especially when I'm doing something she hasn't heard before. As she lives a fair distance from me I' recently bought a bass to keep over at her place so I have it to play when I'm over there and she is doing her stuff. So I think I personally have managed to find a good balance. However I know a few of musicians who have had hard times with their partners whenever they go out gigging. in the main it's those guys who met their partner at one of their gigs and so she knows what they are like. Jazzyvee

I have one of these racks too although a shallow 3U size. It's been well used and holds my pre-amp and bass power supply and it's been fine. Jazzyvee

A lady who I am helping to learn bass has come to the point where she wants to get a better instrument. Currently she has a Peavey Millennium 5 string. On a trip to GuitarGuitar to check out some basses it seems the Soundgear SR705 bass ticks all the right boxes for her in terms of sound, weight, body size, narrow-ish neck and visual appearance. ( that always helps) Does anyone have any experience with this bass that they can share? Pros/Cons etc Musically she is currently playing reggae but is now tackling rnb, funk, blues and in the near future some jazz. Jazzyvee

[url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Neutrik-Speakon-to-1-4-Jack-Socket-Adaptor-NA4LJX-/181315612038?pt=UK_Sound_Vision_Cables_Leads_Connectors&hash=item2a3740ad86"]http://www.ebay.co.u...=item2a3740ad86[/url] I have a couple of these 1/4" to speakon adaptors that I have in my head bag just in case I need them and they work great.

Looking at the stage from out front I'm usually on the right that's not a deliberate thing but I think it's that way because keyboard players and and guitarists usually set up side by side on the stage left in the bands I've joined. I'd rather be on the opposite side to the snare as the crack is just too loud. When it's my own band on stage I'm usually out front with the sax player. Jazzyvee

[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1391088134' post='2353081'] if you haven't got wireless get a long lead and stand as far away from you combo as you can, it can sound totally different 20 feet away, if you want more bass don't turn up the bass conrol it could just get boomy and have no definition, boost the mids at about 400hz if you can [/quote] Something I read from Scott Henderson that I want to try myself when I get round to it. According to his web site "[font=Arial][size=4]The Boss RC-2 Loop Station is not connected. Scott hooks it up in place of the wah during soundcheck to check his tone in the PA and for general fun."[/size][/font] [font=Arial][size=4]Jazzyvee[/size][/font]

[quote name='jacko' timestamp='1391360688' post='2356177'] Surprised I've not posted on this thread up to now. Here's my babies having some fun in the garden...[attachment=153942:basses.jpg] [/quote] I'm surprised too Jacko, is 2014 gonna be the year you call Mica to spec out a custom Series bass? I don't think that year is gonna come for me anytime soon unless a good lottery win comes my way. Jazzyvee

At the moment my favourite bass is my Alembic Series II 5 string. For me it is just about the most perfect bass I could want. The build quality is outstanding, the filter based tone controls give me access to an enormous tonal pallate. It's an incredibly clean sounding bass, no noise, can be very crisp, mellow, meaty, delicate, powerful and has an evenly balanced response across the fretboard. The neck is a dream to play and not too wide and has a satin finish which makes navigation really easy. Jazzyvee

The only thing I notice about hanging guitars/ basses on the wall is that they usually need re-tuning slightly when I take them down to play. I think that's due to the temperature being slightly greater higher up in the room rather than a problem with the method of storing. Jazzyvee

You could try the Little Guitar Shop in Birmingham [url="http://www.thelittleguitarshop.com"]www.thelittleguitarshop.com[/url] They are in the Jewellery quarter .They have their own range of pickups and my experience with them is that I had some custom wound strat style guitar pickups made by them just before christmas which are great. I asked the question about repairing pickups and they do offer that service too. 0121-233-3788 Ask for Martin Jazzyvee

There was a house rig but I chose to use my own bass rack setup and used their cab. Jazzyvee