Gareth Hughes

Knees get done because that's what we do!!!! Rally really well. And riot loads. We all thought your London riots were sooooooo cute. Make it a yearly thing and well swap secrets about which tyres burn best. I jest everyone. Just some black humour from the black North. Welcome Electric Wizard, and bout ye!!!

Best bet is to write to the Genz Benz engineer that's on Talkbass a lot - agedhorse. Or email GB directly. Usually pretty quick with their responses.

If you have any Boss pedal handy, try it first before spending any money on a new preamp. Boss pedals have a high enough impedance that works well with piezo pickups, IMO. Worth a try. I used to run my pickups into a Fishman Dual Parametric DI first, because it had a really high, 10 Megohm impedance input - thinking that the higher the better - but it ended up resulting in too much low end coming thru. The lower impedance of 1 Megohm on the Boss pedals seems to filter out those nasty low's perfectly for me.

Bring a book!!! There's more down time than you'd expect. Oh - and hello, don't think we've officially met but I play with Farriers. See you around.

The strings that came on it are more than likely little more than what are affectionately known as bridge holders. A good set of strings can cost £80-100 which is steep compared to electric bass strings, but the difference they make is worth every penny. Another thing might be to have your bass looked at by a good luthier. Ask your nearest orchestra to find out who does their repairs. It might cost the guts of another £100 to have a fingerboard dressed and your bridge height adjusted, but in hindsight I would pay ten times that to have made my first bass more playable. Being ignorant about the benefit of a good set-up or strings when I started playing, I suffered the most horrendous bass for about three years before learning that life could really have been a lot more simple.

Don't forget to dampen the afterlength of your strings (the bit between the bridge and the tailpiece) as they can cause feedback too. Took me ages to figure that out.

I've been on filter hunts for years and always keep coming back to my Electro Harmonix Mini Q-Tron's. Big boxes which is a pain in the butt, but there's just something about them that makes it all worthwhile and I just can't find in other pedals. Had a 3LeafAudio Proton, an EBS Bass IQ (twice), an EHX BassBalls, an MXR Bass Auto Q, DigiTech SynthWah and probably more that I've forgotten. My one reservation with the Mini Q-Tron is that, like so many EHX pedals, they're just not the most reliable. (The volume spike issue is easily resolved with a volume pot mod). So, what's been satisfying me the most lately, and available brand new for the measly sum of about £68, is the Carl Martin Classic Optical Envelope pedal. Makes me smile. A lot. Not well known - couldn't find any bass videos on Youtube. Already have a Carl Martin Optical Compressor and love it, so took a punt on the Envelope pedal - was so not disappointed.

Some of it seemed to be flat.....

'Jazz From Hell' takes me to my happy place. But then so does 'Zappa In New York' and 'Weasels Ripped My Flesh'. And 'Shut Up And Play Yer Guitar' and 'Burnt Weeny Sandwich'. And.....

Sneaky bit I like is in the second tune, where he's plucking his C string with his left index finger whilst bowing a lovely repetitive pattern - adds a great new rhythm. Harrummph!!!!

Zombie thread hike - just saw this yesterday, thought you'd all enjoy it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZNKLUHeJtg

I've got a chart loosely based on a Michael Buble version (or Mickey Bubble as he's known in Ireland). PM me an email address and I'll send it over.

Gene Simmons's slides as a shameless way to get around the fact you're not sure what note you're going to. That slide covers up a multitude of sins!!!

Or for another GenzBenz approved bedroom prac amp and small-medium gig amp how about this at half the price of a brand new one?: http://basschat.co.uk/topic/196532-genz-benz-60210t-combo-for-saletrade-price-drop/ Do excuse the shameless plug.

We are, officially, not worthy.

I've been thru the mill with overdrives - from a SanaAmp, to a Tech21 Leeds, to using a blend pedal with a BassPod, to .... and honestly the most satisfying pedal I've used is a £30 Harley Benton 'American Sound' pedal - reported to be a clone of a Tech21 Blonde pedal, which itself is a Fender Bassman clone. From all things Motown to early Gene Simmons (check out 'She' or 'Watchin' You') to all out fuzz - this thing makes me happy,