indiegrungesound

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1371219928' post='2111379'] I wouldn't want to put my feet in anything that Kim Deal had had hers in . A verruca or athletes foot or even gonorrhea would be the least you could expect . Now the Pixies will have to find aniother bass player who can't play very well but who talks a lot . I'm available . [/quote] That made me chuckle! I wonder if Melissa Auf Der Maur's free? She's be a good fit. Though I would rather they did at least ONE new album to tour with! I also get the feeling that if they DID ever tour again, Mr Thompson/Mr Black would just get his wife Violet-also the bassist in Grand Duchy-to do it.

I think it'll be a fair deal for all concerned! All joking aside, they've not toured for about a year and a half, but I don't think they have any of the money problems that they had as outlined in the "Loud Quiet Loud" documentary anymore; Frank Black's got his band with his wife "Grand Duchy" and Kim's probably going to do a new record(hopefully) with The Breeders! A damn shame, but not the end of the world!

I've got to give props to spongebob & the_skezz for mentioning Lou Barlow & Klaus Flouride! B-) I'm a bigger fan of Sebadoh than Dinosaur J, but Mr Barlow's playing style(I.e. Playing chords on the bass as opposed to just roots, a bit like Lemmy but why added "Beat The Cr*p Out of your instrument!" panache! ;-))is just so cool IMO! As for Klaus, he was nearly 30 when he got his gig with The Dead Kennedys & has been attacking the low end with them ever since. Nice job!

Just wondering if anyone has ever asked a known/famous bass player for advice about playing or technique on here? I've had the luck of having asked & received it off three. The day I bought my first bass, I went to see Scottish Indie rockers Idlewild play a free instore gig @ Piccadilly Records later in the afternoon. Before the set, I asked their then bassist Bob Fairfoull for any advice. He said just practice(No malice! He was dead nice & chilled.) A couple of years later, I bumped into Elbow's Pete Turner. When I asked him a similar question-because I still wasn't very good at that point-he said "Keep it simple. Let the guitarists do the fiddly stuff." Many years later, I went to a Q & A with Billy Sheehan. I asked him if he played by ear or he sight read sheet music. He wings it by ear!;-) (He basically was in awe of those guys who can, though he reiterated that you should always go with what works best for you. Another sweet dude too like the other two four stringers.) That's me done wasting your time folks! How about the rest of you?

Ok, here's mine!: Mike Mills (R.E.M.) Kim Deal (Pixies) Bruce Foxton (The Jam) Greg Norton (Husker Du) Andy Rourke (The Smiths) Nate Watts (Stevie Wonder) Nate Mendel (Foo Fighters) Jimi Goodwin (Doves) Jenny Lee Lindberg (Warpaint) Mani (The Stone Roses) I realise that this will probably get flak for having too much of a Manc/Indie rock bent, but this list has been compiled based on the bands I like & who have inspired me/who I've pinched ideas off! There's no point mentioning Jaco Pastorious(That might be spelt wrong. Sorry!) or Victor Wooten when I don't have their records/CDs/downloads!

I'm probably repeating what everyone else has said, but it does all depend on where you are playing the amp. Live, if I use my Hartke LH500, I set it with boosted mids & bass & cut treble, followed by cutting the treble on my bass' EQ. However, when I was recording last week, the engineer set my Ampeg PF 350's EQ with low gain, boosted bass, cut mids, flat treble & max volume. The EQ on my bass had cut treble. Essentially, look for the sound you want, then-if you are gigging or recording, work with the engineer.

Tony, I have no fear about pushing the cab drivers too hard. The 2 Warwicks linked up together have a headroom of 600 watts @ 4 ohms. This means I've got 100 watts of headroom spare with the LH500 & 250 watts headroom using the PF 350. The limiters on each head are always on too. It should also be noted, although I'm contradicting one of my earlier posts in this thread, that I even got away with using the LH500 with just 1 of the Warwick cabs when I was in a recording session in February. This pleasantly surprised me, as @ 8 ohms, the LH500's exceeds the Warwick's headroom by 50 watts(The use of the limiter & a lowish volume probably helped though.). Bert, would you mind telling us what make each of your amp heads are?

[quote name='bassmachine2112' timestamp='1368807480' post='2081850'] Put the spare,spare head in the car you are towing and you,ll still have room for a spare bass and cab just in case. [/quote] Great idea! Now all I need is a small fortune! ;-) Seriously though, it is just a case of wishful (over)thinking. But thanks to everyone who's replied!

Excellent point Tony! Just to clarify/complicate matters, either head goes into 2 Warwick Neo Pro 12"s. I bought the Ampeg mainly for occasions where I only needed 1 of the cabs, as the Hartke could potentially overpower & blow the 12" speaker.

The way my car plays up, the thought HAS crossed my mind! :-D ;-) Good point actually! I was sort of thinking in terms of tonal differences TBH, but I'm not really in the position to be like a proper band & use ANY & EVERY amp/cab combination going.

This question has probably been asked on here MANY times before, but it popped into my head when I was replying to another thread. I've got a Hartke LH500 & an Ampeg PF 350. Both good sounding heads, & neither has yet let me down live. But what if the worse should happen & BOTH amps give up on me. Should I have ANOTHER head just in case? Then there's the issue of different tones, cost of each amp & places to store the amps. Please bear in mind this has been brought about by hearing a TC Electronic BG250 head a couple of weeks ago. Cheap, light & BEAUTIFUL sounding head! So, what do you all reckon? Am I just letting potential GAS get the better of me or not? Any thoughts are much appreciated? Cheers!

I have heard about this from some other Basschatters before. If my memory serves me correctly though, I think there were only a few dodgy ones in the earliest batches of both of the amps. The nearest I've ever had to a problem with mine is when I thought the limiter wasn't working properly. So I took it to renowned Mancunian amp fixer Roland Lumby. He told me it was all fine. The only two things he noted were that the PF 350 doesn't work that well if you use the tweeter/HF horn on your cab and that it probably puts out more than 250/350 watts. Otherwise, I had no problems with it, touch wood. Then again, it is my back up head to my Hartke LH500, so thus far, I've not been hamstrung without it(Which is probably the now the kiss of death for both amps! :-S ;-)) Anyway, have fun with your shopping trip!

That's actually why I made my comment. They had the cab in the shop where I purchased the PF 350, so I tried it & was impressed. So if you get the cab to match with this head, you'll be quite pleased with the results!

I would say it all depends what you need for own requirements. A pair of decent 1 x 12"s or 2 x 10"s, with 300 watts headroom @ 8 ohms, should do the trick for every eventuality at amateur/hobby level. E.g. 1 cab for bedroom practice or recording, doubled up to 2 for gigs & rehearsals. If you are semi pro and/or have a big enough car boot, go get a decent 4 ohm rated 4 x 10" with at least 400 watts headroom. The old Ampeg B410HF cabs really work well volume wise, possibly more so than the Portaflex cabs the PF 350 is supposed to go with. Oh, and if you have-or can have/cart around-a full stack, as in a 4 x 10" & a 1x15",the PF 350 will siimply love it!

[quote name='0175westwood29' timestamp='1367750568' post='2068973'] Does the hartke 112 really need 2 handles? Its a easy one hand lift? Andy [/quote] Compared with the current cabs in my rig, a pair of Warwick NeoPro 112s, not really. They might not be new or that well regarded, but they weigh roughly the same as the Hartkes. They are wider, but they have two side handles, which is much easier for a straight pick up & lift. Also, I'm not the biggest guy in the world, so that is a consideration too.

... Because I'm going to anyway. I finally had a look at a Hartke HyDrive 112 cab. They had one at PMT in Manchester. I decided to see just how easy it I to carry one. Now they are light, but does anyone know why they only have just one side carry handle? It is, IMO, one of the STUPIDEST design flaws in cabs going today. I also think that Ampeg's flip top Portaflex cabs are as bad too! Anyone else agree? On the plus side though, I also got to hear a guy play a TC Electronic BH250 head. It was with A Musicman going through an Ashdown 4 x 10", and it sounded BEAUTIFUL!

Further to that last post, I'm big enough to say that I've tried out basses in shops using "Seven Nation Army" & "Sunshine Of Your Love" before. No shame in doing that. Though I normally switch between, "Blister In The Sun" by The Violent Femmes, "She's Lost Control" or "Transmission" by Joy Division, "Gigantic" by The Pixies or the outro "I Am The Resurrection".

[quote name='Donnyboy' timestamp='1366817159' post='2057598'] What's wrong with just thumping out a few root notes, for hours? Works for a lot of successful bassplayers? [/quote] That pretty much sums up my entire repertoire & level of technique then!

I personally wouldn't mind a go on one of these myself, but I think it's all dependent on what your cab set up. If you are using just 1 300 watt, 8 ohm cab, it will do a decent job. Then again, your PF-350 should cover all your needs anyway. I've got one & it's a great little head. If you have 2 8 ohm cab or 1 powerful 4 ohm cab set up, you have other options too. Hartke's LH500 & HA3500 heads-The former's my main head whilst I used to own the latter-will also fit the bill. There's also always a lot of love on here for Orange TB500s too!

Hi there! Hope you don't mind if I throw my opinion in. I tried a Micro VR set up once before. I don't think the single cab & head would be suitable for many live situations, but it does have a lovely tone. Now, as an owner of an Ampeg PF 350, I'd say it should give you what you are looking for. You can plug in an mp3 player & headphones into it & jam away without even hooking it up to a cab. Also, they can cut the mustard live too! (I used it at Dry Bar in Manchester back in November, going through the headlining band's 4 x 10'/1 x 15' Laney stack & wwith the amp's DI going FOH.) They aren't expensive either.

Hiya folks! Just dropping another line to any Bass Chatters in Bolton or that part or Greater Manchester/Lancashire to say if you fancy a FREE gig, come & see my band play! Here's the details: [url="http://www.facebook.com/#!/events/144905225666334/"]http://www.facebook.com/#!/events/144905225666334/[/url] Hope you enjoy the show!

The Ashdown Little Giant 350 was the most disappointing head I've owned. It was too loud at one gig, too quiet at another, then it died twice in two different rehearsals. (This isn't a slag off Ashdown post though. I owned a MAG 300 C115 combo which was brilliant. I only sold that due to necessity.) I also used to own a Trace Ellliot Commando combo which died on me at a rehearsal, though I had owned it for 3 years & had bought it for less than £90 so I was less annoyed with it in that regard. There was also my old Ampeg PortaBass 250 2 x 10" combo, which was hampered by the lack of a D.I. output or a meaningful extension output, as it's cabs were full range @ 4ohms. Both of those were much better than the Little Giant. No such complaints with my Ampeg PF-350.

Evening everyone! Just letting you know that my band, "Twisted Machines" are playing their first gig outside Manchester City Centre. We play The Blind Tiger in Bolton with "Cardinal Saviour" and "I Am Mechanical" on Friday 15 February. I know there's a couple of Bass Chatters in Bolton and it's free entry. (Yes. FREE!!! ) For more info, just follow this link: http://www.facebook.com/events/144905225666334/ Hope to see you there!

Just seen this on Ampeg's site: http://www.ampeg.com/products/portaflex/pf-800/ Now, is this cool or insanity? (Seriously 800 WATTS??? ) What does anyone else think?

I've said this a few times already, but I'll say again that my LH500 rules!