DTB

I noticed a strange vibration from the E and B saddles yesterday. I was really tired and in a lot of pain so I put the bass away. I tried a fresh E string today and it was the same. Very annoying on a bass of the price. I noticed the saddle was very slightly higher one side than the other so I levelled them both and it seems to have fixed it most of the time. Anyone else had this issue with this bass or bass fitted with this bridge please? If so what is the fix? thanks.

They are stacked humbuckers like Fender noiseless strat pickups, which I actually don’t like much I prefer a traditional strat single coil and have swapped mine out, but as far as these go they are perfect, but that is only my opinion. I like noiseless on a bass, not too bothered on a strat, but then my bass playing is better than my guitaring lol.

Quicl pic as I am now doing dinner for my family. I haven’t even played it apart from 5 minutes in shop.

Really? 😳for a new one??? Hope that is a second hand price or I over paid a lot.

Only just got in from the drive home. Will post asap.

Finally bought myself a Yamaha BBNE2. The new stock is coming in at over £5k so I managed to find one from last year at a lot less. very happy.

Cab arrived today, will post quick review later. Have to make up Speakon cable first.

Not too easy for me. I am disabled and travelling by car causes me a lot of pain, sometimes this puts me out of action for 24- 48 hours. Thoman don’t even charge return shipping on items you try and don’t want to keep. Makes it very easy for me to check stuff on youtube and then make an informed decision with absolutely no pressure.

i have a couple of options with this. My fav amp is only 0.5 watt, it is designed for guitar to run at around 80-90 db for home use and recording so the valves are really working hard. I run it through a Marshall 1974 X cab when I am playing guitar and I have yet to find a better sounding amp for guitar, instant SRV /Hendrix, but it also has a preamp out which to run a bass cab I simply reamp with a 50 watt solid state power amp, which is way too much for home use normally. Or I have another old Bassman head which sounds okay and is a lot more powerful, so couple of options, I let you know what works, if anything. It’s just a stab in the dark really, I can always return it, I have 14 days I think for their money back guarantee thing.

I have ordered a PJB C2 cab to pair with my little valve amp. Will try that as I always prefer the backing track and guitar or bass, whatever I am playing to not go through the same system. If the C2 doesn’t give me the headphone type sound I will return it and stick with headphones. Anyone here had experience of that cab please?

Last night I couldn’t sleep due to my stupid arthritic spine pain, so i was in the bunker from 3am practicing bass. I normally don’t bother with headphones coz it pretty much sound proof but last night for the first time since I last recorded (a long time) I played through headphones, and it sounded amazing. Beginning to think I wasted my money on monitors and sub now and should have just bought a pro pair of ‘phones. The sound stage was brilliant and the bass tone through my valve preamp was exactly the growl I love from the bridge pup and buttery smooth from the neck. Didn’t wanna put the bass down and go back to bed once the pills had kicked in.

Right it’s been a few days now and i need some more advice please. as you guys know I am unable to gig due to ill health and I only play to backing tracks at home now. (I take the bass out of original tracks so I am playing along with the original artist which is good). I have done this with guitar as well and I have always preferred the guitar through a proper valve amp at gig volume. My music bunker is pretty much sound proofed. The sub is doing what I want by allowing me to hear the kick drum, and I would like to put the bass through a combo with a very small amount of grit, rather than the sub and monitors. I’m looking at the small Ampeg RB 108. Am I daft? Should I just stick with the Digbeth pedal and going to mixer and monitors etc. would like to know your opinions pls.

I don’t understand how anyone can have no interest in musical instruments. The idea seems absolutely absurd to me. But then I can’t stand football so each to their own I guess.

It would be an additional venture along side a safe income I think possibly maybe the only way to do it. However, I really think that you are spot on with that idea. I have shelves of stuff that are unused and absolutely nothing wrongs with that every so often I unload on to the local 2nd hand shop at a fraction of their true value just because I can’t stand dealing with the - “Do you wanna swap it for a speed boat mate?’ brigade on ebay.

I don’t know how I would describe my tone. I guess it’s clean until I dig in and then I get a bit of grit. I strived to get the tone from ‘When Love Comes To Town’ by Herbie Hancock Jonny Lang and Joss Stone. I use a Digbeth pre pedal straight into my mixer and monitors. I have the FET drive on max and the Tube drive on just over half way mixed together. I also have a .5 watt Kowalski guitar amp which is all valve. It doesn’t need a speaker load, and has a preamp out. It sounds similar to the above and I sometimes use that. I don’t gig anymore due to ill health. Took me a while to realise that playing at home for my own pleasure was infinitely better than not playing at all. I really really miss gigging though.

I’m lucky to have Peach as my local guitar shop. I have been a customer since I was a teenager in the 80s when they were a small but excellent shop selling music gear and toys including metal detectors. Virtually any music shop will look second best when compared to Peach. My last visit to PMT was in 2020 at Southend to pick up a Clapton strat. Staff were excellent and rather surprised at my brief visit and wanted me to stay and try out the guitar before leaving but for me it was just a click and correct. The store even back then I remember was a little sorry for itself, but the staff were excellent. I remember saying to my wife who was with me that the store looked like it might be on the way to closing. I don’t know if it did??? 🤷‍♀️ In the old days though in wasn’t unusual for a guitar shop to be dusty, overcrowded with old stock, have grumpy hungover/stoned staff etc etc. it was the norm, and fools/newbies were not tolerated. Different times though.

Well I have never had a sub woofer system before. I have always just had the best 2 channel system I could afford at the time. This is by far the best set up I have ever had. Set up was easy. Got an 85 hz signal on utube to set the phase with the 8010s which I suspected as it is all the same brand would be zero which it is. Then simply turned down the sensitivity to balance with the main monitors. The suggested bass roll off is -2 db which I have also set and I have no reason to doubt their recommendation as like I say it sounds awesome. kick drum is nice and clear which was my main aim. If anything I could turn the sub up slightly which I may do depending on my tinnitus, but early observation would tend to suggest the overall volume is now lower, at the point where I can hear the detail in the music as I like. sweet spot for listening is still just as narrow as before. Over all very pleased. Would buy this setup again in a heart beat if I needed a second system somewhere.

Thanks, that’s excellent advice, especially as I ordered the 7040 this morning and it should be with me tomorrow morning. The point you made about wanting excellent frequency response and not high volume is exactly what I am after. I simply want the kick drum to be in the mix as intended, and good as the little Genelecs are, it just isn’t there at the moment. Nice to know it got a good review. Will post my findings once it’s all up and running.

My little studio is acoustically treated in a big way. Mix of foam and home made corner traps and 10 cm thick foam on walls and ceiling, and still there is a very narrow sweet spot to sit in. It’s more for me to play live than mix tracks although i have done some recording and needed to mix it all. I’d just be happy to hear the kick drum a little better when I am playing. I use Lalal.ai to remove the bass from the tracks i want to play along to. I don’t gig anymore due to ill health.

Thanks. Great reply. Very constructive. I have more or less convinced myself that I should have the sub.

Yes Itu, you helped me before and I downloaded an app after your help which analyses the frequencies very well.

I went with those monitors because they’re suitable for small rooms. The ones I had before were larger and were too much, it’s a bad acoustic space, although since I got those it has doubled in size thanks to an extension.

I am considering adding the 7040 sub to my 8010 Genelec monitors but thought I would ask opinions first. I have never had a subwoofer before in a studio format, and although they improved a PA System a lot a few years ago, I can’t help thinking that it will be overkill for my tiny studio/music room. The only real reason is that I don’t think the little 8010s reproduce the kick drum very well, as it is often hard to pick out of a mix, and now that I am firmly back in the bass is best bunch, rather than guitar, I really need to be able to hear it, but also, I don’t want to make my tinnitus any worse. Another consideration is the outlay, as the 7040 is around £700 and I keep saying that I am not spending any more etc etc. I wouldn’t buy a cheap substitute as I firmly believe in buy cheap buy twice. Any opinions and advice gratefully received. Thank you.

Nah it always hurts till the fingers harden up after a break. If i played any lighter I wouldn’t be touching the strings. I only dig in when I want a little bit of grit. I don’t generally do pedals. My guitar sound is straight into a 0.5 watt valve amp. Occasionally i use a delay or reverb but thats from the mic’d cab to my monitors. with the bass I have the Digbeth pre amp pedal straight into my mixer and into my Genelecs. I’m just starting to get my tone back and it is 90% in the fingers. I found a long time ago using the very tip of the finger when needed gives a lovely growl and it’s that bit that is sore. Be fine when the callouses form again. But thanks for the advice. I will try to back off and be as light as possible.

Old battery was down to 8.7 volts so stuck a new one in and it’s better still. Fingers still hurt though and I’m sure the slinky Ernie Balls are not as slinky as the D’arwhatsits that came off. Not to my fingers anyway but I prefer Ernie Balls on my guitars and I have just ordered 10 sets of 32-130 so I hope my fingers get used to them. I am never gonna go so long again without playing my beloved basses. I raised my right hand when I typed that last sentence. okay i think I’ve talked this one to death, thanks for your input everyone.