Matt P

i'll check out the Yamaha Reface CS, currently i'm watching Ebay and the local selling groups for a bargain deal, i've missed a few so far but i'm not in a huge hurry, unfortunately my music fund has little chance of getting bigger as our house needs a new roof. matt

thanks for all the suggestions and recommendations, Space is a huge factor here, when i mention studio in my first post it's really just a corner of the study and incredibly cramped so anything larger than the monologue/bass station is impossible, it's going to be sitting on my desk and fighting for space with the PC keyboard! My main reason for wanting one is curiosity i think, so having just a few dials and sliders to play with suits me well, i'm going to be learning as i go, if i find myself getting deeper into it or hitting the limits of the kit then i'll find the money to buy something more advanced. any sounds/tracks that i create are unlikely to go any further than the door of the study, certainly for a year or two. i'll keep a watch for the K-station as it looks like a good option, but there is a microbrute for sale on a Facebook group and it's only 8 miles away and quite tempting. Matt

thanks for the input, unfortunately the Bass station 2 is out of my price range as they start at about 150 if you are really lucky and in reality 180 is the starting price for a reasonable one and 200 is fairer, it is the Bass station 1 (the original one from the 90's) that i can afford as clean ones are around the 130 range (scruffy ones start at about 80 quid!) so with some patience i should be able to score a clean Mk1 bass station with my budget. i don't think the mk1 bass station has any preset options. i'm really not that bothered about presets as if it does end up on stage then i'll likely only use it for one or two songs, are the keys on the microbrute that much smaller than the minibrute? i had no issues with the minibrute keys in the shop but they didn't have a microbrute for me to play with and compare. Matt

i know this is a question that has been asked a few times but i haven't found answers to my questions yet. For some reason i find myself really wanting a synth to have a play with and possibly to record some random stuff with, this is most likely never going to leave my home studio unless i feel super brave and take it to a band rehearsal. I have been looking at monophonic analogue synths and in my price bracket there are basically 3 that i'm seeing most and that look like the kind of thing i can work with and don't scare me with too many buttons/dials/sliders. Korg Monologue, Arturia microbrute and the original Novation Bass station. my budget is maximum £130 so the bass station 2 is out unfortunately and the minibrute is probably out too. i had a play with a minibrute in a shop and really liked the sounds and it seemed pretty easy to use, i want something quite simple so the microbrute with fewer controls really appeals but i've seen a few of the first gen bass stations go for under 100 so this looks very appealing.which would be good as the 130 is really pushing my budget the monologue seems to get plenty of love as well and i'v seen them sell within my budget. i'm happy to wait for the right deal to come along. has anyone got any experience of these three? i see a lot of love for the mk2 bass station but no mention of the original, should i avoid it for any reason? i want to stick to an all in one unit with a keyboard as i think the less setup required the more i will use it, space is limited as well so the 25 or so key layout is about right. if anyone can suggest alternatives that i should be looking out for on the secondhand market that would be great too. thanks Matt

Hiscox fan here, I've got 8 of them in total I think, 3 identical bass ones and various guitar ones, I've had to start marking them so I know which one is which. My first acoustic would be firewood if it hadn't been in a hiscox (nasty caravan accident) Matt

the pedal in the OP (OC-1) isn't actually a re-housing, it's a clone of an oc-2 built from the original schematic with the second octave omitted. i've looked at re-housing a pedal and didn't get much past the initial thought stage, so many pedals are built with the controls and input/output all soldered directly to a pcb, this means that either they need modifying to put them on remote wires or the holes in the new enclosure need to be incredibly accurately drilled to get it to all fit without putting stress on the soldered connections. i think the suggestion of building some pedals from kits or from scratch is the best one, there are plenty of kits available for clones of so many of the popular pedals.

This is what I have used in the past, in fact my les paul is wired up with this and I've managed to squeeze 8 segments in as it's got 2 seymour duncan with 4 wire connections and coil splits for both pickups. I've not had any issues with it coming loose either.

It's a shame they're not made in the UK anymore, the quality was really good and the lack of import costs made them an absolute bargain. i'm pretty sure that D'addario ,make shortscale flats, @D'Addario UK might be able to confirm or deny. Matt Edit - hooky_lowdown can type faster than me!

i have fitted them to a couple of basses in the past, they're really nice flats, they made strings for Overwater for a while as well. i'm not sure that they are in current production as i had heard that Picato had gone under, the website is still there though and they're available form a few suppliers still. i use d'addario Chromes now mainly as i can get them for a really good price through a local shop that has connections to D'addario (who happen to be based 2 miles from my house) and i never change my flats so they'll be staying a while.

How tied are you to getting a combo? there are real bargains to be had in the classifieds for heads and cabs, something like a 2x10 cab with any number of different heads could be had for less than the TC 2x10 combo, you might even score one of the more modern and lighter heads within budget, Markbass Little marks can go for 250quid (i paid that for my Markbass F1) add in 100 or so for an older cab and you're away, if you go for a smaller cab then you can add another cab if bigger gigs start coming along. this also can be a bonus when you are sharing kit at gigs or using the in-house gear at rehearsal rooms, i tend to just take my head along and plug into the provided cab (i'm lucky as the rooms we use have just bought Ampeg 4x10, 6x10 and 8x10 cabs) some of the smaller heads will fit into a gigbag pocket which can allow for the use of public transport for gigs (allowing for a post gig beer if that is your thing) the other bonus of a separate head and cab is that upgrades are easy when the budget allows or a change is needed, i tried a couple of heads before settling for the F1, luckily i haven't looked at another cab since i bought my Barefaced cabs. Matt

i've seen someone use copper tube to make sleeves to do this on a guitar. As you want to keep weight down you could try thin plastic, maybe a strip of fizzy drink bottle wrapped into a cylinder? it will depend how much space you have to make up. a bit of coke can might work as well if you want something a bit thinner, i've found that when using electrical tape for this kind of thing it always ends up getting bunched up and not fitting properly. ymmv Matt

i'm not sure if it was the case for the nickel roundwounds but the overwater flats were made by Picato as far as i can remember, i bought sets from both brands a few years back and they were identical in feel and tone. (in fact i only bought the Overwater ones as the 5 string Picato sets were more expensive than the overwaters and someone on here told me they were the same)

I keep one bass out and ready to play at all times (a different one depending on my mood) I'd suggest using a decent stand (if you aren't already) mainly as whenever i lean my bass against something i find that it knocks the tuners and puts it out on one string which annoys me. Matt

i've been playing 5 strings for more than 10 years (possibly 15?) I play a lot in church and a large amount of the music is composed on keyboard instruments (piano and organ) so Eb is quite common, and different singers have their favoured keys so i need to be able to transpose on the fly (often the music will be a lyric sheet with scribbled on chords for the guitarist to use a capo) I find that my 5 strings are so much easier to use in this situation, i occasionally use my 4 strings (especially the 77 p-bass) but it's usually a little more work. with my covers band i find that if i take a 4 string i'm always missing the low b string. the main problem that I had with 5 strings when i started was bad technique, i finally had some proper tuition (rather than busking it and using my old guitarist technique) learning floating thumb technique and how to play multi-octave scales really helped to tighten up my playing. i find that i move across the strings rather than up and down the neck and as a result i can play faster and for longer before i tire. my only issue now is that i recently discovered 30" scale basses so now i have GAS for a 30" 5 string (which isn't a common instrument!) Matt

if there is a rubber gasket between the grille and the cab then i'd expect the grille to have very little effect on the overall stiffness of the cab, especially as the cab itself is designed to be incredibly stiff (as far as i can make out the cab is optimised to the absolute limit of what can be achieved with the materials used) The rubber gasket is most likely there to damp out any vibrations that may be induced in the grille during high volume use. Matt P.s My day job is Mechanical design engineer, designing machines that vibrate (but ideally wouldn't)

i went for the silver cloth when i ordered my Gen 2 Midgets, i've had the grille off and there is actually quite a bit of space behind them before you get to the speaker cone so i'm happy, mine live in Roqsolid covers with the optional speaker protection panel (it's an optional pocket that i've put some stiff foamboard in) and mine look and perform exactly as they did when they were first delivered. i wanted the classic look and am very happy with all aspects of them (i haven't looked at another cab since) EDIT - i have swapped the head for a Markbass F1 but was never really happy with the SWR Headlite) Matt

if this were my problem then top of my list would be the Ampeg PF20t, i had a chance to record a single track through one at my tutors studio (@dodge_bass) just to allow for critical listening and to see how close i was to the original bass, it was fed straight into a scarlett interface and then into reaper with no plug-ins or tweaking (that i can remember) and it sounded fantastic. the PF20t will run happily without a speaker load and has separate Preamp out and speaker simulated XLR outputs on the back, if you wanted to get a mic-ed up speaker sound then it will drive a small cab as well. Matt

@karlfer @Number6 I know this is an old post but i've just stumbled on the Dirtybird via a bit of eBay'ing for short scales, i was wondering what the weight and balance was like for the 30"version, i don't expect it to be perfect due to the body style but was hoping that the short scale would help with the balance a little, also are they 19mm spacing at the bridge? I've got some birthday money burning a hole in my pocket and have a real love for short scale basses at the moment and there is something about the Dirtybird that really appeals! Matt

Thank you for the info, i had a nasty suspicion that they would be difficult to get and expensive but i'll make a note of them and keep my eye out when i'm in secondhand book shops etc, i seem to spend a fair amount of time browsing old books and you never know what will turn up!. Matt

would you be able to let me know what book that is please? it looks like just the kind of thing i enjoy reading (presuming that copies are available for less than a kings ransom! thanks Matt

I suggested newtone as there is a much smaller range of strings available for short scale basses, especially for less common tunings. I'm not sure I've seen single strings for short scale. It might be worth a look at the daddario string gauge calculator, you can play with gauges and tensions and see approximately what gauges might suit. http://stringtensionpro.com Matt

If it is roundwounds you are looking for then you the best option would be to contact newtone strings, they will be able to make you a set to suit, not the cheapest but very high quality

they are a bit more than Rotosound (26-28 quid depending on spec compared to about 20 for roto's) but DR start at about 30 quid minimum and Newtone will wind to your own spec. the postage is stated at £1.20 which i think is pretty good. (for the record i haven't yet tried the bass strings but i've been using the Newtone heritage acoustic guitar strings for about 10 years and won't buy anything else) matt

i wouldn't expect there to be a difference in performance or sound but the choice of series or parallel speakers in a 2 speaker cab is sometimes down to what happens if one of the speakers fails, it they are parallel then the amp is suddenly seeing a 16 ohm load, if they are in series then the amp is suddenly seeing no load at all (which is usually very serious for amps with valve power sections0 the amp manufacturer will decide which outcome is the least disastrous and go for that (if they're engineering it properly) Matt