dmccombe7

Think its horses for courses. I personally wouldn't do a solo spot. I'd rather have a nice bass run in a quiet spot of a song. I do like to hear solos in certain bands at a professional level ie Geddy Lee, Alan Caron, Jeff Berlin altho i prefer to hear them do a bass part that simply stands out from the rest of the song which they are all expert at. I've heard many bassists over the years do solos that surprised me a lot like the late great Trevor Bolder with Uriah Heep, Tony Franklin with Power Station and on the other hand i've heard bass solos that were fast but boring with no tune. Don't enjoy that type of solo. Some bassists were disappointing like Roger Glover with DP few yrs back. Great Rock bassist and when it comes to holding a band together there won't be many better rock bassists but solo was boring and no tune and didn't impress me. In some bands it works but in others it just doesn't fit the music or the set list. I definately don't want to hear a covers band do a bass solo. Dave

Just bought 2 covers for my Markbass CMD121P & NY121 and they arrived within the agreed time. Solid well made covers and a great fit. I'm very impressed and have thicker padding than my Roqsolid cover for my Berg HT322 cab. Highly recommended and worth a look if you're in the market for covers. Check out their website. http://www.hotcovers.co.uk/ Dave

That's weird i felt like that on Sun morning after rehearsal on Sat. Its a prog band so there's not a lot of movement at rehearsals compared to rock bands and my gear is all lightweight but when i woke on Sun i thought i had a hang-over even tho no drink involved at all. More water required methinks Dave

No wonder electronics were so unreliable back then. I used to stay in tower block in 70's. Dave

Yep that more or less what was explained to me many yrs ago. Because the earth point has been changed could the OP be picking up mains harmonics usually associated with frequencies higher than 150Hz. Recently experienced this on some HV systems at work altho they were coming from a 250KV supply it causes interference and eventual damage from 230V / 110V down to 24V systems across various electronic systems. Usually capacitors or thyristors failing. This could only be picked up with special frequency monitoring equipment. This was caused by local steelworks mains filtering system having been by-passed when it had issues. It might be that the audio system is highlighting this kind of thing now that the earthing has been changed to mains earth rather than local spike. ? Dave.

[quote name='Iain' timestamp='1438509748' post='2834961'] Whole can of worms about class D vs AB vs valve.. but I use a Markbass BigBang into a Barefaced SuperTwin for rock/metal covers and it's not been over half volume yet. Big(er) venues you'll be though the house PA so you only need to cover the stage. Small venues where your backline is the PA and there's no need for more power or your drummer won't be heard... [/quote] I've gone full circle again and back to the lightweight amps but this time i'm using different speakers so all in all a deeper more projected sound. Think it may have been the Bergs being too clinical for me. They certainly reproduce every little noise when playing and the balance across their range is very even. In hindsight i think its been speakers rather than amps causing me to doubt the rig. Dave

The explanation of sensitivity of new house electrics is higher than the older ground spike seems to make more sense. I remember years ago being told that you should only earth one amp in the loop when using PA systems to reduce earthing loops. Not sure whether it was genuine or not tho. Dave

My Jazz bass gives a buzzing with modern Hi-Fi style amps whereas the older style amps are fine. I've always put it down to the top end clarity of speakers and amps these days. Using my Ampeg SVT 4 i don't get it with my Berg cabs. Its obviously worse when i face the amp. My active basses don't have this issue. Only my Jazz when bass set ful on vol and tone control. You could try cutting your high end a bit or reducing GAIN and increasing master volume which might help. Dave

[quote name='leemarseillebass' timestamp='1437893999' post='2829728'] For what this is worth as I'm over a year late(!), my overseas friend Jon has played Billy's live rig several times, the weight and impact of really deep lows, huge lower mids combined with screaming distortion is his thing, most clips/audio you can find doesn't cope or reproduce the lows well but they are permanently there, and monstrous. [/quote] Wee bit late but thanks for the reply. I used the Ampeg with my various Berg cabs and found i still wasn't getting the depth i was looking for. Started my search for 2nd hand Ampeg cabs and missed a few good bargains but while waiting i found out some friends had changed from their full Ampeg rigs to Markbass CMD121P & NY121 cabs and they swore by them. Had a listen to their rigs and thought that was more what i was looking for and lightweight. Went for Markbass rig above and WHOW exactly the sound i was looking for. Lo-mid tone that sits great in the mix and the master volume is only at 2 or 3 comapred with my Ampeg SVT4 Pro at almost mid way on a 4ohm Berg cab its just unbelievable how loud these little combos are and combined with a depth my Berg cabs don't have. Dave

How did you get on with the GB amp ? Dave

Need a bit more than that Cameron. Have you got yourself some new gear ? Dave

I was thinking that after todays rehearsal so might give that a try next one. I just can't believe how good these are. Wish i had bought one yrs ago. Dave

First rehearsal with Prog band today using the new Markbass rig. Very impressive. Kept EQ at mid-point and adjusted both filters to get the sound i was looking for. Gain set 2 o'clock and master set between 8-9 o'clock yet this thing was more than capable of keeping up with gtr drums and keys. This rig just sits so well in the mix with a very distinct Lo-Mid tone rather than boom or treble. Only criticism was the NY121 tweeter which had no apparent cahnge when adjusted. Used my Roland GT-6B with various effects to see how the amp handled it. Absoluteley no problem at all. Everything from standard bass rig settings to octaver low synth settings. This thing just ate it up and spat it out. And the big bonus is you don't need a trolley or 2 people to lift. WHOO HOO I'm a happy bass player today. Dave

[quote name='ambient' timestamp='1438296214' post='2833445'] If it's a band, then maybe your drummer could trigger them ? [url="http://www.alesis.com/controlpad"]http://www.alesis.com/controlpad[/url] [/quote] That looks interesting but i'm not keen on using laptop live for some reason ..... just not reliable enough for me. unless maybe a sampler of some kind that it triggers. Might look into usb linked sampler if there is such a thing. Dave

Jamman sounds as tho it might fir the bill and will get a look at it. I'm starting from scratch with this kind of thing and want to be able to trigger things by foot preferably but a keyboard might be ok. Only thing i have with midi is my Roland GT-6B but i'm not big on midi to be honest. I do need to trigger them in live situation. They are already on the recordings and we are looking for ways to trigger live. It will trigger sample spoken vocal parts not singing or parts that need to be in tune or in perfect time. There will be some sampled noises like glass breaking, ocean waves and that kind of thing. The spoken vocal part is approx 2mins long tho. Dave

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1438189174' post='2832419'] But yeah, locally, hot covers are hard to beat. [/quote] And they are based just along the road from where i work and after all these years had no idea they were there. Its always the same, you never know what's on your doorstep. Brilliant Dave

Was looking for a way of triggering sampled sounds ranging from spoken parts and breaking glass kind of thing. Does anyone have experience of a simple to use system either triggered by foot preferably or by keyboard of some kind. Would prefer a cheap but reliable option to see how it pans out. Dave

I use various strings across my basses. I have Elixirs on my Overwater 6er fretless and my Warwick Thumb and as stated by Grangur they give the Warwick a nicer rounded growl. I use them until coating starts to peel but tone remains pretty stable throughout. I find them a little more tension than my Overwater, DAddario or Fender nickel strings but not enough to bother me. I feel as though i can move faster on them too but again not sure if that's my imagination or not. The main benefit for me is length of time they last and the steady tone over that long period. I've had sets on basses for 2-3yrs altho not basses i use on a regular basis and never gigged basses. Dave

You need to get your licence altho i didn't drive cars till 28. Bikes up till that point but we always just hired vans and drivers anyways back in them days. The lightweight cab is the way to go then. The Markbass CMD 121P literally is approx 15" cubed and easily a one finger lift. Had the Genz Streamliner which had a nice warm feel to it due to valve section. Nice amps. I have found recently that its the cab that seems to make most difference in my own tone rather than the amp. Not sure if its down to better speakers these days or rather that in my younger days virtually all speakers sounded much the same due to manufacturing practices back then. So many changes in technology over past 10 yrs that you are left with a huge choice in everything from sound, weight, tone and of course price. When i was your age it was either Marshall or Peavey for a decent stack to impress. Dave

Had a wee listen. Being a Prog fan for almost 40yrs now i'm not really sure which bracket your sound fits. It probably is a touch of Progressive yet it has a distinct funk feel too with a modern vocal feel that isn't funk or prog - that's the bit i can't pigeon hole but that's a good thing because it makes you more unique. Sounds good and i liked it a lot. How i made my mind up was based on listening to bassists i like the sound off live and having a few friends that have both TC or Markbass rigs and i preferred the Markbass. I did think the clinical sound was gonna be for me but it just doesn't sit well in the mix for many bands i've played with. My HT322 Berg cab has traditional speakers and certainly has more oomph than the Neo cabs but this Markbass floors it even within the house. I am lucky enough to have no real close neighbours and can ramp up my amp within reason when wife not in. LOL It wasn't until i would use in band context that i found it didn't quite work for me. Having an active bass like my Warwick made a huge difference to the Berg clinical sound probably due to the active tone influence help colour the tone more. Dave

[quote name='Cameronj279' timestamp='1438110697' post='2831776'] I figure the worst case scenario with me buying second hand is I'll lose a little bit of cash but not lots. Will be getting the Genz Benz shuttle tomorrow if all goes well. I feel like 'clinical' is a sound I actually would go for although I can't really say for certain at the moment. We've been described by a few people as "proggy funk rock" a few times so I'd say that's a decent description! Playing a Paisley venue on Saturday 1st August and Glasgow West End venue in the 14th (shameless self promo!) [/quote] So what are you using at moment. ?

Just took delivery of Hotcovers for my Markbass CMD121P & NY121 extension cab. Great prices, great fit and fantastic quality gear. Quick delivery and topped off with DPD delivering at exact time they stated between 7-8pm tonight. Highly recommended covers if you're looking. Dave

I did this few yrs back but ended up going for Genz streamliner 600 and 2off Berg AE112 cabs. Was good but very clinical sound and i couldn't quite put my finger on what was missing. It was depth. Having just bought the Markbass CMD121P & NY121 ext cab i find the tone is coloured but in a good way and it has far more depth. Not necessarily bottom end but possibly LO-Mid punch which seems to suit me better using a Jazz bass. I've only just got it last week with first rehearsal on Sat at decent volumes so will find out how it sits in the mix. I found my Bergs couldn't cut thru guitar and keys in a Prog Rock band no matter what amp i was using from Genz, GK, Ampeg, Warwick they just didn't cut it. On a side by side at home you can clearly hear the added depth and rounded tone of the Markbass compared to the clean clinical sound of the Bergs with a GK head. I did look at the TC gear and know some friends with them and they sound good but again i feel they are a bit more clinical than the Markbass. What kind of music are you playing and where abouts do you play - I'm in Biggar area so not far away. Dave