leroybasslines

Thanks guys. When I get a moment I'll check the output settings. If all else fails I'll bother Mr East! I always feel guilty though: he must get loads of emails from people like me! The preamp was previously in my old Fender MIM Jazz V and didn't have any probs. I'm guessing the Lakland pups are a bit hotter, hence the massive output...

Just a quick question from a technophobe... I've installed a J Retro 01 in my Lakland 5560. I've always wound the volume knob up to full, as you do on a standard passive bass but I've begun to notice that the bass is distorting and dropping the input volume on my amp (PJB suitcase) doesn't cancel it out: the signal still clips. Am I just sending too strong a signal to my amp? Do I need to get in the habit of rolling the volume back on the bass? The installation manual talks about adjusting the gain signal on the preamp itself, but I don't think it can be lowered, only boosted. Any tips and tech advice suited for an idiot would be gratefully received!

Hello bass comrades. I currently play a lovely Lakland 5560 which pretty much meets my needs, but of late I've been thinking of getting a nice but cheap backup. My Lakland is great, but I'd like a 4 string to offer a bit of contrast, preferably with a bit of a P feel. Not necessarily a P though. Just something different to the 5 string Jazz vibe, or something I can grab when I've forgotten to change the battery on the Lakland's preamp! So I saw Brandon Gilliard playing with Janelle Monae--a great player if you haven't heard him. I noticed he was playing a Squire Jaguar bass (albeit with a Squire Bullet neck, and probably a few other mods, as far as I can tell - I'm no expert!). Check it out here: [media]http://youtu.be/ZOb4eNN38no[/media] I thought, if it's good enough for a player like him to use as a main bass it'll probably be just about alright for a player like me as a back up! I went into PMT Bristol and terrorized them - played every vaguely P flavoured bass in the shop from bargain bassment to top of the range. They had one of the Squire Jags, but only a short scale one. It was great - really fat, dark P sound. The J pup at the bridge was kind of thin sounding, but offered an alternative and they sounded great mixed together. All in all, I thought it was a great little bass and at only £190 I can't really go wrong. However, they didn't have a long scale one in stock and I would dearly have loved to compare them before I part with some cash earned through wedding band torture. It's only £30 more than the short scale. Has anyone been able to do a direct comparison? I've very little experience of short scale basses - it felt weird to play at first but I quickly got a hang of the size. In fact, I quite liked how it made me think about what I was playing differently, the ease of getting round the neck, etc. I've heard the sound is darker with more lows. Any other things to bear in mind? I can order a long scale one, but I don't want to buy without doing my homework first! Any wisdom and guidance is most appreciated!

[quote name='kevin_lindsay' timestamp='1381435257' post='2239190'] Cool playlisr mate. However...... Boys Of Summer was Larry Klein on bass. Pino played on the next album, most notably on New York Minute. [/quote] Cheers for the tip! Like I said, feel free to add and query as you find stuff. I'm not great at research and fact checking (I've no attention span at all) so there's probably loads of mistakes in there. My two fave tracks on there are probably Penitentiary Philosophy and the Pete Townshend one, Give Blood I think it's called. Great performances by Pino on both for utterly different reasons. It's funny how he sounds distinctly 'Pino' on both - that trademark tone and phrasing - when his approach to the tracks is, out of necessity, totally different. The hallmark of a great player, I guess.

A while back, when I had nothing better to do, I decided to make a Pino playlist on Spotify. I tried to include as much different stuff he's played on as possible. [url="http://open.spotify.com/user/owen_liam/playlist/4J0KMwu3HUz9u2joumbZ2Z"]Mr Pino Palladino[/url] for the webplayer, or click [url="spotify:user:owen_liam:playlist:4J0KMwu3HUz9u2joumbZ2Z"]Mr Pino Palladino[/url] for the Spotify URl. It's not meant to be exhaustive, just a snapshot of some of his playing over the years; it blows my mind to hear the diversity and variety of stuff he's done. Feel free to add tracks - it's a public list and I'd love to hear some oddities and unexpected tracks! [CODE]<iframe src="https://embed.spotify.com/?uri=spotify:user:owen_liam:playlist:4J0KMwu3HUz9u2joumbZ2Z" width="300" height="380" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true"></iframe> [/CODE]

Fab idea - I'm well up for it! I like basses to bring their own character to my playing, so whatever it is I'd love to give it a whirl...

Likewise! Are the events at BIMM open to civillians, do you know?

[quote name='Myke' timestamp='1371302573' post='2112336'] The only one I can think of is the Colston Hall but it may not be personal enough for some. Other people here may have other ideas though as there is a few from the West. [/quote] At BIMM Bristol perhaps? The new Colston Hall space has lots of different rooms etc. I'd be well up for something like this in Brizz!

[quote name='Josh' timestamp='1376391634' post='2173134'] They don't have anyone in charge of the bass department because apparently they can't afford it and I guess compared to the guitar departments, drums, keyboards and studio equipment departments that the bass department isn't really as important. [/quote] And we have to skulk about in the room out the back! I guess that's what we deserve.

Nice bass! I've been thinking about precisions recently, and I quite fancy a Squier to sate my appetite without breaking the bank... [quote name='Josh' timestamp='1376328538' post='2172225'] PMT Bristol is very hit and miss, I'm fortunate enough to have a drummer who is practically buying from them ever other day and so by proxy I've gotten to know some of the staff. T.J is one of the good guys to look out for. [/quote] I once tried a Stingray in PMT Bristol. It was set up so badly it was unplayable - the action was so low all you got between frets 7 to 11 or so was buzz with no note at all. When I asked the guy doing the bass stuff he said he'd personally set it up that way because 'that's how the good players like it'! Oh dear. Needless to say, I didn't give PMT my money that day! Not sure who does the bass stuff there now, but I hope it isn't him! They definitely suffer from some poor staff in there. You know when you've asked to try a bass, they plug it in and hammer out some terrible slap bass and hand you the instrument with a 'beat that, loser' air. No need! Having said that, I've spoken to many knowledgeable guys in there that go out of their way to help. I guess these problems are the downside of a big shop with a comparatively high turnover of staff...

What about this for a lovely Precision tone? Distinctive but sits in the mix, woody but defined. Sweet! [media]http://youtu.be/i1cskIan5Jw[/media] Not sure I can do a 'best ever'! But if I had to choose a player who's basses, amps, fingers and talent I could appropriate for my own, it'd have to be Pino... [media]http://youtu.be/0d9wgf22sQU[/media]

Go and watch O Brother Where Art Thou for some bluegrass inspiration! For a more contemporary Americana vibe, try Paul Curreri. Beautiful songs, often solo but which could be done with a small acoustic band. I love his track 'Bees'. Or check Gillian Welch for a more rootsy American Folk. Or Steve Earle. Try Gram Parsons for a tasteful Country feel. I love Little Feat! Great band with a monster rhythm section. You could look at The Byrds, Neil Young etc for a popular, very American sound.

Not sure if this is still a current thing, but I'd be happy to dep for gigs in Bristol. I can play pretty much anything - was in many metal/rock bands as a lad but now am more funk/soul/jazz type thing. Loads of function gig experience. Let me know if I can help!

I've always fancied installing a drinks cabinet in the back of mine. Makes it a functional bit of furniture at home and handy for sneaky mid-gig drinks too.