funkypenguin

On 26/05/2020 at 11:17, BigRedX said:

Except that ultimately the decision lies with the check-in staff and cabin crew of your flight. If they have recently had a bad experience with another musician (or are just generally having a bad day) there is a chance that they will insist that the instrument goes in the hold and if you haven't packed it appropriately what you are going to do?

If you're flying with an instrument I would say packing it appropriately is number one on your list of priorities....if you don't do your homework and take every precaution prior to flying then I would say that's on the musicians head. Being nice to the gate and cabin crew is essential if you want to try and get your instrument on the plane, even something as simple as a smile and a good afternoon can get you a long way with aircrew. I got lucky and never had a major issue with flight crew when I was travelling a lot with my bass and only had to gate check it when the flight was absolutely rammed

Hello folks!

Hope you're all well and staying healthy through all madness that has engulfed us all . I've just completed my first lockdown project which is a complete performance of Bach's first cello suite in G Major. The video series is now linked below and should take you to the Prelude and the playlist containing the other 5 movements! The soundcloud link is also below for those wishing for a somewhat better audio representation of the performance!

Its been a long process and a lot of practice prepping this. For those interested in the tech side of things my Warwick streamer LX6 was recorded (flat with passive tone rolled on a little) via DI box, Amp DI (Genz Streamliner 900) and from a mic on one of my vanderkley cabs via a focus rite interface into my computer. Declan Pearson of Colossus studios in Bolton then took care of final mixing and mastering  if you have a spare 20 minutes id appreciate your thoughts!

Hope you enjoy it!

Ben

I'll go with Dream Theater, Images and Words > Awake

14 hours ago, ubit said:

Which was my original question. What makes an American NS2 so much better that you can justify paying thousands more? So you think a Haz pre-amp and a paint job is worth that? They must be good right enough.

when it comes to quantifying the worth of expensive instruments it isn't about being able to quantify their specs one vs the other, its about which one suits you and speaks to you the most. Ive played vintage fenders that carry a much higher price tag than my main Warwick custom shop Streamer LX6,  but the Warwick is in another dimension as an instrument, its far more ergonomic, is has a far more complex sound, plays like a dream, the spec is almost perfect and she has been with me almost 10 years now (all IMHO naturally  ). You're happy with and love your Euro series Spector, therefore the increase in price to a US NS-2 doesn't make sense, which is perfectly fine. The workmanship, fit, finish, wood quality and the HAZ preamp of the NS5XL all combined in my eyes/ears to make the US bass worthy of a heftier price tag than the euro I played. This was a few years back though when the price difference wasn't quite as high

On 23/05/2020 at 19:11, fiatcoupe432 said:

Hi guys I'm sure this has been asked before but what are the most secure cases for flying?

All tge best

tony

I always carried my bass on with me (I worked for a cruise company in the states and couldn't afford to have the airlines lose my bass, which is what happened the one time I did check it....). I use a reunion blues continental gig bag, with the bass thoroughly bubble wrapped inside. Its light enough to carry around airports and sturdy enough to survive being gate checked if push comes to shove, though I only had to gate check it once or twice  

1 hour ago, ubit said:

And here we can hear the range on a Euro Spector. These basses have a great sound and I still cannot see where you can justify £3000 more for an American one unless you have money to burn.

 

 

I feel like you'll never hear the difference between the basses after the audio has been compressed to hell uploading to YouTube. The only way you can make proper judgement on any basses sound IMO is to play one for yourself and then decide either way. I had the chance to play a euro 4 and an NS-5XL back to back and I thought the HAZ preamp was a big step up in sound quality from the tonepump fitted to the Euro. I think you've more or less answered your own question on whether a new NS-2 is worth it a few posts back when you felt you couldn't justify spending more than £1500 on any bass.

I would have pegged you as a Fafner sort of character @Dood, but this amp does sound great! Is there any possibility of seeing how your Shukers sound through this rig?

I've nothing against slap, my first bass hero was Mark King  I don't really slap much anymore these days but its a lot of fun to work on from time to time and there are some bassists doing incredible things using slap (Alain Caron and Henrik Linder are two that spring immediately to mind). What I do hate is the Clutterbucks of the bass world slapping incessantly throughout the duration of a trade show about a thousand DB louder the anyone else around them. The last bass show I went to was the last bass day in Manchester and my ears were bleeding after being around the trade stands.

I had the pleasure of playing this bass way back in 2013 at the NE bash (I think it had only just been completed if memory serves @rk7 ?!) and remember it being a beautiful instrument. Im so happy for you that the guys at overwater were able to pull this off for you, I know I would be devastated if I could no longer play my main bass anymore! Fantastic result all round! Out of interest, what is it exactly that you prefer about the overwater circuit versus the East unit? purely out of curiosity as I swear by Johns U-Retro unit!  

Very subjective but I would have had Nate Watts, Stuart Zender, John Myung and Janek Gwizdala on the list

It depends what you're going for with your sound. I really love the midrange growl and warmth I get from the wenge neck on my warwick, something that seems to be absent on most maple necks ive played, so much so that whenever I play my precision (maple/maple) It takes a minute before im comfortable with the sound. If I were you I would be patient and go with the wenge neck every time

01 Ever played a gig sitting down?

Yes, when I injured my left shoulder back in 2008  had to gig sat down for 2 months

02 Ever gigged on a different instrument?

Yes, I play trumpet/flugelhorn as well as bass

03 Ever shared a stage with a musical hero of yours?

Unfortunately not!

04 Any fan ever had a tatoo of your band's logo?

No

05 Ever signed an autograph in a dressing room?

No

06 Ever cried on stage?

Yes, when I was a musical director for Carnival Cruises in the states, we organised a Michael Jackson tribute set that happened to fall on the anniversary of his death. Closing the set with Man in the Mirror was an emotional moment for the whole band

07 Ever worn a hat on stage?

Yes

08 Ever gigged with a band you hadn't met before the gig?

Yes, its a regular occurrence when you work freelance!

09 Ever been in a relationship with a fellow band member?

No

10 Ever played in different bands on the same day?

IIRC ive gigged with 3 different bands on the same day

11 Ever had anything thrown at you while playing?

No

12 Ever crashed on the way to the gig?

No

13 Ever left a band over the choice of set list?

No

14 Ever slept in the venue despite it not being a hotel?

No

15 Ever been supported by a band clearly better than you?

Absolutely

16 Ever played a gig suffering from some debilitating medical condition?

I have asthma and eczema but I don't consider either really debilitating 

17 Ever been in a band where the guitarist was your favourite bandmate?

Yes

18 Ever played in the grounds of a stately home?

Yes

19 Ever injured yourself on stage?

No

20 Ever been told that your bass isn't loud enough?

Yes, had an MD once that was adamant that I always played too loud despite audience members repeatedly saying turn the bass up

3 hours ago, Kiwi said:

I sold it to LucOry just before I left the UK.  It had 14mm string spacing at the bridge which was a challenge to play.  Otherwise a fantastic sounding bass but I kept thinking about Ned Steinberger admitting he wished he had put out something like the M series before the L.  I haven't missed it.

In terms of timbre and feel, yes I guess so.  I thought it would be easy to achieve once the recipe was right.  But there's more than one recipe and so much seems to depend on getting access to the right woods and using them in the right places.
 

 

Do you feel as though you're getting closer at least? is there any specific player who has your ideal sound that I could listen to to get an idea of exactly where you're going? aside from all that, hope you're keeping well through the current shitshow Kiwi

On 28/03/2020 at 05:31, Kiwi said:

The Shuker is a great bass.  Although after playing @Dood's 6 stringer in 2015, I actually preferred his to mine.  At the time I spec'd mine, I asked Jon to use my Smith BSR6 as the template.  If I were to spec the bass again I would have gone for three pieces of wenge with a few stringers of flame maple in the neck and maybe an ebony or richlite fingerboard and 15mm string spacing, with the neck profile of Dood's bass.   Also my bass has needed a lot of time to bed in because of how dense the maple is in the neck.  So now it sounds a little mellower sounding now than it did after it first came into my possession.  Given I have had it in storage since 2015, perhaps it has mellowed further.

But regardless, it has a piano like tone which I'm sure would appeal immensely to some players.  It's also superbly made and I guess I've learned quite a bit about wood and construction from it.  The bass I made for myself since, under Jon's expert supervision, is a load closer to what I've been looking for but even then there are things I would change.  It's proving to be an expensive journey.

expensive indeed, you seem to have something incredibly specific in mind when it comes to the sound of your bass

Great Idea!

Its been a long while since I posted anything but that should hopefully be changing within the next month or so after I finish working on my current item from the to-do list!

On 09/10/2016 at 04:27, Kiwi said:

Nearly a year since I posted in this thread. Guess it's about time for an update.

Farewell to the Steinberger XL25A, the tobacco burst Spector and the 1975 Jazz. Lovely basses but I couldn't play them and they were just surplus to my forseeable requirements.

Hello instead to..."one I made earlier".
[attachment=229532:IMG_1082.JPG]

If you haven't seen the build thread, the specs are:

• Moses MB145 graphite Steinberger neck
• Semi hollow body from mahogany with quilted maple front and flamed sycamore rear carved tops
• Custom Armstrong humbuckers with coil splits
• Noll 3 band parametric eq
• Custom hidden headless bridge arrangement with ebony/rosewood bridge cover.
  

There were a few extra parts needed to make this bass playable which are still on their way and it needs a decent set up.

I've also "invested" (ie. spent more than I expected to) in some pedals.

Future Impact bass synth pedal
[attachment=229530:Future Impact cut out.png]

Bought as a replacement to my Deep Impact which was becoming worn out with use. While 100 presets are available I wonder why. I've still found the first 10 Deep Impact presets to be the most useful.

Empress 3 band Parametric Eq
[attachment=229529:Empress para cut out.png]

I bought this to give an extra boost to a narrow range of snarly mids. The sort of thing a decent wenge and maple neck might provide too.

Incoming: FEA Labs dual band optical compressor
[attachment=229531:FEA DBCL.png]

They're currently selling every unit they make - it's based on Trace Elliot's Dual Band compressor which I've always admired, but with higher spec components. Guitar wise, I've sold the sunburst MSG to a BC member and the Klein-berger is awaiting a replacement tuning knob but is otherwise complete.

out of interest @Kiwi, did you finally get the shuker to the point of being happy with the sound?

Its been a long time since ive played live prog but I always took a deep breath before we played Metropolis Pt.1 by Dream Theater, mainly for the unison section at the end of the instrumental

On 06/03/2020 at 09:23, Silvia Bluejay said:

Been GASsing for a new bass of late, so I was having a look at specs on websites. When it's given, weight is almost always expressed in pounds, while nut width and string spacing at the bridge are always in millimetres. Fingerboard radius and scale are usually expressed in inches, unless you're Thomann, in which case it's mm again.

Pretty damn confusing, whether you grew up metric - as I did - or Imperial.

Are you thinking a new Warwick Bluejay??

My main bass is a Warwick streamer LX6 which weighs in around 11.5 pounds (5.2kg). It doesn't feel particularly heavy to me, something I largely attribute to being a competitive powerlifter. If you're used to feeling 130kg (squats) and above across your upper back, a 5.2kg bass isn't heavy.

17 minutes ago, chrisgriff said:

Would you like me to let her in case anything has changed?

if you wouldn't mind! I've recently stopped having a regular band to play in away from my freelance work so am looking for something new!

On 04/02/2020 at 22:07, chrisgriff said:

Found someone now ! 

damn, was just about to post that I'm available!

9 hours ago, geoham said:

@funkypenguin It looks like the attachments or links to these files is broken - I think it's related to the upgrade that was done a couple of years ago. Do you still have the original files?

By the way - I love your tone in that video!

1 hour ago, donkelley said:

Id love to have those transcription pdfs too please - but the links are no longer in the original threads from 2012.  it says "[attachment..]" but nothing there that I could right click and download.

 

Could you please post them somewhere offsite and put a link here, or just PM both of us so we can send our direct email to you or something?

 

Thanks so much!

No worries guys, I still have both in PDF form. Be advised that they're in sheet music form, not TAB! PM me your email addresses and I'll send them over

I have 2 Patitucci transcriptions posted here, Tone Poem and Heart Of The Bass. Tone Poem isn't too tricky, Heart Of The Bass is a different animal. I also transcribed a solo version of Meditations, which unfortunately doesn't exist on YouTube anymore! I don't have a full transcription for this unfortunate but the video is pretty clear  

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