Mornats

I went for Rotosound Trubass black nylon strings for my fretless. You can get quite a decent double-bass type sound out of them but you can still hear a bit of the growl that flatwounds give you too although they tend to be more double-bassey than fretless-bassey in sound. I used these on a couple of tracks in my soundcloud link in my sig (Dragging Deep, Vampires and Dopey Little Dippy) if you want to check out the sound. They currently on a 1988 Bass Collection SB320 fretless with what I think may be Bartolini pickups (the original owner replaced the SGC electronics).

This is brilliant, thanks for posting it! I particularly like how you've explained what each cut or boost is doing - very helpful.

Nice one Gaz, will keep an eye out for them!

Thanks for your suggestions everyone! My first thought is to agree that I should ideally look at another Bass Collection. I've been a fan of them since I bought an SB301 new in 1994 (£320 I think it was, pearl white, passive, an absolute beauty but I sold it years ago). I've got a 5 string and a fretless Bass Collection which I love but my "main go-to" bass is my 4 string Dean Hillsboro Single which, despite having a lovely nice flat smooth neck, simply doesn't sound anywhere near as nice as my BCs. I do quite fancy treating myself to a really nice new bass, somewhere in the £400-900 range. Not that I want to spend that much but if price is an indicator of quality, and I know this isn't always the case, then that's what I'm aiming for. I think I'll have a go of a few Ibanez's to see what they're like. I've always passed them over when in guitar shops as I think I see them more as a budget brand (as they do some great budget instruments). I wouldn't mind finding out a bit more about your son's bass Tex Gore. Where are you based incidentally? I'm based in Bristol but can travel if needed. Being a big fan of Geddy Lee, the Geddy Lee Jazz is tempting but I've never liked Fenders. They're the Ford Focus of the bass world - great at what they do, a genuine industry standard but they're common as muck and nothing about them stands out. I'm not aiming to sound like a session bassist and that's all I think of when I hear them. Truly boring shape too in my opinion! (Apologies to Fender fans! I do actually appreciate their quality though.) Thanks again!

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='1338269' date='Aug 12 2011, 10:50 PM']Do you play Scrabble? [/quote] Not since I got caught cheating... hehe.

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='1338108' date='Aug 12 2011, 07:47 PM']Sorry mate, but Bass Collection were made by SGC Nanyo ...[/quote] Bah, I hoped no one would pick up on that... At least I've got A, S, G, C, N and D now... or is that cheating still?

I love the rhythm/feel of F U Leon. That's a really nice tune and refreshingly different. You're based in Bristol too? So am I! Would love to know if you're gigging sometime soon, I'd love to hear that track live.

There's a very nice Senseless Things type of sound/feel going on there which I really like. What's the "donation basis" all about? Music like this should be paid for!

[quote name='merello' post='1337318' date='Aug 12 2011, 10:08 AM']I'll alpha bet you never do![/quote] Way due a "lol" for that. I'm just at A, B and D (Aria Pro II, Bass Collection x3 and Dean Hillsboro). At least they're close together...

I absolutely love the old SGC Nanyo Bass Collections, largely due to their superb playability and that awesomely thin neck. I've got a bit of GAS for a brand new bass and was wondering if anyone knows of a bass that has a similarly sized/shaped neck as the Bass Collections. Ideally I'm hoping that someone has played a BC and can offer a true comparison. Muchos gracias!

+1 for Reaper. I've just made the switch from GarageBand to Reaper (as the latest OSX update killed GarageBand's ability to record...). Their trial never expires which gives you plenty of time to test it fully before buying the very reasonably priced (i.e. it's a steal) licence fee. However, there's a lot to be said for GarageBand's simplicity plus there's the added bonus of moving up to Logic (Express or Pro) and being able to import your tracks (which you can't do so easily in Reaper). Either of these programs gives you a very cheap / free way to try them out and see which one you prefer. Audio interface wise, I've been more than happy with my Native Instruments Guitar Rig Session (sadly discontinued but they have a Guitar Rig Mobile out now for around £80-100 I think but I can't vouch for it). It comes with Guitar Rig LE which gives me a lot of amp and effects options. It's USB and I've noticed no lag whatsoever on my Mac or PC when using it but there's nothing wrong with going for Firewire. If you want some virtual instruments go and download the free Kore Player set from Native Instruments. You get 600MB of some decent instruments to use plus you do what I did and find a copy of Komplete 7 Elements for around £45 to add more (note that there's 2 version - Komplete Elements and Komplete 7 Elements. The "7" version has 9GB of samples compared with 3GB for the later version without the "7" in the title. I got mine from decks.co.uk). Play around with the free ones first to see if you like them. Look out for Independence Free (from IK Multimedia iirc) as this is another free virtual instrument collection. For drums I can recommend EZ Drummer at around £80. All of my tracks at [url="http://www.soundcloud.com/mornats"]www.soundcloud.com/mornats[/url] use EZ Drummer. Most of all, have fun recording, I'm finding it a fantastic way to learn as I can listen back to my tracks and work out where I'm going wrong (or right!).

I've only been recording my bass for 4 months or so now and have used GarageBand almost exclusively for it. I just like the price (free with a Mac! Or £8.99 for the latest version if you don't have iLife) and the simplicity of it. It does everything I need (for now) and just lets me get on with making music. I'll likely outgrow it at some point I'm sure but for now, it rocks. However, I do think about whether I'm missing out by sticking with GarageBand. What would you say the added benefits of Reason/Record are over GarageBand? I usually record one instrument at a time, mainly my bass and sometimes a lead guitar and I use virtual instruments for drums (EZDrummer) and other things (Komplete Elements, Session Strings etc.). I spend a fair bit of time mixing each track together and applying any effects that are needed (reverb, chorus etc.). I did notice that if you buy either Reason or Record 5 now then you get a free upgrade to Reason 6 which seems a fair deal...

I've got 2 Bass Collections and owned a third from new back in the 90's. I got my current two both from Ebay, a 5 string (either a 315 or 405, can't tell) for £165 plus postage and my beauty of a fretless SB320 for £200 (I just hit the buy it now as it looked so darn gorgeous!). So I think £200 for that is a bit much. I think you'll be able to find a better example for £200 on Ebay if you're patient, they do come on fairly regularly. However, saying that, it's got the P pickups upgraded to EMGs which must have cost around £80 or so. But they certainly are really nice and lightweight. I'm of a small build (really puny in fact!!) and find the Bass Collections to be perfect in weight and balance.

I've only just started recording stuff too and whilst admittedly I'm quite good around computers I didn't find it all too daunting. I use a MacBook Pro for work and my boss is kind enough to let me use it for recording at home so I use Garageband (it came free with the Mac and it's just so simple to use) and a Native Instruments Guitar Rig Session I/O to record my bass. That's pretty much it for the basics although I've expanded into getting EZ Drummer to lay down some drum tracks and Komplete 7 Elements for synths and other sounds and also Session Strings just because I love cinematic music and like to have a play with some strings I use a midi keyboard to play all of the virtual instruments. I've had a look at Reaper and it looks pretty decent. I may swap from Garageband and use Reaper as I can then transfer files between my Mac and PC. I would definitely buy it, it's real cheap and I really support their avoidance of DRM and their "trustware" attitude. The main problem that had me stumped when I first started recording was forgetting that I need to tell the DAW (Garageband/Reaper) to use the audio interface as the soundcard but once I got rid of my "duh" moment everything just fell into place.

Yeah, I had a listen to the sound demos on their website and wasn't that impressed really. I prefer the sound of the EZ Drummer drums by far.

+1 for EZ Drummer. I use that with the Funkmasters expansion (and I've just ordered the Classics expansion too). All tracks on my Soundcloud page use EZ Drummer: [url="http://www.soundcloud.com/mornats"]www.soundcloud.com/mornats[/url]. I've not tried any other drums other than the Abbey Road 60's Drums Vintage which came with Komplete 7 Elements (and even then, not in a track) so can't compare them to others. You can buy drum midi tracks from Toontrack themselves (the EZ Drummer guys) or from other places. [url="http://www.groovemonkee.com"]www.groovemonkee.com[/url] have some good sets fairly cheap and you can download their free sample pack which is quite cool. I'm off to check out the Steven Slate drums, they look quite interesting...

I've been keen to try out a Warwick Streamer 4 LX and the Rockbass version of it but can't find anywhere that stocks them. A +1 to the stock requirements thing: I asked a local dealer about stocking Warwicks and he said they insisted that dealers had to stock their amps too and he didn't rate the amps at all and refused to sell them. Another local dealer also mentioned the £20-30 grand up-front cost of stocking them too. Real shame as the Streamer 4 LX ticks a lot of the boxes for me (jazz style/thin neck, natural wood look, small body, P/J pickup setup) so on paper is a good contender but the proof of the pudding as they say, is in the playing of the thing.

I wrote that first reply on my iphone but I'm on my PC now so can say a bit more If you go with Komplete, try and get Komplete 7 Elements rather than Komplete Elements. The "7" version has a LOT more sounds include the best of Absynth which is a great collection of atmospheric sounds. Decks.co.uk are selling it at £40 (it used to retail at £80 ish) and it's a much better pack than the newer "non-7" version. Plus you get a €50 voucher to spend in the Native Instruments online store (I used it as part payment towards Session Strings, a pretty good orchestra plugin which costs €100). Actually now that I think about it, they do a free version of Komplete so you can try it out: grab the Kontakt 4 player (and the others too whilst you're at it) from here [url="http://www.native-instruments.com/#/en/products/?category=1339"]http://www.native-instruments.com/#/en/pro.../?category=1339[/url]. I'll have to check whether there are any decent strings in Komplete 7 Elements but it has more than enough sounds to get really creative and is an absolute bargain. If the free Kontakt 4 player works in Cakewalk (which it should) then Komplete will too. You can get cheaper keyboards, for example there's an Akai one that costs £40 but it only has 25 keys. Enough to have a play but someone advised me to get a 49 key keyboard (and recommended the keyrig 49) and the extra octaves available are worth it as it makes it much easier to play stuff. If I can get a recording done using the gear I mentioned I'll post it up so you can get an idea of what it all can do. Hope this helps!

I use an m-audio keyrig 49 midi keyboard (£85 or so from www.dv247.com) and Komplete 7 Elements (£40 from www.decks.co.uk) for synth (and loads of other sounds). The keyboard plugs into your computer via USB and Komplete runs from your DAW. Best bang per buck imo. Is this setup in your price range? I can provide more info if needed, just yell!

I ended up ordering some GHS bass boomers (30, 45, 65, 80, 100) from StringsDirect.co.uk (2nd set I've ordered from them and both times the strings turned up next day). The packet said they fit 34, 35 and 36" scale basses and they fit mine perfectly with some to spare too. These were the longscale ones too (I suspect they're slightly longer due to being made for 5 strings perhaps). I really like the sound, kinda bright (not quite as bright and poppy when slapped/popped as Super Slinkys) but they have a nice low end growl to them too which is interesting.

Thanks guys, it is indeed strung through the bridge so good to know that longscale strings will fit the bill. Those Overwaters are hard to find and the only place I found online selling them didn't do a string with a gauge the right size for a high C. But if any longscale will fit then I can try the GHS Bass Boomers or some D'Addarios as they seem to be sold in singles.

[quote name='BigBeatNut' post='1177315' date='Mar 26 2011, 04:12 PM']I'd really like to know of some drum software that accepts midi-in and has a good selection of built in patterns and kits. Preferably free of course. Tried Hydrogen, but the mac version was so flakey I gave up on it.[/quote] Andy, I use EZdrummer which is around £80 and is usually packaged as a bundle with an extra drum kit (check dv247.com). It comes with pop/rock drums (the default, sounds pretty decent) and a cocktail kit (not all that great). I got the one with the two funk drumkits. You get a good selection of midi loops with it and it can accept any other midi drum tracks. I got some from Groove Monkee for $20 - $30 a pack (but Google for some vouchers or sign up for their newsletter for discount codes, I think june20 is their latest, giving 20% off). They do a sample pack of free loops from all their ranges too: [url="http://www.groovemonkee.com/en/free-midi"]http://www.groovemonkee.com/en/free-midi[/url]. The drums on my track here were done in EZdrummer: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=134193"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=134193[/url]. I use it on a Mac within GarageBand and haven't had any problems. Just shout if you want to know more about it... Here's a link to it on DV247. They have the funkmasters one plus Drumkit From Hell which is more suited to rock/metal: [url="http://www.dv247.com/search/0/0/ProductQuantity/Descending/ezdrummer/1/"]http://www.dv247.com/search/0/0/ProductQua...ng/ezdrummer/1/[/url] Paul