Mornats

[quote name='kodiakblair' timestamp='1424653757' post='2698880'] Result Lee. Just to whet your appetite here's a fella on a Zygote. [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BF-IkdcvFVQ"]https://www.youtube....h?v=BF-IkdcvFVQ[/url] [/quote] Nice video. Shame there's a bit of distortion on the lower frequencies but I love how he goes through the different playing styles in all the pickup combos. It's not doing my GAS any good, especially as I saw a bass playing a Rockinbetter last night that sounded awesome and got me thinking of the Vantage...

You've answered a question I was going to ask this week. I record at 44.1/24bit and started recording at 48khz on the assumption I'd get better quality. I found that most sampled instruments came in at 44.1khz (the movie soundclips that I use certainly are 44.1khz) so some resampling always gets done in Reaper it seems. So I was going to ask about whether sticking to 44.1khz/24bit was worth doing to keep all sample rates the same or whether I should be upping the quality. So I'll stick to 44.1khz for now. (Although for laughs, I may try recording at 192khz and 44.1khz just to compare but my monitors certainly aren't extraordinary by any stretch.) Cheers!

My Yamaha TRBX came with D'addarios which I described once as being "dull from the start, just like dying Bass Boomers". Bass Boomers had a sweet spot that lasted a while for me but I only gigged 45 min sessions every 2-3 weeks at most so I guess that's the same as playing for 2 weeks for most people. Anyway, my Elixir's are great, just how I want a string to sound and last. Weirdly, it wasn't until I got my VM jazz that I wanted a bright string. I'm happy with mine now anyway and I also notice that you sell Elixir's on your site so I'll grab all my future ones from your good self

Yep, I've noticed a big difference in sound quality between recording at the almost-peaking level vs. leaving loads of db of headroom. I wish I'd known this earlier in my recording life!

Wow, thanks! That's one helluva write-up!

I've been a nickel user for, since forever really. When I bought my Squier VM jazz I really liked the brightness of the Fender strings that were on there but they died within a week (maybe they were on for a while in the shop though). I don't usually like bright strings. My favourites were Overwater nickels or GHS Bass Boomers (they're the same string IMO) about 5-7 days after having them on. The initial bright clang would be gone and the slightly worn sound lasted a while before slowly dying off. So when I wanted that bright sound that the Fenders had I tried a set of Elixir steel strings. I'd heard that the nickel ones would sound a bit duller than nickels, which would have suited me earlier actually, but now that I wanted that bright nickel sound I opted for the steels. And they certainly do sound like a set of new nickels and haven't lost any brightness in 4 months so far. They feel nice and smooth too, not like some steels that I had on a bass I bought second hand. Edit: I totally agree with what everyone says about the difference strings can make. If I pick up my Overwater classic jazz with its dead Overwater strings on it then it sounds rubbish compared to my Squier jazz. If I swapped the strings around I'd feel the opposite I'm sure as the Overwater is a great sounding bass.

Fantastic write-ups Dad! Totally looking forward to your next one of course Alyctes: I find it really encouraging listening to everyone's pieces. Any one of us can have a go and it'll sound just as good as this lot. I can't remember if you've entered the comp before but give it bash, it's great fun. And if it turns out that you suck (which you won't) then only you have to hear it

Even with three votes this was hard to choose which ones to vote for. I had 6 or 7 shortlisted... not exactly a "short" list?

[quote name='51m0n' timestamp='1424605289' post='2698143'] Record your practice session such that you can solo the bass part if possible. Listen back critically and evaluate what leaves you underwhelmed in your attempts Figuring out what is actually wrong may require the help of a more experienced player but once you know what to work on and how to work on it you can Until you do this you are just guessing about how you really sound to the rest of the band and the general public IMO [/quote] If I'm practising my band's stuff then I usually load up the recording of it in Reaper, remove the bassline and play along to the recording using headphones. Then I can go back and solo the drums and bass, or just the bass and do this type of critique. It throws up a lot of issues with fingering notes properly and fully. Quite often I use the top of my fingers when I pluck and I get a fairly hollow sound. So after listening to is soloed, I use more flesh in the attack and that helps with getting a fuller deeper note.

[sharedmedia=core:attachments:176135] Here's a size comparison. Entwistle on the left (with sponge attached to the bottom so ignore that bit) and standard Squier jazz pickup on the right.

I got a "deko" Harley Benton uke bass from Thomann and unfortunately it's got a few issues. Some people have been lucky with the deko series but not me. The truss rod doesn't seem to do much and there's some backbow in the neck. This means the E and A strings buzz massively. I've levelled, crowned and polished the frets but it made little difference. The E and A strings are really quiet when plugged in too but this could be a badly seated pickup (as per the FAQ here: http://www.b-band.com/index.php?page=faq). I tried putting a little bit of paper underneath to help push the pickup into the bridge a bit but it's made little difference. So my options are to a) try higher tension strings than the Aquila Thunderguts that came with it to solve the backbow and try again with the pickup seating or strip it down and sell it for parts. Maybe £30 for the pickup/preamp and a tenner for the strings maybe and I'll only a couple of quid down. Any idea whether flatwound strings (for example the ones that come on the Ashbury bass: http://www.hobgoblin.com/local/products/GR35081/ukulele-bass-strings/) are higher tension than the Thunderguts? Or maybe I can try some old roundwounds cut down to size. It looks like it will be an absolute pain to restring it so I'm not keen on trial and error here!

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1424518077' post='2697166'] I thought he only did one-ply "designy" ones... does he do also standard ones? [/quote] Hmm, you know I just assumed he would. Best ping him a note and ask.

[quote name='Kev' timestamp='1424467579' post='2696782'] It really is not that black and white. But this isn't the thread for the conversation so I will leave it here [/quote] Indeed besides, I knew it might not be playable so it's a project now. At the very least I'll learn something.

Oops double post.

Because you're buying goods unseen is why. Perfectly morally acceptable.

Try Tim from Scratch It. He did mine for my customised jazz and it's great: http://www.originalscratchplates.com

Sweet system Leonard!

A lotta love for Squier VMs on here at the moment too if that MIM seemed too expensive.

Amp and speakers for me. Mine are over 24 years old. I got a Rotel RA930AX amp and a pair of custom bi-wired and sealed Tannoy the E11s. I pump my pc soundcard through that, an Asus Xonar Essence STX. I also have a Rega Planar 2 turntable. It all sounds crystal clear to me and nothing else will match it by a long mile.

Might well be mate! The neck is moving a little now that I've adjusted the truss rod so if I can sort that and file the frets it's a winner as an acoustic practice instrument (for the price). If I can fix the volume on the pickup (which should be doable based on the last FAQ here: http://www.b-band.com/index.php?page=faq) then it's all good. Incidentally, those preamps/pickups sell for £70 themselves.

My bass ukulele came today. So that was an order placed at 9.30 on Saturday, shipped and delivered for when I got into the office 9am this morning (Tuesday). That's pretty good. The uke is bigger than I expected. I've put a pic below of it resting against my Squier VM jazz. There's an ever so slight mark on the front of the bass which is barely noticeable. If I'd bought a "proper" version I'd probably not notice it nor would I send it back for that. The A string rattles a lot. I'd call it fret buzz but rubber strings don't buzz, they kinda boing off the frets a bit. The E string is a little like that, and the D and G to a much lesser extent. It came with a truss-rod tool so I tried loosening off the truss rod as there's a bit of back bow on the neck. The neck doesn't seem to be moving at all though. Also 5-6 of the frets are too high up the neck but I've got the tools to fix that. I plugged it in and the D and G strings sound great but you can barely hear the E and A strings. It's not a slight difference, it's a "is it on? oh wait, yes, that's loud" difference when going from the A to the D string. I read about someone having an issue in the reviews of the non-deko ones. A quick read of the B-band website (the pickup/preamp maker) says that an incorrectly sat pickup can do this. So at the moment it's unplayable due to the rattly A string and can't be amped due to the difference in string volumes. At the moment though, I think I can solve these. For £42 delivered it's probably not worth sending back if I think I can turn it into a bit of a project. I could even rip the frets out and turn it fretless. Not sure if that would solve the rattly A string though. Reckon I should try and fix the issues or send it back? I've got the (huge) box it came in at work still but will have to recycle it in the next day or two so I'll need to decide today or tomorrow. Here's the pic: [attachment=184154:DSC_0459.JPG]

[quote name='Truckstop' timestamp='1424106054' post='2692677'] Turn the bass control nearly completely OFF. I did it a year ago and it's changed my life! Much more expressive, cleaner, drier, distinct and there's more room for everything else on stage/in the venue. I can get more volume out of a lower powered amp, low B sounds epic, note clarity is improved, dynamic changes in playing style are enhanced and generally everything is better! I always wondered how to get the sort of tones you always hear on recordings and it's achieved by removing most of the bass! Try it for a couple of weeks and see I you don't think you sound better. [/quote] That's an interesting one. Almost seems counter-intuitive but I'll give that a go next time I've go the combo out in a live situation.

Sorry to add to the GAS but I got a CAR VM jazz last year and bloody love it. I installed a KiOgon wiring harness and Entwistle pickups and yeah, there's a difference but it's not leaps and bounds above the stock setup. The strings died in under a week so I popped my first ever set of steel Elixirs on there and they're doing great. I paid £246 for mine in my local PMT - I tried a couple, and this one was the nicest one for me. I loved the look of the natural one but it was much heavier. Maybe 10-11lbs. Mine weighs in at 8lbs 12oz which is nice. No neck diver either. Oh, and I got a custom pickguard for it. Pic: [url=https://flic.kr/p/pwysEE][/url] Soundclip: https://soundcloud.com/mornats/trains Finally.. sorry for giving anyone GAS!

Thought I'd come back and update you all with my progress. First of all, here's the result (and also my entry for this month's composition challenge): https://soundcloud.com/mornats/trains I DI'ed my MarkBass combo head (essentially a LMIII) into the Focusrite Forte with around 11.5db of headroom - that's a first for me, I used to go as high as I could, straight into the instrument level input with around 1-2db of gain. In Reaper I added the following effects: Blue Cat Audio Gain (Mono) - added 5db of gain. ReaEQ (still my go-to EQ despite having loads) - highpass at around 57hz, slight 0.7db boost at 166hz to fatten up the bottom, a 5db dip at 360hz to clear up some muddiness, a 3.2db boost at 876hz to pull out the top end zing and a lowpass at 9khz. ReaComp - sidechained the kick drum to duck the bass when it hits. Native Instruments Supercharger compressor - 4.4 ratio, with punch and dirt settings ticked. I have to say that the bass sounded awesome when I recorded it. I think the DI at low volume into Reaper was the winner here. I'd never considered my MarkBass to be a kickass DI box before Thanks again everyone!