neepheid

Not quite as impressive a feat, but I got by with an 80W amp (Trace Elliot BLX-80) yesterday, on a lorry trailer. DI-ed into the PA. Thankfully it wasn't the full band - I was up against keys, vocals, guitar, 2 djembes, a violin and a flute so it wasn't too bad on stage. The amp was cranked right up, of course

As I've opined on here a few times before, I have never been in a shop with any inspiring bass gear in it (admittedly I have never visited a specialist bass shop). Seriously - a five minute look around and then out. I used to play a game with my wife when we used to go into one of the (now defunct - [i]quelle surprise[/i]) music shops in Aberdeen - "bet I can name 3 basses that are still on the wall from the last time we were in". More often than not, I could. I find music shops (up here anyway) to be as much use as a chocolate fireguard - trying to be everything to everyone, as long as you're a guitarist (or like Fender basses). I will shed no tears when they eventually wither and die because they cannot compete and they cannot evolve within the constraints they find themselves in. It's not their fault, but it's the way it is. I have no time for rose-tinted nostalgia for a time when you had no choice but be held to ransom through the circumstances of the day by your local music shop. We are better informed than ever, we have a wealth of product information available to us, we have the widest choice of products ever to choose from. I'm not sure where a little local shop with limited buying power, limited storage space and limited display space fits into all that. Sorry, little local shops, but you're just no use to me, my forward planning (I always have spare strings, batteries, cables and sundries - procured online well in advance of their requirement) and my somewhat esoteric tastes in equipment.

Chill, it's only been one evening since you posted, and a Saturday evening at that - a lot of people gig on a Sat night, and I would think at this time of the morning they would be catching up on sleep. I don't use a compressor so I can't comment. So I didn't

Try a grippy strap first.

Loosen the spare grub screw on the saddle in question (not the front two used for saddle height, the one at the back right of the saddle). Manually move the groove to the desired position. Tighten the grub screw. Watch out that the groove doesn't move back as you tighten it, there's a tendency for that to happen.

[quote name='4 Strings' timestamp='1340374976' post='1703630'] We're all terrified of making any sort of change to our instruments nowadays. Not sure why, I don't think its only tied up resale value. We seem to think the wood used for a guitar has been somehow blessed by the angel Fender and is now sacred. Even down to a pickguard screw. Guitars are cheaper but we're more materialistic. [/quote] I think that there has been a downturn in modding because there is so much variety now, you can probably find the exact bass you want without having to buy something like it then mod it to suit. I don't mod basses much these days because I think they're just fine the way they are. The only modded one I own now is my G&L Tribute L-2000, and that's a reversible, do no harm mod as it's just a replaced switch and a wiring change. Furthermore, it was worth it because it unlocked a setting not normally available which I happen to think is the nicest sounding one (single inner coils in parallel). There is an element of preserving future value, I won't deny it. But have you seen some of the abortions of stripped and ronsealed P basses from back in the day? Seemed like a good idea at the time? D'oh! Perhaps you have seen how my Gibson Victory Artist arrived - horrible blue refin, silver hammerite on the pickguard, push button mounted in the battery cover which cuts off the battery (which you can't help pressing when playing), and to cap it all off - a "roasted" neck, but done with a blowtorch instead of an oven. So I "unmodded" it. Now it's probably worthless, but to me it's priceless.

Thanks for the kind words, guys

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1340302423' post='1702653'] I haven't seen one of these in a looooong looooong time.... [url="http://www.chicagomusicexchange.com/bass/fender/other/fender-starcaster-bass-natural-1975/"]The Fender Starcaster.[/url] Apparently only two remain in existence. [/quote] Away with you, naysayers! Burning basses? It's a sin! This is possibly the nicest looking Fender bass of all time. I'm pretty far from being rich enough to even consider it though

Anything's possible. Whether or not it's worth it is another thing. Let's look at the obstacles (and I assume you're talking about introducing a 34" scale Epi EB-3 neck to an Epi EB-0 body. 1) The EB-3 neck is a set neck, so even if you were able to procure one sans body, it would have a tenon ready for glueing rather than a heel which will fit in the EB-0 neck pocket. So you will either have to fill in the neck pocket, or bulk out the heel of the neck to make 'em fit. 2) The EB-0 is indeed short scale and while it looks like the bridges are in a similar position on the EB-0 vs. EB-3 (the fact that there are a few extra frets on the EB-3 neck means that it's the nut that moves relative to bridge if you interchange the necks) there's no guarantee that it's in the right place. The amount of effort that this would take, especially if you have to get someone to do this for you would likely outstrip the cost of simply procuring an Epi EB-3 second hand.

Stock, they're passable. I played my first proper gig with one You'd use one in preference to not doing the gig at all. A Musicmaster player will be familiar with much of it (6 pole piece strat pickup under solid cover, 2 saddle bridge), but the tuners will be a bit more flimsy than those on the Musicmaster. A lot of people change the pickup for a rail pickup (cool/hot rails). I've had 2 pass by me, one I modded with a lipstick strat sized pickup and the other I had a Fender '51 P (single coil) pickup put in. If you can find one second hand for a decent price, look for a Squier Vista series Musicmaster. 4 saddle bridge, through body stringing, 4 pole piece pickup similar to a single coil P, matching headstock, decent tuners. Also remember that Squier have recently come out with a veritable feast of shorties - the VM Mustang and the VM Jaguar Special in addition to the Bronco.

Those replacement Schaller M4S tuners look so out of place and gigantic with reference to the headstock shape/size. There would have been banjo tuners (buttons at the back of the headstock) on this initially. Something a bit smaller (like a Gotoh GB7 size) would have been so much better, but I suppose it depends on when the mod was made.

[quote name='uncle psychosis' timestamp='1340146874' post='1700130'] Turned into an interesting thread. I guess my problem is that I don't like to "collect" instruments. I see them as (pretty) tools and feel a bit guilty if I don't use them. Especially if they're expensive- would rather have a holiday or money in my sons' university fund than an instrument gathering dust! [/quote] What makes you think that a "collection" automatically means "instrument(s) gathering dust"? All mine get played on a fairly regular rotation because I like them all. If they don't get played, they get sold.

Which cab is it you're looking for that isn't available in a 4 ohm 2x10?

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1340128152' post='1699644'] So, not fancy a trip from Aberdeen? [/quote] I'd love to, but I have a gig on Saturday afternoon at still to be decided time. Have a good one!

I don't care because 1) it's a Jazz, 2) it's a mess and 3) it's a Jazz

Well, that's me told! Would it really go as green as all that? Sorry for accusing people of making stuff up, I am a hot-headed bad person

[quote name='Chris Horton' timestamp='1340110525' post='1699209'] Here is a link to a rather rare colour Epiphone newport bass - [url="http://oliviasvintageguitars.com/bass/guitars/2027/"]http://oliviasvintag...s/guitars/2027/[/url] [/quote] I would have thought that is Inverness Green. Pelham Blue goes a more jade-like colour over time. What is this "Pacific Blue" they speak of? I really wish people would stop making stuff up. Picture from [url="http://home.provide.net/~cfh/gibsonc.html"]http://home.provide.net/~cfh/gibsonc.html[/url]

OK you scamps, here's a very advance sneak preview, simply for hearing the bass. Please don't pass it around because it isn't finished. I really hope the chopped start is just a mistake when the guy exported this MP3 for us [url="http://www.ifb.co.uk/~matthew/mp3/oxbow/recordings20120616/The%20Oxbow%20Lake%20Band%20-%20Boy%20Angus%20is%20a%20Dreamer.mp3"]http://www.ifb.co.uk/~matthew/mp3/oxbow/recordings20120616/The%20Oxbow%20Lake%20Band%20-%20Boy%20Angus%20is%20a%20Dreamer.mp3[/url] Funny when you're recording you get to use settings that you normally wouldn't live. The Victory Artist is set to use both pickups, a setting I consider to be way too "smooth" for live use, +2 on the bass and flat on the treble. Live it would likely be +2 on bass and treble and probably front pickup only.

Sorry for the thread revival, but evidence of long term usage (and success or failure) is important considering we're at the "it might blow up in a week or the first time you really crank it" price point. I thought that I would report on a very successful studio recording session using the RedSub combo. Captured what I think sounds pretty good with the Gibson Victory Artist using a combination of DI and mic'ing up the combo. A tickle of bass boost, a tickle of treble boost, a small low mid boost on the EQ, colour off, contour at about 1 o' clock. Some overdubs/mixing still to be done, but will share the results once I have them. The more I use mine, the happier I get with it. I'm off this weekend to Portsoy to play a few tunes with some of the band (acoustic thing) and the combo will be perfect for that. The weekend after that, it's a big pub gig and I doubt I'll have PA support, so I'll have to bring the noise. So this thing does: band rehearsal (combo), bass lessons (combo), little gigs (combo), big gigs (hooked up to bigger cab), recording and general amplification (watching films on my laptop with busted speakers, some tunes when I was painting the bedroom). Err, that's everything covered, isn't it? Oh, and the unusual smell I reported on back when I got it has mostly gone away. Either that or I've got used to it

Heh, Mad Hatters is ace, really enjoyed it when we played there back in April. Just mind out for that curfew - I got shut out of the place when I nipped outside to phone my wife after the gig and had to ask very nicely to be allowed back in to get my stuff

[quote name='grenadilla' timestamp='1339949377' post='1696636'] That EPI Newport has a medium 32" scale. In the video it isn't plugged in; could be another bass on the recording... [/quote] That's unusual, because all the rest of them are 30.5" scale

[quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1339929340' post='1696311'] I've never understood the point of a 4Ω cab unless the amp's min load is 2Ω or the cab is unlikely to need doubled up. [/quote] I use a 4ohm 4x10 cab. I fall into the second category you mention. I have no need for a second cab. I don't want to humph more than one cab of this bulk to a gig, I think that's a pretty stupid thing to do considering the size of venues that I play (and suppose I ever will play for the forseeable future). The point is that it's plenty loud enough and shifts plenty enough air for my needs. My head is 500W. My cab handles 1200W. It also means that I'm cool with sharing my rig if it makes the gig go smooth. Go on, max the amp if you like, I don't give a toss

The HA3500 is a fantastic head. I'm really bad a describing sound, but it always seemed really "precise" in the sense that you feel that you're getting out what you put in. Modern sounding but without being soulless. I don't know how much good that single valve preamp does over purely solid state, but I always used mine 75% valve, 25% SS without really questioning why. The only reason I don't use mine any more is that I've downsized and upscaled at the same time (smaller, lighter unit, but more power) as a consequence of buying what started out as a purchase for a particular type of gig rapidly turning into something approaching a panacea (combo with removable head). But I won't have a bad word said against the HA3500 - the sound with all the controls flat is great (something its usurper can't claim!) and it doesn't take much twiddling to get what you want. If you present it with a 4 ohm cab (or cabs adding up to 4 ohms) then you'll have plenty grunt for a good while. Can't tell you anything about the cabs though, never tried one.

Nice job. I would just like to clarify that I know very well what the EMG-HB sounds like, I was referring to the other two as having no knowledge. The EMG-HB is an EMG-35P4 in a guitar humbucker sized enclosure, so it's basically 2 split rails in a P bass configuration. It's loud, if somewhat clean, modern and to people who prefer the passive way of life, probably a bit sterile and lacking in grit/growl/inexactness. It certainly kicks butt in terms of output across the frequency spectrum, but it won't sound anything like any Thunderbird out there (except possibly the Epi Pro T-bird which I have tried - the EMG guts blow that out of the water but take the "activeness" of the sound that bit further). If you don't want it to sound anything like a Thunderbird should then go for it. I wasn't looking to make my Les Paul sound like anything other than a great bass - which it was, and I kinda miss it. You should have seen the looks of disgust on my bass playing peers at my Les Paul (yuck, that looks like a guitar) turn to first surprise and then happiness when they actually had a go of it

[quote name='Ou7shined' timestamp='1339936972' post='1696437'] The scary side of active basses that don't have a passive option. [/quote] Indeed, I only have one purely active bass now (RD Artist) and due to its ridiculous complexity if it breaks then I reckon I'll have to take it to the electrical engineering department at my work or cry or probably both