stringintheshade

It seems like most people on here are into active basses with pre-amps rather than a passive. Forgive my ignorance, but is it simply because they are handier to use rather than twiddling the amp? Or is it that the preamps on a good bass are beautifully matched to the rest of the hardware? I can kind of understand the thinking better on normal guitars. I have a Taylor which has a brilliant preamp and obviously with an acoustic, playing with an external mic is a nightmare. And I have a Strat and I couldn't imagine putting a preamp in that. All generalisations, I know, but pls enlighten me why bassists like their actives more than guitarists do

If you're miffed by f1.2 @ 1600 then you're not going to fare well unless your in control of the lighting desk and substantially up the watts for the duration. Avoid framing it surrounded with audience darkness; fill the frame with a well lit stage and you'll notice the noise a lot less.

True; you can catch starlight from zillions of miles away with that. The fact it can go so high means that @ 3200 or 4800, it's substantially less noisy than others. You're absolutely right about a fast lens. Going from eg 3.5 to 2.8 is the same in terms of light captured as going from eg 800 to 1600. But, and it's a big but, you'll have to watch out for depth of field. An f2 or f1.8 lens is going to be very shallow, so you're focusing has to be spot on with not much between your frontman & drummer. An f1.2 could be virtually unusable unless it's set to infinity.

[quote name='Killerfridge' post='1333249' date='Aug 9 2011, 09:48 AM']I've found the FlipHDs don't cope with low-light particularly well[/quote] Totally agree - the Flips are great in daylight but pretty rubbish in the dark. If you can, I'd go for sthg like a Nikon D7000 with lens opened up, but switch focus to manual. The main thing here is high ISO - the D7000 hits 25600.

[quote name='noelk27' post='1336880' date='Aug 11 2011, 07:16 PM']Ardour is a solid package, although not exceptional. It has suffered with a number of significant limitations[/quote] I'd disagree, I think it [i]is[/i] exceptional. I've spent a fair amount of time on ProTools before this. For me, Ardour's been running perfectly for a long while; I have it on Linux with an M-Audio 1010LT. Ardour 3 is in Alpha and is looking great, too, but there's no reason not to jump right in and use it now. As you say, it's free, if you want it that way. I happen to be a subscriber. If your searching for a new DAW on a Mac/Linux platform, you'd be crazy not to spin it up.

[quote name='noelk27' post='1335844' date='Aug 10 2011, 10:41 PM']but doing my final mixing using a relative newcomer, Harrison's Mixbus.[/quote] Mixbus is a branch of Ardour [url="http://ardour.org/node/3011"]http://ardour.org/node/3011[/url] Use Ardour and you've got the same thing, minus the Harrison DSPs. I get along fine with the army of DSPs that come with Ardour itself. It's worth noting that Harrison chose Ardour as their foundation. Their consoles are truly world class. You'd have to question why anyone would go the Logic or ProTools route starting from scratch when there's stuff like Ardour around.

[quote name='patch006' post='1333322' date='Aug 9 2011, 10:40 AM']Create and write tunes. Create backing tracks so I can perform live. Record rehersals with my band.[/quote] I recommend Ardour - it's utterly fantastic [url="http://ardour.org/"]http://ardour.org/[/url] It's open source and subscription based. I'm a devoted fan. As with anything, there's a learning curve but you may as well devote your learning to a proper DAW like Ardour rather than Garage Band.

I'm settling into my black Classic J. A real pleasure to pick up, it's effortless and versatile. I can't see myself ever needing another bass

[quote name='ead' post='1295393' date='Jul 6 2011, 11:18 PM']I'm not sure. I asked OW for some guidance and was advised that a PDF to explain the EQ system would appear on the website but I've not seen it yet.[/quote] If you look at the 18 min vid on YouTube, yer man twiddles with them to set them up someway through the vid. IIRC they just set the overall level for each pup. He turns them anticlockwise fully then each one clockwise equally.

[quote name='Doctor J' post='1294324' date='Jul 6 2011, 09:07 AM']"But Fender never made that in the 70's, Chip" "It doesn't matter, Chad, just get Brad in marketing on the phone"[/quote] Exactly. I think it's called nostalgia. It's an invented 70s. Like Velvet Goldmine or any other number of stylised 70s representations. We know it wasn't really like that. Much grimmer, like those 1976 TOTP reruns on at the mo'. Every decade eventually gets reinvented by those who weren't there.

Now with 10x reduced image MB having just read the thread about server space I was about to grab a Squier VM before this popped up. Glad I did, even though I pushed my budget a bit. Having the P/J pups makes it much more versatile which is just what I wanted. It's a passive, but even so, the signal seems very quiet. Doesn't bother me as I'm generally going straight into an M-Audio card. Not helped with the action / height of pups so I'll try tweaking about a bit. Very pretty in all its infinite blackness

Just got my OW/T Classic J and there was something rattling around the innards. I whipped off the control plate to sort it out; luckily it was only a spare scratchplate screw rolling around. If it was an active bass, I'd have been worried about something shorting. There was a good pinch of authentic poplar sawdust in there, too, so it looks like electronics are done in the near vicinity of the joinery jigs. It's a beautiful looking instrument. Sounds A1, though the action as set is a tad high for my liking so I'll be going about that next. Thought someone might like to see the innards revealed. l-r vol, pup, tone. The smaller middle pot moves you from P to J pup but has the bigger knob.

An update is due. It was a toss up between: Yamaha RBX 270 and a bit of work on upgrading Squier VM Jazz I really really liked a used Squier I played in a shop round the corner and very nearly went for it. The Yamaha route was tempting but seems like too much DIY at the moment. But then a latecomer came into the equation which I ended up getting: Overwater Tanglewood Classic J Overwater's P&J pups did it for me in the end, together with Overwater's reputation & apparent attention to detail. And many years ago when I was hunting for my first guitar, it was nearly a Tanglewood acoustic; I've always been impressed by their value & build quality. I don't need the active stuff as I'm going straight into a PC 95% of the time. The Overwater is 2nd hand by a few weeks and should turn up in a couple of days & I'll let you know how I get on.

[quote name='TRBboy' post='1280153' date='Jun 23 2011, 08:54 PM'][url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=121667&hl=best+%A3200+bass+ever"]Best £200 bass ever![/url] If you check out my thread there, I bought one in VGC for £70! The whole project cost £200; Bass, pickups, CTS wiring kit and Wilkinson bridge!!![/quote] Nice one. If I go this route, I'll call it a TRB modified BB414 in your honour.

[quote name='Beedster' post='1279998' date='Jun 23 2011, 06:55 PM']Here's Wayne's VMJ for sale [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=142458"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=142458[/url][/quote] Is that a shortie? The angle makes it look so. Anyone any experience of VM Jag shorties?

[quote name='4StringFortress' post='1280089' date='Jun 23 2011, 08:14 PM']They also do them in Black, Red and i think also Sunburst.[/quote] I'd go for a sunburst - already have a black strat & fancy some variety ... and dignified elegance

[quote name='4StringFortress' post='1280003' date='Jun 23 2011, 06:59 PM']Possibly one of the best colours ever [/quote] Nice for a Tropicana guzzling Ajax fan. Not for me, tho'.

[quote name='Beedster' post='1279984' date='Jun 23 2011, 06:45 PM']No, you need the Vintage Modified Jaguar that lists at around £279, it's a much better spec instrument (and the stacked controls are great). I rate the VMJag and I'm both fussy and snobbish about my basses Link [url="http://www.dv247.com/guitars/squier-vintage-modified-jaguar-bass-rosewood-black--75481"]http://www.dv247.com/guitars/squier-vintag...od-black--75481[/url][/quote] Ta Beedster. Right you are. So it's def a case of "special" meaning "crappier" sheesh these product managers are out to confuse.

[quote name='4StringFortress' post='1279955' date='Jun 23 2011, 06:30 PM']The BB414 is my go to bass for most things, great build quality and you can play anything on it.[/quote] It's between this and the Sq VM Jag so far... I wonder if there's any difference in build quality

[quote name='Beedster' post='1279953' date='Jun 23 2011, 06:29 PM']100% the Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar, it does Jazz at the bridge, Precision at the neck, looks great, sits & plays great, and has a fast & think neck with blocks. Wayne's selling the one I sold him for £175, a real bargain (I still have another and it's going nowhere).[/quote] So the the VM Jag is more versatile (with its P pup) than the VM Jazz and is nearly a third less money? I can get a new one delivered for 200 but they're called "special". I wonder if they mean special as in "less good than the normal one"

[quote name='charic' post='1279935' date='Jun 23 2011, 06:08 PM']2nd hand MIM fender P, drop some seymour duncans in there and your sorted for good.[/quote] I'd do a jazz MIM; not so fond of the P's neck. Not sure I could find a Jazz MIM at that price point though. Would a Squier VM be better than a MIM?

[quote name='TRBboy' post='1279929' date='Jun 23 2011, 06:04 PM']I know I bang on about it but..... Yamaha RBX270 and some Dimarzio Model P/Js. Versatile, punchy, easy to play, well built, etc, etc. [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=121667&hl=best+%A3200+bass+ever"]Best £200 bass ever[/url]![/quote] Interested in that with the natural finish. And an easy upgrade. But the pups would add another 100 unless I can find one second hand. Could always do the pups later. The Ibanez SR500 shape looks verrrry similar... much between them?

I really like that. Seriously. Sounds awful though and the price If it was 50 quid in a junk shop I'd probably get it. come to think of it, that's probably where they found it.

[quote name='Roland Rock' post='1279897' date='Jun 23 2011, 05:33 PM']The Yamaha + a tin of Nitromors[/quote] Had enough of sanding & varnishing this year, now I want to thrum & twang

[quote name='Machines' post='1279858' date='Jun 23 2011, 05:15 PM']I'd go for a Yamaha BB414, tonally versatile (as it has P and J pickups) and very good quality - new price around £270. 2nd hand £200 no trouble (have seen them go for £150). EDIT: One on the forum right now for £190: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=124074"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=124074[/url][/quote] That's a contender, were it not for the Tango. ... how's the BB414 vs a VM or the other vintage one they do?