bassbloke

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='54994' date='Sep 3 2007, 10:06 PM']Reet... my turn!

Warwickhunt kindly dropped by our dep drummer audition with his Thunderfunk and mysterious TecAmp Black Cat in tow.

I left my usual amp & pre in the case (AI Focus & EBS Microbass II), plugged my 70s flat-strung P into the Black cat into my Schroeder 21012L, flattened the EQ & fired it up.

YOWZA! Instant WoT-friendly tone! Round, warm and distinct. Just how I like it.

WH mentioned that he thought the EQ doesn't do much. I reckon TecAmp have got it spot on.. who needs +-20db, anyway? This is more subtle.. all I need.

As it happens, I left it flat anyway and it sounded mint... very much like my AI/EBS, in fact - a tone I love.

Then I swapped to the Thunderfunk & fired it up. Hmmm. I realise I'm in a party of one here, but... Thunderfunks don't do it for me. It has a 'bark' about it that doesn't suit my style. It'll probably be great with roundounds, but I'm too old-skool for that.

So, back to the Black Cat... much better. Set'n'forget.

I'm determined to sort out my current 'humming Genz' issue (see my thread elsewhere), but if I wasn't, I reckon be on the lookout for another TecAmp...

Oh, aye... the Black Cat has a totally bling illuminated neon stripe along the bottom. What's there not to like??[/quote]

Try the TVM600 - 700 Watts into 2 Ohms

I'd be more inclined to play the C# with the middle or ring finger and the bB with my index finger

I got mne made by [url="http://www.coverovercovers.co.uk/"]http://www.coverovercovers.co.uk/[/url]

And go and visit the ghosts at Frangocastello.

[quote name='JPJ' post='54854' date='Sep 3 2007, 05:41 PM']The Blackcat head likes being driven hard, and the eq is very sensitive to preamp volume and master volume settings.[/quote]

Exactly like the TVM which is positively hifi sounding at low volumes.

I reckon one good fun way of really developing your bassline skills would be to buy one of the ultimate little fakebooks. These just feature the core melody line, be it vocal, piano or other instrument and list the chord changes, giving you the chance to work on the bass lines.

[url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ultimate-Fake-Book-C-Books/dp/0793529395/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/026-4158770-2670030?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1188587413&sr=8-1"]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ultimate-Fake-Book...7413&sr=8-1[/url]

I assume you're just using one side of the Black Cat into your 610, which I guess is 6 Ohms. That's a shame

The FAFNER also goes up to 11, so it's one louder than the TD650.

blimey - where did you get this from? If you don't like it, please give me first dibs.

The EQ on the TVM is passive too and reacts very differently at different volumes. The treble is much more subtle when the amp is being played quietly - so much so that you thinks it's quite dull. You then turn up the treble to compensate. However, if you then turn the volume right up, the treble becomes too harsh.

I find the best sound on mine is obtained by setting EQ flat and using gain and middle to dial in some character. I don't know whether the Black Cat conforms to this though.

If it were me, I'd go for a head and 2 2x10 cabs. Unless you get a combo, you won't get the full whack out of your amp unless you use both. Also, stacking 2 2x10s on end on top of each other is going to create a proper wall of bass.

[quote name='Beedster' post='52417' date='Aug 29 2007, 04:40 PM']Jim mate, yes, you're naive. Zero feedback!!!!!!!!! If that doesn't give you 'any cause for alarm' with a bass of that value then I'm not surprised that scamming is so profitable!
In a Darwinian world, if people weren't so bloody gullible scammers would soon become extinct
Chris[/quote]

A bit harsh, but these are the signs that all is not right

Seller's name - gord56w8 only just joined. Bit of an odd name, possibly even randomnly generated
post to - worldwide. Most people, especially with guitars,specify UK only,Europe only, worldwide is rare, especially from a new starter
item location - UK, united Kingdom - not v.specific
postage details - £20 seller's standard rate. Most sellers specify the actual method of shipping, which would be more for a guitar like that anyway and would def offer collection.

and, finally, Private listing. Very fishy.

The internal cab of the combo is prob 4Ohms, Adding a second 4 ohm cab would drop load down to 2 Ohms, allowing the full 500 Watts. Adding an 8 Ohm cab would give you an impedance of around 3.5, so a slight increase in output. However, you're driving twice as many speakers, so you will be shifting more air.

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='50793' date='Aug 26 2007, 10:01 AM']Your tutor sounds like a bit of a musical snob. Just sayin'.

BTW, I'm not a big Flea fan, but I don't think he'll ever have to pitch for session work.[/quote]

Flea played bass on the first Mars Volta album, De-loused in the Comatorium. Great playing and tone and some nice flurries.

Depends on how you define bad and whether you mean prefer from a an education or entertainment point of view.

Watching a really bad originals band, especially if they've got a bit of attitude about them, can be a hugely amusing experience.

Seeing a band band that are just poor musicians is actually a bit upsetting - I often feel quite bad for them, especially if there are a couple of talented individuals in the band clearly feeling let down by their bandmates.

[url="http://www.wisebuyers.co.uk/index.jsp?guide=guides&page=car_insurance&id=18&group=1&x=12&y=5"]Group 1 Insurance[/url]

[url="http://www.wisebuyers.co.uk/index.jsp?guide=guides&page=car_insurance&id=18&group=2&x=20&y=1"]Group 2 Insurance[/url]

Stick with cars on the above lists and you'll keep costs down.

Do you want active or passive.

The MIA Dluxe Jazz V is a v different beast to the standard - more frets, smaller body, active EQ, etc...

[quote name='NickThomas' post='47260' date='Aug 19 2007, 12:41 AM']A good time was had by all !! Some lovely basses to noodle on, and a thoroughly nice bunch of blokes .... smelled a bit ,but that mighta been the room. lol
Highlight for me was probably that cute little cutlass of CK's ..... I've just got that sound stuck in my head now .
Looking forward to the next one.
Many thanks Dave!!

Nick.[/quote]

I think the technical term is rehearsal room funk.

Thank you to Dave for organising such a fun day. I had to leave around 1:30 as I'd promised to take my son swimming. We've a new baby in the house and he's feeling a bit neglected

Highlights for me were

1) meeting such a nice bunch of people
2) Kiwi's Celinder
3) OBBM's very nice sounding Epifani head and gorgeous Daryl Jones 5 (although it could do with one more fret )

Also, having the chance to A/B my main jazz (the red one) againsta load of other guitars highlighted a few tone shortcomings. As soon asI got home after taking my son out, I raised the pickups and adjusted the preamp gain and it sounds a whole lot better.

[quote name='Beedster' post='46782' date='Aug 17 2007, 11:11 AM']Looks like I'm not going to make it tomorrow so you're gonna have to manage without me, my Flea and Carol, my new 73 Precision! Apologies guys, I hope you all have a great day
Chris[/quote]

Smilie or Vorderman?

Can I just chip in and say this is a v. good price for what is essentially a new piece of kit. I paid £135 to get my JZ3D (deluxe) into the country and the JZ3 only lists at $10 less in the first place.

It's also a rather spiffing sounding preamp.

[quote name='cetera' post='45684' date='Aug 15 2007, 11:36 AM']Unfortunately I probably can't make it...... and not sure I could choose what to bring if I did?!?

Where are you based then?

Gary[/quote]

I'm in Chessington.

I'll be along quite early - probably very soon after 10am - and I'll be bringing my 2 Fenders and my Tech rig.

I will have to leave around 2pm.

Blimey,

a veritable cornucopia of quality bass gear just round the corner from me.

Are you heading to the bash on Saturday?

What line up do you have?

What about the theme tune to Starsky and Hutch by James Taylor Quartet.

[b]Features: 8[/b]

There are two flavours of J3ZD available

1) Volume, Z-Mode switch, Mid/Balance stack, Treble/Bass stack, LED meter, passive style tone or
2) Volume, Z-Mode switch, Volume, Treble/Bass stack, LED meter, passive style tone

I opted for the 3 band EQ model with blend. The 2 x vol, 2 band EQ model is shown below.



Naturally, as this preamp is designed to fit onto the control plate of a Jazz style bass, you are limited to 4 pots and a couple of switches.

John East manages to cram 3 concentric pots onto the J-Retro deluxe, which gives you a mid frequency control on the third pot. However, the Audere has the three way Z-mode impedance control, which gives you extra options. Furthermore, having the pickup blend on the outer ring of the 2nd pot is a little fiddly.

[b]Sound: 9[/b]

At home I never use an amp - just my Korg Pandora, a pair of Beyer Dynamic DT150s and a short Monster bass cable. I've used the same setting on the Pandora for years, so plugging my bass in post upgrade was a shock. The flat sound of the preamp is lovely and balanced. The 3 band EQ is subtle. I'm used to the somewhat extreme EQ on the Fender preamp, which is kind of all or nothing - speaker flapping bass, horn frying treble and a very powerful mid that really affects the output level on the bass.

On the Audere, the 3 bands have a much more pronounced effect when boosted in isolation. This makes the EQ much more useable. If I'm honest, I just used the stock preamp on the Fender to beef up the sound because I felt the flat sound was a tad weedy.

Boosting the bass yields a lovely thick tone - not at all boomy, but really meaty and dark
Boosting the treble gives you that Marcus Miller slap tone- bright and cutting but not brittle or painful
Boosting the mids produces you a nice bark- much like a qualty passive bass, but does't push the output of the bass in the way that the stock preamp did, so you can accentuate that lovely jazz bass bridge pickup honk without suddenly drowning out your bandmates.

The Z-mode impedance selector is very powerful. The effect of Low Z mode is dependant upon the output from the pickups, so there are two controls on the circuit board to allow you to tweak the input gain. The frequency peak in high Z mode is adjusted by fitting different value capacitors to the circuit board. Crucially, different value capacitors can be used for each pickup.

The passive style tone control is a lovely addition and sounds much more balaced and musical than simply cutting the treble EQ.

The blend control is buffered, but there is still a noticeable drop in volume when both pickups are on. This is much more pronounced in low Z-mode.


[b]Construction: 9[/b]

The first thing I noticed when unpacking the preamp is how substantial it feels. The components are top quality and the electronics are top notch. Compared to the sloppy wiring of the stock Fender preamp, the J3ZD is a thing of beauty



Fitting the J3ZD was a cinch. The only tools you need are are a phillips screwdriver, a pair of pliers, wire strippers and some matches.

The preamp comes with jack and battery clip pre-wired. They also throw in a couple of crimps and some heat shrink tubing. All that needs connecting are the pickup wires and bridge ground connector. Now here's the good bit. On a Fender deluxe jazz (mexican or US) it's possible to extract the jack,battery clip and preamp in one piece. I simply needed to cut and strip the pickup and bridge ground wires, screw the pickup wires in the preamp board, crimp the bridge connector wires together with pliers, apply tubing and shrink with matches and I was good to go. It took 5 minutes.

The battery indicator is a nice touch. Plug in a cable and you get a sequence of lights that tells you how much juice is left in the battery. Unfortunately, a high pitched noise accompanies the sequence, so have your amp off or on standby when you plug in (which I hope you do any way) and wait until the light goes out before flicking the switch.


[b]Reliability/Durability: 10[/b]

I can't comment,but I would assume the unit is very reliable based on construction

[b]Customer Support: 10[/b]

I bought the Audere J3ZD as an upgrade to the stock preamp in my 2001 Fender US Deluxe Five String. I paid £104 for the preamp, incudling priority USPS shipping. I had to pay another £30.63 in customs charges and admin. However, £135 isn't a bad price. I ordered on a Friday morning and Parcelforce dropped it off exactly a week later.


[b]Overall Rating: 9[/b]

I've only had this preamp in my bass since Friday evening and was a little unsure at first, but within an hour of installing I was sold. Extra credit has to go to Audere for making installing such a breeze.

If I go for a Audere preamp for my other US Deluxe Jazz, I may well go for a 2 vol,2 band EQ model. I'll miss the mid EQ, but I'll appreciate the better control over individual pickup volumes.