Ed_S

Our drummer recently buggered off and joined an emo band (I'm sure it happens all the time!), so we just broke out the acoustic guitars, had a re-think of the originals, threw in some new covers and decided we could do without him fine for a while! I used to play bass for an acoustic singer-songwriter friend of mine, so I already knew how to 'fill in' for a drummer, but if you know your drummer's going to be missing a rehearsal, give it a go - you might be surprised what you could come up with, even if all you do is hold in reserve for that unexpected absence. If you wanna try it out on an audience but without any pressure, take it to an open mic jam night and see how it goes down... To be honest, though, if I was in the enviable position of charging over a tenner for a ticket, I'd burn a few of 'em on either getting into a studio and having a setsworth of the drums down as a quality 'backing track' to put through the PA, or on buying a drum machine which could be programmed up for such emergencies. Throw a black cloth over the house/support band's kit, explain your predicament (once) and unapologetically get on with it!

If we've done business, let people know what you thought...

Rich bought a cab from me, and I can wholeheartedly agree that he's a great guy to do business with. Absolutely straightforward deal and a pleasure to chat to along the way. Cheers, Rich! Ed

I've had similar-looking flaws in guitars before and never had issues with their structural integrity. As an aside, I unboxed 3 brand new LTD Surveyor 415s when I bought mine, and I had to choose between a split in the neck pocket of one, an odd twist in the neck of another, and a small defect in the finish on the back of the third. Needless to say that the third is the one I took home, but it goes to show that lame QC isn't necessarily uncommon. I'd even have cared if it weren't for the ridiculously low price I paid.

[quote name='dan2112' post='1373085' date='Sep 14 2011, 12:19 PM']Pictures please [/quote] My photographic skills aren't anything to write home about, but the shop took some pictures for their website, so the detailed shots on the link below are of my bass: [url="http://www.richtonemusic.co.uk/products/fender_70s_precision_bass_guitar_mij_olympic_white.asp"]http://www.richtonemusic.co.uk/products/fe...ympic_white.asp[/url] That said, here's one taken by me, just to prove it happened! [attachment=89431:DSCF0399.JPG]

Well, after very little agonising (almost to the point of it being a foregone conclusion as soon as I saw the picture) I bought the white one. It's done a couple of rehearsals now, and I'm happy to report it's a very nice bass indeed. A quick tweak of the neck and a set of strap-locks is all it took to make it 'mine', the pickup is articulate and has a nice growl to it, the build quality and finish are right for the price tag and nice as they were, it's certainly a step up from the two 2009 MIMs that I traded in against it. So yeah, happy punter!

10lb for me - that's what my LTD Surveyor 415 weighs. My Precisions are fine at about 8.5lb, but the Surveyor makes my neck ache.

I'm surprised that nobody's suggested the MXR M169 "Carbon Copy". It's very simple, but sounds absolutely great - very natural. Edit: Ok, so I didn't take in the bit about needing a tap tempo, but.. I'd still get him to try one out - he might decide he's up for just marking some settings on masking tape when he hears it

If I'd known I was going to stick with it, then from day one a white US standard Precision with a black guard and maple board. And, just for completeness, a Peavey Firebass head and a 2x15 with Black Widows. All were available at the time, and would have saved me so much cash in the long run, and probably kept me happy until MarkBass was invented.

[quote name='xgsjx' post='1346138' date='Aug 20 2011, 10:22 AM']That is a valid reason to going for 4 ohm cabs, but not everyone has a power amp or 2 separate heads. Question for you. If using the LMII with 1 cab runs at 500w, does running 2 with your parallel box have any volume increase? It's a genuine Q as I've never tried it & I'm assuming (from doing some of the maths) that you'll have @ 175w going to each cab. I work out that if a 4ohm cab gives a 3db increase over the 8, & 2 8ohm cabs in series gives a 6db increase due to more drivers moving more air, then in theory (without thinking too hard) you probably dont have a big increase if any?[/quote] I've not actually tried it with my current heads and cabs, I must admit; it's just never been necessary as they're both capable of drowning an entire band on their own! When I did it with my old amp and two 410s (one mine, one borrowed) it did seem to be marginally louder than just one, but I was always dubious about how much difference was due to the extra speakers, and how much was just the fact that the top one was closer to head-height. If I get chance to try it with my current stuff any time soon, I'll post back with the results.

Maybe I'm in a minority, but I always buy cabs in their 4ohm variant when possible. If I'm only taking one cab out (98% of the time), it means that I get the most out of the rig; even if the difference in output is small on the cosmic scale, it's there. On the other hand, if I'm going mad and taking two cabs (usually more for visual impact), then I can either use a serial box to run the two at 8ohms, take both my terror and little mark and slave one of them, or more likely, use my rack rig which has a stereo power amp that runs very happily with a 4ohm load on each channel. As long as you've actually thought about how you want to use whatever you buy, I don't see the problem.

I have my local music shop getting one of these in for me to try.. some might argue with the accuracy, but I really don't care - it's too nice to get caught up on whether it's 'right' or not If it plays as good as it looks, I think my two MIMs might find themselves traded in!

I've used a fair few products for cleaning rosewood, my experiences being thus: Dunlop Lemon Oil - Cheap, widely available and makes a good job of removing grime, but doesn't seem to have much of a lasting positive effect on the wood itself - dry again in a couple of weeks. Planet Waves Hydrate - Again, good at removing grime, and seems to have a much more lasting effect on the wood than straight lemon oil - only dry again in a couple of months. It's bright red, however, and will badly stain anything you get it on by mistake. JHS Gorgomyte - Smells evil, and feels more like it's putting a thin, shiny film over your board than actually preserving the wood. It brings your frets up nicely, but that's about all. Chrome Frets Silky Strings - Another all in one fret polish and board conditioner, with added string lubricant! Like the Gorgomyte it brought the frets up nicely but made the wood look shiny as opposed to 'fed'. I really didn't like the feel of it on the strings, but if you're an advocate of FastFret, your opinion may differ. GHS Fast-Fret - I don't like it on my strings, but as it's basically just a rolled rag, soaked in light mineral oil, it's pretty good for using on the board when the strings are off for changing and you don't think it needs anything more severe. You can, however, save a fair bit of cash by buying a bottle of pharmaceutical grade light liquid paraffin at the chemists, as it's the same deal when used this way. Fret Doctor - Expensive, but the single best product I've ever used on my rosewood boards. It actually looks like it's doing what it professes to and protecting the wood in a lasting way. It doesn't smell unpleasant, and your boards don't feel slick or shiny in use after it's been applied. As for when / how often to use these products... by using them, you'll get a feel for which ones you like and then similarly how long their effect lasts given the amount that you play / sweat! Use them when necessary. Usual disclaimer applies - these are my experiences only, and yours may well be different =)

Yup, another vote for the EBS in rock and metal circles.

[quote name='brensabre79' post='1337679' date='Aug 12 2011, 02:27 PM']Don't get a 4 ohm cabinet because you'll just underload the 8ohm output and blow yer amp![/quote] Doesn't work like that. The outputs are in parallel, so you can use: a] one of them with one 8 ohm cab b] both of them with two 8 ohm cabs c] one of them with one 4 ohm cab d] one of them with two 8 ohm cabs chained together using the parallel out on the first cab to the input of the second Unless you meant not to get a 4 ohm cab and then hope to add another 4 ohm cab later if in need of more volume, as that would indeed cause problems, being a 2 ohm load.

I use distortion very infrequently, but when it's called for I reach for my old ProCo RAT 2 and find it does the job nicely. I had an ODB-3 for a while and it really didn't hit the spot for me; I find the RAT much warmer, fatter and more musical. Apparently the new RATs aren't worth buying (to the point where Keeley won't even use them for their mods any more) so if you fancy trying one, I'd find an old one.

Yeah, I wondered if it might be pushing it a little.

I've been in a couple of bands where I'm a better guitarist than the guitarist (not so with my current band, I hasten to add), but I'll always keep to bass because I enjoy the role more on stage. I find it's less stress for the same level of responsibility, so I get to actively enjoy the music that I'm playing as I'm playing it. On guitar I'm too engrossed in getting it right to actually enjoy doing it, so have to rely on reactions after the fact.

[quote name='Bigwan' post='1329355' date='Aug 5 2011, 10:50 PM']Can't agree about the volume though. I've always found the ABM400's quiet.[/quote] Yeah, that's closer to my experience too. I had an ABM500 Evo3 and whilst the tone of the amp wasn't bad, it was just so quiet that I couldn't use it. I remember proudly turning up to rehearsal with my new rig (500 head and matching 410t and 115c) and getting completely drowned out at fairly sedate rehearsal volume with the thing running to its absolute limit. My old 200W Hartke HA2000 was amazingly loud through the same cabs, so I kept them (still got 'em, in fact) and sold the ABM500 at the earliest opportunity.

From a voltage and polarity standpoint I'm pretty sure you'll be ok - my Boss supply powers my Sansamp BDDI fine. I'd just check the tech specs first to be sure you're not trying to pull too much current in total.

Cracking amp choice, mate! I still love my HA5500 and keep it at the studios for our weekly rehearsal slot. I pair it up with an Ashdown ABM-410T cab (think it's been replaced by the 410H these days, but very similar) and despite it being an 8ohm cab, it's still one hell of a loud and powerful rig. I used to gig it before I went for more lightweight gear, and I was always happy with the volume and tone for classic to heavy rock and metal. I rarely get the master volume over '4', and we play loud As an aside, I took my new Barefaced Super 12 down to the studios on Saturday, and when I plugged it in, forgot that I'd left it on 3 on the master. All I'm gonna say is that four perfectly good pairs of underwear were put at risk! I realise you might not want to spend £700+ on a cab at this stage in your playing career, but in later years when you're fancying an upgrade, just remember that if you give the HA5500 a classy cab, by 'eck does it perform!

It's the whole gear-share that bothers me most about taking a decent rig to pubs - I've had too many idiots agree not to change anything on my rig except the master volume, but by the end of the first song they're twiddling merrily away, probably because they know I'm not going to be so unprofessional as to jump up on stage in the middle of their set and slap their hand for it. One guy I recall particularly naffed me off by setting my rig to a 'painful high-passed distortion mode' that I never knew existed for 45 mins and then immediately jumping off stage at the end to tell me it was 'a bit sh*t'. I may possibly have lowered myself to saying something about it being a perfect match for his playing.