brensabre79

Yes usually I will make one or two minor gaffes, and like Colite says it usually when I'm not concentrating on the music. I play in a few bands and sometimes it all blurs into one, mid way through set 2 is the usual time for me to switch off a bit until there's some kind of dischord. Luckily I usually have fast reactions and a crisis can be overted before half the band has even noticed... If there was a James Brown style policy of being fined for mistakes though I'd probably concentrate more! That's why he had the best backing band on the planet!

This may be common knowledge, but not to me. I've just discovered that Tesco now includes a music shop! http://www.tesco.com/direct/sports-leisure/musical-instruments/cat3376536.cat?catId=4294960514 Oranges and apples? Ampeg and eggs? Not for me, I'll be going to the traditional music shop until they are all driven out of business.

Sovtek are OK, that's what they come with i think. Nothing wrong with them at all, but when you drive them they get a bit brittle sounding. If you like a slightly overdriven sound, a tasty valve will be a great investment in your tone IMO

Never ever easy to find, I think the Goliath 2 was a better cab though IMO Just keep trying eBay, gumtree etc.

+1 I think that one looks like an earlier model, mine was China and it was silver/grey, but also came in a wooden box, not rackmount. The valve pre is really good in those, the 12ax7 valve should last a lifetime in that position - its power valves that need regular replacement (this doesn't have those its SS), but you might want to change for tone, the stock ones were nothing to write about, stick a Mullard clone in there and it'll sound huge! You've got a good amp there, I miss mine.

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1353603319' post='1876514'] When I had a Tony Franklin Precision, the one thing about it I would have liked to have changed was get rid of the switch and replace it with VVT. [/quote] haha I guess its horses for courses, or in this case decisions for Precisions

Its only a very small operation at Wizard, I think its basically Andy and another guy who helps out part time. If he's busy making pickups he won't answer the phone, and he's not great at emails either (different generation). If you phone and leave a message he's usually pretty good at getting back in a day or so. Don't forget its a little cottage industry (literally in this case) so if the guy is having a busy day, or even a bit of manflu you're not going to reach them. But the pickups he makes are great, and very reasonable too. +1 also for Kent or Aaron Armstrong, great P'ups. and Bareknuckle are pretty helpful too, although I've not used them in a while.

My dad is ambidextrous, he used to be a music teacher and he would write on the board starting with his left hand and swapping to right hand in the middle, swapping again for the next line. He can also play bass both ways. This guy is pretty fun to watch too... John Otway

Had a horrid gig last night! No soundcheck, no amp (I brought it but was told not to use it) - it was an 'acoustic' gig so I was just DI'd from my Ibanez Semi-acoustic. I asked at the beginning and between every song to have some bass in the monitors, only for the engineer to turn the guitars up! Could not hear a single note I was playing the whole gig so had to watch the frets and do it all from memory. In the last song I leaned over and noticed a 3" hole in the cone of the monitor driver! Nice. next time, no matter what I'm told, I'm taking my amp and using it, end of! Ok rant over, carry on

Yep I think its a common fault that nobody seems to know about, I hope they have changed the design on the .2 models. Genz invariably send out a new valve as a fix, but just re-searting is usually good enough, although it will probably shorten the life of the valve having it only halfway connected! I tried a lot of valves in my 6, there is very little between them but I found that the brittle edginess of the shuttle was tamed a little with a warmer sounding valve, you're looking at NOS or clones of the older valves rather than the newer chinese ones which have a harder edge to them IMO. It is still operating theatre clean at lower gain, but slightly warmer and it doesn't bite so much when you wind it up with the Harma STR. If you like the brittle top end then you could try a JJ Tesla in there.

Barefaced Super Twelve. no contest I had a HA3500, great amp and the S12 sounds wicked with the Hartke on top. If you have the one in the Hartke wooden box the Super12 finish matches it superbly, looks like they were meant for each other. The S12 is more expensive than some, but it does have higher spec. drivers than most. With a HA3500 and a 2x12 cab you'll likely be getting around 350W from the amp at full chat. The Barefaced will take 1200W so might be more cab than you need. You can get a 30 day trial from Barefaced (i don't think any other manufacturer does this) where you can take it out, gig it, and return it if its not right for you. I don't think they get many back though

[quote name='iiipopes' timestamp='1353601760' post='1876483'] I like that idea! I did the same thing on the neck pickup of a couple of guitars to get them to balance with a master volume, and Rickenbacker guitars have the famous 5th knob for the same thing as well. Good show! [/quote] Yes it works very well on a gig, no messing about plucking notes to check I've got the balance right, just click and go I also have an S-1 switch on the volume control that puts both pickups in series, just in case I need that extra boost!

I have a 5 position rotary on my main Jazz (in place of the second vol. control) the 'in-between' positions have a pre-set variable resistor in to turn down one of the pickups. After setting the blends where I want them, now I can recall the sound exactly every time!

Sold mine for £200 about 6 months ago. It had been with me many many years and the covering was knackered. I might have been lucky as the guy who bought it had always wanted one but could never afford until now. Great sounding cab, monster sound!

BTC on my Jazz bass. Works a treat, but I've never liked a mid control on my bass anyway. I had a 3 band Stingray once and never used it... So I have Volume, Pickup Select (5 pos rotary switch), BTC (stacked treble/bass), Jack socket. Its a 70s bass so wanted to ensure I could restore to original. Looks like a nice selection of mods. Not sure how the two pickups will balance in volume though, you might have to drop one down quite low...

Hey Slatfaft You may find the valve is fine but it just needs re-seating and the spring clip tightening up. Sometimes the contacts work a bit loose in transit (I sent two amps back before I realised this was a required maintenance on the Shuttle). You might find in a gig situation that a well placed (ahem) 'tap' on the top of the amp will sort it too. But for a more permanent fix, when you get it home tighten the thing up... I did a lot of experimenting with valves to change the tone of my Shuttle, I found the stock a bit clinical. I tried Mullard NOS, JJ Tesla, Mesa, Sovtek, Philips, as well as the Harma Mullard clones. The best one was a Telefunken, but these are rare and expensive. [url="http://www.watfordvalves.com/product_detail.asp?id=1306"]Watford valves[/url] do a Harma STR which worked best for me to really warm up the sound, I think its based on the Telefunken but a modern clone. Having said that, I know that Genz have designed out a lot of the valves 'character' in the circiut to overcome the varied level of valve quality and offer a consistent sounding product, so the differences are very minor in a Shuttle between valve types to be honest. If you're happy with the sound, try just opening it up and making sure the valve is really secure in there. I have to tighten mine every 4 months or so, bizarrely more often when I had it in a flightcase!

[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1352991689' post='1870256'] he's still got 100% feedback,has anybody on here actually played one of his 'conversions', we're all taking the piss and he could be a genius [/quote] I have not played one of his cretins, but I suspect that the reason for th feedback is that the sort of people buying these things don't have the first clue what they are doing in terms of setting up an instrument, so by comparison an MDP special will seem pretty nice to play. I originally found him when looking for a cheap spare bass and an £80 Shine bass that he had set up was on sale for about £120. As I know how to set up a bass I didn't bid, but if I didn't, £40 for a set up is about right and if I had get the thing and it played OK then I would probably give positive feedback...

The band started with a shared PA, gradually bits broke, nobody interested in losing money by giving up gig money to replace so I bought the replacement gear, now I own the entire PA and I take a sixth man cut for supplying PA and looking after the sound. Everyone is happy with this, and as I'm the one operating it now it all works! Singers have to have their own mic. I also believe they should supply the PA to be honest (it's their amp after all) but having seen so many singers turn up with wholly insubstantial / broken / unsafe equipment, for my peace of mind I just do the PA! In an ideal world, just as everyone else does, the singer should turn up with adequate amplification/personal monitoring equipment, that they know how to use and keep in working condition. I think world peace and an end to suffering is a more realistic goal however.

[quote name='BassTractor' timestamp='1353096591' post='1871697'] [color=#ffffff].[/color] PS, I think you'd like the more newfangled plasma speakers from the last decade, but beware: they burn GAS! [/quote] I'll stick with my Mackie HR824s thanks I've got 3 pairs and I know what they sound like SO I'll turn this thing around here... What sort of sound are you looking for? Maybe between us we can make some recommendations...

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' timestamp='1353082354' post='1871470'] I've had tons of amps that sound like Marshalls, but I can usually fix them so they work properly. [/quote] [quote] In my Hi-Fi days, we'd advise Infinity speakers for people who loved GRP-brand West-coast popjazz. People who'd just play classical music would be advised to rather buy Bowers & Wilkins. Also, we'd be able to put to words how these speakers would respond to different instrument constellations and amps. [/quote] I see what you're getting at to some extent, but in order to advise it requires a thorough knowledge of all the products in the range from a singular perspective. Like I said, one mans 'woolly and undefined' is another mans 'warm and fuzzy' - one mans 'crisp, clear and bright' is another mans 'harsh, clinical and lacking in bo**ocks!' As an example, I have absolutely no idea what GRP-brand West-coast popjazz sounds like, so the reference means nothing to me. I don't listen to much classical either so I don't have the faintest idea whether to buy Infinity or B&W speakers. It can help, to some extent but can also often be completely misunderstood... If you play mostly modern jazz, I could recommend a whole heap of amps you might like the sound of. If you play old school rock theres also a range of amps that will suit - many the same ones...

Looks good. I'm never that organised about soldering though - its usually a field repair that's meant to last until I get home, but I never get around to re-doing it properly

[quote name='bremen' timestamp='1353079063' post='1871407'] Just watched a few Rush clips and yes, it does look like hard work. Sounds f***ing awesome though, so can't be that bad. [/quote] My thoughts exactly. I tried it, it is hard to do, but I can see why he does it because it does sound noticeably different. I guess after all the years he's been playing like that he would find it hard to play any other way...

[quote name='Muzz' timestamp='1353076733' post='1871357'] Oh yeah, forgot this one - had one for a few weeks: yep, does sound like an SVT (although the 15db pad input kills the tone - use with passive basses and it's fine) but it's an odd shape and size: 15" wide (nearly rack-width, too big for most gig bags) and 15lbs, even though it's a Class D hybrid. It kinda bugged me that they shoulda either shrunk it down to the Shuttle/LM/Streamliner size, or made it a 19" rackmount and maybe put a couple of extra features in. Very loud, tho. [/quote] Yeah I know what you mean, I'm tempted by one though. I thought they came with rack ears actually.

Its all about supply and demand. Something is worth as much as someone is prepared to pay for it. Then again, its only worth as much as someone is prepared to pay for it.