brensabre79

The 450 was the first Ampeg I played through, and it was at a festival, and I really liked the sound on stage a lot. However, now I've tried the VST and CL too. I'm afraid the 450 is just a taste of that Ampeg sound that you're clearly won over by - it's not bad at all for a wholly solid state amp - but after a while you'll want more of that tone and there's only one place to get it in spades. It's not cheap and it's not lightweight either. It's a bit like having a real fresh ground coffee vs freeze dried instant. Your first ever cup of coffee may have been an instant, and it tasted good until one day someone gave you a proper cup of fresh coffee. After that, an instant might wake you up a bit with a caffiene hit, but you won't be savouring the flavour, you'll just be wondering where the nearest coffee shop is.

On the whole, everyone is going to recommend their own amps - and so they should if they are happy with them. As to what you would be happy with... that's for you to decide - but some description of what you DO like would help people who have tried lots of amps point you in the right direction. I also had a Genz Benz Shuttle when I got my Barefaced cab, it wasn't for me so I sold it and got something else, but it was a good place to start as it was perfectly servicable amp - after I posted on here for some recommendations, with a description of what, for me, was lacking from the Shuttle I got some really helpful advice

I've played Elixir pretty much exclusively for the last few years having tried just about every other brand out there. I have quite acidic sweat which makes strings go off very quickly (like rubber bands), added to which nickel strings usually turn black after a few minutes use from me. I use the nickel Elixirs because the coating prevents this, and I did not like the sound of their steel strings when I tried them. [list] [*][b]Have you tried Elixir strings before?[/b] [*]Yes! Both guitar and bass: Long and Super Long scale sets. [/list] [list] [*][b]What other brands are you familiar with?[/b] DR, Thomastik, Ritter Swordsteels, Optima, D'Addario, Rotosound, Elites, GHS, Dean Markley, Ernie Ball... I've tried them all! [/list] [list] [*][b]What bass(es) will you try the new strings on?[/b] Fender Jazz Bass (fretted - XL scale), Fender Jazz Bass (fretless), Fender Precision, Fender Mustang (medium scale), Lakland Decade, Rickenbacker (copy - XL scale), PRS Kestrel, Ibanez SR 5-string. [/list] [list] [*]What sort of environment will you be playing them in (e.g studio, gigging, practicing) Gigging and Studio pretty much weekly, and practice. [/list] [list] [*]Why do you think you'll be a good candidate to test the strings? I'm particularly fussy about strings, and as explained above, many, if not most strings don't last long with me (like 2 hours playing time!). I'm also a complete tone junky, I've been known to change strings in the studio just to get a particular sound. I gig and record regularly in a variety of styles from 50s rockabilly and jazz, to pop, funk and heavy rock. I'm a pretty heavy player, fingers and pick so I really put strings through their paces. Considering the USP of Elixir, if I'm happy with them then anyone should be! [/list] [list] [*]Links to any blogs/reviews you may have already posted (not essential but interesting) I've only posted on here really, I think I've commented more than instigated but three things I've said about Elixirs are: 1. that they are the first strings I have not had to replace on a weekly basis, Elixirs last me 3-6 months. 2. that the long scale bass strings are too short for through body strung Fenders so I have to get the Extra Long, 3. and the steel variety when they came out (may have changed now) sounded very harsh to me - i prefer steel from most companies, but the Nickel Elixirs suited me for tone, playability and durability - plus I can play them without getting black fingers! [/list] I'll continue to buy Elixir's anyway, but new sets to try out would be awesome! I'm not shy about saying what I think of 'em

[quote name='Count Bassie' timestamp='1433449508' post='2791244'] I had an [b]Acoustic 370[/b]- head only- when I was a new player, I'd been at it for about 3 or so years by then. Since then I've had the whole rig (called the [b]371[/b] when accompanied by its mate folded-horn 1x18 cab, the [b]301 Transducer[/b]), but sold it because of our basement being up a short-ish flight of old stone/mortar steps I didn't want to ruin. Anyway I've come back upon one (damn the mortar), and I am looking forward to that sound wrapping around my head once again! Best and most character-embued bass head I've ever owned I think, and as soon as I get it back from repairs at the shop, it's off to rock-land... Can't seem to get my attachment to attach... I'll try again later I guess. [/quote] I still remember my old 301 with great fondness, unfortunately I didn't have the 370 to go with mine. My 'heavy rig' is the Peavey Alphabass All-valve head - which I have modified. Love the sound. My Carvin BX500 comes pretty close in awesomeness but lacks the big bouncy push you get from all-valve.

Difficult to say without hearing it, but sometimes if your pickups are set too high it can cause some wierd harmonics on the higher frets - even unplugged. This is due to the magnetic field of the pickup interfering with the vibration of the string. It's most noticable up the top of the fretboard as the string gets closer to the pickup there. So lowering the pickups might be a place to start. Another thing it could be is a high fret somewhere near the top end that is just catching the string slightly, but if you just had the bass set up by a good luthier (i.e. not just a guy in a guitar shop) they should have spotted this one already. Otherwise a video or sound clip might help identify the problem. Hope you get it fixed.

Hey Pete, A 250k wouldn't 'kill' it, but it may become a very sharp rolloff. Fully up the vol control is the same whatever the value, the resistance comes into play when you turn it down. I think what LukeFRC means is that if you put the vol. control before the pre-amp (after the blend control) then the passive circuit will behave as it should, the signal is then fed into the pre-amp after the vol. control. So... Pickups > Blend > Volume > [Bypass Switch] (ON) > Preamp > output jack (OFF) > output jack ...if that makes sense.

Nice little circuit above seems to fit the bill... Interesting article [url="http://myweb.ecomplanet.com/TOWN8019/mycustompage0019.htm"]here[/url] on the original MM ones (these are not Boost/Cut on all bands though). If that's too much hassle, you could do alot worse than the [url="http://artecsound.com/pickups/electronics/se3.html"]Artec preamps[/url] which are really cheap, but not nasty. You might have to dig around for one though, they come up on eBay quite often.

Personally I would not mix drivers with different impedence in the same cab. If you have a combination of 4 ohm and 8 ohm, the 4 ohm ones will be doing twice as much work as the 8 ohm drivers. However, impedence ratings are a little bit misleading in tha they are 'nominal' - the actual impedence changes drastically depending on the frequency - see typical graph here (this is not the chart for your celestions by the way) for how much it can vary (about 4 - 16 ohms here): So I would wager that you should be OK with 2.6 ohm nominal impedence and a 2 ohm amp. (many amp ratings are minimum, e.g. 2 ohm MINIMUM impredence) so in that case you'll be erring slightly on the side of caution. Although with a 6x15 cab I wouldn't think you'll need to push the amp too hard!

Thanks Meddle, I did not know that about the original stack pots. Very informative. I also use a bass cut for the bridge pickup on a few of my basses, generally I have it as a push/pull on the master tone control though, with a series/parallel switch on the master vol. It makes for a pretty versatile passive set-up.

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1426861665' post='2722853'] I always assumed that the shallow neck was the main reason why most people bought Geddies/Geddy's? Surely adding a thicker (more P-like presumably) neck will affect the tone, but also the playability inherent in this model? It also lacks the Baddass II, which makes it a further departure from Geddy's original bass... Fender's choices baffle me sometimes... [/quote] +1

As above, they vary wildly, it's not always proportional to the cost either. But if you have any problems with the equipment you are paying to hire you should immediately get them to sort it out rather than struggle with unfamiliar equipment. Partly because trial and error can lead to breaking something accidentally (which is why alot of practice room stuff doesn't work properly), and partly because you are paying the facility to provide a functioning PA (and usually backline too). IF it does not work properly, it's no different to turning up to play a gig and saying "we've only learnt half the set, but we want to get paid in full". I.E not acceptable! The audacity of some of these places makes me rage actually.

http://www.theblackandblue.com/2011/06/20/wrap-cable-over-under/

I'd take care, when configuring two pickups, to make sure they are a good match for each other output wise. So maybe talk to Entwhistle about a good complement to the neck pickup you've chosen. Although having just Googled a picture of your Tanglewood, you're going to be somewhat limited in choice - it might be better to get the bridge one sorted first (basically a MusicMan replacement) and find a neck pickup that suits... I'd start by asking yourself why you want to change, what's lacking in the stock pickups? Most of the MM style humbuckers will probably be quite loud, so you'll want to get a Jazz style pickup that has a similar output. Or you could look at a MusicMan HS replacement set maybe?

I ordered another set of Medium Long Scale Elixirs recently, the same as I usually use. When I came to fit them to my Lakland I strung through the body as usual and to my horror, the tapering at the other end started before the nut, somewhere between the nut and first fret! I've not had this before on these strings. In the end, luckily the Lakland allows you to mount the strings on the back of the bridge plate also, so this gave me enough extra string to just get past the nut. The trouble is, my Jazz bass is through body, and so is my PRS, so when I come to re-string I'm concerned they ain't gonna fit. I get the extra long scale ones for my Rockinbetter due to the hilarious tailpiece design, and they are not as cheap (not that the standard ones are cheap) or as readily available as the standard. Has anyone else experienced this? Have they shortened them in some insane cost-cutting move? Or did I just get a bad set? It seems a bit crazy to have to buy extra long scale strings for what is essentially an industry standard instrument (Fender Jazz Bass). Normally I'd just go to another manufacturer, but the Elixirs are the only one of the coated strings that seem to work for me, in that they last me a good month or two of gigging, as opposed to a couple of sets and it's like I'm playing rubber bands.

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1426690876' post='2720853'] Hmmmm. I didn't know that... Can a stack circuit be adapted to allow for this and allow tones to be set individually for each pickup? [/quote] You can set the tone for each pickup yes, but if you have both pickups on and one is rolled off, then they will both be rolled off. Same thing as with Gibson style guitars and basses with passive 2 vol 2 tone configuration - they just have a switch to make pre-setting easier, but in middle position (both pickups full on) any tone rolloff will apply to both. The only exception I think, is if you have an output for each pickup going into a mixer of some kind (e.g. micro mixer), or indeed two separate amps - but we're way out of stacknob territory here.

Not sure if you're aware Karl, before you go down this route, that having a tone control for each pickup is not as versatile as it may sound for passive instruments. If you have the tone rolled off on one pickup, tone full up on the other, and the volume up on both, they will both be rolled off (no treble). So you can't, for example, have Neck pickup with tone rolled off plus bridge pickup with full treble (you'll just get both with the treble rolled off until you turn down the neck pickup vol. or turn up the neck tone) I think this is one of the main reasons Fender changed the design, as it can be a bit fiddly on a gig. But if you're aware of that, and it's what you want, Ki0gon is your man!

I am always surprised at how many luthiers / manufacturers seem to punctuate a realy nice looking instrument with such a fugly headstock... Lindert gets a definite thumbs down from me. This one is just hideous.... But the worst of them all has to be this one: I'll get my coat

I'll just chime in and add to the above really. My 2x12 Barefaced works great with a valve amp up to a point - then it starts to distort (the amp, not the cab) if you go any louder. When I used the amp with a 1x15 it would reach this point far sooner, but it was less noticable. Some cabs don't have such definition, so the distortion isn't as obvious. I guess that's why the classic Ampeg fridge is so popular with valve amps, lots of cone area and not so much of the hi-fi definition to give the game away. I also believe valve bass amps seem to work better with sealed (rather than ported) cabs - although thats only my experience and certainly not based on any scientific fact at all! So I won't be offended if someone explains why it's the complete opposite

Kenny, try the Big Twin. That is all.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1425997116' post='2713207'] Too dead is just as bad as too lively though. In a very dead room everything sounds quieter than it really is, which means that you will find yourself monitoring at much louder levels. [/quote] Although what you say is true, and a very good point to add, I wouldn't say that it's [i]as[/i] bad as a lively room with resonances and reflections a plenty. The OP says he doesn't crank it up loud either so I think they would be less effected by over-dead than over-live. Of course in an ideal world it wouldn't be either.

Theres a really good article on SoS here: http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/feb06/articles/studiosos.htm Not sure if its mentioned, but if all the maths isn't your bag. You can use a mirror. Sit in your chair, at your desk and get someone to hold a mirror up to the wall and move around. Anywhere you can see the speaker from your chair is a good place to put a foam panel. Once they are up, you can do the same again, anywhere you can see a foam panel in the mirror stick another one (don't forget to look behind, and up!)... If in doubt, deadened is better than lively. (My mate covered his floor, walls and ceiling in carpet after completely soundproofing his garage. not content with that, he carpeted the desk too.) Then get yourself some bass traps in the corners - mine are made from an Ikea Kallax Shelves stuffed with Rockwool and covered in fabric, but you can build your own easily. Don't forget the corners at the ceiling and floor are most effective places to trap.

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=42mm+bass+nut

You can try contacting [url="http://www.shure.co.uk/meta_en/contact"]Shure[/url] direct. They have helped me out in the past with 57s. Obviously it'll be out of warranty etc. but they will be more likely to have replacement parts to hand. Tel.: +44 (0) 1992 703058

[quote name='ikay' timestamp='1424433552' post='2696222'] Active doesn't (necessarily) = better. Passive pickups have greater dynamic range and are more responsive to playing touch. After years of playing active basses I've recently rediscovered the simple joys of my old passive Fenders. They just sound more open and expressive to me. But then I am getting old and steadily regressing to my 60s roots when of course everything sounded better [/quote] Having said the above about my EMGs - recording ease aside, I too have started to prefer my 100% passive basses these days. To be honest, adding a preamp between bass and desk is not a big deal and essentially thats all an active bass is - an onboard pre-amp (whether its pickups or tone circuit). But there's something about that P with the EMGs and passive tone control that just works out of the box.