JPJ

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='54999' date='Sep 3 2007, 10:19 PM']After watching JPJ's jaw hit the floor when I lifted my cab out of the back of my car with virtually one hand it was almost as amusing as wondering if I was going to induce a hernia or force the tortoises head out when I lifted any one of his cabs![/quote] My jaw is still aching today, when you lifted that monster out of the car I thought for a minute Charles Atlas had moved to Blyth and taken up bass playing! [quote name='warwickhunt' post='54999' date='Sep 3 2007, 10:19 PM']though I think Mrs JPJ is gonna be p*ssed when he buys a Neo cab![/quote] I havent mentioned that yet, its her birthday today and I just didn't have the heart...... [quote name='warwickhunt' post='54999' date='Sep 3 2007, 10:19 PM']What is it about blue lights on amps that just looks so much cooler than reds and the like? [/quote] How did I forget to mention that cool blue light! Senility must be setting in or I'm suffering from post gig trauma! [quote name='warwickhunt' post='54999' date='Sep 3 2007, 10:19 PM']We now just have to establish if digital power sections have a different 'delivery' of output to... non-digital![/quote] whoopee, count me in, I'll get the kettle on again!

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='53664' date='Sep 1 2007, 12:00 AM']What was that you said fearplugs! Nah our lass scares the beejezus out of me as it is I'm coming to terms with the controls but I'm seeking local opinions as to what does what, this weekend... hope the whole of the NE has their own supply of earplugs.[/quote] Hope yesterdays gear'fest helped with the decision making. Its an interesting amp that one, seemed to prefer being driven quite hard and seemed to like my East powered Precision mutant. That Tech cab of yours is amazing, a six by ten should not weigh so little, it defies the laws of physics, I'm surprised your not able to pack all your other gear inside it and travel home in it as well, afterall it must be made from the same stuff as Dr whatsits tardis! For the rest of you, WH and I got together yesterday with the following gear to check out various theories re cabs, amps and sounds; 1 x Thunderfunk head 1 x Tech Blackcat head 1 x SWR 750x head 1 x Tech Neo 6x10 1 x SWR Goliath 4x10 1 x SWR Son of Bertha 1x15 1 x Schroeder 21012 2 x Warwick basses 1 x five string precision thing I don't think we actually discovered anything new despite the multiple variations of amps and cabs other than the Tech cab on its own doesn't quite have the rounded bottom of the 4x10+1x15. Having said that, the difference is small and certainly not worth the weight penalty of the 4x10+1x15. The Blackcat head likes being driven hard, and the eq is very sensitive to preamp volume and master volume settings. That said, it had a nice sound through the 6x10, definitely old skool. Surprisingly, the SWR head did not sound that good through the tech cab. The Thunderfunk sounded pretty much the same through all the cabs save for the Schroeder, where the character of the cab would have need some eq tweaks to match the others (we ran all the amps and basses flat, or as near to flat as we could given the difficulty of deciding what was actually flat on the Black Cat!). I think we concluded that the SWR sounded best through the 4x10+1x15. The Tech cab is seriously sexy, the weight or rather lack of weight, is hugely seductive. The Thunderfunk is a nice sounding amp. Perhaps a little too clean for my liking, but it suits WH's Warwick basses with a really well defined full range sound. The Blackcat is similarly a nice amp, a little dirtier sounding than the Thunderfunk, but we both concluded that we'd be a little concerned about that passive eq setup in a difficult room. It was great to get to a/b all this gear. Also, it was the first time I've been able to get up close and personal with a Warwick bass. I found both easy to play, light weight and the necks were not as clubby as some would have you believe. WH will, I am sure, be along shortly to clarify which of his arsenal of basses we were using. All in all a fascinating couple of hours, only problem being is that I am left with serious gas for a Tech 610

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='54104' date='Sep 2 2007, 10:22 AM']Aww... sorry I didn't make it, JPJ. I had a gig this afternoon that I thought was cancelled, but it's back on again, and I'm utterly wiped out at the mo. How'd it go?[/quote] Cheers WoT, Dont worry about it, the gig went really well (well both gigs did actually) The Pheonix is a nice little pub gig with a good knowledgeable and appreciative crowd.

If I recall correctly, I think its Kiwi's Celinder, but I'm sure somebody more knowledgeable will be along shortly to confirm or deny this!

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='53107' date='Aug 31 2007, 06:54 AM']Hey JPJ! Might see ya on Saturday. Who cancelled on Sunday?[/quote] More on the cancellation taken from Riffs website. "Linda Cross, who has worked so tirelessly to put bands on at Harleys in Sunderland, has now the unenviable task of informing everyone that, due to such poor turnouts, the venue has ceased live bands altogether. How she actually conveyed this information to Riffs was much more from the heart: 'Due to the apathy of the sh*tty punters in Sunderland Harleys, possibly the best venue in the town has ceased staging live gigs. The manager could not stand losing the amount of money that having two bands on over a weekend was costing. So its "Up Yours!" Sunderland punters you are not worth the effort that goes in to staging such gigs.' " Do you think she's a bit miffed or what?

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='53107' date='Aug 31 2007, 06:54 AM']Hey JPJ! Might see ya on Saturday. Who cancelled on Sunday?[/quote] The Venue cancelled, apparently they are not putting bands on anymore? [quote name='warwickhunt' post='53167' date='Aug 31 2007, 09:50 AM']Oh dear now won't that be fun... I was thinking of going Saturday![/quote] Woohoo, this could be the inaugural Basschat North East branch meeting! Guess I'd better be on form with all this talent in the room

Now only Fri & Sat as the venue on Sunday has cancelled, apparently they are not having bands on. Just goes to show you cant trust bloody makems!

[quote name='charic' post='52818' date='Aug 30 2007, 03:05 PM']The templates your talking about. How do you mean about making your own? Also whats the best size router to get then? For neck inlay work would a dremel multi-tool do the job or would this be bass suicide? lol[/quote] I make my own templates for pickups neck pockets etc from 6mm MDF. I simply draw (accurately) around the pickup directly onto the MDF then cut out the rough shape with a jigsaw before spending many happy hours filing the thing to finished size until the pickup fits neatly in the template. For Fender style pickups I drill the template for the mounting screw blisters first and then jigsaw the outline. Once your pickup fits neatly inside of your template..... Take your router, set it up with a straight cutting bit and the template collar and measure the distance between the edge of the cutter and the outer edge of the template collar. This is your offset dimension. Then, go back to the template and mark a line from the edge of the newly finished template hole that is the offset dimension away from the edge (best done using callipers). Now file your template to this new line! When you have done this, you can fix the template to the guitar, and route out the pickup by letting the router collar follow the inside egde of the template. Your local B&Q will have a range of routers available. For pickup cavities / neck pockets etc. I would recommend something greater than 1300w. As to using a dremel to do neck inlays, thats a definate yes, providing you have the router style stand for your dremel. Remember, the edges of your route for an inlay need to be at 90 degrees to the fingerboard otherwise your inlay will either fit but be loose with an unsightly gap around the edge or it won't fit at all.

Couple of separate questions really. If your going to be routing for pickups, you'll need a fairly high powered plunge router and either the time/inclination to accurately make your own templates or a set of templates from say StewMac in the states (although the good ones aint that cheap, hence why I make my own). Routing for inlays etc requires a smaller router, as the big ones are just too akward for small / shallow work such as inlays. Again, to get repeatable accurate results you'll be best of working with a template of some description, freehanding especially straight lines around block inlays etc almost always results in some waveyness no matter how steady your hand is. Also, you will probably need a reverse template to actually cut the inlay material to finished size. When selecting your router, pay attention to the diameter of the templating collar. The bigger the collar, the bigger the hole in the template will need to be. The bigger the collar also means the bigger the corner radius of the routed hole will be. Generally, american made templates assume you will use a 3/8" diameter collar, but the bigger black&decker & makita routers tend to come with a 1/2" collar which means they won't work with the templates. Finally, router bits are not cheap, but like most things you get what you pay for. The more money you pay, the better, sharper and hence cleaner cutting bit you will get. But expect to burn a straight cutter out by the time you've routed one complete bass body (i.e. router cut the body from the blank, routed for the control cavity, pickups, neck pocket, bridge etc). Also, cutters come in a range of shank sizes so make sure you buy cutters that fit your router. Other than that, practice (a lot) before you attack your favourite bass!

[quote name='cetera' post='49998' date='Aug 24 2007, 10:43 AM']Tell us more![/quote] Come on WoT, we are all waiting.........

[quote name='bassbloke' post='51610' date='Aug 28 2007, 10:48 AM']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] I seem to remember that 4ohm + 8 ohms = 2.7 ohms total not 3.5, but I'm sure someone more knowledgeable will be along shortly to confirm/deny this

[quote name='stingrayfan' post='51202' date='Aug 27 2007, 10:11 AM']Three days in a row? Ouch. What's the band called? Got a web link pls?[/quote] Yeah, three in a row, my shoulder will be toast by Sunday night! The band are called FM (www.effemm.co.uk) and they play three or four nights a week every week. I get to gig with them a couple of times a year when their regular bass player is on holiday.

[quote name='fleamail' post='50899' date='Aug 26 2007, 01:45 PM']The chili peppers are the only rock band that I could watch live every day, every show has something new to it with lots of improvisation! That is their philosophy and that is why their true fans love them![/quote] Thats what I like about them, live, there is really experimentation within the successful formula to the point where you can almost feel the edge, like if they go any further they'll fall off and make complete arses of themselves. I struggle to think of any other established rock acts who step so far outside of the comfort zone every gig? Any of us who play live know what its like when you are right on it. I don't mean tighter than a gnats chuff on it, I mean sloppy tight when its musical and big big sounding. I'm making a complete mess of trying to describe it, but I played a gig about six months ago when we were like that and people still talk about that gig today, like it was something special. We knew it on stage, but somehow the audience knew it as well, it was special, and it was spontaneous. RHCP seem to be able to produce that atmosphere in every (televised) live show that ive seen.

Its that time of year again folks when I get to dep with one of the north east's hardest working rock covers bands. I'll be playing the following gigs next weekend; Fri 31-Aug-07 Washington Football Club, Washington, Tyne & Wear Sat 01-Sep-07 The Pheonix, Cramlington, Northumberland Sun 02-Sep-07 NOW CANCELLED - Venue no longert putting on bands! If any basschatters are in the vacinity, come and say hi

Chris, Following your advice, I have just put a Phillips Jan 5751 into my SWR750x this morning and the difference is huge. Strangely, there was a Sovtek 12AX7WC in there already so I guess somebody has already changed the valve at least once before. Loads of warmth from the 5751 and the overdrive channel now gives a lovely warm OD (think Jack Bruce) which means that I now have two really useful channels to play with (previously, the OD channel sounded like a wasp in a beer bottle!). Thanks again for your advice,

Whey Aye bonny lad Welcome back to the fold. Just what the forum needs, more Goerdies!

My day job that supports the wife and family has nothing to do with music. My hobby is playing bass, as a result when I get to play, I play covers. Playing covers has developed my playing no end. I am from the 'classic rock' school of bass playing, but still enjoy stretching myself with a Flea workout now and again. Playing covers allows me two things that I dont think playing in an original band would deliver (at least in the short term, if ever). Firstly, I get paid for my efforts and that it is satisfying as someone is giving me money for playing bass which is effectively saying 'here you go, you are a musician". Secondly, when you get it right and the audience are up for it, I take huge satisfaction from seeing them having a good time. Perhaps the ulitimate accolade is when a punter comes up to you at the end of the night and lets you know how much they have enjoyed themselves.

Ok, I'm probably not the one to ask on this one as I don't get out much for pleasure due to work/family commitments but I'd rather have a poor covers band plinking away in the background than a poor originals band. At least this way there would be a semblence of familiarity about the background noise rather than it just being noise. The scene for originals bands in my neck of the woods tends to be for the younger end of the market. Covers dominate the thirty-plus pub scene. I accept that there are some talented musicians trying to do their own thing, but equally there are talented musicians doing covers (remember, covers does not necessarily mean note for note replication, look at Robert Plant's version of Hendrix's Hey Joe as an example). How about another question. When does an originals band become a cover/tribute band? For example, two ex members of The Jam are touring without Weller. Is this a covers band, a tribute band or an original act? Likewise, The Sensational Alex Harvey Band continue to tour long after the demise of the main man. Again, are the Who actually the Who (only two out of four original members surviving). The list goes on and on, and the question remains, are these cover bands, tribute bands or originals?

[quote name='shaundixon666' post='33989' date='Jul 19 2007, 08:42 AM']Right well thought I would post this. Im 19 and from Dunston in Gateshead. Been playing for 3 and a bit years and have all my own gear. Influences include anything from Rush, Iron Maiden, Metallica all the way to Slayer, Pantera, Death, Decapitated, Behemoth and many more. You can see im more of a metal bassist but am willing to play anything ATM. Thanks Shaun[/quote] Shaun, You are probably already aware of these links but keep an eye on these two local websites; [url="http://www.zen76308.zen.co.uk/Riffs/musicians.html"]Riffs Musicians Wanted[/url] or [url="http://www.jpne08863.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/framemain.htm"]Davy's Rock Page [/url]

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='47209' date='Aug 18 2007, 08:24 PM']Hi folks I've got a couple of away-days next week. We're opening the the [url="http://www.towerseyfestival.com/WhatsOn/Artists/The_Peter_Donegan_Band.html"]Towersey Folk Festival [/url]this Thursday (23rd) and then the following Tuesday we're at The [url="http://www.aldeburgh.co.uk/online/online.cfm?flash_detected=YES&mainframe_file=/online/gallery.cfm"]Snape Maltings[/url] near Aldeburgh in Suffolk.If you fancy either of them, let me know and I'll see what I can do... [url="http://www.peterdonegan.com"]The Peter Donegan Band[/url][/quote] Jesus WoT, your piling up the miles arnt you? Turning pro yet?