Moo

[quote name='Toasted' post='129106' date='Jan 28 2008, 09:34 AM']If I was going to get a multieffect (and at that time the underword was in a cold snap) I'd get the new TC one.[/quote] Which one? And why?

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[quote name='peted' post='119411' date='Jan 13 2008, 10:00 AM']That'll just be Hartke gear. Their amps seem to get to 70% volume in the first quarter turn of the volume knob. My 350 Watt Hartke 3500 has the volume at 2/10 for pub gigs and about 3/10 for bigger venues. Stick with your Warwick amp as I'd much rather have a sweeping range of volume rather than loud, and louder.[/quote] I have a warwick profet 3.2 which was never below 10 and still wasn't loud enough in my band. Its cheap for £180 with lots of bells and whistles, but heavy and underpowered. Its O.K or my son to use, because his mates all have small practice amps on their guitars, and the drummer can't hit very loud - Yet ...

1.Listen to lots of different music. Include lots of stuff you would not normally listen to, and you will sometimes find new things you do like. 2. Hum along to the basslines you like and they will be absorbed into your memory. I have found that I can only remember things I like. Its really hard to remember something you don't like, or are not bothered about, but its ok, because your choices between what you do and do not remember will obviously help to shape your own style. 3. From time you will hear a line that you realy like. - Pick up your bass and then learn it. If your bass is not handy when you hear a new killer line, then try and write your own notes for it. Your notes may not be pitch perfect, but they will help you to remember the original line when you try to play it later. After a period of time you will have built up a library of phrases in your mind, and as you play along to things, the phrases that fit the groove will pop into your head from your memory of similar tunes. If you have practiced them you will be able to slot them in to what you are playing without really thinking about it. As stated above this process takes time. I realise now that I have been doing this for as long as I can remember listening to music (35+ years), and long before I started playing bass. I can honestly say that I do not know the lyrics to any pop song, but I can remember the groove and feel of thousands of basslines which I have heard a few times on the radio, because I realise that the bassline and groove is predominantly the part of the song I listen to. This is why I find a lot of indie guitar music so boring, because its all about the lyrics which I don't listen to, and rarely has an original groove. I may not be able to play all of the bassline I know note perfect, but that is not what counts when your making your own lines. For me the groove and feel of a bassline, and the way it fits in with the drummer and rythm players is the most important thing. Over a period of time you will find yourself liking certain types and styles of basslines, and this will define your own style and feel for playing. Obviously if you are playing covers, then punters will expect you to learn the original basslines note perfect to reproduce the original grove of the song. If you are creating a new groove for a cover, then it needs to be very different to, and/or better than the original, because otherwise the punters will just assume that you got it wrong, or you are not good enough to play the original. This method may not work for everyone, but I am sure that everyone will be doing it subconsciously in varying degrees. Note about practicing: A very good guitarist once explained to me that every time you practice, you should be playing something new that you find slightly difficult. If you are playing the same things over and over then you are wasting your time, and will make no progress in your playing. (your original post tells me that you know this already.) Hope this helps Moo.

I have a vague Knowledge about this from reading Hi Fi magazines, so apologies in advance if an electronics expert here can correct me: Mosfets can be made to sound more like valves if they are used in class A opperation. This means that instead of being used to 'push' and 'pull' the signal, they are biased. This means that with no signal, they are resting at half their voltage, and create a wave by increaseing or decreaseing the voltage, as opposed to normal amps where the voltage is changed from positive to negative to achieve alternating waves. The Idea is that a smoother more valve like tone can be made with transistors, The downsides are that they produce LOTS of heat. With no signal the transistors are running at half power, and that the power that the transistor can output is halved. They are popular for Top End HiFi kit and are used in the classic Musical Fidelity A1 amp. This is low powered, sounds lovely, and you could fry eggs on top of it if you wanted to! I believe it would be impractical to use class A operation for High powered Amps, they would be too big, heavy, hot, and would demand more power than is safe on a 13amp plug. However, as stated above, they can be used in preamps to simulate valves without the transformers and glasswork hassles. To be honest, saying that and amp has MOFETS does not really tell you much, - Its a bit like saying it has a plug. This is probably more info than you need but I cant help myself from rambling sometimes.

Why not get a Cheapish Multi FX to start with. This will give you an idea of what the different FX's do to your sound. After a while you will get a feel for what you like and dislike, as well as what fits in the mix in your band/bands. I have found that a lot of things that sound nice on your own at home turn to an indistinct mush when the drummer and guitar kick in. When you have your favourite effects dialled in to your multi, you can then go out and buy the real thing to build up your pedal board. This is what I have done BTW. I started with a zoom 506 and now have a DHA VT1 comp, (Envelope filter and Overdrive pending) because these wre the FX I used most. The Zoom is staying BTW because it has a good reverb.

I have a Profet 3.2 that has been relegated to practice and Kids amp. Sounds nice and has lots of tone controls. Not enough power though. Need sensitive (Efficient + Large) cabs as well as quiet drummer and guitar to hold its own in a band. Only cost me £180 New though. It would be unreasonable to expect a huge performance from a £180 quid amp. My current Quadruplet pre + 750w Digital power rig was £450 Second hand, would have cost £1200 to buy new. - No competition in performance.

I have a Profet 3.2 that has been relegated to practice and Kids amp. Sounds nice and has lots of tone controls. Not enough power though. Need sensitive (Efficient + Large) cabs as well as quiet drummer and guitar to hold its own in a band. Only cost me £180 though. It would be unreasonable to expect a huge performance from a £180 quid amp. My current Quadruplet pre + 750w Digital power rig was £450 Second hand, would have cost £1200 to buy new. - No competition in performance.

Hi Wateroftyne. Nice amp. I have the warwick quadruplet pre with a peavey digital 1u 750w power in my 2u rack. You get a valve power OD with lots of watts all in a small light package. Luverley. I have just been looking at your cases here: [url="http://www.casemarket.co.uk/boschma-rack-cases-99-c.asp"]http://www.casemarket.co.uk/boschma-rack-cases-99-c.asp[/url] £100 for a 4U is reasonable if they are good cases. Are they as well built as they look?

I had a Zoom 607 until last week. The resoldering job I did on the input Jack lasted 2 rehersals and then pulled the track off of the PCB. I have a DHA VT1 Comp on order now, because that was the only effect I regularly used on it. The distortions which I used occasionally sounded thin and tinny to my ears, I now have a Behringer BOD, and BLE. (Bass OD and Bass Limiter/enhancer) It is much easier to dial a decent sound buy twiddleing the knobs, rather than navigating a pushy button digital menu maze. Individual peddals tend to have more adjustability thanthe ones inside multi FX as well. Will be looking for Valve distortion and synth pedals for Xmas now to build up small pedal board. Moo.