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randythoades

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Everything posted by randythoades

  1. Hi all, Just bought some strings off Clarky for double bass. Great communication, description and delivery. Couldn't ask for more. Thanks
  2. Thanks Phil. I will look at those too. I am expecting my son to give up quite quickly so something I can continue to use for pizz at home is probably ideal if I am spending that money. Cheers
  3. Thanks Phil I would consider losing some of the pizz suitability as it would be for me at home more than anything else, but he might like to do a bit of jazz too as they also run a jazz band at school. Mainly for orchestral though. Thanks, I had already looked at the EP strings but a price of £200 + put me off a little!! I will keep a look out for some in the Classifieds.. I do have an adjustable bridge so I will see how much adjustment I have left and maybe bring it down a little, my normal setup is normally higher than that. Very much appreciated.
  4. Morning all, just looking for someone to point me in the right direction. My son (a 5' 9" tall 14 year old) is showing an interest (FINALLY) in my upright bass. He plays in the school concert band on clarinet so can read music and is competent but several new clarinetist have joined so he is one of many... The band struggles with bass frequencies as there is no tuba, bass clarinet etc, not even a cello. Bass duties are currently held down on keyboard (not piano) by one of the trumpet players who has had to move across, so I am sure a bassist would be very appreciated. So, I am keen to embrace this new found interest by providing what I can, but realise this might be a flash in the pan. I was going to use my spare bass and make it more suitable for ochestral use. I am a rockabilly and bluegrass player so I use low tension steels (Blast Cult lowlifes) with a high-ish action and it sounds terrible with bow.... so I need to change strings and set up to be more appropriate for him as well as allowing me to still play pizz at home to a degree when inspiration strikes. What strings would suit a student bassist looking for orchestral use (and still be able to be played pizz), and what can I do to the setup without having to spend a fortune getting it set up fully? Does orchestral need a low action or s a medium high action ok? If he takes to it and gives it a couple of months practice then I would happily buy him his own bass or give him mine properly and set it up with a £250 set of strings and full setup, but money tight as it is for everyone so would prefer to spend less than £100 if I can. But on the flipside, i don't want it to be hard and for him to give up because it is harder than it could be. thanks in advance
  5. To remove yourself slightly from the McCartney connection you could try the Hofner Club bass too. I haven't tried one but looks to be still much lighter than a solid body.
  6. I have exactly the same issue with left shoulder. I swapped to a violin bass (a 1969 Aria copy as it happens) and it works fine for me, I don't think I could go back properly to a long scale. I roll the tone back a little and play with a pick so narrow spacing is a benefit, and it works fine for anything from 50s rock and roll up to The Killers. I did try to use a Slinger strap that I imported from the USA. It carries some of the weight on your waist. I tried both the Sling strap which has a waist strap as well as a shoulder strap and also tried a full waist only strap. Both worked well for a bigger bass, the waist one in particular, but you can't bend down to pick up your pint during a set!! But I don't need to worry with a violin bass, it is light enough. I get quite a few comments as they aren't that common on our circuit, but sound wise is good.
  7. Thanks for this. I understand. I will give them a try over the next couple of weeks. I will try first with the Tech 21 Q-strip as a preamp as it has some really effective EQ and is great for recording.
  8. Ha! Very goood point... should have thought of that...!!! I will ask my previous drummer, he has access to a full Yamaha PA with his other band. During these times I am sure it wouldn't be a problem to borrow one. Sorry if this sounds a bit dumb though... would a standard active PA speaker be flat enough response? There seems to be specific FRFR speakers so I assumed they were different. The higher end ones seem to mention that they would be suitable as flat response but doesn't mention that on the Yamaha DXR for instance...
  9. That is also true, I would find that helpful. Also the option to place on a stand. I am glad that others have used an active speaker for upright, I wasn't sure if it would be at all a viable option. The best sound I got for myself was using an old Carlsboro keyboard amplifier in an obscure reheasal room, but just not enough volume, so I am thinking that active PA would be similar.
  10. Thanks, I have looked several times at the BF cabs and have been very tempted. I am happy generally with my Ashdown in the sound department, nice, fat and round, but keep thinking about option of just having the one active cab and preamp so I could run upright, electric and acoustic guitars all through the same one as needs dictate rather than having different solutions for each instrument. Save a lot of storage. Plus a BF cab and a clean powerful amp like the AI would take me well over the cost of something like the RCF or QSC along with a decent preamp pedal which I could use as a multi purpose amplifier.
  11. Would an FRFR like the RCF be suitable for upright bass too if I used something like a Tech 21 Q-strip or F-Deck? To play live on upright I use an Ashdown ABM 115 combo which feels a bit excessive so I have been thinking about swapping out my cab for a FRFR cab. I also play guitar and already use modelling straight into PA. I don't need huge volume as I could split it into PA, just for rehearsing, practice or monitoring. Would be good to rationalise all the equipment and use the same speaker for both guitar and upright as needed.
  12. Smooth hound used to sell a polarity converter for about £2. I needed one to power my receiver unit from my normal pedal board supply. Doesn't appear on the website now though as a separate item, only as an accessory when you purchase a main unit.
  13. Yes Jack, I agree, the Smooth hound receiver is a bit of a pain actually, but I did put it on my pedal board as I have a board of always on pedals (preamp etc) that I shove to the side of me when i play, not to stomp on, so it hasn't been a problem. I did have an early base unit which kept picking up interference despite being sent back for repair, but I was impressed enough with the service and product to buy another so now I have 2 transmitters synced to the unit as a backup. I do like the idea of the plug and play though. But with a rechargeable system, what do you do if it goes down mid gig? With the smooth hound you just put in another couple of AAA.
  14. I use the Smooth Hound Classic for my DB which works well for me.
  15. I can see now that you are central London so I would like you post if possible...
  16. Hi Dave. Thanks for this. Just been looking at reviews on acoustic guitar and general studio use. The HPF seems all I would need on upright with minor eq adjustments as I would only want clean and powerful without much colouration or drive. But I think I could have multiple uses in a small home studio. So I think I will go for it please. I can send you a paypal payment tomorrow if you send me an email address. I can't see on this screen where you are based but I think I would needed posting to Surrey. Cheers Simon
  17. Hi Dave This looks interesting. Do you think this could be used as a preamp and eq for upright bass pickup for home recording? I use mic when I can but want to add some definition with pickup as well on certain songs. Looking for something possibky multi functional that could be used for acoustic guitar di, electric bass di and upright bass. Cheers Simon
  18. I no longer have my Stagg but I also had similar problems. Not enough for me to worry about to be fair but defintiely some hiss. I started using my Vox amplug Bass which accepts an mp3 input and just used normal cable out of the Stagg.
  19. Ha! Yes, you are right any will fit in, I use my full size on in the same way but it is a bit of a faff to get in and out properly. It is very surprising though just how much easier, lighter and better to manoeuver the slimline version is. You wouldn't think it, but it makes a huge difference. I still prefer the look and sound of the full size version at home but do use the slimline the majority of the time for the convenience if I go to band practice.
  20. That's a shame, I am the opposite, I really like the feel of steel compared to something like the Innovation and Presto. And I always get small blisters with nylon strings that I don't from steel, not a huge inconvenience but slightly annoying all the same. I haven't played much these last couple of months due to a wrist injury so I haven't tried my new BC strings on my second bass yet, but still love them on my primary bass.
  21. I like the Presto's, don't get me wrong, I just prefer the feel and silkiness of steels compared to the synthetic or nylon wrapped strings so prefer the feel of the BC on a longer playing session. My favourite actually was the Innovation Honeys but they won't work with mag pickup as not enough metal content and I much prefer the sound of the mag pickup to the various piezo I tried. I did think of trying the Spirocore Solos and then tuning them back down to standard pitch but not looked at this further as it seemed a lot of cash to splash on another 'maybe' to go with the various sets of Spiros and Prestos that I have in the cupboard that I really ought to sell on!
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