KingBollock

[quote name='bluejay' timestamp='1334942827' post='1623930'] Also, regardless of age, if you are or have been a student at a music school, they are usually happy to put you in touch with fellow students who want to form a band, although they might not plan to play in public immediately. I know that my teachers kept telling me to do exactly that - but I only play along records and for my own enjoyment, and so far have no desire to go on stage. (Joining a band is also a fairly big commitment, what with learning the songs in the set, rehearsing, getting all the gear etc. and above all being available when the band need you!) [/quote] One of the problems I have is that I want to play with other people, I want to write original music, but I don't particularly want to play on stage. I don't suppose I'd mind at some point, once comfortable with the people I'm playing with, but I wouldn't want to join a band and have to immediately start working on/learning a live set. I just want to have a bit of fun.

When we moved here, about 4 years ago, I popped into the local Guitar shop. It's not much of a shop, it's more there as a teaching studio, with very little in the way of actual stock, he actually recommended a different shop. Anyhoo, we got talking and he invited me to a jam they have at the shop every Friday night. During the conversation I had mentioned that I was going to have another crack at the Violin (I took to it quite well when I had skinny fingers, but now it's a lost cause) and also mentioned that I tinker with a few other instruments. The only one I have any confidence in at all is the Bass, though, which is what I started on and enjoy the most. But... He said the words :"You're obviously a musician...". I was about to explain myself and the fact that I know no theory and wouldn't call myself a "Musician", when someone came in for his appointed lesson, so I buggered off. The musician accusation rather scared me off and I haven't been back since. However, after reading this thread, I think I might pop back in again and see how things go. You never know.

I, personally, would find a jam night a far scarier proposition to a private audition.

If you take an acoustic Guitar and play the right notes at once you get a chord, which you recognize as one sound, which is made up from the different vibrations of the different strings. A speaker just takes all of the sounds fed into it, as electric pulses, and creates that one sound, or chord, in a very small instance of time.

[quote name='thisnameistaken' timestamp='1334784519' post='1621376'] Whereas I never believe anyone who pays me a compliment, but maybe that's just me. It makes me feel good for five minutes and then I think they were only talking about a subset of my playing and if they knew that there isn't much more to my playing they might change their minds. [/quote] Yeah, I'm normally like that, but I was lucky enough to already be working in a Guitar shop staffed with brutally honest and very talented musicians. And I was only 14. EDIT: There is an irony to this. The first proper band I joined, when I was 14, everyone else was 18 and 19, and for the next few years I was quite sought-after and never without a band. But then family things got in the way, I skipped town and have never been able to get into a music scene since. I've been living in Wales now for 4 years and don't know a single musician and I don't have the confidence to go looking for any.

The thing that made me really go for it and decide to take an opportunity when it arose, was the honest feedback of people whose musical (as musicians) opinions I trusted.

[quote name='rmorris' timestamp='1334773653' post='1621107'] Interestingly I have one of thes - Aria Pro II Magna Series 5 string - as pictured. It has 3 pots only Vol / Vol and Tone Pot is where your 'missing' pot is ( there's no pot or switch where your third pot is positioned ). Unless it's a version thing then I think that a previous owner may have moved the tone pot from the original position ? If you remove the third pot maybe you'll be able to see if it looks like the hole for that is original or a diy job ? [/quote] I too have the same Bass and have just checked, you are absolutely right, the "extra" hole is the original and where the tone pot is now is new. I wonder if, maybe, someone has fitted a pre-amp at some point and then converted it back?

What is the actual, physical difference between a cheap and expensive pick-up, that are the same type and impedance? And how do the various materials effects the sound? I'm curious as I'd quite like to have a crack at making my own one day. Is it impedance they're measured by? Or is it inductance? I can't remember.

[quote name='GregBass' timestamp='1334586123' post='1618026'] Errr - unless things have changed since my Warwicks were made, they don't use screws to secure the back plates. They are clips, a bit like the battery compartments of DVD remote controls. Putting in any type fo bracing that pushes onto the backplate would be pointless as the first sign of pressure would just pop the backplate off. [/quote] Ah I didn't know that. I've never even seen a Warwick in person, let alone owned one. I've never seen a backplate held on like that, unless it's the battery compartment. Is that just a Warwick thing?

[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1334349530' post='1615139'] It looks incredibly thin doesn't it? I think I'd be inclined to have a pair of threaded steel reinforcing bars resting against the back of the pots and buried deep inside the body so they can't push backwards and fracture the wood. [/quote] It does indeed. Even something as simple as a block of plastic or wood, nothing heavy, thick enough to take up the space between the back of the pots to the inside of the cover, taped or glued to the inside of the cover, would probably make a difference. Though it might be a good idea to use thicker and/or longer screws to fit the cover plate in place. If we can come up with these ideas in an evening, why can't Warwick? Especially as their stuff ain't cheap.

I love my Westfield. I was all set to get a "proper" 4 string this year but, in the mean time, I took the time to set my Westfield up properly and put some decent strings on it. It made a huge difference and I've decided that unless my ideal Bass were to come along at the right price, then I shan't bother with another.

You'd think they reinforce it if it's so thin and prone to this, wouldn't you? I'd be tempted to line the face side of the cavity with a thin (probably .5mm) sheet of aluminum and then line the whole cavity with copper shielding.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1333809941' post='1606813'] Good job you didn't decide to toss yourself off instead. [/quote] Just thinking about that brought a tear to my eye.

The worst I've had it was while my wife was away and I decided to dabble in some go faster powder... I played my Guitar for 11 hours straight, without putting it down. Oddly it didn't blister or bleed, but I couldn't touch anything with my left hand for 2 weeks. Which was unfortunate because I forgot every tune that I had learned that night.

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' timestamp='1333744466' post='1606104'] Got suitable cab? Also investigate if the fx return or power amp in on the amp is affected by the volume, might be best to go in there if it is. [/quote] Yeah, the cab will go down to 30hz, but I'm not planning on going that low, just to somewhere between 40hz and 60hz, it's not really for proper Sub Bass, it's just to add a little Bass for a house/garden party, for fun. I hadn't thought of the effects return, I shall check that out.

[quote name='bigjohn' timestamp='1333741467' post='1606059'] Bit difficult to tell really innit! Power amps get damaged when they overheat. How hot it gets will essentially depend on what's being drawn off it by the speaker. Lower the frequency, the more draw it'll take. All depends on the spec of the speaker, what frequencies you try to do and if the power amp can do that with that speaker. A bit of suck it and see probably won't do no harm if you stick to the old axiom of turning it down if starts making horrible or unfamiliar noises. Don't Peaveys have that DTT thing that might get in the way? [/quote] I'm not worried about the power-amp, just the pre-amp. I intend to use the power-amp as just another power-amp, without going through the pre-amp. I was wondering if I could actually go through the pre-amp, though, just to give me some control over the volume.

Is this too obscure a sub-forum, the wrong forum or does no-one know? Not to worry, I have an alternative I can try first. I have a little old mixer that's not much good for anything anymore, so I'm going to try running the Sub Bass channel through that and then into the power amp to give me some control over the volume mix.

We've just taken the rear set of seats out of out Mazda Bongo. So there's now only seating for 4 or 5 (if you include the centre seat with the lap belt in the back) and loads of space behind. Absolutely ideal for a 4 piece band, very comfortable to travel in and like I say loads of space. The insurance is cheaper than out Ford Focus, but that is for personal use, but it is just for personal use, it is our everyday car, we're selling the Focus. Our old Mitsubishi L300 just had 3 seats in the front and we couldn't insure it for personal use, we took insurance under our mobile Disco even though it was more of a hobby. I used to travel in the back all the time, sitting on huge bean bags, it was great! We had that van for years and I can't believe I never got caught. Though it didn't have windows down the side so it wasn't easy to see into, or out of...

On the floor there, there is a Laney Linebacker 100R. In the rack is my Boss GX-700 and the stereo power amp I play it through. Under the rack and under the cab with the Skull flag over it is the pair of PA cabs I run the power amp through. I also have the GX-700 hooked up to my PC for recording. You can just about make out the neck of my headless Flying V behind the Guitars in the rack. That's it for my Guitar stuff. I finally got around to turning the grill on my Peavey TX cab around so the tragedy of a flame paint job the previous owner did is no longer visible.

I'm getting a stereo EQ that has a separate Sub Bass output with a cross-over selector. I am planning on putting this through the power-amp stage of my Peavey T-Max. The trouble with that is that it won't have an independent volume control. I won't be running it at proper Sub Bass levels, probably between 30 or 40 (once I remember how low the cab I'm planning on using will go) to 60hz. Would it hurt my amp if I were to put it through the Peavey's pre-amp so that I have greater control over it? I know the stereo channels on the EQ each have a low pass filter set at 20hz but I don't think the Sub Bass output does. Thanks. Sorry if this is in the wrong place, I wasn't sure where to put it.

[quote name='charic' timestamp='1333371620' post='1600662'] Currently I can fit the whole band and all the gear in my focus 3 people 1 bass (in hardcase) 1 guitar (in softcase) Bass amp 2 x 210 bass cab 1 x guitar combo rack case Gig bag (cables etc) Bass Stand [/quote] I got a lift home from a Guitarist after practice one day. We got him, his Guitar and combo Amp, me, my Amp head, 1x15" cab and my Bass, and a whole 7 piece Drumkit, into his... Mini! It was a bloomin' tight squeeze and I had my Bass between my knees, but, fortunately, we didn't have to go far.

[quote name='Dom in Somerset' timestamp='1333347003' post='1600204'] [/quote] I know it's no good for the long haul, but as a way of getting gear into a venue from the car/van, a barrow isn't such a daft idea if you use a Fishing barrow:

Another here for the Westfield, but... mine wasn't quite so cheap. I paid £200 for it, new, well over 10 years ago. I'm not sure of the model name but the current one that it looks similar to is the Small Body, but it has much better hardware than the current Small Body. I recently replaced the Pots, Capacitor and Socket, making it Volume/Blend/Tone. And stuck some Chromes Flats on it (actually the first time I'd changed the strings on it since I bought it). I left the Pick-ups in it because they sound lovely. It's a great bass to play, very light and is even a really nice colour.

[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1333011729' post='1596052'] afraid I can't agree with you, maybe you're being a bit snobby?, 500 miles is a great simple singalong song to do as an encore, punked up of course, send the crowd home happy they'll come again, and lets face we all love a gig where we get an audience reaction, or should do. We do Nellie the Elephant as well [/quote] I used to own a mobile Disco and we ended every night with Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life, because I have a theory that if you can get people to sing along to a happy tune as they're leaving they're less likely to turn on each other and start fighting. Though it does rather count on the Bride and Groom's families having not already started scratching and thumping chunks out of each other.