Danimal

What really sucks is that the VB-JR is literally perfect for what I need. It's small compared to the other similar products I've seen, it runs at 18v (I have no 9v outlets left free on my brick), and it's simple enough to do exactly what I need it to with no additional fluff. Perhaps I'll try and find someone who can build me a clone...

That really is a shame. It always sucks when good people who go the extra mile like that end up having to close up shop. I'll see if I can source anything from eBay and the like, but I guess I may have to look into similar alternatives.

Definitely not a bass player - why would they bother stealing Ashdown amps? On a serious note, I really hope they catch the guy. Only met Jamie once briefly after a Tesseract gig, but he seemed like a top bloke and it angers me that someone like him (or anyone at all, really) has to deal with this kind of crap. There's been quite a few reports about stolen gear just lately it seems, and it's a worrying trend.

[quote name='Doctor J' post='1291923' date='Jul 4 2011, 11:03 AM']Tune your B to A and your E to D. Copy their drop tuning, it's the simplest solution and you'll pick it up easily enough, much more so than if you have DEADGC.[/quote] This, or [quote name='toneknob' post='1291930' date='Jul 4 2011, 11:09 AM']Or try DGCF tuning. It makes more sense than DADG.[/quote] this.

I think it's a good idea for band members to help each other pick an instrument for the purposes of how they [i]sound[/i], but that's another kettle of muffins entirely. If we're going on looks alone, they can suck it up and deal with it.

Room for one more for the Ashdown hater club? On the (mercifully rare) occasions when I hear the dreaded words "bass amp provided at the venue", I know right away it's going to be some horrendous crime against tone that Ashdown have cobbled together. It's also pretty safe to assume that a couple of days before the gig I'll get another email saying there's been a change of plan, because it's gone in for repair. I know not many venues are going to break the bank for a house backline, but for the money they could get a perfectly adequate Peavey rig, and I'm sure it'd last a lot longer before having a nervous breakdown. I'd also like to throw in a vote for the Sansamp BDDI. Don't get me wrong, I own one myself and I suppose it's pretty good for what it is, but I don't quite understand why some people really rave about it.

[quote name='tauzero' post='1291628' date='Jul 3 2011, 11:17 PM']For some reason, I don't actually consider the possibility that I will break the neck of a bass as part of my assessment of whether to buy it or not. Am I unusual in not having broken the neck of any of my basses?[/quote] It's probably not the first thing on most player's minds, no, but it is an advantage to bolt-on necks that's worth mentioning. Remember it's not necessarily yourself that could cause it to break through any misuse. Any number of accidental things could happen.

Well I've looked online at a few different drive units including the ones mentioned above, as well as the Aguilar Agro (anyone have any experience with this one?). Not had chance to find anywhere to try them out yet, but I'm leaning more towards the loop idea anyway - it's a case of finding another space on my board! I have an 18v outlet that's currently unused on my Voodoo Labs unit, so the Barge Concepts blender would be ideal to avoid having to find another power solution. However, I'm sure I read somewhere that they'd stopped making their products. Is this true?

Yeah, I think the Ibanez and ESP spacing are both about the same, or at least pretty close. The ESP necks are a bit meatier though if the ultra thin Ibanez ones aren't your bag.

[quote name='Gareth Hughes' post='1289002' date='Jul 1 2011, 01:39 PM']What about putting the EBS in a blendable loop to bring back some of your high end?[/quote] It's a good idea, but what would be a practical way of doing this? I've always been told that you shouldn't put drive effects through the amp's own FX loop, and mine doesn't have an adjustable blend control anyway. EDIT: Never mind, just found a relevant thread with a few blender suggestions. I'll do some homework! [quote name='simon1964' post='1289026' date='Jul 1 2011, 01:53 PM']I've just switched from using the EBS Multidrive to the Ashdown Lomenzo Hyperdrive. Very versatile pedal, and as it only applies distortion to the mids, you retain the top end. Its a lot cheaper than most distortions, which I think paradoxically counts against it, but I would highly recommend it.[/quote] Thanks, I'll see if I can find some samples!

ESP 5-strings have pretty narrow spacing.

[quote name='Davo-London' post='1289006' date='Jul 1 2011, 01:42 PM']Basically the bolt-on gives a bit more snap and the ability to bend the neck and of course remove it. THe thru-neck gives potentially better intonation and looks better. It's not something that would bother me in buying a bass. That said if you have a custom bass made they will never be a bolt-on neck. So obviously it's a cheaper construction method. Some people prefer bolt ons so there's not much either way. Davo[/quote] My custom bass has a bolt-on neck... Tonally, the body wood has more of a bearing on things with a bolt-on neck than with a neck-through, where the body 'wings' are more or less just there for show. As mentioned, it's also possible to replace the neck on a bolt-on, should anything happen to it. Apart from those things, I don't see any other advantages or disadvantages to one over the other. Things like the high fret access and intonation are all down to design/build quality.

Well apparently John Myung has been a lot more hands-on in the writing process this time around than he's been for years, so I'd imagine the dynamic will change quite a bit. Who knows - maybe we'll even hear him do something other than being Petrucci's octave pedal again.

I currently use this unit for all my overdriven needs. Great sounding pedal with certain settings, but I'm finding it kills the top end a little too much for my liking (yeah, I realise this is pretty much inevitable with any drive unit to [i]some[/i] degree), and I could do with something a bit more versatile. I only really use the standard mode, as the flat setting that distorts the entire spectrum isn't my thing at all, and the tube sim setting kills the top end even more than the standard mode. I'm only looking for moderate amounts of drive for the most part, not full-on filth or fuzz. Something along the lines of Simple Boy or Goliath by Karnivool would be ideal for my fingerstyle playing: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cjvtx3HMUks"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cjvtx3HMUks[/url] [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDKsosOvVmw"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDKsosOvVmw[/url] ...but there are a couple of sections in my band's latest song where I'm playing some slap parts that are quite exposed in the mix, and I think the right sort of drive without losing the high-end 'pop' could really give them some texture. I've been contemplating the Tech21 VT Bass as an alternative solution, but I'm throwing the question out there for other suggestions! I already own a Sansamp BDDI as a backup for my amp, and I've tried experimenting with that because I thought the blend control may have been beneficial. It was, but unfortunately the drive itself was quite lacking. Oh yeah, something with a true bypass would be lovely. But as long as the bypass is good (no Boss please), it's not 100% essential. So yeah, suggest away! Cheers in advance!

For pedals I definitely recommend giving the Maxon CP9 Pro+ a try. Very transparent if that's what you're looking for, but can get squishy as well with the more extreme ratio settings if you prefer that.

I'm in the 'get out the metronome and slow down' club. Reduce the tempo to the point where you can play the line comfortably without any stress on your hands, wrists, arms, or anywhere else for that matter. Practice it there until you can play it 5 times in a row flawlessly, then bump up the tempo by 5 bpm. Repeat the process until you can play it right, then keep going until you can't play it wrong.

Yeah, these lists are worthless really. And this one is exceptionally 'safe'.

It's not too bad. Hardly mind-blowing, but by this point I'd be very surprised if it were. Just the fact that it's a solidly arranged, coherent song with minimal excess is enough of a miracle in itself. Doesn't really feel like 9 minutes, which is a good sign I guess. Kind of a limp chorus though. The rest of the track has a vibe that's VERY reminiscent of Pull Me Under in terms of the arrangement, but it's lacking that vital ingredient. Not a great deal of punch in the snare either, which I think drains a lot of energy from the song. I hope they changed it up a bit throughout the rest of the album and used some different ones. Overall, a step in the right direction after the ham-fisted attempts at mainstream metal that Portnoy was steering them into on the last few albums. Nice not to hear his terrible tough-guy backing vocals any more as well.

Thanks man, glad you like!

Perhaps not the best shot of yours truly, but you can at least see all of the bass, and that's far more important. Hand-crafted by the incredibly talented Simo of Simnett Guitars, and I couldn't be happier with it. Had the Shuttle 6.0 for a while now and love it dearly. The cab is a new addition to the family (upgraded from a lacklustre Warwick 4x10), and so far I've been nothing short of blown away by it. A bit outdated now - the MultiDrive and the Maxon Compressor are the opposite way round, and the powered pedalboard has given up the ghost so I'm using a Voodoo Labs supply instead. It's incredible how much difference having cleaner, more consistent power makes to your pedals' performance, I might add. Even our drummer noticed, which should pretty much say it all. Oh yeah, Knuckles has been retired too - I needed his space for the amp footswitch once I eventually got round to buying it. Sorry Knuckles.

lol, I may just do that.

Hello there all you happy bass folks (and any sad ones too - cheer up!) I'm Dan from the West Midlands, been playing for about 10 or 11 years by now I think. I joined here because I know a couple of people who post already (Chris from Malacite, and Simo of Simnett Guitars), and also because as useful as it is, Talkbass just feels too damn big. My main gig is with prog/groove metal merchants [url="http://www.collision-process.com"]Collision Process[/url], but I'm also a member of [url="http://www.facebook.com/failureofmilk"]Failure of Milk[/url], whose name you might vaguely recognise if you've read Metal Hammer in the last couple of months or so (if you check out their cover-mount CD's, at least). I get around a bit with various other recording projects and sideline gigs too. I play for fun and/or money. Both are nice! Oh yeah, I also record bands at [url="http://www.univibeaudio.co.uk"]Univibe Audio[/url] in Birmingham. Haven't been on the engineering scene for nearly as long, but I get on alright. So yeah, that'll do for now I guess. See you around!