bassace

HJ sounds a good idea, but to save a bit of cash I'd recommend cutting out all that marine ply and subbing OSB (oriented strand board, the stuff they board up windows with). It has external properties, ie is weather resistant, and its lack of attractiveness would me mitigated by the material you're putting over it. It is not quite as stable as ply so leave a 4mm joint between panels. If you're worried about sound getting through, and I wouldn't, then apply some mastic. We used to rehearse and record in a garage where we put egg boxes all round the walls.

Well, it's a yes and no thing really isn't it. I can't remember ever taking a solo on BG, but perhaps jazz DB is a bit different and is probably what Bilbo was thinking about. As previous posts have said, the double bass player's job is in the engine room along with the drummer to pulse the band along - at least that's how I see my job. With the seven piece Dixieland band I play in I get two a gig max and it's generally for a bit of light relief; for who I'm not so sure. When I'm playing with a modern trio or quartet it's a bit different. There's a lot more interplay here and an opportunity to take a more frontline role. In the choruses the bass generally plays a four in the bar pulse, whereas a solo will give the player the opportunity to play horn phrasing. Also, something perhaps not readily considered is that in an ensemble role the whole tonal range of the bass is not very well heard, whereas in a solo there is a better opportunity for that great DB sound to be fully heard - and the audiences appreciate that. Talking of audience appreciation, You know how they applaud solos, in my opinion not very discriminatory a lot of the time. When I get applause for mine - yes, I do - I usually say that it's not because I've done it well but that I've done it at all (Samuel Johnson's dog)

First the Heroes:- Many sincere thanks to Mr Bassman and Clarky, both of who loaned me FOC pickups to save me having to purchase new ones and make a costly mistake. With their help I've managed to sort out my problems and if there is one lesson to be learned here it is that there is no definitive answer to 'which pickup'. A short simplistic answer is that it depends on what you want to play, how you want to play it, where you want to play it and, most importantly, which bass do you want to fit it on - is it a dull bass or a bright bass, or something in between? Now the Villains:- I do wish all those who are getting involved in the Blonde Bass for Sale name-calling would just stop it. It is achieving nothing and doesn't reflect well on the DB community at all. I don't like the Mods having to step in on any posts, I would hope that we are just a bit grown up to be able to sort ourselves out.

The switch on my Clarus went a bit 'sparky' so as a precaution I asked for a replacement. What I got was a whole new chassis (everything except the front panel and case)! I don't know who it is, Laurence or AI (I suspect 50/50) but it sure is impressive service.

Thanks for all the helpful replies, guys - and some of the unhelpful ones from those who didn't really read my OP (I said the manual didn't specify any fuse ratings so there's no point in going down that road) And the 'kettle lead' stuff. It almost turned into a 'god I love jazz' sort of elitism thing. I and most of my colleagues will no doubt refer to them as kettle leads for the rest of time. I recon if I ever came out with 'well, actually, strictly speaking, it's not a kettle lead but blah blah blah blah', then I'd be laughed right off the stage. But I didn''t know the difference so thanks anyway. I looked at my leads and found that all the UK/euro sourced ones have a 10a rating on the moulded plug-in end. The USA stuff - and all my amps are american - has no such rating. In fact it is my understanding that in the US they never have fuses in the mains plug. So the lead is unprotected. And thanks to the posters who made the point that the fuse is principally for the protection of the lead. However, another fair point was that the fuse gives a certain additional protection to the amp. My 3a fuse that blew was on the end of a mains lead to a QSC K10 powered speaker rated at 1,000w - so that's probably the reason although of course I wasn't anywhere near that output. Many amps have slow blow fuses to counteract the initial load of transformers and capacitors. As I mentioned, there is nothing in the QSC manual referring to fuses and I can't see any accessible fuse holder on the back. I have emailed QSC's technical support but have not received a reply. So I am going to fit all my leads with 5a fuses from now. That will provide a sensible compromise between protecting both the lead and amp, and will I hope withstand any start-up surges. Thanks to all who responded, it has widened my understanding of the subject and I hope others have benefitted too.

[quote name='PeteinKent' post='1220140' date='May 4 2011, 06:59 PM']A more typical and certainly more insidious Jazz reply.....What you are implying is that I am simply not a gifted enough musician to understand the technical requirements and the complexities of jazz music. This attitude towards rock/pop musicians almost always goes hand in hand with 'the only reason any musician would not play jazz is because they can't'. Just because a piece of music is technically difficult to play and/or is very complex does not make it engaging on any level to many, if not most, listeners. Often it is quite the opposite. The Jazz fraternity is openly and triumphantly elitist and yet it bristles at the merest hint of criticism particularly from a pop/rock musician because it detests the popular acclaim given to these musicians because of the accessibility of the music they play. It is at the same time spitefully scathing about the musical hoi polloi who are not 'smart' enough appreciate the nuances of the genre and yet at the same time it cries like a baby because it isn't more loved. Well boys and girls of the jazz world....you simply cant be exclusive and popular at the same time. If the Jazzers want to sit in darkened,smokey rooms, tapping their sandled feet and stroking their goatee beards,(and thats just the women!), whilst they impress each other with tuneless noodling thats fine. But they can't be content with that! They have to come into my room where there are I am playing to a host of people who are dancing, singing and, in the words of the late great Lowell George...'Having a time' and call me a musical amoeba because I am playing popular music to the masses. Well I have one thing to say to that and it starts with a B and ends in ollox! Right now I'm off to play a gig.[/quote] Oh dear, and I was trying to advance a 'neutral' argument . Can I just risk putting my analogy forward:- I liken a lot of music, including jazz but also classical music to art; we all know what we like and there is a cut off point where we cease to comprehend. In my case it's probably the Impressionists. Dali, Picasso and others I enjoy but can't really claim to understand. Like all art forms others will have their 'limit of understanding/appreciation'. And so it is with music. All sorts of people understand/appreciate (and the lucky ones get to play) all sorts of music. And there we should leave it perhaps, but I know it won't stay there.

[quote name='PeteinKent' post='1219393' date='May 4 2011, 12:42 AM']I have nothing against Jazz per se but I am sick to the back teeth of the many members of the jazz fraternity who are dismissive, even contemptuous, of rock and pop music in general and its musicians in particular. Aware that I am going to be accused of gross generalisation it is still my experience that jazzers....... A. Want to be elitist but are resentful if not jealous of the popular acclaim enjoyed by rock/pop musicians and .... B. Are more concerned with impressing each other than with entertaining an audience. Yes there is nothing wrong with music being interesting or challenging or complex or unorthodox but that does not make it better and certainly not more sophisticated than a piece of music that has a simple but pleasing melody and/or an infectious , danceable beat. Some time back I was having the rock/pop Vs Jazz debate with two good friends of mine, a married couple . Both were jazzers; he a upright bass player who came from a pop/rock background and she a Pianist who came from a classical background. I was arguing that jazz often distorted the basic principles of rhythm, melody and harmony beyond recognition. She replied....'there are some wonderful harmonies in jazz music. [b]You just have to be a jazz musician to understand and appreciate them'[/b] case proven M'lud[/quote] No, you just have to be a musician. Same goes for rock. I know of several rock musicians who have a very well-developed knowledge of music - and they use it to great advantage. Same whatever you're playing, if you know your music theory, particularly chords, modes, rhythms and time signatures you'll get a lot out of what you're doing. And it'll make you a better musician. Yes, I'm sure there'll be posts instancing greats who didn't know much about the theory, but the world has moved on since then and they were geniuses in their time.

Yes, I support the K10 idea. I got mine for mic use but am finding that it does well with a pickup as well. Use a Headway or a Fishman and you're away. It's 32 lbs in old money. A Focus SA is, I believe, discontinued and is now as rare as rocking horse poo. However, some BCers may have some other main amp ideas. They certainly exist out there but not many have been tried for DB as yet.

I was on a gig running a powered speaker cab two days ago and the '13A' plug on the end of the kettle lead blew a fuse. It wasn't necessarily the lead supplied with the cab because, probably like most musos, I have lots of leads all over the place. Anyway I found that the blown fuse was a 3A and probably too low. Strange thing is, the cab doesn't have an in-built fuse and the manual makes no reference. I'm going to try to standardise all my leads and was thinking of going for a 5A in all of them. Any opinions out there? I've got the correct fuse in each amp, but I don't want to have to use a dedicated lead for each one if I can help it.

I've been using a Fishman Pro (cheaper than the plat) for the last ten years and wouldn't be without it. Headway is good too but for use simply as a preamp from a pickup I think it's over-complicated. I use it to deliver phantom power to a mic tho'. If you want to come up to Chipping Norton you could have a go on both.

Have you got a Maplins near you. You can get it there.

[quote name='TPJ' post='1211471' date='Apr 26 2011, 09:41 AM'] I'd love to try [url="http://www.newstandardbass.com/cleveland.htm"]one of these.[/url] There's a fully carved one in the TB forsale threads that looks great.[/quote] The LaScala version is a particularly tasty bass. Highly rated over there.

Mr Bassman has sent me a Bassmax and a Planet. I'm reminded that I had a Planet once and now having put it on my bass I'm reminded why I sold it! The Bassmax I liked a lot, surprisingly good for an inexpensive pickup so now I'm putting out a wanted ad for one (Mr B's was attached to a mic). So thanks a lot Keith for your kindness.

[quote name='geoffbassist' post='1208274' date='Apr 22 2011, 01:41 PM']I love my Euphonic Audio m line 12" cab. It works great with upright. I also have a AI head and don't use the pre much. Both great bits of kit for upright.[/quote] I've never used an M Line but hear nothing but good about them. FWIW, when I'm not using my mic set up I have a Fishman Pro eq on the front to give some impedance buffering (also phase switching if req) into an AI Clarus. I just like the relative simplicity of this amp. It's clean, has only a three way eq but seems to do the job well and has a high pass filter to take some of the boom off. Never use the notch. Speakers, depends on the size of the gig. Sometimes a 10" Wizzy, sometimes a 12" and sometimes a 10" on a 12". That's for a bigger room but the funny thing is when I do this I get a lot more bottom from the 12" than when I use it by itself.

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='1208151' date='Apr 22 2011, 11:46 AM']I think you're overreacting a bit.[/quote] No, just reacting a bit.

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='1208098' date='Apr 22 2011, 11:17 AM']I wouldn't recommend moving the bridge - its position has a massive effect on the tone of the bass.[/quote] And when you run your finger up the board the note changes. Please read my post. I simply advocated moving the bridge to get an idea of which string height would suit the playng. I recommended it as a short term fix. If weed wackers are being considered I wouldn't think tone would be very high on the priorities anyway. I got the idea of moving the bridge from a respected luthier so it can't be all bad. I knew I'd get hung.

I'll probably be hung for this, but if you want a short term appraisal of what a small alteration in string height will achieve, lay the bass on its back and slacken the strings a bit - this should ensure that the soundpost won't fall out. Then you can slide the bridge towards the fingerboard by up to 6mm - this will raise the strings - or up to 6mm away from the fingerboard - this will lower the strings. I stress that this isn't a long term fix but will enable you to do a 'what-if' without going to a luthier.

Dave First of all, the Stentor should be OK as it is an 'unremarkable' bass. By that I don't mean to diss the bass but to point out that it has a neutral, not too bright acoustic. Sorry to spoil your party but the Realist is not a particularly good pickup if you want to crank the volume up. I have no experience of mags but an Underwood or Bassmax should do the job. Then a preamp will help a lot; a Fishman Platinum Pro or just a Fishman Pro which is the one I've used for ten years. The preamp will do a better job of matching the pickup impedance to the amplifier, has a good four-way eq and a phase reversal switch which, on a good day, will go a long way to killing the feeback. Sometimes simply cutting the treble does it. I haven't tried the foam plugs but they seem like a good idea. Good luck, in time you'll get the right gear and experience and will be a DB guru.

The Major is spot on with his analysis. As he says, most of the notes are OK but the feel is wrong and there is no drive. The tempo at which it is played should be just right for a nice driving, pulsing bass part. So when it gets to the piano solo there's not much to underpin the instrument and it all comes to a mess. The VM recording of Moondance is probably one of the shoddiest recordings going and would be bad even for a demo. That said, although it's a while since I've played the tune, I wouldn't have a problem if it was called and with the right lineup I'd rather enjoy it - as I would most tunes. Playing music is a most enjoyable pastime and I don't get too precious about what I play. I just consider myself a lucky guy. I certainly don't big myself up by dissing other styles - other contributors please note.

I'd been happier if they'd asked him what strings/pickup he uses and what his string heights are. Also whether he prefers Gamba or Violin corners.

[quote name='Mr Bassman' post='1198889' date='Apr 13 2011, 11:11 PM']Hi Roger, I've not got a realist but could lend you a K&K Golden Trinity bassmax + mic if you haven't already got one. I'm impressed with the bassmax, darker than Underwood, I can plug direct into amp with no pre and get a happy sound. As for the mic, nice for home recording or into pa Apart from that I've got a couple Rev solo, (which I got one from you iirc,) and sounds amazing atached to my Ampeg Baby Bass, a Planet single paddle which came with the Kolstien, (probably too bright for you) but you can try if you like, and a full circle atached to my Kolstien which I couldn't detatch. Best Keith[/quote] Hi Keith Your post has reminded me just how many pickups have gone through my hands. Perhaps I should have kept them on the basis that we are never really happy with our rigs and things constantly change. I wonder whether you could trust me for a while with the bass max - which I have never tried - and possibly a planet as long as it isn't fatter than 5mm because I don't want to enlarge my wing slots unneccessarily. I'll PM you with my details. R

My new bass is a bit 'bright' for my preferred Underwood. Sounds great with a mic but I need to find a pickup that will give me plug-in-and-play convenience when required. I don't want to go through the PU merrygoround again so was wondering if any kind BCer would lend me a Realist for a week. I'll pay all postage of course.