spinynorman

[quote name='Bigwan' timestamp='1429260193' post='2749693'] I haven't had much of a chance to play my ubass since fitting these, but I was having terrible intonation problems with the G and D strings, much worse than usual and worse than I'd experienced on the standard strings and the roundwound pyramids. More investigation required, but I do quite like the feel and sound of these. For the folk with inconsistent string volumes, try refitting the strings, or loosening them off and tilting the bridge saddle a fraction (assuming you have the shadow combined saddle and pickup arrangement like I do). [/quote] [quote name='Bigwan' timestamp='1429260321' post='2749696'] If you're interested in trying the pyramid roundwounds you can have mine for the price of postage... [/quote] I've got the standard mahogany U-Bass. I don't think the bridge saddle tilts. Another problem is the action is very high and the thing that looks like it ought to be an adjustable truss rod just makes horrible grinding noises when turned and doesn't help. The only other thing I can think to do is file grooves in the saddles. Not sure if that's a good idea though. Thanks for the offer of the rounds, it's very generous, but I'm really losing patience with the whole U-bass idea, so they'd be wasted.

[quote name='SlapbassSteve' timestamp='1428694521' post='2743934'] Very interesting stuff! I tried the ordinary Pyramid Rounds last year but they only lasted about 4 nights before the E-string snapped mid-set, I wasn't impressed! Acoustically they sounded great(if very buzzy) but plugged in the difference in volume was a bit extreme- the E was far too loud and the G far too quiet. I've been using Aquila Thunder Reds since, they feel closer to tape/flatwounds, much less sticky than Silver Rumblers or Thunderguts and there's none of the buzzing or snappage I had with the Pyramids! [/quote] Thanks for that. It's reassuring you had the same problem with the difference in volume. I don't think I can justify the cost of trying another brand, so the whole U-Bass experiment may be at an end for me.

One of the things that seems to get overlooked in evaluating The Stones is Jagger's lyrics. Lennon gets all the credit for gritty social comment, but get the lyrics to "Mother's Little Helper", "Under My Thumb" or even "Satisfaction" and read them.

[quote name='RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE' timestamp='1428137095' post='2738309'] Do green manilishi instead;) [/quote] ^^ This

It is hard if you don't like the song, there were some things we did I found hard to listen to, let alone learn. The other thing that really hacked me off was, having done all the work to nail some difficult songs, they stayed in the set for a few months and then got pushed out and never returned. In the end that totally destroyed my motivation to learn anything new.

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1427973348' post='2736469'] [size=4][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][color=#333333]I was witness to the famous 'Brian Jones' butterfly massacre, all those decades ago, and well remember leaving, with my friends, well before the end of the interminable 'Sympathy for the Devil'. It was quite shocking; doubly so as the supporting acts were blindingly brilliant. Special mention for King Crimson, who completely stole the show and put the 'best r&r group in the world' to utter shame. No, I've never been a mega-fan, although they got off to a good enough start with 'Aftermath' and such, but they lost their way for me soon after that. As for ticket prices of that astronomic level, I wouldn't pay half of that even for the Grateful Dead resuscitated..! Anyone that wants to is free to do so, of course, but as far as I'm concerned, it's more than a rip-off, it's borderline immoral.[/color][/font] [color=#333333][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]That said, good luck with fulfilling your dreams; I sincerely hope you're not disappointed.[/font][/color][/size] [/quote] The Hyde Park gig wasn't exactly their finest hour. Mick Taylor was probably wondering if Mayall would have him back.

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1427968795' post='2736370'] In truth, this obsessive attention to detail can wrap us up in knots if we let it. Most lines break down into very few important notes surrounded by a lot of flubber. If in doubt, roll of the treble and 'thud' away!!! I have done whole gigs like this in the past [/quote] How I wish I had seen that advice 15 years ago.

I agree with a lot of what's been said. Amongst other things, there were songs I knew the correct line to, and could play, but with the band I couldn't make it work, probably because the guitarist was not exactly on the original. Also recently I came back to "Gimme Some Loving", which I hadn't played for a while and realised I'd been playing it wrong for years. It's not like it's hard either. Generally song choices were made by the singer and/or guitarist, because if they can't/don't want to, it won't work. Drummers can usually do something with any song, even if it's not strictly right, and nobody listens to the bass anyway. Provided what you play fits with the tempo and is in the right key, you'll probably get away with it.

[quote name='Bassjon' timestamp='1427806633' post='2734449'] Nottingham is still thriving but I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that some of it is to do with the bands themselves...(hear me out!) A lot of muso's are forgetting what they are up against. People go out and want to dance to non-stop music with deep bass like your clubbers and people who only know music from the charts. But every time I go to a local gig its full of tired musicians who have put no thought into their image or setlist and just play' Smoke on The water' and 'Basket Case' in solid workman like fashion while staring at their fretbords with long gaps between songs so the guitairist can tune up and the drummer can sip his pint! Its crap and boring and no-one cares anymore (I do - but i'm talking about the general public here). We all need to go through this to cut our teeth and get good but where are the guys covering modern songs?? Its just not exciting to watch anymore. Sad but true. [/quote] I agree that's part of the problem. What I don't see is a solution. If you want the non-stop, bass-heavy club/chart music, the cheapest way of getting it by far is a disco, or the iPad/Singer combo. There are bands that do it, but it's more rewarding for them to play parties and functions. An alternative is a tribute band, but those that are any good can get bigger gigs than pubs. What you're left with, mostly, is bands like the one I was in. Late 20s singer and late 50s guitarist, bassist and drummer. No one is doing it for money. The singer wants to showcase her voice and impress her mates, the guitarist wants to play SRV solos. We did do some more modern material, (90s/00s) though it was not hugely different from the classic stuff, and it didn't go down as well. Eventually late 20s singer turns 30, gets married and gives up, replaced by early 50s singer and the set drifts to Fleetwood Mac Mk2 and Joe Bonamassa/Beth Hart covers. At which point I gave it up. The guitarist is now in another band, 3 late 50s with early 20s singer, doing the "blues he's always wanted to do", which of course has been done to death.

Saw them in Wolverhampton Friday night. I liked the album (Feet Fall Heavy), but even so it doesn't do their live performance justice. It was a small venue, probably 60 people there, and they were ridiculously good. I can't understand why The Black Keys and Royal Blood are massive and KIK aren't. As a bonus, nice to see a Gibson EB2 on stage, doing what it does best (big, distorted, loud bass). Anyone else a fan?

Surely the only point in the Eurovision Song Contest was to demonstrate the miraculous technology that enabled TV signals to be beamed faultlessly across the continent. As in "Hello Belgium" <silence> "Can we have your votes please Belgium" <static> "Oh well, who cares about Belgium, is there anyone in France?" Now the technology does actually work, it's all pretty pointless.

I only ever attempted a couple of serious projects, the most nearly successful of which started with a Ripper wreck bought from Ash. Someone had sprayed black paint over the whole body, including the pickups and the original single ply pickguard. They then added a 3-ply pickguard on top of the original. A lot of stripping and sanding, including removing flaking laquer from the neck, got me to this. and finally this, which I was quite pleased with, as my skills for this job came mostly from reading Basschat, and I don't really have any of the right facilities or equipment. The only thing that still irritates me a little is the pickguard, which has the volume and tone controls in the wrong place. The interesting bit, if you're into Rippers, is the body is the old shape and should be maple, but is actually alder, which has the advantage of being about 2lbs lighter. Officially alder came in with the new slimmer body shape.

More pics in case it helps anyone. Bigger versions [url="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/22047936/basschat/20150301_153509.jpg"]here[/url] and [url="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/22047936/basschat/20150301_154226.jpg"]here[/url]

Picture to show structure - wire core wound with wire and then black tape. Tape looks shiny there, it's actually matt on the string, dark grey more than black and feel slightly rough, almost like rounds.

They arrived a couple of days ago and I've just strung the U-bass up. So this is my first impression, based on playing acoustic and through a Portflex head with headphones. They look and feel like conventional strings wound with nylon tape, and that's basically what they are. You can string them like normal strings, rather than the awkward knotting rigmarole you have to go through with other U-bass strings, and they don't stretch, so tuning is much easier. Tension feels better too. Acoustically they seem louder and brighter than the stock set, so some of the double bass vibe has been lost. The acoustic sound is great for noodling at home and I wonder if it would be loud enough to compete with an acoustic guitar. It almost sounds like it might. I've found two problems with them .... 1. The D and G strings rattled terribly at normal pitch, I've ended up with a piece of business card between the string and the nut. 2. The D and G strings have a lot less presence when amplified than the A and E. At first I was hearing more of the acoustic sound than I was getting through the headphones, but I cured that to an extent by turning up the mids. Even so, I have to hit the D & G harder to get the same volume out of them. Overall, they're much nicer to play than the stock strings or the Silver Rumblers, but I don't know if I can live with the difference in presence. I haven't played them through speakers yet, but I'm worried the high strings will completely disappear in a band mix.

The way I look at it, I don't need the money right now and it's not like it could be earning much interest. It would cost more to put the rig back together later than I'd get for it now. I sold a 62RI Precision because I didn't like it as much as I expected, but the other Precision stays because it has always worked for me better than anything else. Also, the two Rippers are hanging on the wall and if they went I'd have to fill the screw holes and repaint the wall where the hangers are.

[quote name='Shabbs' timestamp='1425160539' post='2704687'] Must impact on the resale value though? [/quote] Not necessarily. Gibson/Epiphone mark things 2nd when they've got too much stock.

So that's my "sure you don't mean drugs?" gag stuffed as well. Narrow escape really.

From my experience, this is actually quite dangerous. A year or so ago I started to lose interest in buying, and eventually even looking for new basses. Then I found I didn't enjoy playing as much, and by October I had quit the band I was in. I have scarcely touched a bass since. My advice is get the forward GAS back quick.

Steve bought a rack light from me. It was all very straight forward, quick decision and payment, and let me know when it arrived. It's great to deal with someone who knows what he wants and doesn't muck about, so definite recommendation from me.

Email last night, they're on back order, estimated 7-10 days. They did give me the option of cancelling, but I'll wait.

[quote name='owen' timestamp='1423340063' post='2683761'] I am very interested to hear how these work. [/quote] Watch this space