Kiwi

[quote name='TPJ' post='13523' date='Jun 7 2007, 11:59 AM']I never really noticed dead spots in my other axes, maybe I've been luck so far.[/quote]

Its likely that your other basses have dead spots too, its just that they don't share frequencies with notes on the fingerboard.

Alembic picked up on this idea in the design of their original Series basses - all centred around isolating the string as much as possible from the bass to promoted sustain and attack. The idea was to lower the resonant peak as much as possible below the fundamental frequencies produced by the instrument (at least according to Rick Turner). Make your own mind up about what that sounds like.

What were you doing to the satire that resulted in your thumbs being removed?!

Would being sardonic be safer?

"Oh the humanity!"

[quote name='Sibob' post='13474' date='Jun 7 2007, 10:07 AM']Indeed, but i played another '72 priced at £1700, and it was gash. So what do you do!?
And that '66 i played was priced at like £3650 or something....horrible bass![/quote]

Caveat emptor, I'd imagine - know what you're buying. Fenders are remarkably easy to counterfeit because of their simple construction too. Artificial aging techniques include aging pickups with high intensity UV radiation, leaving parts out in hot/cold weather extremes, inducing corrosion etc. I'm not trying to diss those who have bought themselves a nice old fender at all, but its a bit of a minefield from what I can see.

Dead spots occur on even the best of basses. They happen because all necks are flexible to some degree (even graphite ones). The wood that makes up the neck also has specific frequencies where it will vibrate to greater and lesser degrees in sympathy with the string and this is called 'harmonic resonance'. All materials from glass through to granite have a harmonic resonance. Its also the property that makes microphone diaphragms and drum skins vibrate in sympathy with a loud sound.

Due to the properties of the wood, the neck will also be slightly more flexible at these peaks (which is what allows it to be vibrate in sympathy) and a fretted note at the same frequency will have less sustain due to the subsequent lack of rigidity. Thats what gets you the dead note.

At least that's the explanation a tech head will give you.

More written about the nature of dead spots [url="http://www.acoustics.org/press/137th/fleischer.html"]here.[/url]

Fixes can include:

1) The strings (so try a new set out)
2) Change the flexibility of the neck (try tweaking the truss rod)
3) Poorly seated frets (so a check over by a luthier wouldn't hurt either)
4) Make the neck stiffer (will involve reinforcing the neck with graphite bars or stiffer fingerboard)

you're now soaking in it.

That [url="http://www.graphtech.com/downloads/ghost/ghost_brochure.pdf"]hipshot ghost[/url] system looks the biz. It even works with the Axon controller!

Would you prefer to use a fretted or fretless bass as a MIDI controller?

I'm just looking around and seeing whats available in the different pricing brackets.

[quote name='BlockInlayMan' post='13161' date='Jun 6 2007, 05:26 PM']What should we talk about in this thread?[/quote]
Victor Wooten.

*ducks*

It might be possible for you to ask Sandberg to make a neck with custom dimensions for relatively little extra outlay (considering they're cheaper than Stingrays anyway and a bit more versatile.)

My old band playing at the Clapham Grand. So technically, 'myself'.

But Armand Sabal Lecco does actually play all the notes in the live performance, only he doesn't bother with the reverse effect.

FWIW Glock have a reputation for being THE reference bass amp. Very high quality gear.

You should be careful about pickup outputs if you choose to do your own modification. The HS stingrays have this issue as it is. I would probably go with a Sandberg Basic JM myself.

If you wanted to get a custom made valve power amp, it would be relatively easy for one to be built. However you'd risk end up paying through the nose on an hourly rate if there were a lot of bugs that needed fixing.

You would probably be better off in the long run looking for a Mesa Boogie Strategy 400 power amp for about £600 off Ebay or somewhere (assuming you are happy to load/unload it - a stereo valve power amp is a very heavy lump).

Re: the eq for your rick, you'd be best off going to a music shop or coming along to the Bass Bash and seeing if the upper mid control on an RB400/700/1001 head is centred on the frequencies you like. You can run them with full range cabs from other manufacturers but can't use the biamp facility without some modification to the cabs (assuming the speakers are the right rating etc.).

[quote name='Jack' post='12715' date='Jun 5 2007, 10:29 PM']The GK heads have an inbuilt 'boost' circuit that adds quite a bit of growl and dirt, this is located AFTER the crossover on only the woofer amp. The result is overdriven speakers and a pristine clean tweeter.

In other words, it was designed specifically to combat what you mentioned: drive sounding harsh on tweeters.

Of course, you can only use the inbuilt boost, which you may or may not like. The effects loop is full range.[/quote]

I first tried a GK RB400 combo at a gig and it was pretty much love at first listen. There was an integrity to the sound that I hadn't heard in any other amps I'd played up until that point. I can't hear any missing frequency bands either. When I added a 2x10" it just got growlier. I could really hear the upper mids of my Smith basses - particularly the thup of my fingers leaving the string.

To some the amps may sound fairly aggressive but as I've said in the for sale ad for a GK RB700, I have to decide what to take away from the sound with these amps, not get frustrated at what is missing. If I want to soften the sound up I can use the contour control to dip the mids. I can also actively control the [i]volume[/i] of the tweeter and the woofer independently.

I'm not going to comment on how effective the biamping system is in terms of efficiency, but I don't find myself wanting for volume, clarity, quality or warmth. I don't like the look or the marketing of the amps but after 6 months of using them in a variety of gigs, I still feel my money's been well spent.

1. Meshell Ndegeocello
2. Pino Palladino
3. Julian Crampton
4. Bernard Edwards
5.= Mark King, Michael Manring

Its not just about weight but how its distributed in the cab, the design and location of the handles and the technique you use for lifting.

However, Basson and Hartke make some back breakers regardless of how you try and tackle them. Burman's old 4x12 was impossible for one person to lift and in them days they didn't make 'em wi' wheels. I can lift up to about 100lbs with not much problem but the Hartke 4.5xl weighs in at 125lbs and that was a struggle over anything but the shortest of distances. Dood used to have two of them!!

Any 8x10 owners out there?

The GK stuff employs biamping too but splits between ultra high frequencies above 5KHz and everything else. It sends the ultra highs to a 50w power amp and then to a tweeter, the lows get sent to the 480w power amp and through to the woofer where they can be boosted for extra growl. To my ears at least, this sounds like a very effective system. GK extension cabs can be connected with the 4 way proprietary speakon cable and run in the same way, or a full range cab can be attached in the usual fashion with a regular speaker cable.

The padding is very thick, which has got to be a plus. But the shoulder straps MUST be securely fastened as the two Smith basses are fairly heavy.

I've also found these:
[url="http://www.goincase.com/products/detail/dub-bag-cl56066/1"]http://www.goincase.com/products/detail/dub-bag-cl56066/1[/url]

and these:
[url="http://www.doc1rock.com/osc/eshop/product_info.php?products_id=64"]http://www.doc1rock.com/osc/eshop/product_...?products_id=64[/url]

and these:
[url="http://www.harvest-guitar.com/double-bass-bags.php"]http://www.harvest-guitar.com/double-bass-bags.php[/url]

but the cost of the last two is a little eye watering.

Hey Hadrien - glad you made the switch just in time!

Welcome aboard, its an honour to have you here!

My Ritter RCG700 double gig bag is on the verge of falling apart after 6 months...

...well, it was falling apart 2 weeks after I got it all due to some shoddy stitching around the shoulder straps that I had to reinforce with some black denim from some old jeans so I don't want to get Ritter again. However I've looked on websites and I can't see any alternative suppliers. Does anyone know of any?!

[url="http://z4.invisionfree.com/Double_Bass/index.php?showforum=1"]http://z4.invisionfree.com/Double_Bass/index.php?showforum=1[/url]

I came across this in the Smith forums. Anyone who can construct their own double bass - complete with carved cedar top, has my undying respect.

Its a fascinating process too, I never understood how the luthiers managed to get the top carved so consistently and smoothly. He's used a homemade plane to smooth the top out where I've seen other makers use a scraper.

You know its a funny thing, I'd been wondering why my Mesa Boogie Strategy 400 got warm even with very modest use as a hifi amp - it was doubling as a room heater on chilly evenings. Then I discovered the fan vent had been obstructed! It all seems to be OK now though, the front of the amp is luke warm to the touch instead of being toasty.

Tombowlus on TB has a V8 and seems to be amassing a collection of nice valve trace heads - looks like he's about to take delivery of a hexavalve soon.

Dan

Whats involved in installing a MIDI pickup on a bass? How do you go from taking out of the box to making noises? Do you have any opinions on how the Roland, Axon and Yamaha systems compare to one another?