Kiwi

I couldn't agree more, unfortunately because I play covers there's always a tool that will do a better job - hence, G.A.S. Having said that, its under control more or less with a pair of fretted/fretless 5's for modern songs, a jazz, Alembic and stingray for covers. If I did more original music, I could have a pair of matching basses for my signature sound and be done with it.

[quote name='Bass Culture' post='22983' date='Jun 25 2007, 02:00 PM']Er, so anyone heard the GK or MB combos at all?[/quote] I've tried the Markbass CMD121 at a gig at the The Bedford in Balham, it was loud, soft, warm and rubber bandy sounding to my ears. Would be a good amp for aggressive sounding basses where you wanted to preserve the lower mids and tame the highs a little. Did the job for the gig but I was always aware of what the amp was taking out of my sound in terms of clarity and upper mids. I own two GK RB700 combos and prefer them for use with my Smith basses, they're brutally honest amps so don't don't compensate for duff sounding instruments. Thats OK with the Smiths because they're not very aggressive sounding. The GK combos are loud and preserve a lot of upper midrange and presence to my ears which the Markbass combo didn't. When I use my Pentabuzz with them, they help fill the room.

Here's my list of suspects, I still have the instruments in italics. Sierra Precision - goddawful with a ply body Westone Spectrum 2 - goddawful with a ply body, but had 2 pickups Jaydee Supernatural Mark King - lovely but lacked a little warmth - very 80's sound. Warwick Rock Bass - stunning value, can give a stingray a run for its money Status Groove 5 - lovely bass, just couldn't get on with the offset body Jaydee Custom Jazz - less said about this, the better [u][i]Smith BSR5GN[/i][/u] - lovely bass, warm, growly but still has snap [u][i]Pedulla Pentabuzz[/i][/u] - very special, completely fills the room and sustains for days Smith BSR6GN - very nice but not as warm as the BSR5GN, I don't have the skill to fully exploit it Modulus Sonic Hammer Deluxe - soo-poib bass, not for my style of music however [u][i]Musicman Stingray[/i][/u] - brought back from the dead, after some major part transplants its everything I'd want a stingray to be Alembic Elan 6 - needed a chiropractors warning, dark sounding Pedulla MVP5 - lovely workmanship, just lacked warmth, couldn't fit Alembic pups and pre to match Pentabuzz so had to go Musicman Cutlass 1 (#1) - nice bass, neck like a banana, sold it to a collector Modulus Quantum 5 - nice bass, best suited a warm amp Modulus Quantum 5 fretless - also nice bass, warmer than the fretted, had to get the neck sorted though [u][i]Alembic Series 1[/i][/u] - very special, has the best fret job I've ever played [u][i]Musicman Cutlass 1[/i][/u] (#2) - also very special, like a stingray on steroids [u][i]Smith BSR5GN fretless[/i][/u] - lovely bass, can't get the action as low as the Pentabuzz though [u][i]Celinder Update J 4[/i][/u] - lovely bass, probably the only jazz I'll ever need to own [u][i]Celinder Update P 4[/i][/u] - lovely bass, probably the only precision I'll ever need to own To come: Shuker Custom MIDI Headless 6 I still love graphite necked basses, I haven't found many that sound meaty like the Cutlass though. More graphite neck manufacturers should be putting wood fingerboards on their basses IMO, it dampens the clatter. They should also be experimenting with warmer body woods like bubinga instead of sticking with the same old ash/alder combinations.

OK, mystery might be solved - looks like we're getting hit by a search engine of some kind. Most of the "members" are guests who haven't logged in.

Its a nylon jobbie with nylon webbing, double stitching and a thick foam padded interior lined with light grey velvet. There is a divider made from the foam/velvet combo separating the basses from one another. The only downer is that the pockets aren't big enough to carry my fold up stands so I'll have to work around that.

"If I Could Turn Back Time" by Cher - masterfully understated, steady as a rock and every note counts.

Your Other bitch. I take second place even to that mutt of yours. BTW my gig bag came from the LA Bass exchange c/- Mr Eubassix. Looks a load more study than the rubbish from Ritter that I bought.

[quote name='Ba55me15ter' post='22889' date='Jun 25 2007, 10:51 AM']I know it's a bit unconventional, but I use my SA450 to power a JBL Eon 15 PA cab laid-back in its monitor position. It works incredibly well, and also gives you the benefit of a relatively uncoloured sound so anything you eq should sound pretty similar FOH. Very portable too.[/quote] I'd love to know where the rumour about Markbass being clean sounding started. They've definitely got jazz bass friendly colouring to my ears. Your band sound great BTW.

[quote name='Peaty' post='22874' date='Jun 25 2007, 09:58 AM']I have scored a bunch of recycled teak planks and was thinking of making a bed with them but now i am begining to wonder if a jazz style body might be an interesting test. Does anyone know any good reason why teak should not be worth a shot.[/quote] Hi Pete, I'd imagine weight might be an issue? Teak has a reputation for being a heavy wood.

Fantastic idea, but how many people would show up? Would bands expect payment to attend? Lots of intangibles to tie down

"Most users ever online was 372 on Today, 04:55 PM" WTF?!! Whats been going on? Was anyone on here at that time? Did we REALLY have 372 users online at that time or did google belch in our direction?

I'd like to know what the SPL ratings for the cabs with 8" drivers are. Looks like you'll need the 1x15" with anything other than the 4x8".

I do - haven't had any problem with it yet although I haven't taken it out to gigs much recently. Best place to start looking would be the distributor although it might be possible to get replacements through a spare parts place like Adam Hall.

Probably the most comprehensive documentation of changes over the years is here: [url="http://myweb.ecomplanet.com/TOWN8019/default.htm"]http://myweb.ecomplanet.com/TOWN8019/default.htm[/url] There's also a comprehensive account of the difficulties at the MM factory in the early to mid 80's on Wikipedia (which I helped to write). [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_Man_%28company%29#Early_years"]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_Man_%28...%29#Early_years[/url]

Musicman changed from nitro to poly around 1979.

[quote name='Alpha-Dave' post='22198' date='Jun 22 2007, 11:17 PM']the issue wasn't the size really because we could have squeezed even more people and gear into the room.[/quote] Did you ask Ari why he set up outside? It wasn't the volume, it was the lack of wall space. [quote name='Alpha-Dave' post='22198' date='Jun 22 2007, 11:17 PM']Also a quiet 20 min every hour would make a lot of sense.[/quote] Nothing wrong with people keeping a lid on the volume I guess but no excuses for not bringing earplugs either. Lets keep a perspective on this, Bass Bashes are not the place to be if you aren't prepared to put up with a lot of low frequencies at fairly loud volumes for extended periods of time.

There probably will be one in September, we just need to make a decision on whether we use the same venue as last time given there wasn't enough space. If we don't use the same venue then we need to find another with as good or better access and parking.

Hi Jo, glad you decided to show yourself eventually! Welcome

[quote name='The Funk' post='21798' date='Jun 22 2007, 11:25 AM']The rhodes/wurli/clavi sounds on the free Reason Electro-mechanical Refill sound great. There are also various other soft synths that sound fantastic. You could find great soft synths for strings and brass. You just get more power, more control and more patches if you go laptop. It's also a bit cheaper. A Nord Electro and a Korg Triton are each quite expensive.[/quote] I've tried a Triton and TBH, I wasn't sold on it. It sounded a bit thin to me. Besides which I don't think I really need one at the moment. What would I be looking at in terms of ball-park costs for Ableton Live6 + best electromechanical/orchestral plug-ins do you think? I'll work out the cost of a laptop separately as I know its going to vary a lot depending on spec. PS: Its great to see such a breadth of experience on this topic!!

Welcome Georgio! See what happens when you don't log in for more than a month?

[quote name='lowdown' post='21724' date='Jun 22 2007, 08:42 AM']Steve... I mentioned this, because the other night here in a club in Berlin..i saw it all in action with a band. just a trio with no keyboards....and it worked a treat.. I will be seeing these guys over the weekend.so i will find out the set up... I am back next week...so will report more.... But seems like a sound investment to me...[no humping modules and [Top Ten hit] around] You can even get midi files from the net[tons of free stuff]...this will make the first work load a lot easier...but once done you are laughing I have collected tons of these files over the years..some great ..some not so good.. But even the ones that are not so good,can be used as templates ,,then tweeked to taste... You are welcome to copy the midi disc's i have...but you will have to sift through them.....! Check out the Ableton live site.... Garry[/quote] Garry, you're pretty much covering all the plans I had in terms of modding existing MIDI files and going live - no need to reinvent the wheel eh? As you say - loads of variability in quality though. Some of the MIDI files I've already collected sound like they've been made for a Game Boy, I'm sure there will be occasions where its just going to be quicker for me to start from scratch. I'll have to compare the cost of a laptop + plug ins + software against the cost of the rack gear too. I know very little about Live6, does it play samples or MIDI? Whatever I do get, I will want to record with as well. How do you create hammond/rhodes/wurlitzer patches?

[quote name='obbm' post='21212' date='Jun 21 2007, 08:53 AM']The venue is accessed from the Farnham Road Car Park so there is no problem parking - it just costs.[/quote] How much are the parking charges per hour, Dave? As far as gear is concerned, I can bring the Smith 5's (fretted/fretless) and the Celinder. Happy to take requests as well if there's anything specific people would like to try. I do have a stereo set up if anyone wants to hear the Pentabuzz or Alembic in stereo.

[quote name='lowdown' post='21154' date='Jun 21 2007, 12:39 AM']Need any help Pm me..[/quote] Thanks Gary, I think I can cope with the basics after the hellishly steep learning curve with pro tools so far. Haven't looked at synching issues yet - don't anticipate needing to do that for a while at least. But others must have questions, knowledge and experience to share too?