Kiwi

Yeah, and to get the thread back on track. I didn't start it because of my problems I just wanted to see how many people have used MIDI. Its not normally something us down-to-earth bassists like to dabble in, is it?

A high interest account isn't going to give you much of a return for two grand unless you keep it in there for quite a while. Plus, if I was in your shoes, sweating my arse off and trying to motivate myself to get through the day, I couldn't think of better motivation than a better piece of kit. I'd probably print out a pic off the internet and carry it in with me to work so that when the going got tough I'd have a reminder. I did exactly the same thing when I was saving for my Jaydee bass way back in 1991. Worked two goddawful jobs to save the £450 and never regretted it (in the long term). Yes I could have saved the money but I had no regrets and I used that bass for 12 years exclusively afterwards. I got good value for my effort. So if you're passionate about bass then get yourself a better bass if thats what you want! Enjoy your money because you've worked hard for it. Just make sure you get the best value for your effort as you can and don't succumb to fashion too much. However if you know you've got priorities with university or living expenses then it only stands to reason that you think of those needs first. Otherwise I say go for it! Reward yourself for sticking with it!

Hey Mike, glad you haven't forgotten us! Congrats on getting your life back together and getting back into bass. S'why we're all here really at the end of the day, innit? Hope your knee doesn't get much worse too.

Tony would you please keep me in mind if you do decide to sell?

damn, if you were in London, I'd have 'em. With a bit of polyeurathane foam sandwiched between, they're great for isolating speakers.

Hey BOD2, looks like I don't need to rebuild Windows after all because I've finally sorted out all my problems. I had a copy of Xpand arrive today in the post and I installed that into ProTools as well. In 10 mins Slaphappygarry gave me a couple of pointers on MSN this evening - like where to set up the Inserts and I finally heard ProTools play MIDI!!! [i](CUE: Crowds cheering, bands playing, fireworks etc. )[/i] Then I figured out how to set up the Yamaha CS6R using an Instrument track, set the Yammie up to recieve on the right channel and had Xpand running on Channel 1, with the Yammie on Channel 2!! All routed through the Delta 1010 patch bay for audio. It's funny how sometimes it can be just one thing that is the key to unlocking everything else. It all sounds awesome and more importantly, IT ALL WORKS PERFECTLY

Well the Yamaha CR6R arrived today and I've just spent the last hour flicking through all the patches, getting acquainted. There's some great sounds on there! Only I still haven't resolved my MIDI issue and you know what? I think the card is to blame because I've set everything to recieve/transmit on Channel 1 and I'm not getting any light on the MIDI out despite MIDI thru being selected. I think thats what the problem is. Its likely that the installation didn't fully detect the card (again). The only way I've solved this problem in the past is by doing a complete rebuild with Windows, letting it detect the card during the installation process. I might see if I can do a repair or something though. I've got the OS backed up as an image on CD so I can reinstall it no problem.

Great review Oxblood!

[quote name='thumbo' post='13505' date='Jun 7 2007, 11:28 AM']Hi Hadrien, welcome to bass chat. Cool pic, what bass are you playing there?[/quote] I know, but I ain't sayin'

[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.