Wolverinebass

I'd rather not say how much this is for now. Not until it's fully done. My builders might be reading this and they could come round tomorrow and suck teeth and say "that's gonna cost ya..." Let's just say that I'm appalling at DIY, so most of this is getting done by other people. Some of it for mate's rates, some not. Plus a major difference between mine and Blademan's is that mine is double skinned (albeit block which is cheaper than brick, but nevertheless it's still 2 layers). Also, Blademan's hasn't got any sound insulation in it. So you can make your own judgement on what he paid, plus take into account he very, very cleverly did most of it himself. And it was 5 years ago. Thanks for the advice on lighting chaps. I'm basically trying to figure out a way of making the minimum holes in the plasterboards. Before anyone suggests it, I won't be using strip lights as it'll give everyone headaches.

[quote name='EdwardHimself' timestamp='1327160979' post='1507240'] I remember there was a website I saw a couple of years back that specialised in acoustic products. They had special acoustic dampeners for downlighters. Might be worth a look? [/quote] I know exactly what you mean. The problem is that they're not cheap. About £10 a pop I think. Besides I'm not entirely convinced that they'll return the performance of the plasterboard to "within 1dB" of what it originally was as it states in the product info. I was hoping not to use them until I found something else or people that had used them before for first hand info.

Okay then, so more stuff going on. Taken from the upstairs bedroom. [attachment=97865:IMAG0063.jpg] Most of the roof struts are on. Hopefully in the next week it'll be watertight and I can start getting the stud walls in. Blademan is quite lucky. In my case there is at least 50 feet between the building and the nearest house but I'm not trusting that everything will just dissapate. As much noise as I can reduce the better. So, it's double block skin, firedoors, stud walls with RWA45 and double acoustic plasterboard. Probably that in the ceiling too. The guy who's doing most of the internal and "handyman" type stuff thinks I'm going waaaay too far, but I didn't fancy the noise leaking and the council coming round or the leakage becoming a magnet for burglars. For anyone that's done this did anyone use resiliant bars on either the ceilings or walls? [url="http://buildingmaterials.co.uk/Resilient-Bar/p~1027~027_210_001-Resilient-Bar-x-3000.html?utm_source=GoogleBase&utm_medium=Product+Search"]http://buildingmater...=Product+Search[/url] My question is do they make that much difference? I'm struggling with lighting though. Naturally, downlighters are going to be a pain in terms of leakage, so does anyone have any suggestions? A few of my mates said uplighters on the walls but I think that might leave the middle of the room a bit too dim. Mrs Wolverine suggested spot lights on a bar. Something like below. [url="http://www.lightingstyles.co.uk/Kitchen/spotlights/black_chrome_4_bar_ceiling_spot_light.htm"]http://www.lightings..._spot_light.htm[/url] Truth be told, that's a blind spot for me. I never did really decide on lighting at all. All advice gratefully received.

Yeah, exactly like that. It'll be one room. At the moment, the roof struts are going on and hopefully the roof will be waterproof by Monday or Tuesday. More pics to come tomorrow. Incidentally, I only did the Cockney joke as I live in SE London and find that quote from the beginning of Dangermouse hilarious for some reason. I'm actually Scottish. However, I digress.

London. Home of the cockney (I've always wanted to start off a post like that). Last year when Mrs Wolverine and I moved house one of the principal things on the menu (aside from a 3rd bedroom for baby Wolverine) was that I'd have an outside space where I could have rehearsals and record my own stuff. After much thought and planning and some very helpful advice from our very own 51m0n (a lovely man) we decided to crack on. Here, we have the site a few days after WW1 has commenced. [attachment=97634:IMAG0043.jpg] And here we are a few days later with most of the blockwork done. [attachment=97635:IMAG0061.jpg] Ultimately the size is about 5.7m x 6m. Naturally that will become somewhat smaller once the stud wall and double plasterboard is put in. Will post some more photos soon.

[quote name='sykilz' timestamp='1326624224' post='1499551'] Yeah, Was at Brixton,great gig,Mr Hagar was in fine voice,never seen him live was very impressed. Best of all looked like they were all having a real blast,all laughing together,looked like a BAND should do,only gripe was the bass was a bit ill defined were I stood,but thats prob down to the P.A and my position. Enjoyable night. [/quote] So was I. The bass sound was rubbish which is a pity as I like Michael Anthony. Thanks Brixton Academy (again!!). I was standing reasonably near the back and I saw the master EQ for the engineer. ALL the bass was torn out and it was still a boomy mess with the kick and bass merging into one massive messly glob. Every time I go to that place the bass has always sounded crap. With the notable exception of seeing Alice in Chains that is. It;s the venue I think. How rubbish were the support act?!! (Red White and Blues). Myself and my mate were laughing so hard we thought our eyeballs might fall out.

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' timestamp='1326105466' post='1492216'] beign able to do widdly w***y stuff is the reward for learning good clean technique. hopefully some people see the fiddly stuff and are inspired to put the time in to learn to play their instrument. Instead they probably go 'Pshh, I could play that if I had a Fodera'. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATub40Npxik [/quote] Damn right. If you don't have clean technique you'll never be able to do stuff like this regardless whether you hate it or not. I'm not saying I like or dislike VW or that type of insane-o fast as I can slappy slap stuff. More often it doesn't do too much for me but everything has its place. On the other hand, I remember the evening. 5th November 2000 at the SECC in Glasgow. It was the night I saw the Who and it literally changed my life. I was okay at bass at the time and was quite nicely sitting in the sort of Simon Jones of the Verve level of proficiency or style. II thought I was okay and was happy resting on my musical laurels so to speak. Then Entwistle piles in and does that 515 solo. It almost melted my face. Now I appreciate that he is an equally acquired taste, but it inspired me to play and learn all that I could. The fact that my own playing has progressed infinitely in the last few years is case in point. I'll never in a million years get the opportunity to use most of it in a band context unless the band was primarily geared to me showing off and I must admit, I'd find that really tedious because the songs would be rubbish. If the audience put up with it for more than 2 minutes I'd be really surprised. I never ever thought that getting a Fodera/Wal/Alembic/Status/ whatever would make it possible to play things that were light years ahead of me in terms of technique. I always thought it was down to practice.

Some of these are sickening. I turned down a signed band about 10 years ago. I won't bother to name names and they were pretty successful. I just didn't think I'd be that into it. Can one get any more idiotic? The arrogance of youth. I promised myself that I'd never do the same thing again if there was even a chance that I might enjoy it. It could be easy for one to become bitter and twisted and if you've been brushed (however lightly) by the fickle hand of fame. Playing on the same bill with bands that became famous and were utterly crap (and seriously up themselves to boot) on the night.It does make one question the default setting of the universe in terms of sanity. The only opportunity that I'd have been gutted to have turned down would have been taking the bass slot in The Who instead of Palladino. Sadly, that wasn't to be as disappointingly I wasn't asked!!

[quote name='silddx' timestamp='1323872515' post='1468065'] I'd just like to say that I didn't say it was total crap, just that it bored the sh*t out of me, and that I find it of little merit. [/quote] Without meaning to sound any thicker than I actually am, is the above statement [i]not[/i] saying it's crap?!!

I agree with Chris and Silddx. It's total crap and dare I say it, sounds like music that got rejected out of Casino Royale (the spoof original) for being too lounge or boring. Whilst I don't necessarily think that there's much to be discovered that's "original" per se, that stuff is so insipid that for it to be called the future of anything except the lift music at Dignitas leaves me somewhat perplexed.

Thanks for the replies chaps. It sounds like the direction you all suggest is the Barefaced Big Twin, Extended Audio Design or an Acme of some description. Not that I'd object to owning any of them!! However, the problem I have is basically that the treble content of the signal is totally uncontrollable thanks to the tweeters which kind of defeats the purpose of having them in the first place. Using just a DI signal I can easily get what I would consider "normal" settings and things are great. Use a cab and then cut everything above 4.5kHz down to nothing to get the same sound and the DI sounds truly awful.Turning the tweeter down to slightly below half reduces the cut available to zero especially when I'm using a 4 string. According to Markbass, the crossover is set at 3.5kHz. In truth, I probably missed a trick with these as I've only gigged them twice and used them at rehearsals twice. Other than that I've only used the 15 at very, very low practice volumes. More research should have been done methinks.... The other problem is that I don't want to re-set the tweeter when I change basses. I'm not the most technically minded and to be fair, I'd have to get someone to do any repairs/alterations for me. Whether it's worth it I wonder.

Not sure if this should go in here or Repairs and Technical issues. Mods to move if you want. However, let's just explain. Both the cabs I use have piezo tweeters. Whilst it was okay when I was just using 4 string basses, the use of 8 and 12 string basses have now shown the piezo tweeters true colours. "Harsh" is not a word that even remotely describes how in your face it is. I can only imagine a pack of dogs howling in front of my front door every time I play the 12 string through it as the amount of 4.5kHz (and above) that I have to cut/shelve to get the sound even remotely passable at the mid point of the tweeter is just frankly stupid. In case some wonder what the settings are like, it's reasonably flat with a boost in the 180Hz region. Listening to the DI out like this it's brilliant. Listening to it after the cabs are taken into account and it sounds as dull as a rusty spoon. I have no interest in multiple guitar/bass cab setups to get what I want and whilst I don't really want to sell the cabs, I would if I thought I could find something that'd work better for me. However, one of my mates suggested tearing out the tweeter and replacing it with a compression driver. Now, I've never done this, so firstly, is this possible and secondly is it worth it? Will chucking in something else make the problem ease? Or is it going to be a mess of matching components and all that nonsense? If anyone's done this, I'd appreciate views.

How about an old Yamaha spx90? They're reasonably cheap and good gear. My guitarist has one and it sounds good on bass as well. I think Duff from GnR used one for years.

[quote name='12stringbassist' timestamp='1321718903' post='1442384'] Pedals really won't do it. Get the Dean. I have a Dean Rhapsody 8-string and it's very good. If you decide to go the whole hog for a Hamer 12er later, avoid the Chapparal, go for an older ACTIVE B12 / B12A. They exist. Best source of info - [url="http://www.12stringbass.net/"]http://www.12stringbass.net/[/url] [/quote] The Hamer B12L that I've got is active as well though I think that the Waterstone is passive. If you can get a Dean for £200-300, it's probably worth it as you can always gut it. I still think that all the Dean basses I've tried have been pants, but it's all subjective. I saw a B12A on Ebay the other week. I seem to recall it was £2600. Ouch.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1321706908' post='1442194'] As an 8-string player (and 12 string guitar) myself, I don't think that effects will ever recreate exactly the same sound you get from an instrument with multi-string courses. However this is how I'd try it: Split the bass signal 2 ways. Feed one into your bass amp with your favoured bass sound - That's the sound of the main strings. Feed the other into your octave up device. You don't want a perfect octave up but detuned by a very small amount. Output the octave up signal only. Depending on how fast the processing of the octave up signal is you might not need to add any further delay. If you do you only want to add delayed signal. (This is where your simulation falls down since the delayed string alternates between the "root" and octave strings depending on whether you are picking up-strokes or down-strokes). Add some chorus and feed this to your guitar amp. Finally having tried most of 8 and 12 string basses that are easily available in this country I couldn't in all honesty recommend any of the Dean offerings unless it was very cheap second hand. [/quote] Big Red X has hit the nail on the head. As an 8 and a 12 bass string player myself, I can say you'll never get a good 12 string sound through using a 4 and effects. You'll get a mediocre one but that's up yourself. As for getting a Dean. Just don't. I toyed with getting one, but decided against it after I played one. The reasons were simple. It's rubbish. However, on a less subjective level, the preamp is weak and just won't give you the chime you need from a 12 (or an 8 for that matter), and it has one of the widest 12 string necks I've ever played. Almost like a 6 string bass. By the time you get to the 12th fret you'd need hands like shovels to play it. Sod that. Ultimately, you get what you pay for. The Dean's are cheap for a reason. Which is that they're total pony. The Hamer I've got is really good, but you won't get a new one in the UK thanks to Fender insanely suggesting that the Chaparral is "too similar" to other Fender products. Come again?!! However, for that reason, you'll only get a 2nd hand one. I tried a Waterstone and that was rather good too. However the semi acoustic nature of it could be a problem for some and £1300 to spend on either of these is a lot of cash for what could go on to become a very expensive doorstop if the band doesn't work out.

For me it's "Right on Time" by the Chili Peppers. It's just too fast. I can play the thing at 122 bpm, but not 146. I had wondered if it required 3 fingers and tried it like that. Didn't make any difference. I got to 134 bpm and that was that. Good thing I never have to play it....

[quote name='skelf' timestamp='1320332904' post='1425444'] Selling original designs is hard work. I have tried to design things that are of the beaten track. I have seen numerous posts on various forums say how ugly,stupid, don't see the point, any number of other disparaging remarks about my designs. Fortunately I have found enough people or they have found me to make a business out of this. But if I wanted to sell a lot of basses I would build copies because that is what the majority want to buy. I am working on a production Jazz type bass for that very reason. I tried producing an entry level hand made bass with better hardware pre-amp etc than a Fender for a lot less than an American Fender but not Fender shaped. I have given up because I can't sell them. [/quote] I find that a tragedy. Nothing like a slap in the face for original thinking. As someone who doesn't do Fenders at all, I suppose I'm a bit biased. The only thing I have that is remotely Fender shaped is the Hamer 12 string. The joke here is that Hamer is owned by Fender and because of that and the apparrent "similarities" between the Hamer and Fender's own products you cannot buy one in the UK. You can only get them in the US. When did Fender ever make a 12?!! Ultimately people go for what they think works. Whether it be a P or J. If you want upgrades, fine and there's nothing wrong with giving people what they want. It's not like the headstock says Fender does it and it's been sold down the local market as genuine is it?

[quote name='Monckyman' timestamp='1320399154' post='1426243'] And just how many tracks could you use one on before it ended up in the dusty corner? Not for me. [/quote] Fair enough mate. I think this sort of stuff is an "aquired taste." Let's face it, plenty of folk think even 5 string basses are wrong. But in terms of how much you can use it on, that depends on what type of band you're in. I think Kings X did the whole of Faith, Hope Love with a 12. Just saying. I would imagine that if you're thinking of using it with your motown covers band for example you will be awaiting the P45. Ha!!

[quote name='cheddatom' timestamp='1320314586' post='1425102'] It's still the same as me turning my whammy on plus 1 octave with some chorus after it for the entire practise. That's pretty mind-numbingly obvious to me. [/quote] You'll never get the sound of a 12 through using effects. I suppose everyone's different, but with the sort of sounds I use (loads of treble) you get a chime effect that you just simply cannot re-create with effects. You'll get the note sure, but you'll never, ever get the ludicrous amounts of harmonics and overtones that a 12 string generates. It just can't be done as I wondered the same thing, so tried it for a couple of evenings with a 4 string. Didn't work. It sounds to me as if the OP's band mates don't know what you're about to unleash on them. Use that beast correctly and you can tear down skyscrapers. Dealing with 2nd guitarists will be a page in distant history. All that harmonic content will be missed (when you stop playing) and will make the stuff sound so amazingly hollow they'll beg you to play it on everything. However, I've had mixed reactons on mine. When I got the 8 string, everyone in my band thought this was great (ironically my guitarist especially as we have a mutual love of King's X). When I got the 12 my guitarist couldn't wait to go for a jam for aforementioned reasons. However, one of my drummer mates thought it was just stupid. Fair comment as everyone's different. Is this not expanding your sound and achieving your own style? I never queried his sanity when he got a set of cymbals made in the shape of the batman insignia.... However, I digress.

I'm looking forward to Dood's review. However, after reading the manual for this, I'm really glad I didn't wait for one since (cough, cough) 2008 when it was announced. The fact that the passive tonestack doesn't seem to be able to be removed from the signal path would probably irritate me. The fact that the manual says "there is no flat response for these controls" is something that I find most peculiar. A flagship amp with no flat response setting? Weird that. In saying that, for what you're getting for £670 I think it's great value for money. It's not as heavy as I thought it was going to be in that it's as heavy as my HA5500. I guess only time will tell and reviews will no doubt shed some light on how good/bad/indifferent the amp actually is.

Were it me, I'd listen to Entwistle, Geddy Lee and any bass players that fill out sound in a trio or 3 musician context. I use 8 and 12 string basses and frankly, you can tear down skyscrapers with them if you use them properly. The 8 can be played as fluidly as you normally would, but a 12 it's more difficult and utterly self defeating as you'd lose all the overtones. Maybe worth a punt.... However, it depends what you're used to. I'll never, ever play in a band that has 2 guitarists. I did 10 years ago and I didn't enjoy it. I've never met a band that can use them properly or even that creatively. Use the opportunity you're getting here to flex your chops and don't look back to your 2 guitarist days!! A band I got asked to fill in with (by a drummer mate) had 2 "lead" guitarists. Let me put that into context, One of them was brilliant. The other one was below average. I give you the lesser guitarist. The one who always has problems with "not following me exactly." I got asked to join and I whilst I helped them finish some stuff I could sense which way the atmosphere was going with alleged "overplaying" and his very lazy playing of stuff I wrote for them. If I played like that on someone else's stuff I've give up playing as I'd be so ashamed and I wouldn't want anyone to think that I wasn't trying, as it's so disrespectful of what you're being given. However, I digress. Stick with one guitarist. It's just so much more freeing on a playing level.

About 3 years ago when this was announced, I was well up for it. However, after ludicrous delays in which they apparently tried to make it lighter and change the front panel in the most insignificant way imaginable, here it is. I've lost interest completely. I appreciate things take time to get right, but the fact that it's taken so long is laughable in the extreme. The fact that every time someone asks about it, it's May/June/July/August/September 2009. Then it'll definitely be out!! Yeah, right. No manual online, not even a picture of the back panel. I think this has been handled badly and probably quite a few people have probably went elsewhere. If it wasn't ready when they announced it, why announce it? Don't get me wrong, I love Hartke stuff. It's great. I'm sure that the Kilo will probably be on a par (if not better) than the comparible Trace Elliot model. Just give a reasonable idea of when stuff is going be ready and string your customers along for nigh on 3 years..

Mostly I agree with what's been said. A while back I went through an awful patch of doing stuff and just nothing was working for me. Play too much, play not enough. Didn't matter. Now, I clearly was dealing with idiots, but it's ironic that the bands who offered me anything weren't really what I was up for due to other personel problems or whatever. I'd just say, know the stuff as it is and a bit more flexibly as well so you can play it "as you normally would" so that stylistic differences can get sorted right there. Or not. Be on time and just have a chat. Generally works. The best one I did about 7 months ago (after this I gave up on the idea of joining bands). I go along. The band are 40 minutes late. We play through their stuff and it's all fine as I've done my homework. SInger is a bit ropey though and I'm not sold on it. However, now we get to the fun. The guitarist says (and I quote) "Okay, that's fine, but I can tell you're holding back a bit. Let's just have a jam. See what your chops are like." I asked him if he was sure and how far he really wanted me to go (I've found some guitarists don't really like participation from the bass that much) . "As much as you've got" came the reply. Okay then. Off we go. I'm throwing in everything I can think of that works and it was brilliant fun as the drummer was really, really good. Now for the hilarity. The next day, the guitarist emailed me to say I could have the slot but that he felt at points I had turned the band into "The Wolverinebass Experience Band." I had tears of laughter streaming down my face. In what universe is being compared to Hendrix in terms of proficiency on your instrument been considered an insult?!! Besides, the guy had insisted I "not hold back." I gave up with bands at this point. I hasten to add, I'm not that good.

Korg DTR. Either the 1000 or 2000. No question. I tried the Behringher one once and that was enough. Wouldn't really track the drop D very well. I must admit, when I put together my almost stupidly complicated rack setup it's basically because I hate seperate floor pedals. I'm sure loads of folk would disagree, but I find rack stuff more flexible as you can just midi chain them all and when you press a floor controller, the whole rig changes. At least, that's what mine does. Some folk have rightly stated that you can just boot the floor tuner in your pocket. Fine, Each to their own, but the thought of the battery dying would fill me with dread if it was a screw job to replace it. You just know it'd happen mid gig too.....

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1318107947' post='1398254'] A cursory Google ('digital tuner kills vibe') brings up this question asked during an interview with the producer Tony Platt which I thought may be interesting: [size=2][b]What piece of technology do you think has been the most detrimental in the evolution of the recording realm?[/b][/size] [size=2]'It would be the digital guitar tuner. When I first started, there were no guitar tuners, guitarists would tune to the piano, as the piano was always in tune in the studio. And so the guitar players always had the capacity to hold a guitar in tune. If they heard a string going out, they’d pull it a little bit to bring it back in. So things weren’t absolutely perfectly in tune but there wasn’t this focus of attention on the tuning so much. People were focusing on getting the feel right and getting it to where it was exciting. Now what happens is one string goes out of tune, everything stops, guitarist plugs into his tuner, tunes his guitar and then starts off again, but it has broken the momentum of the session so much. And again what happens is we have this overabundance of guitar players who have this overriding reliance on this piece of technology. They’re not thinking of tuning in their head, they’re not hearing the tuning in there, they’re looking at it, on the scale on the tuner.'[/size] Interesting... hadn't thought about the effect a tuner may have on the momentum of a recording session. [/quote] I remember reading in a biography of Paul Weller that when the Jam recorded All Mod Cons or maybe Setting Sons, their producer Vic Coppersmith-Heaven, I think) said "I wished Paul wouldn't insist on using Rickenbackers. They just won't stay in tune!! We must have wasted 3 whole days just tuning them."