BigRedX

Because the bass part was made with synths and samples in ProTools.

Anyone who has ever done any serious recording (i.e. anything that hasn't been wholly financed by the band themselves) will know that what was recorded in the studio during tracking and what is actually audible on the final release of those recordings are two entirely different things. Lets face it, when a large number of people on here couldn't even tell that a prominent, high in the mix, bass line like "Black Velvet" by Alannah Myles was produced by synthesisers, what chance have you got with average low in the mix rumble of the typical modern (by which I mean anything recorded this century) bass part? The job of a producer on a recording is to make the artist sound as good as possible (that's what they are being paid for after all), and in oder to do that, they will use everything they can within the budget. In the 50, 60s and 70s that generally meant replacing the band with the best season players they could afford. Since the mid-80s the technology has allowed them to do the same but much more cost-effectively by substituting or augmenting the bass guitar part with synthesised or sampled sounds. Why hire in lots a session musicians to play all the different instruments, when a single good programmer can cover drums, bass, keyboards, and synthesisers as well as comp'ing together the definitive performances for the vocals and guitars? When the song is played live there may well be a musician on stage with a bass guitar, but on the definitive version - the one made in the studio - synthesis, sampling and digital editing will have played just as much as part (and frequently much more) as any bass guitar (with any number of strings). IMO the only way anybody can categorically state that a recorded bass line on a commercial recording was 100% created by a bass guitar, would be if they were present for every minute of the tracking, mixing an mastering of the recording and knew exactly what had and what had not been used from the first guide tracks to to the final production master.

I have not been able to detect a significant difference between Warwick Red Label Strings and Warwick Black Label Strings. However getting a 5-string Red Label set with a taper-wound low-B string is almost impossible, so I find it easier to buy Black Labels sets which all seem to come with taper-wound Bs. If I was playing a 4-sting bass Red Label would be fine.

While changing the bridge could make a difference to the sound of the bass (although like all these things is it possible to state 100% that it is the new bridge that has made the difference and not one of the other things that may have been intentionally or unintentionally changed at the same time?), IME it's never pronounced enough to be noticeable in the context of a band mix. For me so long as the bridge doesn't move during playing, yet is easy to adjust when needed, that's all that is required.

You can do similar things to Ableton Live in Logic using Touch Tracks.

The standard ESP Viper bass has a bolt-on neck. However if you go through all the Signature Models you'll probably find someone who has a neck through version.

1. Because it looks ugly. 2. Because it's just as easy to put the truss rod adjustment behind the nut. 3. Because not every bass has a bolt-on neck.

I have yet to come across a sound engineer who has asked me to do this in almost 40 years of gigging.

No it screws onto the arm of a boom stand in the same way.

If Luminlays are bright enough for you, then that's what you need. Otherwise it's going to have to go off to Sims Custom for the full LED treatment. I know from experience that anything drawn or stuck on will wear off at the most inconvenient moment.

So it does. I'd never noticed that. Weird I can't see any reason for the plug only not to include an earth contact unless the two versions are deliberately engineered that way so you have an easy way of choosing whether or not to have an earth connection to the PSU. In which case I would have thought it would be mentioned somewhere in the literature that accompanies the macBooks.

Problem #1 the volume control. Using a volume pedal most likely designed for instrument level signals on a line-level output is probably never going to be great. What you should be using is a pedal that sends MIDI messages directly to MainStage. CC#07 is the controller number for MIDI volume. Problem #2 Earthing. Are you actually getting earth hum? It should be the same with either plug/cable as with the cable version while the lead itself has an earth connection the PSU that it plugs in to only has live and neutral contacts. How are you connecting the Mac to the stage box? I use an ART DTI box between the audio interface and the PA which completely isolates it and kills any earth hum.

Probably because the profanity filter ruined your search terms.

Very nice!

I'm not a Dingwall over but when I tried one a few years ago it took me less than 30 seconds to get used to the fans-frets. Unless your technique includes lots of chords high up on the neck I can't see it being a problem.

We've already done this in Off Topic There are plenty of other pedals with sexually suggestive names (in fact it seems almost to be a prerequisite for any "boutique" pedal maker to have at least one in their range) so are the complainants going after those too? Or are those manufacturers too obscure to be worth the publicity to the bands in question?

Unless the case is always going to be carried and stored in the same orientation as it sits on the cab you are also going to need to attach a block of wood to the top of the amp bracing against the top of the rack case.

But he's gone to all the trouble of staining the fingerboard blue, so why not the back of the neck and the body as well?

Is that the front and back of the same bass? If so why are they different colours? It just looks wrong.

I make it easy for everyone by simply having a rig that allows no access to the signal path until it is post everything.

They screw into the top of the stand in place of the usual microphone clip.

I know things have moved on somewhat since the 70s but back then one of the main selling points for the Shure SM58 was that it would take a much higher level of abuse without breaking compared to its competition. IME the cheap alternatives are fine if it is your personal microphone and you are going to look after it, otherwise it is likely to last a fraction of the time a proper SM58 will. Of course that doesn't help you if it gets stolen. If you are able to minimise the chances of the good microphone getting nicked, then in the long run they will be a better bet financially. Otherwise buy the cheapest decent sounding mics you can find and allow for the fact that you are going to have to replace them regularly.

If you just want 2D any vector-based Illustration program will be fine. If you are already an Adobe Creative Cloud subscriber, then Illustrator will be included in your package. Otherwise have a look at Affinity Designer which is currently on offer for £33.99

For me the pinnacle of Mick Karn's fretless sound is on "Quiet Life". It's a got a restraint about the tone that went missing after he changed from the Travis Bean to the Wal. Plus it's got all the best songs IMO.

You might want to re-think that time frame. I have it on good authority that the Barracudas currently in the shops are the only ones available until Burns get a new batch made next year at which point the price is likely to go up by £100...