BigRedX

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1435105024' post='2805591'] There is - usually Dante - but when you think think what these devices are being used for, e.g. plugging into an amp, there really aren't too many amps with digital inputs. I think the devices which output Dante are generally the units which are used for microphones, so it makes perfect sense to keep that particular signal in the digital domain from the word go. And if you are going to record into a computer, you may as well go from bass->cable->interface anyway. [/quote] For me a digital out would be very useful since the next unit in my signal chain is a BassPod with digital inputs and outputs (both AES/EBU and S/PDIF) so I could skip a whole set of D-A and A-D conversion. I still can't understand why at least Line 6 (who also make of lots of other digital devices) at the semi-pro end of the market don't offer it. Surely the cost of the additional circuitry and output socket would be minimal? I suppose when digital multi-effects come back into fashion for guitarists we'll start seeing wireless units with digital outputs.

Old Ben, I think it was because you mentioned that you had a producer and were doing some pre-production rehearsals for your album that I assumed that there must be a label backing you. Obviously not. If you been able to make crowd funding work for your last album and hopefully you'll have grown you fan base since then, you shouldn't really have any problem getting it to work for you again. Pick your pledge levels and rewards sensibly and you'll be set. You do have to give the people who are going to pledge VFM and the unsuccessful campaigns don't offer this. However I'm very suspicious of the people promoting crowd funding. Almost all of their examples of successful crowd funded records are from artists who have been around for a long time and built up their following from the days when record labels picked up the record production costs and did a reasonable amount of promotion or have built a reputation by working with someone who is already well known.

Here's a tip for bands with merchandise to sell. You are much better off playing on the first day of the festival (or early in the day on single day events) when people still have money to spend on things other than food and alcohol.

[quote name='pete.young' timestamp='1435132742' post='2805686'] Think obbm had one of these for a while. It you are in an upstairs flat, I wonder if vibrations through the floor might be an be issue for the neighbours downstairs. [/quote] This was my thought too. My band does occasional song writing get togethers at my flat. We don't play very loud, but we've still had to isolate all the speakers from the floor to avoid complaints from downstairs.

Why don't any of the digital wireless manufacturers offer a digital output on the receiver unit?

Is that actually a Wilson bass? Looks like something cobbled together from various parts including some (scratch plate, bridge, knobs and neck plate) off a 60s Wilson, but the rest looks very much late 70s early 80s.

[quote name='fretmeister' timestamp='1433362013' post='2790508'] Oh man that's awesome! [/quote] Thanks! It may well be up for sale in the near future, as I'm reducing my collection to basses that I use on a regular basis. This Yamaha is a fantastic sounding and playing instrument, but it's also big and heavy and my band don't play many venues where the stage is big enough to wield it without it being a danger to the rest of the band or the audience!

Old Ben - I thought from one of your previous threads your band had a record deal? Shouldn't the record label be paying for all of this? IME crowd funding works if you already have a large and fanatical fan base. The majority of artists/bands who can make crowd funding work for them managed to build up this following before 2000, when people in relatively large numbers were still prepared to pay for music. The statistics that I've seen say that the best you can expect is for 1 in 50 of your Facebook followers to pledge £5. If you think that you have a large enough following to make these figures cover the costs you require then go for it. Remember though that there is nothing so sad as a crowd-funded venture that doesn't reach it's goal and your success or failure is out there for all to see.

During my time as a guitar player I was always breaking strings and would have never considered going on stage without at least one back up instrument and ideally 2 or a roadie/guitar tech who could replace any broken strings in the space of one song. Even as a bass player I'm not immune to string breakages, and where ever possible I take a spare bass to gigs. I've broken strings twice at gigs in the last few years and I'm thankful that I had a spare bass tuned and ready on stage on pick up and keep the flow of the set going.

I'd be very suspicious of a flanger that didn't have an equivalent of what Boss term "Manual" control. This changes the point about which the flange sound sweeps and is essential IMO for getting the sound to sit tunefully in the mix.

What sort of Wal-like sound are you after? Remember Mick Karn sounded almost identical when he played his Travis Bean TB2000.

[quote name='zawinul' timestamp='1434982791' post='2804385'] any pickups that mimic Wal ones? Glockenklang for example? [/quote] Unless you buy an actual Wal the closest you are going to get is ACG.

Biro, The problem with doing the filter processing outside of the bass is that you miss out on one of the most import aspects of the sound which is that there are separate filters for each pickup.

[quote name='Hellzero' timestamp='1434718304' post='2802141'] Those 2 basses were amongst the very first produced,this is, maybe, the explanation. [/quote] Ver much so. Lightwave basses have gone through 3 different incarnations. The first were not so good and existed mostly as a platform to show off the pickups. This approach didn't really do Lightwave any favours. My bass was from the second wave. And IMO there was nothing wrong with the construction at all. Also the pickup/bridge units were much improved over the original design although for a bass that should encourage experimentation with string types, getting it set up properly after changing strings was still more hassle than it really should have been. The Lightwave basses being produced nowadays are another major step forward once again. One of the current models is produced in collaboration with Tune Japan a company that are renowned for their high-quality instruments.

[quote name='gary mac' timestamp='1434721279' post='2802185'] I tend to think it's an over used and not quite correct term. All in the technique would be more appropriate [/quote] Very much this. If it really was just "tone" then you would be able to identify the player from a single repeated note. However I think what identifies a player is far more things like note choice, phrasing, and how the individual notes are articulated. None of these things are "tone" IMO.

As Bassassin said very Wandré influenced. IIRC there was a guitar model with almost exactly that body shape. Nice but not $3800 nice.

I used to have a Lightwave Sabre with both fretted and fretless necks. I only ever used it with the fretless neck fitted and strung with TI flats. Excellent sound and very playable. Only moved it on because I had a clear out of my 4-string bases as they weren't getting played as everything I do these days is easier on a 5-string. I'd have another Lightwave if I could find an equally good one with 5 strings. Never played an Alusonic, but I like basses and guitars with aluminium in the construction. Not particularly sure about the video though. That sound to me is as much about the effects he's putting the bass through as it is about the bass. I'm not a big fan of demo videos mainly because the basses never sound remotely like they do when I play one through my rig. Case in point would be the Bass Whisperer review of the Lightwave where IMO he made it sound like every other bass he demos, whereas in my hands it sounded completely different to all my other basses (which for me was the whole point of owning it).

Two reasons for having a radiused fingerboard. 1. On a bowed stringed instrument the strings have to be set in a radius to make it possible to bow each one individually. Therefore the fingerboard has to be radiused to match. 2. They supposedly make playing chords easier on a guitar - especially barre chords, although TBH I've never really had a problem playing chords on a classical guitar with a flat fingerboard. A flat fingerboard is generally thought to be be better for string string work - which is what most bass playing is. Personally I don't really take much notice of fingerboard radius. I just get on an play. Incidentally I don't get the obsession with measuring the string spacing just at the bridge because it only shows part of the picture since unless you only ever pluck the string very close to the bridge, the string spacing at the point where you actually play will also be dependent on the spacing at the nut and the scale length. My basses all have different string spacing at the bridge, but at the point where I mostly pluck the strings they are all very similar, so for me the bridge measurement is mostly meaningless.

So you were going to buy a semi-hollow 30" bass, but ended up with a solid bodied 34" scale?

Bloody hell! Don't the new Gibson pickups sound thin and weedy! Really liked the sound of the original Gibson Thunderbird - plenty of low-end heft. After that the only one that came close IMO was the Kaminari with the Mike Lull pickups.

[list] [*]Have you tried Elixir strings before? [/list] Only their guitar strings and that was about 10 years ago.[list] [*]What other brands are you familiar with? [/list] I am currently using Warwick Black Label, LaBella Steels and Overwater Steels. In the past I have used strings by Rotosound, Elites, DR, Thomastik, Pedulla and SIT. I am always on the look out for the right strings for the basses I use and the sound and feel that I want.[list] [*]What bass(es) will you try the new strings on? [/list] Warwick Star Bass 5-string. Gus G3 5-string (x3), Sei Off-set Flamboyant fretless 5-string, Overwater Original 5-string (36" Scale). Also if there are strings to fit I'll check them out on my Burns Sonic and Fernades Pie-Zo basses - both short scale.[list] [*]What sort of environment will you be playing them in (e.g studio, gigging, practicing) [/list] Everywhere and all situations. My band Dick Venom & The Terrortones gig most weeks and rehearse every week. Although we have recently finished the tracking for our new album, I am sure that there will be more recording happening in the next 12 months.[list] [*]Why do you think you'll be a good candidate to test the strings? [/list] I use an eclectic selection of less usual basses, and play both finger style and with a pick. I am very open to trying out new bass technology, and while I have been pretty happy with my current string selections I know that there are better strings for me out there some where. They just haven't been fitted to my basses yet. Also I am a great believer in finding the right string for each individual bass that I use. IMO it is essential that the strings have to match the bass and the player's style and sound.[list] [*]Links to any blogs/reviews you may have already posted (not essential but interesting) [/list] I've posted some "reviews" of basses that I have owned on this site - mostly in the Bass Porn section.

There's nothing wrong with trying different instruments or amps for a different sound feel to a track, but IMO most of that should be done outside the studio where it can be done in the cheaper environment of the rehearsal room. That for me is what pre-production is all about. I've found that in the main the choice of bass unless it's a very radical one such as fretted vs fretless makes little difference in the context of the final mix unless you have a very "transparent" amp. Listening to the tracks you linked to earlier in the thread, unless any the new songs are going in a radically different direction your current bass coupled with a decent amp should be more than capable of covering the tones required to fit perfectly into the mix.

Rolf Spuler also designed the Ibanez Affirma bass.

The fuse in the plug is to protect the mains lead only. So long as it's the correct fuse for lead then you are OK.

[quote name='Old_Ben' timestamp='1432291622' post='2780051'] Living in bristol, currently play ltd surveryor 5 string. (active emg) that sound meaty. We'll be in the studio for about 10-15 days plus 3 days of pre production with our producer! [/quote] I take it, the recommendation has come from your producer? I'd ask him what he would suggest as a suitable alternative. Also is that 10-15 days for just the tracking or for everything including the mixing? What sort of music do your band play? Do you have a link to somewhere where we can hear a previously recorded track or two?