BigRedX

Ideally you want just enough string wrapped around the machine head post to hold it in place and no more. That usually works out at just over 2 full winds. On a modern style machine head that works out at about 8 cm and on an older style with a thicker post about 9 cm. However on basses with non-angled headstocks where the windings are required to get the right break angle over the nut you really want as many as you can fit on the post without the winds overlapping. The reason you want want as few winds as possible is because this area of the string gives up it's excess elasticity more slowly than the unwound length which means that on a new set the more winds you have on the machine head the longer it will take for the string to become stable and stay in tune. Obviously if you are are going to fit a set of flats on your bass and leave them there for the next 10 years then a couple of extra days of tuning instability isn't really going to be a problem, but if you change your strings every week or more frequently then you might find that your basses never stay properly in tune because of the excess windings.

[quote name='Woodinblack' timestamp='1425904031' post='2711949'] Some of that certainly, although most of that is guitar based, where this is specifically not guitar based, which makes it more interesting (and why I have just handed over my card for one). As soon as you base your idea off a guitar you have just added a load of restrictions to it. [/quote] But looking at the promo video the people getting the most expressiveness out of it are the ones who treat it like a guitar with some extras. Nothing wrong with that, but I don't think it's quite as radical as its inventors would like us to believe.

Why don't you just join a band?

First gig of 2015 for the Terrortones. And a great way to start. Supporting The Ricochets at The old Angel in Nottingham. Tried out some new songs which went down well, and our guitarist went wireless for the first time which he thought was a success. Just need to find something suitably robust for Mr Venom... [IMG]http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n249/BigRedX/Dick%20Venom%20Live/11045297_10153732842411164_359736755359529453_n_zpsu1tnobve.jpg[/IMG] The rest of the month is going to be relatively quiet while we work on new songs and get ready for recording our album. Next gigs are April in Leeds supporting The Brains and Birmingham with The Frantic Flintstones.

For some bands image is important. Some musicians think it's ok to look like a sack of sh*t with a string tied around the middle. Clearly the two are not compatible.

The most radical thing about it is the the price (provided that once it's for sale in the UK it's not priced at £ = $). Essentially it's just the logical progression from the Synthaxe, Yamaha EZ-EG, Starr Labs controllers and the YouRock Guitar. Personally I'm still waiting for David Vorhaus to turn his Kaliedophon into a proper commercial product.

[quote name='Skol303' timestamp='1425662641' post='2709569'] Importantly, let the studio engineer do his/her job and listen to what they have to say. They're like the pilot of an airplane. Typically calm and polite, but really they just want you to keep the hell out of the cockpit and let them get on with it [/quote] But also if you don't like how they are making you sound then say something. Also if your not comfortable with how they are making you record then also say something. IME budget recording studios want to make their life easy, because that's howe they make their money, and a lot of the time their default settings and mix sounds will be the right ones, but if they are not then speak up earlier rather than later. Also record in a way that makes the band feel comfortable. I think it is far more important to get a good performance than one that is technically well recorded. A decent engineer can make a good band performance sound great, but if the players aren't comfortable when they are recording, it will show no matter how technically excellent the recording is.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1425580349' post='2708832'] @BigRedX - how would you compare the Yamaha to the YouRock Gen2? [/quote] I've not been able to try a YouRock of any description so far, but given that it's 15 years more advanced than the EZ-EG I would hope that it would be a significant step forward in terms of playability and MIDI versatility. Also the two products appear to be aimed at quite different markets. The EZ-EG is most definitely aimed at (Japanese) people who want to learn the guitar but need to do so in a reasonably silent environment - it's whole design is that of a guitar version of the home keyboards with the lighting up keys to show you what to play, and it's MIDI capabilities are an add-on that was probably cheap and easy to implement.

[quote name='Vinny' timestamp='1425649212' post='2709381'] I'd have thought it was quite hard to record discipline. [/quote] [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxxMg2QL2yM"]http://www.youtube....h?v=uxxMg2QL2yM[/url]

[quote name='AndyTravis' timestamp='1425570227' post='2708720'] I sold them for a year and had people bringing them back as they couldn't make them work in that capacity, maybe the didn't try hard enough. I don't miss that job [/quote] Maybe not. It's not easy but it does work, and you also have to have a multi-timberal sound source with at least 6 parts - one for each string - that operates on 6 adjacent MIDI channels. It does require a fair bit of MIDI knowledge and an understanding of how a guitar responds to playing otherwise you'll get very little useful out of it.

[quote name='AndyTravis' timestamp='1425568674' post='2708701'] Don't ask me how I know, but they don't work as a midi controller...that was a long year. [/quote] I've got an EZ-EG which AFAICS is exactly the same but with a "Strat-ish" shaped thin body. I've been able to make it work perfectly well as a MIDI controller. You do have to modify some of the MIDI sound module/synth's sustain/release and velocity sensitivity parameters to get the best out of it.

Hiscox make plenty of branded cases for manufacturers. I have a FretKing one. Other than the embossed logo on the lid it's exactly the same as an unbranded Hiscox case.

[url="http://www.emeraldguitars.com"]Emerald Guitars[/url]. They mostly make carbon fibre acoustic guitars. The bass range is relatively recent.

[quote name='Roland Rock' timestamp='1425556273' post='2708503'] Slight hint of panic there - you mean if the entire band is to be covered, yes? An individual member has their own stuff/liability covered. I hope! [/quote] As I understand it, the MU equipment cover is for each member individually. However for their PLI cover, all the musicians performing need their own. This wouldn't be a problem if all the musicians are MU members but can be complicated if some of the band are covered and some aren't. Plus some band equipment like PA and lights are owned by the band as a whole and not by any single member. Imagine the situation if an audience member trips over equipment belonging to one band member with MU PLI cover and then falls into equipment belonging to another band member (who has different or no PLI cover) causing an actual injury. I wouldn't even want to think about how complicated or expensive that could be.

[quote name='fretmeister' timestamp='1425555696' post='2708488'] Musicians Union will do that. [/quote] IIRC the MU liability cover requires all the band to be MU members.

If it's the whole holder, then any replacement part should do so long as it fits in the back panel hole and will hold the appropriate value fuse. That is so long as it isn't soldered directly onto a circuit board, in which case you are going to have to get the exact part.

Is it the whole fuse holder or just the bit that unscrews to allow you to change the fuse? Difficult to tell from just a drawing, but it looks like a standard fuse holder, so somewhere like Maplins should have one. You may still have to buy the whole holder even if you just need the cap.

[quote name='MacDaddy' timestamp='1425552068' post='2708431'] I heard if you have a reverse headstock it's better for the B, as more of the string is unwound. Not sure of the truth of it though. [/quote] It ought to make the string slightly more compliant. Not sure that this is a good thing as on the whole low B strings tend to feel a bit too "loose" compared to the others.

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1425545688' post='2708326'] I've had the pickguard [b][i]and[/i][/b] the string retainer off... and the screw that attaches the string retainer is significantly longer than the PG screws! [/quote] The important bit is what length of the screw actually goes into the wood.

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1425545341' post='2708317'] Good advice - but is there a specific type of screw I should be looking for? Would any type of countersunk wood screw do? [/quote] Exactly. So long as the shaft fits through the hole, the head sits neatly in the countersink and the screw does not come out of the back of the headstock, you'll be fine. Ideally it should be a cross head and the finish should match that of the string retainer, but it doesn't have to if you don't mind the look.

[quote name='cheddatom' timestamp='1425484211' post='2707822'] Dropping the song up or down a semitone... how many hertz is that? [/quote] The difference in Hertz between notes a semitone apart depends upon which two notes as its a logarithmic scale (which is why the frets get closer together as you go up the neck of a bass) but if A is 440Hz then Ab one semitone down is 415.3

[quote name='RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE' timestamp='1425419563' post='2707245'] I tried b-e-a-d on my steinberger , which is sturdy enough to take the pressure IMHO . [/quote] I don't know what you mean by this. Unless you are changing from a very low tension EADG set to a much high tension one for BEAD, then the B string is always lower tension than the G string it is replacing.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1425411526' post='2707091'] Er, yes I know... I thought it was fairly clear in my post that I was not being entirely serious. [/quote] I wasn't entirely sure if that smiley was just for the last paragraph or the whole post...

[quote name='visog' timestamp='1425403346' post='2706988'] Hostile/punative venues... Potential audiences stay at home now... massive cultural change over last 20 years - look at the rise in super-market alcohol sales and correlate to pubs closing. When audiences do appear, they generally don't want bands any more - only tunes they recognise are 'classics'/featured in films/featured in X-Factor/Radio which leads me to my next point... Guitar-driven bands old fashioned in this era of Urban/R&B which has been the dominant style form for a little while now. [/quote] And as I keep saying, from where I'm standing it's the complete opposite. There are far more gigging opportunities in my home town now than there were 15 years ago and even 35 years ago when I first moved here when getting to see a local band live at the weekend was a near impossibility. Furthermore I've probably done more gigs in the last 4 1/2 years with my current band than I have in all my bands over the previous 30 years. You just need to be entertaining and be prepared to put the work in to get the gigs because they are most definitely out there. As for the question in the OP. In my case it will be either death - my own, or a massive change in priorities in my life. And since playing music has been pretty much the most important thing in my life for about 40 years now I can't see that changing out of choice anytime soon.

Are you looking at the Ubox or their new stock, because unless they have changed their policy recently they don't sell new MiJ Fenders abroad.