BigRedX

Dingwall mmmm...

I really like that, but I'm a sucker for black burst over flame or quilt.
The only thing that worries me about the Digwall is the angled pickups, I have two basses will angled pickups and I can't seem to find a comfortable point to rest my thumb while playing. What do you do? Or does your technique not have these issues?

Ta

I see they do the Gator Shock Mount Rack. Anyone using one of these? How light is it?

I'm in the process of upgrading my bass rig and decided it's time to replace my now very battered 19" rack case which I've been using for the last 15 years (and is know as the Meals On Wheels box by various band mates). The present rack isn't particularly light although it isn't helped by the heavy old 300+300 watt power amp in it. Since I'm also looking at getting a new lightweight amp, I thought I might as well consider a lightweight case too.

So any recommendations? 4 - 6 U of space with mounting strips front and back. Shock mounts would be nice too. Oh and black finish (time to ditch the meals on wheels look!)

Thanks in advance...

I'm in the market for a light 1U Poweramp. So which one would you recommend - the BK or the Sound Tech? Driving 2 EBS 4ohm cabs.

The Triumph is a short/medium scale isn't it?

Might be worth experimenting with some different strings. I have a Burns Sonic Bass with a 30" scale length which I used for the first 10 years of bass playing and spent the whole time figuring out basslines that didn't involve notes lower than open A so I wouldn't have to use the dull thud that was all the E string seemed cabable of. When I was looking for suitable Extra Long scale strings for my next bass I was recommended to try Newtone. Since the strings they made for the 36" bass were excellent on a whim I ordered a set for the Burns. What a revelation! All of a sudden I had real notes available from the E. Might be worth trying?

8x10s need to come with their own road crew to to viable/transportable...

[quote name='paul, the' post='14646' date='Jun 9 2007, 03:19 PM']You still have a great time playing it though don't you? - especially with the audience responding so well.
paul.[/quote]

Yes, absolutely! - I guess I didn't put that across properly in my post...

On paper the band I play in at the moment only has a little crossover with the music I buy and listen to. However in practice with all the different influence we all bring to the music we manage to end up with something we all enjoy playing and the audience apprently enjoys too! I suppose it appeals to the music hybridiser in me to figure out how to add bass lines inflenced by either Peter Hook or Mick Karn to music that would otherwise be mostly poppy blues-rock and still make it a seamless and appropriate part of the song.

Where are you based?

I'm pretty sure I saw one here in Nottingham the other weekend. Of course whether its still in the shop by now is another matter...

In the past when I was in "serious" bands I would say that the music I was creating was what I wanted to listen to but didn't quite exist in the form I really wanted (or if it did I hadn't yet discovered a band doing exactly what I wanted to hear). It was a mix of a whole load of different styles (pop/rock/tecno/dance) picking what I liked from each and trying to find a way of mixing it all together that worked.

At the moment I'm playing in what I would call a "fun" band. We do 75% original and 25% covers (but in our own style rather than copies). It's upbeat guitar based pop with blues/rock and some jazzy leanings. I have a lot of fun playing (and it stretches me more as player than pervious bands did) and seeing people up and dancing to the music pretty much from the first song of the gig (something that never happened with the serious bands no matter how dancy the music was) but I'm not entirely sure if I would buy a CD of our music if I wasn't one of the musicians on it.

Right now if I was going to be creating the sort of music I most enjoy listening to, it would once again be some weird hybrid this time of IDM and avant jazz (think Efterklang and Lali Puna meet Triosk)...

And finally - death by cake?

Welcome to the fretless VM club!

+1 for the Badass - just check you won't need to shim the neck first. (You'll need 12mm between the string and the body with the action set hoe you like it.)
Before you change the tuners check the string retainer for sharp edges that are catching the string and causing problems. Since I filed mine off tuning has been fine.

[quote name='Merton' post='13672' date='Jun 7 2007, 04:32 PM']Love the Overwater, love the Gus even more. Very nice![/quote]

[quote name='MattyB90' post='13861' date='Jun 7 2007, 09:58 PM']BigRed that overwater looks awesome, not too sure about the strap button position though?[/quote]

Thanks for the comments.

The Overwater is surprisingly comfortable to play and I think the strap button possition helps to prevent neck dive. It's definitely in the orginal place as there's no evidence of any other holes in that area. This was my first really good bass and I went from playing a short scale Burns Sonic to this monster 36" bass. Actually I didn't realise that was long scale than normal until I bought my first replacement set of strings and they didn't fit... I'm in two minds about the wood - it's obviously quality but I can't help but be reminded of a 70s MFI wardrobe. Also the pre-amp batteries last about a month of normal playing before the sound starts to degrade (aren't modern electronics so much more wonderful).

The Gus is the loudest and fullest sounding passive bass I've ever heard (it makes the Overwater sound a bit timid bu comparison). Simon does an active option, but when I was trying his sample models out to decide on the specs for my build I didn't feel that it offered any significant advantage for me. I have it set up with both pups on in humbucking mode and tone on full and let my BassPod shape the sound. It also has a much smoother volume control than most basses - effective all through its travel. I like the all matt black look (very stealth) although sometimes it can be a bit too anonymous and it doesn't get the same WTF reaction that my Gus G1 vibrato Guitar (in pewter and bright chrome) does.

My two custom basses:



Overwater Original 2, extra-long scale 5 string. Not made for me personally, but then again at the time I bought it second hand was the only way I could afford a decent bass.



Gus G3 5 string. AFAIK the only one in existence with anodised black metal work instead of the more usual bright chrome. Simon had been experimenting with alternative finishes for the metal parts, but after all the trials he went through trying to get suppliers to finish to the standard he required for a customer model I don't think he's bothering anymore.

The fretted/fretless thing came up on a similar thread back in BW days.

MIDI was original designed to allow keyboard synths to communicate with each other. Therefore the "note" bytes are set to western style semi-tone steps. This makes sense on a fretted bass where the frets are trying to do the same thing. In a default setting, string bends and finger vibrato are dealt with using pitch bend information on top of the note information. In order to track the notes on a fretless bass the pitch to MIDI conversion first has to work out which note you're closest to and the apply the correct amount of pich bend information on top of that to match the actual note being produced. More work for the processor and slightly more lag on the MIDI conversion.

It's no surprise that the until the Axon system came out the most successful bass to MIDI systems used instruments with modified necks so that fretting info as well as actual pitch was used to determine MIDI note info.

In the end you're going to have to modify your playing technique to get the best out of a MIDI bass unless you're simply going to use it in the studio as a programming tool. IMO using a fretted bass will require less modification to your playing. However there's no denying that if you can make it work for you fretless will be more expressive.

Mick Karn
Peter Hook
Norman Watt-Roy
Pino Paladino
Jennifer Moore

Thanks for the info - just need to find one to try now...

THat Gibson Triumph Bass is tasty... What scale length is it? Got any sound clips?

Certainly on my BassPod XT Pro the balanced outs reflect the jack outs - I'm also pretty certain it says this in the manual.

I haven't had a chance to see what happens at the digital outs yet...

I'm probably about to switch back from bi-amping to a more normal set up. My previous rig was bassed around a Peavey BassFex processor that included a variable crossover and the ability to add different effects to either side of the signal path after this. For the music I was playing at the time - live dance influenced pop-rock this setup was invaluable in letting me get the sounds I needed. Nowadays I play in a much more conventional band the necessity to use a bi-amped system has lessened. Recently I tried running my rig completely full range and get a much better sound out of it. I would consider bi-amping but only in the way The_Funk has described with one full range output and a second bass only. However AFAIK only the Aguilar DB680 has this facility. It might be possible with some creative thinking on a BassPod but it would involve at least one piece of extrenal kit... Unless you have a distinct need for high and low frequency effects routing I'd not bother.

I've been working with MIDI devices since they became available in 1983.

My last band used a massively complicated live MIDI setup that included automated patch changing for the guitar and bass amps/FX, drum modules, two racks of synths/samplers and automated FOH mixing for all the drums and sequenced sounds, all driven from the MIDI file player part of an Akai S2000.

My playing style is way too messy to bee able to use a conventional guitar or bass with a MIDI pickup, but for studio work I've had some success with using a Yamaha EZEG as a way of inputting guitar-style MIDI data into the sequencer. If you're after synthy sounds from your bass I've found it much easier to use MIDI controlled effects on a normal bass output, but to get the best out of them it may involve working with sequencers which might be a non-starrter live.

As for ProTools - in my experience you only get predictable results and useful tech support if you're using DigiDesign hardware (nowadays that means ProTool HD) otherwise you get the usual passing of the buck between the hardware and software manufacturers.

During the late 70's I helped out in my local music shop at weekends and over the holidays, I can safely say that I have never seen so many instruments with levels of fit and finish that even the cheapest of current Chinese manufacturers would be appalled at, as that on Fender guitars and basses we were getting during that period. Pretty much every other instrument we took out of it's box had some major defect - necks on at such a angle that the edge strings were no longer over the fingerboard by the 17th fret was a common one. Added to this was the fact that many of the styles were downright ugly - large Strat headstocks, that white finish that was semi see-through that in reality looked as though they'd run out of paint, and sh!t brown - what were Fender thinking? I'm sure there are some good instruments from the time out there, but at the time I was unpacking them I don't remember seeing or playing any.

The 12th fret harmonic will always be an octave higher than the open string however your intonation is set up. Incorrect possitioning of the bridge may mean its not exactly at the 12 fret but it won't affect the pitch of the harmonic in relation to the pitch of the open string. I always use the 12th harmonics for tuning as even my Korg rack tuner finds locking onto harmonics easier than open strings.

Hopefully there'll be even more custom bass builders than last year...

Many thanks for letting us know this. I don't have a local Morrisons, but I persuaded a work colleague who does to get me 10. Should see me through to the end of this year.

Cool - sort of what I'd guessed although I wasn't sure about the dampening.

Did you use yours in the end, you were unsure about the looks in your last update?

[quote name='Steve_K' post='373' date='May 17 2007, 02:46 PM']
Today - Just taken it out of a press, lovely and flat veneer.[/quote]

My veneer arrived today - can I ask how did you get it flat? Just squash it between a couple of flat boards with some weighty objects on top?