jrixn1

33 minutes ago, casapete said:

Reading a few of the replies above, am I right in thinking that flats never ever need replacing? 
Don’t they lose tone / stretch / have intonation issues, even after a long time? 

I've had Dunlops and Adagio flats go dull after a couple of years (which is, hmm, I guess... 100 hours of playing?).  But I also have some 10-year-old La Bella DTF which are going just fine.  Ed Friedland mentions in one of his videos that he has some La Bella from the 1980s or whatever - but then again he also seems to have dozens or hundreds of basses, so I don't know how much playtime those strings have had.  I'm assuming it's playing, and not just existing, which would dull them.

3 hours ago, Skybone said:

no-one else does anything similar, especially one with 10" speakers/

GR Bass make active cabs; e.g. here's their 2x10: https://www.grbass.com/portfolio/at-210v-350-800-act/

10kg is crazy!  £1,325 though for the 800W version, and not in stock in the UK as far as I can see.

2 hours ago, Skybone said:

Barefaced?

Barefaced did have such a product: https://barefacedaudio.com/products/fr800, which was a Big Baby 2 with a built-in 800W power amp.  It was discontinued in 2019.  Very expensive for what you got vs if you'd gone for RCF or QSC (even more so if £1,279 was the 2019 price).

2 hours ago, Skybone said:

There's plenty of FRFR amps out there, but they seem more geared towards our skinny-stringed brethren, and not to the low-end lothario's.

If you mean they are not marketed specifically towards bassists - then I agree.  Bassists are a very tiny percentage of their target market.

Otherwise, there is nothing functional or feature-wise about powered speakers which means a bassist can't or shouldn't be using them.  If anything, with DSP for crossover and speaker protection, they are more featured.  Many including me have moved to powered speakers and sold our traditional bass amps and cabs.

A bass-specific company would have an uphill battle against a PA company since the latter have decades more experience and an absolutely massive economy of scale advantage in terms of research and production.

I've had one with my double bass with piezo pickup.  It is well-built and sounds good, which is the main thing.  Personally, I didn't like the feel of the knobs, and I had no use for the boost footswitch, compressor, or brilliance control.  Additionally, since I was doubling, I already had a tuner.  So for me it wasn't a match, as it's quite large and expensive but I had no need for half of its features.

58 minutes ago, Dazed said:

Wonder how the EBS compares to the latest Headway Pre

I've had a previous Headway model, the EDB-1.  It's more of a blender e.g. when you have a single instrument which has both a piezo and a mic.  It is less useful for switching between two separate instruments, as there is no footswitch.

It's large and sort of awkwardly shaped - it won't fit on a small pedal board due to how long it is.

The EBS layout is a lot simpler (i.e. better): top row for channel #1, bottow rom for channel #2 - the Headway should have 'ch.1 gain' where 'master' is, and 'ch.2 gain' where 'Mute' is.

I find a variable HPF essential for preventing rumbly feedback when loudly amplifying a double bass - the Headway doesn't have one.

Design-wise, its dotted-line signal paths and 'Dymo' aesthetic makes it look too much like an engineering project 🤓

BTW have a look at the EBS MicroBass 3, if you haven't already.  (I'm not sponsored by EBS, honest!)

1 hour ago, Dazed said:

Is that preamp specific for an acoustic or db? Just curious if they have any particular requirement different to electric.

It has some upright-specific features, but that doesn't mean you couldn't use it with other instruments.  EBS explain it better than I could: https://ebssweden.com/content2/effects/ebs-stanley-clarke-signature-acoustic-preamp/

12 minutes ago, Steve Browning said:

What is the difference between using a power amp and an external pre-amp and using an amp with one built in?

Modularity?  It's a lot easier to swap out an external preamp than a built-in one.

18 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

The only cookie that I know anything about in this change is a cookie from a plugin on this site, which tells the ezoic gateway whether you are a member or not, to ensure that they don't get adverts on the page.

@Woodinblack

@Kiwi

Is that functionality working? I am getting adverts when logged in as a supporting member:

My understanding is that I shouldn't be seeing adverts (it says paying a subscription would "remove all advertising" ) 

1 hour ago, Dazed said:

Is FRFR the way forward?

Yes, absolutely this.  I have a Stanley Clarke preamp pedal - one channel for bass guitar, one for upright.  I have a light overdrive pedal in front of the bass guitar channel.  The Stanley Clarke goes straight into a powered speaker, and that's it.  Compact, easy switching between instruments, HPFs, additional routing for taking a monitor feed and sending DI to a PA system if necessary.

It's a good, modular concept: the instrument and pedals provide the tone; the power amp and speaker have just the one job - to amplify it transparently.

However, a GR Bass Pure 800 is, what, £680 - if you can find one in stock anywhere.  A Big Baby 3 is £1,149, with a three-month lead time.  That's £1,829.

Instead, look into powered speakers (some people call them 'FRFR', so use that as a search term).  An RCF 732-A is about £750 and you can get it on next-day delivery from any number of shops.  The internal 700W RMS power amp benefits from DSP which handles crossover, phase control, and speaker protection.

I used mine with various preamp pedals with no problem - just plug them in with a normal jack cable.  The powered speaker has options for input level (mic or line); line level is fine - be careful with mic level as it will very loud.

Other RCF powered speaker models to look into: HD 32-A, 932-A, 745-A.  And from other manufacturers you have the QSC K12.2 and Yamaha DXR12/DXR15.

Since moving to powered speakers I've had the best and most consistent sound ever - definitely never going back to a traditional bass amp.

On 27/08/2023 at 23:11, carlsim said:

I see the CIJ PB70 around a bit but they all look a bit too ‘new’ and would like something a bit more ‘broken in’!

Not Japanese, but mentioning as an option the Fender Nate Mendel which has the TV logo and is lightly roadworn.  I've had one in the past and currently have a (non-US-pickups) CIJ PB62 - the Nate was great but I prefer the PB62.

2 hours ago, dave74200 said:

 want to buy another Jazz. Road Worn of course, the best series there is in my opinion!!

Have you seen @richardd 's ad - https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/482854-fender-road-worn-jazz-2015-trade-only/
 

One from today's news:  "He allegedly punched William Thomas, a bass, because he left the podium in the wrong direction"  😬

I'm really happy with my Aquila Gold Springs Synthetic G+D & whatever their recommended matching A+E are called (NB not real gut).  They come from Italy and FWIW I paid about £200 including import duty etc.  I think other posters will have more experience and better recommendations than me though.

If you go to jam sessions (which I highly recommend anyway for getting better at walking), you can ask to use the house bassist's bass - a good way to try out other types of bass, strings, and setup.

Yep, I have Portwest gloves.  We have vans with rolling flight cases etc and the gloves prevent nips and splinters.  Also just keeps your hands cleaner when coiling PA cables which have been on dirty floors and/or stood on all night.

I think a Q serial with "Crafted in Japan" indicates 2002-2004.
https://support.fender.com/en-us/knowledgebase/article/KA-01874

I love my CIJ Precision - sold all my other basses!
GLWTS

14 hours ago, steve_p said:

I suspect however, that the action can be improved [...] Does anyone have any suggestions regarding strings

I'm going to guess that the bass came with generic steel strings and a medium string height?

Lower string height isn't necessarily better - it depends what works best for your particular bass, technique, tonal aspirations, and string choice.

Spirocores with a lower string height is likely the most popular choice for jazz musicians; but some people like me prefer gut substitute (or real gut) with a higher string height for the tone and easier playability; or a combination, or something else.  There is not just the one way to go.

So as long as the setup currently isn't so bad that the instrument is holding you back, I would leave everything as it is, and concentrate on learning to walk.  Then revisit this topic after some time (more than a month).

Quote

Should I expect the instrument tone to change over time, due to the bass opening up?

Not sure about this.  I've had my current modestly-priced hybrid Chinese bass for 10 years, and if the tone has improved it's because I've got better at playing it rather than the bass itself ageing like a fine wine.

1 hour ago, lowdown said:

In your example it works nicely and sounds unusual/different because it's leading you somewhere different to the norm.

Most common times in the key of 'A', it would/could lead to an E(7), or any chord with an E in the Bass for that matter.

When I say different, in context, it's not really (although it's not a regular scale note). The D# Bass is part of a decending line to get back to the key centre (A). 

 

Yes, it's a beautiful line!  However I think I've distracted things by mentioning the leading line - which was really just an aside and not the point I was trying to make, which was that a chord with the 3rd in the bass is likely to sound good, not bad.

Perhaps here is a better example, which isn't part of a leading line and is your bog-standard ii V I (there's your cycle of fifths).  James Jamerson on Reach Out I'll Be There:

In the third bar, he delays the root for a bar with the first inversion - sounds amazing.  But JoeEvans reckons this is a clash, which is a part of his post I don't understand.

1 minute ago, Stub Mandrel said:

 

That's an example of creating a tension then resolving it, usually described as 'leading into' a chord. The circle of fifths theory tells us nothing about this.

Yep absolutely - I'm just trying to understand what he's saying about an E note being a clash on a C chord.

12 hours ago, JoeEvans said:

So if you're on a C chord and you play a C under it, that's totally neutral - anyone can play any chord or scale of C over that. Go one step each way and you can add F and G - still very neutral and ok in almost any situation.

One step more and you bring in D and B flat - still quite soft and neutral but starting to pin down the harmonies a bit more. That pattern of C D F G B flat is going to be very familiar and useful to any bassist.

One more step gives you E flat and A and now you're really defining a chord. Next you get E and A flat and now it's going to clash if the guitarist plays the wrong chord, and a horn solo will need to steer clear of certain scales too.

I have read your post a few times and it doesn't make any sense to me - perhaps I have misunderstood.

If the band is playing a song and the current chord is C, you as a bassist can't play the note F here as that will sound like a mistake.  Likewise for playing Bb and Eb - those notes aren't even diatonic.

Then you say that playing an E is going to clash - but if anything that will sound quite good, because you're creating the first inversion.  An example is in "Dancing Queen", when they sing "You can dance, you can jive, having the time of your life" - on the word "life", Rutger on bass plays D# when the chord is B7.  Sounds great, and leads to the next chord (D) really nicely.

Do you mean you play one set which is 2.5 hours long?

Could try tuning your bass to DGCF.  I did this for a while to access lower notes without using a five-string, but a side effect was it kept me on my toes.
 

The RCFs have just one input.  If I want other instruments, I take a monitor feed from our mixer - depends what mixer you have though (if it has enough monitor channels).

Or for more input and routing options built into the powered speaker itself, I'd look at the QSC K12 or Yamaha DXR12.

4 hours ago, beastie said:

genz Benz shuttle 9.2 and a fearless Greenboy 1x12

Ok great - as a reference point, I previously had a Shuttle 9.2 with a Big Baby 2, and when I moved to powered speakers I was very happy with an RCF 732-A (which is a 12" speaker) - it was just as good in terms of sound quality and volume level.  Can handle a 5-string bass no problem.  If anything, it was overkill for the 10-piece wedding and function band I'm in, and I ended up getting something smaller and lighter (currently using a QSC CP12).

If on the other hand you need louder, their 15" models are the 735-A and 745-A, as recommended above.