BassBod

My EA Micro has a fan, not very noisy but you can hear it on a very quiet gig. Not a problem, but what puzzles me is why its there at all. I've pushed the amp on a few occasions and it never gets even the slightest bit warm..yet alone hot?

HHhhmmmmm.........shouldn't we be talking about pickups and strings again by now????

I saw him on Thursday, and whilst I really enjoyed the show, I can understand your disappointment. I saw him twenty odd years ago, knowing virtually nothing about him, at Band on the Wall with Norman Beaker (and I think Simon Phillips on drums!). That was a real experience, and I've never since seen anyone perform with the conviction and zest that he showed. His fretless playing was not brilliant, intonation frequently a bit iffy...but he was also singing like I've never seen before, and you felt that he meant every word of it. I saw moments of that on Thursday, but even though he is much older and has had significant health problems, the wit and the edge are still there. His bass playing didn't have all the energy I saw years ago, but it was just as rough at times...verging on free form jazz from the seventies. Not something many people would be allowed to do these days, outside of a Spinal Tap tribute act. One thing I really liked was that he was working with a new generation of great players, and seemed to be enjoying it (especially the drummer). I think the volume of his amps was causing some problems on stage....and the vocal were getting cut back to avoid feedback, but its his gig, so I can forgive him that!

He was quite honest with a heckler last night "well..go get your money back then...that's what I'd do. Demand it" At his stage of the game I guess he's really not fussed what people make of his Scottish Folk music, and interesting fretless style. I enjoyed the gig last night. A lot.

But I bet you've got the pedal board that NASA forgot....or thought they'd left on the moon....

Nick, Do you realise you've turned into Mr Sensible Rig? Functional, reliable, economical. Sometimes, you must need that little something extra..bright box...paradiddle IQ....envelope licker.....something with lights, that flash.......

The Contego is very comfy on the back, but the storage potential makes you want to pack too much stuff and that makes it pretty heavy! Its surprising how a decent preamp/DI and leads adds to the weight when you're carrying it across town.

It is true. An EUB will never replace an acoustic, even the best ones have less complexity and character to their sound. But a good EUB wins hands down as soon as the stage volume reaches a certain level. Whatever you end up with, do have it set up properly by an experienced luthier...a double bass repairer if possible. Makes all the difference.

Bless him...got some plumbing references into the chat as well. Obviously not impressed with the budget.....or our current (choice of?) leadership. Nice to hear some fretless again, its become so unfashionable....and improvising on a blues/rock gig. Big fun.

Think about the Clifton EUB currently in the for sales (in Leeds?). They are very close to acoustic double basses (close your eyes and everything is in the same place) and sound very good. I've been playing one for over ten years and I'm just moving over to an acoustic. They pack down into a bag that isn't a whole lot bigger than a BG. If it doesn't work out you can probably sell it without any loss (they are 2 grand new). Good luck with the boss.....mine christened the EUB BigBoy.......

Just a last minute reminder for the many Bristol/Bath chatters - he won't be gigging around for ever, so here's a chance to see him doing what he does best. Komedia in Westgate St

Tung oil has always worked for me (Liberon is a good brand) just a few coats, followed by a simple beeswax (no silicone contents..thats important). I also like the Warwick wax, mainly because it doesn't build quickly into a shine like a lot of furniture waxes do. Its the sanding that takes time, as I'm sure you've noticed by now!

I'd go for a Sovtek as a first try and see if you can hear any change. Go to Watford Valves ( or similar) and see what they suggest for around £15? the older GE valves weren't very expensive a few years ago, but they've gone up a lot since then.

It won't make a huge difference, but the GT tubes SWR used to fit can be a bit brittle sounding. I've used old GE 12ax7 and 5751's with good results. The 12ax7 just sounded "better"...nothing dramatic, just a bit warmer and clearer. The 5751 has a lower gain, so reduces your input level a bit, but also sounds fuller and stronger. Sorry about the technical language. I've also used Electro Harmonic/Sovteks with success, but the old USA valves did sound better to me. But only a bit, listening in isolation. On a gig you wouldn't notice much difference, unless you were recording from the DI output of the preamp.

I think the Ernie Ball company was originally a string maker/seller before taking over Music Man? I may be confused, but that's how I remember it. There was also a huge manufacturer called Mapes (or similar) who made them for lots of companies, but never had their own brand. Not sure if they still exist, but I'm sure Google will tell us.....

I'm pretty certain Sadowsky have all their strings made elsewhere - Roger is pretty open about his suppliers. Some would argue their basses are also "made" elsewhere! And before anyone gets too upset I love Sadowsky stuff...

Just visited Greg to buy a Dbass cover - lovely job! And a rare opportunity to oggle some very,very nice basses. Just when I'd decided to man up and play Spirocores until I have Superhero hands...tried some real (dead sheep?) gut strings. Life's never simple, is it? Poor sheep.

I've sometimes used a low tech approach (I think it came from an old booklet by Rob Armstrong). Once the frets are level (and flat topped) wrap a small piece of fine sandpaper around two fingers and rub over the whole fingerboard. Does a surprisingly good job of returning the frets to a more rounded profile, ready for a final polish. I hate flat top frets...looks unfinished.

The way-wah analogy isn't something to take too far, just a handy way of describing the sound that is familiar to any one that has stood next to guitarists! There is a lot more to the design of a good filter eq for a bass, from my limited understanding its all to do with frequency/boost selection and other such techie things. Get the design right and its a musical instrument. Might be worth looking up the SF2 preamp/filter from Alembic - its the guts from their Series II basses in a rack box, and the most complex filter they do. Can be used with any basses/preamps, it seems.

Think of a wah-wah pedal - thats the sort of sound you get, but a more tuned to a bass frequency range....then you chose when to stop on the sweep. Look out for the ACG filter preamp threads here and there are some audio clips. My lowly Epic has no filters, but the the preamp/pickups are still fantastic and very simple. The pickup balance is your tone control. Years ago I had a Wal custom with filters and its confused the hell out of me. I like to think I'd cope with it better, now I'm older wiser and don't drink as much.

Anyone remember Custom Sound/Trucker amps? Late 70's into early 80's and truly horrible. I also remember a lot of Fender valve amps being around, and some Ampeg and Acoustic stuff at the higher end of the local pub circuit. It seemed like the American stuff was way ahead until Trace Elliot gear was introduced and we all went green and slappy. One set up I saw mentioned in interviews was an Alembic F2B into a PA power amp (Carver, Crown etc). Don't imagine many of those came across the pond, but I think Martin Turner used it and Sting also used a similar set up pretty early on (Martin Turner's brother was their tech etc).