shizznit

I heard the album for the first time this afternoon and I have to agree with Doddy. The first two songs is pretty much YouTube 'business as usual'. Exactly what I was expecting, but every song sounded like the previous. Became bored very quickly, despite the great musicianship. Didn't offer enough for me and that's a shame.

Welcome Mike!

My view is that they take up, more than often, very precious stage space. They also make the stage quite cluttered and are a hazard. They are always being knocked over, somehow become magentic to wood and then crash into your instruments...drums tend to be their preferred target. If you cant remember what you need to play then practice more until you do. The more that you are looking at your stand the less aware you are of what is happening around you. Plus, you do look like a bit of a zombie whilst your eyes are constantly fixed on what is on the music stand, which is kinda boring for the punters to watch. If you need a music stand to see your set list, print another with a bigger font so that you can see it on the floor. It's not rocket science. That said, I think it's acceptable for a singer to use a music stand. To remember lyrics for a set with 30 odd songs is quite tough, especially if you constantly change your set. That's a challenge for most singers.

I have been so busy today and only just read the news about Jack Bruce passing away. He was a game changer. Such a sad loss

Oh my! That is one seriously beautiful bass! The fingerboard is mental! The 3 up 1 down tuners configuration has really surprised me as I think that's the first I have seen for that headstock shape. Looks really sweet

I think the guy is a belting bass player. The singer does my head in, but Henrik is a very classy player. Appearances can be deceiving. If I saw that lad on the street I would bet my mortgage on him being an Emo Metal bassist!

I used Hartke for many years and I do miss having those shiny aluminium speakers behind me. Vanity aside, I loved my rig. I used two HA7500 amps (also HA3500 before I upgraded) into four 410 Transporter cabs. I did have the XL 4.5 cabs, but I kept on blowing the tweeters by using high gain fuzz and synth pedals, so I switched to the Transporters. I am an EBS guy now, but if those amps disappeared off the face of the earth overnight I would pick up my Hartke flag immediately. Great brand...great amps. I love amps that give a quick, flat response and Hartke are one of the best for that.

Stunning bass! Once again, Jon has excelled himself. I hope you will have lots of fun playing it. I am quite envious! Almost ready to put down my deposit for my next order, which will be a J 5 string to replace my Fender. It will have the same electronics setup as my trusty Lakland 55-02 loaded with a J and MM pickup. The only reason reason why I haven't ordered it yet is because I haven't decided on how many frets I want yet!

Bernard Edwards could get that beautiful, tight, bubbly tone from his MM's. I absolutely love that tone. I love the MM tone for finger playing. Add a small bit of mid boost and the note balance is one of the best in the business. MM's are great for cutting through the mix without having to fiddle too much with the natural, flat tone. I have never been keen on the slap tone from MM's...or pick playing for that matter. Not that I think they are rubbish for those techniques...there are a lot of players that make it work for them, but I personally prefer other basses for those jobs.

Being able to learn at the same pace is important. We auditioned a new singer last week. We only expected her to go through 3-4 songs maximum. She sang 8 in total...3 of which she had never heard before. She got her iPad out, brought up the lyrics, had a quick listen and pretty much nailed each song. We pretty much work at the same pace and we were very impressed about how quickly she learnt the songs. I have had too many occasions whereby you feel like someone is dragging their heels and not progressing as quickly as you need them to, despite of their skills and commitment.

Dammit! I have to miss the bash yet again! I will make it to a bash S.Wales bash one day

I had a similar experience at a wedding several years ago. I went to my band mates wedding and was asked to join the stage with him to play a couple if songs. Baring in mind I had been drinking since the morning I was then handed a bass that had the most ridiculously high action I have ever experienced. I could string two notes together. It was very embarrassing. Someone asked me soon after we finished playing "someone told me that you are a professional musician" with a huge hint of sarcasm in their voice. I will never do that again

That fingerboard is a head turner! Lovely!

I didn't email Taylor at Iron Ether as I bought a EHX Big Muff PI Deluxe for £60 off eBay. I have had it for three days now. Hmmm...it's good and might be a keeper, but I do prefer the sound of Oxide pedal as it has more of a synth quality to it in comparison, which is more in line to what I want. That 'morph' control is pretty awesome. I have also been looking at the Source Audio Bass Multiwave Distortion II. I might move onto that at a later date. Okay, it's range of tones is a bit overkill for what I want, but you can't knock it for £150 and does pretty much the same thing as the Pro model for less dolla. Being able to use an expression pedal with it does open other possibilities. I refuse to use the Hot Hand. You do look like a pillock waving your hand around like Christina Aguilera with that thing attached to your hand

[quote name='Roland Rock' timestamp='1399654942' post='2446415'] Taylor (Iron Ether) has had major issues, and hasn't taken new orders for months, but I hear they are up and running again soon [/quote] Cheers Roland. I will email Taylor to see if I can pre-order one.

With only YouTube videos to make judgements from, I have narrowed my selection down to the Chunk Brown Dog and Oxide Iron Ether (The Oxide is my fav). I checked out the Source Audio OFD, but not fussed on the tonal character of that gated fuzz. The Mastotron is really sweet too, but I do prefer the Oxide ever so slightly. So, I attempted to order one via their website this afternoon and they have none in stock! Why is this so bloody difficult?

I have used nothing but 10's for many years, but I picked up a 212 to add to my backline a couple of years ago and I have used it many times as a stand alone cab and sounds very good for most styles I can throw at it. Plus, I'm never short of volume. Everyone is a winner. But, for the bigger gigs I pop either a 210 or 410 on top. I find that setup gives better balance than a 15 underneath. 15's are okay at close proximity, but I find that you lose it once you are at a fair distance away from your backline. I haven't used a 15 for a very long time and I doubt that I ever will since I have been using a 212 as I feel that it delivers the lower frequencies with a lot more response and volume. I like my tone to be quite perky and other players will have a different approach when choosing their preferred speaker size, but these types of conversations are always incredibly subjective and my way wouldn't work for everyone.

My vote has to be Leo Fender. The P and J bass set the bench mark for most designs from other manufacturers base their designs on ever since. Huge moment in musical instrument history for bass

[quote name='tonyf' timestamp='1398708638' post='2436832'] Of course they cost an astonishing amount of money but IMHO, worth every penny. Russ put it succinctly when he said it was like investing in a Bergantino cab for each ear and I truly get this view. It's totally changed my view of IEMs now, I'm seriously wondering whether or not the money I've got invested in my backline could be rationised to a small 1x12 with a micro head and a REALLY good DI such as an Avalon or Radial. In terms of what's behind me on stage, I don't really hear it anymore so it seems pointless in having all that [/quote] I know where you are coming from. One of the bands I am playing for use IEM's and I haven't used a backline for the past 8 gigs. All I take is my EBS Reidmar amp and run the DI parallel with my Radial Stage Bug. I can usually hide that kit somewhere on the stage. So, no backline visible whatsoever. My entire rig is pretty much useless for this band. I'm actually thinking about buying an EBS Microbass II and just use that on my pedalboard along with the Radial. Bass, pedalboard, bag full of leads....done! Can't think of a more portable Great result, but surprisingly the guys are asking me to bring along a backline regardless. Purely for the visual factor. I do see their point as it does look a bit weird to have a small wall of amps stage right for the guitar players and almost nothing on my side. From the floor, it does look odd. Once you get used to using IEM's you do wonder why you need a huge rig behind you, but it's not rock'n'roll, is it?

Congrats Rich! She is absolutely gorgeous. Jon has done a magnificent job, once again. Have plenty of fun!

Thanks for all the replies guys. Though all my basses are active I set the EQ flat on most occasions, so I should get a response from whichever pedal I end up with.

I'm in the market for a gated fuzz pedal. I really like the sound of the Chunk Brown Dog, but I have phoned around quite a few places and nobody has one in stock. I might order one from Mark @ Bass Direct and wait for it, but before I do so is there anyone that can think of an alternative that will do the same job, but for less dollar? The Brown Dog is quite pricey (and takes up a lot of pedal board space!)

I love the look of Hartke amps and cabs. LED lights on each of the graphic EQ controls and aluminium speakers loaded in the cabs...looks awesome on stage!

First up, that body looks amazing! Can't wait to see the finished bass. It's a tough call to make. The cocobolo will look stunning, but it's difficult to say if it will shrink over time. Ebony can sometimes shrink too, but my father has two Gibson guitars both with ebony boards circa early 70's. One has shrunk a little and the other is perfect. Luck of the draw. If you decide not to go for it I think the siricote will look belting.