Bloodaxe

[quote name='Blademan_98' post='1238561' date='May 20 2011, 06:53 PM']I would probably struggle, especially if the bass had those metal things on it [/quote] You mean the "spacers" ? I'd feel the same, a bit, but find a different neck profile to be the biggest throw. I'm so used to the SB neck that anything else just feels wrong - it takes me a week to acclimatise to the jazz profile on my explorer. I'd accept a five string only if the bandleader was happy with everything being a IVth out. P.

[quote name='lowdown' post='1236131' date='May 18 2011, 07:00 PM']I believe you can just upload the Mp3 as an attachment from your desktop or Hard drive or whatever in your post. Garry[/quote] Quite true, but you're restricted to a maximum of 20MB per post, plus the owners/mods are a little concerned about the current volume of attachments across the board as a whole [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=126658"](more details here)[/url]. Uploading to an external host such as Skydrive/Dropbox/Putfile/Imageshack/Photobucket etc. removes the burden on BC's server entirely as all you're posting is a link. Back on-topic... Tim, I agree about the reverb, but it still needs [i]some[/i] & maybe leave it on one or two - they put me in mind of early Feelgoods or Count Bishops (& that ain't no bad thing). Apart from that nothing leaped out & screamed for attention... with one exception... Levels. They're a bit on the high side & you're very close to clipping. Could be an artefact caused by iTunes, but I'd check with the studio. Knock 3dB off it. Overall I'd leave well alone on the mix at this stage (apart from the 'verb & levels) - what you've got should be more than adequate for punting around venues & putting on your website. My one criticism (& it's probably entirely unfounded), is that the finished article needs more variation. The three tracks you've posted up are quite similar in vibe. I seem to recall you did a cracking version of "I'm Your Witchdoctor" - if you've taped that it really needs to go in. A promo CD needs to mirror a gig in a way... start with a bang, ease back a bit, then take it down, & finally... blow the bloody doors off Pete.

[quote name='Oggy' post='1235797' date='May 18 2011, 02:58 PM']Hi Pete, How the Devil are you? Thanks for the reply, appreciated. I have a Mac at home with iTunes on it so something that will convert the files for a Mac would be good and allow me to convert the .WAV to .MP3 for Mac and posting on this site – sorry for being so techie ignorant . I don’t want to do any mixing or enhancing, it’d be better just to get opinions on how they are now and recommendations on what to ask the recording engineer to do to make them sound OK. Look forward to hearing from you – just hope the boss doesn’t catch me . Oggy [/quote] Surviving. Ah. Didn't realise you were a Mac-hippy , Try this: [url="http://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/how-to-convert-wav-file-into-mp3-file-with-itunes/"]http://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/how-to-con...le-with-itunes/[/url] but don't bother with the 'Custom Setting' bit, just go for 160kbps or 192kbps. Have a go with both settings & see what the resulting file size is. P.

[quote name='Oggy' post='1235663' date='May 18 2011, 01:28 PM']Question: Is it OK to upload .WAV files (each +/- 40,000KB) and how is this done? Thanks in advance Oggy [/quote] Wotcha, 40MB?! No, No, No, No & No to uploading WAVs... that 40MB/file will crucify most peoples' bandwidth. They need compressing to MP3 which ought to bring them down to around 5MB each depending on how much compression you apply. A couple of freeware converters that I'd recommend: [url="http://cdexos.sourceforge.net/"]CDeX[/url] will convert WAV to all sorts of flavours of MP3 [url="http://www.formatoz.com/"]Format Factory[/url] will convert almost anything into anything (Youtube Flash to MP3 no problem). Of the two, CDeX is the better featured as it allows you to choose between Constant Bit Rate (CBR) & Variable Bit Rate (VBR) - VBR is probably the best compromise as the compression level varies according to how 'busy' the audio is. That said, Format Factory is by far the easier one to use - if you go for this, set the bitrate to either 192Kb/s or 256 Kb/s (the default is 128). 192 will probably be more than adequate, but 256 will have a better bass response. As for actually uploading the files... if you're a Hotmail user, you already have a Windows Live account that gives access to SkyDrive & 25GB of free online storage. If, however, you detest all things Micro$oft, there's a free service called Dropbox that gives around 2GB free (it's kind of like Imageshack or Photobucket but for any file type). PM me if you want to go for the Dropbox option, as it's mutually beneficial if done via personal recommendation. Pete.

[quote name='deepbass5' post='1234762' date='May 17 2011, 07:45 PM']Have a look on the back the sticker will tell you My LMK has a 4 amp fuse, so thats the max, it probably will not draw more than two amps but just tell them 4Amps and what jonthebass said.[/quote] This. If you get asked how many [u]watts[/u] you need from the jenny, say 1000 (1kW). That'll be way over what you actually use, but is around the maximum your amp would draw before the fuse blew (4A x 250V = 1000W), plus in this case more available power than you need is a good thing. P.

Well, instead of walking it up to the octave, you can drop it down & walk back up to the 1, but that's about it for that one. Try the II-V-I, Gary Moore uses it on 'Since I Met You Baby' (on After Hours and Blues Alive), but here's Aretha giving it large: It's in Bb, so the turnaround starts on the C (II), walks up to the F (V) & then sneaks back up on the Bb from the low G. There are a few subtle variations on this - go & find a load of Big Joe Turner, very partial to a II-V-I was Joe. Another example, from Rory & the band: Then there's the I-VI-II-V-I variant that gives a rather jazzy edge: skip the long talking bit & jump to 3:45. You don't have to explicitly state the turnaround either, quite often it's enough to just walk right through it. Get very cosy with the pentatonic scale & start experimenting, there's all sorts of ways of going from the V to the I. Pete.

Looks like it might be connected to this rather excellent [url="http://ariabasses.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2011-01-01T00%3A00%3A00%2B09%3A00&updated-max=2012-01-01T00%3A00%3A00%2B09%3A00&max-results=10"]Aria Blog[/url]. Latest article is on Cliff Burton's Black 'n' Gold.

That's come up a treat I like that it doesn't appear to have the harsh shine of chrome, which would tend to support teh interwebz opinion that you've exposed the nickel plating. Good job with the old pants too - Y fronts or Boxers? Socks work well (especially ones with terry soles) as do old t-shirts.

[quote name='HJCcustoms' post='1224409' date='May 8 2011, 07:32 PM']I like to change my Avatar pic to represent what I am working on at the time(usually builds only) not repairs and mods, those are relatively less photogenic...LOL[/quote] Please don't restrict yourself to a 'teaser' pic - we like a build thread around here Same goes for some of the repairs, especially if they're out of the ordinary. Welcome Abroad. Pete.

[quote name='neepheid' post='1221996' date='May 6 2011, 10:13 AM']Another thing I heard they don't like is jack plugs with the sprung loaded collar on them like these: Could be BS, but that's what I seem to remember hearing, and I certainly try to avoid using such plugs in my G&L.[/quote] Not BS, they're pure evil & totally unnecessary. Way back when the very first SE Bash happened in Guildford, I took my Ashdown Superfly & Epi UL 110. One of the other 'bashers' had a gorgeous trans-blue Spector 5-string with a barrel jack into which he'd religiously plugged a Planet Waves cable with the collars as per the photo. I handed him my usual lead (10' of Van Damme cable with a Neutrik on each end) & it rattled around in the barrel jack making all sorts of worrying pops & crackles - I think the phrase 'p***k in a bucket' got used. A swap was made & I was surprised (& not a little alarmed) at how much force was needed to persuade the PW jack into the Ashdown - it was a two-handed job, one on the back of the amp & the other pushing like buggery trying to get the damn thing in. I used the Superfly as the House Amp at a local jam night a year or two back, & someone used a cable with oversized plugs. Result? at the end of their set, the chrome bezel on the amp came out with the jack & wouldn't screw back in as it had mangled the thread in the socket's plastic body. Subsequent inspection revealed that Ashdown had come up with a stupendously daft means of attaching the socket to the front panel which resulted in it being cross-threaded from day 1, so there was a sporting chance of it failing sooner or later, but the oversized plugs killed it in two hits. Never again. PW & Monster cables are banned from my rig & basses. Pete.

[quote name='toys19' post='1218929' date='May 3 2011, 06:04 PM']I am learning (still after umpteen years) and have joined a little band locally. we have an unpaid gig coming up at a local music festival, my very first.. So there are some tracks that the band already play but I need to provide some basic bass lines for, unfortunately I cannot find anything on the bass tab sites so I wonder if anyone here knows these songs or is sharp enough to work out the tab without going to too much effort. Songs are James River Blues by Old Crow Medicine Show I hear them all by Old Crow Medicine Show My Oklahoma Home by Bruce Springsteen I can provide mp3's of all three taken from my cd's if you want.[/quote] They're all on YouTube & that's a lot safer than offering to post/send mp3s as that gets into all sorts of copyright issues. A quick listen suggests that a simple Root-5th Country style line ought to work with all three, so you really just need the chords to get your head around the changes... [url="http://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/o/old_crow_medicine_show/james_river_blues_crd.htm"]James River Blues[/url] [url="http://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/o/old_crow_medicine_show/i_hear_them_all_crd.htm"]I Hear Them All[/url] [url="http://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/b/bruce_springsteen/my_oklahoma_home_crd.htm"]My Oklahoma Home[/url] Caveat: I haven't tried them, so I don't know how accurate they are. Good luck with the gig & don't forget to A) post a thread telling us when it's on - you never know, some local BC'ers might chip up, & we'll expect a full post-match report. Oh, forgot one... C) Enjoy it - it's the best fun you can have with your clothes on Pete

Letts has pretty much covered it, but [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=5094"]this thread[/url] might be of interest/use as it's got all pictures & that plus a couple of variations on the template theme. Pete.

Thanks for the further input, people. After Extra Time I reckon it's a score-draw Finnbass 1 - 1 Basschat Doddy, try as I might I can't hear it in the one & only recording of 'Blue Monk' I own (a live one), I'm not doubting you in the least, it's far more likely that I don't yet know how the progression sounds outside of a very constrained box - it may well be "standard" to you, but to me it's largely Terra Incognita. (I tried 'I Got Rhythm' as well, but that seems to be universally played at 900 mph so it was all a bit of a blur tbh.) I need a few 'Janet & John'/'Spot The Dog' examples to expand my Blues vocabulary. To that end, I'll turf out my Best Of Big Joe Turner CD - everything he ever did seems to have a 251 turnaround in it. Pete.

Sorted now. Finnbass 1 - 0 Basschat.

So, I've been staring at it semi-vacantly for a bit & put it into Numbers: 1/4/1/1/4/b4/1, b7/6/2/5/1, 6/2, 5 Does that make any sense? A 6-2-5-1-6-2-5 Turnaround? Bit of a mouthful that, is there a more succinct way of calling it?

Specifically Boz Scaggs' "Runnin' Blues" [url="http://dl.dropbox.com/u/8453031/Runnin%27%20Blues.pdf"][b]PDF - Notation Only[/b][/url] Finally got around to jotting this thing down. I've just done the 12 bars that comprise Verse 2 – Bars 11 & 12 of which are really the subject of this post (I’ve left out all the little grace notes etc. to keep it down to the basics.) The video is the studio version, but, as my script comes from Live Greatest Hits album, there are slight differences, but nothing really significant. It’s a common enough jazz/blues progression across the 12 bars, but is there a shorthand term for it? Especially for the turnaround in the last two bars? Pete.

It will be real gold, but as it's over polished nickel ([url="http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Remove+gold+plating+but+leave+chrome&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB%3a%6ffficial&client=firefox-a"]according to the internetz[/url]) it's only a few microns thick & won't stand up to much. Much as I like a vile chemical dip, I'd steer well clear of it for this as the only thing I can think of is [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrochloric_acid"]Spirit of Salts[/url] which might well attack everything else too. Try a nylon pan scourer & some T-Cut, paste-type metal polish, or some gunky Brasso. If the underneath is gold plated, you've got plenty of room for experimentation. A Dremel with a felt wheel might be useful for getting in corners & the like.

[quote name='mcnach' post='1211847' date='Apr 26 2011, 05:47 PM']I'm not keen on dealing with large amounts of corrosives... especially when they get very hot dissolving them. Hence my "small amounts" rule.[/quote] Pah! Did our ancestors forge an Empire by footling about with tiny amounts of harmful substances? Did the 'eck as like! A body of chaps in overalls sporting flat caps, 10 Woodbines, a 28lb sledgehammer & with access to a few turret lathes & vats of boiling caustic soda & even a Thousand Year Reich gave in. IdunnoyouthoftodayIblametheparentsandtheGuvingmintetc.

[quote name='mcnach' post='1211502' date='Apr 26 2011, 10:26 AM']Caustic soda would eat the sealant away? Hmm, I can take a few pellets from work and make a strong solution to try it. Again it would be used is smaller sections not a whole body at a time. I'd rather deal with small amounts at any one time.[/quote] Ah, maybe Caustic is Not For You... Caustic is at it's best when you have a very hot near-saturated solution (i.e. the water can't physically dissolve any more crystals) - hence the need for a 'Bosh Tank' of some description that can allow for a good long soak. One of those old Butlers' Sinks is great, but I have used the bath before now (which has the added benefit of both cleaning the bath & taking care of any incipient drain blockage at the same time - not recommended if you're married or living with Mum though ) The only things to avoid with Caustic Soda are Aluminium (it etches it, & will eventually dissolve it), Oak (turns it almost jet black), and Bakelite (f***s it completely). I dare say there are more, but those are the ones I've found by experimentation so far. Pete.

Regarding your indestructible sealing coat... Before you go down the power sanding route, consider hand-sanding. Get a heavy rubber block from either Halfords or DoItAll & some coarse grit wet & dry (120 - 180). Use the block on the front & back, then freehand around the contours & edges - much less chance of inadvertently re-profiling anything. Then work up through the grades to 400 - it'll feel erotically smooth Before [i]even that[/i] though, think about hoying yourself back to the DIY shoppe & pick up that yellow tin of Nitromors. Be warned, it bites. It's a very runny liquid, & really needs to be used outside as the fumes are interesting. An old 1" paintbrush and some sort of heavy-duty gloves are a good idea ([b]not[/b] Marigolds), and don't bother with the bin liner as it'll just melt it into an ungodly mess of caustic black goo - a Sunday broadsheet is your best bet . To neutralise it, you must use white spirit/turps/paraffin or similar - water won't touch it (unlike the green tin); have some to hand all the time just in case you get any on your skin - unlike the green version it'll start to burn like buggery in seconds. It's one of those products that I'm amazed can be still bought on the High Street tbh. Cautions aside, there are very few finishes that will withstand this stuff. It'll see off two-pack without breaking sweat. A possible alternative (but may not be cost-effective) is to see if you've got one of those Pine Door-stripping places local to you. They usually use a strong Caustic Soda solution which will also destroy most finishes. You can adopt a DIY approach with Caustic, but the trick is to find something big enough to contain the entire body, as it needs to be fully immersed. Pete.

Glad it worked out - what did you use in the end? All it need now is a Candy Apple Red paint job P.

Shameless repost: 1984 Aria ZZB-Custom in Factory-Stock 'Bloody Red'. 32" scale & 54" tip to tip.

[quote name='Horizontalste' post='1210324' date='Apr 24 2011, 08:25 PM']Again not wishing to hijack, but how would this chisel/ dremel method work on basswood? Id doesn't seem as dense as Alder.[/quote] Personally I'd shy away from using a Dremel for this sort of thing as there's a great risk of burning it out, knackering the bearings, and shattering the bit. It's almost a given that the blade will become blunt very quickly resulting in a lovely charred effect as it burns its way through. Chisels will do it all, [i][b]provided they're sharp[/b][/i]. What you buy in the shop is really a bit of metal with a handle on one end, getting it to the point where it'll cut nicely takes a bit of work. These links might be of use: [url="http://www.antiquetools.com/sharp/index.html"]A Guide to Honing and Sharpening[/url] [url="http://www.finewoodworking.com/SkillsAndTechniques/SkillsAndTechniquesArticle.aspx?id=28819"]A Video[/url] The video is a bit hardcore tbh, you don't need to go for the mirror finish that guy's achieved, but the key part is right at the end where he's cutting end grain. Listen to the sound each blade makes - his uberhoned chisel sounds markedly different from the other two & leaves a staggeringly clean cut. Diamond stones aren't expensive these days. Every so often Aldi get them in for around a tenner. They're also superb for putting a razor sharp edge on cooking knives. To answer your question about Basswood vs Alder; Basswood tends to be softer, so the chisel will compress the fibres before it starts to cut. The cut fibres will then spring back after the edge has passed which can result in a ragged cut with a tendency to 'tear out'. The sharper the blade the less chance there is of this happening. Pete.

Prostitute myself on the Altar of Capitalism? Where do I get undressed?