musophilr

Amplifier: Selmer Treble'n'Bass 50 SV, believed to have been built in 1975 Speaker: Marshall 4 x 15" - with top 2 speakers replaced on new baffle with Celestion BG80s (10") The cab was given to me by the manager of a youth club who said it had been left there and was cluttering the place up. 1 speaker was missing, another was trashed, hence the 2 replacements. The cab is good for Rhodes Stage Piano as well as bass.

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' timestamp='1327174050' post='1507503'] But it is easier to get valve like compression and harmonic distortion from valves. Which is the important thing. [/quote] Most definitely, Sir!

GFH was renowned as a wizz on keys, but I'd love to have given him a 5 string Jazz bass and got him to play it. EG the bass variation in [i]Sarabande in Dm[/i]. I recently made an artificial part for the electric bass, for the chorus [i]And the glory of the Lord[/i] from [i]Messiah[/i], I got it from the lowest notes in the continuo. It walks, and it rocks at 140bpm.

I don't think the requirements are any different. I just think it's easier to shovel current from a transistor than from a valve via a transformer.

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' timestamp='1327106762' post='1506654'] it is all about voltage, because it is voltage that makes speakers accelerate. [/quote] I agree the latter. However, consider the oscilloscope trace of a LF signal compared with that of a HF signal. In the area under the curve, that's where the o/p stage is delivering current, and it spends longer doing so during the cycle of a LF signal. So I'd suggest its not [i]just[/i] or [i]all[/i] about voltage.

If the upcoming audition goes OK I expect to be playing through a Selmer Treble'n'Bass 50 and a 15" bin, in small venues. I also have a passive DI box for between the bass & the amplifier in bigger venues. I hope I'm not being naive in thinking it'll be loud enough. I've skimmed previous posts but not noticed anything on the subject of how the o/p stage drives the speaker (sorry if it was there and I missed it): at low frequencies are we not concerned with how much current the amplifier can shove through the speaker, and is it not true that solid state devices are current amplifiers whereas valves are voltage amplifiers requiring an o/p transformer to match the low impedance of a speaker to the high impedance requirement of the o/p stage? In other words one might expect solid state amplifiers to work better with bass. In the Hi Fi world the solid state amplifier is usually reckoned to have more "slam" in the bass dept. This isn't an attempt to put valves down, I love them - for Hi Fi, for guitars, and for bass, but I am suggesting that if it's "slam" you want, then you're more likely to get it from a solid state circuit unless you can afford the very best Ampegs.

[quote name='Highfox' timestamp='1327080021' post='1506183'] Go see them live and the rythmn section is VERY tight and can be heard. [/quote] sounds like I'll be OK unless playing to someone who's been to see them live then.

[quote name='paul_5' timestamp='1327079779' post='1506179'] Surely that should be "interesting choices"... [/quote] a.k.a. jazz ?

Getting a bass line together for [i]Its a long way to the top[/i]. On the recording I've been listening to the bass is barely in there at all. It's all rhythm guitar & vocal. Having heard other AC/DC recordings which also appear not to have much bass in, I wonder if it really matters what you play so long as your rhythm works and your notes don't contradict anything the guitars are doing. How would the punters know if you're not playing what's on the record if they've never heard the bass on the record for themselves?

Hey fanx 4 this! Just what I need. BTW has anyone got or know where to get the Foo Fighters' [i]Learn to Fly[/i]?

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1327068500' post='1505994'] One gig? Several nights? Good God, I can't be changing strings that often! [/quote] I have much less experience of bass but I reckon bass strings do last a lot longer. Just as well, given the price of 'em. My bass is wearing Picato flatwounds which have been on it for at least 2 years but use has been infrequent. If I pass the audition I'm going to next week, then it'll get regular use and I'll be able to find out how long they last under those conditions. Frequent stringing-up is no biggie for a guitarist, it goes with the territory. And if you're writing them down against tax so much the better

[quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1327010180' post='1505309'] I've always avoided Ernie Ball because the guitar strings are sh*t. [/quote] They're not. True, they only last for 1 gig, but they tune up instantly, for the guitarist who strings up everynight and needs instant tune-up especially if replacing a broken one. Other strings eg Dean Markleys will last for several nights but they need a few hours playing in time to become stable. You choose to suit your requirements. I like to string up with Dean Markleys and carry Ernie Balls as spares. If it was the tone you don't like, well fair enough, the only remedy for that is buy someone else's!

Commiserations on your digit damage. Didn't one of the guys in Saxon lose his 1st fretting finger? And Django didn't have the use of his 3rd & 4th fretting fingers. Hope you find something good to play with the fingers that do work OK. It can be done. Good luck.

As a lot of introductory posts make a thing of where you live, I'll disclose that I live in Suffolk. Wasn't born here but my parents moved here when I were 6 months old (several decades ago); was raised here then spent far too long in other places. Have been back for a few years now. FWIW here's a couple of my pipe-dreams: [url="http://www.dasbarockorchester.co.uk"]www.dasbarockorchester.co.uk[/url] [url="http://www.musica-electrica.co.uk"]www.musica-electrica.co.uk[/url] Any real bass players who are interested and local please contact me

May I say something? Some might have seen me introducing myself in the introductions dept ... A cover bands I played in had a habit of introducing subtle twists into the songs. Different accents in the rhythm dept, slipping in a few bars of something else between a chorus and the next verse, singing the words a bit different, that sort of thing. We never messed around so much that you couldn't tell what the original song was though. Our drummer had a great sense of humour and he was an avid Frank Zappa fan, both of which helped. We took the view that if punters wanted the original they could stay home and listen to the record, but we were there to do some live entertainment.

I was referred here from Music Radar by Fretmeister. Whether he goes by that name here, I don't know, but that's how I know him on Music Radar. I'm a guitarist who can also find his way around a keyboard, and an electric bass. Of relevance here is that I play a Yamaha RBX375, through a Selmer Treble'n'Bass 50 and a 15" bass bin. Examples of my work can be found at [url="http://soundcloud.com/phil-aka-pip/"]http://soundcloud.com/phil-aka-pip/[/url] ... but those contain only the sound of the bass, not the amplification. Hello and Good Evening.