P-T-P

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='22283' date='Jun 23 2007, 10:50 AM']A bit like these... [/quote] What a lovely pair! Further to what others have said about actives... I find my passive DJ requires a bit of work to get it sitting just right in the mix, while the active one is pretty much plug and play, plus, of course, you have the advantage of boost/cut should you need to change on the fly. owever, the passive bass seems to respond much better to playing dynamics, eve though it is essentially the same bass.

Personally I used to bring one of each (I never do a paid for gig without a back-up, even though I've never needed one), now I bring a pair of DJ5s, one with Bartolini pre-amp and one passive. The passive one does a reasonable facsimile of a P-Bass. Truthfully though, so long as you have a good quality instrument, you can't really go wrong with either the P-Bass or J-Bass in a covers environment, though a P-Bass might need a lot more careful EQ-ing to get the right tone for some tunes. If I was pressed to choose, I'd go with the passive DJ5 as it has, without doubt, the most musical passive controls I've ever encountered.

I've been using DR Extras for the past six months or so. One set lasts about 2 months being played pretty much every day and gigged a couple of times a week. Standard steel roundwounds I found would last about 4-6 weeks. There's not as noticeable a drop in top end as I seem to remember getting with traditional roundwounds which to me always go through three distinct stages: excrutiatingly bright and clanky (unless slapping in which case yum!) -> just right -> utterly lifeless. The change from one stage to another always seems instantaneous (which of course it can't be). The DR Extra's I find are far less clanky at first and then I never really notice the decline until I play a different bass which has newer strings on. As to the causes of the diminshing treble return, might metal fatigue be a factor and/or might the type of steel used and its suitability for the job be a contributor? Certainly when it comes to the former, playing identical basses, one strung with new strings, the other with strings of a certain vintage, I notice that the older strings don't feel as difficult to fret as the newer ones. As for the latter, it seems to me that a new Rotosound swing bass 66 set is immensely more toppy than equivalent strings from other makers. They also feel a darn sight rougher to the touch and take a lot more breaking in than most other similar strings I've tried (Elites, Trace, Lakland, D'adarios) and las a bit longer too.

I had an RH standard and really thoroughly disliked it. The tone was good from the pick-ups and eq, but the whole thing felt like it was very much a budget build quality.

Maybe not all be from the right time frame but for party type gigs we include some or all of these and have one (and a half sometimes it seems) less guitarists than you... Can't Get Enough of Your Love - Bad Company All Right Now - Free Crazy Little Thing Called Love - Queen Dance the Night Away - Mavericks (yawn to play but gets 'em on the floor) Long Train Running - Doobie Brothers Play the Funky Music - Wild Cherry Is This the Way (To Amarillo)? - Tony Christie Keep on Running - Spencer Davis Group Achy Breaky Heart - Billy Rae Cyrus (if you can keep a straight face) Brown Eyed Girl - Van Morrisson Caroline - Status Quo (never fails, even with me singing it!) 70s/80s numbers that are easy enough which we also do... Is She Really Going Out With Him? - Joe Jackson (if the groom has a sense of humour) Every Breath You Take - The Police (play it more up tempo like on the live album) So Lonely - The Police I'm Gonna Be (500 miles) - Proclaimers Bad Case of Loving You - Robert Palmer Make Me Smile (Come Up & See Me) - Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel

Thanks guys. Not sure how neck tension would affect things, can you elaborate? It won't be the edge of the board because they are both bound. I think the idea that the break angle behind the bridge on the through body strung bass must be it. The idea that the increased friction there causes the string to stretch a little less makes sense. It is a very slight difference, in fact only notice it really if I play the top loaded bass before playing the other one. Gonna re-string it top loaded this evening and see what happens.

I've a pair of Lakland DJ5s, one with maple board, one (which I just acquired) with rosewood. The maple one is strung through the bridge with DR Extras, the rosewood one through the body with Lakland steelwounds. The strings are the same gauge (.45s) except for the low B which is .003 heavier on the Lakland strings. After a few days of truss rod tweaks and bridge adjustment, I've managed to get the action on the new bass to be as near as damnit to the older bass (which is fantastically low and buzz free) as possible. There's a smidge of buzz here and there but I can live with that. What is driving me nuts though is that the two basses still feel quite difference to play. I glive about on the old bass while the new one feels very taught. Fretting or plucking a note requires enough extra effort that it's noticeable (to me anyway). So after all that, is it the case that the sharper angle of the strings between the wirness point on the bridge and the anchor point in the body of the through body strung bass creates a significant amount of greater tension in the strings than the shallower angle behind the bridge on a through bridge strung bass? I know different strings will feel and sound somewhat different, but both sets are played in some and are of almost identical gauge so that surely can't be the reason for the apparent increased tension can it? How about the fretboards? I've never noticed this kind of difference between a rosewood and maple board before, but then I've never had two otherwse identical basses to compare. Anything else it could be?

It's definitely worth contacting [email protected] as they are really good at helping solve problems like this. For what it's worth though, the pick-up pole piece alignment isn't an issue (beyond asthetics). The pole pieces are in pairs and as such create a magnetic field between them, the string being closer to one or other pole piece within the pair won't affect the sound so long as it is passing through the field the pair create. If you think about it, when adjusting pick-up height to even out string to string volume on any pick-up with pole pieces laid out this way (think classic P-bass or J-bass), you might need to have the G string side of the pick-up closer to the string than on the E string side. On a J-bass pick-up this creates a slope down from the G string end to the E string end meaning that as you move across each pair of pole pieces from the G string end, the first in each pair is going to be closer to the string than the second. Basically when talking about pairs of pole pieces, proximity to one or the other makes no difference. I'm sure someone more physics minded could explain it in a more technical manner.

Isn't this sort of thing typical (in a good way) of us bassists? I can't think of many guitarists I know, for example, who aren't falling over themselves to show their chops at any available opportunity. Personally, I'm comfortable with my abililties as a player, I can cut loose if needs be but I play in a covers band primarily doing clubs and parties so the need rarely crops up. I strive to do the songs justice and love it when we play something with a classic bassline, like "Reach Out I'll Be There" or whatever. It is nice when someone comes up to you after a gig and compliments your playing, especially when the bass parts haven't been obviously challenging. That's what I've always aspired to most, to be recognised as performing the subtler points of the bass job well. I'm always conscious of the fact that I can be more in the groove, that there are better note choices I can make and that I can always hold it all together better. Honing your chops is great, especially when you can real off a blizzard of notes just to wind up your guitarist, but the thing I always notice first and foremost about any band is how well the bass player is doing performing in his primary role and if they're not doing that it doesn't matter how flash they may be. I personally tend to judge how well I've done on a gig to gig basis by the amount of dancing that gets done, if I'm grooving well then hopefully so will the punters.

Chris, You've missed my point a little, which is possibly my fault for not explaining it better. I'm not really sticking up for smoker's rights, just saying that I think the law as it was drawn up is very much nanny state, "want to be seen to be doing something about the issue without really confronting it head-on." I'm a believer in legislation where it's necessary and in letting society or community or market forces take care of business wherever possible. The analogy between smoking and drink driving doesn't wash becuase you can walk away from a smoker or choose not to enter a smoking establishment, drink driving almost always doesn't afford it's potential victims that opportunity. 15 years ago there were hardly any non-smoking sections in pubs and restaurants, that changed and it changed because there was a demand from it. Most offices, factories etc. had confined smoking to designated areas. Couldn't tell you the last time I was on a bus or plane that didn't have a smoking ban. There were a growing number of smoke-free establishments before the ban came in. Over time there would have been establishments that catered to both sides of the divide because that's what more and more people wanted. Most smokers are considerate enough that they will not smoke in areas where they are requested not to do so. As a smoker, if they'd banned smoking altogether I'd have been okay with it because it [i]is[/i] a stupid and dangerous thing to do, but I'm also conscious of the £3 a pack difference between a price of a 20 fags here and elsewhere in the EU which no doubt had an influence on the decision not to pursue an outright ban.

I've never been stung buying from the US, but the important thing is to do your homework before ordering and make sure you know what the worst case scenario is going to be. Like muppet I've also bought from basspartresource.com and paid no duty/tax at all. I get my strings from the US too and so far have not paid any duty/tax either but I always make sure to order sufficient that if I did have to pay it, I'm still making a saving over purchasing in the EU.

Here in Wales I've seen no drop-off in our bookings. We're as busy now as we were at the same point last year but also have a heck of a lot more dates in the diary than we did then. That having been said, we had no Saturday night booking a couple of weeks back, first time in 18 months that's happened, which is hopefully not a sign of things to come. I think landlords, club committees etc. are right to be concerned, it's a major change to their business, but I think the reality of it is that, even those of us who like a smoke, aren't going to forego a night out with our mates just so we can have a fag. On the nanny state thing, personally I think it's a half-arsed, anti-tobacco lobby appeasing law. There was no need to ban smoking in public places, just make it easier for owners/employers to enforce smoking bans if they choose to put one in place. If health is the true concern, ban the damn things altogether, at least then there's no double standard. Non-smoking punters always had the choice not to enter a smoking bar/club etc. but it's easy to legislate to protect them while at far greater risk to health from second-hand smoke are kids who are forced to live in a home with parents who smoke and have no real say in the matter at all, why not legislate protect them?

Met Russ a wee while ago and traded basses with him, top bloke, would deal again.

Personally I quite like the white, definitely would like mint green like on my old JO5. Gold with CAR is another classic combo and a brown tortoiseshell looks great too and very distinctive.

Pretty sure I've done at least one, possibly two deals with Steve. No worries, top bloke

There's quite a few people I've done deals with, some recently, where we've not exchanged feedback. Please give me a reminder by leaving some feedback for me and I'll gladly return the favour. Here's what was said on the old bassworld and basstalk forums... [b]Vern[/b]: The day I did the deal with Pete for his MIA Jazz was the best thing I have done. I love this bass, everything went very smoothly and couldn`t have dealt with a nicer guy,and would have no hesitation in doing the same again. Top man is Pete. ps: Sorry mate, no way could I part with this bass.I love it to bits [b]Wildman[/b]:Great deal with Pete for his Hohner B2V. Great bass, great condition and easy pickup/delivery. Nice one Pete [b]Wildman[/b]: Another great deal with Pete for his Shure wireless set up. Set cheque off, he sent the goods the moment it was cleared. Once again - Nice doing business with you Pete [b]big25g[/b]: Awesome guy, i bought a couple of DVD's of him, they came a couple of days later [b]homerplaysbass[/b]: Had too short a meeting with Pete on the M5 - I was late as usual :roll: Pete was very patient and it was a shame we didn't have longer to chat. Although our meeting was brief, I found Pete to be a proper bloke and a pleasure to deal with. I feel happy that my treasured Jazz has gone to a good home. [b]Stingrayfan[/b]: Top bloke who did me a great deal on his Aerodyne Jazz. Very nice guy to deal with by email too. Happily recommend. [b]RichBowman[/b]: Swapped Lakkies with Pete a while back - Top bloke, big thumbs up. [b]andyonbass[/b]: I met Pete recently when he travelled up to my gaff to collect an amp he bought off me. Damn fine chap, pleasure to do business with and I'd have no hesitation in trading with him again [b]Rich[/b]: Top man -- bought his Behringer combo, and although we didn't deal in person he's very obviously a splendid chap. Great amp too, superb condition. Even the cardboard box was mint! [b]hammers_bass[/b]: Great Deal. Bought an early BADASS bridge for a good price. Great bloke to do business with [b]Mike[/b]: Great buyer. Met up - thanks! [b]russjm[/b]: Just traded a Lakland JO for a Fender Jazz plus cash, no problems at all, the jazz is great, and Pete's a diamond geezer, highly recommended [b]Vern[/b]: I have just concluded a deal with Pete Ward for his Yamaha 1005. Met him on M4,had a good chat over a coffee and enjoyed it very much. Pete is a genuinely nice guy,a pleasure to do business with and I`m as happy as a pig in poo !! Highly recommended for doing business with.