D.I. Joe

I can't really add anything to this discussion, so I won't

He also used a Jazz on later recordings. Just throwing that in there On later albums they all swapped instruments at different phases of recordings too, I'm pretty sure there are some songs where John or George play a Fender VI, IIRC. I'm not exactly a Beatlemaniac though.

What a weekend!! Bulldog Bash on Friday - Area 81 Stage: I must say, its a good job that the Hell's Angels don't run a brewery! Most of the guys that we spoke to were sound enough, but the organisation and communication seemed pretty poor, for example the drummer and I had been there for four hours before somebody decided that we needed a vehicle pass to get down to the stage and unload! On to the performance though, not one of our best to be honest. Not bad my any means, but the distraction of poor sound and monitors cutting out intermittantly is never a welcome one. Sold and signed a few CDs though, and got moaned at for giving a free CD to a guy who was reviewing the festival (I guess that's fair though, as I do not feature on the recording it is not mine to give away. Hate being new boy ) Here is a clip with highlights from the day. We briefly feature at 27 seconds in!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEEE2EeZ1Z0 Saturday - Boardmasters, Vans Stage: More like it!! Good festival vibe, great stage organisation and sounded much better! Had John Cornfield on the desk which was nice, he does quite a bit for a few local bands in Cornwall. Played much much better and gradually drew a progressively bigger crowd as we played. Sucks being the first band on at a festival that not many people venture out early but hey ho. Then straight in the vehicles for a sprint to get onstage at Bridgewater at 16:00. Sat Nav reckoned we would get there at 15:55 after having to take a longe route due to an accident on the A30. Needless to say we didn't make it - car broke down at Exeter! Then finally last night at Newquay Walkabout with Fragile Sanity: I've never seen Newquay so dead on a night in August, but then I guess we were competing with the Olympic closing ceremony, along with ongoing events at Boardmasters. Our regular guitarist (who also plays guitar in EofF) couldn't make this one so we had a dep. He did a good job, band was mostly tight but we dropped a couple of clangers between us! The few that were out were liking it though - and I'd rather play to a small receptive crowd than a big indifferent one.

Ready... Friday - Empire of Fools - Bulldog Bash (Stratford-Upon-Avon) - Area 81 Rock Club - 3pm Saturday - Empire of Fools - Boardmasters (Watergate Bay, Newquay) - Vans Stage - 12pm [color=#ffffff]Saturday - Empire of Fools - [/color]Somerrock (Bridgewater Social Club) - 4pm Sunday - Fragile Sanity (wedding band) - Walkabout (Newquay) - 11pm Monday - Don't bother me!!!! Hopefully see some of you there!!! (Except Monday)

[quote name='Rexington' timestamp='1344440531' post='1764560'] currently rocking EMG PJs and [b]Dean Markley Blue Steels[/b] which kinda rescues the sound quality [/quote] Actually, they are those Rocco Prestia NPS Roundcore doo-dads. Anyway, welcome to Basschat! Best behaviour for me now I'll have steak for tea tonight please

Morley Dual Bass Wah works wonders for me! It's optical rather than a pot which I believe would wear quicker, especially as I sometimes use my wah for a tremolo effect

I did this for mine [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeUWJbs9Q5E"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeUWJbs9Q5E[/url]

[quote name='Evil Undead' timestamp='1343738986' post='1754381'] It's a fair question. I'm notoriously sh!t with truss rods. I loosened the strings and unbolted the neck (heel adjustment) and tilted it back so the nut was away from the body. Stuck my tool in the hole (oo-er) and turned clockwise. It shifted about 1/8 of a turn. And then I couldn't turn it any more, although I didn't try to force it. When I got the bass I adjusted it about 1/4 of a turn with no problem when I was setting it up, so I would think that a truss rod should have more than 3/8 of a turn in it from brand new. [/quote] I find it also helps to turn slightly anti-clockwise before going the other way, just to ease it in

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1343654089' post='1753130'] Strangely enough, D`Addario Chrome Flats can get a good clank coaxed from them. And being flats, retain their sound quite well. I had a set for a while, liked the sound (long term Roto user, me) but just can`t get on with the feel of flats. But worth checking out, surprisingly zingy, those chromes. [/quote] +1 I'm enjoying Chromes on my OLP at the moment. Loving the blue silks at both ends too!

[quote name='chrismuzz' timestamp='1343606373' post='1752730'] To be fair though I can't think of any other brands that have red silk at both ends [/quote] I struggle to think of any that use silks at all!

Thanks guys, that eBay seller looks really interesting! I'd never heard of Everly B-52s either, and the only Alloy 52 strings that I've tried are GHS Brite Flats so I guess that's not a full representation, they are nice strings though. Alloy 52 seems to be a big thing in America

Oh I see, didn't think of that... Seemed like a good idea an hour ago! Guess I could always move to America and save money on strings in the long term!

Just found this great website today. They have fantastic prices on all brands, especially the likes of DR and La Bella which are so expensive over here, and they ship to the UK for $18.75 which is about £12. Does anybody use them already? And would anyone be up for organising a joint order at some point to save on shipping? (not for me for a while though, I'm still working through my Chromes and Dean Markley freebies!)

+1 for Chromes from me. I've only tried those and Rotos but the Chromes are the better of the two for me - more punch and definition

I think its interesting how some people complain that 66s cause a lot of fret wear and others don't notice it so much. I wonder if there is more to it than the strings?

I guess it depends what you're after. horses for courses and all that. I love the warm, thumpy-yet-still-growl-when-you-dig vibe that yuo get with worn in Rotosounds. Other guys will like them when they are clangy and fresh, other guys will avaoid them like the plague. I personally really dislike EB Slinkies yet they are probably the most popular strings our there!

What about Rotosound flats? I have a set on my Precision at the moment. Not sure I'll keep them on for long though. They sounded great when recording EofF's acoustic demo but I've been unhappy with them in rehearsals thus far and haven't gigged them yet. Also find them quite hard to play.

They might as well call the strings Marmite Bass 66, people seem to either love them or hate them! Personally, I love them. Regardless of which other strings I try, I always end up going back to Rotos. You're right, they do feel rough at first but this soon wears off, and once they are worn in there are no strings out there which I would rather be playing, for feel or sound. Still, that doesn't stop me from looking for something which can better them! As for fret wear, this is not something that I have noticed that much of myself, but then I'm not too meticulous with my fret maintenance. A quick once over with a splash of Mr Sheen does it for me!

It's the highs that shout Stingray at me, whenever I hear the piercing clacky, almost noisy treble that sounds separated from the low end. To me that is the Ray sound. Not sure how other MMs compare tbh but must be similar. Check out Naked by Reef - you can hear the zingy treble in the middle of the mix and the rest of the bass is at the bottom.

I use my DHA VT1 Bass Drive-EQ which is on my pedal board and I also use for my DI so it gives a close representation of my FOH sound. I also own a Zoom B3 which I use at home to practice with the drum machine and experiment with funky effects and generally make noise