DaveMuadDib

Thanks for the advice, guys. I had a feeling that the Vintage Modified was a very decent choice. Obviously, I'll try a few out before I buy (even some of the cheaper/substandard ones - because who knows?) but I've been leaning towards the VM for a long time, despite not havng properly played on one yet.

I've always wanted a nice Jazz bass, and while I continue to rue the day that I passed up on that £200 Geddy Lee (IDIOT! IDIOT! IDIOT!) I'm back on the prowl for something about as affordable, even if it will be less perfect.

I've heard lots of great things about the Squier Vintage Modified Jazz Bass. I haven't had the chance to try one out just yet, but I should be able to soon. But what would you guys recommend? Are the vintage modifieds as good/better/worse than the standard or affinity series (I have no idea what the difference is!) or is there some other cheap Fender Jazz-style gem out there? Any help would be appreciated!

[quote name='Jean-Luc Pickguard' post='133939' date='Feb 4 2008, 10:14 PM']I bought some bits from Maplin & made my own power splitter cable to power just two pedals from a single 9v adaptor.[/quote]

I might seek to do that, it sounds like it's pretty straightforward!

Famous last words...

Do you recall what components you used?

[quote name='Bassmouseman' post='133444' date='Feb 4 2008, 09:55 AM']you should be able to get a daisy chain adapter and cut off the 3 you don't want. just make sure you tape up the end where you make the cut.[/quote]

I thought that this might be a good option, but I'm not sure how wise an idea it is! Can anyone else confirm this?

This is a very mild dilemma, but here goes

I only use two pedals. I already feel bad enough that I actually keep them in a pedalboard (albeit one of the smallest that you can buy) but I've also got them hooked up to my bulky 5-output power bank. I don't want to worry about batteries, so is there any simpler way to power two pedals with just one adapter? On ebay, I've seen Daisy Chain extensions for DC adapters that provide 5 or more outputs (apparently), but even this seems a bit like overkill to me! Is there not anyway I can buy/make a simple 1->2 power lead? Or do they even sell two-headed adapters?

I'm being a little pedantic, I know, but this silly power bank probably weighs more than my pedals do, and takes up way too much space! For the record, it's a Little Big Muff and a Behringer Limiter Enhancer. Any constructive advice would be greatly appreciated!

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='130722' date='Jan 30 2008, 03:10 PM']Yes. I got mine for this very reason. I'm a fingerer but when I get carried away I'll slap, pop and do like flamenco fingernail strums (don't know the name for this technique) - originally got it coz when I put my GT6 through the fx loop I've no longer got any limiting front end for when I take my fits, but now I've gone back to playing with the GT6 before the amp again so have comp/lim off that. A smidge of BLE100's "Enhance" is good in any situation (I use it at home to fatten up the sound with out adding extra volume) but it can add hiss tho.[/quote]

Just got the pedal today and I really think it's excellent! It sounds like it's worked well for you, so I can't wait to gig with this thing! I really think it's going to make a positive difference to my sound, especially since I do have a tendency to "overpluck" in the heat of the moment. Cheers to you, and everyone for the advice on this, has been really informative! Extra props to you for being a Soundgarden fan (at least, I'm assuming you are!)

My Laney HCM120B has two inputs, one labelled Passive and one labelled Active. However, I have no idea what the difference is between them! Obviously they're geared towards their respective types of basses, but what is the actual difference between the two? Will it damage anything if I play an active bass through the passive input?

[quote name='cheddatom' post='129936' date='Jan 29 2008, 12:31 PM']A limiter is a compressor with the compression ratio set to 1:infinity.

The limiter/enhancers you can buy let you bring the ratio down a bit, but it's still very much a hard compression ratio. These pedals are really good if your dynamics are all over the place, or, if you want a very consistent level. The "enhance" circuit could help your passive sound a bit active, but that's really not the point of these pedals. The reason I like them is that you can set the threshold, and the ratio.

A compressor/sustainer will generally have less of a hard ratio. That's about all I can say (probably should have kept my mouth shut)

The most important point IMHO when deciding what kind of compressor to buy is that the limiter/enhancer pedals (boss+behringer) give you more control over the compression taking place.[/quote]

Thank you very much, that's made it a lot clearer! To be quite honest, I think I would actually quite like the hard ratio and controlability of a Limiter/Enhancer. I'll see how I get on with my Behringer anyway, if I find it strangles my playing too much, I'll just bang it on ebay or bin it or something.

The article ped linked to was very handy too, thanks!

Thanks everyone! See, the main problem is that I'm not really sure what the difference is between a compressor/sustainer and limiter/enhancer. I use a pick, and sometimes I go a little bit crazy in a live situation, or if I'm playing something intricate, I can only semi-pluck some of the notes. Will this pedal help balance that out a bit?

[quote name='steve-norris' post='128805' date='Jan 27 2008, 05:54 PM']I use one, in fact i am thinking of moving it on to get a Black finger so i won't offer an opinion ( may be biased )but feel free to PM if interested.[/quote]

Cheers for the offer, but I think a behringer limiter/enhancer is going to be my first port of call. At £15 delivered, it won't be the biggest mistake i've ever made!

I've just taken the plunge and ordered a Behringer Limiter/Enhancer from eBay for general compressing/peak-smoothing purposes. At £15 including delivery, I'm not going to lose much sleep over it now, but to anyone who has used such a pedal...

Seeing as I have an Active Bass (with a switch that makes it passive) was there really any point in me buying this thing? I've never owned such a pedal before, let alone any type of compressor, though I have played about on them before. Will this pedal improve my sound, or are they primarily designed to make passive basses sound active?

[quote name='David Nimrod' post='128569' date='Jan 27 2008, 11:04 AM']I have a B2AV... had the same problem when the original one wore out...

Go to Thomann - type in 'headless gig bag' - there's a choice of three ;-)

I got the most expensive one (£23-84) and it's just great. Problem solved.[/quote]

Excellent, this one looks like it's pretty good! I need to buy a gigbag anyway, so I might as well get one that's suited for it! And this comes at a decent price. Cheers!

Hey guys! I need a compressor, and at the moment I'm torn between the Behringer CS100 (because they're dirt cheap and seem to be decent enough) and Marshall's Edward the Compressor, (because it's reasonably priced and hopefully a little better than the behringer)

Does anyone here use an Edward with bass? Does it work well - or at least - better than a Behringer CS100? Any other suggestions? I've never owned a compressor before! I've got an active bass if that makes any difference, lol

I've got a Hohner B2ADB replica of a Steinberger. So far, I've been using a rifle case to carry it around, but it's becoming a bit of a nuisance, as I've attracted the attention of the police a couple of times, frightened innocent bystanders, and not to mention, the case was most definitely not designed with the gigging musician in mind. So does anyone know where I can find a Ritter or similar such gigbag for the simple paddle-shaped steinberger bass? I've done a bit of snooping on google with mixed results, and I had a look on the Ritter website, but couldn't seem to find what I was looking for. Thanks!

Never fear - problem solved. You can adjust the tension of the knob with an allen key via a little hole at the rear of the lever. I needed to use a key that wasn't included with my bass, but it's nice and tense now. I feel this bass is pretty much perfect now :-D

[quote name='BassManKev' post='128074' date='Jan 25 2008, 10:29 PM']i have never noticed a difference with active and passive basses with any of the big muffs iv owned (op amp 70's one, russian civil war, green, black)

when was the last time you changted the battery in your bass??[/quote]

The battery is fine, it's just that strange gating effect that a few other people have commented on. It might be more of an amp thing. There are ways around it, it's just a bit of a nuisance!

[quote name='Wil' post='127655' date='Jan 25 2008, 12:01 PM']Praise be to Shai Hulud![/quote]

I must not buy more gear, more gear is the bank killer...

I see you're from Bristol man, I'm heading down there on Sunday for some Henry Rollins spoken word! Should be awesome!

Hi everyone,

I've had a Hohner B2A with the detunable DB bridge for a few months now, and I love this bass more than anything, but there's just one problem that I've noticed.

The tuning pegs at the base of the bridge are nice and stiff, which is good because I almost never have to tune it up. The problem lies with the mini peg on the top of the bridge, which adjusts which pitch the detuning lever takes the low E string down to when you flick it (Eb - Db in my case). When the lever is activated and it drops to Db, this little peg stays nice and firm, but when I flick it back up to Eb, the peg is now very easy to turn. Turning the peg makes no noticeable effect in this state until you flick the switch, in which case your drop tuning has been altered.

I haven't been embarrassed by it yet, but I'm in a band that switches from standard to drop tuning quite a bit, and it's a feature that I really like having on my bass. Can anyone help me out here? Is there something I can adjust, or does it need a proper servicing? The quick fix I've got going at the moment is a faint pencil line on the peg, so I can quickly spot if it is out of alignment, and get it at least approximately lined up without having to think too much about it. But I'd really like to sort out this one flaw on an otherwise perfect bass!

Cosmic Slop as performed by Bootsy Collins in Funkadelic. It's just one riff, and it's simple, but it's a beauty.

[quote name='Lfalex v1.1' post='127521' date='Jan 25 2008, 07:28 AM'][i]Dave[/i] Muad Dib?
Shouldn't your name be Paul?

Good luck with the Kustom.

Just don't get any sand in it!![/quote]

haha, I'm glad someone gets it! Thanks man, and no prizes for guessing what my favourite book is

Hey guys,

I own a lovely Little Big Muff Pi and an active bass and a Laney HCM120B with seperate inputs for active and passive. The thing is, I'm very new to active bass, and I'm a little bit lost, and hoping some of you guys can advise me!

When I run my active bass through the active input jack, and put a big muff in-between, it sounds a little bit weird... Kinda quiet, temperamental and strange distortion. But if I bang the Muff on and then turn my active pickups into passive mode, it sounds great, it's just a bit of a nuisance. Now, if I run the bass passively through the passive output, the muff sounds good when I turn it on, but I miss that active punch!

Is this simultaneous action of stomping on the Muff and hitting the passive switch something I'll just have to get used to, or am I missing something here?

Thanks!

In the end, I've gone for a Kustom KBA-10, which I found to be nice and cheap, very sturdy, and surprisingly powerful and nice-sounding! Cheers for the advice though guys.

[quote name='Bassmouseman' post='126154' date='Jan 23 2008, 03:04 PM']Hi Dave, like your music taste![/quote]

Hey there! Thanks, I'm glad you appreciate my tastes. They're all excellent bands with excellent bass players, so I feel satisfied all round! I'm especially going through a bit of a Faith No More stage at the moment. Anyone in particular who I listed that you like?

[quote name='metaltime' post='126151' date='Jan 23 2008, 03:01 PM']Hi dave nice to meet you.

What kind of music do you play? Do you play in a band?[/quote]

Hey there! I play a bit of everything, right from thrash metal and blues to reggae and funk. I find thrash to be the most fun though, there's especially nothing quite like blasting out a bit of Pantera I'm currently in a band called Snog the Dog, a metal/grunge/blues rock three piece, and I very much love every second of it! I also jam with various people at open mic nights and such. How about yourself?

Hey there people, this is my first proper post here!

Ok, here's my dilemma. My gigging amp is usually in storage somewhere far away from me, and when I practice at home, I usually either play unplugged (ehh) or through a Marshall pocket amp (bleh). When playing along with a CD or Backing Track, it's almost always a horrible experience. Now, my birthday is just a couple of weeks away, and I'm thinking about asking for a nice practice amp. I don't want anything too fancy, just a nice modestly priced little 10/15 watt'er would do me fine. But there are so many options out there... my only requirement is that it amplifies my signal and it sounds decent, but I'd be open to other suggestions.

My only real thought at the moment is the Laney RB-1, which seems cheap and decent enough, though I haven't tried one out yet. What would you guys recommend? Thanks!

-Dave