peteb

[quote name='gjones' timestamp='1372981644' post='2132566'] You're lucky! I played The Great British R&B festival in Colne in 2012 and there was no bass! I played through the worlds quietest Ampeg SVT and 8x10 and couldn't hear a thing on stage. I listened to the other bands and the bass players could have been miming, because I couldn't hear a thing they were playing. We obtained a recording of our live set straight form the desk.....and you guessed it......no bass. The venue was a huge warehouse type thing which would have made it hard to get a good bass sound. But NO bass through the PA! The sound engineer must have been deaf. [/quote] I played the same festival (the British Stage, some sort of sports centre I believe) with what sounds like exactly the same rig! I am told it sounded great out front (bass and all) but we couldn't hear a f***in thing! The monitor engineer told us that he would sort out everything thru the foldback, but he just didn't bother! The trials and tribulations of being a support act on a multi band bill...

[quote name='bassman7755' timestamp='1372969645' post='2132361'] No disrespect your mate but thats clearly bollocks since you often see major acts using them in televised events where multiple bands are doing short sets (e.g. live 8). [/quote] Well you obviously seem to know more than a guy who's earnt a lot of money working with some very big names! Out of interest, who on Live 8 was using a pod??

[quote name='xilddx' timestamp='1372944486' post='2131932'] Let's get this bit out the way first, ok? Digital modeling - Boss GT10B, POD XT/X3, and active DI's like SansAmp, Hartke VXL, etc, if used properly, can and do sound indistinguishable from an amp and cab rig in your FoH sound. You need to take this for granted if you don't believe me. I'll go one further and say the same is true for studio recordings but that's another story. The only advantage of using and amp and cab that I can work out from what people say on here is that it can make you trousers flap on stage, which to me is not a sensible reason at all. Most monitors are capable of pumping out some good bass for your reference. Quality digi modeling/effects units and active DIs offer (over amp and cab rigs) huge versatility and portability, consistent sound quality with most stage and room characteristics, reliability, simplicity of deployment, massive cost savings, less prone to damage, don't need to keep changing them in your quest for TONE, geezers in other bands never ask to borrow them for their set, you can't stand a pint on them .. Need I go on? It's beyond me why anyone would have the pain and worry of cab placement problems in auditoriums, needing gramma pads, transport issues, bad backs, lending them to other bands, very little versatility, easily damaged, buying and selling to find YOUR TONE, upsizing, downsizing, two rigs for different size gigs, getting them up and down narrow stairs ... So why do you REALLY insist on having amps and cabs? Fear of digital sound being unpredictable or sounding crap? Need a big old rig behind you to feel safe? Ignorance of going direct? Need a massive bass sound on stage? Can't be bothered to f*** about learning how to programme patches? Nostalgia? Inertia? ... I'm genuinely interested to know. [/quote] First of all – I am not a fan of any modeling units that I have come across, especially Pods. We could argue about this all night but when it comes down to it, you like them and I’m not keen. All I can say that a mate of mine (probably the best guitarist that I have played with) runs a pretty successful PA hire & installation company that supplies gear for major tours & events as well as installing AV kit for airports around Europe. He really knows his stuff and has made a very good living dealing with cutting edge pro audio gear on a daily basis. He uses a Mesa Boogie amp! When I asked him about his opinion of modeling amps he said that some sounded ok in a small room or on tape but they still haven’t made one that works with a band live on stage! Active DIs for bass is another thing entirely and some of them are very good. Some of the bigger gigs that I do are medium size festivals where there is a house rig that may be good or cr*p and will probably have a DI straight off the bass. If I start doing more of these gigs I would love to get a unit like a Tonebone, so that I can control what I hear on stage and what goes straight to FOH. However, if you are not using an amp on stage you are [b]very[/b] reliant on getting a decent monitor mix, which as we all know doesn’t always happen if you are not headlining! Another advantage of having a decent rig is of course that you can play pubs and smaller gigs without having to go thru the PA, leaving FOH to just take care of vocals & drums yet alone problems with not so great monitors you might find with a smaller PA at a pub gig. Of course, this is based on my experience i.e. playing with pretty loud drummers and only really using the one bass sound. I know that a pod is way more portable than even a small amp and it’s up to you if you decide if that is worth the compromise. I certainly would not want to do the gigs that I do without an amp on stage….

[color=#222222]Never really got into Porcupine Tree but figure that they may be worth a bit of effort! For a start their drummer is one of the best around and the whole band kinda intrigue me.[/color] [color=#222222][/color] [color=#222222]Can anyone suggest an album that would be a good place to start for someone new to PT??[/color]

[quote name='Chris2112' timestamp='1372750044' post='2129352'] Looks like a 13 year old... You find this attractive? [/quote] I think that Suzie Q may have been somewhere older than 13 when the picture was taken...

[quote name='dood' timestamp='1372713341' post='2129140'] I'd say that it was your choice of delivery then. I was always taught to be 'aware of your audience' when despatching thoughts and opinions. I'm not suggesting for one minute that you aren't allowed said, but being as this is a family forum that relies on the written word for tone in the absence of facial expression (or other 'real life' clues) as to what you are trying to suggest, your posts have been misinterpreted. Emoticons are useful for example [/quote] It is undeniable that, for a variety of reasons, girls only make up a small proportion of the people playing musical instruments in beat combos. Girls who do decide to follow this path, be they singers or bass players (and I know a few) or whatever, find themselves not only dealing with a rather masculine environment but also one that tends to attract a rather knockabout and not particularly politically correct sense of humour. IME the girls who prosper tend to be those who are happy to be ‘one of the boys’ and take all of this type of nonsense in their stride! One thing that does confuse me – I always assumed that this was a forum for musicians… or bass players at least! I imagine that most members either are, or aspire to be, gigging musicians. I don’t see how this makes BC a ‘family forum’? To be honest I never really thought that travelling 30 miles in a van to play rock music in some type of (often less than salubrious) licensed premises and getting back home at 3 o’clock in the morning was a particularly family orientated pursuit…

[quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1372711938' post='2129109'] One thing, though. Why is it that many male pop stars deliver such whiny, self-pitying lyrics whereas their female equivalents espouse sassiness and empowerment? Where are the roaring boys? [/quote]Well one theory might be that girls are the ones who are more interested in the words and that they are more likely to want to identify with empowered lyrics from strong female role models, but also want to hear lovelorn pleas from the heart from good looking alpha male pop / rock star boys to stir their romantic interests...!

[quote name='yorks5stringer' timestamp='1372693737' post='2128686'] For some reason can't do paragraphs so excuse the block of text! [/quote]Yep I get that problem on BC for some reason - no idea why! Need to go and see ND if they ever make to Bradford / Halifax...

I think that I’m more interested in the music, but a good lyric is a definite plus! Depends a fair bit on the artist – you tend to be more bothered about the lyric to a Steely Dan song, whereas it doesn’t seem to be so important when you’re listening to Deep Purple! Sometimes a great line will make a song, even if the rest of the lyric is unremarkable. The same could be said about the arrangement, where a guitar phrase or even a single hit on the snare drum in just the right place sticks in the memory…

Welcome to the club mate...

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1372514909' post='2126673'] [/size] [size=4]At least Fender's top horns are largely balanced with the bottom ones. Some brands are not. For example, I find most Warwick basses' top horns aesthetically displeasing. They either look like a badly-designed wooden dog-dildo, or some kind of bizarre alien jug-teat. And the bottom horns are like some-weirdly stunted vestigial cetacean underflipper. IMHO, of course. [/size] [/quote] Aesthetically, I love both Fender and Warwick designs (well at least the Streamer) even thru they are completely different…

In my experience the main danger for theft is loading up the van / car at the end of the night and at multi band gigs at bigger venues where it is not always obvious what gear belongs to who and where people who shouldn’t be there can get access backstage! Fortunately I have never had anything major nicked but there has been the odd microphone and guitar / mic stand go missing…

[quote name='The Dark Lord' timestamp='1372510142' post='2126603'] I told me that they all sounded real good. Who cares about the strings ya-de-ya-de-yada ..... them there basses sound like basses should. Proper. [/quote] But does this sound ‘proper’? [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6XbvvFOSS4"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6XbvvFOSS4[/url] And if not, why not??

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1372500041' post='2126435'] You can like or (surely not) dislike Fender basses but Leo Fender's company not only blitzed the bass playing universe from day one, they did the same thing to guitar players. Most guitarists I see on TV and every guitarist I play with these days is either using a Strat or a Tele. Every last one I've played with in the last 20 years has used a Fender combo of one sort or another. The Rhodes is an iconic keyboard sound and with the Wurlitzer and Hammond pretty much defined keyboards until the synth came along. I understand exactly what the OP means. [/quote] I don't agree with the OP that you can't beat Fender, not least because I think that many companies these days do Fender better than Fender do e.g. Lakland, Lull, etc! However I have to agree with what you say about Leo's impact on music and electric musical instruments. At the blues festival I mentioned earlier, nearly every guitar player had a Fender Strat...

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1372440413' post='2125838'] cool... but why the need to mod? (honest question, I've had my main bass and modded quite a few things on it, but why buy a bass knowing you're going to mod it? why not just buy a different bass? [/quote] You’re kinda missing the point about the whole reason why I would buy a Fender i.e. to get more gigs because from my experience (and 51m0n’s – see post #117 above) bandleaders & sections of the blues audience prefer the image of a Fender. I am not totally immune from this myself of course and I have owned several Fenders in the past. I still have a very cool looking Fender Jazz Bass in lake placid blue, but as with every Fender I have ever owned I have put a far better bridge on as I have never liked the BBOT. I usually change the pick-ups and these days I prefer an active circuit. Actually, I think this is of the good things about Fenders – essentially they are good basic workhorses that you can easily mod to suit your own tastes and style…

[quote name='iceonaboy' timestamp='1372410267' post='2125334'] Couldnt agree more mate, but I suppose its all down to taste. I just like Fenders! [/quote] Just to be clear, I like Fenders as well - cool iconic design and the archetype (to a large extent) of what people think that a bass guitar should sound like! A Fender P thru an Ampeg in the right hands is still very cool! However, there are other great sounds out there that are just as good! And there are certainly many basses that are far better to play...

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1372405861' post='2125264'] I wasn't going to get involved in this anymore, but following on from peteb's post, my band played a biker rally earlier this month. I wasn't there to see the bands that played in the afternoon, but of the 5 bands who played the evening session not one was using a Fender bass! I had my Gus with the Reverend as a spare, the other bands sported basses by Gibson, Ibanez and Warwick (2). In fact looking back over the last 2 months of gigs that we've played where we've shared the stage with 15 other bands, only one of them had a Fender style bass, and I think that was a copy. [/quote] Different genre of music, different fashions!

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1372376776' post='2125167'] With respect, I would dispute that... audiences couldn't care less and don't know a Fender from a hole in the ground. In fact, they don't even know (or care) what the difference is between a guitar and a bass guitar. Either they like the band or they don't. That is all. [/quote] With respect, you are wrong, DEPENDING on the audience. Some people here underestimate the level of geekiness of many fans! Many in the blues audience (and the same applies to most rock sub-genres) can certainly recognise a Fender bass, even if they won't understand the difference between a P and a jazz. Same applies to blues band leaders! [quote name='51m0n' timestamp='1372403441' post='2125225'] But band leaders and stylsits and image consultants think they do know best. I didn't get into a band a couple of years ago because o didn't play a Fender! [/quote] Exactly... I may actually get a sunburst P bass at some poin if I can find a reasonably light one at the right price! ! Of course, it will have a Bartolini, new bridge and an active circuit within a month! Not my ideal bass, but if it helps me get better gigs...

Vistaprint are pretty cheap if you use one of their templates, decent quality and quick delivery. However, they will email you daily for ever after...!

FWIW, I recently worked at quite a big blues festival organised by a friend of mine. Inspired by the last ‘Why would anyone play anything else but a Fender’ thread, I did a bit of gearstalking and made a mental note of what basses were being used. Out of 20 bands or so I saw playing on the main stages, 70% were (apparently) US Fenders, 10% were Fender type basses and 20% of bassists used different makes (two playing Warwicks, one Spectre and a Cort, but surprisingly no Stingrays). The guy playing for the biggest act used a Lakland Jazz and the bass player for other main headliner played a Squier Jazz. Of the Fenders, there were 2 or 3 P basses, one old telecaster bass and the rest were jazz basses. Three quarters of the Fender type designs were sunbursts! So what does this tell us, apart from the most popular bass for blues rock bands playing at a national blues festival is a sunburst Fender jazz bass with a rosewood neck and a tort scratchplate? Does it mean that a Fender Jazz is the ‘best bass for blues’? Actually, I think that most people just feel more comfortable seeing people playing ‘traditional’ types of music (not just blues) on a more traditional type of instrument. If you think about it, when grunge was big in the 90s most of the bass players around used more modern (or at least different) basses. Then Britpop came along, retro was in and the price of 70s Fenders went thru the roof! When I play blues gigs I usually take my Fender Jazz, even though it is not my best bass. Band leaders and audiences just seem to like that ‘Fender made in USA’ is written on the headstock. Bear in mind that my Fender J has an active circuit & different pick-ups and doesn’t sound like a typical Fender, so it seems to be more about the image than the tone! When I do rock gigs, I generally take the Warwick…

[quote name='MisterFingers' timestamp='1372196175' post='2122847'] Thanks for that Pete - that's the kind of insight that i need. I spent an hour today in a local shop trying out 5 different Jazzers - 2 Sandberg California Tm's, a Fender US Standard, Deluxe and a Select - just to get some idea of the rival players. How did you find the Jabba's extra 4mm width compared to your Fender Jazz? That's probably my main concern TBH. [/quote] Personally I prefer it to the traditional Fender jazz neck, but then I again I started out on 70s Fender P basses and had been mainly playing Warwicks in the years before I got the two jazz basses. When I bought the Mayones, I did try out a Sandberg and a Clover in the shop but much preferred the Jabba. I also have a Fender Am Std Jazz (also made active and pimped out a bit like the Mayones) that I quite often take out on gigs. The Fender is a decent bass but I would say that the Jabba is put together better, lighter and has a nicer feel….

My main gigging bass is a white passive Jabba that I got from Mark at Bass Direct. Actually, I wanted an active ‘super jazz’ but like you, I couldn’t really afford the £2k plus for a s/h Sadowsky, Lull, Xotic or whatever. I put in a East J Retro Deluxe and then took it to Jon Shuker who fitted Bartolini pick-ups, a Schaller 2000 bridge, a brass nut and a customised thumb rest. Basically, I got the bass I wanted and saved the best part of a grand! The reason I picked the Jabba is because it is a [b]very[/b] well put together bass, far better than my Fender Jazz. The build quality is fantastic and to be honest, it was very good in its original passive state when I first got it (apart from the rather cheap bridge). I just used it as starting point for my own 'custom bass' and it turned out great! If only it had a quarter-sawn neck and that rigidity that, say an Xotic has, then it would be just about perfect…

Now that is a good idea...

[quote name='Chris2112' timestamp='1371751755' post='2117767'] I don't know who Mark E Smith is but he seems to have the measure of Mumford and Sons. What a sh*t band. [/quote] Have you ever seen Mr Smith's band live?? I am guessing that you would probably MUCH prefer the Mumfords...!!

Great piece of kit - I have the deluxe version fitted on one of my jazzes! In active mode the stacked knobs are (from furthest away from the jack and inner knob first): vol/pan, treble/bass, mid/mid sweep. The switches are active/passive and er... never use that switch but apparently it's for getting a 'passive mix of pickups', which if I remember correctly means you can have a volume control for each p/up rather than the stacked vol/pan control...