Doddy

2 hours ago, Aidan63 said:

Probably because unless you have a true bypass bass the existing pots and tone controls already colour the output -  does a Sadowsky pedal make your Fenderesque Jazz bass really sound like a Sadowsky ? just thinking, I've never tried the Sadowsky pedal, but I have the Alien one and whilst it's a useful boost it is a bit too subtle and doesn't do anything to my ear that the zoom B3 couldn't do and the B3 can do so much more

But even an onboard preamp will be coloured by what pickups are in the bass (as well as the wood, if you're in to all that). I always use the Sadowsky preamp with my passive Fenders. Does ot make them sound like a Sadowsky? Probably not, but I think it makes them sound 'better'.

Maybe the reason they don't make outboard preamps is simply because they want to keep them for their instruments- If you want a Status preamp, you have to buy a Status.

John East used to make a pedal preamp- the STMP-01.  Maybe it wasn't a big seller?

1 hour ago, stewblack said:

I did say we all choose what we mean by the word professional. 

You did, but I still take issue with being classed as unprofessional for not carrying a spare amp (not by you obviously). 

If people want to carry a spare amp, that's cool. I have no issue with that. But it in no way reflects on the professionalism of someone who doesn't, as long as they are still prepared to deal with potential issues.

1 hour ago, Cuzzie said:

If your amp goes down and amp to cab easily your only means of amplification, no PA - then what?

Most bands are going to have at least a small PA for the vocals, so if need be you can go through that. It's not ideal, but it will get you through the gig.  

2 hours ago, stewblack said:

It's a matter choice that's all. If I feel that I'm unprofessional by being unprepared for something going wrong it doesn't mean that anyone else is. 

We all choose our definition of professional. 

You may have been fine so far, you may be fine for ever after. But if something goes wrong and stops the whole show while you fiddle around trying to find what's wrong, rather than grabbing a spare, my bet is that will be the last time you travel with no back up. 

My take is, its not about me, it's about the people or person paying me. 

I agree that it's about the people hiring you, as well as your own reputation, and you need to be prepared. I'll never argue that. What I will argue is that not carrying a spare everything is unprofessional. Not all gigs allow you the luxury of taking backups for all your gear.

Things go wrong, but it's how you handle it that makes the difference. If you run a DI in your signal chain, then if the amp goes down you'll still have a signal out front, so you can carry on (all be it unideally). If a pedal goes down, a quick bypass of your board will sort it in seconds. If a string snaps, you might not have chance to stop and pick up another bass if you're in the middle of a 30 minute medley or something, so you need to carry on and rethink your playing.

What is unprofessional is these things happening and then you panic and stop playing while you are fannying about to fix them.

I've got the old, brown Boss GE-7B, and I wouldn't say it was noisy. It's a good pedal.

For a different option, I think that the preamp section in the Fender Downtown Express is really nice. It's designed by Alex Aguilar, so you'd expect it to be decent. You should be able to pick one up used for around £100.

3 hours ago, fretmeister said:

If I’m getting paid then I take a spare head, And a spare bass, and I’ve always got a di  available.

Anything else isn’t professional.

 

I guess I'm not professional then as I never take a spare amp and, depending on the gig, I don't always have a spare bass.

16 minutes ago, PaulWarning said:

yes, I think he's singing it at 140, not sure its possible to sing at 280 ,  the bass is 280 though, being a pick player I can just about manage it on a good night

The bass isn't played at twice the bpm, it's just subdividing in to semiquavers.

I put usually put an EQ first in the chain because I want it to affect my clean sound before it hits any other effects. If you put it at the end you can use it to EQ the effects. Some fuzz pedals lose low end, so you can use the EQ to add in some bass after if you want.

Like I always say, with pedal order you need to move them around and see how their position in the chain affects the other pedals.

1 hour ago, pineweasel said:

It seems that none of the tone controls will work unless you put batteries in, although I find that a little surprising. The active basses I’ve owned have always had some sort of passive tone control. 

It's not that unusual. I've got 5 active basses that don't have any passive options.

3 hours ago, TJ1 said:

Yes sorry I should have clarified - that is fingers and crotchets.

So if you can comfortably play semiquavers at an average tempo of, say, 120 bpm are you counting that as being crotchets at 480 bpm?

Half the time I don't even take a spare bass, so I'm not going to carry a spare amp. I've always got a couple of DI boxes with me though.

1 hour ago, NancyJohnson said:

This is my point.  Because of the units shortcomings, an octave pedal will force you into playing stuff in (an unnatural?) higher register and/or having you switch it off when you hit a lower register.

But most of the players who use an octaver are going to be playing pretty much everything in the middle to higher range of the instrument.  It's not like you're going to play a line and kick the pedal on or off for one or two notes. 

1 hour ago, NancyJohnson said:

Not a fan of octave pedals, I owned an EBS unit a while back and while it was OK with higher notes, but once you dug into the E string it was quite underwhelming; problematic tracking and you'd get this odd double note thing.  If you can live with this then fine, otherwise you'll be spending more time concentrating on when it needs to be on and off.

You can't just stick an octave pedal on and expect it to just play everything an octave lower. They don't work like that, especially on bass. 

Most analogue octavers, like the OC2 or EBS, will start to glitch around a low A. Apparently the MXR will get a bit lower, as will digital pedals like the Sub n Up and the POG (although I prefer the sound of analogue octavers). When playing up the neck I've never had any issues with tracking.

It's like any pedal, they work best if you learn their idiosyncrasies and how they react to your playing and other effects.

I've been using the Earthquaker Devices Plumes a lot to get some drive. It's based on a Tubescreamer, but I think it's way better. They are only about £99 new.

With your set up I'd probably go  Tuner>Octave>Filter>Synth>Whammy>Overdrive>Fuzz>Wah>Chorus>Delay. If you are using the Alpha Omega as a DI I'd put it last, but I'd move it nearer the front if it's being used as just a preamp. The compressor could either go first after the tuner or last before the DI, depending whether you want to balance your signal before hitting the effects or use it as a limiter to stop any spikes from using multiple effects at once.

I only suggest that order because I've found that after playing around with a lot of pedals on a lot of gigs, that would give me the sound that I want. Really it's about what works for you. Move them around and see how the pedals react to each other. You can get some really different sounds just by swapping the order of a couple of pedals.

I use octave pedals all the time, but I wouldn't recommend one for what you want. Octave pedals generally work best if you want it to double a higher octave part (think Guy Pratt on Earth Song, or Pino on I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down), or to get a synth style sub sound, like John Davis or Tim Lefebvre. They won't just make your bass sound a nice clean octave lower without changing your tone.

If you are going to be playing a lot of songs that need those lower notes, then you're going to be better off looking at a 5 string. If you only need the odd low Eb or D, then a Hipshot Xtender Key will do everything you want.

You should still get an octave pedal though. They're awesome.

1 hour ago, BigRedX said:

But the bass is all but useless without the rest of the band.

 

I don't think it is at all. There's nothing stopping anyone playing solo melodies and chords on the bass.

As far as 'new' music based comedians go, I really like Boothby Graffoe. He's funny, and I think his songs are really strong. My favourite though was Victor Borge- He was brilliant.

If you look back at a lot of the older comedians (most of who aren't here anymore), there was a tradition of incorporating songs in their act. Most of them sung a couple of numbers, and there were a lot who even released singles or albums at some point.

I've played the bass role on electric, upright, and synth. I've done a few gigs and sessions (and a lot of teaching) on guitar, and I've done a few gigs on drums and/or percussion. Oh, and I once recorded a track on banjo.

5

2 hours ago, Sweeneythebass said:

I’d say if you don’t get a response via email give them a call and chase it up. 

This. 

I think emailing is fine of you're dealing with Thomann or somewhere, but for a UK based shop I think it's far better to actually speak to someone before making a big purchase.

1 hour ago, Lfalex v1.1 said:

According to the "next" video that appeared,  Les Claypool auditioned for Metallica.

That must've been something, not that they'd make a particularly good fit for each other. He'd leave Lars for dead if he got over-excited.

 

Robert Trujillo could also leave Lars in his dust if he wanted too.

You never know- Les Claypool might have got the gig and done the job fine, if he hadn't have asked them to jam on some Isley Brothers tunes.

I'm surprised at the number of people who haven't played in a year. I was wondering if the idea of being in a band and hanging out with mates (and collecting gear) is more of the driving force than actually playing the instrument?  It's cool if it is, but I just find it surprising when there is so much to learn and play on the bass.

I don't always sit down and spend hours playing every day (it's difficult with a 3 year old running around), but I try to pick the bass up for at least a few minutes a day to keep my hands working. There might not be any work about, but my motivation is to not be sh!t when they start up again.

15 hours ago, LukeFRC said:

One of the things I have kinda picked up on forums down the years is that it seems 5 string basses are harder to find amazing ones, whereas a 4 string more ppl are satisfied with a cheap Harley Benton or sue Ryder or equivalent. Have you found that? 
and with your four stringers - which is the ‘one‘?

I think that's more about cheaper 5 strings often having poor B strings and cheap active electronics, whereas a lot of cheap 4 strings are simple P or J style. Thankfully, brands like Sire are changing that. 

17 hours ago, mikel said:

 The reason all those famous P  bass players sound different could easily be down to the strings and action they prefer, pickups, the amp and speakers they use, how they boost or cut the tone and the processing involved.

It all adds up, but the biggest reason that they all sound different is because because they are different people with their own technique.

I don't know if you've heard the SMV album? There is a track on there where Marcus and Stanley swap basses, and they still sound like themselves.

1 hour ago, ezbass said:

Finally, I have a question, albeit largely rhetorical - is there a ‘the one’ bass for everyone? I suspect not and the for sale section on this hallowed forum alone supports that suspicion. There is a ‘the one’ bass for some players certainly and they fit into a couple of types (I’m sure there are other groups, however). First, those who learnt to play back when choice was very limited, found something that worked and that bass is now like a pair of comfortable (insert clothing simile of your choosing) and change would be anathema to their being. Then there are those lucky folk have found a level and style of playing that they’re completely happy with and have a bass that suits that. They’ll occasionally dabble with new techniques and try something new gear-wise, but they’ll come back to old faithful quite quickly (NB of course some ‘fall off the wagon’ and are down the gear rabbit hole with the rest of us). Others are still finding their way as players and their gear requirements change with that evolution (I count myself in this group and I don’t think there is a ‘the one’ for me, probably more a ‘the four’ and I’m homing in on the last of that quiver). Finally, there are the bass junkies, beloved by the musical instrument industry. There isn’t a ‘the one’ for them and they’ll try anything and everything, new, old, weird, you name it. Vive la difference!

For me, the concept of 'the one' isn't about having one instrument that will do everything. It's about the bass that you know so well that it feels so natural to play.

I mostly play 5 strings now, but I always say that 'my' bass is my mid 90s MiJ Fender Jazz that I've had since new. It's not my best bass but I've done so many gigs with it and changed so many things on it, that I know all it's quirks, and to me it's irreplaceable.

1 hour ago, mikel said:

So you could argue if they all play the same instrument, but they all sound different, then its not about the instrument. Its more likely about the amplification, the acoustics and the processing, not "the one". Just a thought.

It's ultimately about the whole thing, but the most important part is always going to be the player.