geilerbass

[quote name='BigBeefChief' post='189621' date='May 1 2008, 11:59 AM']Next time I'm the area, I'm going to go in there and ask them if they realise what the perception of them is. I'm going to be polite, but I'll put them on the spot and ask them why they're so unfriendly. I will report back.[/quote] Oh I'd LOVE to hear how they respond to that. Good work dude!

[quote name='lowhand_mike' post='189520' date='May 1 2008, 10:23 AM']+1 for bass cellar being sh*te! simone was ace and fortunately when i was trying basses and settled on the ibby she was working there, the shop across the road had bass amps that i wanted to try and she happily took the ibby from the cellar over to the other shop (cant remember name) they were obviously connected but those guys in there now would never do something like that, nobs. Strangely enough the guys in the 'other' shop were actually ok if a little uninterested but at least they let you try stuff with out making you feel a nuisance. i work about 5 mins away from there but very rarely go there cos of the sh*tty attitude. i remeber going to denmark street years ago (well before i worked in london) and it was actually a nice place to visit, this was when the bass cellar was in the cellar where the drum place was.[/quote] +1 to all this. Simone (I assume it's the same person I'm thinking of) was actually very friendly and helpful - a complete contrast to the old guy who used to work there (and who, I heard, suddenly dropped dead in the shop one day) so it's a shame she's no longer working there. Similarly, I recall them being far more helpful, waaaay back when it actually was a cellar.

Sorry to hear that - though if it's any consolation, I can think of only a handful of gigs that I've played where I've been able to hear myself even slightly. I played a show in Madrid last week and due to the construction of the stage, every hit of the bass drum and every low note on the bass caused huge reverberations, such that the onstage sound become a wall of muddy low end - I struggled to pick out any clarity in my sound, even after they pumped up the mids and highs of the bass through the monitors. That said, I was told that it sounded great through the PA. If you can take your own amp, then that's always a boon. I actually use a Trace Elliott head and have found my sound to be sooooo much better the few timest that I've got to use it live, rather than borrowing someone elses. The other thing you could maybe do is get hold of a Sansamp, or something similar and DI straight into the PA.

Here we go again with one of my favourite subjects... I'll never cease to be amazed by how much contempt the (B)Ass Cellar seems to show to their potential patrons. Astounding how unrepresentative of the bass playing world that shop is. I've experienced friendliness and enthusiasm in Wunjo, but they don't have a particularly big range of basses and I've never really found anything in there to take my fancy.

The song Mirage, by the band To-Mera

Back from my trip to Spain and glad to report that my bass survived the trip without problems! Hooray! I put it in my new Warwick Rockcase, which, while being heavy turned out to be incredibly robust and kept my little baby safe during the flight. In comparison, one of our guitarist's moulded plastic hard cases had a chunk chipped out of the corner, by the time it arrived in Spain - fortunately no damage to his beloved LTD baritone guitar. I slacked off the strings as suggested and when it came to getting it out of it's case, I got it back in tune without any need for truss rod adjustment. It also seems to have arrived back over here in one piece. Thanks for all your great advice and suggestions!

This is a relatively common question and from my own experience and what I've read from other people, soundwise, pretty much anything goes. Some metal types use Precisions, loads of metal types use Spectors or Warwicks, others go for Ibanez, some Music Man. Metal is such a broad genre, that it totally depends on what sound you're going for. Looks-wise, if you're in a death metal band, you might opt for a B.C Rich to get that truly 'pointy' look. I think B.C. Rich basses look awesome, but have found the spikyness to be a bit of a hinderance playing-wise, but if looks were most important, I'd have to work around it!

My brief request for information has turned into a hardcase discussion - excellent! Thanks for all the great advice and suggestions. Those Pelican cases do look good, though sadly, I can't afford one right now and I'm flying on Wednesday, so wouldn't be able to get it in time, even if I could... As it happens, I was in the Gallery earlier today, buying some strings and enquired on the off-chance that they had anything beyond the usual Hiscox and Bass Safe... as it turned out, they had a used (albeit almost new) Warwick flightcase. I've never come across these before, but it looks pretty damn robust - propper aluminium frame and very solid coated wooden sides. It's also stuffed full of soft foam, so will fit my Ibanez snugly without the need to put additional foam in. Best of all it was £60, which seems very cheap for the quality of the case. Well, it might turn out to be a turkey but, while not in the same league as the Pelican cases, it appears far more robust than the Hiscox cases (if bloody heavy!) so I'm throwing my chips in with this one. It even came with a bag of silica gel, to reduce moisture...

We're flying with Easyjet, so I would think the chances of getting instruments put in the cabin are very slim to none. But I'll give it a shot anyway. coasterbass - your tale of airport security bass discussion made me smile. It's funny when bassists end up meeting each other in the most unlikely of scenarios.

[quote name='The Burpster' post='178824' date='Apr 17 2008, 01:47 PM']Yep... [url="http://www.peliproducts.co.uk/"]http://www.peliproducts.co.uk/[/url] Be sat down tho' thy're f**king expensive! I have few smaller ones for shooting equipment. Tale of caution that a mate of mine (pro photographer) tells of Peli cases. They are more likely to 'go missing' because the handlers know ether is someting of value in them.[/quote] Thanks for that... though right now, they're probably out of my budget Maybe something for the future... An interesting point about them more likely to go missing. Kind of follows the psychology of not locking your case - if it's locked then there's more likely to be something worthwhile inside...

[quote name='johnnylager' post='178735' date='Apr 17 2008, 12:19 PM']There's your answer - gits, keys and their owners in the hold, leaving room for bass on plane. Sorted.[/quote] That's generally the answer to everything!

[quote name='coasterbass' post='178763' date='Apr 17 2008, 12:46 PM']Copy of my post from another thread: I use Pelican cases for serious (ie. plane hold) travel. They are absolutely indestructable, you can cut the internal foam to suit any bass which means nothing moves around inside, they have wheels, and they have pressure valves on the side in case of any in-flight nastiness. The US army use them to transport weapons, and do air-drops with kit inside these!! [url="http://pelican.com/cases_detail.php?Case=1750"]http://pelican.com/cases_detail.php?Case=1750[/url] [url="http://pelican.com/cases_detail.php?Case=1720"]http://pelican.com/cases_detail.php?Case=1720[/url] They crop up on ebay quite a bit, and at least you know they'll arrive safely if you buy internationally!![/quote] I was looking at these before - is there anywhere else you can get them apart from ebay? They look perfect, but I'm I'd rather get them direct from a supplier rather than using ebay.

Thanks for all the replies - that's really useful! I have a Hiscox flight case, which I'm going to stuff with foam and will try the silica gel thing. Hopefully that should be sufficient protection. I was reading another thread on here and it sounded as though the general consensus was not to lock the case. Probably a good idea since Hiscoxs have their own key locking mechanism and if they did decide they need to look inside, they'll end up busting the case to get in. Unfortunately, i don't think we'd have the option of putting anything in the cabin since in addition to my two basses there will be 2 guitars and 2 keyboards. I doubt there'd be enough cabin room for all that. The aclimatising thing is a good suggestion and since we arrive on Wednesday night, yet won't be playing till the following night, it should have ample to time to aclimatise before the gig. Got to remember to pack those allen keys though. Now you mention it, -30 does sound ridiculous.

This might sound like a paranoid question, but I am flying to Spain next week for a 4 date tour and called up my insurance people to check that my policy would cover that. One thing the guy pointed out was that if my bass was flying in the hold, it would be subject to very low temperatures (-30 C?) and this can adversely affect some instruments. I was wondering if anyone has had any experience of this, or whether it's just a myth? The only things I can think of are the neck tension being adjusted or perhaps some finishes being affected, though that's just speculation. Obviously there's the risk of baggage handlers mistreating the bass if they do a security check, though there's little I can do about that. Thanks in advance for any advice.

It's all a matter of personal preference. I used Rotos for a bit, but wasn't really that taken by them. They always seemed to sound a bit lifeless and never seemed to be of particularly great quality (maybe I got a duff batch?). I switched over to Elites, finding them to be better both in terms of value and sound. Recently though, I've found La Bella Slappers to be far superior to Elites and Rotosounds that I've tried. And they're pretty damn cheap! My new Ibanez has Elixirs on and, while the La Bellas aren't quite there, they're not that far off. And cost about half the price. I'm sure many people will disagree, but that's been my personal experience with strings. With regards to the gauge question, it will be noticeable on the strings that are different, but won't be excessive. The important thing is that your low B is the same. I've found lighter gauge strings to be better for funkier stuff and slapping, while heavier gauge cuts through better when playing heavier stuff with loud guitars.

Most early Chili Peppers songs are predominantly bass driven. (e.g. Get Up and Jump, Jungle Man, Fight Like a Brave, Backwoods, Nobody Weird Like Me etc, etc).

[quote name='dood' post='173468' date='Apr 9 2008, 09:56 PM']Puffy is soooo damnnnn cooool![/quote] They were all soooo damnnn cooool!!!! That right there is the band that got me into music. What an underrated bass player Bill Gould is/was.

[quote name='gafbass02' post='172978' date='Apr 9 2008, 11:44 AM']ive got a lovely honey vioin model too, bought from a zero feedback seller in great nick on ebay for £400 superb set up and really, really lightweight with a very skinny neck. My fave streamer so far including my pretty old stage 1 i sold. I remember the red streamer well from bassist, infact apart from missing two issues (the one with Flea on the cover and the one with Mani on the cover if anyone has em?) I still have the lot and read them pretty much daily along with the new mag, they are dotted all over the house much to the wifes annoyance! I was reading that particular review in the bath just this week![/quote] I really miss Bassist... I was a subscriber from issue 1 to the bitter end. Still got all the issues, though they're sitting in a neat pile in my old bedroom back at my parent's place. I've even still got the free humbucker that came as a subscription renewal incentive. Great days... Is there a Bassist nostalgia thread on here?

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='171995' date='Apr 8 2008, 07:39 AM']Sorry OTPJ the LX range were the BO model below the Streamer, the price you have is probably for a NT Streamer. The LX had an initial RRP of £1250 but realistically were retailing @ £999. Below is a summary from a Bassist mag review of 98 but I'm fairly sure they were out the year before that. You should have the serial number on the back of the headstock the last 2 digits are the year. [/quote] That review brings back some memories of the good ole' days of Bassist Magazine... In fact, I think that I might own that exact review model... the reason being that I think Gibson Keddie did that review and frequently appeared in a photo on the contents page of the magazine with a burgundy red LX, the same as the review model. Implying that it was either his own bass, or maybe a freebie from Warwick. I bought my LX (identical to those specs, with a '97 serial number) from the Gallery back in 2001 and Martin said it belonged to Gibson Keddie who was getting rid of some of his old basses. Kind of a famous bass...

[quote name='SJA' post='171463' date='Apr 7 2008, 02:26 PM']Private investigations, you mean (is it off Communique?)[/quote] Oh dear... it's been awhile since I put some Straits on. Thanks for pointing that out...

Midlife Crisis by Faith No More? Pretty much 8th note open E all the way. And then there's Private Communications by Dire Straits - pretty much the same thing.