PaulKing

Tips to soundmen: A lot of upright bass tone is in the midrange. It is not a dub sub bass instrument. You need mids and highs to be heard. Getting heard through the mix is not just a case of boosting volume and low frequencies. That way feedback lies. So yes, roll off the extreme lows, allow the mids and mid-highs to breathe to make it stand out in the mix. At sound check you actually want it to sound slightly more unpleasantly mid-rangey than you think.. but then it cuts through the mix and allows you to pick out the low end better.

+ 1 on the Fishman Pro Eq bass. It's designed to do the job, specifically for upright bass, no tone colouration, and it is not too expensive. The EQ is a bit limited compared to expensive alternatives, but it's perfectly adequate. Phase reverse and Hi Pass filter (Depth control) make feedback control a cinch. Ground lift and pre-post DI out make sure you send the soundman best signal possible. Useful little compressor too. If you're after a good quality DI/preamp box for upright bass with piezo pick up, that allows you enough control to help out or even override the sound man, this little thing does it all for you. I too never gig without it, whether I'm going into backline or straight to PA.

[quote name='slobluesine' post='907920' date='Jul 28 2010, 10:19 AM']here go Chris.... [attachment=55195:lowdowndog.mp3] EUB or Upright?[/quote] Nice JC. Jumpin.

[quote name='slobluesine' post='901854' date='Jul 22 2010, 01:25 PM']oh yeah, poster of Walbassists's Avatar too , plz tell me that's not your missus or girlfriend Wal, if it's you can i have your tel no plz, she's hornier than my Kay[/quote] Haven't seen Walbassist avatar, but maybe his profile will get a few hits today. I do keep lusting after a cherry burst K162.... no idea why. I've NEVER played an e-bass live. Or with a band. Just in private. With the doors closed. And curtains drawn. and NO frets. Makes me feel dirty.

[quote name='PaulKing' post='895951' date='Jul 15 2010, 08:33 PM']noodle noodle whacko jaco [/quote] A quick derail, by way of bumping your ad John. Jaco doesn't really move me much, even if he is technically brilliant. See, he's wearing a headband. Understand? But to show I'm not a complete prog-jazz heathen, I do find Squarepusher fascinating, amazing and much more pleasant to listen to. He's about as close to Jaco as anyone's ever got. With added snare-rush. COOOL. Check the Ultravisitor album, loads of Pasto-style solo doodling there.

[quote name='slobluesine' post='895782' date='Jul 15 2010, 04:58 PM']whooooah!!! lightweight hey.... i'll lend you a Fender and a few Jaco tabs here go... a little lightweight hippy one to be gettin on with.... [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I63bOi477cA&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I63bOi477cA...feature=related[/url] featherweight one... [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwJJ4oK79Wg&NR=1"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwJJ4oK79Wg&NR=1[/url] [/quote] noodle noodle whacko jaco

[quote name='slobluesine' post='895473' date='Jul 15 2010, 11:39 AM']oh alright then... £2500 [/quote] Crikey, dump the bass, dump the avatar ... get all hippy on our asses... welcome back to the LIGHTWEIGHT side!

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='889118' date='Jul 7 2010, 11:26 PM']So it's not wedged in the treble-side bridge wing, but somewhere else?[/quote] (EDIT - oops, missed bilbos reply before posting this...) Certainly looks like it's in the treble side. That's not uncommon, I've finally switched mine over to the treble side too. Depends on your bass of course, but tends to give a more defined sound, emphasizes mids and finger noise more. If your bass tends to sound boomy with the piezo on the bass side, try it on the other side. It's a shame bassmax seems to be so sensitive to fit. Underwood just slots in and sounds good. Bassmax should be fairly tight, so that if you wiggle the cable it doesn't move, and you feel like the cable will strain if you try to pull it out, but if you hold the actual bug it will wiggle out without too much resistance. Use sax reeds, credit cards, guitar pics whatever to pack it out if necessary. Sometimes twisting the bug round so that it's at an angle, even half in and half out of the slot, can improve the sound ... seems you need to find the narrowest bit of the slot and get that centred on the bug (assuming your slot ain't perfectly parallel... which is likely). And of course your pre-amp makes a difference. Are you using one? Mine sounds much better through an LR Baggs preamp than the K+K preamp. Sorry.. derail Nice bass! Nice playing! I'm sure Evahs will give it some extra warmth and sex...

[quote name='fabbabass' post='886304' date='Jul 5 2010, 02:23 PM']Hey everybody - I have a Slap King in Midnight Burst with the deluxe tailpiece. I also managed to get a Dolls Head pick-up before the company went down, (massive thanks to Jason for this); but I need to know how they fix the jack socket behind the tailpiece. Can anybody help please? Thank you.[/quote] Are you signed up over at doublebasschat.com? Laods of King owners there who will help you out. Or I can ask for you...

Yes Martin Bailey is a big name, reputation for quality instruments really? Also Steve Laws, just down the road from Martin ... google Oakdene Music Services. Great guy, great skills, great rates, not too snobby to get something out of any bass for any kind of music. Also, Peter Tyler near Maidenhead (M4). Lovely bloke, works from home, works on all basses from £100 CCBs to 200k classics. Google him too, Peter Tyler basses. These two both understand why a cheap plywood bass is worth trying to get some decent sound out of for someone who can't afford 50k and doesn't want to play like Dragonetti.

[quote name='slobluesine' post='884674' date='Jul 3 2010, 11:14 AM']bump[/quote] cheeky pm your way jc! Despite having to get up at 7 to look after 2 babies all day ... I bloody loved playing Aint Nothing But the Booze bar with the Contenders. Stormin night... Bass on my back, no amp to carry, walk a couple hundred yards, easy! I guess the novelty of the 3am bedtime does wear off after while, but I'll be back there like a sucker. No-one fekked with my bass... Tequila seems to make people like anything you play, don't it? Don't think they've seen someone lying on the floor with the bass in the air very often either...

[quote name='bob_pickard' post='877057' date='Jun 25 2010, 06:08 AM']They have a new site - [url="http://www.slap-strings.de/shop/catalog/"]http://www.slap-strings.de/shop/catalog/[/url] and have Kays and Engelhardts in stock - swingmasters are about £1400[/quote] Haha, i just came here to post the same thing .. that's what I was looking for in the first place, lost th link. it's Thomas Schmuckers list: [url="http://www.slap-strings.de/shop/catalog/index.php?cPath=29_35"]Vintage basses[/url]

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140417953881&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT"]Visit My Website[/url] 4hrs left....

[quote name='fatback' post='875428' date='Jun 23 2010, 02:04 PM']Thanks Paul Looks like I've got my spec at last: All ply, European. Adjustable bridge (matching the thread of Full Circle Pickups). Ebony board Possible replacement tail wire Strings: Innovation silverslaps Thomann 1E (Strunal) seems to fit the bill: '3/4 scale laminated bass with swelled back and ebony fingerboard, single machine heads and adjustable peg, adjustable bridge. Colour: Golden Reddish Brown. €984 inc VAT' I don't see a gear4music all-ply bass on their site. So, I'll be looking out for an aged ply bass, but if that fails, the Thomann looks like the deal. Thanks to all for the info. very much appreciated.[/quote] There is a beautiful old Selmer on ebay right now, going at £600 at the moment. That is a CLASS bass, worth a grand at least. Buy it if you can!

[quote name='bob_pickard' post='870014' date='Jun 17 2010, 04:40 PM']another "oh I really want a nice rock and roll bass" question I'm afraid Does anyone know if Rockability in Langen in Germany are still trading and selling basses?[/quote] Yeah, www.rockability.de, Markus Potts the owner. Website doesn't seem to list basses like it used to, instead links to kontrabasse-studio.de Not cheap, his basses... even if they are very cool.

All in all, I've found adjusters a useful concession. I suppose I'd rather they weren't there really, but when you swap strings or try a different style of play (eg slap) you do want to be able to tweak string height. So for a newbie setting out on the journey, or a perennial tweaker with bad GAS like me, adjusters pay off time and again. They can cause problems ... go too high and your bridge becomes unstable. They can increase feedback. But these shouldn't really be an issue if handled properly. I've had no issues with adjusters, ever. Jennifer is right I'm sure ... though i suspect the effects she's talking about really affect a carved bass with steel strings most.

[quote name='fatback' post='874451' date='Jun 22 2010, 02:43 PM']Thanks for the link. Didn't know about that site [/quote] rockabillybass.com had a sex change. It now prefers to be known as doublebasschat.com Do not fret about the carved vs hybrid vs plywood thing. Yes, a carved top or all-carved will sound better, probably. But only in a way that a classical or pro jazzer would care about. For your needs, there is NOTHING wrong with a good plywood. It is not a compromise, but a sensible practical choice. In fact a good plywood (old better than new ... but something like a Strunal 50/1 as sold at Thomann would do fine) will sound and perform better than a cheap hybrid, made with green wood that'll split. Even with a carved bass, in the UK, humidity and heat isn't really as much an issue as it is in Texas / Alaska etc. That's where basses split in the winter... A good ply bass can take all manner of treatment and still sound amazing, inside, outsiode, bowed, plucked or slapped. Good ply bass is exactly what all roots, bluegrass, country, blues, rockabilly is and was played on, by all the greats. Bill Black, Willie Dixon ... all plywood basses (eg Kay, King Mortone). There are good ply basses being made today, Strunal, Englehardt ... under a grand, delivered to your door. The strings mentioned (Innovation Silverslaps) will do perfectly well for jazz. Unless you have learned on bright steel strings and want that modern jazz / pop sound, like plenty of old jazzers you'll love the gut-like low tension, plummy fundamental sound. Ply ply ply. Antoni is not the only name to avoid.... anything with an Italian sounding name under a grand is likely (but not guaranteed) to be a bit flimsy. Strunal, from Thomann. Good basses. I thin they call them 'Thomann 2' or something.