Musky

Mike Watt's bass. Although I can't see gibson ever doing one!

If they're all 8 ohm cabs you'll be OK running them together. 3 8 ohm cabs in parallel = 2.67 ohms.

Good price for a semi. As you say, budget priced ones are thin on the ground. Personally I'd preferred to have seen a symmetrical headstock on this, as the present one looks a bit too modern for the style of bass. Given the brand name I assume it's Gear4Music's own?

[quote name='SlapbassSteve' timestamp='1388442292' post='2322135'] Has anyone bought anything from this site? Or Tradetang, I remember that being similar. Some very convincing R copies on there, and given the choice between a massive Chinese wholesaler and John Hall I know who I'd rather have my hard-earned money... [/quote] It's worth bearing in mind that some of the sellers use pictures of the genuine article. What you'll receive is very unlikely to be the same thing.

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1388425935' post='2321867'] Hmmm, dunno. I looked at a Markbass amp from Thomann as it was a good deal, but it would have been European power spec. Thomann said it would be fine, both Markbass and MSL Professional who do the Markbass stuff in the UK said it wouldn`t be, and to only get one made for this countries power supply. I`d check directly with the manufacturer, if they say yes, then go for it. [/quote] Bizarre thing to say given that EU voltages have been harmonised, and it's a legal requirement that all equipment must work within 230V +/- 10%.

[quote name='hoiho' timestamp='1388243899' post='2319880'] Okay, I've put my Cardinal under the vernier gauge, and the results are in: [indent=1]Width at nut: 43mm. But it's only about 20mm thick. It's a shallow C-shape, obviously[/indent] [indent=1]Width at 12th: 52mm, and about 25mm thick.[/indent] That compares with 38mm, at the nut on my Epi EB-3, and 40mm on my Aria RSB. I'm somewhat surprised by them. My slight preference is for a slim jazz-type neck. I've never felt the Cardinal to be as wide as my P-bass (but maybe because that's fretless?). I can only assume that the small thickness of the neck (the EB-3 is thicker than the Cardinal), the close string spacing at the nut, and the lack of string spread, is misleading me; it certainly[i] feels[/i] slimmer than it apparently is! As for weight, unfortunately my luggage scales have a dead battery! It feels about the same weight as my RSB, if that's any guide. Not a lightweight, but not a shoulder-breaker either. I'll try and get a real figure! Okay, on the missus's people-scales it comes in at about 3.9kg/8.5lbs. That's probably a wee bit more than stock, as I've got an EMG soapbar in there at the moment, rather than the original (which I keep meaning to get off to Aaron Armstrong for a rewind). [/quote] Same neck dimensions as my 300, which weighs in at 3.67kg/8.09lbs. My 380 is out on loan at the moment but feels exactly the same. I have to agree about the neck - I actually thought it was slimmer than a typical Precision.

[quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1388338496' post='2320951'] Couple thoughts here: * I did a similar though less rigorous analysis a few years ago which showed a similar middle-aged bulge. For the life of me , I can't remember how I did it but I think I may have based it on a thread in GD. Anyway, here it is: And here's the recent BC Survey: Surprisingly similar and suggests that this higher index of Old Bobs is something that's been around for a while. * The other thought is that OT might be unrepresentatively older than the rest of the forum. I'd imagine that gear, GD and technique might have a younger profile. [/quote] Alexa used to provide age details for the users of websites, and it tied in closely with both your's and the survey's results. TB had a much younger demographic if I remember correctly, so I'd imagine that's where many of the younger players are visiting if they're inclined to use a bass forum. FWIW I didn't know about the survey either.

[quote name='Meddle' timestamp='1387922650' post='2317339'] Errrr, not really. The SMT stuff you leave well alone, the tonal-shaping stuff uses full-sized through-hole components. I don't know who Humphrey Audio is, but I imagine that they subscribe to the Keeley school of making $10 worth of mods and charging $60 for the privilege. The mods most often posted are; C22, replace cap with a 1uF version. Anything above 1uF will let too much bass into the circuit that will distort on the lowest gain settings. Good for Jack Bruce tones. C5. Change this for something. Most people claim this is the 'mids' cap, but it isn't. I think it dictates levels of treble cut across the treble control. I've stuck a 1nF cap in there (0.001uF) and as a result I've got a lot more treble out the circuit. C?, Right, this is off the map. The cap directly above C5, and equally tricky to get to, has some influence on the mids in the pedal. I increased it by maybe 47nF. I did this a while ago. Play around making the cap bigger and smaller here. This mod isn't on any of the usual sites (the Ultimate Guitar blog post everybody links to, for example), but it does work. The PCB is burned up on my BM from the volley of mods I've done to it. I would love to get another just to see how different mine is. I always have a suspicion that there is a degree of clean signal passed in the BM circuit. [/quote] Oh, right you are! It might have helped if I'd actually looked at the pictures in the link I posted, where the guy actually points to the relevant components. I just had it in mind from when I was looking a couple of years back that the BM was entirely SMT.

[quote name='danbowskill' timestamp='1387915019' post='2317240'] I had the Humphrey mod BM..... n to be honest I liked the original better when I had em :-) [/quote] I'd assume the Badder Monkey has modded the mids. The SFX has the option of stock, flatter or scooped mids with a three way switch, so might be a better option if anyone isn't sure. Or just do the mods themselves.

[quote name='njr911' timestamp='1387883107' post='2316745'] I've had a Bad Monkey for a while, can you give me a clue how to mod it ? I've just been using it as is. [/quote] http://theuglyguitartruth.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/bad-monkey-mod.html The board uses surface mount components which makes things little trickier, even if you're used to soldering. I just bought the SFX version (Humphrey Audio does a modded version as well).

Something with plenty of cone area. 4x12 or 2x15 should do the trick.

[quote name='danny-79' timestamp='1387566619' post='2313534'] Gone for the Harley Benton, was impressed with it out of the box, looked/works better than I thought, I just use it for 9v effects, there is 2x 12 outlets (haven't a clue with id ever use the 12AC for?) and the 12DV is rated at 500ma max, my only 12v pedal is the markbass compressore and that in the manual says it needs minimum of 700ma so use the adapter it came with, but of a shame as it would of been nice to run everything off the same brick. What likely sideffects would I get if I did run it on a lower load (500ma rather than 700ma) ? [/quote] You'd likely blow the power supply unless it has output protection, in which case the protection would trip.

Quite honestly I'd just use a bog standard 4x12. I've used Marshall, Hiwatt and Sound City examples and never yet blown a speaker, although it does depend on how much bass you're expecting. I've noticed that the Alpha 12 has a recommended volume of 17 - 22.7 liters for sealed cabs, but even a guitar 412 would have a volume about 50% over this. Anyone know what the effects of this would be?

[quote name='project_c' timestamp='1387395335' post='2311574'] Thanks Matt, great suggestions, it just all seems like such a massive effort for powering one tiny pedal.. is the squeaky 18V PSU a known issue that everyone's been aware of all this time? I thought I just had a just a dud, but it seems like this is something a lot of them do, which makes me wonder how they're ever used in a studio.. [/quote] I seem to remember Dave Hall commenting that switch mode supplies could make a high frequency noise if they were powered up before plugging into a pedal, although as I remember it he was talking about electrical noise rather than mechanical. Edit: Finally found the post I was talking about. http://basschat.co.uk/topic/7552-feedback-issues-on-vt-1-purist/page__p__80353#entry80353

The Acme Low B series does pretty much what you're describing, but even the B1 isn't really that small - certainly not micro head size. Although it's just occurred to me that small, low efficiency and hi-fi also perfectly describes... Hi-Fi speakers.

In terms of preamps like the Sansamp BDDI what you're buying is a DI with tone shaping capabilities. The BDDI is intended to recreate the sound of an SVT, complete with drive, so if that's your thing yes it would assist your tone. But seeing as how you've done without one (and presumably the SVT) so far you probably don't need it. Most clubs I've played tend to DI the bass and prefer using their own boxes rather than any DI built into the amp, so I'm surprised you haven't come across this. In such circumstances it can be handy to have some control over your FoH sound, but your still left with trying to persuade the engineer to use your kit rather than his own. And DI-ing to the PA is about volume rather than tone.

[quote name='John Schoen' timestamp='1387130151' post='2308483'] I am not a fan of the clubs onTalkbass. Fine if it fits in with your herding instinct, but in general those threads become so long that it is next to impossible to find the information that you need in them. I rather have it in bite-sized chunks as it is over here. [/quote] This exactly. I pop over to TB occasionally and have never felt inclined to even open a thread running to 50 pages and in it's 5th incarnation, even if it's a subject of interest (i.e. I own the bass in question). And I really don't understand the need to be numbered as a part of the 'club'. So I'm firmly with Groucho on this one. I would have thought if a thread has legs it'll run anyway, but if the OP wants to do something along these lines, feel free.

No one mentioned the BDI-21 yet? Probably best left as an 'always on' pedal but worth it for the DI capabilities alone and cheap as chips. I'd also agree with the comments on the Boss, but it seems to be a bit of a marmite pedal that others love. That's the problem with trying to buy OD pedals - everyone has their own idea of the sound they're after and chasing that sound can end up being an expensive business. FWIW the Chord BOD is an ODB3 clone as well.

[quote name='Dave_the_bass' timestamp='1386962008' post='2306976'] Has this changed recently? Last time I sold something on here, pre-fees (not that I object to the fees, just that I've had nothing to sell), you could link to your eBay auction if your item had been for sale for a "reasonable" amount of time. Edited for typos! [/quote] Like Warwickhunt, that's what I thought as well. There have been plenty of for sale items that have later included a link when they've failed to shift on on here, and a quick search reveals a post by Kiwi where he thought that the 'for sale' section was the best place for links to your own auction (though that was pre the fees).

[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1387020802' post='2307459'] There's some old threads being dragged up today. [/quote] Yep. Curious that the thread wasn't deleted, or at least edited, given it's content.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1387019320' post='2307437'] Yes, similar tuners were being used from the mid 60s. A registered trade mark symbol was added above the Fender logo in the early 70s and was the primary gear used on all basses until 1977. Then Fender started using Schallers up until around 1982. In fact the Nate tuners look a lot like the Schallers... [/quote] Spot on, although the Schallers were introduced in '76. The older nickel plated ones still turned up on Precisions as late as '78 though.

[quote name='paul h' timestamp='1386765837' post='2304166'] Well I Just voted....again [/quote] Me too! It's standing at 747 currently...

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1386889491' post='2306216'] Only real difference as I see it is if with each speaker connected to the amp itself, one lead goes kaput, the other speaker carries on, but if they`re daisy chained and the lead from amp to speaker goes, you get no sound. [/quote] Although if you're using a valve amp I'd prefer to get no sound rather than carry on with a the higher impedance of a single cab. The amp's output transformer isn't going to like that one bit.

[quote name='Iheartreverb' timestamp='1386516182' post='2300904'] But is it THAT extreme? It's a standard function on some brands and only notch up on one slider of an EQ? I really appreciate your input, this is exactly why I posted it here. I'm struggling to get my heard around firstly why it is seemed to be that extreme when so many players have a EQ pedal and secondly why everything minis this function seems harsh and horrible. [/quote] It's extreme because that 8dB represents an increase of over six times the power at 50hz. That can be a real threat to your speaker(s) if you start pushing up the volume. The fact that EQ shaping offering greater levels of boost is available on most amps doesn't mean it can be used with impunity - after all most rooms are equipped with plug sockets, but they need to be treated with a degree of respect as well. I'd imagine that as this is a practice amp it's being used at relatively low volume and most likely isn't capable of producing much in the way of low bass. Using the deep switch is a way of compensating for this, and if the volume is kept corresponding low things stay within the speakers limitations. You don't say what amp you're using for rehearsals with the band, but if it's sounding harsh you should probably looking to tame the upper mids and treble. It's the overall balance of frequencies you want to adjust, rather than boosting particular frequencies. Don't be afraid of cutting to get the sound you want. Boosting the low mids can do wonders for beefing up your sound as well. Alternatively the harshness could be the speakers complaining if you're giving them massive amounts of boost at low frequencies...