solo4652

I just knew I'd end up with egg on my face with this. I'd misunderstood what the BDI in particular, and DI boxes in general are for. It will come as no surprise to anybody (apart from me, obviously) that the BDI won't drive a speaker without going through some sort of power amp. I've just tried it at home. Back to my original concern for disaster recovery options. I'll get a back up head. That way, if my cab goes pop, I can DI from the head into the desk (maybe via the BDI), and if my head goes pop I can switch to the spare head with my existing cab. Don't shout at me please - my eyes glaze over quickly when I read up about balanced/unbalanced signals, pre-amps, power amps, gain etc.

Oh gawd, I'm getting so confused now. This is an interesting thread on Talkbass: http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f36/di-recommendations-behringer-ultra-di-di100-606401/ " You don't want a DI, because 90% of the time they do not boost! That's not what a DI is for." Can I check my BDI-21 at home without a desk to see if it's working? If I plug my bass into the BDI "IN" and then run an XLR from the BDI into my Compact, should I expect to get some giggable volume? I'll go and try it now while my missus is at the stables and report back...

@Monkyman Well, no, that's not what happened. We were at rehearsal and the guitarists combo died. I had the BDDI with me so I decided to try out my disaster-recovery plan while guitarist used my head/cab rig. Try as we might, we couldn't get any useful volume for my bass by using the BDDI without an amp. This made me think about what I'd do if my head went down at a gig. That was last week. This week, we rehearsed in a different room with a different PA. The crappy speakers immediately started to distort when I used the BDDI as a preamp. I've sort of given up with the BDDI now. Instead, I'll buy a back-up head, I think.

[url="http://www.andertons.co.uk/bass-amp-heads/pid32029/cid685/fender-rumble-200-head-v3-bass-amp.asp"]http://www.andertons.co.uk/bass-amp-heads/pid32029/cid685/fender-rumble-200-head-v3-bass-amp.asp[/url] Couple of numbers caught my eye; price = £228, weight = 15kgs

Thanks everybody. Sounds like it may well have been operator error that caused the cock-up. I did all the plugging-in my end and then handed the XLR to the guitarist who plugged it into the desk. He has much more experience of using mixers than I do. Next rehearsal is Monday - I'll get in early and try things out for myself, especially the gain setting on the mixer channel. I might still invest in a back-up amp and stay away from the desk.

I used an external PSU.

@Happy Jack, This is going to get embarrassing, I can tell. I have a Behringer BD1-21. It's entirely possible I don't know how to use it. I plugged my bass jack lead into the IN socket and then ran an XLR lead from the BAL OUT socket into an available XLR socket on the desk. I have no idea whether it was a mic socket.

In my ignorance, I thought I'd be able to use an active DI box to plug the bass straight into the desk. I bought a Behringer DDI box specifically for that purpose. I tried it out at rehearsal and it didn't amplify the signal enough to enable me to go into the desk. I now realise that my disaster-recovery plan is flawed. So, what can you do if your amp head goes phut? Obviously, I could buy a cheap 'n' cheerful back up head and do a quick swap. Are there any other alternatives to get you through to the end of a gig? I don't use effects or pedals at all and, for all I know, there may be something I could use as an emergency amp.

Only a dummy would play that. Sorry about that. On a more serious note, in the first photo the G string looks to be quite a bit closer to the edge of the fingerboard than the E string does. Perhaps the bass is tilting down a little.

I think it looks odd with no fret markers.

Must have: Very quick and easy to use touchscreen file-finding Simple download of MP3 files from laptop Will play in car via aux or MP3 socket Battery recharge via (USB?) laptop On-board speaker Don't need: MP4 or MP5 player Radio Recorder Apple or iTunes Broadband connectivity Card expansion slot Camera On-board tea-maker Silly price I just need an easy-to-use, cheap MP3 player to play tracks to the band at rehearsal! £20 or so. Something like this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Touch-Screen-Electronics-Stainless-computer/dp/B004Q6ZVF8/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top but without the SD card slot and radio. Recommendations, please. Steve

I have a USA L-2000. I've always used Status Hotwire halfrounds. £14 a set - complete bargain; http://www.status-graphite.com/status/frames/index_home.html Full flats are available too. Love the smooth feel and the quietness when you slide fingers across the strings. However, I've found that the G&L with flats or halfrounds can become a bit too dark and thuddy if you're not careful. Depending on what tone you're after, you may need to be prepared for some knob-twiddling to manage the G&L's rich and powerful pickups. At home, I'll use just the front pickup, or switch to both. At rehearsal and gigs, I'm definitely switching to both pickups, maybe even just the rear. A couple of times I've had to change to my MIJ Precision (fitted with the same strings) to get a little more clank/mid-range presence in a noisy two-guitar band. This was with a loud pub-rock covers band. More recently, I've been playing with a quieter country-rock/pop band where it's much easier to actually hear the bass. Even then, the G&L/halfround set up was sounding almost too chocolatey (!?) and was in danger of thumping away somewhere in the distant background.

Gives it quite an atmospheric air - almost mournful. Like it.

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzYHllLv_IE"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzYHllLv_IE[/url]

Got this bass last week. It took me a whole day to strip it, de-crud it, remove years of fluff, grime and sticky stuff, check all the electrics, re-assemble it and do a decent set up. After playing it at home and at band practice, here are my impressions: Good points; Really nice woods. Quality alder (?) body, smooth maple neck and virtually unmarked rosewood board. Loads of tone options with pickup blending, pickup phase switching and individual pickup tone/volume controls. Almost too many options! - I'll probably confuse myself in the hurly-burly of a gig. Slim, easy-to-play neck. Easy-access truss-rod at heel. Balances well - no neck-dive. To my ears, it tends towards a more modern/middy tone but a bit of pickup switching gets it pretty close to warm/rich/P-tone. It's all there, somewhere. Things that don't suit me, personally; Narrow string spacing. I'm used to a wide, flat 44mm G&L nut-width, so perhaps I was expecting a bit much to play a 40mm nut-width. My hulking great paws are finding it too cramped. Slightly odd tone-switching that takes a fair bit of learning and understanding. For me, it's made me realise I prefer something a little more simple and straightforward, especially in a gig environment. So, in summary, this is a well-built instrument easily on a par with my MIJ Fender P for build-quality. It's light, nicely balanced, easy to play and has a wide range of tones on offer - at least as many as my G&L. It's a J size neck and that's where I'm struggling with it. I don't think it's quite right for me. It's made me realise I should keep looking for a G&L SB-1, L-1000, LB-100 or maybe a wide-necked Yamaha BB like a BB1200. Steve

Got this bass last week. It took me a whole day to strip it, de-crud it, remove years of fluff, grime and sticky stuff, check all the electrics, re-assemble it and do a decent set up. After playing it at home and at band practice, here are my impressions: Good points; Really nice woods. Quality alder (?) body, smooth maple neck and virtually unmarked rosewood board. Loads of tone options with pickup blending, pickup phase switching and individual pickup tone/volume controls. Almost too many options! - I'll probably confuse myself in the hurly-burly of a gig. Slim, easy-to-play neck. Easy-access truss-rod at heel. Balances well - no neck-dive. To my ears, it tends towards a more modern/middy tone but a bit of pickup switching gets it pretty close to warm/rich/P-tone. It's all there, somewhere. Things that don't suit me, personally; Narrow string spacing. I'm used to a wide, flat 44mm G&L nut-width, so perhaps I was expecting a bit much to play a 40mm nut-width. My hulking great paws are finding it too cramped. Slightly odd tone-switching that takes a fair bit of learning and understanding. For me, it's made me realise I prefer something a little more simple and straightforward, especially in a gig environment. So, in summary, this is a well-built instrument easily on a par with my MIJ Fender P for build-quality. It's light, nicely balanced, easy to play and has a wide range of tones on offer - at least as many as my G&L. It's a J size neck and that's where I'm struggling with it. I don't think it's quite right for me. It's made me realise I should keep looking for a G&L SB-1, L-1000, LB-100 or maybe a wide-necked Yamaha BB like a BB1200. Steve

Arrived today, Folks. When I've finished cleaning it and doing a set-up, I'll post some initial impressions in the Bass section. Steve

I spotted this ad on Partysounds. I don't play DB, but thought it might interest somebody who does; [b]Ref:[/b] 135566 [b]Bass Player Wanted - [url="http://www.partysounds.co.uk/musicians_ads/town.php?town=Stockport"]Stockport[/url], [url="http://www.partysounds.co.uk/musicians_ads/county.php?county=Manchester"]Manchester[/url][/b] Date: 18-01-2014 [b]Description:[/b] Double Bass player needed for our working Rock and Roll band to start ASAP. Gigs booked all year. Transport needed. 0161 612 8933. Stockport Manchester North West [url="http://www.partysounds.co.uk/go/email_mca.php?email=135566"]Email Paul Wilky[/url] [b]Phone: [/b]01616128933 [url="http://www.rockbacktheclock.co.uk/"]View Website[/url] 3.4 Miles

It's on the way to me as we speak. First impressions posted here in a few days time. Hope it arrives OK. Steve

You'll have to take some of the credit (blame?) for me buying it with your description of it. I've searched the net for some information about the bass but can find nothing. I bet you can tell us all about the body , neck, fingerboard woods and such like... Edit; This was supposed to appear as a response to Bassassin's last post. My error.

Sometime soon. You can't be local, if you say "Sunny"...

I've emailed the seller and he's happy for a buyer to organise a courier to pick up the bass.

Is this it? [url="http://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/1979-wal-pro2-bass/1046497950"]http://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/1979-wal-pro2-bass/1046497950[/url]