Huge Hands

I remember being a bit disappointed with the filters when I first joined about 10 years ago, and there was a similar thread to this then. Ped or Kiwi (I think) then made a post about why they had done it and how the site should be available to all, including those impressionable young budding beginners thinking about getting into bass and trying to get tips and help. That made me realise straight away it was totally the totally correct way to be, although I'm sure I have pushed the boundaries of the filters when posting many times since then....

I got to work with Noel just before he died around 16 years ago. I think I've told this story on here before, but I walked up to him while he was setting up and clapped one of my big paws on his shoulder to ask him to give us a line check (I was FOH engineer in the venue, helping them get set up). I nearly broke him, he was very frail. He looked like he was very drunk, but in my naivety it could have been something stronger. He was doing a mini "supergroup" with him, Eric Bell (ex Thin Lizzy) on guitar and John Coughlan (Status Quo) on drums. When they started, someone was tuned about a tone out, and from Eric Bell's reaction, I'd say it was Noel. Eric was professional to the crowd and also pretended to retune his guitar, , but his face couldn't hide he was miffed! I remember very little of the music and how well he played. Maybe as a massive Experience fan I was watching with rose coloured glasses because here was one of my heroes, but after the initial embarrassing bit, I don't remember anything about the music, so I would guess it wasn't that great, or my cup of tea. I think EB was very loud, and JC was never my favourite drummer (IMHO only). I just remember Noel being helped into a car and driven away afterwards, it was all a bit sad to see. I don't remember hearing him speak at all either on stage or off. I think he died about a year later.

In my ears, Mr Purdie always was and always will be amazing. I love this - wish I wasn't working or I'd have it on repeat all day. There's not many drummers I would want to listen to in isolation for more than a few triplet fills....

I play in a concert band where you're often reading parts originally written for tuba or arco on a double bass, so you can often get tied held notes across multiple bars. Having said that, I don't think even the best sustaining guitars could go on for that long without dropping off dramatically in volume.

I had something similar with a 5 string set of Labella flats. Put them on the bass brand new from the packet. Something felt wrong with the B string, Felt too tight when tuned, no sustain, just a dull thud when you plucked it. I had only just bought the bass, so wasn't sure if there was something wrong with the way it handled heavy flats, as it had light gauge rounds on it when I got it. Was able to noodle around quietly in my bedroom with it, it was just weird. Two weeks later I took it to the next band rehearsal. The B string was bugging me because it was dull when hit, but was muddling through, trying not to use it. After about the 5th song, I pulled a note on the B string and heard a snap. The string went really floppy, but it was still atached at both ends. My first reaction was that the tuning peg must have slipped, so I turned it to tighten, but the string stayed floppy. I later discovered the string core had snapped, as others have alluded to above. I was able to talk to the supplier and they sent me a replacement B string out. As I don't use that bass so much any more, the same set of strings are still on it now, 10 years later!

I don't think the original V7's like mine were that wide - I think they were something like 19mm - then I think the vintage versions they brought out were 20mm. Of course that is my dusty memory, so could be very wrong.

I had to buy a new stand when I accidentally left mine at a gig and the bar owner couldn't find it. I was very expensive - around the £130 mark delivered IIRC (that matches the previous poster). Give him his due, the bar owner called a few weeks later when he found it, so I now have two. After reading this, methinks it's good to have a spare....

You haven't met me and my rather bulky stature HJ - the aforementioned instrument would be reduced to matchwood if I sat on it.....

I think it also depends what you want to do with it. I was playing a few latin-ish gigs with my old double bass and a loud drummer so would turn up to various venues and have nightmares trying to get gain before feedback on my pickup to get a decent sound through my amp. My NS Design NXT EUB solved all of those problems, but you have to put up with your band mates whingeing that it doesn't "fit the image". I don't get the moans about the stand though, I tilt/rock mine back and forward on the legs as I'm playing and it also means you're not trying to find enough floor space to lie a big wooden ship down between sets.

I used to do this a lot, as I used to be able to get loads of spare mic cable from my old work. I used to connect the two inner signal cores together at each end to the tip, and the shield to the usual. It will work, but you will get the usual naysayers going on about incorrect impedance etc. I found that in venues with poor/noisy electrics, they were much more susceptible to picking up noise and hum than proper instrument cables, but for messing about practicing in the house, it should be fine.

[quote name='pineweasel' timestamp='1496920103' post='3314669'] I don't think the Sires from Thomann come with a bag [/quote] They didn't, as far as I am aware. I carry my right handed V7 5 string in a £30 Thomann E-bass Gigbag Premium (I had the bag before I got the bass so just tried it) and it fits fine.

I just thought I'd say, that as there are a lot of people saying "there [i]will [/i]be lag" - I have experience of actually doing this, and can confirm there definitely is lag, as my band tried it with our singer stuck in Ireland. I knew it would be the case, but the band insisted on doing it anyway, and I was proved right. She was way out, and it was pretty much unuseable. We did have a good chat with her for about 20 mins, once we'd given up on rehearsing though.....

I joined a band about 14 years ago, just as they were losing the drummer. They found a new guy, and me and him hit it off pretty quickly. Unfortunately, when they decided they wanted to sack him, I was guilty by association and booted out at the same time. I got us both into another band that lasted a good 10 years after that. I think it might have also been my refusal to play my 4 string Squier in favour of my new shiny 5 string Cort C5. It just didn't "fit their image" - that and me being a 6'3 ginger fat bloke looked odd with the rest of the "cool dudes" on the band photos. I'm not bitter after all these years...much....

[quote name='TheRev' timestamp='1493857586' post='3291394'] Excellent. If nothing else, this reminds me that I need more Ben Folds Five in my life. [/quote] +1 - I'm going to dig out my BFF live DVD tonight methinks.....

Glad I saw this - I have been toying with the idea of one of those 5 string Tele Bachs for a while. I have to say the QC on the example bass images on their website had already put me off pulling the trigger....

What he said does sound like rubbish, but I'm guessing if he had 6 bands to do on one desk, there wouldn't be much turn around time between bands, and he was probably trying to keep it all as familiar as possible, especially if your DI was unknown to him and he was worried about wildly differing gain structure. Some might call that lazy, I'd call it him trying a bit of "band psychology" to make his life easier on an undoubtedly stressy night for him....

I don't get all the people against this show. As others have said, it is one of the few ways to see live music on TV. I am happy to sit through loads of bands I don't like, because out of it all may be one gem that I haven't heard before and discover something new. This has happened loads of times over the years with this show. All the time I'm thinking that, someone else out there will have loved a band I didn't, and hated what I'm loving. To me, that is the beauty of it. I don't see why people would want to get rid of it. If the music is all rubbish, then maybe that is a reflection of what is out there at the moment? FWIW, I personally, I don't really like JH and his squawking voice trying to scream over the studio noise, and I am not a big fan of his big band and his constant attempts to sit in with bands on his shows. However, if it was my show, I would probably use my clout to sit in where I could too!

[quote name='Muppet' timestamp='1493122301' post='3285754'] I always think this is their starting point to see how many customers continue to push. [/quote] ^^ This. In my experience, it is not in their interest to pay out, so they will deliberately push back, delay and frustrate to see if you give up before it goes too far. I assume they get lots of claims every day, so they're probably quite good at this!

I enjoy my NS Design NXT5. I like the fact that it is by default on a stand, so I can walk off and not have to worry about laying it down somewhere, but the stand is still light enough to allow you to swing the bass back and forwards a bit when you're getting excited. Mine was about £1K new, so I'd have thought a second hand one on here will get you well under budget. You may even get the more expensive CR5 - I think I saw one on here recently for just over £1K. I have said on here before that it may not sound like a DB when you're stood right next to it playing it, but if you later hear it on a recording, it does a fair approximation. I also find the dots on the fretboard helpful (I'm sure others would see that as sacrilege! The only down side for me is transport - it comes in a gig bag which comes with what looks like a shoulder strap, but it can't actually deal with it being carried in this way for too long. Mine snapped where it is stitched to the bag and dumped the bass on the floor chipping the headstock - the best I got out of the distributor was another bag which is just as weak. There is a flight case option, but that looks really heavy and expensive. Short trips are ok, but I used to commute all over London on trains/tube with mine, hence the easy damage. Just transporting it in the car, normally carrying it with just the side handle, it should be more than fine.

[quote name='barneyg42' timestamp='1491562989' post='3273968'] Beware the hairy pussy!! [/quote] A life lesson for us all......

[quote name='Tonteee' timestamp='1491561147' post='3273944'] I use Millennium's blatant copy of the RockNRoller RMH1. [/quote] Wow, I just checked that out on the Thomann site, and they are definitely blatant copies! I'm surprised they get away with that, especially as they are a dealer for the original. I bought a legit RMH1 from Thomann a couple of years ago. My only two issues with it are that one of the simple brace bars has snapped off at the back (but it doesn't seem to affect its strength) and the handle is a little too short for me when fully extended (I'm 6'3" so you have to stoop a bit to pull it). It's not a massive hindrance though, and mine has always been great.

[quote name='Rich' timestamp='1489315029' post='3255891'] The Sire basses have a passive mode. Just leave the actives switched out and you've got a passive 5 string Jazz. [/quote] This is how I use mine 95% of the time.

I find the opposite to the OP. The current Mrs HH comes to pretty much all of my gigs across 2-3 bands and most people think she's mad. They ask her why she would attend them all. I remember that at the very first gig she came to when we'd just started dating, I ended up with two hot young ladies coming over and asking me about bass playing after the last set. I would add at this point, that this NEVER normally happens to me. Although in my youth I thought joining bands would get me regular attention from ladies/sex, it hasn't been the case at all for me in just under 30 years of gigging! It was bad timing being our first gig together, and the look that my lady was giving me while talking to them gave new meaning to the words "death stare". Since then, she started coming to all of the gigs. I believe that she has now grown to fully trust me and it isn't about keeping tabs on me any more, but more about finding ways to spend nights out/sharing experiences together, even if not in the most conventional "couple" sense. However, although no one has said anything directly, I have sensed some unease from my main band, almost like they think she is some sort of "Yoko Ono". As others have said, I love seeing her there, but there is always that unease from me that she is safe, and not being hassled or kicked around by a busy crowd. We do a lot of 2am finish gigs in London, so she is good to have as a companion on the 1hr+ drive home to help me stay awake!