Huge Hands

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='474522' date='Apr 28 2009, 07:38 PM']The Mitchell / Johnson version, I hope...[/quote] Presuming you mean Brian Johnson and therefore Geordie, then yes. Sorry, I was never very well up on the other members, although I did go to school with the son of a guitarist named Mickey Bennison who I believe was either a member at some point or manager, or both. Cracking bloke, and often used to pop up to see him play in the blues jam at the Beamish Mary just before I moved away ('95 ish).

[quote name='The Bass Doc' post='474490' date='Apr 28 2009, 07:02 PM']Nee bother HH - I have a 4year old son whose normal twang is kinda 'standard' English but I make sure he keeps in touch with his roots by repeating the number of the bus that passes his granda's house - yes it's the Fowerty-fower.[/quote] Ha ha ha! I have aaaal that to come as there is a mini HH pendng in the next month or so, to be born and live down here. I'll be force-feeding him Geordie Hoose/Mike Neville's "Larn Yersel Geordie" as much as possible! I've already bookmarked "Wor Geordie's Lost His Liggie" on YouTube in anticipation....

[quote name='The Bass Doc' post='474386' date='Apr 28 2009, 05:21 PM']".....lowping about fower foot in the air."[/quote] Thank you Mr S, for a pleasing reminder of my native tongue, even if only from a phonetic point of view. All I need now is a bottle of dog and some stottie cake, and I'll be set for the night. Champion!

I like it Wayne. I think I may be asking for some painting tips if I ever get round to that point with my second P5.

I am not a pro by any means, but I totally love my 5 string Squier P I got for £100 second hand, especially after I added £90 of Wizards and some Labella flats. I have bought a second one (same price) which I intend to try and carve a proper 5 string P split coil into (the originals and Wizards are J pups) but I haven't got the spare cash at the moment to find the right one. Oh, and I bought my JV Jazz from our very own Bass Doc for £150, about 8 years after Twigman spent the same on his P! Not sure what the inflation boffins will make of that.

[quote name='RayFW' post='473244' date='Apr 27 2009, 11:31 AM']Did the venue have an induction loop for hearing impaired people? That would cause the symptoms you are describing.[/quote] My first thought would be this. It's nothing to do with the echo in the room, it's the way your guitars/amps deal with the inducted signal from the loop. They can become huge aerials for this sort of thing. I have not heard of flourescent lights casing that much grief before, but I guess it's probably a similar principle....

After watching Ben Harper on the SITSOM film, I'd certainly have been surprised if anyone had said they'd had a good night out with the bloke. I love that film and watch it regularly, but for some reason always fast forward the bit where he speaks, and the following poor Marvin Gaye impersonation he gives.... He just comes across as way too serious and boring to me. I prefer the numerous bits where the old guys are having a lark about and giggling like school kids!

I use an Audi A3. On one of our regular gigs, I can get my combo amp and bits of mic stands, cables etc/drummers snare/pedal/cymbals in the boot, keyboard player's amplifier and drummer on the back seat with bass in a gig bag on the parcel shelf and neck sticking forward between them, and keyboard player in the front passenger seat with keyboard lying from his feet to his head in front of him. Probably not the most legal of layouts, but it works (drummer uses venue kit).

[quote name='Mickeyboro' post='473560' date='Apr 27 2009, 05:56 PM']So practice with the CD by all means, but when you rehearse with the electric band you will find your amplified vocal will be much better than you think and your voice will crack less often.[/quote] This works two ways though surely? If you are in a position where you have good monitoring or can hear the PA such as in a cushy rehearsal room, then I'd probably agree. If you're not, and this can often be the case in small pub/club gigs, then I'd argue you can often end up straining your voice trying to hear yourself over the din. It's not always easy to stick a finger in your ear when you're playing bass as well! I don't really sing lead, but I do sing a lot of harmony backing vocals, so I am talking through experience!

Am I missing something? Have all the court cases been forgotten then? I guess Gary Kemp royalties haven't been so good recently? I was expecting this to be "sans Kemps". I worked as a soundman for one gig with Tony Hadley a few years ago. TBH, he looked like a bit of a tramp and moaned all the way through the day about everything. He was only singing with backing tracks. How the mighty can fall - and by the look of this clip - rise again!

Happy with my MAG300 2x10T combo. Then again, I tend to play with a sound that I call "no teeth" - i.e. not bright or attacking at all, so this might not be the sort of sound the OP was looking for. (I wasn't gigging last night by the way!). A mate of mine is borrowing it at the weekend so maybe I can get an independent evaluation from him. Anyway, for me it suits me fine, but doesn't do my back much good when lifting it in and out of the car!

[quote name='The Funk' post='470545' date='Apr 23 2009, 11:50 AM']Thanks! I'm looking forward to it. I haven't played any DB since school and I only dabbled as a beginner back then as I didn't own one - and the classical teachers used to try to keep me from playing the one at school.[/quote] I, as i have said many times on here, really like mine, but it has required a fair bit of attention, such as needing to reglue the back seam and a bit of bridge jiggery-pokery. However, if you view it with the opinion that this is a cheap as chips instrument (I know that £400 isn't cheap, but is in the eyes of the double bass world) and treat it as so, I think you'll have a right laugh with it. I have with mine. P.S. - I reckon the seam split was due to a family member knocking it over and not owning up! Hide glue? Pah! Wood glue more like! I can't afford a luthier! P.P.S. - Good luck finding somewhere to store the hard case (if they still come with one). They're huge!

[quote name='The Funk' post='470467' date='Apr 23 2009, 10:50 AM']I've just ordered the sub-£400 DB from Gear4Music. It arrives on Saturday. I'll let you know how I get on![/quote] Welcome to the club!

I know this is not very bass related, but I just purchased a trombone from Mark (Geilerbass). I cannot believe how efficient he was, even when I was saying "no rush", he had pics taken and the thing parcelled up and sent to me within what seemed like minutes! Was all done by PM, shame we didn't get to meet up, but it was just a bit too far for me at the moment! It's a tragedy the whole thing was soured by Parcelf*****force and their incompetence. This isn't the first time for me, so my personal advice is not to use them! If anyone thinks this is legally dodgy, let me know and I'll send you my horror stories to back it up! I did get it in the end though. Anyway, back to the important bit, feedback for Mark. Top bloke, and I wouldn't hesitate to deal with him again. I'm off to have a blow! Cheers, Stew (Huge Hands)

If you're a high street buyer - i.e. don't have trade accounts with suppliers, then Maplins might be worth a shout as they seem to stock this sort of stuff - might be expensive though. There is a member on here called obbm who makes cables to order, you could try him?

Ha ha, Paul_C, I love the wide washers stopping the plate being pulled off when the jack is removed. I might try that myself!

[quote name='BigBeefChief' post='456600' date='Apr 7 2009, 05:26 PM']Everytime I see a 5 string player, his/her hand is in the same position as it would be for me playing a 4 and the B is mostly redundent.[/quote] I recently explained this (about myself) in another thread. I have trained myself to sit my hand like that so I can go back to my four string bass(es) without needing to relearn each time. I think that's why I've done it anyway! The low B certainly isn't redundant at all!

[quote name='BigBeefChief' post='456463' date='Apr 7 2009, 02:47 PM']Just about too? I already have! I offered £1000, which, considering the number of "difficult members" is a fair price I think.[/quote] Aha, I understand your game now BBC.... Been purposely keeping the price down over the last few years, have we? You capitalist you.....

[quote name='Rich' post='456232' date='Apr 7 2009, 11:05 AM']I don't blame you. I had Mighty (haha) Mite pups on my old Tobias 6, they were more feeble than an asthmatic vole with a bad hangover.[/quote] I have to say I've always enjoyed the Mighty Mites on my Cort C5. Never had an issue with them, and the added active electronics give plenty of extra scope. Must admit I normally use it in active mode.

My advice would be to try it. Its the guts inside that determine whether it will work, not the casing. I got Wizard to make me a set of 5 string J-pups based on the dimensions of the originals in my P5. The initial set they made, although a match in casing size, did not pick up in a wide enough field to get all strings. For example, if I played a downstroke on the low B, i.e., pushing it into the field, the sound was good. If I plucked upwards (as normal for me), I lost the initial attack as the string was pulled out of the sensing area of the pickup. Thankfully I was able to get another set from Wizard that worked - if I understood him correctly, Andy fiddled with the "blade" dimensions within the pickup design. I think experiment will be your only way to see if your current pup is wide enough!

I remember that when I was first learning to play bass, I had a home-made useless thing so I went out to buy a "proper" bass. I told a bass player I knew I had seen a 5-string in the shop for ok money, he said "It's up to you, choose one way or the other, you won't be able to do both" (or words to that effect). I believed him, and played exclusively four strings for years. I then started working as a sound engineer and met loads of bass players who told me that actually, "it was a piece of p*ss to swap between the two", so I decided to go out and buy a 5. I was conscious of not forgetting how to play a four, which is why I've probably developed my RH technique of still resting my thumb on the E string (when not playing it), as I would if playing a four. This way my hand has learned it needs to shift upwards to play the B string. I presume someone will decimate me for that technique, but hey, it works for me. I'm not playing 32 notes at 1,000 BPM metal! What I'm trying to say is, I don't think it's as hard as it sounds. I stick only to my 5 strings when gigging because having the low notes and ability to keep to scale shapes when playing in keys such as Eb is preferable for me. I still have my old JV Jazz and my upright which are four stringers to keep me reminded of where it all started though!

I enjoyed it until the Italian Kenny G joined in...

[quote name='EBS_freak' post='451499' date='Apr 1 2009, 02:07 PM']I don't get the whole fixation on the beginners aspect of bass playing. The beginners market is small compared to the established players out there. Yes, it's important to keep things interesting for new players... but not to the point where you end up with, to the majority of the audience, a bit of a dull magazine.[/quote] I think you may be misunderstanding people, as I felt you did me yesterday. I don't believe Absolute Beginner is asking for it to purely be for beginners, but to cater for them as well. Yesterday, I was trying to example looking at reader's custom builts as an extra to the expensive stuff. The more niche the magazine, the more niche the market, whether its beginners or experienced. If I was s**t hot, I'd be happy to flick past the "How to play Michael Row the Boat Ashore" as long as I knew there'd be some stuff in there to interest me at my level. I'm not, and therefore I look forward to the tutorial.

I have a MAG300 combo and even with my high output Wizard pups I struggle to get the VU meter to move much unless I have the input gain set pretty high. If these are passive pups I'm surprised they'd be able to throw out any crazy high level signal. You haven't got an active preamp hidden under the scratchplate have you?