JapanAxe

[quote name='Sibob' timestamp='1357115306' post='1917534'] I prefer a kettle lead into power supply than a hardwired wall-wart daisy-chained......the latter tend to break much more often. Also, you can usually get a lot more MA from a dedicated power supply as opposed to a tuner. I think a Boss TU-2 can supply around 200ma, although the Polytune is more from what I remember. My Gig-Rig power supply gives me 5amps of available power. Si [/quote] +1 to that, I bought a 3-metre kettle lead to run from my plugboard at the back of the stage to my GigRig Generator underneath my Pedaltrain. I always carry spare kettle leads, it would cost a lot more to carry spare PSUs.

Dinner dance at Bicester Golf Club & Spa, playing guitar with Life & Soul (soul/disco/pop). Won't see my bed till 4am...

[quote name='warwickhunt' timestamp='1356778712' post='1913445']I think the OP has been unlucky in some of his encounters BUT I will concede that there is a core of bands/musicians that still view anything other than a Fender 4 string (Jazz or Precision acceptable) as too flash/unnecessary... says the man who has turned up to auditions/rehearsals with strange Warwicks and Bolins (goodness knows what they will make of my Dingwall)! [/quote] Funny you should say that, as one of the factors that went through my head recently when deciding to buy a Sandberg Cali VM4 rather than lay out a considerable extra wedge on a Dingwall AB1 5-er was: How can I turn up at a country gig with this weird-looking fanned-fret 5-string? So it was partly down to my own conservatism, partly down to my perception of the audience's conservatism.

Oooh! This just makes me want my incoming Midget even more!

[quote name='Delberthot' timestamp='1356657482' post='1912224'] Ashdown 4x10" cabs can go stupidly loud - both ABM & MAG. I have two ABMs but have never needed to use the second one. They can take a lot of power so I reckon I'd maybe need the second one if I was playing in a 500+ seater venue with no PA support but in a 500 seater venue there probably would be a PA. I'd gig with the one first before deciding on a second cab The upside to Ashdown cabs is that you can pick them up dirt cheap cos not everyone wants to lift 37kg 4x10" cabs. [/quote] Yup, plenty of [i]loud[/i], way too much [b]heavy[/b]!

You risk having 2 heavy items to cart about! I suggest you first remove the amp from the cab and take a look at the locations of the fixing points in the chassis. You will need to keep hold of the fixing bolts and use these to secure the new sleeve. You can keep the weight down if you make the sleeve from thin ply. If the chassis will rack-mount, it might be best to use an ABS 2U or 3U flight case. Also, where will the mains inlet go? I have looked at some pics of the Five Fifteen online, but couldn't tell. It might help me and other armchair advisers if you post some pics of the semi-deconstructed amp!

[quote name='Horizontalste' timestamp='1356542444' post='1910977'] What surprised me is how simple the bass line is. Just goes to show you don't need to play all the notes all the time. [/quote] Aha! Simplicity - the essence of a great bass line!

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1356287231' post='1908840'] Right - I want to see some pics NOW, or none of this is real! [color=#ffffff].[/color] [/quote] OK you asked for it: [attachment=125767:2012-12-23 22.27.46.jpg][attachment=125768:2012-12-23 22.27.57.jpg][attachment=125769:2012-12-23 22.28.13.jpg][attachment=125770:2012-12-23 22.28.25.jpg]

[quote name='SpaceChick' timestamp='1356292308' post='1908919'] My effects pedal has a fretless setting.... Never used it, I just play my fretless [/quote] Yes I've seen 'de-fretter' options on bass multi-fx units. I tried one once and was thoroughly unconvinced.

I set up a Hotmail account for my band, and set it to automatically sync entries into my Gmail account. Thus all the band have access, and I can look at it instantly on my Android phone. However, the drummer keeps losing the password...

At the risk of returning to the original topic, the random guitarist that wants to muscle into the band is not that different from the punter that wants to get up and sing. What they don't realise is that you've [i]earned[/i] your place on that stage (even if it's the corner of a pub between the quiz machine and the door to the toilets). You've carefully chosen your kit and paid for it (you may still be doing so), you've worked on your technique, you've practised the material at home, you've rehearsed with the band, you've hustled for gigs, you've had setbacks and let-downs, you've carted shed loads of kit into the venue (and will reverse the process after you finish), and now (to quote Martine McCutcheon), this is your moment. You [i]deserve[/i] to be on that stage playing, and people that wander up and think they can have a go? They [i]don't[/i]. I'll get off me soap-box now, before I fall off.

Instruments and recording kit jammed into a box room, books and mags in shelves on wall. Gigging kit in 'broom cupboard'. Before the kids left home, I had a curtained alcove in the 'master bedroom'!

I have done this on one gig (just to be clear - bass and harmonica, not bass and orchestral harp!), and it was very hard indeed. I was trying to 'fake' the brass lines form soul numbers like [i]Midnight Hour[/i] and [i]My Girl[/i]. It is indeed very difficult, but not impossible. Effectively you have to get one (or preferably both) of the skills up to 'auto-pilot' level, so you are not having to think too hard!

[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][u]In:[/u][/font] [font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Yamaha BB400S fretless[/font] [font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Sandberg California VM4[/font] [font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]TC Classic 450[/font] [font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Barefaced Compact[/font] [font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][u]Out[/u]:[/font] [font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]G&L Tribute L2000[/font] [font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][size=4]Ashdown ABM C115-500 combo Ashdown ABM 115-300 cab[/size][/font] [font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][u]Leaving soon:[/u][/font] [font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Fender CIJ '57 RI Precision[/font] [font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Squier MIJ Jazz[/font] [font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif](because the Sandberg covers the job of both!)[/font] [font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]In other words, a complete change-around![/font]

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1355695701' post='1901571'] Dingwall? I actually think they make stunning instruments so I'm being tongue in cheek. [/quote] Having just spent half a day agonising over whether to buy one, 'stunning' is right.

Eat this: [b]Country Roads[/b] [b]Jambalaya[/b] [b]Speed of the Sound of Loneliness[/b] [b]Hello Mary Lou[/b] [b]Here In The Real World[/b] [b]Good Hearted Woman[/b] [b]Stars On The Water[/b] [b]Heartaches By The Number[/b] [b]He'll Have To Go[/b] [b]Once In A Very Blue Moon[/b] [b]Mama Tried[/b] [b]On The Other Hand[/b] [b]Boot Scootin' Boogie[/b] [b]Ghost Riders[/b] [b]Folsom Prison Blues[/b] [b]Gypsy Woman[/b] [b]Cowboy Rides Away ↓[/b] [b]Ring Of Fire[/b] [b]Through The Morning, Through The Night[/b] [b]Forever and Ever[/b] [b]King of the Road[/b] [b]All You Ever Do Is Bring Me Down[/b] [b]When You Say Nothing At All[/b] [b]Heartbroke[/b] [b]Achy Breaky Heart ↓[/b] [b]Guitars Cadillacs[/b] [b]Stand By Your Man[/b] [b]Walkin' After Midnight[/b] [b]Singin' The Blues[/b] [b]Chasin' That Neon Rainbow[/b] [b]Always On My Mind[/b] [b]Peaceful Easy Feeling[/b] [b]I'm a Lonesome Fugitive[/b] [b]Beautiful Body[/b] [b]You're My Best Friend[/b] [b]Rhinestone Cowboy[/b] [b]Bad Moon Rising[/b] [b]Chattahoochee[/b] [b]Bye Bye Love[/b] [b]Cocaine Blues[/b] 3x45min sets plus encore

Although I've already put up a NBD post, I can't resist sharing the Sandberg love here - can't wait to take this out on Christmas Eve! [attachment=125544:VM4Front.jpg]

Some of these 'fun' basses actually have a useful gigging voice, so worth a try, especially if you can hear what it sounds like alongside other instruments,

[quote name='TRBboy' timestamp='1355823535' post='1903065'] +1 GREAT analogy! They are superb instruments! I always think that you need to think of the MM more like a j bridge pup on steroids; it sounds like a bridge pup but much fuller and without any of the weakness sometimes associated with a j pup. I used to find I could get a pretty close approximation of a ray with a little of the p blended in (although the real " sweet spot" for me was always just on the neck side of the centre indent). The passive tone control is a useful feature too IMHO. Not only does it give you even more flexibility, but if your battery dies, you've still got a perfectly usable bass! Anyway, congrats, she's a beaut! Cracking colour too! Pretty excited too because I had word from Sandberg yesterday that they shipped my new one on Friday, so it should be here by the end of the week! [/quote] I agree, the MM pickup makes up for the fatness that's lacking in the Jazz bridge pickup. I'm not in work today, so will be spending more time with the Cali!

[quote name='Ashwood1985' timestamp='1355627162' post='1900769'] I agree and would never do this myself. Although saying that aren't online retailers legally obliged to offer a 7 day return policy? Not sure but I thought so. If so then I it's a stinker there's a simple solution! [/quote] Yup, the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000, Reg 11(2) '... the cancellation period ends on the expiry of the period of [b]seven [i]working days[/i][/b] beginning with the day after the day on which the consumer receives the goods.' There's a bit more to it than that - you can read the full Regs [url="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2000/2334/pdfs/uksi_20002334_en.pdf"]here[/url] if you're so inclined. Useful links for online buying: [url="http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/index/getadvice/consumer_service.htm"]Citizens Advice help for consumers[/url] [url="http://actionfraud.org.uk/"]Action fraud (scams)[/url] [url="http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/advice/problemswithgoods-sum5.cfm"]Trading Standards - consumer information[/url]

[quote name='JapanAxe' timestamp='1355529217' post='1899763'] A dead thread - great, let's indulge in some necrothreadia! I am on the verge of a likely purchase (trip to Bass Direct occurring on Monday), and looking at all those tempting delights, I wonder: passive, active, or switchable? I have owned actives, but at present all my basses are passives. To my ear, they lack nothing. Here's my thinking: First, assume I have an active bass with 2-band EQ. I set the bass control on the amp to suit the stage/room. If I then cut bass on the instrument, it will be too thin; if I boost it, it will overpower the mids that I need to stay 'fat' as I play up the neck. I could use the treble control to boost/cut, but on a passive all I do is set sufficient treble on the amp so that the sound is as bright as I need it with the tone control full up, and sweet/warm/round when backed off. Therefore I don't need a 2-band active EQ on a bass guitar. So what about 3-band? TBH I have never felt the urge to tinker with the mids in the middle of a number, or even a set. Plus there is option anxiety - volume, tone, and P/U selection (unless on P) are quite enough to be thinking about, thank you. And don't even think about sweepable mids - loads of opportunities to screw up your tone! Switchable active/passive? See above! That's just my take on it. I'm not trying to convince anyone to abandon kit that they like, but if this saves someone from thinking they [i]must[/i] have an active, then my time here has not been wasted. A final thought on EQ: A bass player of my acquaintance has a 'half-smile' on the 12-band graphic on his amp, so that 15kHz is getting the maximum boost. I can't hear above 12kHz... [/quote] I take it all back! (Apart from the 15kHz thing.) Find out why [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/194520-nbd-sandberg-vm4-in-candy-apple-red/"]here[/url].

Took a trip up to Bass Direct today with my mate Darren (loves bass, hates frets). I also took my MIJ Squier Jazz for reference/comparison purposes. I had been GASing over a Sandberg TT4 in Creme/Torty, so that was the first bass I tried. However, it wasn't the last, as I shall now recount... [u]Sandberg TT4 in creme/Torty (passive)[/u] Liked: Colour/finish (I'm such a girl!), playability, build quality, even response, blend control. Didn't like: Although I 'got' this bass more as I played it, I actually preferred the gutsier sound of my Squier (although I should point out that it suffers from an uneven response across its range). [u]Mayones Jabba 4 (black IIRC)[/u] Didn't like: The feel of the neck, so it went straight back on the stand, end of. [u]Fender USA Jazz Deluxe in black, maple 'board[/u] Liked: Very light weight, slim neck, nice action. Didn't like: With the EQ flat, sounded no better than any cheap Jazz. No point in going further - active EQ is not turd polish. [u]Sandberg VM4 in candy apple red (active/passive)[/u] Liked: As TT4 above, plus the sounds. As a long-time Precision player, it was like coming home - but coming home after someone's kindly built you an extension and a 2-car garage, re-decorated the house, and filled your fridge with beer. The P pickup sounds very much as you would expect. Despite being nearer the bridge than on an actual MM, the M pickup does a very good imitation, especially when you boost the treble from the onboard preamp to give you that sizzle and zing. And with both pickups on and the treble backed off slightly, there is that fat sweet sound that I always hoped for from a Jazz but never got. Plus the bass control actually acts on the low mids, so it doesn't just lift the lowest notes, it also fattens fundamentals all the way up to the 12th fret on the G string. Finally, the passive mode gives you another flavour, as it were. Disliked: I'm somewhat inclined against active electronics, but this just [i]works[/i]. I hereby retract the comments I made [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/152043-active-vs-passive/page__view__findpost__p__1899763"]here[/url] [u]Fender USA Precision Deluxe 4 in blonde[/u] Liked: Nice played-in feel. Didn't like: EQ. Treble boost was tinny, mid control did bugger all. Superficially similar to the VM4, just nowhere near as good. [i][b]INTERMISSION 1[/b][/i] [i]At this point I feel the need to inspect the plumbing, and on my return Mark had pulled out a used...[/i] [u]Dingwall ABI 5 in honey amberburst (passive)[/u] This is a bass I would normally walk straight past, as (1) it has too many strings, (2) it looks too modern, and (3) fanned frets? - does not compute! However, I thought it couldn't hurt to have a go. Liked: Wow! I really 'got' this bass. Despite never having tried a 5-er before, I took straight to it, playing across the strings instead of up and down the neck. The string and note balance was superb, the sounds from the neodymium pickups via 4-way rotary were excellent, there was plenty of range on the passive EQ, and you barely notice the fanned frets whilst playing. Disliked: Way over my original budget (though nothing that the sale of some musical kit and spare internal organs wouldn't sort), and there would be a [i]bit[/i] of a learning curve... [b][i]INTERMISSION 2[/i][/b] [i]So now I have a dilemma - Sandberg VM4 or Dingwall ABI 5? One of them will be coming home with me. Darren and I retire to the cafe next door for steak sandwiches and coffee. I text Mrs Axe and she says 'Go with your heart' (what a woman!), but when we return I still haven't made up my mind.[/i] I played them both again, this time through a TC RH750, which is a bit closer to what I'm used to. In the end I plump for the Sandberg - it just makes more sense as part of my bass-playing future I guess. And here are the pics from the Bass Direct website: [attachment=125381:VM4Front.jpg][attachment=125382:VMTOP.jpg][attachment=125383:VM4Back.jpg][attachment=125384:VM4Head.jpg] Footnote: That Mark bloke can't half talk!

Thanks ikay. I did search the forum before posting but didn't find those threads.

I played in an indie covers band in which our first drummer invariably pushed the tempo the whole time. Also his understanding of anticipation (say, a quarter- half-beat 'push' into the next bar) was that this marked the start of the next bar, meaning some 4/4 bars ended up being 7/8 or 15/16. When I pointed out that this was wrong (we are talking US punk here, not King Crimson), his response was to claim that was just a technicality! He eventually improved to the point of just being 'stiff' in his playing feel. After 3 years of this, the guitarist and I managed to piss him off and he left. Hooray! It was a revelation to then play with a decent drummer...

The Royal Mail stands to do rather well out of Mr Pratt's book!