JapanAxe

There are two main ways to go with this:[list] [*]Loads of built-in effects → modelling amp with bells and whistles eg Line 6 Spider; [*]Valves → Harley Benton GA5, Laney LC15. [/list]

[quote name='Blademan_98' timestamp='1355535740' post='1899807'] My hand is now swollen and painful but it lasted the gig and the drive home [/quote] That's a bit worrying! Fretting hand or plucking hand? Is it ok now?

This bass line always made my fingers get knotted up (not to mention stick together!)

Like a dream come true - very cool. Kudos to you Bilbo

Provided the item was in stock (green 'coins' icon), I've never had to wait more than 5 working days.

[quote name='TRBboy' timestamp='1355571121' post='1900015'] Got to be one of the weirdest gigs ever last night...... It was a private party for a bunch of guys that have just finished a tour in Afghanistan. They basically completely ignored us! The guys were just hanging out chatting at the bar down the far end of the pub, whilst we were in effect playing to an empty room! There was no applause, no dancing, nothing. By the time we finished the first set, we were feeling pretty down, but the landlord said we were great, and the guy who booked us said we were awesome and that all the guys were really enjoying it, despite them not showing it! He said "we don't really do dancing or anything." [/quote] I did a couple of gigs on RAF bases. Mainly a young crowd. All they wanted to do was get ratted and (in some cases) eat each other's faces. Goes with their job I suppose.

[quote name='TRBboy' timestamp='1355572914' post='1900045'] Well the big one came and seems to work just fine in polyphonic mode, especially just as a quick check between songs. I'm a little surprised that it doesn't mute when you click it on though!? It just reduces the volume slightly, is this normal? [/quote] My full-size Polytune mutes fully, but you do get funny noises (breakthrough from the digital tuning gubbins) if you keep it in line whilst tuning, so mine is now in a true-bypass loop (with no return signal ).

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1355473327' post='1898718'] I'm a sparky and this is normally caused by what we call a floating earth, the most obvious causes would be either a lack of earth at the socket at the venue or a faulty ext lead/4 way adaptor etc. Obviously you can't check the venues sockets now so double check the leads and fwiw a proper pat test could reveal a fault that the multimeter can't as a proper pat tester or a insulation resistance tester 'megger' puts a high voltage through as it tests where a multimeter does not. The reason for the shock is because all the gear we use especially stuff with windings or moisture has a very small leakage to earth hence why we can't have rcd's set at 0mA (usually 30mA instead), if the venues socket was taking the leakage as it should everything works fine but if that earth is missing in the chain then that little bit of voltage goes down the mic's earth as everything is connected obviously, you are then the easiest path to earth. Now imagine if the lead entering your pa had a loose wire that suddenly came free of its terminal and landed on the metal casing inside straight to earth, the only earth is the next poor bugger who grabs a mic to see why the pa has gone quiet who gets the whole 230v until they either drop the mic or the fuse blows! Plug in testers that show 3 lights for live neutral and earth can be bought for a few quid at maplins, b&q or even ebay, a local sparky should be able to pat test your leads for a couple a quid per lead and a mug of coffee Did that make any sense? [/quote] Excellent explanation. I always plug into an RCD on gigs, and carry a ring-main tester to use if I have any concerns about the venue mains supply. Biggest worries are extension leads at outdoor/marquee jobs. Most common faults are no earth (which equals no protection from lethal faults), and live/neutral reversed (which may not be as bad as it sounds if all the band are on the same supply, but is not recommended!)

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 name='mcgraham' timestamp='1355486361' post='1898985'] I don't think the public are stupid. [/quote] As a member of the public I strongly disagree with that remark!

This has happened to me too. I don't think it would be the 0.1V AC - too small to feel. I wonder whether it's a DC offset at the input of the PA or the bass amp?

I had an Ashdown speaker fail once. It hadn't blown. The braided conductor from the voice coil had come away from its connection to the solder tag. I guess the vibration had eventually stressed the solder joint. I re-made the solder joint and it was fine. Worth popping out the driver for a look!

I don't need this cable so I'll just move things along for everyone else.

[quote name='cheddatom' timestamp='1355388739' post='1897579'] let us know how you get on [/quote]...and where you got the push-fit terminals! EDIT: Here is the underside of my pedalboard on the first build. The Generator is hidden away under the Pedaltrain, along with all the 9V and audio wiring. [attachment=124974:IMAG0223.jpeg]

[quote name='lowdown' timestamp='1355340916' post='1897235'] That's what BJorn said to Benny. Of course Benny thought he was talking Swedish sh*te, and the rest is history. [/quote]

Check the [url="http://www.thegigrig.com/acatalog/CA_Generator.html"]GigRig right-angle power cable pack[/url]. These connectors also come supplied with the Distributor, which you can use with GigRig's own Generator or hook up to your chosen 9v PSU. On my guitar FX board, I use a Generator, two Distributors, loads of these right-angle 9-volt leads, Lava cables - oh, and two Loopy-2 bypass boxes as well. I have to admit this cost a shed-load of money, but it has been completely worth it in terms of sound, usefulness, reliability, and (with a Pedaltrain 2) a very tidy look. I feel obliged to declare that I do sort of know Dan from GigRig, at least to chat to, but I paid retail (or used) for my kit - even his famous customers pay AFAIK! EDIT: Just remembered, also check out [url="http://www.johnnyshredfreak.com/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=10&zenid=da5a04ede2c3b63a54965c06749f4f8f"]Johnny Shredfreak[/url]'s DC leads.

Big question: Is the socket solely panel-mounted (i.e. only connected to the PCB with flexible wires) or PCB-mounted (soldered into the PCB and poking through the front panel, may also be locked to the panel with a nut). In the latter case (which on modern kit is much more likely unless it's an expensive all-valve job), you will need to find a new jack socket with exactly the same arrangement of 'legs' on it - theses are pins or flat tabs that locate into the PCB. Otherwise the job will be impossible, or if you're lucky, just freakin' difficult. I have carried out this procedure on my Hartke A35 when the input socket died, so I speak from experience! I was lucky enough to find a direct replacement

At the risk of repeating what has been said a gazillion times before, a thing is 'worth' what someone is willing to pay for it. Having said that, I find it hard to imagine that particular bass ever going for the asking price. EDIT: Some questions to ponder:[list] [*]How much is an equivalent reissue? [*]How good were those early '80s reissues compared to what is available now? [*]What could you get for the same money? [/list]

[quote name='mikegatward' timestamp='1355307967' post='1896581'] One of the bands i play for has 2 female singers, as well as Blondie we've thrown in Eurythmics, Pretenders, Adele. Currently looking at KT Tunstall's Suddenly I See and also Tainted Love, the original Grace Jones version. Nice quick win there with Tainted Love. [/quote] My band has [b]no[/b] female singers, but we do [i]Rehab[/i] and [i]Stand By Your Man[/i]!

Hmm, call me a pessimist, but I have a bad feeling about the '2 female singers' thing. Two possibilities spring to mind:[list=1] [*]They learn to harmonise together, become best buddies, get fed up with splitting the money so many ways, and leave the band to go and work as a duo with backing tracks. [*]They become ultra-competitive, argue over who sings what, start to hate one another, and get involved in an on-stage cat-fight at a wedding gig, which ends with them knocking over the 7-tier wedding cake and rolling around on the floor of the marquee. [/list] Might never happen of course....

To me, Oasis's key strength was memorable tunes, and you'll find at least one good one on every album. That's why I pick them up at charity shops and car boots rather than pay full price! I worked out the bass-line for Cigarettes & Alcohol note-for-note for a previous band, and there [i]are[/i] some runs connecting the straight-8s root note sections. I agree though, there is not a lot of 'great bass' on there. By contrast, listen to any Bowie album and you'll hear brilliant, inventive bass-lines by brilliant, inventive players!

One of the most hazardous manouevres executed by drunkards is the rear somersault over the wedge monitor. One is obliged to step smartly backwards. Bad luck if one has pedals on the floor, cares about one's wedge monitors, or has nowhere to step smartly back to!

Played lead guitar with a 3-piece in which I have been a 'permanent dep' since [i]May 2011[/i]. Gig was at a social club and went fine on the whole. I have told the guy who runs the band that I am doing no more in the New Year, as I need to leave the calendar clear for my own band. So, this guy had a prospective replacement lead guitarist (who I will call Bloke) coming along to try out [i]on the gig[/i]. Blokee gets up in the break, and spends a lot of time setting up his amp and pedals (all separate, not on a board), and trying to tune his guitar. And his cables don't seem to be long enough. Half-way through our second set, Bloke is invited up and I take a seat in the audience. 3 mins later (an eternity in stage time), Bloke still can't get a sound from his rig, so I let him plug into my amp. His guitar output is way louder than mine, but he doesn't have the sense to back off the volume on his guitar. Volume wars ensue with drummer and vocalist. Bloke plays in 'bedroom blues' stylee. Lady from audience asks me if I am going back on, and is happy when I say yes, happier still when I agree to sing the number she has requested. I get back onstage and have to stand in the tiny gap in front of bloke's loose clutter of fx pedals. Is there a moral to this story? Hell yeah! (1) A gig is a gig, an audition is an audition. If you make a nob of yourself at an audition, you probably won't get the job. Do it at a gig, and the band may not get asked back. (2) Time and money devoted to ensuring that your kit is quick to set up, and reliable in operation, are well spent. (3) Silent tuning good, audible tuning bad. Just glad it wasn't 'my' band!

[quote name='Bassman Sam' timestamp='1355001866' post='1892936'] I find that pretty immature and you are the fool, not them. [/quote] No, that is what gentlemen of my advancing years refer to as a 'wizard wheeze'. Even funnier if you can also find a way to cop some of the download revenue from [i]Killing in the Name[/i]!

I have one left over from a piezo pickup kit. PM me your address and I will pop it in the post to you FOC.