Lfalex v1.1

Located an ASM Hydrasynth Explorer with a good discount, so I've pulled the trigger... It's "B-stock", but then most basses are, as someone might have "touched" them. Or worse still, played them...

Think I'm just GASsing for something that'll; A) Let me play a different patch with my left hand while my right hand occupies another keyboard. B) Have an arpeggiator/sequencer to play rhythm for me while I do other stuff. C) Will let me dabble in synthesis.

Status- My Streamline was a bitter disappointment. Sounded OK, but I've heard and owned better. Wasn't happy with the volume jump in the series/parallel switching. Fretboard delamination in several places at once. Cracks appeared in the lacquer around the bridge monorail. Then the batteries leaked 9 months in... never happened before or since. It was cursed. Sold at a horrendous loss. Wouldn't buy another. Ashdown- Been cut up whilst driving on the highways and byways by Mr Gooday more than once. That's reason enough for me... Hastings Insurance- My car was hit by another whilst parked. Only partial details were left, not including the other party's insurance provider. I contacted Hastings (my insurer) to find out who the insurer might be so I could make a claim. Basically was told it was my problem and to go and do one. So I have. You'll not see a single penny of my money again. KFC- I'd rather starve. TGI Friday's- Ditto.

1. Fired 2. Fired 3. Technically still in it. I haven't left and haven't been replaced after 20 years 4. Walked for political reasons 5. Walked for political reasons 6 Walked for political reasons Emerging pattern; Life is too short for pretentious and unrealistic people.

Playing 4s, 5s, 6s or whatever else is not mutually exclusive unless you can only afford one instrument or only have space for one. If I had the cash to burn, I'd definitely have a 3 string (E,A,D) custom build. Just because. It'd not stop me playing the others, though.

[Thinks back to hifi days...] Modulus of impedance?

Not to do Trace down, but you'll notice that they only actually made 3 cabinet sizes at any one time. Take the SMX era; There's the combo; 122SMX and 115SMX. Same horizontal and vertical dimensions as the mid-sized cabs, but a shallower footprint to keep the weight down. The mid-sized cab; 2103 and 1153. Deeper than their combo equivalents, and lacking the sleeve at the top. Tellingly, they share a baffle with their combo variants. The bigger boys; 1048 and 1158. Same footprint as the 2103 and 1153, but taller. Note that at any given size level, the 10s share exactly the same enclosure as their 15 brethren. The difference is the baffle (naturally) and, most critically, the port tuning. (I've overlooked the 1524 and 1084, but I bet they probably share an enclosure, too) The whole design concept was geared towards ease and cost-effectiveness of manufacture, with as many common components as possible. Right down to only needing to cut 3 shapes of carpet/vinyl to cover the entire complement of cabs/combos. I used Trace as an example as I used their gear quite merrily for many years. I see that many cabinet manufacturers use the same manufacturing model. Of course they do. It's all about profitability while making a product that is fit for purpose and that meets consumer needs and expectations. I think that the "expectation" part is key. Until fairly recently, we all expected a bass cab to be a large, hefty black cuboid. We even expected it to sound a certain way, particularly if driven with amplification from the same manufacturer. The game has moved forward with lighter weight alternatives and FRFR cabinet. I wonder, though, how many players with more modern, neutral cabinets end up EQing their sound back towards the sound that the older systems delivered?

(I have a Bongo 6) Every time I play it, it makes me laugh, but in a good way. They've just got endless headroom from the pickup/EQ combination- Neo, 4 band and 18v to boot. You can get quite old- school tones if you dial back the bass, treble and a bit off the upper-mid. Conversely, it'll djent or slap quite happily. Not sure it can "rip off" any other basses, not even a Ray. It does its own thing. And very well, too. They're well-made, even the six balances ok without it being too heavy. The neck is very quick- they're normally painted, which can be a deal-breaker for some. Frets are stainless and last well. All in all they're underrated, partly because of the aesthetics, which some don't like. £1400 is pretty good, and if you don't like it, you'll likely recoup that if you sell it on.

Yup. Overwound (perhaps) or at least able to be set relatively high close to the strings) compared to the very neck pickup. Personally, from my experience, I'd favour "A". Does distance from the bridge affect pole-piece alignment on this bass? If so, bladed pole-pieces are your friend. Again, another preference of mine (in two Warwicks and an Ibanez) YMMV

I think it was mentioned the he favours American Punk, not Thrash...

Definitely, that and the way in which they interact with the listening environment (usually a room for domestic hifi. Bass amps get used all over the place)

Urgh! These things are as bad as basses! The Roland is like a gateway drug; "I wish I could control the envelope of the sounds more (at all!)" Enter: Synth Gas. Candidates: Novation Bass Station 2, Arturia MiniFreak, and my current fave; The ASM Hydrasynth Explorer...

Whilst I voted 34", which many of my basses are, in point of fact, it doesn't really bother me that much. Don't think I'd care to drop much below 32", though. What does disappoint me a little is that multi-scale basses seldom seem to go for a "best of both worlds"; 32-35" on a fiver, tuned GDAEB. Modern bottom, old school top. I think there's a lone Ibanez that fills that niche. Most everything else seems aimed at the 34-37" Djent metallers

@asingardenof probably has it right. It's to cover vendors and merchants in the US shipping from Anchorage to Miami or other extremes of climate (especially humidity)

What if your equipment gets cold in transit to a gig? You can't not open the case when you need the instrument? Unless you have a spare...

I'd probably tune to C standard on a 4; C,F,A#,D# The five I'd leave in Standard B,E,A,D,G Primarily because I like to keep my fingerings patterns consistent.

The drummer in the band I left now has a gong. There's a few things I cannot tolerate in a band; Gongs Wind Chimes Band members wearing their own merchandise. (I'll barely wear anything with conspicuous branding) Looks like my exit was well-timed.

I really wouldn't sell ALL your gear. Keep your favourite bass or two and favourite effects (or a multi) If you haven't room for an amp, a small headphone one will do for when the itch returns and needs scratching.

But please bear in mind that they're not mutually exclusive!!

The last thing I jammed did NOT end well. It's week 2 in a new band (I've since left) Both the guitarist and drummer are, on the face of it, more accomplished than I. We've gone through all the material, and have some time left. Drummer; "Wanna Jam something?" Me; "Sure, what've you got? Guitarist? Both; "Nothing" Me; "OK. Well I have this..." Plays riff in 6/8, in a Blues scale with an extra sharpened 7th. (Almost sounds like "Paranoid" collided with "Communication Breakdown") Drummer; "Woaaah. That's not in 4/4!" Guitarist; "What's that progression?" It All falls down. We never jammed again.

Yep. That's the one. As for peak thrash, I see your early Anthrax in a good venue and raise you; Clash of the Titans (1990) It wasn't the big 4. More like 2 of 4 with excellent support. All fielding their classic line-ups. Slayer- Araya, King, Hanneman, Lombardo Megadeth- Mustaine, Friedman, Menza, Ellerton Testament- Billy, Peterstone, Skolnick, Christian, Clemente Suicidal Tendencies- Muir, Trujillo, George, Clark, Herrera. Best of the night? Controversially, Testament. But no-one sucked. Particularly Slayer. They were superb.

Anthrax were better than Iron Maiden when I saw them play together. That said, Maiden had just lost Adrian and replaced him with Janick. They were touring "No Prayer for the Dying". Hardly their strongest album. Anthrax were mostly covering "Persistence of Time" with bits of "Among the Living" and "Euphoria" thrown in. Line up? Belladonna, Benante, Bello, Ian and Spitz. That's as good as it gets. • When I saw Metallica in '89, they had no real competition from their support. Metallica were "good", but there wasn't much of a yardstick.

I've had it said about my choice of amplification and cabinet at auditions. More than once. "Looks old. Will it be ok/enough?" I don't bother to rise to it. They may not be the Emperor's new lightweight compact clothes, but Messrs Ampeg, Markbass and Schroeder put everyone right back in their places.

[Don't throw rocks at me for this] Coming from DB to BG ought to be a doddle, even allowing for the relative unfamiliarity of the dimensions. BG is a whole lot easier to play in general. You could get a custom made neck (and bass) made to your specs, and a good bit of strap adjustment might well pull the neck upwards. But not as much, I suspect, as you're looking for. Back in the day, both Ampeg and (iirc) Gibson did endpins for their BGs. Have you tried a BG and did you really not get on with it? If not, can you give us any insight as to why?

Meh! Editor reposted an old post. But while I'm here... Taking their time with the custom thing. Fairly sure there's plenty of customers (particularly in the U.S.) Who'd pay top dollar for a really nice [Insert EBMM bass of choice] with a few personal touches in terms of finish, neck finish, neck material, magnet material (Alnico/Ceramic/Neo), EQ, Hardware...