thepurpleblob

It's back to the store..... this is why you should support your local store... Gets coat etc....

With some trepidation I'm going to suggest it's a technique thing too. I'm not a particularly good fretless player but I find that to get that sound you have to "fret" very lightly and pluck quite strongly. If you have a death like grip with your fretting hand you don't get the classic fretless noise. This is certainly the case on my 70s Fender (with flatwound strings). I guess you are basically pulling the string out of tune.

[quote name='cytania' post='429289' date='Mar 9 2009, 12:54 PM']My new band is now rehearsing and I'm looking at what's beyond the first gig. We're playing covers; Killers, Raconteurs, Jam, Beatles, Lizzy that sort of thing. Should we bother with a demo CD to give to pub landlords or just a fancy flyer with picture and a list of the covers we play? If a demo is a big must-have then do they expect CD or old-fashioned cassette? I can sort of see why acts pick justone band to do as a tribute act. It gives people a clear idea of what to expect. Where's my afro wig?[/quote] Either a cd or some tracks on your website/myspace, or both. Tape is long dead. The main hassle is doing the recording, of course. You can get good enough recordings quite cheaply with a bit of shopping around. You will also need a reasonably professional flyer with some basic information including set list, some photos and contact information (where you can actually be contacted). Don't forget to mention if you have PA and lighting etc.. Remember, the venue wants to know if you will fit, will his punters like you and wants to get some sort of impression that you will actually turn up. All this helps.

[quote name='dlloyd' post='429485' date='Mar 9 2009, 03:50 PM']I vaguely remember being surprised when I found out my old Stingray actually put out a very, very low signal without any battery in it.[/quote] The circuit must have a signal path of some sort that bypasses the preamp chip. Handy in a last-ditch stand if your battery fails and you have no spare

[quote name='TommyK' post='429465' date='Mar 9 2009, 03:32 PM']Do not fret Purpleblob! This just recently happened to my Stingray, no amount of new batteries or fiddling could sort it, after much stressing the problem was traced to the battery compartment being busted, a new one is just £11. The thing is it was really hard to sus out what was going on cos it looked fine, connecting the wires directly to a battery exposed the fault (might be worth a try?) Sadly i am still waiting for said part, as it has to come all the way from the old US of A. In the meantime i am starting to get used to a Fender Jag and thinking it sounds ok........It is only a matter of time.... Tom[/quote] Strangely, just after I got the bass one of the wires broke off the battery compartment. Surprisingly it still works (I guess as you have found) but the level is *very* low. Much lower than I am experiencing. I just have a lower than everything else situation. I've been through quite a few basses over the years and I've seen a huge range in output level. Being passive or active has, somewhat counter-intuitively, been nothing to do with it.

[quote name='bumnote' post='429113' date='Mar 9 2009, 10:07 AM']The only pain is if you change your bass mid set then the levels are wrong. I generally set to the lowest output, and then just turn down if I have a more powerfull bass.[/quote] Yep... that's what I do too. It's what made me start to wonder if it was right though.

[quote name='Protium' post='428803' date='Mar 8 2009, 07:40 PM']Have you tried switching between passive and active input on the ABM?[/quote] Yeh - switching in the Active pad just makes it worse. It's pretty much unusable with active "in" on the amp.

No, it seems to work perfectly well. I just thought it was a bit surprising. The G&L and the P need the input at about position 2, the 'Ray right round to 9.

[quote name='benwhiteuk' post='428547' date='Mar 8 2009, 01:04 PM']Change the battery? That should sort it out. You’d be amazed the difference it can make.[/quote] It's not the battery - I'm stupid but not *that* stupid . It's never been any different new battery or otherwise.

[quote name='Al Heeley' post='428546' date='Mar 8 2009, 01:03 PM']What's the pickup height like compared to the others? An active ray should blow the other passive basses away easily, unless your battery has run down[/quote] The pickup heights are as they came out of the factory. They "look" sensible. The battery is new... it's always been like that, though. I just thought it was normal, but it's starting to seem like maybe it isn't!!

My Yamaha TRB4 cost me next to nothing, relatively, and it's a totally pro instrument. Although I hardly use it any more (anybody want one for a five string something?) I wouldn't hesitate to go anywhere and do anything with it. A little more valuable - but not much - my G&L Tribute is also amazing for the money.

I have a StingRay 3EQ bass - about three years old. It all seems to work as advertised except that the output seems very low. Both my G&L (Tribute) and a passive P-Bass blow it into the dirt output wise. I have to crank the input on my amp (An Ashdown ABM) up to almost max to get the needle over to 0dB at all. Is this right or is it broken? I've yet to get my hands on another one to compare.

Never underestimate the potential of simply stopping playing for a while. You get bored with anything if you do it too much (well, ok, maybe not *everything*). Go and do something else for a while. When you're ready come back to the bass.

[quote name='Marcus' post='423053' date='Mar 2 2009, 12:02 PM']+1 When I first started playing I wouldn't have anything to do with a pick Pick = Guitarist There have been a number of songs (originally played with a pick) that i've had to spend a fair bit more time learning with fingers than I should have done, simply because I wouldn't use a pick.... Silly really...... recently I've tried to use a pick and it's just too alien, it's limited me is a small bit significant way.[/quote] I did have a brush with trying to learn the guitar and that's where I came unstuck with that. Three strums and the pick fell out of my fingers. I tried every different type of pick I could get hold of and it didn't make any difference. Beats me

[quote name='dlloyd' post='422936' date='Mar 2 2009, 10:06 AM']Practice mainly, but there are picks out there that are less slippery than others. I don't use a pick for bass, but for guitar I use Wegen picks, which don't go anywhere thanks to their design... Expensive though.[/quote] EUR15 each!!!!! You'd be gutted if you lost one. Do you use those Gypsy ones for bass then?

I'd love to be able to play with a pick but it's a complete mystery to me how to do it. How the hell do you keep a slippery bit of plastic from falling out of your fingers??

You should have called the cops and complained about the noise from the students I think I would agree that I'm seeing more of this than I used to. Pubs where anything use to go are now asking us to keep it down a bit. It's particularly annoying that the complainant is very often the guy in the flat above the pub. That's a bit like buying a house next to a football ground and being upset that you can't park on a Saturday afternoon. On the other side of the coin we have to play the game a bit. Working in a pub is a sh*t job for minimum wage and that shouldn't mean you have to go deaf too.

Go to B+Q and buy the longest extensions they have and plug into unlimited power. Sound limiters are one thing but when they haven't even bothered to tell you in advance. As for the actual building, I don't think there's a massive amount you can do. Just make sure you allow plenty of time for a sound-check so you can set up as well as you can. Sound checks at weddings can be tricky too if it's the same room used all day.

Set everything flat, plug it in, switch it on, does it make a noise. Good.... my sound. Everybody thinks I'm joking when I say this. I'm not.....

Our band has been having a crack at this. Can't get it to sound right though. It's one of those songs that sounds dead simple until you listen carefully and realise that there's loads in it. Somebody was telling me that the Kings of Leon can't play it live either though

I was too lazy to read everybody else's suggestions so here's some that spring to mind (some are just weird).... * Beatles - just about anything * Hit me with your rhythm stick (assuming you are quite a bit better than me) * It's My Life (Talk Talk) * The Kaiser Cheifs - Ruby, Riot et al (honestly, some cool lines) * New Model Army - Island ([url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0Sl5hfcQDU"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0Sl5hfcQDU[/url]). Lots of others too. * Radiohead - lots of stuff * Weekender - Flowered Up (lengthy!)

A couple of points spring to mind... * regardless, never ever play anywhere for free. The only free gigs I do are in the pub that lets us practice in their back room for FOC every week. That's just to say thanks. Otherwise, don't, ever, no. * I (sort of) have my own business and even we've been tripped up. Never be all british about money. Agree a fee up front, do it in writing, by email or have a witness. Don't get into this cut of the door or percentage of takings business. Work out what you need and charge a sensible fee. You are doing a job. * If you turned up on time and did a proper job then never appologise, never discount, even if two people turn up and they both hated you. * Polite, insistent, nasty, small claims court. Never take any sh*t at the end of the day.

I don't like his playing either... but who cares what I think? While I spend all my days slaving in an office surrounded by self-obsessed w*nk*rs in suits, he gets to jet around the world doing something he (presumably) loves doing. So good luck to the guy, I say

It doesn't matter what I play it still sounds sh*t. I have a 'Ray just to make me look cool.... it doesn't of course

I've never tried a Status