BassInMyFace

thanks guys, i recognise the "sawing" vs rolling comment ubassman made. will work on that. Tbh i am certain my bow hand is all wrong and all videos i watch confuse and contradict. to clarify, i can read music but dont have time/interest in full on classical bass at this point. i would love to get involved one day but gig schedule and work is keeping me too busy to stray too far out of my comfort zone. any other suggestions for resources to use at your own pace?

hi folks. i really want to have a crack at arco and now finally have the option to practise silently with my nxt4. really struggling to find decent resources to get me started. the youtube stuff is not very inspirational. im looking for some pointers on technique and some simple pieces to learn by ear (sorry, no real interest in slogging through notation, probably sacrilege when it comes to arco right???!) can anyone recommend a good series of videos or a book/cd? and can someone for the love of god please answer me why my notes often sound "choked" when i bow? i have tried different pressures, different right and left hand techniques but cant find a pattern. its sounding full and clean and then every so often bam, horrible, weak, choked noise appears from nowhere. not a setup issue as hits any string it feels like. as u can see, this is the level im at with arco. why cant i just make it sound amazing???

just had a thought, my DB tail piece looks pretty naff. its a big chunky lump of metal. will i notice much of a difference if i upgrade? any recommendations?

[quote name='Maude' timestamp='1369169571' post='2085870'] Wow, thanks Bassinmyface, just the sort of answer I wad hoping for, not that I don't appreciate everyone elses. I agree about the clicky being separately controlled, I had wondered if you could put a small passive volume control under the fingerboard for it. I do a bit of slapping but would like to do more which is why I was leaning towards the single with clicky but I'm sure I saw a post with someone saying their bridge PU picked up the string slap quite well. I supposed I could use a big bass and a clicky and merge the signals using my Line 6 X3, you can run two instruments through it and tailor the signals independently, switch the clicky off when not needed. [/quote] definitely recommend that. could never get it to sound quite "right". need to eq it and balance the volume just so. guess a very consistent slap technique couldnt hurt either!

have had quite a bit of contact with the guy at J-tone so could find his email correspondence and put it up here if people are interested? i have had the rockabilly duo (paddle and a clicky) and the big bass double. rockabilly duo was great, quite a high-mid biased sound but not annoying. actually a pretty good tone. the clicky was highly dependent on placement on back of fingerboard, the lower you put it, the louder and more pronounced the click. i ended up putting it quite high for a very subtle effect. didnt really play any slap so was the wrong choice. i think on reflection, a clicky should be separate so you can control volume and eq as an individual signal. also think it increased feedback. always struggled with feedback and often had to rely on magnetic pickup on particularly loud stages. i replaced this with the big bass twin. according to the j-tone guy the piezo units are the same as underwoods? i found them to be much thicker than the rockabilly and needed alot of sanding of my bridge wings, just be aware and check your measurements. once in they sound great. very much more bass focussed response. big fat sub and nice top end click. perhaps lacking in the mids? not alot of articulation but this suits me for the kind of gigs im doing that require lots of signal and lots of sub. much better feedback resistance too. im happy with these for the time being so would highy recommend for those who need loud volume and big bass, clue is in the title!! from conversations with him, the "Reds" are very popular. an all rounder but originally designed for cello i believe so you can imagine its bass response might be a little meagre. think this one is the choice for quiet players who need a more "acoustic" sound. the other models are all variations on these 3 units. single paddle versions, or combinations etc. would highly recommend messaging the seller. he has always been very helpful and approachable with my annoying questions.

thanks so much for all your input guys, really appreciate it considering how dull a subject it is!! welcome to basschat, lets talk tax....... in my other life i work with finance so am comfortable with keeping accounts, have some pretty crazy spreadsheets that keep track of everything so happy with that side. could be better at keeping reciepts tho..... picking up danthevans comments; [quote name='danthevan' timestamp='1366576336' post='2054435'] But, whoever the business owner is, will pay the 20% tax on every bit of profit. So if you charge £1000 per gig, give 3 band members £150 each, that leaves £550. Say there is £100 as 'expenses' , which leaves £450 then the business owner will be liable to pay 20% on the whole £450. Obviously if you done 10 gigs like this and had £4.5k in the pot, you could divvy it out between the band members (with a receipt from them obviously!) or buy a new PA to get round paying tax on it. [/quote] its the 20% tax on the remaining profit that worries me. we do exactly what you describe, in fact 40% of all profits after expenses go into the kitty. is there a way to (a) pay zero or less than 20% tax on this? are there different business entities that pay less or something? ( how much of this "kitty" can you spend without it looking dodgy? ie say we end the year with £10k in the pot and smash it all on equipment at the end of march. does that look suspicious/tax evasive???

hi folks, i know its dull but have found very little info online about how to properly manage band finances. wonder if anyone can help?? any recommendations of generic sites/books (uk tax only, too much US based info out there) would be great but if u fancy chipping in with specifics see below; i am treasurer for my band and keep detailed accounts of income and expenditure. we are doing pretty well at the mo so at month end i balance the books, cover all expenses/petrol etc and then split profits 40% to kitty and divide remaining between all 6 members. all expenses are itemised and i am getting better at keeping receipts. most of us work full time (PAYE at normal jobs) so i assume we will need to declare our band earnings at year end as self employed income right? does the "band" also have to pay tax on the profits left in kitty? (i believe VAT kicks in when you turn over around £60k right?) at present we are being slack and havent created band as business entity yet, looking into becoming a "co-op". As it stands, i have a separate personal account that all funds go through. realise this needs to change asap. any suggestions on what best arrangements are for tax? should we avoid paying monthly salaries and let band do it all at year end? just how badly could things go wrong if we carry on being lazy and not sorting it??!! sorry, its pretty dull i know but you know what they say about death and taxes right??

http://www.moseleyviolins.co.uk/ just round the corner from me. have been in to speak to them a few times. actually thought the prices were a bit high. guess thats a good indicator that they dont mess about.

i have the rockabilly version. has a clicky that sticks to back of fingerboard and a single piezo unit for the bridge. sounds great, volume is high and nice natural tone. i dont really play much rockabilly so was probably the wrong choice but the clicky seems to work great when i do. you can experiment with placing it closer to the edge of the board for more response. i have mine quite high up so response is very subtle. rumour has it the "reds" model is the best all rounder. i know a few people who use them and the j-tone guy confirmed as much when i emailed him thru ebay. am considering the switch just to compare. cant go wrong for 30 squid!!

cant find any info on this. anyone tried evah pirazzis with a magnetic pickup? core is synthetic but is there enough steel in the winding to give a decent signal? i tried innovation honeys once (same kinda construction) and there was a signal, albeit about 30% of regular steel cores.

[quote name='invicta59' timestamp='1348153996' post='1810113'] Just out of curiosity, how did you get on with your search for a technique or flourish? Did you get to grips with Bob Haggart's masterpiece? [/quote] still planning to get my drummer to beat my strings a la the bobcats, havent got round to it yet tho. so far tho i have thrown a little slap in there to keep it interesting. also chucked in a few little rip offs of famous basslines, that always gets a nice crowd reaction. for instance, in a drum and bassy type track i go into roni size brown paper bag bass line. goes down a storm for all the dnb wreckheads in bristol!!! need to watch intonation for that one tho, on busy stage with poor montoring i have gone so far out of tune without realising!! anyone else got any fresh ideas for bass showboating??

strings are ready to go to next person. is there anybody who fancies them?

i need to take these strings off before gigs at weekend. is there anyone next on the list? (btw i love the strings but need my steel cores back to cope with festival stages). can you just invent a set with steel cores please?

[quote name='bob_pickard' timestamp='1346048012' post='1784369'] As bassinmyface says you won't get a true voicing with a mag pick up and I certainly use a piezo or mic for recording. Live however, especially at high volumes you won't Hear the difference, obviously you will in a low volume jazz scenario... I've had 2 schallers, quite handy having a volume but they're pretty cheap pickups. The Kent Armstrongs work fine with Romberg, mine has one as well and are far superior to schallers, clearer, more transparent tone. I use a Moses Graphite at the mo which is more or less like a KA but clearer again with slightly smoother response. You can borrow the KA for a few weeks if you want to try it, I need to change the cable on it as it's a bit crackly at the mo but you'll be very welcome to. I've finally tried the Prestos - what a difference! Great to play, not very low tension but lighter and even across the strings, E response is excellent, very clear, and response across the strings is very even. the feel of them is very nice under the fingers, low tack, unlike the bloody weedwckers, and tuning stability is amazing - I was expecting the usual slipping out of tune for a few days but they seem to have settled down already. very happy so far. [/quote] okey doke, think i will be making the purchase in time for last few festivals this year. gotcha in terms of feel but what is the tone like on them? ie is the pizz old school gut with lots of "bloom" and thump or a bit more straight down the line steel string growl? and the tone for slap? is it a harsh click or softer gut click?

[quote name='oldslapper' timestamp='1346004398' post='1784020'] Thanks for this reply, very helpful. Just a question on the KA sound. I've had a Schaller mag fitted to this bass in the past, and although I was happy with the sound, it lost a lot of the tone of the bass itself. Can you describe the general voicing of the KA? Probably difficult to say I know, Some say the Schaller makes the DB just sound like a fretless P, I'm not sure I completely agree with that assessment, but I understand why that would be said. If the KA has the same result, then I'll stick with my piezo for live and mic for recording. Thanks BIMF John [/quote] havent had both the schaller and KA to compare but really they are magnetic pickups that work in the exact same way as a bass guitar. its not very double bassy sounding, not alot of the "woody" tone but loads of power and bottom end. very reliable and completely feedback resistant. thats why i use it, blended with a piezo it gives you dependable low end and adds lots of punch and articulation to the tone. if and when the piezo starts howling you can always dial it back in the mix and rely on the mag. i would say the fretless p bass thing is a bit of a red herring. i think the KA sounds very neutral. it doesnt add any character and certainly no p bass tone. it sounds like a massive fretless bass (which is technically exactly right). its not exciting but its saved me alot of hassle. incidently, have you seen the krivo pickup on Golihur? it has special windings that supposedly pickup up fingerboard vibration and body tone. supposed to be the most "natural" you can get with a mag.

[quote name='oldslapper' timestamp='1345924461' post='1783291'] I love my Prestos, but have never used them with a magnetic, would like to hear what they sound like. I did a recording gig last night and the bass with the Prestos sounds at its best mic'd obviously. Live it sounds nice with the piezo, using a DHA eq, but just occasionally I wonder how a mag would fair? Are you selling the KA Bob, or loaning it out? I'd be interested in either option. The only problem is I have a Romberg bevel board, and the KA might not "fit" Cheers, John [/quote] i have a romberg bevel too and the kent armstrong was measured to fit. however they made it wrong so doesnt really have correct shape at all. doesnt matter tho as all 4 pole pieces are adjustable for height so you can get an even sound across the strings with a bit of allen key experimentation. i would say go for it, even if the string spacing is wildly different you can compensate by bringing pole piece closer etc.

[quote name='bob_pickard' timestamp='1345639110' post='1779797'] should be here today so I'll let you know. I wasn't impressed by the weedwackers at all tbh and agree with the tension comment - they felt no less and maybe more than my thomastiks. The covering felt really grippy to me as well; I'm sure that didn't help my finger at all with the extra sideways force in slides. Here's hoping Prestos will save the day - I really don't want to go back to all the feedback faffing about with nylon strings if I can [/quote] yeah i feel the same, i know everyone on here says various piezo pickups are fine but i have tried a few and on a stage where you have 30 seconds to set up and start playing, i really need the reliability and power of the magnetic pickup. i blend with a piezo but more often than not feedback creeps in and i end up turning down the piezo signal and relying on trusty old mag. its a shame cos it really does limit string choice. really interested in how you get on with the prestos, let me know.

[quote name='bob_pickard' timestamp='1345562649' post='1778890'] now see what you've done! I was happy with prestos until you posted that now I'm going to have to start looking at non mag pickups again as well I'll give the prestos a go first though I think! [/quote] How do the prestos feel? Are they lower tension than the steel core weed wackers (I reckon the d and g are actually very high tension, almost unslappable). Do they pizz ok as well? If they are too slack then pizz sounds a bit naff. Think I will make a purchase but interested in your take in them first.

[quote name='bob_pickard' timestamp='1345462660' post='1777683'] Hello, well fresh back from my hols and after 4 weeks of resting my dodgy tendon in my finger it's no better at all. ho hum. Anyway, while I was ordering my new Presto Light strings to see if they'll help I suddenly thought that I have a set of Thomastik Weichs and a set of steel cored Weedwacker things sitting about. I could flog them but then got to wondering after all the posts we see on "what are these like, should I try this/that or the other combination of strings and pickups whether I should just loan them out to people that want to try them (I've a spare kent armstrong as well) - what do you think? Bob [/quote] think you and me are doing similar thing with strings. just taken my steel core weedwhackers off and strung up a set of innovation golden slaps (on trial from the string trial thread). they are insanely low tension, if you have tendon probs i would have thought they would be a great option. zero response through a magnetic pickup but have to admit the feeling of low tension is amazing. slapping is so easy and sounds so much nicer than those weedwhackers. pizz sounds great too, very loud and every note "blooms" satisfyingly. think i will try the presto nylonwounds light next as they should be of comparable tension but with mag response thrown in too. if you dont get on with your set i really wouldnt mind you giving them away to me......

i like free stuff

[quote name='daflewis' timestamp='1344011779' post='1758758'] Thanks for the comments Bassinmyface - I see you've signed up to try the silver slaps; you'll certainly get more growl from them, but they are quite a bright sound because of the round outer wrap. I think you'll like them anyway, but it might be worth trying the rockabillys too - they're the darkest sounding string, but do still have some sustain and growl... Just a thought. Daf [/quote] yep reckon I'll be working my way through all the sets! many thanks for setting this up, great way to expand the horizons without going bankrupt!