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[quote name='0175westwood29' post='674482' date='Dec 4 2009, 08:19 PM']im just noticing alot have mic inputs so im guessing i can just get a nice mic and it should give me decent sound?[/quote] Yes and no - bascally sticking a camera in your rehearsal room and hoping to get a decent recording is likely to result in the sound level being way too high for the camera's built in mic - it'd be fine if you were playing a gig and the camera-person is standing at a safe distance from the PA etc - but having filmed a lot of bands myself in the past the sound can really vary depending on how loud the gig is. Reheasal room (in general) can be very boxy and speaking from experience, bands often rehearse too loud or louder than they need to - don't worry I've been guilty of this in the past. If you want to get decent quality audio to go with your video my suggestion is to record it seperately - either straight out of the mixing desk or through a mic into a laptop / digital recorder - if you try the latter make sure you test the levels and check the audio isn't distorting. If this sounds like a pain in the arse to set up all I'll add is that it's worth the extra effort, and the more familiar you become with the whole process the quicker you'll be at setting it up. There's nothing worse than playing your ass off and everyone is sounding great and then discovering the recording is unusable afterwards... one last suggestion is it might be an idea to ask someone to film you as fixed point camera shots can be restrictive and a bit dull. On the camera front - [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001PGXA0K/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=471057153&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B0017HELYQ&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=16ZP4M3J23VVD56JVPAF"]something like this would be perfect[/url] Hope that helps Mike

Just a quick update to say I'm very happy with this amp - it really does come to life once you start pushing the tube and you can really tweak the low mids so they ping out like nothing else - like I said on my previous post compared to my (lovely sounding) Epifani 502 the clarity is shocking - I can tap notes in the lower register and they sound solid and well defined. I love the various slap tones I can get with it as well - a Marcus one can sound full and meaty, or I can go a bit more hi-fi and Wooten-ish as well - and it covers all your classic fingerstyle tones with ease as well. I've also found that when I'm in fusion-ish solo mode I can get a sweet sounding mid-range tone that really sings - sure it's smooth and precise - but that's what I want, each note is well defined and is exceptionally clear. The good news is I have one more last minute gig that's come in next week so I will get to try it out in the live setting - I'll let you know how I get on. If you get a chance give one of these GB S9s a go - for the size and power and masses of tone I think it's hard to beat. Obviously that's just my humble opinion... Mike

Hey peeps My fave - most used - pedal has started making random pops when I switch it on and off - it does still work but the noises are so bad sometimes that I can't use it on big gigs through a PA, not being anything like an expert on these matters - does this mean the thing is f-ked or is it a simple repair job? The problem seems to be the 'out' jack socket and not he switch itself - it can be OK if I'm gentle with it but that's not good enough to use live... - any thoughts on a possible solution would be appreciated. Mike

I'm sure you guys have seen a few my vids before (probably bored to death of em by now ) - anyway here's a couple of recent ones on my Sei Jazz... hope you dig 'em. Great vids so far guys - Slddx your Zappa vid is down - which is a shame as I wanted to check it out. Good work people - keep it up Mike

FWIW I'm loving my Shuttle 9, but then I don't play rock/metal and love a tight clean sound, I play that way too... it's an awesome amp but undoubtedly designed with certain players in mind, TC have signed up lots of very techincal players too - Rich Bona, Dom DiPiazza, Steve Bailey, Janek - it's all a matter of what suits your style. No doubt this is the start of a new era in bass amplification, I'm loving my choice so far but no doubt this tug of opinions on the Class Ds will run and run.

Well I finally got to try my Stl 9 out today and I'm impressed so far, there's so much power there it's boardering on the absurd, but it's great to think how it will behave on a gig and how it will cut through. In stark contrast to my Epi UL502 the head is definitely cleaner and punchier, I love the warmth of the Epi and will definitely keep that head for all sorts of other gigs but seeing as I am mainly playing funk, jazz and fusion type stuff I think the GB 9 is a great all rounder for that, sure it's clean and very transparent but having put my bass through PAs and recorded it direct a lot this year the Sei basses sound so good on thier own that this amp is perfect for letting the bass' own sound shine out. The highs sound really sweet and just that bit clearer than the 502, but when I tried my Jazz out and went for a full bodied slap tone without too much top end it sounded full and rounded. I need to gig this amp to really see what happens with it, but having just gigged my 502 on a big gig at high volume and a small pub gig at mid volume I can say that it was very warm sounded but a little bit fluffy round the edges... I guess it's all pretty subjective at the end of the day, I heard Dominique DiPiazza use his TC450 amp in London a couple of weeks ago and it did sound good but a lot of that came from his amazing playing and his top end bass, likewise I tried the MB heads out a couple of weeks back and compared them to a Shuttle 3 and to my ears there wasn't a massive difference, I do like MB but I'm not 100% about their overall sound. In short I'm happy with the S9 but now need to think about a suitable 1x12 to run it through as I'm a bit scared of just putting it through a 10", so is it going to a Berg or an Epi 1x12??? Any thoughts welcome, the Epi 2x10 sounds monster though, so I'm keeping that too! Mike

Hey guys Still very excited about getting my 9.0 but I'm just thinking how it'll perform through a small cab like a 1x10 or a 1x12, I'm sure it'll be cool but it's a bit crazy to think how it'll behave through a tiny speaker, I'm pretty sure it'll rock the house through my Epi UL210, that cab is just great and was kicking it out beautifully on my gig last night just can't wait to take the Shuttle out instead of my Epi UL502 which is awesome but heavy to lug to gigs! Any thoughts people? M

[quote name='The Funk' post='668175' date='Nov 28 2009, 12:10 PM']Good policy! When are you guys playing next? I popped down to see you guys once somewhere in West London a couple of years ago. Very enjoyable gig![/quote] Not sure yet but I think it'll be sometime in Jan (maybe Dec) - I'll be sure to let you know - would be nice to actually meet you sometime... M

[quote name='The Funk' post='668165' date='Nov 28 2009, 12:01 PM']Can't beat the feeling of "holy sh*t - this [i]isn't[/i] actually a self-indulgent, monumental waste of time, money and energy".[/quote] LOL - thankfully I've had that a few times this year - I think my new policy of less gigs but better quality ones has worked - but it's all in the lap of the musical gods when you plug in and play - nothing is guaranteed! Nice one M

[quote name='AM1' post='644664' date='Nov 3 2009, 08:16 PM']Mate, that is *superb* - I especially like the "percussive" section starting 1.40 and then the ascending and descending sequence at 3.00. Got any more?![/quote] Thanks dude, I'm not really a 'solo' basssist but I do dabble with this stuff from time to time, I've written a few more things like this but not recorded them yet, this one came out rather well so I have to at least make one as good as this before I post it on youtube! thanks again Mike

Call me cynical, but I didn't have high expectations of this pub gig I got booked to do last night, but the last pub gig I did (that I can remember) was pretty horrible, I was with my five piece jazz funk band and we followed an pretty awful indie guitar/vocals trio, who basically brought their own audience, so as soon as we started the place was half full... the sound was also horrible, and for some reason the Jeff Berlin markbass combo I was using just didn't give me anything like the sound I wanted, which I thought it could/would. Anyhooo, last night was such a pleasant surprise in terms of general vibe and playing and even the Lambeth locals proved themselves a lovely bunch. It was pretty much the same band and the venue was a bog standard (you could smell the gents, never a nice adition to a venue ) pub, and they've only been doing live music for three weeks. There were a couple of local 'characters', one who tried to impress us with some 'pub singer' style crooning, which he was using to serenade our female drummer, and another guy in a flat cap and buck teeth who set himself up at the bar are started chucking mild insults at us as we set up... mmm, sounds familiar. But as this was an absolutely no pressure gig, which for me was great as I've been doing some quite pressured gigs of late, we just let the funk out and let rip. And as we were all so relaxed, the two horn players do all sorts of weird working gigs, from cabaret clubs, to jazz gigs, to corporate things, we all had a good blow, I think I took about 5 solos too (not my usual quota at all). And the crowd loved it, I got lots of nice comments from a couple of younger dudes wacthing who obviously don't check out much jazz related music, one was so funny at the end saying "wow man, that was sick! You werre crawling all over the bass, and everyone got to have a little go (i.e. solo)", but he genuinely enjoyed it. Someone even opened the door for me when I was carrying out some gear to the car at the end of the night. The promoter turned up an loved it, paid up no problem, the venue wants us back and even the two nutters couldn't help themseles at the end of the night and came up to shake our hands and mumble "you guys were f***ing brilliant"... you should play at Ronnie Scotts (some of us have). I've got quite cynical about the general public's perception of music and the lack of any other form of music aside from highly produced pop and rock getting any sort of attention in the mainstream media... but to play to people who just really appreciated and enjoyed what we were doing, shared our entusiasm but also gave us some respect for playing well (which I'm always grateful for) was nothing short of heartening. The place might have been a bit smelly, and had its share of slightly off the wall characters, but hey it had heart and soul and a great freindly (dare I say community) atmosphere, who'd have thought it in big bad London where some people can and are utter c***s, a very pleasant gig for all the right reasons. Anyone else had their faith in music/playing restored like this? Thanks for reading this very long post! Mike

[quote name='Musicman20' post='667454' date='Nov 27 2009, 03:19 PM']I did. My GAS is terrible. lol. Has anyone got there Shuttle 9.0 already? Im intrigued to use it with one 8 Ohm cabinet...that basically means all the 8 ohm cabs I have can also be used as one cab solutions for gigs...or stack for pure doom. Shuttle 9.0 made it much better to have 8 ohm cabs...hence why I had to have one.[/quote] There's a big Shuttle 9 disscussion thread on TB - really interesting as lots of guys have tried them in different situations and all are saying the amp does the business and then some - one notable quote that I remember is along the lines of "I've yet to try it through a pair of speakers where it didn't sound great" - or something like that! I'm looking forward to running it through my Epi 210 - my next mission when time and cash aloow will be to find the perfect 1x12 for it - though I already have some good ideas... M

[quote name='Rich' post='667332' date='Nov 27 2009, 01:32 PM']Well, if you guys are half as pleased with your 9.0s as I am with my 6.0, you'll be very very happy bunnies Somebody do a review when they arrive![/quote] I loved the 3.0 but I know this will be so much more amp for the size and the money - I have Tuesday off work so will be running it through its paces then - I think we may have to start a new thread in the reviews section tho. M

AAAAAAAAAAAAAA! I just ordered one - will be with me on Monday... Holy crap - really excited about this now... M

[quote name='Doddy' post='666390' date='Nov 26 2009, 04:06 PM']So,in the new issue of BGM is a short feature on Stuart Zender,and then next month he's on the cover?!!!!!! After his last feature he wrote this on his myspace..... "RUBBISH BASS INTERVIEW Hey everyone!!!! I would just like to apologize for the rubbish interview in this months bass guitar magazine(if anyone read it). It was a phone interview and i did tell the guy a lot of new stuff....he just never put it in the article. I have not done an interview for ages and i really did not think it would turn out like that. He kept talking over me while i was trying to answer his questions. I did not know who the cover bassist was so i went out and bought their album. I didn't like it. Sorry...i guess everyone has an opinion and i hate judging people so i will be polite and just leave it at that. There is a ton of great "female" bassists out there and i really wish that one of "them" made the cover..ha ha. I think the editor of the magazine used the whole "female" bassist thing as novelty factor. I guess he was trying to be "PC" but, in my eyes, ended up insulting all bassists. I find that really sexist. We are all the same...well besides the whole penis/vagina thing. At he end of the day we all have the same passions and drive. I also think the "girl" on the cover was silly to say that no one expects a "girl" to play the bass because "girls" have small hands.... well.......I have small hands and it never stopped me. Do you play the bass...or does the bass play you? The instrument is my life....it is my sanctuary and it saddens me to see someone on the cover of a bass mag that doesn't care and probably picked it up because it was the "easiest" thing to learn. Pardon my French... but bollocks to that! Hey Charlott from the Subways.......go buy Black Flags "Whos Got the 10 and a half" Kira Roessler....where ever you are..... YOU f***in RULE!!!!!!! PS......Dont buy a copie.......read it online!!!! Also....if anyone feels the same way i do you should email the editor with your thoughts. If i have burnt any bridges with this blog just know......i have a loads of wood in the garden! ha ha ha....love and peace to all "girls" and "boys"...oh.......and bass guitarists! Stu" .....and they still feature him again? Twice? I don't get it. I liked the guy when he was in Jamiroquai,but he's not really done much since has he?[/quote] This issue was one of the worst under the old regime (before Nick was editing it) - the Subways feature on Charlott (with all due respect to her as well) was a flimsy two page Q&A and putting her on the cover without backing it up with a decent interview or guess what? A whole issue dedicated to female bassists - now there's an idea - was very poor indeed - and smacked of just wanting to put a 'girl' on the cover. A far as I am aware Stu Z was really cool when he was interviewed for the new issue and is part of a bigger feature (I can't reveal on what) with a ton of top UK bassists - his comments based on that issue are IMHO justified - but please don't jump to conclusions until you've seen / read the next issue - I think (hope) it will be a lot lot better. Mike

[quote name='karlclews' post='658121' date='Nov 18 2009, 02:18 PM']Hey Mike - how you doing? While I don't have specific experience of the Baby Baby Blue to compare with, I just wanted to vouch for the GB Shuttle. I'm now using a Shuttle 6.0. Most of the time, since I'm generally going through the PA, I just put the Shuttle into an Acme Low B1 (1x10) which I have up on an angled stand and use it as an onstage monitor. On those occasions where I'm not going through a PA and need to shift a bit more air, I put the Shuttle through my trusty old SWR Bigfoot (2x12). Both setups give me a glorious sound (IMHO!). I can officially say that I have no GAS for any more amplification (at least until the Bigfoot dies of old age)! Incidentally, before getting the Acme, I used an Epifani UL 1x10 in the first of these setups. Didn't do the job at all - no bottom end and it generally farted out at any kind of volume. The Acme is a whole other world. I'd be worried that the Epi 1x12 you're thinking about might be closer to my Epi 1x10 than to the Acme B1. Anyway, I just can't say enough good stuff about the Shuttle - tone out of the box is just great for me - I don't generally touch the eq on it at all. And I like SWR - used to have an SM400, a Bass 750 and a Workingman's 10 and loved the tone on all of them - so I'd say the Shuttle's tone is likely the same ballpark as your Baby Baby Blue. Karl[/quote] Karl - I'm good and good to hear from you! Thanks so much for all this info - really helpful - I'm definitely set on a Shuttle - but I like the 3.0 as it is just so lightweight and small and I'm keeping my Epi UL502 as my main big rig - plus I have an Epi UL210 that shifts major air when I need it - I'm actually thinking if I get an Epi 110 I can always added it to the 210 and have a nice stackable 310 - I honestly can't think I'd need any more power/wattage than that at the moment. I've tried the Shuttle 3.0 with this speaker and I really love the sound, though based on your comments re the 6.0 if I see one for a good price I'll certainly consider it - but then I'll have two 600watt amps! I really do want a super small but powerful setup and having put the GB 3.0 up against a Mark Bass III today I can confirm that the GB really held its own. Once again though guys all the input extremely helpful and massively appreciated I hope to see you around at some point Karl - drop me a line and we should meet up Cheers Mike

[quote name='cureswhatailsye' post='662624' date='Nov 23 2009, 01:26 PM']Hi everyone, I had a great time at Bassday UK yesterday, my particular highlights being Nathan East, Maurizio Rolli and Poogie Bell Band. I wanted to see if anyone else noticed anything about the trade stands, in that I'm not sure I noticed anyone playing anything with fingers or a pick all day? I have nothing against slap (one of my favourite bass lines: Freddie Washington on 'Forget Me Nots'), and I know that everyone has their favourite "shop licks", having worked in a bass shop. However, after 7 hours milling about, I was thoroughly confused ( and in a small amount of ear related pain). Surely if you're trying to demo a bass, you want to show your customers its full palette (sp?) of sounds? Anyway...just wondering if anyone had any thoughts on this thoroughly gripping issue! Ta. [/quote] I've just been to the Gallery in Camden to try some amps out, I'm looking for a really versatile amp and yes a little bit of slap does need to be tried to see how the bottom end and detailed top sounds, but for me it's all about fingerstyle now, just regular two finger plucking, and seeing how the amp and bass combine to produce a whole variety of sounds, slapping full tilt won't achive this. I've been to so many bass days or trade shows where it's jus wall to wall slapping, and it starts to wear you down after a short while, it's a shame really as it just begins to grate on your ears, mind and nerves! M

Sounds like as much fun as last year's event was - sorry I couldn't make it - but then I did have prime seats for Marcus Miller at the barbican (alongside Mr Mike Brooks) and we both agreed it was the best Marcus gig we'd ever seen/heard - he was on amazing form and as the set was mainly stuff from the Mikes Davis 'Tutu' album the music was really engaging and less meandering - like his own shows can be - it was a total masterclass in massive funk grooves and monumental tone and phrasing - the young band were killing too. I hope I can make the next Bass Bash or next year's Bass Day - just good to know it was well attended and people enjoyed themselves - excellent! Mike

Using just one finger to do that stuff is a bit weird if you ask me, I do a finger picking thing that does a downstroke with the thumb then an upstroke with the index (not slapping!) - it uses about half the engery of what he's doing - and is effectively a finger version of using a pick - all that said he has a great tone and seems pretty on the timing - I'm just worried he's going to, or already has, injured himself. M

Awesome gig at the CBSO Centre in Birmingham - place was pretty much sold out (aournd 500 peeps) we played really well, I was comepletely relaxed when I went on and my sound was about 10x better than in the sound check - was really in the groove with the drummer and that made everyone else get into it - only bummer was my G string decided to lower itself too much so it became unplayable above the 15th fret - just in time for my nice melodic solo - had to switch to plan B and added a few unwanted "jazz" notes - but got away with it - just! But I had loads of positive feedback from people afterwards - it's a killing band and we'll no doubt keep improving - a very satisfying night all round. M

[quote name='EBS_freak' post='659873' date='Nov 20 2009, 09:05 AM']Mike - What time is this on?[/quote] Hi Russ I think showtime is 7.45pm - be great to see you there M

Small bump for this gig - it's a cool band I'm sure you guys and gals will dig it Thanks Mike

I love the idea of IEMs and I have actually been plugging my bass directly into the PA at rehearsals as the Sei just rocks on its own minus an amp - it sounds great direct - my only caveat with IEMs is that unless you are always in a high-production setting where monitoring is used and there's lots of vocals and keys etc - then using IEMs for a jazz gig would seem a bit excessive to me - agreed on a big stage or comlex live set up IEMs are the way to go - our vocalists have a problem pitching when the monitoring sucks - they used IEMs at the last rehearsal and I can honestly say they sounded so sweetly in tune and so much more relaxed because they could hear themselves - I could see how good they can work. Lastly I happen to like the way my bass sounds thorugh my amp - so I love hearing it that way - but the benefits of IEMs are huge for sure. M