basexperience

Can you stop the cavalry - Jona Lewie

Nice. The guitar work is gorgeous on this track - who's in the project?

55 minutes ago, Born 2B Mild said:

 

Just got and gigged my first wonky. I've named her 'Chicken'.

 

I've had a few Ibanez basses before, but this is the first with Nordstrands, which I consider a definite improvement.

I love the look of these, particularly with that finish. The flat paint colour finishes don't do this shape justice. How well did you adapt to the fan?

I’m a very recent Ibanez owner - not had one before. Got this during lockdown, case still has tags, bass utterly unmarked, with original strings, I suspect. An eBay bargain. 
 

I’ve used it on jam nights, it’s very versatile. Currently it’s still strung from A on the fretless side, but I’m considering EAD so it’s better for playing actual basslines on. Great sounding bass, the fretless on piezo sounds very upright-ish. 

On 18/10/2023 at 03:13, GreyBeard said:

Ibanez ATK805 the most versatile bass I've ever owned.  

 

 

 

Oh, I love the look of that. Quite unique, a real looker. 

I really like it - I've got a V7 Mk2 ash / maple blonde, which I adore - amazing bass. This new 24 fret model looks like a Mayones Jabba - which I also really like, but you can bet it won't be mayones prices 🙂

https://thebassgallery.com/products/mayones-jabba-4-pj

16 hours ago, Richard R said:

I have an SBL membership and I really ought to use it more and do what he says - it works.

Like his simple advice for big jumps - look at the fret you intend to land on. Same as skiing - look where you're going because you'll go where you're looking 🙂

 

 

I created a google sheets "app" which you can use to generate practice schedules daily from the courses you're doing. You populate sheets from a template one, then choose how to select items from the list you put on the sheet. Everything gets collated into a schedule sheet, you cut and paste it into a practice log, and off you go. 15 mins per task, or longer if you want. I've been using it for 4 years now, and it helps you get through the material!

On 09/10/2023 at 20:39, Richard R said:

Welcome aboard!

 

Yep, accuracy! I know the feeling when for no apparent reason you stretch too far and hit Eb instead of E and that C chord run suddenly becomes Cm. Most annoying. 

I have recently gone right back to basics on technique. I practice chords arpeggios and scale runs slowly, and have found this made a big difference.  Slowly means really slowly, one note per second max,  and really thinking about the finger positioning. 

 

As someone who also plays almost exclusively in church, I  find that "If in doubt, simplify" is a great moto. The congregation aren't there to listen,  they're there to sing, and most of them genuinely don't notice the bass unless it stops altogether,  so if you find yourself making mistakes you can really dial back. 

 

Check out the techniques pages, and do hop over to the Playing in Church thread too. But don't stop playing.

 

This is a huge thing in the accuracy - the gains from doing the arpeggios and scales are far more than just the muscle memory. I really dug into this stuff properly maybe 3-4 years ago, having had an SBL life membership for a while before that but not really dug into it properly: I started to put some serious lesson plans into play, and did a huge amount of work on knowing the board, then moved to Scott's "4 shapes" for arpeggios. Slow at first to get it into the head (I've always had reasonable technique but always played by ear, and I too wasn't great at aiming for notes in a jump beyond maybe 3-4 frets) - but when it started to stick, the results were incredible, and in everyday playing too.

The benefits sort of sneak up on you. For reference - I'm 53 and I've been playing since I was 18, so I can attest that it's possible to be surprised by how far you can come with real dedicated work (maybe 1 to 1.5 hours a night).

Enjoy the journey!

Hello Basschat!

I've been a member for ages but I never posted an introduction, so I thought I'd do it now.

• Originally from Scotland (South east - Edinburgh / Fife)
• Now living in SE England, and yep, the weather is better overall...
• Bassist since around 1988
• Early influences all metal and rock - Iron Maiden (many, many albums learned by ear), Metallica, Testament, Anthrax (lots of anthrax) and a lot more
• Moved through Rush (dared by a friend, learned many, many albums by ear!) and joined cover bands while studying in Scotland - now enjoying guitar hero stuff too - Satriani (Hamm), Via (Hamm), Hamm... haha
• Perth Music College alum
• More bands playing more covers meant I started playing pop and funk more - really got into funk. Chilipeppers, James Brown, Sly Stone (early 90s by this time)
• A lot of fallow time in the last 90s / early 2000s - just playing alone, which was in retrospect horrible!
• Got back into playing live properly with open mic nights in Reading, and still doing them now.

Gearwise, I've got a lot of stuff...

Amps include a Trace V4 (the all-tube V2) in a custom Zilla cabs shell, Warwick Neo Pro cabs, I have a Warwick Pro Tube IX 900w head, a Warwick LWA500 (which is amazing) and an Ashdown ABM500. Also Markbass Traveller for portability (use a lot on the pub gigs) and a Roland Micro Cube XL bass (amazing - 6 AA batteries and they last, too - sounds great!).

Basswise, I'm up to 15 now, I think, spanning jazz, precision, weird ones like the Ibanez Ashula 7-string (which is gorgeous to play and great for flexibility!), 4, 5 and 6 strings, plus I have an Ashbory rubber stringed one (which works great for upright sounds live).

Playing a lot of fun stuff, still a lot of funky stuff (http://www.infinitebiscuits.co.uk for the funky project!) and in a couple of function bands as a sideman, plus a lot of house band work for local jam nights. Gig 2-3 times a month, but I'd like it to be once a week. Want to spend a but more time in the studio though.

I'm really happy to be here - this place is amazing.

TTFN

Andy

On 18/10/2023 at 22:08, Silverberry said:

Am I the only one that believes that the new 24 fret design is ugly? 🤔

On here, or globally? 😉

On 22/08/2023 at 23:03, leschirons said:

First off, lovely looking bass.

 

I play an Elwood 5a with La Bellas with a 135 B string.

Action is Rizla low with no buzz anywhere so, you should have no problem achieving what you need.

Yeah, I think you must have one where the guy doing the fret job did a better job than mine - it has very specific issues. I'm on 135s so it's not like they're floppy strings either - I guess I'm just going to have to take it to maybe the bass cellar in London and get them to work on the board to level the frets out.

18 hours ago, Lord Summerisle said:

And here it is, I absolutely love it!

OOO! That's a beauty

On 31/08/2023 at 16:35, tvickey said:

This just arrived form Pau, France 🇫🇷 today.  2016 NT5 complete with fretboard protector. 😂

 

I'm charging it up now... then will give it a go and afterwards change the strings.  Previous owner says it has a 135 low-B... that seems like a piece of rope to me!

 

135 on a thumb is the mutt's nuts, for sure. Well worth it.

On 26/09/2023 at 21:25, Risk101 said:

Yeah I like a 130 B String personally. That is a lovely bass and with a fabulous grain 👍🏻👍🏻

I like D'addatio XLs in a 135 on all the basses I have with a low B - which can be awkward with Warwick tailpieces. On the fretless streamer I just bought a new bridge assembly and the slot fit fine, but more recently I got a thumb and wanted to do the same, but the bridge didn't have the width (missus)... so I just filed the existing one back a little, knowing I had a spare worst-case. I can't quite work out why there isn't consistency. maybe the thumb bridge tailpiece was NOS...

On 16/09/2023 at 19:02, Tim2291 said:

So this one is a guitar so sorry about that one... and i guess you could say its rare... my dad imported this heap of turd from China in 2007 and stuck the stickers on himself 🤣😂. We have no idea how the seller has it as we threw it in a skip. Guess he isn't wrong saying it's rare though as it is one of a kind.

 

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/756339146158450/

Holy crap it's the Fuhrercaster!

On 31/08/2023 at 14:07, Clarky said:

Hmm, this one at Gas Station surely surpasses? https://www.gasstationguitars.com/product-page/fender-medium-scale-1962-reissue-alder-maple-jazz-bass-mij-q-serial-fujigen-1993

 

That one is hysterical - looks like the cat (and dog) has been at it!

On 31/08/2023 at 00:34, dub_junkie said:

Got this a week ago and played nothing else since. What a bass!!

 

 

 

Beauty. That one’s a ringer for mine - the bubinga grain is just magical, especially after a satisfying wax 😁👍🏻

On 21/05/2023 at 08:39, Rick05 said:

Awesome, thanks that’s a great option!  

I've run the Cali76 on a voltage doubler - that one, actually - and it works a treat! The pedal doesn't demand much current, so all should be well with your power supply. I've got a great power supply with 9,12 and 18v supply built in I'm using it with now, ultra cheap from Thomas and amazingly well built, and silent, too. IEC direct in. ISO-10PRO, I think it's called. Gets great reviews!

Hey people! New joiner to the club - after I got this absolute stunner last month.

BTW heads up to @Quent - a gent!

Love this bass. The look is amazing. It's weighty, and I like that. Hardware seems pretty good - the tuners are a little stiff, I'm guessing they could use a little lubrication.

One question though - anyone on here play a 5-string Marus with low action and .135s? I'm having some trouble getting an action I like with a straight neck (straight neck is easy, but I'm getting a lot of buzz unless I crank the action way up). I like a really low action, normally play pretty gently but love to dig in sometimes and the "choke" of the dig is part of it - I've got a couple of other 5s set up this way. I'm stringing everything with the same 135 gauge D'addario XL nickels.

Wondered if anyone else likes the same.

Ta in advance!

AndyW

Got stuck in last night, some great tones there. I think I’m in love. 

1 hour ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

I’ve just checked and the updated manual does have quite a few settings in it.

Yeah, I’ve just got hold of it and there’s loads there - even a YYZ tone! Whoop!

2 minutes ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

I haven’t got this one, but I have the two smaller ones, the YYZ and the MP40 and they both had settings in the booklets which come very close.

Excellent! Thanks matey, I’ll get the manual downloaded. It didn’t come with one!

Hello BassChatters.

After playing Rush tunes for nearly 30 years, I've got some musicians who might be able to play it too, which is amazing. So I've splashed out via Reverb on one of these: 

https://www.tech21nyc.com/products/sansamp/di-2112/

Apart from being taken aback slightly by the dinky nature of the device (it's well made!) I've had about half an hour of tinkering to see what tones I can get out of a couple of Jazz basses (a Sire V7 Mk 2 and a Maruszczyk Elwood Absolution 5a). Both passive, both pickups on and full passive tone.

I'm hearing good things, but wondered if anyone had any favourite Geddy type noises they've made with it, and some tips.

Otherwise I'll just freeze frame Geddy demoing the rack mount and see if those work 😉

Cheers m'deers

Andy

I'm using a Scarlett 18i20 3rd Gen with a2017 intel iMac core i7, 40GB memory and Monterey. Logic is reporting 36.ms round rip, 1.8ms output - I haven't done anything about low latency tweaking apart from selecting 32 samples as the buffer size. Drivers are the defaults.

I don't tend to monitor through headphones, although I did do some recording direct into the interface the other day, so it's interesting to read up on tweaks like this. It seemed pretty usable!

Speaking of power supplies - biggest surprise to me was the quality of the Harley Benton ISO PRO supply - it’s built like a tank and it happily supplies all these pedals. Multi-voltage too, but not huge loads at higher volts. Worth a peek, and IEC in as well. They do a modular system too, with IEC interconnects.