Dood

The new headstock is a vast improvement. I tend to keep my opinions on headstocks to myself as its how brands identify their products and to a lesser degree to do with the playability or tone of the instrument, however, eeeeeesh there's some munter headstocks out there lol..

Back in 2011, I went to a Hartke masterclass with David Ellefson and Frank Bello, I ended up doing my first ever interview with both of them (Frank live on stage, so, no pressure) for a worldwide guitar magazine video and that's pretty much where it all started for me! So, you never quite know what you'll get! I've been to a good few masterclasses/clinics over the years. Some, you sit, listen and enjoy, others there's more participation offered. The inevitable Q&A session is in there and there might be a break out time to look at the gear and talk directly to the players. (This is especially important if a brand is supporting the masterclass and have a whole pile of products out for all to look at as well). Of those, tehre's never been an expectation to take your instrument, unless it has been specifcally billed as such. My favourite clinics have included Paul Gilbert, Doug Wimbish (another interview I've done), Andy James, my ole guitarist who now plays for Five Finger Death Punch, Brian May and, for nostalgia Geoff Whitehorn and the late, great Keith More, both flanking a wall of stacks in the Marshall Roadshows. Oh and Dave n' Frank, legends.

Yeah frustratingly, I can't even find the picture of the J4 or P4 22 fret models.. only the 20 fret is pictured. The 24fret obviously wouldn;t have an overhang and, with the lack of decent pictures, I'd assume that the 22 fret doesn't have an overhang and is a deal breaker, given the additional costs required to rout the body on top of the neck price. That said, the necks are adjusted, PLEK'd and the nut doesn't "need" cutting, so that coud offset costs. I'd love to try one out on a bass.

I've been a bit overwhelmed of late and, whilst trying to bring a little bit of regulation back to my life I thought I'd ask what you're all using to manage your installed plug-ins, of which I have over 1600 apparently! Brands use different installation methods and, whilst I am appreciative of those who have automated install managers, many (including open source) that I find very useful do not. Whilst pondering, I went on a bit of a web search and found this brilliant application called PlugInfo by ThinkerSnacks, that not only lists my installed plugins and their versions but also, unlike Logic's own plugin manager allows for some basic exporting of the data. Although it does a great job of listing plugins and their paths, it can't tell you if the installed items are the current versions. So, I wrote a basic A.I prompt to do the work for me (Nyerrrrrgh!! A.I!! It will take our jobs!!) to use in conjuction with PluginInfo to hopefully make my life a bit easier. TLDR: To create a colour-coded spreadsheet that lists the plugin Name, Publisher, Version, Type, Architecture, Date, Size and Path marking which are up to date, out of date, discontinued or of an unknown status requiring a manual search. Cooking instructions: * Install PluginInfo * Go to the PluginInfo window, CTRL-A to Select All and then either Right-Click and "Copy Full Details" or Edit > Copy Full Details * Then Paste the output in to an excel spreadsheet document (you can use Numbers or your spreadsheet app of choice) and export as a .xlx * Save the file with any name, maybe "Installed Plugins" and the current date for safe keeping. * Go to ChatGPT and Paste the following prompt, upload the new text file at the same time and hit go.. I have a spreadsheet file containing a list of all audio plugins installed on my Mac, including their names, versions, formats (AU, VST, VST3, AAX), manufacturers, and installation paths. Please create a colour-coded Excel spreadsheet with the following structure: Columns for: Name, Publisher, Version, Type, Architectures, Dated, Size and Path to match the existing upload, add a Status column. Formatting and rules: Each plugin entry should be on a new row. The "Status" column should indicate whether the plugin is: ✅ Up to Date (background color: green #00FF00) 🟧 Out of Date (background color: orange #FFA500) 🟥 Discontinued or No Longer Available (background color: red #FF0000) 🟪 Unknown Status (background color: dark purple #6C3483) Use known latest plugin versions and availability to determine the status. If a plugin isn’t in your known reference list, mark it as Unknown Status (🟪, dark purple #6C3483). Each status should use the corresponding emoji and background color in the "Status" column. Output the result as a downloadable .xlsx spreadsheet. I've tried this out on ChatGPT and I got a fairly good colour-coded document back, though I've since updated the prompt and will need to double-check it. I asked Perplexity and I'm still waiting for an answer, Claude.ai doesn't like the file type for upload, so your results may vary - if I actually fancy putting more time in to it, I'll write a details prompt in a file rather than copying this one. Fun times!

I think that as a user, I'd also be inclined to use a MIDI FS to extend the three buttons. Maybe something like the MVAVE Chocolate, though the QC has 8 buttons and I often have many of them assigned per 'pedal board'. For volume and expression, I'd like to try a smaller pedal like those from Paint Audio, but not the tiny versions as I'm a size 13 in ma slippers!

It's been a busy week here at Dood Towers, but I did get to power up Anagram last night albeit somewhat briefly. My initial reaction is that the UI is really simple to navigate and I managed most actions without the need for a manual, which is always good for those with RTFMaphobia. Looking forward to getting my basses connected and then I will collate these questions to include in my video review.

My first "big cab"was a 1970's Traynor (Yorkville Sound, made in Canada I understand) 2x15 loaded with two Celestion 15's I was given. From memory the cabinet didn't reach seismic lows, although it was plenty meaty for the bands I were playing in, but the upper mid range frequencies were really smooth and present - sublime P bass tone. I ran it with the Marshall Intergated Bass System 200W head, a great lil lead sled, but I would love to own a Marshall 7400, it's a bucket list amplifer for sure!

A gentleman and a fine fellow indeed! A man who knows how to meticulously wrap a parcel as if it is passing through a war zone. Dave was happy to offer lots of pictures and details even mentioning the tiniest of marks (that I can't see!!) As they say on eBay, A++++++ perfect communications, would recommend.

Lad? Luxury, when I were an Australopithecus... ☺️

Thank you! All this time and I had never noticed the URL! Yup, it comes to the best of us! 👴🏻👴🏻 😂

I'm not sure where to find my member number! I am not a number! I am a free man!! (or something...)

I actually really liked that Larry almost decided to go the other way with the LH heads. The LH1000 is just a fantastic "lead sled" head, unapologetically weighty with an 'old school' valve preamp in to dual (bridgeable) power amplifers. Great, now I need one of those in my life again too ha ha... I bolted 4" rubber wheels to the bottom of my cabinets and then stacked them on their sides so that the ports would run up the entire right hand edge vertically, not unlike the Barefaced Big Twin 3 and similar cabinets.

I certainly remember watching Hartke's rise from the early Bass Player Magazine adverts to, as you say, around that time when the planets aligned; a certain other brand had huge QC issues that agitated at least one endorsing top-tier bassist, Hartke's worldwide distribution meant they had kit in all corners of the globe and a big advertising campaign where Larry Hartke put his personal 'phone number on adverts certainly helped. Not to mention, of course the first aluminium coned Hartke cabinet was made for none other than Jaco "only needed four" Pastorious. I'm yet to try the new HD and HL cabinets, I need to get those in for review I guess, but I loved the XL's and the HX(?) Hydrive cabinets.

I was an endorsing artist for many years (long before Victor Wootten, Billy Sheehan, Frank Bello et al jumped from Ampeg and the like - I jest of course, I'm a nobody versus those legends!)

I'd give them their dues though, at least they have a great headstock design, some brands designs I might not want to upgrade my bass to ha ha! 22 fret Jazz neck though, oh boy, I'd love to give one of those a try out!

L I still really love those old Hartke 4.5XL cabinetss. They had a very specific tonal chracter to them, which, down low wasn't even remotely FRFR, quite the opposite. Up at gig volume, the low end bloomed as the cones started moving some air and the peak in the treble region really helped the bass sound to cut through. Further more, considering the cabinets had a scoop in the mids, there was always plenty of room in the mix for guitars and keys too! At 45Kg each, and that my needs have changed considerably, it's unlikely I'd gig with them now, but I wouldn't mind having one in the giant studio space I don't own either.

This one is a good snapshot, lots of people logged on and lots of posts showing. Anyone see themselves logged in? I'm on there! http://web.archive.org/web/20060426190514/http://www.bassworld.co.uk/pn/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewforum&f=1

The best I have been able to do is to look up BassWorld on the WayBack Machine: http://web.archive.org/web/20250000000000*/http://www.bassworld.co.uk/pn/index.php - it'd be possible to browse the snapshots to see who was logged on at the time. There's a good few names I recognise as on BassChat too. The snapshots don't go back to '98 though.

I’ve realised I had the filter set to 4 string on the soapbars, which offers BC and EMG, quite rightly the 5 and 6 strings etc offer a wider range of shells.

Ahhh yes indeed good sir! We all scurried over from the sinking ship that was BassWorld.co.uk! I remember logging on to BassWorld and I think I still had dial-up internet to begin with! BassWorld appeared around 1998 and it was a lot quieter than BassChat, it’s great to see that many of the very early numbers of ‘worlders are still here!! And great to see the community has flourished and grown. Though it is saddening that we’ve lost some wonderful bassists on the way, their memory lives on.

Thank you, I guess that was my next question as to whether or not the EMG shells were P or BC series sizing. Nordstrand for example offer EMG and Bart BC sizing (mostly, I didn’t look at the entire range) which could be a problematic swap out if the EMG’s are P series sizes instead.

Update, just spotted there’s a 5 string version (at least a prototype) out in the wilds.

I suspect the “4” bit means it’s a four string pickup, no idea if a 5 or 6 is in the offing. edit: @crazycloud sorry, didn’t see your comment, thank you.

I had no idea it is viewed that I offer so little to the bass world. I am the 'daytime tv' of the low end, the Diet Coke, the low-fat spread, the slimmer-world shake, the 'Jaco only needed', the Turra to the Ostro.