dodge_bass

Actually I thought Sunset was much harder than West Side - maybe because all of the tricky figures in 7 etc were not nailed at all by the string section and the dummer was at the far side of the pit. Actually I thought that Sunset was a triumph of making it as complex to play as possible for no discernible reason - West Side Story grooves all the way through, Sunset for me was just meh. I'll not do it again if asked!

Allianz have paid out twice I think for repairs to my double bass no real questions asked. They just asked what happened (both times it was knocked and had a crack) and then send to get two quotes for the work. Sent them in and they paid up no issues. My old upright teacher said they always pay out for upright basses as they are so easily damaged. And they're basically bankrolled by millions of violin players who never claim. They get my vote for sure.

Great show - you’ll enjoy it - but as you say it’s quite a read. Hope you’ve got a good drummer ;)

We were made to use this at music college and I still use it now. Like learning any new skill reading rhythm takes time (we're talking years not days) so give yourself a little time each day and lots of space to mess up (i.e don't be too hard on yourself). I feel quite strongly that we're not any worse at learning as we get older rather we just don't have enough time or head space as there's always so much else going on. Kids don't learn to read music overnight - they get like 15 years (start around 5 be mint by the time you're 20) but because we're adults everyone (including ourselves) assumes we should just be able to do it straight away so either we don't try for fear of failing OR try and can't do it and feel a bit stupid. Let all that crap go and focus on 10 mins a day of rhythm reading...bit by bit it will improve. I've got 20 years bass teaching experience of all ages and have been a degree lecturer for many years. I like to think I know a thing or two about teaching people stuff. Get this rhythm book. It's mint. The Anthony Vitti books are great too - in about 6 years time they'll come in to your own for you I reckon! Embrace the gradual learning my friend

Got a ridiculous bit crusher pedal from this fine gent. I still can’t quite fathom three of the knobs out but the other three make some excellent noises! Great comms, quick delivery ALL GOOD!

Thanks Al Yeah it's not as grittier as the Puth track but it's not far off. The Dua Lipa track, yeah interesting sound that one - sort of funky and bright but with the tone knob turned all the way down!

Not far off - P bass / pick / old flat wounds / little bit of grit (but not much). Recorded the bass in my little home studio. Always chuffed when I hear it. Love flats and a pick

Perhaps there’s an internal step up voltage wise? These look very interesting - wonder what the price bracket will be?

Of course - what a DI box actually is, is more of a spectrum than a fixed thing (!)...ranging from a passive DI box / DI in the back of an amp to all sorts of fancy things! * I had issues with using a passive DI box with a passive bass often due to there just not being enough output. I was also not able to adjust the EQ which I like to be able to do - hence gravitating towards active DI's with an EQ (Aguilar ToneHammer / Nobel DI / MXR M81 DI amongst others). * My experience was that most DI boxes DO effect the sound whether you like it or not, particularly the cheap ones (in a bad way). * My Ampeg PF20-T head has a tube output and clean output. It can also be run without a cab so I can use it in the studio as a (large!) DI box with the ability to output two different signals...precisely because I like the sounds it's produces and consider it part of the signal chain for producing 60's / 70's type sounds. As I said previously - due to touring and often not getting the choice of heads / DI's I realised it was best to have my own (active with EQ) that way I would not be disadvantaged by poor quality DI's or poor quality amps with DI's in them. So that was my personal experience and what works for me....but a lot of people do it in a different way. It always made sense to me that if bass is DI-d (which it is 99%) of the time then the DI becomes part of the signal chain / overall tone and therefore you should use the best you can. For reference I'm using a Nobel DI which I think is amazing...but they're not cheap unfortunately. I had to save a while for that but due to being Freelance I can write it off against tax which helps. Just my $0.2

I think the key thing is knowing what you want from a DI box....either something transparent OR something which alters your sound. The key thing for me after a lot of gigging / touring abroad was that I'd have a great rig / bass /setup etc and be playing some nice gigs and the sound gig would pull out a £15 nasty Beringher DI box....not cool. So I quickly realised that a standalone DI box as part of my pedal board was vital for touring when I couldn't bring my own amp. That way the sound is in my fingers / bass / FX / DI and not in the amp or in somebody else awful DI box. It's been a revelation to be honest and means I'm ca happily share amps or even just go though the stage wedges if necessary but I still have my sound.

Yes totally agree about the MXR - useable but not so unique a sound.

There must be some amp repairers / technicians nearby that could look over it for you?

I found that the three leaf audio Octabreve is probably the closest emulator of an OC2. I wasn’t a huge fan of the base octave deluxe to be honest - each to their own

It’s a pretty simple soldering job so most people who are handy with a soldering iron should be able to do it. Where are you based?

That’s interesting. I’ve got a couple and I’m sure that one of these is Japanese and I haven’t noticed any difference in the output. Only been running them on 9V.

Hmm. Dunno but sure somebody a bit more tech minded could quickly figure it out?

Yup. There’s a mod that involves disconnecting the -2 Oct which increase the output. You can also decrease the dry pot too for further volume however just taking the -2 really sorts out the volume issue and with a bit of dry mixed in it sits great in the mix. It’s a super quick job you just need a good teccy!