hughcanbefound

[quote name='CHRISDABASS' post='237965' date='Jul 12 2008, 02:50 PM']yeah bills, food n stuff have gone up but there's not a lot any of us can really do about it! just gotta get on with it really i suppose! i do hate the way this country is run and how we all pay way over the odds for everythin through tax after tax! but like i said what can we do? its getting depressing lol [/quote] What can you do? Vote for one of the opposition parties in 2010. That's the best you can do!

Thanks, dood. I realised that literally 20 secs after I started the thread. My bad! OutToPlayJazz, I PMed you just now.

[quote name='clauster' post='234315' date='Jul 7 2008, 05:23 PM']Zoom B1?[/quote] That's more like it! And it seems to have what I want... Great thank you clauster. I couldn't find that but it seems like the basic multi-effects pedal... Hmm.

[quote name='Wooks' post='234218' date='Jul 7 2008, 03:28 PM']Your best bet is to invest a cheap multi effects pedal like the Zoom series of pedals anything like the Zoom 708ii or the B2.1u. If you are lucky you can pick them up relatively cheaply on EBay of even in the for sale section on here. I've got a Zoom 708ii that I might be selling soon if you're intrested?? Here's a link to the product [url="http://www.zoom.co.jp/english/products/708ii/"]Zoom 708ii[/url][/quote] That is seriously tempting... Do me a favour, before you try and sell it on here PM me please if you decide to go ahead with it. What sort of price would you be thinking? It looks fantastic but I see it's old stock, no problem of course but it just doesn't when trying to find a *new* price! Cheers. -- Also, looked at the 2.1u and it's £100 from Amazon! Ahh!!! Is there nothing cheaper (I'm only 16 so don't have an income!).

Hi everyone! Just bought myself a Yamaha BB614 and a Marshall MB15 practice amp and I love them! I was just wondering if anyone had any suggestions for what I should go for to get myself some distortion in there, an effects pedal for instance. It needs to be quite cheap (because I already broke the bank with the bass and amp!). Thanks in advance, -Hugh

Right I DID IT (for those who care)! I went to Digital Village in Romford (NE London) today to buy the Yamaha BB614 in Yellow Natural Satin and I also picked up a Marshall MB 15 Practice Amp. They go beautifully together and the sounds I can reproduce are so varied I was so surprised. Altogether I'm very happy with both the bass and amp [i]and[/i] the service from the bods at Digital Village. I just want to thank all of you again for all the sound advice that you've given me and I'm sure I'll start off more annoying threads in the future asking beginners' questions (not already answered of course!). Cheers, Hugh

[quote name='Paul Cooke' post='229299' date='Jun 29 2008, 09:57 PM']bigger speaker, handles the bottom end better... also has more watts, so can handle sudden demands better... the 126 can sound upset when you go loud... the 126 is fine for bedroom level practicing or in my case practicing in an upstairs flat... wearing headphones can get rather tedious as there's two leads involved and it's all to easy to accidentally pull the headphone squint or get tangled up while playing... I switch into headphone mode round about now... and then I have to sit or stand relatively still and resist the temptation to rock out... [/quote] Thanks Paul, I think it'll be the 158! But oh no wait ... what does anyone think about Effects Processors for practice? Tiny boxes that create the same effects as an amp but which plug into headphones (or speakers I suppose) is what I gather they are...

It's me again (for those of you who showed an interest that while back)! I'm going to Romford (NE London) this Saturday to the warehouse of DV247 to buy the [b]Yamaha BB614[/b] (in Yellow Natural Satin). The link at DV247 is [color="#0000FF"][url="http://www.dv247.com/invt/48909/"]here[/url][/color]. I think it's a good price and I'm traveling the three or four hours by car to get there to try it out before I buy. It had better be perfect! Now I need to think of a practice amp. People have replied to this thread with suggestions but I have come up with a budget idea (because I don't want to make my parents shell out for a huge amount) consisting of the [b]Peavey MAX 126[/b] with the link [color="#0000FF"][url="http://www.dv247.com/invt/34170/"]here[/url][/color]. Of course that choice was off the top of my head. Well not quite but still I would like some advice on the amp. It has to be a practice amp under £70 with a headphone out jack and preferably from [color="#0000FF"][url="http://www.dv247.com"]DV247[/url][/color], but that's only for convenience. Thanks so much for everyone's help so far - I can't wait till Saturday! -Hugh P.S. Just read through the thread again. Paul Cooke made the two suggestions about the [b]Peavey MAX[/b] pair: the [b]126[/b] and the [b]158[/b]. I saw the difference of 5W and 2" speaker. Ahh?

Thanks funkypeguin, all taken in. And thank you everyone who's replied in this thread! I've pretty much made my decision(s) and will go and try and buy in due course. I'll bump this thread later on to let you know how it goes! Cheers, -Hugh

[quote name='Musky' post='209085' date='May 29 2008, 06:27 PM']If you do go to Denmark Street do yourself a favour and avoid the Bass Cellar. It the best stocked shop for basses but they're remarkably rude, especially if they think your bear the slightest resemblance to their idea of a timewaster. And quite often even if they don't.[/quote] Thank you Musky, that's exactly the sort of advice I'm looking for. Thanks for the heads up. [quote name='Musky' post='209085' date='May 29 2008, 06:27 PM']As for the 'take it back' thing, who'd want to take it back?[/quote] No that's in case anything goes wrong and my parents want to have a rampage with a person face-to-face instead of a Bangladeshi over the phone... Understandable. No I shan't take it back for any other reason! Why necessarily buy cash from a bass/guitar shop that takes credit? Is there a good reason? -H

[quote name='Paul Cooke' post='209063' date='May 29 2008, 05:43 PM']why don't you give the shop in Denmark Street a chance to match price with GAK??? (the real GAK price ie inclusive of P&P, what you would actually be paying) You could walk out the door with it in your hands and have the confidence that it feels and plays right rather than taking your chances with internet ordering... cos nothing annoys me more than people trying things in a meatspace shop and then ordering it from a website-fronted warehouse based outfit. There are precious few high street music shops as it is...[/quote] Of course, support real music shops all the way, it's just I can never ever be sure if they're going to price match and besides when I do go up to Denmark street I won't have parents there with credit card at the ready (birthday bass for me ). I think though that if they do price match then it's an advantage for the parents. -H

[quote name='BassBomber414' post='208979' date='May 29 2008, 03:41 PM']Should be set up pretty close when you buy it. My Yamaha came with detailed instructions and a truss rod tool. I made a very minor adjustment after a few months which took 10 seconds and a small screwdriver.Pass on the pick-ups. BB414 strings are Yamaha's own medium light stainless steel which are well regarded but hard to find in U.K. £10 a set from Thomann. Postage is £6 however many sets you buy.[/quote] I don't *have* to buy Yamaha's own strings though do I? I love it, my first tenor trombone was a Yamaha "pea shooter" as I call the little basic ones, and it came with so many instructions for what seemed to be fairly basic procedures for cleaning and lubricating the slide etc! At least there's one company in the world who takes worthwhile and useful (not "REGISTERED DEALER, GENUINE GENUINE GENUINE + hologram + signature of someone you've never heard of") documentation. And thanks Musky, that was the first thing that caught my eye when I did an eBay hunt the other day... Pity my parents are scared of eBay. They have this thing about "being able to take it back". They did it with my laptop too... I guess it's fair enough but when there's a bargain such as that it seems a shame. You never know I might like the Yamaha BB614 even more than the Lyte . Another thing, I've organised my plan of action. I'm going up to Denmark Street on June 15th to try each one out. Then I'll order my preferred one from GAK. The parents know there's a GAK shop (if a little far away) to go back to if there's any problem which none of you helpful people couldn't help me out on... Hmm...

[quote name='bass_ferret' post='208674' date='May 29 2008, 10:45 AM']Prices for set up vary from £25 to £75 depending on how much work is involved - frets stoning etc. If you are buying a new bass insist it is set up properly before you buy it, although if you are buying mail order they can go out in transit. Changing pickups is easy or impossible depending on your ability with a soldering iron. Strings vary from £10 to £50 for a set of 4.[/quote] Cheers, bass_ferret. I like to think of myself as quite handy with a soldering iron. I bet one of my friends or my next door neighbour could set it up for me for free . -H

[quote name='Fireflye' post='208307' date='May 28 2008, 07:29 PM']I started playing bass around 18 years ago, having always been fascinated with the low-end of things. My first bass was a Marlin Sidewinder which had a neck like a banana and was very difficult to play, which was typical of most budget instruments of the time. After persevering for a couple of years I gave up in frustration. Fast-forward to today and the quality of budget basses now is like night and day compared to back then. I picked up the bass again last year and with a budget of around £200 (probably not much more than what I paid for the Marlin in today's money), I set out to buy a bass. I weighed up a VM Jazz against a BB414, both great basses but ended up walking off with the BB414 as it just had the edge in tone, playability and overall finish, though the VM certainly has the BB beat in looks alone. I've played a few basses since, namely MIM Jazzes and some others in the same price range as the Yamaha but I've yet to find one as good as the BB. I've only a couple of gripes with it, the lack of a blend pot or individual volume pots for the pickups limits your options a little. Also if you like to anchor your thumb most will find the P pickup too high. This has in fact been a good thing for me as it has encouraged me to use floating thumb to the point that anchoring now feels unnatural to me. You can't go wrong with a Yammy but as always, try before you buy and make sure you are comfortable with it.[/quote] Thank you very much everyone. Just a couple more questions: how much does a bass cost to set up? How easy is it to change pickups? Average cost for all four strings to be replace? -H

[quote name='bass_ferret' post='207930' date='May 28 2008, 11:38 AM']dont get hung up on active/passive. Active basses are supposed to sound the same a passive with all the eq flat, there is usually a click on the knob for this, but I doubt if many actually are. But if you find the active confusing - dont use it and leave everything flat.[/quote] Ahh, now that's something that I didn't know... You can achieve the same results as passive with an active rig as long as you set all the knobs to a certain setting? Is that right? If that's the case then yeah I might as well go for active to open up my possibilities (and the gorgeous natural for the Yamaha...). And at allighatt0r!

I think Passive it will probably be it then... But why oh why don't Yamaha do the 414 in natural? WHY?

[quote name='allighatt0r' post='207872' date='May 28 2008, 10:34 AM']I don't know about you H, but even I'm getting overwhelmed reading all of this advice. [/quote] I'm not overwhelmed, I love it! The more help I get from people who aren't the salesmen in bass shops the better, even if some of it is a little contradictory. So for a beginner, in your opinion, one word: Passive or Active? -H

[quote name='The Burpster' post='207864' date='May 28 2008, 10:27 AM']414 is Passive (does not have an on board pre amp) so the signal coming out of the pick ups is that which is sent to the amp. 614 is Active (has pre amp built in) so requires different wiring and a 9V battery inserting into it, this enhances the signal from the pick ups to the amp. It can be very useful, it an be a pain at times too.[/quote] Are there any basses with both Passive *and* active wiring? I'm quite happy to replace a 9V battery every so often if it enhances the sound. Are there active pickups on guitars as well?

Woah OK. I don't really get what you're trying to say: preferentially a 414 or a 614? I don't know the difference in electronics or sound as yet but I do prefer the 614 only because the 414 doesn't come in natural. The comparison's great, thanks. And thanks for the amp advice Paul Cooke -H

[quote name='ashgeezer' post='207562' date='May 27 2008, 08:39 PM']I think the rest of the guys have covered all the basses but not many have mentioned an amp. I started learning myself about a year ago (im 39 so an oldie to learning really) and i bought a carlsbro kickstart 30w, you can pick em up brand new off ebay for around 60 quid and their decent little amps, they have the 10 in speaker as appossed to 8 in (sometimes smaller) that usually come with practice amps, audio in socket so you can jam along to your fave tracks and a host of other features. At the end of the day its up to you but the amp is worth looking into, im upgrading my amp soon but im keeping the 30w because its such a great little amp.[/quote] Thank you ashgeezer, but at the moment I know that all I really need is a practice amp with headphone support. I go to boarding school and the whole boarding house will go crazy if I jack it up too loud! -H

Fair enough, I think my neighbour's style is quite respectable . I have played on only two basses ever. His Fender Precision Lyte (which looks and feels amazing) and some Ibanez one from a long time ago which I can't remember well. So it might be a good idea to go for a cheapisher one not only because I might not pursue (very low chance of that happening at this rate) it but it might also be a better idea in terms of ease and comfort? Is it not the case that generally the more expensive, the better and easier it is to play? Or am I completely wrong..? -H

Thank you thank you thank you (as Obama has said countless times...) that's incredibly helpful, both the pref list from The Burpster and advice from allighatt0r. I certainly have looked at Thomann. I heard about them from a guitarist friend of mine and I love the Germans and their efficiency. If I were to order a bass online after having tried the identical model and liking it elsewhere, would I be able to take it to my local shop and get it "set up"? Average fees? @The Burpster Of course that's a good list order. Just wondering though if I go to Denmark street (for which I don't need to obtain permission thank you very much ) and try all of these and more out and I come home shocked by the inflated price tag, go on the net, seek out a good retailer and buy how do I know if the bass I'll get (although it's the same model) will be a "peach" or a "lemon"? @allighatt0r Who would *ever* buy a musical instrument from Argos? That's scary to think... Argos is for kettles, towel rails and mini-fridges! I have heard good things about the Milestone III. But if my parents do cave in do you think it will still be a good idea to go for something a little higher up? Or is sticking with the low-price end and retain some favour with the 'rents an equally good idea? -H

[quote name='ste_m3' post='207424' date='May 27 2008, 06:03 PM']In a word, yes! The VM series (vintage modified) are absaloutly cracking basses. id stay away from the affinity series, but thats only with the experiance of one bass and it could have been a lemon. There probably are better basses for your budget, but you couldnt get a brilliant vintage modified jazz and have change - with a good setup im sure it'll play better than anything else that end of the market.[/quote] Thank you for dispelling that one... Right: with all the little bits of advice from here and elsewhere I have narrowed my search down to trying these three out as soon as I can. If I don't like any of them, I shall start again. But here are my three main choices: [url="http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/yamaha-bb-614/68389"]Yamaha BB614[/url] [url="http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/71864"]Ibanez ATK300[/url] [url="http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/squier-/71293"]Fender Squier Mod Jazz[/url] I'll also try this one out if I can as well: [url="http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/squier-/71293"]Peavey Millenium IV[/url] I'm linking to GAK because I've heard they're both great for comparisons and also believe it or not for actually buying if you want to go down the new direction. Comments? -H

[quote name='skywalker' post='207407' date='May 27 2008, 05:45 PM']Hi H In addition to the others, Squier make some lovely basses these days, including a Precision Bass special, which has a P Body and pickup and a slim Jazz neck, and can be picked second hand for about 150 or so. Best of Luck Steve[/quote] I've heard lots of horrible things about Squier from my guitarist friends. Are their basses better? -H

Cool thanks Jobiebass. Very interesting. Will not rule that out now. I definitely do rule that out with the bass trombone which I also play, but that's because it's brass etc. I live very near Southampton. I know of a couple of Southampton shops, but tell me is it easy to ask stores to order stock in which I *might* not buy? So basically I get someone local to let me try, I decline and then I go buy it from here or eBay . -H