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Slipknot's first album Dorie Jackson - The Courting Ground Primus - Sailing the Seas of Cheese RUSH - Signals

[quote name='Mlucas' post='1143468' date='Feb 27 2011, 04:23 PM']I thought it would be interesting to see how everyone sets their amps up for playing, just state your loose music 'genre' and your favoured settings (Bass/Mids/Treble) for getting that tone, plus this could provide help to beginners who are trying to find the right sound for them! Thanks [/quote] What if some of us don't use amps? Also, does everyone know the values of their eq controls and all the other variables in the chain? I reckon most of the answers will be along the lines of 'a bit of mid scoop, and knock the treble up a bit for the glassy top end', stuff like that

[quote name='Fat Rich' post='1143570' date='Feb 27 2011, 05:28 PM']It's amazing how many bass players don't actually know what they sound like because they don't record themselves very often. I've lost count of the number of times I've played something with great dynamics, great feel and lots of soul. And then listened back and none of it has come across in the recording and it sounds really ordinary. Maybe that's part of the reason top session players sound so good, they're always listening back to what they played and improving it.[/quote] Ahh, now that is an excellent point! I've had various portastudios and outboard at home for over 20 years. I learned the basics of how to record instruments and vocal, programme and play drums, and learned to sing. I learned the basics of EQ, compression and mixing. I took a very deep interest in all this and it was natural for me to do so. I have spent countless hours playing and recording and listening and making judgments about the good and bad qualities of how I express myself and the sound quality of everything I did. I learned loads about how the instruments and vocals interracted and loads about dynamics and expression. I hadn't really considered the enormous value of doing this, I just did out of pure fascination.

Do a lot of bass players find it hard to 'feel' what they're playing? Many of the bassists in bands I see live don't seem to put much feel or dynamics into their playing. They often hit away at notes at about the same volume and they sound like they're MIDIed up or something. We should probably be using as many tools of expression - grace notes, ghosts, slides, hammers, pull-offs, vibrato, accents - as a good guitarist. I so rarely see/hear players doing that though. It adds so much to the feel of the music. I learned these things as a guitarist long before I started making bass my priority about ten years ago. These things are essential to a guitarist. Do bass tutors teach you these techniques? Would many bassists know what to do with them? I think these techniques are a often neglected part of every bass players tool kit and they can really help the music to breathe. It's not often discussed on Basschat from what I've seen. I am wondering why? Are they not seen as important to a bassist?

[quote name='McBass' post='1143237' date='Feb 27 2011, 12:57 PM']Totally dialed my retro 01 deluxe in last night...the depth and warmth is absolutely stunning.Cant wait till the warranty on my 2010 deluxe 5 expires so i can put one in that too.John is a fantastic engineer and a proper gent.[/quote] Why wait?

[quote name='3V17C' post='1141995' date='Feb 26 2011, 01:07 AM']as an aside.. i'm liking this version of the chicken - mental bass bit in the middle! [/quote] Ok, the drums are nice, Weckl has great groove and technique. The bass sounds good to me for the most part, but the solo? The best part of that bass solo is the lovely little run at the end, the tone is so much nicer than what went before. What is it with most men that they can get off so much on 16th note triplet scale runs and sh*t? Practice hard enough and properly and most of us would be able to do that, it's mechanics and a bit of theory. Why is it so impressive? Is it because it says the bassist has worked very hard over the years? And if we work hard we can achieve that too? Is it because it is easy to recognise as 'great technique'? The stuff that is harder to recognise, like great harmony, is almost never discussed. Is it because it takes a more musical mind to understand what is going on in the music that makes you feel good and how you relate to it? Some music will make you feel ace, but it's sometimes hard to analyse why. You never get threads on here saying 'Listen to the harmony this muthafukka creates!!'. It would get three replies. It's all about the athletics in most cases. That's because you know you can't be wrong when you post a link to someone ripping on the bass, you will never look stupid because everyone can recognise that it's very hard to do. Fact is, most of it's bloody boring musically. Jaco's amazing though because he had all the elements of a great musician. I don't like his tone and most of the music I've heard from him, but that's just my taste.

[quote name='Johnston' post='1139895' date='Feb 24 2011, 01:07 PM']Here's the thing though if you have had it for a few weeks, played it a fair amount, I presume also gigged it and you have [i]just[/i] noticed it. Is it that big a deal??? [b]If a "fault" doesn't detract from the playing or the sound at what point does it become a fault and not just a part of the personality of the instrument???[/b][/quote] You mean like having an aunty with three tits?

[quote name='bh2' post='1139997' date='Feb 24 2011, 02:32 PM']Wow! John's a top bloke to deal with... he's fairly local to me. The guy who assembled my J-Retro is a long time drinking buddy. Here's mine in a piece of wood... [/quote] That looks lovely! Love the cream covers

[quote name='Musicman20' post='1140034' date='Feb 24 2011, 02:59 PM']Thats very 'Big Al' in style....cool.[/quote] It's MUCH nicer looking than a Big Al mate

[quote name='chuck_stones' post='1140007' date='Feb 24 2011, 02:40 PM']Sick! What bass is that....It's unusual. Me likey Cool, I was hoping to not have to do too much soldering. How do you know which pickup wire is hot or cold?[/quote] Thanks mate I designed and built it from parts and a body my mate made for me from my design based on Chris Squire's Electra. Build diary is here [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=94028&hl=electra"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=...&hl=electra[/url] Hot wire is usually white, cold is usually black. Grounds are probably black and the insulation may be thinner than the pup wires. Do it as per John's instructions, if it doesn't work, or sounds really thin and weedy, reverse the wires. You may also accidentally wire them out of phase which will sound weird with both pups on, just reverse the wires in one pickup in that case. It's a matter of unscrewing the terminals and swapping the connections, no soldering for the pup wires. But shoot John an email or call him if something sounds wrong, he's amazingly helpful.

[quote name='chuck_stones' post='1139893' date='Feb 24 2011, 01:05 PM']I've been chatting with John about getting an East preamp to stick in my Tanglewood Baron (see thread in my signature). He's been massively helpful with helping me pick out the perfect pre-amp to suit all my needs and has got one that I can install without having to drill new holes into the bass to fit it (always a bonus) - I'm getting a U-Retro 4 Knob Deluxe and hoping to put an order in today. One question though...how easy are they to fit for layman? I know how to use a soldering iron, but that's about it. If anyone know's any Leeds based sparky's who could help me out, let me know [/quote] I have a U-Retro 4 Knob Deluxe too. in this .. They are easy to fit. Most of it is solderless, just the ground wires require soldering. You'll need to know which pickup wires are hot and cold. Follow his instructions carefully and call him if you hit a problem.

I just noticed the nut on my Japan Fender Jazz I got a couple of weeks ago is cut incorrectly. The G slot has a wider spacing from the D slot than the others are from eachother. Off to The Gallery to get a new one fitted I reckon. Typical. You can see it here, but in the flesh it's more pronounced.

[quote name='peteb' post='1139420' date='Feb 23 2011, 11:47 PM']Another one here who has just fitted a J-Retro Deluxe to my Mayones Jazz First impressions after one rehearsal are good, even thru I didn't get much chance to explore the different tonal options available. As a second opinion, the guy who fitted it raved about how powerful it made the bass sound! Can't wait to try it out at a gig at the weekend..........[/quote] I had a proper play on mine last night, and rejigged my POD patches. It has one of the loveliest tones I've ever had! It's got real warmth and character. Absolutely loving it!

[quote name='Davo-London' post='1139366' date='Feb 23 2011, 11:13 PM']I generally preferred the East but the recording was much louder and this will give a false impression of sounding better. Nevertheless, well done and good comparison. I'm an active fan if only so I have all the controls at my fingers. I prefer that. Davo[/quote] Hello mate. It was recorded at the same level and gain settings as the first three passive clips, so that my dear listeners are aware of the volume hike. And bear in mind there are attenuators for each pup inside the cavity for the East, these were on their lowest setting.

I'm on my BB doing this as I can't log in on my home PC.

"Wasted £15 on Stranglers songbook" Of course you did!

[quote name='JTUK' post='1138310' date='Feb 23 2011, 11:01 AM']I approach it like this. I set the amp up for the room if need be, but as often as not, I don't touch the EQ.. and then tweak the bass for the live mix. I don't tend to have to play around with the sweep much, although if I am missing something and the strings are going off, then I may do something there. The range of these pre is enough to totally confuse things, so no extreme tinkering required, IMO.[/quote] I'm actually thinking I won't need to use any amp/cab sims on my POD anymore. I haven't had a chance to experiment though, too busy playing my new drum kit

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='1138229' date='Feb 23 2011, 09:57 AM']I was in a well-known vintage dealership in Denmark Street a year ago looking at a 1971 Mustang. The G-string was way too close to the edge of the fretboard, which I pointed out to the owner. He took the bass from me, said "Yes, Fender QC was a well-known issue at the time" and jerked the neck sideways quite hard ... then handed it back to me with the strings now properly aligned. [/quote] I did that to a 70s three bolt Jazz in a well known vintage guitar shop, made a loud creak! Sorted it though . You can do that on a lot of 70s three bolt Fenders. In fact, the Fender reps used to do it all the time, but behind the backs of the shop owners. Fender used to hand rout neck sockets to be slightly bigger if the micro-tilt didn't fit properly (discs were sometimes punched off-centre). Look at the gap between the neck and the top side of the body if you're buying a 70s three bolt. If you could get a used condom down it, you know what happened.

[quote name='lettsguitars' post='1137736' date='Feb 22 2011, 09:13 PM']it's hard to understand, but most of the big name basses i see look like they've bee put together buy someone who has never seen a straight edge. anyone out there looking at buying fenders, gibsons, rickenbackers, or indeed anything built by factory workers, take a moment to look at the bass properly. are the strings centred at the nut and at the end of the fretboard? if not, the bridge needs moving and i would keep looking until you find a good one (good luck). it is so prevalent and i dont think most people notice. i'll tell you something, if i, or indeed any other proud maker put a bass together like that, it would not leave the shop. is this what you pay 3 grand for a handmade bass for? just so you get a bridge in the right place, it's so simple, a monkey could do it. if mistakes like that are being made across the board, what else is going on? and i'm not talking about the lower end stuff either. this happens on high end highly priced so called 'professional' instruments. a bit of a rant, but i get angry when i see people ooohh and aaaah over a £750 bass that has such rudimentary ills. so, if anyone feels like checking their bass and responding that could be interesting to see just who the main culprits are, perhaps we can find a common factor, country of origin etc. maybe even pinpoint the factory that is doing it and kill them all. if you've just bought a bass and it has this problem, maybe you could get your money back and together we can change the world.[/quote] I couldn't agree more. It's shocking how bad some of them are, (Fender - I'm talking to you!). I had a custom build that was like this too. It is not f***ing on! I built my own bass and even I managed to get it right, and I'm a total amateur.

[quote name='stevie' post='1136995' date='Feb 22 2011, 12:46 PM']Thanks for going to the trouble to record these. I notice that the sound with all the controls set flat contains a fair amount of bass and treble boost, making it difficult to compare the sound of the preamp with the unprocessed signal. In other words, the preamp seems to be introducing a scoop that could be just as easily obtained from your amp. Unless I'm completely missing something, of course, which is entirely possible.[/quote] Well, it was in active mode so there is a bit of a change to the sound. Passive mode sounds almost the same as the original Fender passive sound. I don't use an amp. The tonal range on the East is like having an amp on your bass.

[quote name='gjones' post='1137563' date='Feb 22 2011, 07:43 PM']This is it [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=124004&hl=fender+jazz"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=...;hl=fender+jazz[/url] I already have a Geddy Lee but have always hankered after a 62 RI[/quote] 'kin hell! Bargain! Same year range as mine, same CIJ logo, almost certainly a non-export model. Looks like an ash body and I'm willing to bet they are USA Vintage pups. It's a beauty! Here's my CAR 62RI CIJ [url="http://www.fareastguitars.co.uk/usedjb1.htm"]http://www.fareastguitars.co.uk/usedjb1.htm[/url] Obviously it has the East in it now, but John fitted black knobs for me so it doesn't look too different from a distance.

[quote name='LawrenceH' post='1137701' date='Feb 22 2011, 08:48 PM']Don't want to sound like a dick but when you say recorded direct into your desk do you mean via a DI? Because if not, the passive Fender is probably going to be impedence mismatched and sound like crap! For a proper 'fair' comparison you need a really high impedence input (more than you get on typical desk line inputs) or to use a DI - you may well have done this, I'd be interested to know because I have a J-Retro lying around that I got in a trade and have never fitted.[/quote] It's a very good point and I didn't think to mention it. Good spot! The input is a high impedance 1 mega-ohm guitar input on the desk (Tascam 2488 MkII) provided specifically for DIing a guitar with high impedance pups without the need for a DI box.

[quote name='leschirons' post='1136987' date='Feb 22 2011, 12:39 PM']Well, my intention was to call the girl who auditioned yesterday (Alice) but I had also drated an e-mail to send in addition to that so she had something to refer to after the call in case anything was lost in translation due to my French language ability (not bad, but things can get difficult on the phone) I called, and then hit send as she answered as I didn't want her to get a mail without personal contact. I explained straight away that I regret she did not get the position and hope that she was not too upset. I also added that I was happy to let her know why if she wanted to know, and that my comments may help her in the future and that the point in telling her, was to help and not to criticise. I'd also thanked her for coming down to see us and said how nice it was to meet her and that we wished her well for the future. I pointed out that she may have been nervous and that that, was normal in this situation. However, she would need to prepare a little more for auditions and really learn the songs demanded of her. I suggested that her time keeping was a little off and asked if she practices with a metronome and suggested that if she didn't, it may be worth buying one as it will help get a natural feel for timing into her head. I then took a slightly different tack and told her that I had no doubt that she could play hard rock very well but needed to maybe listen to different types of music in order to become familiar with other styles if she were going to audition for bands in other genres. What I got back was this. It was the band that did not know the songs properly, not her. (it was actually our CD she'd been sent) She uses a metronome, listens to, and can play ALL styles of music. Attends drum school for 40 hours per week with their top prof. ("So, I am good") her words not mine. She feels that my comments are totally misplaced and knows that she is a good drummer. Well, I tried. Maybe I handled it badly. Looking back to Doddy's comments yesterday, I took that into consideration but even if that was the case, shouldn't the auditionee "know" that they've screwed up?[/quote] I'd never proffer advice to someone who hadn't asked for it.

[quote name='Linus27' post='1136482' date='Feb 21 2011, 10:55 PM']You are not helping you know I've set my heart on a 51 Precision and now you have gone and ruined it :)[/quote] I'll unruin it, Bob's playing a tort plate. I'll ruin it again, you already have a tort plate. Fit it! I'll ruin even more, you won't like the 51 P, they play like dogshit. It will be for sale after you leave your new project