Dan Dare

[quote name='arthurhenry' timestamp='1479048638' post='3173513'] "In favour of something less cliched" was my comment; not "In favour of something more complex." [/quote] This is your big chance to suggest something new and shiny/non cliched that we can all plagiarise for the next 50 years...

To quote an old Jewish saying, don't take it so heavy. Look at joining a band in a similar light to joining a sports club or similar. Sure, you might gel/improve and win a major trophy/get on telly/get famous/get laid, but try to enjoy the journey and then win or lose, you win. "Joinabanditis"/joining a band for its own sake/for the fun of it is perfectly valid and needs no justification. Lighten up, peeps.

82 a good innings for rock n' roll. RIP Len.

Do you mean a trill (swiftly varying between two adjacent notes a semitone apart) or actual vibrato (where pitch usually varies by a lot less than a semitone)? If you're talking about a trill, strike the note and hammer on and off (either a fret up or a fret down) swiftly. There's a limit to how long it will sustain, but it works. It's very tricky to slide between two fretted notes - buzz is almost inevitable as you cross the fret and the pressure on the string is released momentarily. Applies especially if you use roundwounds. Vibrato much easier on a fretless - you mention Sting. He plays fretless and would, I suspect, use one for a song that demands vibrato.

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1478682405' post='3170803'] Band Membership 101 - Never join a band with a keyboard player unless he has lost his left arm in a tragic industrial accident. [/quote] This is spot on in 99% of cases. I'm fortunate in that the KB player in my band is happy to discuss what we will each do and how to avoid clashes in the low register. On the original point of the thread, playing music is (for me, admittedly, but I would contend universally) a collaborative venture. Playing with yerself (pun intended) is a very poor substitute and of course, there is nobody to spark off of or be inspired by. When it works, it's the most satisfying thing in the world and worth the grief of when it doesn't. As for egos, we all need one in order to get up and perform in front of others. Part of the process of becoming an adult is to learn how to reach an accommodation with those we don't agree with - it applies in music as much as anywhere else. Of course, there are always those with who one can never agree. It may not be a question of right and wrong, just difference of opinion/belief. In cases like that, just walk and look for people you can get along with, or at least reach an understanding. It's no big deal in the grand scheme of things.

Nowt wrong with Hartke and versatile kit. 2x10 plus 1x15 a nice combo. Until I went Phil Jones crazy, that's what I used. Worth seeing if you prefer the sound of all 10s - i.e.two 2x10s - though.

The words "embellish the bass part" and "country music" don't belong in the same universe, I'm afraid. Embellishment in country is for the guitar, steel, fiddle or any of the melody instruments, but NOT the bass player, I'm afraid. Sorry. Just have to play the bag and save the adventurous stuff for another time.

Lots of sensible advice here, the best being to go to a proper shop and try plenty of options. Don't go on a Saturday when they're under pressure if you want a lengthy session or the owner's undivided. There are plenty of shops which stock kit to try, but you may have to travel. Bass Direct and Andertons, as suggested, both excellent (BD has more by way of specialist kit). Take your time and don't be swayed by others' opinions, reviews, etc. Try to take the instrument you use with you - even different examples of the same model can vary. Your ears/preferences are what matter.

Just bought an additional set of HK monitors for the PA. German made. Cost £100 the pair more than the identical items did a year ago. Wonder why...

If I can offer another suggestion, I have two PJB C4s and I'd advise trying the full fat, as well as the Lite versions. The Lite's use PJ's Neo drivers, which are a bit less pokey than the Piranhas in the standard C4 (which I have - bought them after comparing the two). Lites lovely for jazz/clean sounds, but a but polite by comparison, I found.

I drove mine with a Bassman 135. Lovely rig, but big/heavy and needed my Volvo estate to get it around. Great days.

On my old AH350, the answer to "what does the pre-shape button do" was "makes the sound usable". As NickA says, the flat sound was very mid prominent. Using the pre-shape (and then adding my chosen eq via the graphic) was essential, I found. Nice head, though. Flexible and powerful. If it hadn't been so heavy, I'd probably still have it.

[quote name='gillento' timestamp='1478442538' post='3169060'] I asked them. They don't anymore. [/quote] Bassgear, near Reading, have a used one at the moment, that they claim is in vvgc. Been humming and hawing about it, but am sticking with my PJBs. May be worth a look.

tks used to make one, I think.

Back in the days before I knew any better, I replaced the 15" drivers in an old 2x15 Bassman cab with Peavey Black Widows when one of the originals blew. Sounded fab' and the BWs didn't die. Sometimes, you get lucky.

An audition is like any job interview. No matter what the stated "rules" are, if they like you best out of the applicants, you're in and if they don't, you ain't. Ability has little to do with it, provided you have a sufficient level of competence for the task in hand. It's all down to personal qualities and whether you gel with others/whether they feel they want to work with you. It's very sensible to do things this way - the most important part of working with people is getting along. Most would rather work with someone who is OK as far as ability goes, but who they get along with, rather than the other way around. Practical issues can be overcome, personal ones generally can't (other than by agreeing not to go there or reaching an awkward truce/accommodation, which is very hard to maintain in the long run). Whether we admit it or not, we are creatures of instinct (our instincts are what have kept us alive for so long) and make decisions for mainly personal reasons. We may justify or attempt to justify or rationalise them later, of course. I'd rather it was that way. It's so uncomfortable to work with people you just don't like or get along with, no matter how successful the venture.

Nice, but the Magellan has the influence of the main ex-Genz engineer and is £400 cheaper...

If you like your sound, why not keep what you have and just take out what you need - a head and one or more cabs - for a particular job? As others say, prices on used kit aren't great at present, so changing will likely cost you.

One of these - http://guitar-auctions.co.uk/portfolio-post/lot-45-vox-bass-guitar/. Sadly, don't still have it. Love your Hofner, cybertect. Beautiful instrument.

Hilarious, all this super cables nonsense. As Telebass observes, It's spilled over from hi-fi, where the deluded spend thousands on bits of wire, capacitors made by virgins out of myrrh, etc, etc. The companies who market this tosh appear to think musicians are similarly gullible. Whilst I support peoples' freedom to waste their money on whatever they choose, it's fun to debunk the garbage. Hopefully, Bill Fitzmaurice will be along shortly to add his four penn'orth - he's always good value (and correct) on this sort of thing.

Mr Bill he speak the truth. Don't trust your pal to fiddle with things unless he's prepared to pay to put it right if he messes up.

Where to start indeed. Around 1975, got my first "proper" set-up, a Sound City head (Remember them?) with a 2x12 (bought an empty cab and added drivers). Added another home made 2x12 later. Used that for a few years and then got fed up with the weight/bulk, so sold it and got the inevitable Carlsboro combo. Never liked it a lot (less good sounding than the old rig, but a lot easier to get in the back of the car. Followed that with an Ohm combo and additional power amp and cab for more volume. In the early 1980s, walked into my local music shop and saw a Bassman 135 and 2x15, used but clean and reasonably priced. Tried it and had to have it. A couple of years later, one of the drivers blew, so replaced both with Peavey Black Widows, which made it sound pretty fab. Then we all went Trace crazy, so sold the Bassman head (wish I'd kept it at the prices they fetch now) and got a Trace AH350. That set-up served me well for a few years. Eventually, wanted something a bit more transportable, so sold the cab and got an Ampeg SVT 4x10HE and 1x15HE. Next step was a bi-amped rig - stereo power amp (RSE 900w) and BBE pre. This was probably the nicest sounding rig I've owned. Smooth, fat and had endless clout and the BBE eq was very effective. Followed that with an EBS 350, which I never really got on with. Loud, flexible and easy to schlep, but always sounded too aggressive for my taste. So back to a separate pre/power - Basswitch (which I still have) and the RSE power amp (which I kept). Then went shopping for a small combo and discovered Phil Jones cabs. For their size, they are pretty astonishing. Ended up with two C4s and a B4 and sold the Ampegs. Drive them either with the pre/power or a little Carvin class D head. They do the job, although I still hanker after the old Ampegs occasionally. However, my advancing age (63) and the fact that it all has to come up the stairs to my flat at the end of the evening means that's no longer an option. Sorry to go on.

Mixer with direct outs may do it, but they are pre-EQ, so you'll only get a basic, flat signal for each instrument. However, you should be able to edit/deal with all that once you have the material on the computer.

Try Jack's Instrument Services in Manchester (Google will find him). He custom makes just about any size/shape in a wide selection of materials, can do the vintage look and is very reasonable (I paid just over £50 delivered for a plate for my bitsa P Bass - it has the rare 14 hole Squier body, which won't accept standard Fender plates). Quick turnaround, too. Can't go wrong.

Genzler Magellan a very similar circuit, by all accounts and employs the same B&O Icepower module as the Subway (which is reputed to have been designed by an ex-Genz Benz employee, so hardly surprising). Also, the Magellan is about £150 cheaper in the UK. A pal has a Subway. It's very fine, but over-priced, imho, at £800+.