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Dan Dare

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Posts posted by Dan Dare

  1. On 06/03/2024 at 10:27, musicbassman said:

    I used to play function gigs in Central London back in the '80's, it was extremely difficult then, so I can't imagine how musicians manage now. Anybody on this forum do this kind of work? How do you manage it?

     

    Me too. Sometimes had to unload in Soho or Covent Garden, then drive off and park as far away as Warren Street and walk back down to Soho to set up and play. I eventually stopped accepting gigs in the centre unless there was backline provided and all I had to take was an instrument so I could use the tube. I left London a couple of years back, but pals who still live there tell me it's even worse.

    • Like 1
  2. As others point out, a semitone shouldn't drastically increase the tension. Effectively, it will be akin to changing to heavier gauge strings, so the truss rod may need a tweak. If you're worried, you could use slightly lighter gauge strings. I wouldn't slacken any, as that may stress the neck unevenly.

    • Like 1
  3. Given that the photo has a large SWR rig in the background, it's surprising the seller didn't seem to know the value. I wonder if it's a bitsa. Scratchplate is wrong (should have a chromed part for the pots and the knobs are Strat types. You may not have missed a bargain after all.

  4. On 01/03/2024 at 19:32, TheGreek said:

    Put this in your diary - a possible upgrade

     

    "I replaced the standard un-branded tuners with a set of super smooth Schecter ones."

     

    Bit of a shame he used the original and rather rusty screws to secure them.

    • Like 1
  5. 6 hours ago, Bill Fitzmaurice said:

    By the same token no matter what the signal a highly colored speaker will highly influence the result. This is particularly of interest with respect to vintage sound, as the tone of the electric bass was very much defined by the shortcomings of the available speakers of the day, and they weren't very good.

     

    True. Many years ago, I had the Bassman 135 head plus the matching 2x15 cab. One of the drivers blew, so I replaced them with Peavey Black Widows (which were highly rated at the time and not cheap). The difference in quality was enormous and I got at least twice the volume from the rig because of the improved efficiency. The original drivers were terrible things, with flimsy pressed frames and a cone that had been made by bending a strip of card into a circle. It had a large glued seam running front to back. Considering the Bassman rig was not cheap in its day, the drivers were awful. I dread to think what went into cheaper cabs.

  6. 17 hours ago, SimonK said:

    I think it was the general principle I was commenting on - that as the speaker moves the air it may actually be the most important part of the rig

     

    Within reason. A speaker merely reproduces what is fed to it. A high quality cab won't sound any good if the signal is poor or inadequate.

  7. On 22/02/2024 at 17:32, SimonK said:

    we stray away from the basic principle that if the speaker & cab is crap, it doesn't matter what you plug into it, the sound will be crap!

     

    A Rumble 112 cab isn't "crap", though. May not be state of the art, but perfectly decent.

    • Like 1
  8. 19 hours ago, JPJ said:

    Whether I mic the whole kit live depends on the drummer, the venue, and how well attended. Lots of bodies in a long narrow venue and a light to moderate hitting drummer and I’ll close mic the lot to try to get them to project. I’d rather have control than not. 

     

    This. It's completely venue and drummer dependant. I like to try to get away with kick, snare/hat and one, possibly two overheads, but it doesn't always work. In a confined space, you can have issues with spill from drums down vocal and instrument mic's, which is a whole other can of worms.

  9.  

    3 hours ago, warwickhunt said:

    For the last year I've tried to convince the band that 2 bass bins directly under the tops (15" RCF) isn't the best place but I'm battling 3 other opinions with all of their ingrained habits and it isn't easy.

     

    Very true and Bill's right. Manufacturers don't help by installing those tempting threaded mounts in the tops of subs so you can mount top boxes on them easily. More often than not, I use only one sub. I'll usually reduce sub level by 2-3db, too. Two is usually overkill in moderate sized venues.

    • Like 1
  10. 2 hours ago, lowregisterhead said:

    use ibuprofen with great care. Despite being a seemingly innocuous 'over the counter' generic medicine, it kills thousands of people every year.

     

    Good advice regarding any drug therapy. Although they can be pretty well instant, chemical/drug routes can come with a hidden price. They may be convenient and require little to nothing of you save swallowing a pill or two, but the old advice - "If it hurts, stop doing it" has a lot going for it. That needn't mean stopping playing. Often, it means stopping playing in a certain manner or changing your posture - how you hold/use the instrument and so on.

     

    We often develop ways of playing which can be injurious in the longer term. They may not matter that much when we are younger, fitter and more flexible, but after a few decades, they do.

     

    The claw of death plucking hand - fingers hooked round the strings, pulling upwards with considerable force - is almost guaranteed not to do you any favours. Collapsing the fingering hand wrist against the neck and straining to reach notes with the fingers, or arching the wrist steeply and placing the hand under constant tension are both routes to pain and strain. The Ramones-style long strap, with the instrument round the knees, is a sure-fire route to back issues. The extra short strap, with the instrument up under the chin makes it likely that your plucking hand wrist will give problems because of the acute angle it's forced into. Plenty more examples.

     

    A good idea to explore these first before resorting to drug/chemical options.

     

     

    • Like 1
  11. I keep a nothing special instrument in the house to practice on and use it to break in new strings. As I do much of my practice unamplified, the clang and zing doesn't matter much. When they get nicely worn in, they are ready to go on one of my gigging instruments.

  12. 4 minutes ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

    And yes, English is not my native language, but I do wonder what is wrong with my English that you fail to understand me?

     

    Also did you actually bother to listen the compositions you inquired through to the end?

     

    How about we hear your original compositions?

     

    Tempting. But no.

    • Confused 2
  13. 1 minute ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

    You can speculate in all the conspiracy theories you want, but I got a bad habit with posting before i made sure I have actually said what I did the way I wanted, I know it is not excuse, but me suffering from ADHD would at least explain it.

     

    And frankly I missed the part at first of you inquiring examples of my own compositions. 

     

    Also I fail to see what damage have been done, when you didn't reply to it in the meantime?

     

    Time to draw this to a close. Have a nice life.

    • Confused 1
  14. 7 hours ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

     

    Ironically it seems like you were triggered by me suggesting to practice improvisation and writing skills.

     

    But I never claimed that it was an either or.

     

    In fact quite the opposite.

     

    However it seems to me that your point all along was that I did.

     

    Hard to argue made up points.

     

    And again you totally ignore context.

     

    And just what the... :shok:

     

    You are the one keeping to put words into my mouth, that is your game, and I give up playing it.

     

    Couse no matter what I say you are just going to make up stuff I never said to make it look like I am wrong and your are right.

     

    Which honestly seems to be your preconceived and only real point.

     

    Congratulations you won! :i-m_so_happy:

     

    As for my compositions, here are 3 examples (lo-fi alternative folk - dark drone/ambient - psychedelic electronic), though I fail to see what that has got to do with anything, or what it is suppose to prove or disprove :

     

     

     

     

    You have edited the attached post quite heavily since it originally appeared. Wonder why? We'll have to agree to disagree about the assertions you make. As I stated previously, we do not share a common language via which we can both express ourselves fully. I appreciate that you have made the effort, though. I speak no Danish, so cannot respond in kind. 

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