Drax

Assume there's always a volume dip between active / passive? And maybe be your pops / hiss get sorted with some TLC.. ? Don't know huge amount about alternatives but always worked on basis J East was the best onboard pre. Interesting Phil Mann demo showing the range and how he uses it live..

Sofa shot just landed.. Looking forward to getting my hands on this

Seems an odd compromise to make though (given the many many colours and pick up combos) - surely lots of J players want 38mm..? or maybe not?

It's odd / and a shame, that all their reseller Elwoods are 40mm width. Not complaining - I'm a month into the wait on a new custom build - but wondered if anyone knew why all their production necks on their J bass, are P width... ?

For £34 it's almost worth it for the lights alone.

Even £200 for kit that only does what that does, based of what you're looking for, is a huge amount to spend. You've really (really) got to love the hardware interface to commit the time necessary to learn this. If you're a keys man, making the (possibly wild) assumption you're more comfortable with tech - a DAW is musical instrument in it's own right - does a million times what this does, easier to learn, and costs a fraction. I'm not by any stretch a techy, but taught myself Ableton relatively easily (Logic, ProTools all much the same) - will give you to all the things you want to (create beats, make backing tracks) but then be creative way beyond the confines of any hardware box.

I don't understand either. 3rd listed feature 'Produces interesting lighting in your amplifier rack' - Sold !

Yikes £700 for some hardware? Save your time and money and just invest in learning a DAW (Logic, Ableton, ProTools). Will do 100x what that unit can for less money.

+1 for metronome click, or YouTube for real drums. I've also used https://jimdooley.net/ - he has a lot of free stuff on YT as well.

My Pino comment has really ran and ran. It was really about the session work they're famous for, but yeah like you say, whatever 😊🤷‍♂️ The strange world of signature models; Pino's sound and fame earned on a MM, gets a Fender signature. Joe Dart's sound and fame earned on a Fender, gets a MM signature.

Well no offence here DrT, none at all - sorry if it read like that 🤘 Interestingly those session guys I quoted (East, Pino & Pratt - a solicitors near you) all most famous for not playing a P.. Re new music - way too contentious for BC (!) but thought last night's TOTP special had some brilliant moments (and bass) within.

Guess the hit factory isn't as prevalent now, but session work today is broadly the same, from friends I have that do it. Don't underestimate those pearls of inspiration that might turn someone onto bass from hearing a Nana Mouskouri(!) record - you don't have to look too far into Nathan East, Guy Pratt, Pino discography to find some very vanilla artists they brought their magic to.

This is it, very small margins already - then online only retailers (with none of the overheads) willing and able to go even lower..

Profit just £247k last year, with debts of £40m..

Do Guitarists (*spits*) have an equivalent issue in the studio?

This thread has managed to mesh 3 BC perennials - P vs J, Pro vs Amateur, SBL haters. just throw in Brexit & music stands and we’ll have a full house..

Intrigued to know what you paid and when, if you don’t mind sharing. (Wondered when a ‘64 P was the ‘cheaper’ option.. unless you were joking 🙃)

Hercules unit works well, and you can add to it, I think I’ve squeezed an extra 3 onto mine. It’s a relatively large footprint - so you’ll lose some square feet compared to basses leaning up against a wall..

HMV in much the same spiral as House of Fraser, Debenhams, - huge rents and an indifferent product. Mothercare will be next, and Mike Ashley will be hoovering it all up..

Bizarre how the Glastonbury line up gets such press. In years gone by, many more people went and no one knew / cared who was playing. I’d say Kylie is a closer fit to what the festival was always about, more so than a band like Metallica / the Stones.

Yeah fair point! Definitely less keys players out there than guitar / bass though There’s always this

It’s pure Tap hilarity - lots of great quotes. Two other things stood out - They were a real school band, not put together by a management company. Must be one of the last ever boy bands like this. - How absolutely ripped off they were. Sold out stadiums and global number ones - then 3 days after they announced their split, cars repossessed and having to sell wife’s rings to pay the rent. (the DVD, not ashamed to say I have - great extra with Ken, became a very successful music manager, probably the richest and happiest of the band now).

Good drummers and keys players usually the rarest in my experience - I’d always assumed partly down to unwieldy gear

There's a show in R4 9.30pm tonight about this https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0001l70

Have used both 45's (Nickel) and 66 (Steel) a lot, never had issues with consistency nor noticed them eating frets. Your preferred DR Hi-Beams are unique as they're Round core vs most other strings being Hex core (just DR and GHS making round wound / round core?). Personally I find this makes a massive difference to playability, much more malleable, esp in the lower register - and for me, more comfortable and more dynamic. Everyone is different though and guess all comes down to personal taste.