project_c

thanks for the suggestions, we're only talking about a 30 second segment here and there so i doubt i'll get too bored, so the zoom might be overkill. the sansamp might be ok although anything i've ever heard made by sansamp sounded appaling so i'm a bit dubious about them. is the boss geb7 programmable? doesn't look like it would be but i could be wrong, i might just have to sacrifice the programmability and go for something simple like this instead, how much are you asking for it john?

i don't usually use fx at all on my bass but the band im working with occassionally use synth basslines, and for those parts i'd like to either cut all the lows for my bass and just have high-end presence, or go the other way, and play purely sub bass - the main thing is that i don't clash with the synth parts. i have no idea about eq pedals and need some advice about whats good and what's bad, ideally i'm looking for a pedal that adds a bit of character to the sound when it's in use and is versatile enough to be able to handle sub as well as high-end really well. something that has built in memory and presets would also be useful, so i dont have to fiddle every time i want to switch. i'm open to suggestions, any advice would be welcome. thanks!

rob wright - nomeansno mike watts - firehose / minutemen jaco

i just checked out the pentabuzz on your site, it has just about the most beautiful tone i think i've ever heard. did you record the audio samples through any fx / compression, or is that a simple straightforward dry recording?

Alesis do some really good interfaces, i have an IO14 firewire audio interface - has 4 inputs, 2 of which are mic/line, 2 headphone outs and one main out. pro sound, zero hassle, cheap. i've been using one for over a year without any problems, bass plugs straight in, effortless and i think you'll be able to find one under £100 on ebay.

no worries, thats what its there for.. post a link to the track when you've finished it, would be good to hear it!

i have a couple of stories about that place, i was new to playing bass and didn't really know much, I went in there for new strings, because my fingers were getting blistered and I wanted something a bit gentler on my hands, as well as something which was less jangly and had a more rounded, full tone. having explained this I was told to buy rotosounds (which are by far the harshest, jangliest strings out there), with "if it's good enough for rock stars, it's good enough for you mate" thrown in as a comment. Another time I took my bass in for a set-up, and got it back in exactly the same condition, with the exception of a new battery. The action was blatantly too high, the intonation was all wrong, but they didn't touch it, the guy just said there was nothing much to fix. Again, I didn't know anything about how things should work back then, so I just accepted it, but looking back now it was pure bullsh!t.

i was eyeing up the ash 4 string corvette in the 'for sale' section too, but i think i just missed it.. the search continues..

a lot of good advice here, thanks again. the spector is beautiful and great value too, i was initially after a 4 string, but it's very tempting, i'm seriously considering this. the ibanez sr500 seems to be getting a lot of praise and GAK are doing a good deal on it, so it also looks like a good way to go. i tried one the other day and it felt great, very light and playable, but i could only hear it through headphones so it was hard to decipher the tonality, how would you rate the tone of the SR500?

this is not a loop but a 3 min long drum track, it's 85bpm, universally useable for pretty much any genre, just a clean beat with a few fills (plus a little hi-passed sample i forgot to mute).. enjoy [attachment=11027:cntrldt.mp3]

im just working on one, will to upload one to the groove library in a moment. *edit* here it is: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=23924"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=23924[/url]

thanks for all the replies, this is all brilliant advice so far, exactly the kind of thing i was after. it is indeed an rbx374, and i was considering adding new pots/pickups, but i was told it wouldn't be worth it in the long run, but it's something i'll definately consider as an option. i'm gonna spend a bit of time looking into ibanez and the stingray, and the warwick seems very tempting too, those all sound like great options. research, research... i have a bit of spare time this week, looking for a new bass is gonna be fun.

i realise this is a broad subject but i'm just interested in a few opinions / ideas from people who know more about the subject than me. i just need to be pointed in the right direction. i've been learning on a yamaha rbx and the more i learn, the more i notice that i'm starting to outgrow it. my 2 main problems are: the tone on the yamaha is weak (strings sound a bit dead even when brand new and the sustain is fairly non existent), and the chunky pickups have thumbrest 'gaps' built into them in a way that makes it awkward to shift my thumb down to the e string. i've learnt the floating anchor technique with this bass but that first shift down is still always annoying. (other rbx users will know what i mean) so now i've started looking around for something new, and will spend a bit of time looking around for new/used deals. things i'm looking for: 4 string with a decent clean tone with a bit of growl and lots of sustain, low action, and a fairly modern sound and look. i'm still learning and can't really justify something amazing and hi-end, i'm happy to look at active/passive, i love the way vintage fender p's sound but i'm not so keen on how they look, but that's just a minor issue, tone and playability are the main issues. is £500 about the right amount? what brands should i look out for / avoid? am i likely to get an amazing deal second hand or do you always get what you pay for? any advice is welcome, thanks in advance.

i only spotted the groove library the other day and thought it was a great idea, but it seems very under-used. i come from a production background and have a lot of beats / loops at my disposal and i'm happy to contribute whatever people need, so i thought i'd ask if there are any requests or if there's anything that might be useful to people here. i noticed that everything there at the moment is loop-based, and i thought it may be a good idea instead to upload 3 or 4 minute long drum tracks instead, for those that don't want to bother with software and just want some beats to play to. would that be useful? i find that old rock and funk breaks are far better for practice than a metronome, not only because there are real drum sounds involved but because they have a very 'human' feel to them, which helps give you a direction when you're writing or just noodling. anyway just thought i'd mention it, i'm happy to upload a mountain of stuff if anyone wants it, let me know.