Naetharu

[quote name='kodiakblair' timestamp='1487941669' post='3244387'] Naetharu If you're not impressed well then you're not impressed. These lads seem to be impressed. [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVL9TzEFiyE"]https://www.youtube....h?v=aVL9TzEFiyE[/url] [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C60_fdAX_N8"]https://www.youtube....h?v=C60_fdAX_N8[/url] [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUtP0P0ZWP4"]https://www.youtube....h?v=NUtP0P0ZWP4[/url] Bit more relevant. Here's my pal Claudio A/Bing his PB-50 with the Wilkinson and then Seymour Duncan. [url="https://soundcloud.com/subdude67/wilkinson-pickup"]https://soundcloud.c...ilkinson-pickup[/url] [url="https://soundcloud.com/subdude67/seymour-duncan-pickup"]https://soundcloud.c...r-duncan-pickup[/url] [/quote] I'm wondering now if the issue lies with the pots/other electronics rather than the pick-ups themselves. There is no doubt that the pots are very cheap, and I would imagine that nasty or incorrect impedance pots could ruin the sound... I may just have a look into that this weekend - perhaps I'll make a quick before/after post if it works out...

[quote name='Al Krow' timestamp='1487933796' post='3244255'] Apparently now on sale with Thomann UK for £167, but they won't have in stock until 24 March. Anyone managed to land their hands on one yet? My sense is that this will be nice compromise between the cheep and cheerful Zoom MS 60B (£75 - GAK) and the more high end Line 6 Pod hd500x (around £400) and should be a direct competitor to the much older Boss ME-50B (£250) which has been doing the rounds since 2005!! (And such longevity is a real testament to the quality and gigability of the ME-50B). Do folk agree with that assessment of the positioning of the Zoom B3n? elephantgrey - I note you are not tempted to upgrade your Zoom MS 60B for the B3n? Must admit, I very much am thinking of doing so with mine - I suspect the B3n will be a much more stage friendly device than the MS 60B? [/quote] I'm certainly interested to see how this new one goes down with people. I've been using an MS60B for the past 18 months and it is a great pedal. Top notch build quality and effects that are very usable and easy to operate. The octaver in particular is really nice as are some of the amp sims. Saying that, I've been seriously thinking about upgrading to it's big brother, the B3, given it offers so much more live functionality with the three pedals in play and the DI connection. Really interested to see how this new one matches up with the older B3 model. Also, as to the Line-6 HD500X, I have to say I think the zoom does a better sound for the most part. The guitarist in my band picked up the L6 board a few months back because he had it in his head he wanted to do some kind of daft bi-amping wall of sound thing. So far I find the thing sounds pretty nasty. It's not bad at bedroom levels but once you get it up to volume it just sounds brittle and harsh to my ears. Putting it side by side with a real valve head the other week the difference was night and day. I tried it with the bass too and again, reasonable sounds at modest volume but just nothing I would think was worth the money once you get to gig volumes. I'm not talking insanely loud either, just on part with a cranked 15-watt Vox guitar amp going into a 412.

I assume this is the new Amazon version of an Ipad rather than the E-reader Kindle? Do you happen to know what software it runs on; is it an Android or does it use bespoke software? I android I would recommend Chord-Bot lite as a free and simple app that allows you to set up backing tracks/loops for practice.

[quote name='prowla' timestamp='1487937748' post='3244320'] i was just browsing around and an Epiphone Thunderbird Gotic is £260. [url="https://www.andertons.co.uk/p/EBTBPBBH1/electric-basses/epiphone-gothic-thunderbird-iv-bass-in-plain-black"]https://www.anderton...-in-plain-black[/url] [/quote] I'd be a bit wary of one of those for a 1st bass. They look cool and sound nice, but they're notoriously bad when it comes to balancing. You could end up spending a lot of time holding the neck up with your left hand, which is not what you want when you're learning to play.

I use a Delano Sonar II pre-amp and there is no audible difference between passive mode, and active mode with the pots set flat. I tend to use the active mode as a means of being able to roll off a bit of the bass when playing heavier riffs to avoid sounding too muddy. I guess that is the thing you cannot do with an amp; easily access an EQ mid-song.

The only issue I have had regarding an active bass is the cheap style battery connector used on my Ibanez. It's one of these jobbies: It's very tightly bound into the case and I always fear I'll break a connection when trying to get the old battery off it properly. I'm certain it will be the first thing I have to replace on the bass, which in all other regards is an excellent instrument that will last decades. Saying that, my other active bass has a lovely pop-open slot for the battery with no fiddly connectors and so takes all of 10 seconds to switch things around. Also, I would agree with the general idea that it is nice to have a passive option on an active bass if only as a means of avoiding dead batteries causing trouble during a gig. The smart money is on changing for a new battery before a gig, but we all forget to do these things sometimes and having a bass go distorted and dull and then needing to remove the back-plate and pop in a new battery is not something I would be happy with doing live.

[quote name='Phil Starr' timestamp='1487778759' post='3242805'] My gigging amp was a Hartke 3500 still sounds better than anything else I use but it is getting a bit cranky... [/quote] Humm that was my worry with the Hartke amps. I did get to try a 3500 when I popped into GAK in Brighton last year, and I loved the sound. However, I've heard a lot of anecdotes about their being unreliable.

[quote name='kodiakblair' timestamp='1487854681' post='3243544'] "[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif] the pick-ups are Wilkinson. I honestly didn't know that was a brand"[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]And there's poor Trev been designing guitar hardware for at least the last 35 year [/font][/color] [/quote] Well I'm not really a gear person to be honest - I learnt a bit when I was in the market for basses but now I have what I want and need I tend to re-purpose that part of my memory Alas, branded or not I am not impressed with the Wilkinson pickups. They just are very low output and sound dull compared to all three other basses I have owned (one with Delano active pick-ups, one with the Squire 'Duncan Designed' p-bass and one with the Ibanez own brand soap-bars).

I was a late-comer to bass. I was doing a post-grad degree at the time and really needed something to unwind with at the end of the day. Living in dorm rooms, it had to be an instrument that could be played via headphones. I chose bass rather than guitar as it seemed to be the more interesting instrument in a wide range of styles. Lots going on in classic rock and metal, but also funk, soul, jazz etc. I'm sure that had I spent more time thinking about it I could have found interesting guitar parts for these styles too but I certainly found that outside mainstream rock it was bass that often really stood out to me. Two and a bit years on an I am hooked

First, welcome to bass playing! Always good to have new people playing and joining the forums here J The bass choices you mention are all good solid options and I’m pretty sure you will be happy with any of them. I’ve never owned a Yamaha myself, but I have had the pleasure of trying a couple and they’ve all been very nice basses that would do anyone proud. They have a very good reputation for quality and value around these parts too and I’m sure you’ll find more than a few people offering positive testimonials. I do own an Ibanez SR-300 and I can certainly say that it is a very good quality instrument. The build quality is great. But also the electronics are top notch which is often where the cheaper basses can fall down. It comes with a three band on-board EQ that works really well. It has quite a bright sound, very modern and crisp. You might be disappointed if you’re after more of a classic P-bass tone but aside from that it is great. The only warning I would offer is that the necks on the SR basses are very narrow and thin (i.e. small both across the fret-board and front-to-back). I found this caused me to get cramps in my hands when playing for long periods of time. If you have big hands, perhaps try one out first before committing. Out of interest, why would you not consider the Squire? That is just Fender’s range comparable to the SR-300 etc. In all cases you’re going to be looking at a factory-build mass-production bass made somewhere in China/Indonesia/Korea. By all accounts the Squire range are rather nice these days. I had a Vintage Modern P-bass as my first instrument and it was very playable indeed. If you happen to be anywhere near Essex and want to pop around and try my SR you’re most welcome by the way.

As someone who was in your position around 18 months ago I'll chip in with my 2-cents: The Ibanez basses are very nice quality for what they cost and if you really like the smaller body and thin neck then they're a great choice. I personally don't think there is a massive difference between the lower and higher end models. I looked at them all and ended up with an SR-300 which feels just as good as the premium range to play at least to me, and cost me a tiny fraction of the cost. The big difference in price is the type of wood for the body - you'll get pretty looking exotic woods in natural finishes on the pricey models. They look wonderful but they're not going to make a massive difference to playing the bass. The cheap SR-300 ones have nice maple bodies that sound wonderful anyhow. And then there is the hardware, which will be 3rd party with possible phase/mid-boost switches on the more expensive. However, I would say that the Ibanez own brand soap-bars sound great on the cheaper ones, and the quality of the on-board electronics is very good. The three-band EQ really works and the pots all have a nice natural range. Not trying to convince you to avoid an expensive one of course; they are no doubt wonderful instruments. However, if you're on a budget (I know you have £1000, but then I don't know if you would benefit from pedals/amps/cab upgrades too) then don't dismiss trying the cheaper Ibanez basses too. You might be rather surprised. The jump from the GSR-200 to the SR-300 is quite a leap. The other thing I would point you to is Maruszczyk if you're after something a bit more toward the £1000 end of things. This was the direction I ended up goin for my main bass, simply because they were happy to build me an instrument that was exactly what I wanted. They're very easy to deal with, and they'll pretty much accommodate anything you can think of for a very reasonable price. I ended up with a Jazz-style bass, but with 24-frets, a zero fret, a music-man style humbucker in the bridge and 9mm single in the neck, Delano pre-amp and some lovely cosmetic touches, a neck that was exactly how I like it, and all for a price that was less than an off-the-shelf fender. For reference, this was the bass that Maruszczyk made me. I've honestly never had GAS for anything since.

[quote name='kodiakblair' timestamp='1487777370' post='3242775'] There's 2 Jazz basses. JB-20 at £80 with no-name pickups and hardware and the £120 JB-75 with the Wilkinson pickups. JB-75's are heavy, 11-12lb is average but I know an older player who gigs his all the time. He swears by the fretless JB-40 too. Wonder if you folks were playing the 20 ? [/quote] Mine is a JB-75. You are right, the pick-ups are Wilkinson. I honestly didn't know that was a brand as such rather than just one of Thomman's own 'brands' like Harley Benton. Either way they're not very nice. Just too low output and dull sounding for a jazz bass. There's no bite even with a new set of bright round-wounds on them. I don't mind it at all, but then I play my main bass with tape-wound nylons and so prefer a mellow sound. But do be warned that there is night and day between the Wilkinson's on the JB-75 and the sound of my old squire with the designed by Duncan pickups. That really is the only issue I would have with the bass though; I'd certainty be changing them right away if I was wanting to gig with it, but aside from that it's a nice bass for the money.

[quote name='NancyJohnson' timestamp='1487789178' post='3242963'] It's the whole misappropriation of genres titles. To me, R'n'B is late 40s/50s stuff, like Ray Charles, Bo Diddley and to an extent the white British derivation in bands like The Who and early Rolling Stones. The stuff my parents listened to. TLC and Rhianna are not R'n'B. And don't get me started on Garage. [/quote] Actually I think it's two different names getting confused here. R'n'B in the old-school style is Rhythm and Blues. Used in a modern popular music context it means Rhythm and Bass, which is what you're getting with the Rhianna stuff. No idea who the genius that coined the same abbreviation for the two was...

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1487848425' post='3243458'] A serious musician would understand the concept of different basses, sounds and even dress being appropriate or not in different playing circumstances. If you are in this situation you just have to decide how serious you are about your playing. All this "tell 'em to F Off" is no very grown up. [/quote] I would respectfully disagree with you on this one for the most part. I would make a few observations I guess: 1) If you’re employed as a musician (session work/paid backing band/theatre pit) then sure, the employer is free to request whatever they need/want and you are obligated to provide that within reason. Just the same as you’re obligated to wear a shirt and tie to and office job for the most part. There are limits of course, but within reason this is fine. 2) If you band is a tribute act or has an especially strong visual theme (think White Stripes/Slipknot etc.) then I can understand the instruments being chosen to fit that theme too. 3) However, if neither (1) or (2) apply then within reason I see no issue with choosing your own instrument. The OP here is in an originals prog-rock band and wants to play a bass that is well within the boundaries of a normal mainstream instrument for that type of music. I could understand if he wanted to play something absurd such as the Daisy Rock purple sparkle flower bass I linked before. But that’s clearly not the case here. Therefore, it strikes me that what we have here is not really something that is ‘for the good of the band’ so much as certain band-mates being control-freaks and trying to push their personal tastes onto others in a way that is not cool. Even less so given that the OP states that his Yamaha bass is the one he feels the most comfortable playing, and therefore would presumably be the one that he gives the best performance on. I’d get the point if the issue was with the sound; if he was playing something that sounded too vintage or muddy or had flats on and they wanted a bright pick-sound in the mix. Those would all be reasonable requests that would be for the good of the music. But asking someone not to play their bass, which is a normal bass with a classic design just because it’s not quite to your taste is not reasonable.

Honestly I find it surprising you'd get negative comments for that Yamaha. It's not exactly a wild bass; it's just a rather nice looking Jazz with a few touches that make it stand out from a Fender. I could understand if you were turning up with this: But as you are, it strikes me as band members being a bit too picky for their own good. I guess it partly depends on your bands style. If like us you're just a group of people in normal cloths playing prog rock then I don't see an issue. If you're all wearing custom made masks and boiler suits aka Slipknot then I guess you might be spoiling the mood. But by and large I would say stand up for yourself; playing the gigs on a bass that you're at your musical best with is going to be far more important that having a guitar that your band mates find pretty.

[quote name='ribbetingfrog' timestamp='1455963525' post='2983961'] I bought a harley benton guitar cab in January and am pleasantly surprised how good it is. had a curious look at their basses on the off chance and found this: [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_pb_50_sb_vintage_series.htm?sid=016035ddb050f26c0494fe6c3d21f5e0Hought"]http://www.thomann.d...c3d21f5e0Hought[/url] It seems to review really well, Wilkinson pickup, all for £86 delivered. My first thought is it must be awful for that price but the reviews are full of people saying otherwise, and some basschatters seem to like Harley Benton stuff. I play a Warwick Vampyre atm but fancy a backup that is a different style but not got a lot of cash to splash. So, can it really be a half decent bass for £86? opinions please! [/quote] I don't have the PB but I do have two Harley Benton basses. One is a cheap six-string that to be honest I am not very impressed with. Poor quality hardware, scale too short to be playable and serious issues with the fret-work. However, the other is a Jazz Bass from the same line as the PB you mentioned above, and that one is rather nice. There are some issues with it: [list] [*]The pick-guard is very cheap, made from a soft gummy plastic [*]The pick-ups are very low output and lack brightness. Fine for vintage stuff but forget slapping etc. [*]There are a few minor blemishes on the finish - nothing major. [/list] Of these, the only real issue I would say are the pick-ups. They're pretty nasty. I'd certainly not want to be playing in a band-situation with them as they are. They just sound very dull and quiet. And the pots are equally cheap and useless; they kind that are pretty much rotating on/off switches rather than a means of blending in different sounds. However, the bass it self is very nice. The bridge and tuners seem to be decent, it holds tune and intonation fine and I was able to get a good action on it with no trouble. The fret-work is perfectly acceptable. Not perfect but no different to what you would expect on any guitar/bass that has not been hand-finished. It is a bit on the heavy side. I don't know the numbers, but it certainly weighs a lot more than my main bass. I guess the woods are cheaper cuts? If you're just looking for an affordable bass for a bit of fun you could do a lot worse. If you're after something you'll gig/jam with you might want to think about aftermarket pick-ups and compare the price of the bass and them with something like a Squire?

[quote name='Danuman' timestamp='1487024874' post='3236427'] I know, it's a pretty loud band. It's worth mentioning though that I hooked up an Ampeg SVT 3 pro, which i believe is around 285 watts. That one did provide enough oomph, although only just... [/quote] Might be a silly question but have you tried it with another bass? I know that my amp when played with my cheap Harley Benton bass is very quiet due to the low output generic pickups. The same amp when my Delano humbucker is in use sounds way louder, and even at a lowly 350-watt running at less than full power (8ohms) I can plenty keep up with a very loud drummer - I generally find I am never past around 1/2 way up on the volume. Though saying that, Watts is not a good measure of volume. So could well be that one 500 watt amp is a lot quieter than another.

I'd give a +1 for speaking to a local amp tech. I had a guitar amp (THD Univalve) repaired a couple of years ago after it started blowing a fuse every time it was turned off. I don't know the exact cost but I think around £25-30/hour was the rate charged. Over £70/hour is a bit crazy, you're asking for someone to repair an amp, not build you a space-rocket.

[quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' timestamp='1487699254' post='3241973'] It can be done, but these make more sense: [url="https://www.amazon.com/AP2BS-amPlug-Bass-Guitar-Headphone/dp/B00NAUKJTY"]https://www.amazon.c...e/dp/B00NAUKJTY[/url] [/quote] Trouble with those VOX headphone amps is that they're terrible build quality. The one I had felt like it was made by the same company that used to do the nasty plastic seaside toys of the 1980's. The jack failed on mine after around three months, my band's guitarists one broke too and I've come across lots of other anecdotal accounts of poor quality. Shame as the actual product is pretty cool.

[quote name='markstuk' timestamp='1487762886' post='3242502'] What about using in ear headphones? [/quote] +1 to this if you can get it working. My band purchased a cheap mixer, and then we all run into that with a DI, and it comes through the headphones which makes hearing the mix when Animal from the Muppets is playing the drums much easier. I believe that the whole thing cost us around £180, which split between everyone in the band was pretty much an easy purchase. I'll check with my guitarist where he got it from if you want.

Cheers folks, Sounds like a good options there with Markbass clearly something I need to check out. Someone asked about budget, I didn't give one because it's not the biggest issue. I'd rather find the right head, and if need be save a little more to get it than settle for something half-way there and end up back here again next year still looking. I'm not wanting to spend a fortune of course, but within reasonable realms (perhaps under £1000?) I'm happy to be flexible in order to get something that really works for me. Bass playing has pretty much become the central point of my social life these days so it makes sense to me.

[quote name='markstuk' timestamp='1487708345' post='3242098'] what cab(s) do you have? what bass(es) do you have? [/quote] I'm playing through a GK 410 cab ([url="https://www.thomann.de/gb/gallien_krueger_cx_410_bass_cabinet.htm"]https://www.thomann.de/gb/gallien_krueger_cx_410_bass_cabinet.htm[/url]) Bass wise I have a Maruszczyk Elwood, with a Delano MM style humbucker in the bridge and a delano single-coil with 9mm poles in the neck. Sonar-II electronics also from Delano. Perhaps the big quirk being I string with La-Bella black nylons. I also have an Ibanez SR strung with standard medium-gauge round-wounds that I mainly use for a couple of tracks where I want to get a nice metallic pick sound. But certainly my main interest is getting an amp that can be loud enough to sit in the mix with a nice clean tone. We're not talking stupid loud here, but I would like to get up to gig volumes without having it sound like I have a mild distortion pedal turned on.

Depends on the amp. Some will go kaboom and others are fine. If in doubt the best thing to do is to check with the manufacturers technical support.

Hi folks, I'm hoping that some of you can point me in the right direction. I've been playing bass for around 18-months now. I play as part of a progressive rock bank (classic 70's style prog more than modern prog-metal). I'm currently using a cheap Ashdown Mi-Bass class D head. I picked it up as a discounted B-stock item back when I first started playing. But it's really not doing it for me. My issues with it are: [list] [*]The pre-amp has a 'tube sim' circuit that means that it can't really do clean at any reasonable volume. It'll do perfectly acceptable clean at volumes suitable for my front room, but once you raise the gain even a little you hear a definite grit. Quite nice for a gritty sound but not something I always want present in my playing. There is never any chance of getting it loud enough to be heard in a moderate rock-band mix while sounding properly clean [/list] [list] [*]The EQ on the amp is passive, and therefore not very useful if I want to poke a little more mids etc in order to sit better in the mix. We have two guitars, a piano and myself (& drums and singer) so being able to fine-tune myself into an appropriate sonic space would be very useful. Right now I can get a nice kind of vintage tone from the amp but I do get lost in the mix when the guitars are doing their thing. [/list] It's not a bad amp, but it's not a great one either. I have a bit of spare cash to hand right now, and we've got a few gigs coming up soon so it might be a great time to think about upgrading. I'm after something reasonably light. I'd love to stick with a class-D given how portable they are, but I would take a heavier (think Hartke HA3500, rather than say Ampeg SVT tube!) head necessary. The trouble is that locally I cannot find many different heads in stock to try. I've had a little noodle on an Eden head which I found a bit dull and lifeless. I've also tried a cheaper TC Electronic BH250 and was not especially blown away by that either. Aside from these the stores around here pretty much only stock either crazy expensive gear (SVT tube heads) or cheap practice amps (Fender Rumble 150 etc.) So could anyone perhaps point me toward a few options that might suit my needs. I know it'll be a matter of personal choice but without being able to actually pop out and try some of these amps I'm a little confused as to where to start.

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1482265362' post='3199117'] I was at my amp tech recently and he was working on a Trace head. He showed me the quality of components and design - all very basic and he wasn't impressed. I think his comment was something like a "catastrophic failure waiting to happen"! To be fair, he's a real perfectionist and it takes a lot to impress him, lol [/quote] I worked for Trace Elliot building some of their amps as my first job out of school. I have more than a few stories regarding the bodge-jobs that went on there. Nice sounding amps for the most part mind.