skankdelvar

So [i]you're[/i] the one that taught him to slap! Welcome to the forum and may you soon find the gear you're looking for

Hi and welcome. Don't worry about not having much to say just now. Plenty of people here with the opposite problem

Hi Yaself, Maxiburke. Welcome and enjoy

[quote name='Clive Thorne' post='462898' date='Apr 15 2009, 12:23 PM']These improvements only come about from feed-back once the product is in use.[/quote] Beta testing by end-users. But fair play for sending the freebies.

[quote name='exmando' post='462203' date='Apr 14 2009, 03:15 PM']After having an extended loan of my mate's 1970 P-Bass I now have the opportunity to buy it... it's been refinished and has had some mods ( xlr on front, hipshot tuner) - plays brilliantly and it is an excellent bass - but I have absolutely no idea of value - any advice?[/quote] In the 'modified' state, less than you'd expect, unless the mods are reversible. Others would know better than me, but, depending on mods, quality of re-finish, maybe £500-1000. Well, that's what I might pay.

When you hear Lemmy live, you're hearing him through an N'000 watt PA rig. Volume from the PA, tone from the amp. Why shag around with 2x10's - they'll only fart out quicker than the bigger cab. There's absolutely nothing to stop you sticking your amp through a coupla 4x12's - easier to shift than a 2x15 and there are plenty of bargain 4x12's at the moment, cos everyone's downsizing. Looks monster too. The other option is the old Eddie Van Halen trick. Run a marshall into a dummy load, with a line-out to a couple of huge tranny power amps. Marshall tone at 1000+ watts.

I bass-gigged a Marshall 50w Mk2 JMP against a cranked AC30 for a year or so. Fine for rehearsals and small pubs. Any venue that requires 300-400w, you'd prob be using a DI into PA anyway . The advantage of a bigger amp is that it gives you more clean headroom. OTOH, you may not want clean anyway, so cranking up 300w of valve through sensitive cabs in a rhsal room would probably kill everything there bar the cockroaches. Trust me, a well-serviced 100w marshall is seriously loud.

Right, I've been running the demo a bit. Something of a brainf**k, but I'll persevere as it sounds very good, except when it decides to go jazz-fusion on me. Will prob download addictive and groove agent demos too...

[quote name='Greene-Mann' post='461995' date='Apr 14 2009, 12:14 PM']Sounds good to me, will i be able to compete in volume to my mate's (Gu***rist) Marshall JCM 50watt thing....because that can be a bit of a monster[/quote] You might [i]just[/i], if he rolls off a bit of his bass end, and gives you some space in which to operate...Give it a try.

[b]What made you the bassist you are today?[/b] Sporadic practice and alternating with guitar [b]Who do you think had the biggest influences on how you play now?[/b] Me. Never had a lesson, never 'learnt' a bass line. [b]Where do you think you want to go from here?[/b] Find a regular working band without 'issues' [b]Why do you think you want to go there?[/b] Better there than here. [b]Do you believe you have a "personality" on the bass?[/b] Dee-Dee Ramone if he'd liked Blues [b]Specialist question: What is it you love about that 1971 P-Bass?[/b] It's a '71, but I'd prefer a '69

I'd imagine that the majority of bass players (and Mfr's and reviewers) are pretty conservative. Why? Well, our job is mostly to put low-end notes under a song. Since the 1950's our tool of choice has been a guitar-like stringed, tuned instrument with magnetic pick-ups. The main innovations have been adding a couple of strings, more pick-ups and active circuitry, taking the headstock off, changing the construction materials from wood to metal or carbon-fibre. But it's still a guitar-like stringed, tuned instrument with magnetic pick-ups. To put those low-end notes in we could have been using bass instruments derived from, say, tubas, theremins, tubular bells, harmonicas, wobble-boards or hammers on steel. And our idea of being radical is buying a guitar-like stringed, tuned instrument with magnetic pick-ups that isn't a Fender?

+1 on the bassman head. Silverface jobbies from the early-mid 70's are relatively easy to find, simple 'hand-wired' circuits that any competent tech can handle, sound nice and are both cheaper and louder than late 60's / blackfaces. Not as loud as yer VBA's or the big modern Fender, but cheaper to buy, easier to service and cheaper to re-valve. Flip-tops are lovely too, but again, not as loud as yer VBA / Fender 300.

[quote name='umph' post='454728' date='Apr 5 2009, 03:36 PM']matched sets have a similar current draw, thus bias the same since most amps don't have seperate bias pots for each valve. getting unmatched valves can lead to some very nasty crossover distortion and the amp not putting out as much wattage as it could be doing[/quote] Crossover distortion is a result of 'cold biasing'. Most multi-valve amps don't have separate bias pots for each valve because you don't bias a single valve in isolation. And many older amps don't even have bias pots - they're fixed bias and you just swap out the relevant resistor. And on later Silverface Fenders, there's just a hum-balance pot, which fulfils the function of dialling out hum by [i]balancing[/i] the tubes. The whole point of balancing is that it recognises that tubes can be unmatched. Hence, you can pay through the nose for a 'matched set' or you can balance an unmatched set. And any good tech is going to check and adjust the balance, irrespective of whether the mfr says the tubes are 'matched'. Agreed, in something monstrous like an SVT or a VBA, matching is more important - but for the OP's amp, it would only be ludicrously unmatched valves way beyond manufacturers tolerances for the type (or fitting wildly different types) which could be a problem, but, unless you're buying the cheapest of chinese firecrackers, the variation between two / four / six tubes on a single production run is unlikely to affect matters to any significant degree assuming the amp is correctly biased. Biasing is far more important to tone and valve life than spuriously "matched" tube sets. Until Aspen Pittman came up with the 'matched tube' voodoo 20 or so years ago, output valves were pulled off the shelf and fitted any old how, then balanced in the amp. Stock Marshall Plexis - unmatched. Stock Tweed Bassmen - unmatched. Stock Top-boost AC30's - unmatched. In fact, slightly unbalanced tubes can usefully emphasise even order distortion, which for many, including me, enhances the musicality of the amp.

But agreed, it's quite pretty.

Without wishing to re-start the 'mint' debate (as in "it's either mint or it's not"), I note that the seller states this bass is both "pre-owned" [i]and[/i] 95% mint. Or looked at another way, "previously-cherished and only 5% f***ed up."

Good times indeed, Oz. Welcome

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='459358' date='Apr 10 2009, 03:04 PM']I've already noticed standards of service slipping with my credit card company, British Gas, couriers and other service suppliers. Seems like they've all taken their eye off the ball.[/quote] All the above: Proudly taking their eye off the ball since about 1978 (1878 in the case of the gas companies).

Headstock looks a bit pallid, as someone noted. Could be a camera issue. At least it's cash on collection, so some wiggle room for the informed buyer.

[quote name='SteveO' post='459040' date='Apr 10 2009, 08:43 AM']Do you mean Jamstix?[/quote] That would be the lad. May well go for that trial download...let you know how I get on. Ta, Skank

Recorderman method uses only 2 mikes, I think. And, IIRC, Billy Childish just sticks one mike halfway between the kick drum and the bass cab. Rhythm section sorted.

Tascam us-1641?

It's the 'cheaper than the others' bit that I like. And, as you say, that it claims not to be based on pre-composed midi patterns. That and the opportunity to modify the "drummer's" brain. Ta for the input.

Why's he trying to get this thread removed?