MoonBassAlpha

The active ones have a trim pot on the preamp so you can make it very loud if you like. Personally, I set it to about the same as the passive volume, the output of which is fine, by the way. That way, if the battery goes, you can flip to passive without having to quickly tweak your rig mid song. I have 2 of the Jack Custom, and they sound really good, quite organic, fretted and especially defretted. Also, they don't go out of tune, and I have NEVER broken a string on one! Only one thing to look out for - check the truss rod will bring the neck true and flat. One of mine is fine, the other stops with about 1mm of relief. Still plays fine though, and no fret buzz! Jules

[quote name='jbwaddy' post='463810' date='Apr 16 2009, 12:00 PM']thanks guys now ive a big problem im now wondering if it will be powerful enough. dont want to run out of volume and then have to get something bigger in the future(only thinking that way cos you know what drummers and guitarists can be like lol) any one got any thoughts on that?[/quote] Pretty sure you can add another cab to these if you really need it. That will give you even more oomph. The price is good for a pristine one, IMO.

How much use IS a Bendwell? Really?

Godin ones are really nice, but the pale colour gets filthy easily.

I've heard good sounding results using an IPod with a (Belkin?) stereo mic. it wasn't loud stuff but was quite clear. Couldn't be much cheaper than that! + 1 on the PZM too. Used to go into a reasonable cassette recorder. It picks up everything you need to hear to see if you're making mistakes. Don't need much more than that for your purposes. Jules.

You're bang on there! I've a thin crash and a big "loud rock" ride and the ride does tend to dominate, but I've got a nice Paiste 2002 ride coming for my birthday which should balance up nicer....

I just tried the Recorderman method yesterday, plus a kick and small clip-on on the snare and was really pleased with the results! The kick and snare mikes aren't really essential, but gives a bit more control of the drum mix. I found with this method the basic sound was much better than I had achieved before and needed a lot less eq-ing to sound decent. You also get a nice stereo positioning on the toms and cymbals without micing the toms seperately. The mikes are a cheap Red 5 set, condensers overhead, of course. Best of luck Jules

Can you be more specific on the problem? Is it distorting, cutting out, crackling, going quiet, what? There is a wealth of experience on here. The more info you post, the better quality replies you'll get. I doubt there is much in a pre-amp that can't be fixed, but it does sound a bit like you fancy a change anyway. Best of luck! Jules

Nice SG there! is it an old one?

Ieuan is very nice to deal with. Just got the Lowdown 110 and all is fine and dandy. Thanks for dropping it off too! Cheers Jules

[quote name='MarkP' post='456305' date='Apr 7 2009, 12:17 PM']What watt amp do you think I should be aiming for, would 15 be loud enough?[/quote] I currently use a Roland Bass Cube 30 and that's fine with a drummer with a light touch playing using Hot Rods (a halfway-house between brushes and sticks). Also, fretless bass seems to go nicely with acoustic guitar and soft drums in this "unplugged" scenario.

Looks like a Gordon-Smith guitar.

Hi Acoustic duo playing original music at the Vegetarian café at 110 Magdalen Rd., from 13.00. I have no idea what to expect... cheers Jules

Hi all I'm kind of glad you did this, as it reminded me to make a donation, and made me think how much less of a good thing a fully commercialised forum with the sole intent of getting you to buy stuff would be. Cheers Guys

[quote name='Peaty' post='449854' date='Mar 30 2009, 08:09 PM']Hi MBO Depending on where you are in oxfordshire this may be of use. Gun stock oil can be got from the "country sports" shop in Witney just out the back of sainsburys. Else wise as you can borrow mine if you are passing through Oxford or Eynsham I have a pot of the stuff but as a little goes a long way I am happy to share. PM me if you are interested. Pete[/quote] Thanks for that Pete, but I've just scored some off Ebay, and it was from some country shop! I got an 8oz bottle as I wasn't sure how much I'd need for a whole bass. Sounds like it will be plenty. Still a bit of sanding to go before it goes on yet too. As soon as you get some white spirit on the bass, ALL the scratches you thought you'd got rid of seem to spring to life again. I imagine it is the same when you put the oil on? cheers MBA

[quote name='liamcapleton' post='450915' date='Mar 31 2009, 10:01 PM']As impressive as that clip is, that's a guitarist playing a bass.[/quote] I found that rather soothing and quite pleasnt. It's nice to hear a flamenco stylee in that register. The bass sounds fine in that context.

I don't believe it is the boiling that makes strings snap, it is the flexing during the rethreading that buggers the string. I've boiled quite a lot on double ball end strings which have a straight pull attachment and tuning, and as far as I can remember, I have NEVER broken a string in about 20 YEARS, and I used to play some very aggressive slapping! That's my 0.5p worth!

I really enjoyed that documentary, I'd say it's a must for anyone interested in that fascinating transition period. I'm sure you can "watch it again" on BBC's Iplayer. The Dizzy Gillespie concert after was interesting too. What WAS he on though?

[quote name='tauzero' post='446007' date='Mar 26 2009, 02:13 PM']There's packs of them sold [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=400039024521"]on That Ebay by Janika's music shop[/url]. Looks a good price for a big bag of screws.[/quote] That's a good call Tauzero! I've just bagged myself a, er, bag! Cheers!