Beer of the Bass

This is just the sort of thing I was praising the 1974 Precision in the other thread for not being!

This might be because I've spent more time playing bass, but in the one band I play guitar in I find that dropping into rhythm mode is my default state. If the song needs something outside of that, I really have to push myself to do that as it doesn't feel very natural to me. It's the first band I've played guitar in, which makes it an interesting experience.

[quote name='walbassist' timestamp='1399032696' post='2440213'] Do these strings have silks? Is the low B tapered? [/quote] They have black silks and the low B is un-tapered. I wasn't particularly enamoured of the B string, but my bass is quite touchy about them and it may be quite different on another bass.

I bought a set a while ago to try. They sound more like mellower rounds than like flats IMO, though the lower strings perhaps have a touch more flatwound character. They come close to a flatwound feel, but the D string in particular is a touch more grippy. I took them off my fretted bass, as they didn't quite satisfy me, but they turned out to be exactly what I wanted on my fretless. The tension feels very similar to a roundwound of the same gauge, though that's only my perception as Status don't supply measurements.

I don't mind it. The finish has at least been carefully and skillfully done - rather that than some of the awful hack jobs that pop up on eBay with startling regularity.

[quote name='Lord Sausage' timestamp='1398897072' post='2438924'] Gotta agree with icastle. All the BC members were right on, but the point had been made and it wasn't gonna go anywhere great! [/quote] True, but that might have been done with a firm nudge from a mod (i.e: a post requesting that the thread is not taken further in this direction) rather than an immediate lock. I've seen this moderation approach work well on other threads; where it doesn't, the lock is still an option but wouldn't look so heavy handed if a warning has been given first.

That's an odd contraption! Does the Leslie rotor work?

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1398877264' post='2438594'] doesn't the SVT preamp have about 7 valves in it? how they fit all them and a power amp in there? Caitlinbread SFT is quite a good little (solid state) version of the SVT [/quote] I'd guess they're not using valves, as surely the word "valve" or "tube" would be all over their marketing copy and they'd have the inevitable LEDs behind them to make 'em glow brighter...

As Lozz says above, really. You have used the thing for a time. That has a value, surely? I'd say that the delivery charges are a small price to pay.

The last time I had a set of Picato flatwounds they were un-silked at both ends. I had a four string set so I can't comment on the B, but usually manufacturers will mention it when their strings are tapered.

I have a bass-cut capacitor on my bridge pickup on a push-pull pot, otherwise the bass is wired like a Jazz. I can't remember what value I used, but I think I copied the Rick value. I like the effect, but I tend to use it in conjunction with the two volume controls, with the neck on full and the high end of the bridge pickup dialled in to taste.

Purely on aesthetics, an old B15n with the light-up perspex panel on the front. Come to think of it, that could sound rather good too...

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1398583821' post='2435394'] Doesn't Tru oil give a gloss finish? I'm only going on some videos I've seen, but won't that be the same as a lacquered finish? [/quote] It goes on a lot thinner than a typical lacquer coat. It can achieve a gloss finish if you use a large number of coats, but using fewer coats and cutting back with fine steel wool gives a nice satin.

I have friends in a signed band who tour regularly, and they all still do other non-musical work the rest of the time.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1398420649' post='2433876'] Erm, it doesn't have to be a perfect mathematical interval, modern pitch shifters allow any ratio, including modification +/- cents. If there is more random variation and 'slop' required, then a 100% wet chaotic chorus effect on one of the signals will do that. It would be easy to make a Max/MSP patch that has whatever variation is needed. [/quote] Indeed, you [i]could[/i] do this. But I'm hearing a straight octave-up into some distortion on the videos above, a sound I got tired of very quickly.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1398409741' post='2433740'] Not quite true. Using multiple pitch-shifters can create power chords from the bass signal. When I had a go at creating a Royal Blood type sound, I used two pitch-shifters in this way, and it created a thicker sound than simply pitch-shifting one octave up. [/quote] Sure, you can use different intervals, but the pitch shifted sound will always be a perfect mathematical multiple of the original, and will be phase-related to it. I was talking more about the small random variations and "slop" between separate instruments that make them sound complex and pleasing together, which this approach misses.

I think that after the initial "wow, there's only two of 'em" has passed, the sound they make is actually duller and less interesting to the ear than if they'd just added a guitarist! A pitch shifter is tied to precisely doubling the bass an octave up, with none of the harmonic, tonal or pitch variation that makes the sound bigger and more alive when two instruments play together. That's not to say that nobody should like the band or the song, just my feelings on their approach...

[quote name='Spoombung' timestamp='1398200206' post='2431668'] Unbelievably, I've never had a Basschatter at a single gig of mine despite putting ads up here for the past two years and inviting people left right and centre...but finally I know for sure one is coming this Thursday. At last! [/quote] London is far, far away! I've got the album pre-ordered though...

I think the worst offer we've had was from an Edinburgh club, for which we were expected to sell tickets, receiving a couple of pounds for each one we sold and nothing from anyone who bought from the venue in advance, on the door or from the other band playing. The icing on the cake was that the gig was on New Year's Eve! Anywhere in central Edinburgh will be full to capacity on that night and the bars can charge what they like, so there's no way we'd do a Hogmanay gig without a larger than normal payment agreed in advance...

[quote name='FinnDave' timestamp='1398243296' post='2431912'] I expect there is someone out there who has a bass with a 'mapple' neck, though! [/quote] Mapp-leh, surely?

Would leaving the preamp out drop the price that much, given that they'd sell fewer of them than the regular heads and lose out on some economy of scale?

Between the laminated body and giant headstock logo, it's got an interesting aesthetic! I like the look of it, though I'm not sure I'd like to put much confidence in the Ukrainian postal service at the moment...

The weak point in the plastic Behringers is not so much the casing as the PCB mounted jacks, pots and footswitch. A proper re-housing job would replace these, which would be a substantial proportion of the work involved in building a new pedal. So unless you can DIY, you might be as well looking for a used Sansamp or living with the Behringer as it is.

I'm sure I've seen more posts on here about basses being damaged due to straplock failure than due to not using them! I'm another bottle washer fan.

[quote name='ape' timestamp='1398024699' post='2429704'] Thanks for all the responses, a fair bit to think about, seems like briwax is a winner wax wise for protection, don't suppose any body that has used oils above on maple have got pics so I can get an idea? [/quote] Here's a pic of the tru-oil on maple on my parts guitar. It's a little darker than bare maple, but far from the whole "vintage tint" yellow thing.