Beer of the Bass

[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.

Tru-oil on maple is about the nicest feeling neck finish there is (IMO) and it doesn't darken maple too much. For a satin finish, you can just sand the neck to 600 grit, apply plenty of coats of tru-oil (I think I used around 8, cutting back every couple of coats) then buff with the finest grade of steel wool. You can buy it from gun suppliers.

I like that purple! It's a change from plain old black, but still understated enough that you won't regret it in a year or two.

The five string version seems to have all but disappeared too.

[quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1397842436' post='2427920'] Not as frequently as I would like. On one occasion I advertised a drummer vacancy for a severely rootsy project. One of the requirements was a willingness to bring no more than a snare and a hi-hat. [/quote] I think this one is fair game, as the right drummer for that sort of project wouldn't be put off by that suggestion. And drummers who can work that way are worth their weight in gold! It's much the same as a bluegrass band asking for someone willing to play un-amped double bass.

We've been working on some new songs with my idiosyncratic acoustic outfit the Forgotten Works. We're working towards a full album worth, but here are the three tracks we have at the moment. I'm playing double bass, and we have tried to include the background sounds from the locations we recorded in. Of these three tracks, one was indoors, one was out in the open in a woodland and one was inside a tent in the rain! [url="https://theforgottenworks.bandcamp.com/album/tinto-3-track-album-sampler"]https://theforgottenworks.bandcamp.com/album/tinto-3-track-album-sampler[/url]

Whichever service you use, make sure it's a recorded/signed for service. Returned eBay items have an uncanny knack of going "missing" if you neglect to do this, leaving you with no item and no refund!

A slightly sharp G almost certainly means that the bass is picking up mains frequency hum from somewhere (since mains power is at 50Hz and low G is 49Hz). It could be a shielding or grounding issue with the bass wiring, or you could be standing too close to something with a transformer in it.

Depending on your the style of pickup you're building, it's not too hard to make Fender style flatwork out of vulcanised fibreboard or Tufnol type material, where the poles are a press fit into the top and bottom pieces and the coil is wound straight on to the poles (with a layer of paper tape in between). Of course, if you want any sort of adjustable pole arrangement, that won't work and you'd need a proper bobbin.

If it's a particular resonance from the bass, you might be able to control it by dampening the afterlengths and tailpiece. For a while I played with a very loud band and I would dampen the afterlengths with a piece of plastic tube woven between the strings. What made the biggest difference was stuffing a rolled up scarf between the tailpiece and top, which some people use a foam sponge for. It would be worth trying these things before springing for more bits of gear!

My mounting looks like this; I'm using hair tie elastic between the bridge legs at the capsule end and between the G string and E string afterlengths at the connector end. The mic sits at about a 45 degree angle towards the top and doesn't touch the bridge or top. I think if I can use this mounting method with a lighter mic, I'll have something I can stick with. The Line Audio mics are a little out of my budget, but I could go for something like an AKG Perception 150/170 or an MXL, or one of the numerous far eastern small diaphragm cardioid condensers that are out there under various brands.

I did my first gig using the Rode tonight, it was a fairly small, intimate affair so I used the mic alone going straight to FOH. It might be the first time I haven't winced at my amplified arco sound. It worked very nicely, and somehow had a different feel to any pickup I've used. I may experiment with blending the mic with my AKG C411 if I need more volume in other settings, and I'm still wondering if I can find a lighter condenser mic to do the same job, but it seems the idea is a good one. I've edited the thread title, as it's no longer really about the Ovid mic.

The Yamaha has one more fret, so distance from the end of the neck would not be a useful comparison to make.