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Beer of the Bass

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Everything posted by Beer of the Bass

  1. Beer of the Bass
    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.
  2. Beer of the Bass
    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.
  3. Beer of the Bass
    The five string version seems to have all but disappeared too.
  4. Beer of the Bass
    [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.
  5. Beer of the 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]
  6. Beer of the Bass
    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!
  7. Beer of the Bass
    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.
  8. Beer of the Bass
    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.
  9. Beer of the Bass
    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!
  10. Beer of the Bass
    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.
  11. Beer of the Bass
    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.
  12. Beer of the Bass
    The Yamaha has one more fret, so distance from the end of the neck would not be a useful comparison to make.
  13. Beer of the Bass
    [quote name='Meddle' timestamp='1397067720' post='2420376'] Didn't realise New Urban Frontier were still on the go. Gigged with them a bit when I was in college. Seemed a bit more politically intense than I was up for at the time, but the music was interesting. Good luck with the hunt. [/quote] Wow, that's three NUF bassists on basschat, as LawrenceH was in the band too. I'm playing guitar, but I guess it would have been Farhad while you were there. It's a fun band musically, nice and eclectic. Regarding the political angle, I toyed with the idea of getting one of these t-shirts for gigging. It's perhaps a good thing that I didn't...
  14. Beer of the Bass
    I would say yes in many cases, but it depends on what speakers you're using, how loud your band is and what sort of sound you're going for. I use a 15 watt valve combo with an efficient Eminence Copperhead 10", and I have only played two gigs where I felt it was not enough. Both of those had the drums miked, minimal or no monitors and at one the guitar amp was unmiked. In a miked up situation with a decent PA or a smaller room where the drums are unmiked it's more than adequate, and in fact I've often been asked to turn down. I like a bright, sparkly sound that's fairly light on the low end, and I'm quite happy if it breaks up a little. If you need to be squeaky clean or have chunky bass, you'll want to go larger.
  15. Beer of the Bass
    The preamp looks well designed, but why do they feel the need to have the valves sticking out of the top? On any piece of gigging gear, I'd want more than a thin glass tube between me and a couple of hundred volts!
  16. Beer of the Bass
    Andy bought a double bass pickup from me. Again, he was swift and pleasant to deal with.
  17. Beer of the Bass
    [quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1396859313' post='2417911'] Coming up with basslines that sound natural, not forced, for even simple time signatures such as 5/4 and 7/4 is quite a challenge though. I seem to end up with something that sounds like it's naturally 4/4 but is either missing a beat, or has an additional spurious beat. But, I'm happy to at least be aware of what I'm not able to do so that I can work on it. [/quote] Yeah, it's always fun, that. I play double bass with a guitarist who's addicted to odd meters. I've given up trying to count all of them and just try and feel where the pulse is, as it feels more natural that way. It keeps me on my toes though; there's one tune where I'm playing with the bow in 5/4 and singing a harmony at the same time...
  18. Beer of the Bass
    This one looks promising at first, but then there's the soundpost crack (a costly top-off repair), the epoxy in the seams (making repairs more difficult and costly) and the fingerboard shim that you'd really want to inspect in person. Whoever bid £1080 is braver than I am... [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Antique-Double-Bass-/201062117034?_trksid=p2047675.l2557&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT&nma=true&si=m8BC2WIi1c%252FoY9WpklZzLKOW7Eg%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Antique-Double-Bass-/201062117034?_trksid=p2047675.l2557&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT&nma=true&si=m8BC2WIi1c%252FoY9WpklZzLKOW7Eg%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc[/url]
  19. Beer of the Bass
    I'd agree that Studio 24 is one of the toughest rooms in town for sound, so if it sounded good there I'd say you're on to a good thing!
  20. Beer of the Bass
    [quote name='Rabbie' timestamp='1396695025' post='2416477'] Guts [/quote] How do you find the guts with a bow? I tried a plain gut G and D for about a week, and just couldn't get on with the arco response. They bow easily enough, but that raspy, reedy sound is a bit of an acquired taste outside of a baroque ensemble! Although I guess wound guts will be different.
  21. Beer of the Bass
    Yes, that talkbass thread was what gave me the idea of trying the NT3. Though I haven't tried it live yet, the signal from it sounds very good when listened to on headphones. If it works for me, I may still look for a lighter small diaphragm condenser, as the Rode is more than 350g and there's a subtle but noticeable muting affect with it mounted between the bridge legs. Some of the smaller ones are closer to 100g, which seems like a better idea...
  22. Beer of the Bass
    And it's sold already! That was quick...
  23. Beer of the Bass
    Revolution Solo II bass pickup, fits in the bridge wing on the E side. It's a well respected and good quality pickup, just not quite to my taste on my bass. Mine has been quite well used and the wood is a little grubby looking, but it is working perfectly. Full details can be found here; [url="http://www.doublebasspickup.com/index.htm"]http://www.doublebas...p.com/index.htm[/url] The idea with these is that they're encased in spruce, the same as instrument tops are made from, and to fit the pickup it is thinned down on the back side to fit the gap in the bridge wing. Mine has been thinned down to approximately 4.5mm. If you need it thicker than this, I have a small piece of spruce (an offcut from an acoustic guitar top) which could be trimmed down to size and glued to the pickup to bring the thickness back to the original (between 7-8mm). I'm happy to do this before sending it (just let me know), otherwise I can stick it in the package for you to do it yourself if required. It comes with a Lando jack clamp which is an improvement on the original plastic P-clip, though I forgot to include that in the photo! You can see a picture of this type of clamp here: [url="http://www.kontrabass-atelier.de/pickups_e.html#clamp"]http://www.kontrabas...ps_e.html#clamp[/url] Excellent value for £49 (inc. postage within UK).
  24. Beer of the Bass
    I've tried the VM but not the J Mascis, and I play a home built parts jazzmaster myself. The quality of the VMs seems fine to me and the necks are very nice, though they don't always have the prettiest wood on the sunburst finishes. The original type jazzmaster bridge on the VM annoys some players, and it would be a good idea to check one out in person to see if you get any problems with this bridge and your playing style. The VM pickups are closer to the original Jazzmaster style (though with a hotter bridge pickup) while the JM pickups are more like P90s. So the VM will get you closer if you're going for Elvis Costello's sound.
  25. Beer of the Bass
    Having had a quick play around, rather than try the Ovid straight away I'm going to experiment with my Rode NT3 shockmounted between the bridge legs. It sounds very good through my Zoom H4n, nicely balanced and not too harsh arco but with enough detail and air played pizz. It's behaviour at gig volume may be quite different, but it's got to be worth a go. I'm not sure why I didn't think of that earlier! If it works out, I'll change the thread title...
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