Beer of the Bass

[quote name='MiltyG565' timestamp='1368093368' post='2073025'] I've heard stories about their flats for guitar, and I can definitely trust the guys opinion on strings! [/quote] I've seen less than positive reviews of the guitar flatwounds too, but that's different materials and a different manufacturing process, so I'm quite happy to judge the roundwounds on their own merit. And if they work out for me, they have the bonus of being half a pint cheaper than D'Addarios and not having been shipped across the Atlantic. If they don't work out for me, then I still have a set of D'Addarios in my case pocket...

It can be hard to find a space in the mix when you have bassy 4x12" equipped guitarists, no matter what size of bass rig you're using. Do SBK's guitarists gig with the 4x12"s, or are they the house kit in the rehearsal room? I suspect if they're gigging with smaller combos, the Markbass will more than do the job.

[quote name='MiltyG565' timestamp='1368083573' post='2072867'] I've never used Roto's on guitar before, but anytime I have used Roto's, they don't measure up at all to D'Addario. The tension shouldn't increase that much, so long as the increments between strings are even, because although you have a heavier bottom, you also have a lighter top, but you might need to tweak your setup a bit after putting them on. [/quote] I've never really bonded with Rotosound bass strings either, but I think that's more about their formulation than actual quality. I've used their Superwound phosphor bronze strings on my acoustic guitar for years, they've been as good as any other brand and perfectly consistent from set to set.

I managed to find time to drop by my local music shop yesterday, who had the Rotosound set, and stuck them on last night. I think I like them so far, and the Bigsby seems stable enough with them. It'll be hard to be sure whether I'll stick with them until I've gigged them though...

For me, finding out what gear people have used helps me to make informed choices as to what I might enjoy using myself, not really to emulate those players wholeheartedly, but to help narrow down the list of stuff to check out.

I have a double bass preamp with a phase reverse switch, which should have exactly the same effect as reversing a single speaker. I found that flipping the switch in between playing notes makes no audible difference at all, but if the phase is switched mid-note the transition itself is noticeable. Could this be what you heard in the demonstration?

I think I'll pick up a set later in the week when I'm passing by my local music shop. I'll stick with D'Addario XLs, just to keep everything else consistent.

The GK MB200 works well with my Wizzy 10 cab and is about as small as you can get - I often use it for the smaller pubs rather than lugging my 2x12" along.

Yep, as above really. There are a few folk who have stumbled across decent basses going cheaply, but they tend to be freak occurences down to good luck. Depending where you are, you may be able find a shop which rents out beginner level instruments, which can be a way of testing the water without laying too much money down.

I've been using 11-49 D'Addario XLs on my electric guitar for a while now. I like the firmer feel and clearer sound on the bass strings compared to a standard .009 or .010" set, but in my experimentation with heavier strings in the past I've found that a wound G doesn't do it for me, so the 11-49s always seemed like the best compromise between light and heavy. However, playing friends' guitars with .010"s, there's a snappy quality and elastic feel on the top strings which I enjoy. I'm thinking about trying a 10-52 set to try and get some of this. Are any of you using these? I'm wondering how uneven the tension feels, and whether the mismatch will wreak havoc with my Bigsby.

Or the plaque on the back is off the same parted-out Burns as the one on the front! Still, if it goes for the opening £50 then someone has done well, as it looks like the better end of no-name Precision copies with that nice Ash body. Possibly the Burns plates would be of interest to a collector too, so the seller might do better if they were auctioned separately.

[quote name='The Dark Lord' timestamp='1367764510' post='2069176'] This might just push me over the edge to get one of these ..... if the new model becomes available. Will cost more probably, but it's only money. [url="http://stranglers-ratter.blogspot.co.uk/"]http://stranglers-ra...blogspot.co.uk/[/url] [/quote] I'm not trying to stir things here, but weren't you posting about being strongly opposed to all of the companies who make upmarket Fender copies just a couple of weeks back? The Shuker must be one hell of a bass to change your tune quite so comprehensively!

I have managed to sort out my noise issues by changing my power supply for one of these; [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_powerplant_junior.htm"]http://www.thomann.d...lant_junior.htm[/url] Even with shipping from Germany, it's about the cheapest isolated supply out there and is quite small and neat. I've got everything velcroed to a plastic chopping board from Poundstretcher! It still gave me a little mains frequency hum when using the Super Fuzz, but adding a 100 ohm resistor in line with the power socket inside the Fuzz, along with a 100uF capacitor to ground sorted that out by adding some extra filtering.

You might regret the see-through guard after a sweaty gig or two! I've seen them with drops of sweat squeezed behind them, looking most unsightly. I guess the same thing goes on behind an opaque guard, but we never see it. It does look like a nice bass - I've always liked MM necks in particular.

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1367662480' post='2068045'] I have to say that is not my experience. Most musos I have known are pretty indulgent at jam sessions. I have seen the most appaling train wrecks resulting in positive responses. I have been roasted more than once but never maliciously. [/quote] It may well have been just a couple of guys who were attending that one particular jam a few years back. I've often found musicians at the free/experimental end of things to be very approachable and pleasant though, to the point where I once played a set with Lol Coxhill before I really knew who he was, and that was great fun.

I listen to a lot of jazz, but have never felt confident trying to play it in public. I think part of this is that unlike in most other genres, the standard of musicians playing in small venues around town is scarily high (most of them have spend a number of years in full-time study from an early age) , and I feel strongly that a dabbler like me will be shown up! There is also a negative attitude I've witnessed a couple of times at open jam sessions, where whenever a less-confident newbie turns up, the regulars will do their best to call tunes which are way over their head (like expecting a double bassist to solo on Giant Steps or play Charlie Parker heads). I'm sure this doesn't happen everywhere, but it can put people off participating in their local jazz scene and gaining that experience which would help them improve their skills. When this kind of thing happens, it makes the jazz scene look like less fun than doing other kinds of gig, however musically satisfying it might be.

It does seem like an odd description - unless they've got a bi-amp setup like the old GK amps, which I don't think they do. It could be that the colour button/control on the amps are some kind of lowpass filter like the Markbass VLE, and they've just chosen bizarre wording to express that, perhaps?

[quote name='dlloyd' timestamp='1367404013' post='2065114'] Can it make a cup of tea? (Earl Grey, Hot) [/quote] If Douglas Adams had it right, it'll make you a cup of liquid almost, but not entirely unlike tea.

Well, my band with the EUB was a sort of free improv noise ensemble, so it wasn't even the strangest noise in the room most of the time.

A couple of years ago I had a strap made for me by this chap; [url="http://www.barefootleather.co.uk/scripts/prodList.asp?idCategory=244"]http://www.barefootleather.co.uk/scripts/prodList.asp?idCategory=244[/url] Since they're made to order, he should be able to do whatever length you need.

The MB200 might be overkill if you just need a headphone amp, but on the other hand they do sound good and are a useful thing to have around. It's actually my only amp head at the moment, which is going to be a temporary situation, but it turns out to be a remarkably useable amp for pub gigging, not just as a practice amp.

[quote name='thisnameistaken' timestamp='1367076083' post='2061035'] My thinking is that if I'm after a gut sound I should probably try gut. Although I jam a lot with a vegan singer/guitarist which is why I've resisted guts for so long! [/quote] You're playing an instrument held together with hide glue and have a horsehair bow at hand (unless you don't do arco). If those haven't offended his sensibilities, you're probably OK with gut strings. Myself, I couldn't live with the reedy arco sound when I tried a gut D and G, but I use the bow a lot.

Keeping a similar build style and materials between models, then tweaking the sound with pickup types and placement, wiring etc to suit that model is an eminently sensible and economical way for mass producers like Fender and G&L to do things. It doesn't say much about the significance of woods and construction style, more that Leo probably felt he'd hit upon a workable combination of ash or alder with bolt-on maple necks quite early on in his career. By way of contrast, Les Paul spent quite a bit of time experimenting with different materials for guitar bodies, and I'm sure I remember seeing an interview where he was adamant that the maple top on a Gibson Les Paul was important to the sound of that model. It can't have been chosen for aesthetics, as the earlier models were painted gold.

[quote name='Skol303' timestamp='1366980744' post='2059817'] Buy some magic beans from me. Normally two grand but I'll do you a 50% discount. They're magic. Really. [/quote] Swap you a cow for them?