Beer of the Bass

The cap is used as a high pass filter, but it works by allowing treble frequencies to bypass the volume pot so that the pot attenuates those frequencies less. So, it gives an apparent boost to the highs when the volume control is less than maximum. With the pot turned up full, the bright cap will make no difference.

Changing the capacitor will shift the cutoff point, but the cutoff point is not where you think it is. I think the 10M resistor can be more or less ignored in practice, as it's only there to discharge the capacitor and prevent clicks when the switch is engaged. When the bright switch is on, the 10M resistor is going to be in parallel with the lower side of the volume pot (between the wiper and ground), which will always be 1M or less, so 10M in parallel with 1M is not going to change things much. The trouble with trying to calculate the frequency from simple R C formulae is that R is affected both by the impedance of the stage driving it and the setting of the volume control. There's a calculator at [url="http://www.ampbooks.com/home/amplifier-calculators/bright-boost/"]http://www.ampbooks....s/bright-boost/[/url] which can be useful here. From my own experience of changing bright cap values, moving the frequency downwards can actually make things brighter sounding. It might be worth buying several values of cap in the right range and figuring out which one you like best. If you're happy that you can change it cleanly and reversibly, it's about the single cheapest, simplest tweak you can do to a preamp.

I've only got Speakons now, but here's a bump to get things a bit closer to the line.

The 3.9Mohm passive input on Ashdown MAG amps will take most piezo pickups quite happily, and I used to regularly use both my old tiltback MAG 200 112 combo and the MAG 300 115 combo that a local venue had as their house amp without difficulties. They're not the most hi-fi sounding thing out there, but you should be able to get workable results with that amp. It might be worth looking at the type of pickup and how well it is fitted - if it's the bridge wing type, the snugness of the fit is quite critical to getting a decent sound. If it's the type that fits over the top of the bridge with two clips (like the old Fishman BP100 or copies of it), those pretty much always sound awful IMO. I'd suggest identifying your pickup (perhaps post a picture of it) and check the fit of it before you go spending cash on preamps etc.

Personally, I value the presence of the various industry professionals (and a number of informed amateurs and DIYers) on this forum and their input probably saves a lot of people from costly trial and error with their gear. Having said that, participating in a forum called basschat then complaining that all this [i]chat[/i] from all these [i]bassists[/i] is cluttering up the place, as BFM appears to be doing, seems to miss the purpose of the forum somewhat.

[quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' timestamp='1355240743' post='1895819'] If you ignore the replies from all those not actually in the loudspeaker business it's a lot shorter. [/quote] Can't have mere bassists chiming in on a bass forum now, can we?

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1355220922' post='1895435'] Absolutely but it's not the kill, it's the thrill of the chase. I think we sound like we are and that's going to disappoint occasionally ! [/quote] It can also be true that some of the traits musicians regard as flaws in their own playing can just sound like part of its character to listeners. I have some friends whose band is doing fairly well, touring and making records for a label, as well as some fairly interesting collaborations. I was surprised that they still call me in to play bass on the string overdubs when they record, when they know a couple of more professional players who also live closer. I asked them about this and the response was that they specifically wanted me, sounding like I sound. I guess this suits their fairly eccentric, pastoral folk sort of sound better than a classical player with their big rich authoritative tone would.

I identify a third level - "It sounds like me on a bad day. I need to practice more!" This may just be me being overly self critical though. There have been a couple of times where I've heard players and been struck by the presence and character of their sound, rather than just their note choice, and been inspired to try and up my game a bit, though not necessarily to emulate them. I still maintain that this is a normal and healthy part of playing.

That's a very 70's set of modifications, what with the cream pickup covers and all the brass! The bridge pickup looks a bit wonky though, and it looks like the fingerboard might need some work. TBH I'd cheerfully keep the mods on a bass like that if it played well, but I wouldn't want to pay much more than it's been bid to at the moment.

This is the thing that puzzles me when threads pop up looking for "the double bass sound" from a bass guitar, as if there was only one! I don't think it's unhealthy to be concerned about your sound, as all of our musical ideas are filtered through it. But yes, there is a point of "close enough" where I can stop thinking about it and dedicate more of my attention to the actual music. Though that point can be quite elusive sometimes, especially when amplified.

On bass guitar, I've settled on the 0.88mm green Dunlop Tortex picks. Any lighter just feels to bendy for me and any heavier misses that "click" to the attack when palm muted. For electric guitar, I like the next gauge lighter, as I have a tendency to tense up my hand and play too hard at gigs, and a little flex in the pick seems to help me moderate that. I like the really heavy ones for my archtop acoustic guitar, either Dunlop Stubbies, 1.5mm pearloid ones from a local music shop, or a bizarre ebony and leather job I found in an old banjo case. Actually, I may have to give that one a go for bass...

Although, come to think of it, Terry Gregory played gypsy jazz influenced music quite effectively on acoustic bass guitar when I saw him with Martin Taylor a few years back. MTs music has never been quite to my taste, but the bass definitely worked for the style. I think it was down to feel and musicianship rather than any particular property of the instrument though.

A good weekend for me. On Friday, Jen and the Gents played Lebowski's in Edinburgh. This makes for an easy night, as I live about 200 metres down the same street! It's not a huge place, but it was pretty well filled, and a lot of familiar faces turned out. Enjoyed the other band, Ulysses jones, and I think we'll try and gig together some time in the future. I'm always quite surprised at how far my tiny GK MB200/EA Wizzy 10 rig will go in small venues like this, as I can sling it over my shoulder yet it filled the room just fine. Saturday afternoon we headed out in acoustic mode for some busking to the Christmas shoppers. Then last night I headed down to an open mic night with the acoustic guitarist I play with and my double bass, played a couple of tunes and had a couple of pints. We're trying out some new tunes which use the bow a lot more than our older tunes did, so playing them live is keeping me on my toes.

How are they with the bow? I'm pretty much stuck on my Spiro Mittels, as the pizz sound is damn close to what I hear in my head, but the brightness of the arco sound can be a challenge to control sometimes, especially on the D-string on my bass. If the Bass Centre will sell singles, I might try changing out the D and G for these some time.

[quote name='thisnameistaken' timestamp='1355012020' post='1893050'] I don't think the gypsy jazz sound can be done with a bass guitar. I don't think you can make a bass guitar swing like that. Maybe someone can prove me wrong. [/quote] Yeah, you may be right. I think it's partly that the attack and decay of the note can never be quite the same with bass guitar, but also how the physical resistance and bounce of the strings changes the way you play.

Playing with a bow really reminds me that double bass is a different instrument from bass guitar. That's a side of the instrument which doesn't overlap with bass guitar in the slightest! To the list of worries, add feedback, inadequate monitoring, and trying to play in tune at gigs on an unmarked fingerboard given those two factors...

I'm another exponent of the rubber grolsch washers. If like me you don't like Grolsch, you can just get a pack of washers from a home brew shop.

You seem to think that your opinion should be taken as gospel by everyone else, with no room for any other approach. We're talking about playing music here, there is no definitive right or wrong choice of gear. He could easily put down his £200 on any number of cabs and have a totally viable gigging rig. Yes, there are reasons why a grand's worth of cab might be preferable, but that's beside the point here. Personally, in the OPs situation, I'd go secondhand if at all possible, as if he did want to upgrade later, he wouldn't make as much of a loss selling the cab on.

[quote name='The Dark Lord' timestamp='1354824705' post='1891013'] Where is the sarcasm in my comment? Do you even know what sarcasm means? I was being straight. I thought Lawrence was spouting nonesence. I thought what he said made no sense. But, to be back on topic. Start with a good quality cab first. Not the other way 'round. There are plenty of low priced amp heads that will sound great with the right cab. [/quote] "Nice one" and "Really." at the end of your posts were the sarcastic comments directed at the OP. I've no interest in a p*ssing contest, but it struck me that you were being unneccesarily condescending (you're doing it again with by asking "Do you even know what sarcasm means?"), and I thought that was a bit off. There's nothing wrong with a bit of civility...

[quote name='The Dark Lord' timestamp='1354813523' post='1890786'] Good shout. The nonesense that gets spouted on here is surprising. [/quote] OTOH there's not much point in directing sarcasm at someone just for having a budget, and it comes across as sneering. Pointing out workable alternatives within the OPs budget is a lot more helpful than that...

The stuff that comes with the AKG 411 does the job well, but also comes from Thomann. [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/akg_klebemasse_f_c_411_416.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/gb/akg_klebemasse_f_c_411_416.htm[/url]

[quote name='Doddy' timestamp='1354407495' post='1885741'] I think it's worth mentioning that I know people who have actually been invited to go on both X Factor and Britain's Got Talent and are pretty much guaranteed to do pretty well on them. [/quote] What's also interesting is that some of the novelty/eccentric/no-hoper acts you see the judges sneering at in the early rounds are there by invitation too. This happened to the drummer from my band (who also makes some very odd youtube videos). He was approached to appear on BGT, on the understanding that he was there purely to provide a few seconds of footage, not actually as an entrant.

I had a fun one - my old psychedelic folk band (who stopped playing a couple of years ago) got back together to play a friends 70th birthday party in a village hall in Cumbria, up on the moors. We had some troubles with the PA, but it was a fun night, with a proper village hall sort of atmosphere - small kids and old hippies dancing! It's been a couple of years since I've gigged the double bass with a full band rather than just a duo, which reminded me that I ought to do more of that.

Yeah, it's true that an actual keyboard would push costs up. I'd imagine my hypothetical basic keyboard monosynth would be more like a couple of hundred quid, which would still be less than the Moogs and the like. I do quite fancy the idea of getting hold of a monotron and fitting it with one of these though; [url="http://www.midi-hardware.com/index.php?section=prod_info&product=MINICV"]http://www.midi-hardware.com/index.php?section=prod_info&product=MINICV[/url]