Beer of the Bass

[quote name='LawrenceH' timestamp='1339611690' post='1691549'] Hmm, thinking.. on a cab raised substantially off the floor you will unavoidably get some cancellation that'd typically affect the low mids - could it be that? Since it's a cancellation node EQ can't compensate for it but moving the cab close to the floor and tilting back would solve this. The ICEpower module in the tonehammer is capable (actually more powerful than that used in the Genz or GK MB500 even though they're rated similar outputs) so I'd be surprised if it didn't work well at 8 ohm. Yes, absolutely an F2b type pre in a micro would be great! I suppose the micros are aimed at people who like 'more' features in general. My reservations probably would concern both EQ and gain, but particularly the latter (I think the passive tonestack in the F2b/whatever Fender clone is actually pretty mid scooped anyway...). I am really tempted to switch my F1 for a Fusion if I can find an extra £200 somewhere! But I'd need to try it first as the F1 is great - be pretty interested to hear your MB200, gigging with it sometime soon? [/quote] Saturday 23rd at Nobles in Leith. If that's not too much of a thread derail!

[quote name='LawrenceH' timestamp='1339605730' post='1691379'] That's not really how it works... more that all (I think) of these micro valve hybrids, with the notable exception of the GK MB Fusion, are running 'starved plate' designs where the plate voltage is much lower than the design spec of the valves call for. It may distort, but it's not a 'true' reflection of the 'classic' valve sound of old studio or Fender/Ampeg preamps. It's the subtle harmonic enrichment before audible breakup in high voltage designs that gives that 'magic smooth sheen' to classic valve pres. I'd be very interested to know if any of the other designs use a high plate voltage but I doubt it, as it's more expensive to implement and they'd be able to make a big thing of it, as GK have rightly done. That's why I am really keen to try an MB Fusion! Just concerned that it'll have been voiced to give too much of the signature GK aggression. [/quote] I don't know how far the family resemblance goes between the MB Fusion and the other MB heads, but my MB200 definitely has a baked-in smile curve. A guy over on Talkbass did some measurements and found that the MB200 [i]can[/i] be set more or less flat, but with the Contour off, Treble and Bass at 10 o'clock and the high and low Mids at 2 o'clock and 1 o'clock respectively, not with the knobs centred. Or is your concern more to do with aggressiveness in terms of gain? I'd agree on the disappointment of starved-plate designs. Even though I'm a big fan of valve amps and gig with one whenever it's not too impractical, when I've tried hybrid heads which have the typical blendable valve stage for "drive", I've always preferred the sound without the valve stage blended in. I'm not sure why nobody has yet come out with a micro head with a simple Fender/Alembic/Hartke LH style clean valve preamp - I reckon a lot of players would be very happy if someone did.

The strings look like Thomastik Superflexibles from the colour of the silks - do they also have aluminium barrel-shaped ball ends with numerals on the end? Those are fairly high tension strings, so you could definitely find something softer feeling. The pickup looks a bit like one of these: [url="http://www.gollihurmusic.com/product/2435-KRIVO_HUMBUCKING_MAGNETIC_UPRIGHT_BASS_PICKUP_INCLUDES_FREE_JACK_MOUNT.html"]http://www.gollihurm...JACK_MOUNT.html[/url] I'm pretty sure it's not a Kent Armstrong magnetic, as those are slimmer without the offset poles.

Have you ever seen his Accordian Today magazine? It's made up mostly of plugs for WEM accordian products, with the occasional rambling cockney rant in between. He does indeed seem like a bit of a character. I reckon they should give him a Knighthood while he's still around!

[quote name='Johnston' timestamp='1339087894' post='1683497'] I would have put on the reply. Courier wouldn't lift stated item weight was too low. [/quote] That would probably have been an issue with courier pickup. I sent a cab by Yodel, having told them it weighed 30kg when I booked it. The guy turned up and complained that they're not meant to lift over 25KG single-handed (company H&S policy apparently, and fair enough IMO), so I ended up giving him a hand down to the van with it. I can imagine them taking the huff at a 50kg 4x10!

[quote name='Ed_S' timestamp='1338632437' post='1677362'] The DI100 is fine, but the DI20 is a couple of quid cheaper, lighter, smaller, still takes phantom power or a 9v battery, still metal cased, links out on both XLR and 1/4" jack when used as a splitter and is capable of stereo / dual mono when you don't need to link out. Very handy little box! [/quote] A friend of mine uses the DI20s when doing sound, and personally I don't like them very much. The switch arrangement for the link output can cause confusion on a dark stage and the ground lift doesn't seem to work in the expected way. We had ground loop hum using a DI20 which wouldn't go away even with the ground lift on, but dissapeared once we changed to a Samson DI and lifted the ground. I carry an old BSS AR116 myself, but I know sound guys will usually prefer to stick with their own boxes as that's one less variable for them.

One driver bands can indeed be a nightmare for out of town gigs. We end up with the situation where we don't fit in a car with our stuff, a standard van has one too few seats and most of our gigs don't pay enough to justify hiring a splitter van. I've never fancied bundling people in to the back of a transit van with the risk of being pulled over, getting points and so on, though I used to cheerfully squeeze in the back of them as a teen. Is anyone still daft enough to do this? A box trailer worked wonders for my old band, but not everyone can store one between gigs and I don't fancy trying to park one in a city.

[quote name='hiram.k.hackenbacker' timestamp='1338238035' post='1671481'] Why? I like it. [/quote] I just think it sounds a bit rambling and unfocussed, like a few stock licks with noodly mince in between. I like what he's doing for the odd phrase or so, but I feel like it's the bass equivalent of singing in the shower. I love his stuff when he's really on it, but this performance just feels a bit erratic to me. This is all IMO, of course, but hey, you asked!

Definitely not his finest moment, and I say this as someone who likes much of Jaco's stuff.

Having heard these in person, they do sound very good, even alongside a drummer who is at the lively end of things. What did the finished weight end up as? I suspect that one of these may go a bit louder than my EA Wizzy 10 cab too. You just need to find a head that comes in blue now, or would that be vain?

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1338057027' post='1669161'] Once the UK receive the new USA made amps, trying one of these out. [/quote] The USA made GK amps have definitely reached Europe already, I'm not sure about the UK though. My MB200 bought from Thomann a fortnight ago is labelled US made. Personally I doubt there would be much difference in quality, but the USA label probably helps resale value if nothing else...

I think a good single 10" can be perfectly viable for many gigs. It really depends how loud your drummer and guitarist are. I've done quite a few gigs with a proper drum kit using an EA Wizzy 10 alone. It's been fine for me, as long it's a smallish room rather than a hall, and not just for civilised jazz gigs. It gives more mid-bass than girthy lows, but it sounds credible enough. I do take a 2x12" out for louder gigs though.

[quote name='51m0n' timestamp='1337763243' post='1664943'] This isnt a test of hearing so much as a test of your PC audio card, and the speakers you are using..... [/quote] I've got to agree with this. I tried the test a few weeks ago with a pair of headphones and could only hear up to 14KHz. I've just tried it with some different headphones and can hear up to 17KHz. So who knows how much is due to the system rather than our hearing? I can hear something on the higher ones, but it sounds more like background noise rather than the actual pitch. I remember trying something similar at 20-ish, and being able to hear well past 20KHz. I've probably lost a little at 31 but I've been using earplugs for a long time, so hopefully I've not lost too much. I've played with one or two older musicians where I had to remember to stand on the right side of them if I wanted them to hear what I was saying, and I don't want to go there!

The thing I always found weird with the one-row cajun boxes is that they've only got two chords in the left hand, one on the push and one on the pull, and players use them for rhythmic effect, so the "wrong" chord is sounding some of the time. It's part of the sound on lots of cajun stuff, but if you try to come up with a bass line by following the accordion, it makes no sense at all!

[quote name='Stacker' timestamp='1337508552' post='1660979'] Haven't seen aything on that front up here since The Deaf Heights Cajun Aces. I had one of the best nights of my life, boogie-ing to them. Ace music. [/quote] I was in a band with Kim (the accordionist) from Deaf Heights for several years. We did a fair chunk of the Cajun and Zydeco repertoire, plus Kim's own rather eccentric compositions. There were some fun gigs with that band, though the lineup changed that often that there were some patchy ones too. It did get me into listening to guys like Nathan Abshire and Clifton Chenier though, which is a good thing.

The old Novation Bass station is a good option, one of the few bits of kit I really regret selling (along with the Space Echo I had - what was I thinking?). The keys are full sized, but you only get two octaves, which some may find limiting.

So the "colour" control looks like a rip-off of the Markbass VLE idea, going by that spec sheet. That could be handy for taming the high end from overdrive and fuzz pedals that often sound awful with a DI.

It's got a bit more going on than the Behringer and looks like a sturdier case. I had a Behringer and sold it on as I didn't like the mid-scooped sound and lack of mid control, so this looks like a useful thing. If anyone is planning on buying one, please review it on here!

I'll usually be willing to share stuff if it's arranged beforehand and people aren't taking the piss, although there is the odd situation where I wouldn't. In a lot of multi-band gigs in small venues, it would be impractical to have three separate bass rigs and drum kits as there's very little changeover time between bands and often nowhere to store kit. I usually have a strip of tape across the top of my amp labelled "NO DRINKS ON THE AMP, THANKS" which seems to get the message across. It surprises me how many musicians need help figuring out how to operate things though, especially where valve amps are involved. I do see some bad manners happening too, like a band who had used my bass rig and another bands drum kit (at a gig with pre-agreed gear sharing) refusing to let other bands use their guitar amp, forcing them to use the venues 15 watt solid state Behringer! Or the band I shared a bill with who used not only my amp but my guitar for two gigs and didn't buy me a drink...

I know this was a rehearsal, but if it ever happens during a gig, don't say anything until the gig is done! Seems obvious, but I used to play with a band where the frontman was always turning round to the drummer and criticising his tempo in a surprisingly loud whisper between or even during songs. This invariably made the gig worse not better, as the drummer tensed up and went all over the place and the rest of the band silently seethed at the frontman. I don't miss those gigs! The drummer in that band was good on a good day, but was often under-practised due to living in a flat.

Buying new, it's quite hard to beat the Gallien Krueger MB200 package deal at Thomann at the moment. [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/gallien_krueger_mb_200_bundle.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/gb/gallien_krueger_mb_200_bundle.htm[/url] The only major limitation is that with the 4 ohm cab, you can't add a second cab to the rig.

Just out of curiosity, is there anything not overly scooped that does a passable job for less money than the PR40, RE20 etc? Or is it one of those things where there isn't really a cheap alternative? The venue up the road from me uses the Red5 bass drum mic for bass, but I suspect that's out of availability rather than choice as their setup is a bit rough and ready, especially when you look at their house bass rig...

Bitsbox ([url="http://www.bitsbox.co.uk"]http://www.bitsbox.co.uk[/url]) stock the LM4250, which was used in the original MM design. I don't know how they compare for noise etc. to the other opamps, but they're at least a known quantity in this circuit. I was thinking of building a similar preamp for my bass a while ago, but decided to go passive in the end.

You could buy or borrow a plywood double bass, spend the six weeks between now and July cramming frantically and go unplugged. Of course, that's only a good idea if you fancied doing it anyway and you're not playing with anything louder than a drummer with brushes or rods, but there a few DB buskers on here (including myself from time to time), so I thought I'd put it out there...