Beer of the Bass

I didn't see it at the time, but that looks like a lot of fun.

I don't own a suitable rig for that size of stage, but I'm guessing there'll be hire companies involved in a setup like that, so I'd probably just request an SVT and 8x10", since Ampeg stuff is reasonably familiar and ubiquitous enough that it's probably available.

I guess an A-width Precision neck would have forked off from Jazz bass production quite early in the process, since the J would get block inlays and binding in that era. Presumably the same stack of blanks, though.

I thought back in the 60s you could special order a Precision from Fender with a Jazz width neck, still called a Precision and marked Precision on the headstock? Few would argue that that was not a Precision bass.

The band I've been playing with for the last wee while have just finished up our new album. It's the bands third album, but my first with them. The full release is June 18th, but there's one track up as a preview right now. It's quite a varied album musically, there's a definite Canterbury prog influence though we also get a little jazzy in places, there are some folk horror vibes in the lyrics and even a bit of a tongue-in-cheek yacht Rock feel occasionally! I play double bass for a couple, too. We should be getting out for some gigs in the autumn, fingers crossed... https://bighogg.bandcamp.com/album/pageant-of-beasts

I'd be more concerned at the speaker end of things, personally. Though I've often tended to have amps that aren't crazy high powered compared to the speakers, so it would take some unusual use to really stress the drivers (detuning, crazy effects, excess low-end EQ etc).

For me the presence of a telecaster would push things in more of a Western Swing direction, which can also be fun.

I've depped on bluegrass gigs a couple of times. It seems to really vary as to how purist people are in the UK - some will be happy with electric bass, and some will scowl at you if your double bass doesn't have gut strings!

I've found it a little awkward where I have gear that's at all idiosyncratic. Particularly on guitar where I've used a couple of different valve combos that I built - I've had people get annoyed there's no dirt channel, that it's not some big clean pedal platform amp to run their looper into, and a lot of younger musicians have never encountered valve amps at all. I've had someone struggle through a half hour soundcheck not figuring out how to turn an amp on while I was next door eating and then be grumpy at me, and others frantically toggling the power switch because it didn't make sound instantly (which is terrible for valve rectifiers). But if I hang around and offer explanation on how to use it, some find that patronising...

That seems like a good, solid choice, I remember quite liking the Zeller basses I've seen.

His actual playing's great, but that's exactly the kind of perma-chorus sound I was thinking of as my least favourite! Tastes vary, I guess...

Glad it worked out! Harmonica is weird for volume - it's not crazy loud but sits in a frequency range that we pick up easily and where there's rarely much else going on. Especially the higher key diatonics!

I don't know if these things still happen or if it was an early days thing, but I get the impression Ashdown would sometimes stick whatever driver was in stock into a combo rather than necessarily the one they designed and spec'd it with. Certainly my old Mag 200 tilt back combo in about '99 came with an Eminence driver that wasn't very well suited to the small sealed cab, rather than the custom spec Celestion they advertised and listed in the spec sheet.

Looks lovely, it's a very nicely proportioned bass.

I think bass balalaika players use massive leather plectrums, but I have no idea where you'd find those.

Favourites; a lot of just slightly not-clean Fender kind of tones with that high end detail. I also really like the sound of octavey fuzz pedals on leads. Least favourite; anything with always-on subtle chorus. I feel like if you're going to use chorus, make it an actual effect and use it strategically.

Are they the wood peg variety? I'm afraid I don't have any obvious solutions, but I agree those are a bit of a bugger and I've had rattles from mine from time to time. I think as things wear, all the parts don't fit together as well as they would have done new.

I used to have this problem from time to time, and never did find a completely satisfactory solution. People always talk about surgical spirit or other alcohol, but that's more of a preventative for firming up the skin a little - if you're already blistering it'll just smart and not do anything useful. Carefully applied micropore tape (wrapped right around to avoid the edges peeling) can work in the very short term, but you'll need to reapply between sets and it changes the feel and sound a little. Almost any other tape produces sticky residue at the edges and makes things feel unpleasant very quickly. And be wary of the idea of pricking the blisters and playing on through the pain - I did this at a party years ago, aided by drink, and the next day my hands were so bad that I had to take two weeks off double bass and do the gigs I had booked with electric bass and a pick... The main thing for me is just to relax a little and not try and push too hard to project if your hands are already suffering. It's better to be a little low in the mix and playing with good feel than to be wincing and missing notes by the end of the set, IMO. Running the hand under cold water and drying thoroughly between sets always seemed to help too.

I did put a B15N derived 6SL7 preamp in a Dynacord head I had, though that was with a very clean running power amp with high plate voltage and a lot of negative feedback, so the feel of the amp was probably a little different. I get the impression the inductor midrange circuit on the PF-50T has a particular sound, especially when boosted, that may move it away from sounding like a B15N and more towards the V4 and other Ampegs. I haven't seen inside the PF-20T to see how they did the mid control, but maybe that's where some of the difference is.

The cost factor is what has discouraged me from doing something similar. I enjoy building amps, but the PF-50T basically ticks all the boxes for what I want from a valve amp for bass, and I would have struggled to build a well-presented amp with new parts and similar functionality for the price they were at on the Kenny's deal.

I replaced the Bulgin mains connector on my old Hohner Pianet with this style of IEC socket. I think it's not truly intended for a round hole, but covers it more effectively than the standard IEC sockets with the holes on either end would. https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/iec-connectors/2378894/

Sounds promising! Are those Hammond chassis made from steel? I very much recommend buying a chassis punch to make the holes for the valve bases, as that will be hard to do cleanly with a drill. Fortunately you only need one size when all the valves are octal bases.

Where I do see bass cabs being miked in larger venues, there's usually a DI running too. So I guess they probably are using the mic mostly for the midrange character and high end roll-off of the cab, and getting clean lows from the DI. But that means two channels for the bass, which won't always be considered worth doing.

The Scottish equivalent greeting wouldn't make it past Basschat's profanity filter, particularly if you're from Glasgow!