Beer of the Bass

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1484559465' post='3216238'] Make a point of not playing. If nobody notices, then you are not just too loud, you are far too loud. If nobody notices that you are not playing, you should go out and fix yourself up a cuppa. [/quote] In rehearsals, right? That would be serious primadonna behaviour in front of an audience!

[quote name='gjones' timestamp='1484499959' post='3215904'] I like this line. It sounds like you're talking about a child, not a bass I used to have 7 basses (down to 3 now) and I used to feel the same when I was deciding which one to take to the gig.. [/quote] I've usually managed to avoid this with basses, but I've now ended up having two different instruments I could use for my next guitar gig in a fortnight's time. I don't know if I'll flip a coin, ask if bandmates have a preference or what!

[quote name='only4' timestamp='1484428352' post='3215463'] One of my first basses too, sounds like a 1a. Rumoured to be a dimazio pickup in those. Nice solid reliable Japanese instrument. Does sound like it's priced on the steep side to be honest. You need to see if you like playing it, it may end up being the one for you. [/quote] AFAIK it's not a Dimarzio (or at least it wasn't in my Thunder 1), but the design is closely based on theirs.

I had a Thunder I for a while. They're well-made basses, and the only downside I'm aware of is that they can be weighty and prone to neck-dive. Is the Thunder II the through-neck version?

Lovely looking guitar. It's odd that the Falcon is bigger than the Penguin; I guess ornithology is not Gretsch's strong point!

[quote name='Chienmortbb' timestamp='1484296783' post='3214377'] if it is not active it is not a Preamp [/quote] They're an unusual case, the G&L basses, as they have passive treble and bass cut controls and then a bypassable active stage after that. [url="http://www.glguitars.com/schematics/ASATbass_L-2000_L2500_version1.pdf"]http://www.glguitars...00_version1.pdf[/url]

[quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' timestamp='1484242936' post='3213940'] When's the last time you had to replace a driver due to mechanical damage? [/quote] While I've never had to replace one myself, I've played a lot of rehearsal room or venue house rigs with damaged drivers, presumably from over-excursion. It either shows up as individual dead drivers in a multi-driver cab, or just that distorted voice coil rub kind of sound. Sometimes that's from outright abuse, sometimes it's from simply not having enough rig for the room and running it night after night, but someone out there is doing it.

[quote name='alexclaber' timestamp='1484214419' post='3213525'] I should clarify my previous post - an isobaric 2x12" will have the same max output as a 1x12" with the same speaker but will require twice as much power to get that loud. With the same speakers in all the cabs, equal loudness gives: 50W into 2x12" = 100W into 1x12" = 200W into isobaric 2x12" [/quote] That goes some way to explaining why Orange added the 4/8 ohm switch on the Terror Bass head that was marketed with these, as it sounds like having the full 500 watts available at 8 ohms might be useful with these cabs.

I wouldn't. The better tort material has a celluloid top layer which is way too flammable to laser cut, and many use PVC in the B/W/B layers which will release nasty gases. You could laser-cut a router template and then use that to make your pickguard though.

Both the Reidmar and the Tonehammer are things that I hadn't really thought about. I might look into those a little more. It's a pity it's always so tricky to try things out!

[quote name='yorks5stringer' timestamp='1484144350' post='3213007'] Thanks for the warning but surely if it was unplayable, you could have returned it to G4M for a refund? [/quote] That can be a difficult thing to judge when you're new to the double bass though. Everyone goes into it expecting it to be a bit more demanding than electric bass, but it can take a while to be sufficiently familiar with the instrument to know what a reasonable setup looks like.

Yeah, the MB500 would certainly do the job, and looking at used prices it seems to be about in the range I would be looking it. The MB fusion would definitely be stretching what I want to spend a bit - I hadn't realised that prices had risen quite so much in the last several years. I've still got that feeling that I should look around at my options though, just in case something else out there appeals to me. It's curious, when I got the MB200 I was mostly thinking of the size, price and convenience rather than seeking out a particular character, but it does turn out to have a sound that works well for me, better than a few popular amps I've tried. Another option would be to hang on to the MB200 but pick up something cheap, loud and less compact to bring out for the occasional gig that needs it.

[quote name='MoonBassAlpha' timestamp='1484065411' post='3212369'] Lo-tech: Ruler, string, pencil, drawing pin, scissors, paper, responsible adult to supervise... [/quote] Or scalpel blade poked through a strip of stiff cardboard or thin ply, pinned down to a piece of card and used to cut a section of circle directly.

I've been using a GK MB200 for a while, and while I like the sound I get from it and it's usually loud enough, I do notice it gets a squashy, compressed character when turned up louder. Since I'm now playing some gigs with a trio who get a little louder than I'm used to playing, I've been musing on whether I should look for something with a little more oomph. I don't have an absolute need to change, but I'm thinking about it. Budget is tight, and I would almost certainly be looking at used amps rather than new and saving up cash over the next few gigs. I'm using a pair of DIY 1x12" cabs - these probably perform similarly to the TKS s112, just to give you an idea of what I'm working with. My cabs handle the MB200 without complaining, but I suspect there would be little to be gained from going for something much over 500 watts. I like the pokey, forward character of the GK, as while I'm not going for a very modern sound the GK is quite flattering to my passive, flatwound strung bass. So a larger GK might be an option. I've had a Markbass before and found it a little bland somehow and didn't like where the EQ centres were. I've tried the Orange TB500 and found the core tone a bit too grindy. I've had and enjoyed a couple of clean-running valve amps, but in practice the convenience of a smaller amp wins out so they stayed at home most of the time. Something with a touch of grit on demand could be fun but not essential. I think a 2U sized amp is the largest I'd want, but smaller is good. So with that in mind, where would you be looking? A GK MB500 or MB fusion would do the job. I like the look of the Genz Streamliners and could probably stretch to a used Streamliner 600, but I've never checked one out. The Ampeg PF heads seem like they might be up my street, but I'd be a bit concerned about the reported reliability issues. Any other things I should be looking at?

[quote name='Painy' timestamp='1483830574' post='3210538'] Really?!? You paid out for a bass without taking the Bundung into consideration? That's the first thing you should be thinking about! [/quote] Is that what you would produce after eating too many buns?

There would be no problem plugging a 15 watt amp into a 350 watt rated speaker, but it would be better to run the Laney into a proper bass cab rather than installing a new driver in the combo. Open back cabs are a bad idea for bass; the power handling is reduced because they don't control the cone excursion and even if you're not running enough power for that to be an issue it'll still be thinner sounding than a sealed or ported cab. The Eminence is likely to be less efficient that the stock speaker, as dedicated guitar drivers tend to be designed for efficiency at the expense of low-end power handling.

[quote name='Cato' timestamp='1483120231' post='3204882'] The P-Sting? Sounds a bit like an STD. [/quote] http://youtu.be/3vmPwZT-9zY

[quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1483096776' post='3204661'] I was pointing out that Mr Bieber was a little more talented than what's on the surface. Jeez. I'm not saying he's as good a Drummer as you Blue or any other of you great drummers out there. 😉 [/quote] I could agree with that. He doesn't sound like some remarkable drum prodigy in the video, but he does sound like a musician. Given that most of his publicity in the last couple of years has been for his other antics, that could be easily overlooked.

I think there are a few people who use a roundwound low B with flats on the other four, and I did something similar with a coated roundwound B with a set of tapewounds for a while.

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1482588338' post='3201634'] Ha! No, I still haven't decided what I'll put. I did put the SBK on the red Maruszczyk and I regretted it. Just as I got the bass I went through a phase being annoyed at the band and I nearly quit. No more band logos [/quote] Ah, I guess it's harder to change than a bass drum skin! I hope their time estimates aren't messed up too much by Chinese New Year. I've ordered something from China in January before, and it seems like everyone downs tools for a week then the post is backlogged after they start up again.

Is it getting the Sea Bass Kid logo on the headstock, by any chance?

[quote name='Bassassin' timestamp='1482538097' post='3201404'] I would have thought it was way too late for that. Gibson designs have been freely copied for so long that if it ever was a registered trademark (which I doubt) it would have long since slipped into the public domain. The whole deal with so-called "lawsuit" copies in the 70s revolved around Gibson's then parent company challenging the use of the "open book" headstock - and nothing else, which suggests they never claimed ownership of the body designs anyway. They didn't get far challenging PRS over their singlecut, if I recall. [/quote] Doing a bit of googling, it looks like there was some legal interaction between Gibson and JHS/Vintage last year over their SG copies. I haven't waded through the details of it all, and it doesn't look like Gibson actually won, but I can see how that might encourage smaller companies to reconsider whether doing Gibson copies was really worth the bother.

I recall they had some nice looking SG guitars a couple of years ago, but they're not doing them any more. Did Gibson have a word with them? I've noticed that several brands of SG and Les Paul copies have moved to slightly tweaked outlines in the past year or two, which makes me wonder if Henry J has borrowed a leaf from the John Hall playbook...

Fender have a .040 to .125" set, if that's light enough.

Do they build them in the Czech Republic, or are they getting them made up elsewhere to their spec? Though they would be on the cheap side for European made instruments, which might suggest the latter.