Beer of the Bass

I thought this was going to be similar to the "t shirts for bassists" thread. Would you wear a pair of Fender PJs?

Yes, it looks like the extra output in the lows is the main advantage, and unless I find myself regularly pushing that limit it would likely be a sideways move. Though if anyone within a few miles builds one with the Beyma, it would be interesting to compare them side by side to hear that difference in voicing first-hand.

Would a group buy save enough to be worthwhile? Looking at Blue Aran's quantity pricing, an order of 8 or more probably saves less than you would spend on posting the individual drivers out to everyone. I'm still keeping the SM212 in mind as a possible option for my DIY cabs (which have Eminence Betas currently), but I'd want to spend some more time with the Betas before deciding if actually have a need to change. If I end up in a louder band some time, that might tip the balance...

I like the James tone stack, and I reckon it can do almost everything a three knob fender tone stack does. I had a four channel Carlsbro valve head where I changed one channel to a fender tone stack and left the James stack in the other three. I ended up using the first channel less than the others. You don't get any particularly sophisticated midrange shaping - it's quite a broad-brush approach to EQ, but can sound good. It's also possible to mod them with a pot to shift the range of the whole circuit up or down and a switch to add a mid bump without turning down the bass and treble. I intend to play around with these options some time...

Is it just me, or is there a touch of Hayman 4040 influence in the look of these?

I've had parts from them several times and they've been fine.

It took a while, but I eventually got my last band to agree not to do battle of the bands gigs. Did you have to sell a set number of tickets too? Events with online voting are equally bad, I've seen more obviously crooked ones than ones which weren't!

There are a couple of companies who suggest that their strings haven't changed much over the years; Rotosound and certain LaBella sets spring to mind. I remember buying some old-stock Sound City rounds in the 90s that would have been 20 years old at the time, and didn't think much of them. In the double bass world, Lycon brand strings have almost mythical status - they were a popular string from some time in the 60s onwards, and guys from that era always seem to remember them as the best thing ever. I'm sure they were a revelation at the time, but whenever someone has posted about finding an NOS set, they're often a bit underwhelmed by them in comparison to their expectations.

I haven't got around to doing this yet (and I'm visiting family without my bass over Easter), but I think I'll give it a go when I get back. I had the impression that Stevenson wouldn't welcome bass setup work; a few years ago when I was looking for a bass, he said that he would do work on basses as a service to his customers but that he would not take on work if I'd bought a bass elsewhere. I don't know if that's how he does things or if he was just busy at the time.

What strings are you using? I've noticed this happening with the solid-core strings that often come on new basses, but less so with quality stranded steel core or synthetic core strings.

Looks good! The HPF and parametric seem like useful things to have. Do you include any sort of limiter to protect against overloading the module on peaks, or does the module have that covered?

When I say the bar is lower for bassists, I don't mean in terms of renowned musicians, but I get the impression that almost any bassist who can keep time and maintain the form can function at some level on most local scenes. Maybe not as first-call guy, and not on the best gigs, but they can function. I'm sure the learning curve is steeper for pianists or sax players for example. This would chime with the Larry Grenadier quote further up the thread.

I must admit, I'm not well versed in the current crop of jazz bassists. With a few exceptions (like EST) most of the albums I keep going back to are from about the mid 50s up to some time in the 70s or more recent music from guys of that era. So I love Charlie Haden, Dave Holland, Buster Williams, Miroslav Vitous, Mingus and PC (who between them span quite a range in terms of technical facility) but quite a few of the names mentioned I'm less familiar with. I guess that in itself is something to look at. I'm not one who is turned off by virtuosity, though I might equally enjoy a more limited player if they've developed a distinctive voice. I have sometimes felt that the lower bar for bassists might be to my advantage, but I realise this is lazy thinking! I do think that for me to be a straight jazz musician is probably not my niche - I love to listen to a lot of it, I could learn a lot from studying it, but somehow I don't feel those are my gigs.

I did this with a cheap Precision copy, plugging the holes in the headstock and re-drilling for an odd 5+3 layout with guitar tuners for the octave strings. It worked OK for about three years, then the neck succumbed to the extra tension and went banana shaped. But in terms of nut width and headstock room a P-bass could work. If you started with a better bass than I did, and veneered the front and back of the headstock to hide the plugs you could probably come up with something quite good.

I think the current enthusiasm for pairs of 1x12" cabs is just because they're a useful combination of size, weight and output. I can't really hear a common tone across them.

[quote name='The Jaywalker' timestamp='1458748464' post='3010497'] PM me your email add and I'll PDF you some stuff that I've got on the jazz and classical vein ;-) [/quote] Cheers, I'll do that.☺

I should avoid these cheap bass modding threads. I don't have the space, the cash, or the need for another bass, but something in the back of my head is saying "Hmm, what if I picked up the HB 5-string Stingray copy and made a proper 2-band preamp for it?". I must resist!

[quote name='Gareth Hughes' timestamp='1458715891' post='3010039'] I would highly recommend heading over to www.discoverdoublebass.com It's headed by Geoff Chalmers of this parish and I've found it a wonderful thing for inspiration and focus. There are many free tutorial videos, of about 10 minutes in length, that present one idea at a time for you to work on. Really can't go wrong it. And also - Geoff is readily available here or via that website if you need further advice. [/quote] I've checked out one or two of Geoff's videos, but it would certainly be worth delving into them a little more deeply. There's certainly a lot of useful looking stuff there, and I like Geoff's sound and approach. [quote name='mtroun' timestamp='1458729086' post='3010178'] The best way to approach practicing though, is the simplest, practice for your next gig. If you haven't got a gig then have one at home, every day. My teacher makes me do this, by choosing 10 tunes (two sets of 5) to play and work on long term until they are really comfortable, at which point tunes can be substituted for others. For each tune you play the melody, walk for a chorus, solo for a chorus, go to the out head. You may not want to play the head if you're practicing a fast tune. Anything that comes up that needs practicing (like nailing particular corners of tunes) will need a bit of further examination after the 'gig'. Good luck! [/quote] Yes, I think the lack of a defined next gig is what I'm struggling with. I don't tend to work on sets of tunes in a focussed way unless they're for a gig, though sometimes when I've heard a tune that particularly grabs me I've spent some time figuring out what's going on. The last time I had a teacher he had me doing something similar; learning heads, getting down the basic harmony and transcribing some of the walking lines, which did help. I'm not great at doing that without someone prodding me each week though! [quote name='sarah thomas' timestamp='1458733688' post='3010250'] I find having a teacher for regular lessons keeps me going. Lately, really slowing down my playing and practising over a drone (I use a Cello Drones app) gives a meditative experience and improves intonation and ears into the bargain. Geoff Chalmers site is excellent, as stated above. My favourite book is John Goldsby's 'The Jazz Book' as it's got good exercises, an overview of influential players and points you in the direction of some great listening. [/quote] I could see how practicing over a drone could help with intonation, I'll have a go at that. I got into it for a while a few years ago, when I was living by myself and my practicing didn't annoy anyone! Come to think of it, I should perhaps try and find somewhere away from the house to practice now and again, as I have a pernickety neighbour who doesn't exactly complain, but always reminds me that he can hear me, in what feels like a passive-aggressive manner. This makes me just a bit uncomfortable about playing a lot at home, as I'm aware of him listening! Regarding books, I have Rufus Reid's book, which I should dig back out (I think it's still boxed after moving house). I'll see if I can find a copy of the Goldsby too.

I quite like the idea of using those printed hessian sacks that coffee is shipped in, if you're going for recycled materials. They're colourful looking, cheap and seem like they would work well as speaker cloth.

I've played double bass on and off since my late teens, which means I've been at it for somewhere around 15 years. Most of my playing has been in folky genres or with singer-songwriter types. Although I listen to a fair bit of jazz, I've never felt I'm at the level to do more than wing it, which I've done from time to time. Orchestral music is not much of an interest. I had a few lessons when I first started and a few more several years ago, so while I'm no virtuoso I have enough technique not to hurt myself and to produce a tone I'm usually quite happy with. Lately I've been without a steady musical project on the double bass, which is a situation I'm not used to. I've been finding it surprisingly difficult to keep my hand in, and when I do pull the bass out I find myself noodling over the same tired feeling phrases in a generally uninspired manner. I don't think I'm ready to just put it away and give it a rest for a while, so I've been thinking about how best to feel a bit more motivated and inspired to practice in a focused way. Thinking about things I could try, the following all seem like options; -Sit down and figure out a self-study approach and try to stick to it. Maybe using a book or two - recommendations welcome. -Make it a bit of a mission to find some new music and players to listen to in the hope that something gets me enthused -Seek out the right teacher to give me a bit of a boot up the bum (in a friendly manner, of course). -Blag my way into some sort of new musical situation, especially one which is slightly over my head. This sounds silly, but has worked for me before! I'm sure some of you will have found themselves in the same situation at some point, so I'd be curious to hear what has worked to get you out of that rut and any advice on the above (or any other approaches worth looking at).

Speaker cloth tends to have a fairly open weave, so maybe tweed would muffle things a bit, perhaps lose some treble? Probably a non-issue for a guitar combo though!

You may already know this, but August is absolutely the worst time to try and book a venue in Edinburgh, and a pretty tough time to try and promote a gig since the Festival is on and there will be literally hundreds of events going on at the same time. At any other time I would suggest looking at Henry's, Sneaky Pete's, Bannermans and the Wee Red Bar (depending on what sort of venue you're after), but August could be tricky.

Some of those pickups can be cool sounding - low output and a bit microphonic, but a clear single coil sound that's different from a Fender. I have an old Guyatone lap steel, and the shonky old pickups work well in that. I can't imagine putting up with the neck, tuners or bridge of one of these old guitars, but I can see how people might enjoy the sound. Yes, I'm probably an irredeemable hipster...

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1458045745' post='3004145'] He must be polite... because a Fender Twin will drown much bigger bass rigs than that without breaking a sweat I love the Fender Twin, but operators must be licensed [/quote] If the One10 has similar output to a typical 1x12", a Twin will be more than capable of burying it. I like Twins, and I'd have one if cash and space allowed, but I can only think of about three guitar gigs in the past five years where I would have really appreciated it!

Are you comparing a 2x10 rig to a 2x15 rig? If the latter sounds bigger, I'm not surprised.