Beer of the Bass

[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1446570348' post='2900440'] I would like one heavy string as a drain unblocker. [/quote] I unblocked my bathroom sink with a roundwound 0.130" B string the other week. It was surprisingly effective!

[quote name='Turnaround' timestamp='1446488031' post='2899786'] I don't know that forum, will definitely check it out though and have a look on YouTube for examples of your Hohner being played. [/quote] This would be a good example of the Pianet N. It's thinner than the Wurly but has an interesting crispness to the attack when played hard. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3MX1ypMd78"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3MX1ypMd78[/url]

Alas I don't own one, but it's definitely on the bucket list for me as they're lovely instruments and definitely a whole different experience than playing a digital emulation. I make do with an old Hohner Pianet N which has its own charms (especially for fans of 70's British prog bands) and has some of the same quirks with its flat metal reeds and electrostatic pickup. Have you found the Electric Piano Forum? It's not the liveliest of forums but would could be a good source of information. [url="http://ep-forum.com/epforum/smf/"]http://ep-forum.com/epforum/smf/[/url]

I was talking about this with some of my band at the weekend, as we were listening to this album in the car. The vocals start at 7 minutes into a 13 minute track! Can anyone beat that? [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAWC8gxDpcE"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAWC8gxDpcE[/url]

If you've only recently started playing, I'd be hesitant to commit to a fixed height endpin as there is a strong possibility that the height you settle on in the long run might not be the height you have it at now. I know I certainly tried different endpin lengths as I practiced different techniques and developed my posture. I like the option of shortening it to play on a stool too. I'd be more inclined to upgrade your whole endpin assembly to a higher quality one which won't slip, then look at the wooden ones further down the line. On my own bass I have a steel tube type endpin like the one just below the wooden endpins on the page you linked. It has never slipped and has the benefit of being completely adjustable rather than in steps. Usefully, it will also hold a 5/8" hardwood dowel, allowing me to try different materials with minimal expense. I found that a walnut dowel does improve the bottom end and projection somewhat, though the steel tube has a little more brightness and definition.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1446210700' post='2897757'] LIke him or not, Berlin is a monster player who can indeed hold a groove. Whilst he may not be known as a groove player... you only have to listen a tad to know he has that as well. He was well known and well used in the NY session scene and you don't do that if all you have is pyro [/quote] Absolutely, but he does like to rant about the tendency to focus on "groove", and that's what I was semi-jokingly referring to. He's a monster player and his approach and dedication to education deserves respect, even if his music is rarely my cup of tea. Best forget I brought it up...

[quote name='herbass' timestamp='1446194537' post='2897565'] I found the above true with both nyman and pops rosins. However, I bought a tub of kolstein soft about three years ago and it quickly became my favourit for sound, grab and longevity alike. I still use the same bit, although I may be a bit compulsive with putting the lid back on. I had to put it in the fridge once before using it on a hot summer day touring the states. Not much of a problem in the UK... [/quote] So far I've only used Nyman, but as it's probably time for a new tub it might be worth trying the Kolstein.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1446199624' post='2897612'] A piece of paper does not impart the secrets of groove or how to be a useful member of a rhythm section. [/quote] Ooh, Jeff Berlin would be frothing at you for that one! Though TBH I'm pretty sure I'd have more fun going to see your band than his...

[quote name='stevie' timestamp='1446119264' post='2897011'] As I have an Eminence Beta 12a here, I measured its response in this very same cab. I have to say, it looks rather good. [/quote] Interesting that you should bring up the Beta 12a, as I picked one up recently that was going very cheaply used. When I get around to it I intend to try it in something close to the cab design being developed here and see it sounds. I have a GK MB200 at the moment and intend to mess around with low powered valve amps at some point in the future, so it may be that the Beta will do a decent job for my needs (and if not, I'm not out by much if I try the Beyma later). Certainly people seem to enjoy them in those TKS cabs, assuming that's what they use.

Aren't the old EV drivers known for being pretty efficient themselves? I'd still be inclined to try it with the Barefaced though, just to hear how it sounded. The B15n may behave a bit differently with a 4-ohm cab than with the intended 8 ohms.

Just to help square things up with what we're hearing on the recordings, can you remember which cab had the healthy one?

If nothing else, it makes me feel a bit better about my own bass building efforts!

I'm obviously a bit out of the loop on this stuff, as when I'm looking to buy gear being sold privately I won't usually consider approaching the seller unless I'm in a position to turn up in person with the asking price in cash, unless the advert explicitly offers postage. Sometimes sellers have kindly offered to drop things off if they're local and in certain circumstances I've offered the same when selling. But lately when advertising things for sale I've had a lot of potential buyers with what seems like a mammoth sense of entitlement, where I'm expected to deliver the item to them without compensation for less than the asking price and they seem offended when I decline to do this. I tend to price things at the low end of market value to begin with, so there comes a point where that just doesn't feel worth doing.

[quote name='scojack' timestamp='1445955485' post='2895678'] How does an expensive bass with the same string length have a 'less floppy B string' than a cheaper model ??!? [/quote] I've never quite understood that idea either. The tone of the B string can be clearer on a well made bass with a stiff neck (I've heard it myself when swapping necks on the same bass) but the tension of the string won't change.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1445953749' post='2895650'] Really? I use the Silver Flex 75s which I believe a the heavier versions. If I don't loose them they last less than a month before the point has become too rounded to give me the desired feel and sound when playing. [/quote] Are you playing roundwounds? I find I wear out the point of picks with roundwounds but less so with flats. On guitar I really seem to get through them - I used to like the Fender celluloid ones but they would leave a fine dust of grated pick material all over my guitar!

[quote name='spectoremg' timestamp='1445941413' post='2895520'] Do we think he's trying to recoup a massive outlay? Did he pay a fortune for it? [/quote] From what I can recall of Tennessee instruments on eBay they were improbably cheap for what they were attempting to be, though I've yet to see anyone expressing satisfaction with one. He may have spent as much on the strings as the bass, if not more.

I suppose this song belongs in this thread, though it comes from a blissful unawareness of British colloquialisms rather than any intentional smut. Still makes me smile though! [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TH_ODa805D0"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TH_ODa805D0[/url]

[quote name='sprocketflup' timestamp='1445900526' post='2895300'] Its easy to see how the bridge(s) have been added to with the extra strings, but the headstocks a different kettle of trout. Cant see that one meself. I wonder if hes made a whole new neck for it? maybe from an old section of dual - carriageway perhaps [/quote] I think it was built with 15 strings, but so badly thought out that it would barely be a useable instrument. I've seen pictures of these in their original form, and there were quite a few abominations on eBay under the Tennessee brand a few years ago. There are pictures of an unmodified one here, though come to think of it this might be the same one with a few awful hack jobs and a coat of brown paint on the fingerboard. [url="http://www.talkbass.com/threads/now-thats-just-crazy.447817/"]http://www.talkbass.com/threads/now-thats-just-crazy.447817/[/url]

[quote name='wmsheep' timestamp='1445885924' post='2895081'] I think the all time classic for having the "F-Bomb" in it is "Hey Jude", by that popular liverpool beat combo "The Beatles". in case you are wondering, it's at about 2.57 into the song. [/quote] The Kingsmen version of Louie Louie has a not-very-hidden one as well, not in the lyrics, but when the band trips over the timing you can clearly hear one of them exclaiming "F*ck!" in the background.

[quote name='colgraff' timestamp='1445880140' post='2895005'] Re Yellow Mellow: if we are going with the drug theme, what does "I'm just mad about 14 / She's mad about me." mean? [/quote] There's a live album where he sings "I'm just mad about fourteen year old girls", which seems fairly unambiguous.

[quote name='Bassassin' timestamp='1445871270' post='2894867'] What a bizarre thread! Are we really all stunned and reeling at the shock revelation that an awful lot of popular music is, was, and alway has been, quite unambiguously about shagging? You guys... Jon. [/quote] That much I'm quite comfortable with; It's when the subject is underage or unwilling that I start to feel uneasy. I wouldn't go so far as banning any of the songs mentioned, but it's worth acknowledging that the lyrics may be a bit questionable by modern standards.

[quote name='ras52' timestamp='1445863395' post='2894773'] Wow. That was one auction where I was expecting a crazy flurry of activity in the dying seconds... as bidders rush to retract their bids!! [/quote] There was one retraction this morning - that could be the be the seller under another account trying to push up the price to the next highest bid.

If money was no object I'd use something low powered and valvey, perhaps an old B15 or something from a small builder in that style. The "money no object" bit would be in having good enough sound guys and PA to work with the moderate stage volume.

[quote name='Cosmo Valdemar' timestamp='1445816836' post='2894507'] I've never picked up on this. [/quote] I think it's the "I'm just mad about fourteen" bit, possibly compounded by "your cup I'll gladly fill" later on.

[quote name='MoonBassAlpha' timestamp='1445777361' post='2894033'] Just as a sideline, does anyone have any idea what kind of fuzz pedal RS would have used back then? I always liked his fuzz sound, just not Phil Miller's. Trying to remember what was around then, MXR, Electroharmonix, Coloursound, Fuzzface? Cheers MBA [/quote] Hmm, good question. I know that a few of the Canterbury scene bands liked the Shaftesbury Duo Fuzz, which was the same as the Shin Ei FY6 and Univox Superfuzz, but then bits of the Rotters Club album sound like he's using some sort of fuzz/wah combo.