Beer of the Bass

If you want to retain a bit of an acoustic vibe, I'd be tempted to check out an acoustic archtop with a neck pickup as these tend to be a bit more lightly built with a little more acoustic character than dedicated electric archtops. Something like some of the Loar models or a Godin 5th Avenue, for instance, or some vintage models if you can find one you like.

I think it may be because eBay feedback means very little now. The last couple of times I've had problems with sellers and left honestly worded, non-abusive negative feedback, they've managed to have it removed simply by asking eBay.

I've been through something similar, trying nickel rounds, D'Addario Chromes, Status Halfwounds and D'Addario Tapewounds on the same bass over several years. I've had Sadowsky flatwounds on since last August, but I haven't been gigging much in the meantime. I have some more gigs coming up in a few weeks, so I'll be able to figure out whether they're the right thing for me or not - it's hard to tell outside of a band context. They have a sound which I like, but sticking with a darker sounding flat on my main bass somehow feels like a bit of a commitment since the range of sounds available stops some time around 1972!

[quote name='leonardobass' timestamp='1436339493' post='2817127'] Ok,so I ordered the 5 string acoustic. I was waiting for a 4 string but since I can never seem to find it in time, I just went for it. I must say that that I'm suprised at how long it was available,until I made up my mind. Now all I have to do is wait for about a month or so...:| I hope it turns out ok. [/quote] Mine had a couple of minor finish blemishes and one high fret that made several notes on the G-string unplayable. Rather than doing a full fret dress, I just tapped it with a small hammer to check it was seated, then spent 10 minutes on that one fret with a couple of small files to get it level with the others.

[quote name='drTStingray' timestamp='1436350535' post='2817283'] Is that finish faux leather or built in finish cracking? [/quote] It's a crackle finish in some sort of thin matt paint. The dark bits in between are the body wood with just a thin sealer coat. Also, the pickguard is painted and the neck is stained to approximately the colour of earwax. The AXLs are really good sounding and playable instruments for the money, just the crazy finishes are a bit of an acquired taste.

When I first started playing I did it and got away with it, but it's worth pointing out this was using a 50 watt amp for low-volume rehearsals. I suspect many of the people who insist it is OK are guitarists using relatively low powered amps. Signal cables aren't built to handle much current, and as they heat up the resistance increases. Even if they don't catch fire, the increased resistance can be tough on a valve amp.

It looks like a Fishman BP100, but I think there were cheaper copies around too.

[quote name='KevB' timestamp='1436290508' post='2816809'] Sounds a bit approximate to me, and people go on about Florence... [/quote] It's quite a different thing she's going for though. Since Barnett has a semi-spoken vocal style, lyrics with some deadpan wit about them and an intentionally homespun, relaxed style I don't mind the unpolished delivery. She's not attempting some bombastic feat of "look-at-me" vocal gymnastics like Florence. All of this is of course IMO. I've been enjoying the songs they play on 6 music.

It could be worse; at least he didn't try to install a strat tremolo bridge on it to go with the pickguard. He does sound pretty good on the youtube demos though!

So far, none! That's mostly through lack of disposable income rather than any spectacular willpower though. I've sold an amp and bought and sold some smaller bits and pieces though.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1436255465' post='2816367'] I was thinking of something along these lines, but maybe a little more subtle... [/quote] I had the guitar version of one of these. It was a nice player, though the novelty of that finish wore off rather quickly.

[quote name='JapanAxe' timestamp='1436208322' post='2816030'] I would have to be seriously convinced to go down the Class D route for guitar. Matrix Amplification do a Marshall-stylee hybrid head (see pic below), and lightweight Neo-loaded cabs, but I am waiting for them to bring out a head based on a Deluxe Reverb or an AC30! [/quote] I wonder if some of the Quilter amps might get you a little further in that direction, since they come with reverb and tremolo: [url="http://www.quilterlabs.com/index.php/products/mach2-amplifiers/micropro-mach-2-head"]http://www.quilterlabs.com/index.php/products/mach2-amplifiers/micropro-mach-2-head[/url]

[quote name='mrtcat' timestamp='1436175745' post='2815517'] Struggling to see anything beyond that Hayman Mark. That's bloody lovely. [/quote] Indeed, I'm still vaguely annoyed that I missed out on one of these as my first bass. I saw it in a secondhand shop, sorted out the money that evening and went back the next day to find it was their day off, and in my teenage impatience I went somewhere else instead. I should have held out for the Hayman! It was a silvery grey colour and still had its perspex ashtrays...

I guess keys are the obvious example, with things like the Nord Electro. A friend's band use one, and I really can't tell by ear which of their recordings were done with the Nord or with the studio's Hammond and Leslie.

[quote name='4-string-thing' timestamp='1436093780' post='2814835'] It looked a bit like PMT in Birmingham to me.... [/quote] Well, that's one explanation for that behaviour, I suppose...

It occurs to me that while it's not unusual to come up with a functional cab as a DIY effort, trying to make something which does the job of your Vanderkley but lighter and smaller could be setting the bar rather high. It's already about as small as a 2x12" could reasonably be without sacrificing bass response, is built with lightweight plywood and uses very good drivers (Faital, I think?). A 1x12" with similar voicing might be an attainable goal though.

[quote name='Cosmo Valdemar' timestamp='1436050826' post='2814650'] It's all over Facebook. I find it highly distasteful to film such an incident - to post online for comedy is shameful. I can't see any other reason for uploading it for all to see. Incidentally the shop made me think of Red Dog in Edinburgh, but the accents heard would suggest otherwise! [/quote] It's a few months since I've been in, but I'm pretty sure there's less space between the counter and window in Red Dog and the acoustics live at the back of the shop. I haven't watched it with the sound on yet, so I can't say whether I recognise the owner's voice. I generally find the guys in there to be quite good, so I'd sort of like it not to be them!

If anything, a Jazz width neck on a P-bass seems to be quite a popular idea, so I reckon you shouldn't have any trouble finding a buyer for the leftover body and neck.

I used an Ashdown Mag and an OC-2 together for several years, and I don't think they sound that similar. The OC-2 is much more synthy and obvious sounding, even with the mix down low. I liked the OC-2 more, which is why I rarely used the sub-harmonic button on the Ashdown, but I'd say that the two are more different than you might expect. I think they generate the octave down in the same way, but the Ashdown filters much more of the harmonics out of it.

I haven't played the higher-end modelling setups or delved very deeply into the ones I've played in rehearsal spaces, but for the sounds I like even a good quality traditional SS amp usually gets me closer than the modellers. Because my own amp is based on a Fender Princeton Reverb, the sound of a blackface fender combo is my goal. So far, each time I've used this setting on a modelling amp it feels like they've overdone the characteristics of a blackface amp (scooped mids, glassy treble etc.) in order to make the sound recognisable and distinct from the other models, and it comes across almost as a caricature of that sound. I'm sure that when you get up into the better modelling setups this is less of an issue, but on the Line-6 and Vox combos I've tried I haven't quite managed to come up with a variant of that sound that I enjoy.

[quote name='Cato' timestamp='1435835802' post='2812843'] I have a theory about Kanye West (just a theory). If you've ever spent time talking to someone who's coked off their nipples then elements of Kanye's interviews & his on stage rants start to sound strangely familiar. Maybe he just has naturally very high endorphin levels.. [/quote] Whatever the reason behind it, could that be a part of what people find compelling about his performances - the old "mad, bad and dangerous to know" thing?

I think this is very dependent on the style of the band. In the band I play guitar in, I can rarely turn my 15 watt 1x10" combo up past squeaky-clean without being too loud. We're quite a busy sounding band and the guitar works best for us if it sits in the mix rather than on top of it, so a three-piece rock band might be different. It's not a major hassle for me as clean guitar works well in that band and I'll use a pedal on some songs, but I wouldn't be able to depend on cranking an amp into power-amp breakup on every gig, fun though that sound can be.

I guess double bass C-extensions are a variant of the same idea, otherwise I can't think of any.

On mine I've stuck with the bronze, as I reckon that in the absence of any real bottom end the brightness helps it to be heard. I tried an old set of tapewounds I had lying around, and they were mellow but seemed very quiet compared with the bronze. They'd be nice plugged in though. I wonder if coated bronze wounds like the Elixir acoustic set might cut down on the raspy, scratchy quality a little?

[quote name='Phil Starr' timestamp='1435654471' post='2810924'] There's a few grumpy old men on this thread aren't there? It's interesting that all the singers held up to be better are male and rock singers. ... I'm a bit worried that we find it ok to criticize women more easily than men. [/quote] That's an interesting point and one which has got me thinking. I can think of a few female singers whose pitch can be wayward at times and whose work I really enjoy. I was a 90s teenager, so the singers I was listening to in my formative years included Kim Gordon in Sonic Youth and even Courtney Love in Hole. I think in a more rocky/grungy context where roughness is part of the aesthetic I can enjoy roughly pitched vocals, and the reason Florence's singing can seem jarring to me is that roughness doesn't seem to be what she's going for. So I would hope that in my case it's not about gender. I think that when the music is something I can connect with, things like intonation bother me less or even add to it, and it would be fair to say that this is just a style I'm not particularly into. Clearly there was a massive audience who did feel that connection so I guess Florence wasn't a bad choice of headliner, but myself I would have been hanging out at one of the smaller stages watching something different.