Beer of the Bass

In the longer term, I wonder whether the whole concept of rock stars (as we know them) is going to be associated with a particular era. I'd guess it would run from the last half of the 20th century up to some time early in this century. Before that, the lack of mass-media meant that fame worked differently and tended to be less global, then more recently we've seen tastes diversify and fragment as on-line media makes so much more choice available.

I'm not saying "they're old, they should stop playing". I have massive admiration for people like Daevid Allen for instance, who kept performing and making new music right up until he died this year aged 77, but managed to keep doing things which seemed fresh and vital. I'm just trying to be honest about how I felt about the performance rather than putting them on a pedestal as "The Greats" and filtering everything I see to confirm that view. When so much of their message in the early days was about not bowing down to their elders, I find it odd that I'm now expected to do so towards them.

[quote name='steantval' timestamp='1435561315' post='2809914'] The two main guys are nearer to 70 years old, your remarks about lack of energy, anger and tension do not make sense, people grow up and hopefully mellow out a bit. I'm certainly a different character than what I was when I were in my early 20's, it's all part of growing up. [/quote] Absolutely, I'm sure they still have something worth hearing, but I tend to enjoy it more when artists move on and reflect where they are now rather than trot out pale imitations of their younger selves. For example, I much prefer Robert Plant doing his own thing to the Led Zep re-union a couple of years ago. I don't feel particularly bad pointing this out, as I don't think the Who were ever about uncritical respect for their elders. I sometimes think that the extent to which we venerate and congratulate that generation of bands above all others gets a little unhealthy and starts to resemble the culture that they were kicking against in the first place.

[quote name='urbanx' timestamp='1435533432' post='2809873'] Might be my age, but I thought they were terrible. Looking at it from a "If I saw them up my local" point of view instead of a "I know they're rock royalty" point of view.... If I saw them play like that up my local, I'd go home early for a few tinnies - Just sloppy has-beens resting on their fame laurels Really disappointing after seeing some decent performances by them not too long ago (Superbowl etc.) [/quote] I'm glad someone else said that before I did! I like the Who, but the energy, anger and tension which I associate them with are no longer in evidence. They made some amazing music in their time, but I'm not sure this represents it that well. This being a bass forum, it's tempting to put this down to the lack of Entwhistle, but I think I miss Keith Moon's drumming as much, maybe even more so.

[quote name='Rich' timestamp='1435516085' post='2809614'] Anyone else noticed that the bassist has taped over the logos on his bass and his Ampeg rig? [/quote] Do you think he got turned down for an endorsement deal?

[quote name='nick' timestamp='1435508018' post='2809493'] I've done vero & the PCB versions, but it's easier to get it in a 1590B with that PCB layout. Regarding 2N5457's I'd steer clear of Tayda ones, I've got a bag of about 30 useless ones, even a batch that I got from Bitsbox a short while ago, were no good either. [/quote] I was thinking of trying pedalparts.co.uk, since he has the right pots for this PCB too. Alternatively, there's an eBay seller locally whose stock is all left over from an electronics shop which closed a couple of years ago, so hopefully pre-dates the dodgy ones appearing.

[quote name='sblueplanet' timestamp='1435493430' post='2809290'] She was tuneless as usual. Even the addition of FIVE female backing singers couldn't disguise the fact. [/quote] I thought the backing singers made her intonation more noticeable, as they were obviously pro session singers who were spot-on. A solo singer over a sparse backing would have far more leeway.

I gather the traditional method is for the afterlengths to be two octaves and a fourth above the open string pitches? Mine is wrong by that standard, as it's about two octaves and a fifth. I've never tried adjusting it, as the tailpiece cord on my bass is the crimped steel rope kind and I don't have the right tools.

[quote name='Roland Rock' timestamp='1435476670' post='2809030'] There are many artists who have their own style and the vocals are not on pitch (eg was listening to the fabulous Tom Waits yesterday) but Florence just sounds terrible live IMO. [/quote] I've been trying to figure this one out - I actively enjoy lots of performers who have a cavalier attitude to pitch, yet Florence's performance made me wince repeatedly. I'm not sure why this is!

[quote name='super al' timestamp='1435462971' post='2808996'] Watched The Mothership Returns in full on the iplayer, by far the best thing at glasto in years! [/quote] Was anyone else slightly disappointed at the lack of an actual Mothership though, like they had on some of the 70s tours?

[quote name='Coldflows' timestamp='1435432783' post='2808800'] If definitely draws on a couple of instruments. Got to live the mini musicman pickups! [/quote] I'm sure I can detect a John Birch influence too.

I've ordered a PCB for the Ginger, I thought about veroboard but the PCB should make for a nice, small build. There are still a couple of places with the 2N5457 in stock, so I should be OK. If I like it, it should make for a nice small pedalboard with just the Ginger, my Superfuzz clone, a tuner and DI.

My word, Florence is having a duff night. We've got the radio on, and she keeps being horribly, painfully flat and then screeching unbearably in between songs.

If he ever does a five string version of the naughty unmentionable model, I'd be very interested indeed.

[quote name='bassace' timestamp='1435264032' post='2807181'] There are still a few jazz double bass fakers out there because the relative softness of the bass - especially with muddy amplification - means that their notes can stay hidden. [/quote] I'm counting on this, as I've somehow ended up with a couple of jazz gigs next month and I don't really consider myself a jazz musician. Still, it's a repeat booking so perhaps we weren't quite that bad!

[quote name='nick' timestamp='1435308938' post='2807431'] I've built a few of the Ginger pedals now. I like it, probably my favourite low gain overdrive. I prefer it to the SFT (old and new versions) & original circuit Blueberry, though I do like them too. I think it shines with flatwounds, more touch sensitive than the SFT, less compressed to my ears & a sweeter EQ section. [/quote] Interesting, which FETs did you use? The 2N5457 seems to be getting hard to find.

[quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1435264944' post='2807189'] Not tried one but have contemplated ordering a pre-built one from VFE. I'm pretty happy with my Bearfoot Blueberry though and would recommend either that or the Catalinbread SFT (later generation which is brighter) for that application if you haven't tried those out. [/quote] I'd looked at the SFT, and the fact that there are schematics and layouts out there for DIY versions is appealing too. I don't know whether the schematics available online are the older or newer version though.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1435267519' post='2807213'] Yes, I want one... are they currently only available from the US? [/quote] I've seen them here as well: [url="http://www.stringsdirect.co.uk/accessories-c2/string-muters-c63/gruv-gear-gruv-gear-fump-bass-bridge-muter-dampener-p10306"]http://www.stringsdirect.co.uk/accessories-c2/string-muters-c63/gruv-gear-gruv-gear-fump-bass-bridge-muter-dampener-p10306[/url] I quite like the idea of these, as while a bit of foam does the job for free, in practice it's a bit too much faff to fish the bit of foam in and out for specific songs.

Has anyone tried one of these? It's supposed to emulate an Ampeg Portaflex. I'd be particularly interested in how it compares to their earlier design, the Flipster. I have a Flipster and while I like what it does, I feel the bass and treble controls don't work so well and I would like to be able to get a little more upper mid/ lower treble out of it by cranking the treble knob. I gather that one of the improvements in the Ginger was supposed to be related to the frequency response and EQ range, so I'm wondering if the Ginger might be worth a try. The sort of treble I want is not the modern hi-fi slap variety, more the ability to extract a little more grunt from my flatwound-strung bass. I'm not looking for a lot of overdrive, just something I can leave on all the time and run in front of a DI for a little more of a valve amp-esque character. Sansamps and the like tend to be a little too "voiced" in the mids for my taste.

[quote name='Funky Dunky' timestamp='1434903810' post='2803721'] Eric Johnson claims to be able to hear the difference between a gold jack or not on a lead. I also read he claims to know by listening whether a pedal is powered by a Duracell battery or not, but I'll assume that was a joke. [/quote] Weirdly, the battery thing isn't a joke. It's specific to Fuzz Face type pedals, which really do sound a bit different with a zinc carbon battery than with an alkaline battery or a power supply. The Fuzz Face is such a crude and touchy circuit that the internal resistance of the battery affects the bias of the transistors - it's pretty subtle in practice but there is a difference.

Yes, the Stentors are decent starter basses - I have a friend who is gigging a 10 year old example without issues and a secondhand one will probably be in your price range. They tend to be at the small end of 3/4 size, which might be a good thing in this case.

If you're going for a bare fingerboard and want to use roundwounds, then I'd go for ebony (or other equally hard and dense woods) over rosewood. While basschat threads can go round in circles ad infinitum when discussing woods, a fretless fingerboard is one of the places where different materials really do affect the sound IMO.

[quote name='spacey' timestamp='1434878613' post='2803446'] If they were the Chinese Mackies the horns might have blown. They dont take much stick. [/quote] I did wonder if blown horns were a part of it. I've played a few pubs with small PA systems with blown horns and got exactly the results the OP describes, and you can't do much about it with EQ. And the landlord always seems to insist that they're fine because they still produce sound.

It's not just you. I'm between bands at the moment, and still have a small-gig setup, but I wound up selling my bigger 2x12" cab to cover some expenses when moving house. I'm now thinking I ought to replace that while things are quiet so that I don't have a mad last-minute scramble to find something when I join another band. It's surprisingly tricky to work out what your needs are when you don't know what sort of band you'll end up in though!

[quote name='RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE' timestamp='1434832022' post='2803221'] What if you're told there's something there , and there isn't ? What if it packs up/ makes dangerous noises when your banging away? [/quote] I've had an amp pack up mid-song on a festival stage, fortunately my DI was in front of the amp and I managed to finish the song by sight alone then ask the sound guy for some bass in the monitors. It wasn't much fun, admittedly!