Beer of the Bass

If you disconnect the tweeter (if present, I think there were a few different models of these), they may turn out to be very nice guitar speakers. Talking of WEM columns. I went to a night a couple of years ago which had a couple of different retro-minded local bands, using period backline and PA. The bass was through a Selmer Goliath rig and the PA was a pair of WEM columns with some sort of valve amp. It was an interesting experience hearing that when I'm used to more modern setups, and it really didn't do much for the clarity of the vocals. I'm not sure I would go that route myself, but I'm glad that somebody does.

[quote name='Mr H' timestamp='1423858218' post='2689880'] I heard that session and was blown away. They've played [i]The Vile Stuff[/i] on 6 Music before, and I was struck by it then, but now I'm consumed by it. I ordered the CD immediately, it arrived today, and I'm listening now. He's playing nearby next week. I'm reminded of [i]Pony Express Record[/i] by Shudder To Think. Love it. [/quote] Ah good, glad it's just not me! The annoying thing for me is that now I've looked up Mr Dawson and have seen what he looks like, I realise that I played at the same festival as him back in September, saw him setting up and didn't stick around to hear the set. Searching around for some older performances, I really liked this song too and it has a tenderness about it which is perhaps not on display in [i]The Vile Stuff[/i]. [url="http://youtu.be/s-9osMKSyb0"]http://youtu.be/s-9osMKSyb0[/url]

When I used to play rounds, I liked steel better for the increased clank. They seem to come out a little less polite sounding than nickels for me. I've been on flats for several years now, so it's a while since I've had a set on, but I remember Warwick Red Label as being similar to Rotosound in a lot of ways, including the coarse feel.

Excellent, it's refreshing to see that people can simply not like something and express that in a straightforward and succinct manner!

[quote name='KevB' timestamp='1423761402' post='2688775'] The used to be a free publication that was in a fairly large newspaper format but in colour and maybe glossy pages? that I used to pick up in Carlsbro Sound, might have been subsidised by them? I recall some decent articles in it, probably better than some of the stuff people pay money for now. I bet BRX remembers it, can't for the life of me remember the title. [/quote] I think that was the Making Music magazine mentioned earlier - one of the Glasgow music shops used to carry it too, though I can't recall which. It continued through much of the 90's, I'm not sure when it stopped exactly. I remember it usually being as good as the magazines I paid four quid for...

[quote name='MoonBassAlpha' ='1423748435' post='2688562'] It baffles me why nobody has done switch-mode power supplies for the HT and heaters, then a toroidal o/p transformer and you'd be looking at a pretty big size and weight saving. And if you read what Stewart Ward (Session amps) writes about valve sounds and tone, it turns out you don't really need valves at all, just better informed transistor design... [/quote] It's been done in Hi-Fi DIY circles, though I don't know if that has filtered through to instrument amps. There are SMPS modules like this one, though it wouldn't be sufficient for a 100 watt amp. [url="http://www.siliconray.com/rtp-15-switching-mode-power-supply-smps-for-tube-amplifier.html"]http://www.siliconray.com/rtp-15-switching-mode-power-supply-smps-for-tube-amplifier.html[/url]

[quote name='Mykesbass' timestamp='1423743301' post='2688451'] I didn't like it at all, and would have switched station if I was listening, however, I'm all for the BBC playing tracks of this nature and feel your friend is very wrong (although entitled to his opinion) and that the track is very valid musically. [/quote] Not liking it is something I can totally understand, and I often find myself flicking between stations when that happens. I think the thing that bothered me is his suggestion that a publicly-funded broadcaster shouldn't be playing anything that's a bit "out". To my mind they should absolutely be playing this stuff, as commercial stations are unlikely to. It's the John Peel approach of flinging it all out there and seeing what sticks, which is a style of broadcasting I approve of.

I was listening to the radio in the kitchen yesterday when a session by Richard Dawson came on. It was rough as hell but in a way that I liked. I thought it was very much in the vein of guys like Kevin Coyne, that sort of slightly manic intensity and unashamedly abrasive performance. He's not someone I'd come across before, but I thought it was great, turned up the radio and didn't leave the room until it was finished. Later that evening, I got into a conversation on Facebook with a local musician I'm acquainted with who hated it so much he thought it was some sort of disgrace that the BBC gave Dawson radio time. He seemed to think that he could objectively declare that it was of no worth and that there were no valid reasons for liking it. He had the idea that it was an emperors new clothes phenomenon that people only pretended to enjoy because it was hyped in the NME, but I just turned the radio on having no context for who I was listening to and got into it. He was particularly bothered about the tuning, but for me that's part of the character. So I'm kind of curious to see if anyone thinks my friend has a point. The song that was playing when I turned the radio on starts just before 1h 17m into the show here; [url="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0523cnx#auto"]http://www.bbc.co.uk...s/b0523cnx#auto[/url]

An old bandmate of mine had one. It sounded surprisingly normal, but that might have been the decade-old strings.

DV Mark (the guitar amp division of Markbass) do a guitar amp which is impressively small for a valve 100 watter. It has a 2x KT88 power stage and some sort of digital preamp. I don't know how they've made it that small, whether they're using a switchmode supply in place of a conventional power transformer or just using toroidal transformers. No bass version though! [url="http://www.dvmark.it/?/products/79/tube_multiamp"]http://www.dvmark.it/?/products/79/tube_multiamp[/url]

[quote name='Maude' timestamp='1423589111' post='2686742'] Think how much better The Who would have been if Keith Moon had just been a bit more predictable. [/quote] He could be certainly be depended on to drink too much and do something silly. I suppose that's predictable in its own way!

Good idea, but should it not be on its' own thread rather than as a reply to this one, where it sits rather oddly?

It seems to work for Bill! A rhythm section who are constantly on their toes are more fun to listen to than one who are on autopilot. That attitude might get you some funny looks in certain professional settings, admittedly, but Bruford is not chasing those gigs.

[quote name='xilddx' timestamp='1423492431' post='2685437'] Not sure originality is high on my want-list for likeable music. I think originality is highly overrated. [/quote] Yeah, that whole originality thing has been done to death!

I don't know the measurements of this cab but there can't be more than about 30 litres of cab volume per driver, which is small for a bass cab. If you can live with the bass response being fairly lean there are some drivers that would work in a sealed cab that size, but by the time you've fitted four drivers you're out by £200 minimum. That would be better spent on a secondhand bass cab or on building something more suitable from scratch. I've played bass through unmodified 4x12" guitar cabs on a couple of occasions; if you don't push the low end too much they can actually sound OK and reach volumes you could use in a small venue. You don't have much to lose by trying this, given that you got the cab so cheaply. If it distorts, you can either turn it down or have fun pretending you're JJ Burnel!

AFAIK the Jamaican sound system guys went multi-way fairly early on, with separate amps and cabinets for the mids and highs. So a sound system bass bin is a very different beast from anything I'd want to use as a standalone bass guitar cab.

[quote name='JapanAxe' timestamp='1423139831' post='2681234'] Dave Swift: Reckons a flatwound B-string sounds like a football hitting a sheep. Good point. [/quote] Yeah, I can sort of hear that! Even the best of them are far from that defined, piano string sound that some people like from a B string. Then again, if you play further up the neck it can also do a good impersonation of how a flatwound E sounds on a short-scale, which has its uses.

My bow is one of the inexpensive Brazilwood models that Gollihur music sell, which I got very cheaply used. My last teacher thought it was OK, but I must admit I've never tried anything better. I'm kind of curious to find out how different it could be be, but I'm just not in a position to spend the sort of money a good bow costs.

[quote name='51m0n' timestamp='1423069360' post='2680323'] Its rather like all the antagonism towards Bill Fitzmaurice and Alex Clabber though. And you wonder why they hardly ever post. [/quote] Mr Fitzmaurice does have a posting style which is sometimes less than entirely endearing though - I think it comes as standard with a certain type of technically inclined person. Like that thread on 10" speaker choices where he decided to brag about his car and how often he gets laid! Still, the useful advice outweighs this sort of thing, so I guess we live with this...

Out of curiosity, can someone link to this fabled compression thread? That one passed me by.

Is it the usual spot around the C# or D on the G string? Unless the shop is unusually accommodating, I think he may have a hard time persuading them that it's a fault and not just normal variance in the instrument.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1422902716' post='2678164'] I am fishing for the answer because if it's the one I'm expecting it's not correct, been covered on here a few times and has never has been the case. [/quote] I'm going to guess you mean the TC RH450? IIRC the Bass Gear Magazine bench tests confirmed that they do have a steep highpass filter at 80Hz which can't be defeated.

You can't really go wrong at that price, and I think I'd have had trouble resisting if I saw one that cheaply locally.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1422889883' post='2677920'] Which amp doesn't go below 80hz? [/quote] I don't know about amps, but quite a few cabs roll off steeply below around 80Hz. It's a compromise you have to make if you want something that's both small and efficient. I've had cabs with a similar roll-off and never really perceived them to be short of bass, I guess because the second harmonic of the low E is still well supported.

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1422757014' post='2676558'] I'd be more concerned about "The neck has been slimmed to aid playability." than any pickup augmentation. [/quote] It's possible he meant to say "shimmed", and autocorrect has messed it up, but I'd want to check before bidding.