Beer of the Bass

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.

[quote name='JapanAxe' timestamp='1422787142' post='2676669'] There are plenty of products (e.g. AER Amp One) that are 'aspirational' on Basschat, with people saying 'I would love one of those if I had the money, but for now I will make do with X.' How does anyone know that the B Social won't become one of those? [/quote] That's true, I don't remember seeing the "What, a grand for a 200w 1x10" combo?!!!" thread about those. I guess the difference is that AER are considered high end while many people associate Ashdown with the cheap n'cheerful (or affordable and useful, depending on your viewpoint) EB and MAG gear seen in rehearsal rooms and pub gigs across the land. It's a bit hard on Ashdown, since they cater for several different levels of the market.

Baffling! It's got to be shill bidding or some other dodgy practice, as the chances of more than one person being willing to bid this much seem slim. You can find some of the lower end Gibson models new for not much more. It's not even a glued-in neck, check out the gap between the neck and binding on the bass side.

I'll be following this thread. I have a Kalamazoo KG21 which were a sister brand to these, though with a smaller body size. I think mine is from 1936, going by the factory order number stamped inside. It's interesting that yours has a truss rod rout - I'm fairly sure that mine has no rod but the neck is a large V profile and has stayed straight even with 13-56 strings. They're nice guitars these, and much more attainable for most of us than Gibson branded acoustics from the same factory.

[quote name='Ancient Mariner' timestamp='1421690376' post='2664019'] I had one of those AXL Teles a few years back. Went to a music show, just happened to pick it up & strum it and realised it felt and sounded really good. £40 OTD. The fret wire was really soft and began to wear quickly, but never the less it was fully giggable. I sold it to make room (Gibson flying V was coming) and regretted it - it sounded & played better than the V. [/quote] Yes, the AXLs are surprisingly good. I had one of the tele shaped ones with the weird distressed finish and even the stock pickups were fine. I tried some Seymour Duncan alnico II pickups in there, and while they were different they weren't objectively better. I noticed the soft fretwire on mine too though - the strings had left dents just from being carried around in a gigbag.

Looks good. Are you going to kit it out with the Vox grille cloth to match your old one? I like that stuff. If you find a reasonably priced source for the cloth, please post a link here!

It's a good sound, maybe not one you could use in every sort of music but it'll certainly stick out in a mix. I like it when people post bits of their playing on here, to my mind hearing somebody play tells you more about where they're coming from than reading a list of gear ever could. This is why I have band links in my sig line rather than a gear list! The line reminds me a bit of Badge by Cream, but these sort of coincidences happen! [media]http://youtu.be/gSpW6MePb10[/media]

It's my birthday, so I've unboxed my deko bass and had a fiddle with it. I tapped down the high fret to check it was seated fully, then gave it a couple of swipes with a file as it was still a little proud. I should probably give it a full fret dress some time, but it plays fine for the moment. I've taken down the nut slots a little and the bass is playing quite well now. I think I may actually stick with the bronze strings as the brightness of them helps the bass to sound a little fuller. With the high fret fettled it's quite fun to play. The only other thing I can spot which might be considered a flaw are what look like sanding marks under the finish on the top, as in this picture. It's visible from an angle but less so straight on. The preamp is different to the one pictured on the non-deko model. I haven't tried it yet as I don't have a spare battery in the house. Sorry about the blurry photo: Overall it seems excellent for the £32 I paid for it. It's not a world class instrument, but I'll certainly get some use out of it.

I've got some of these. They sound fine and they're a little more comfortable for me than ER20s but they're more fiddly to put in and take out due to the shorter stems.

It's bizarre that they haven't brought back the 4005, as there does seem to be some demand. They could make a small run and price it like the 12 string linked earlier and they'd probably still sell.

It's common for small ported cabs to have a bump in the midbass area, which could be the source of your boom. You could experiment with plugging the ports, which should get you a leaner but less bumpy bass response. It might work for you or it might not, but there's nothing to lose by trying it.

Apologies for the irrelevant image, but it seems to be working for me. I use the picture button in the post editor, then copy the URL into the dialogue box.