Beer of the Bass

[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1414233884' post='2587301'] Today I noticed a Laney 300w 1x15 combo second hand in town for £120. It was heavier than I expected. The front grill was made of some tough seeming material, not just a cloth grill. It looked very much like this: [url="http://www.musicworks.co.nz/bass-combos/rb8-laney-richter-300w-1x15-bass-combo/"]http://www.musicwork...x15-bass-combo/[/url] But, the Laney logo on the front had something else written on it, e.g. "mad <something or other>". Does anyone know what model of amp it's likely that I've seen. It looked very much like the RB8, but I'm wondering if it's an earlier model. From looking around, it seems that there were some other models around before the series was named "RB", but I can't find a 1x15" model. Any help/advice/opinions would be appreciated. I think I'm likely to wait longer to buy something, but while this amp is available at what seems a reasonable price, I do want to check it out. [/quote] Is it one of the "Hardcore Max" models? The rehearsal studio I used to use had one of these and I wasn't keen on it. It seemed to have no real lows or highs and needed heavy EQ just to get a sound I could live with. As affordable 1x15" combos go, a Peavey TNT or Ashdown Mag 1x15" would be better IMO.

[quote name='Stroopy121' timestamp='1414217386' post='2587134'] What about strings? Are gut strings considered to be massively better than the alternatives? What ARE the alternatives? Flatwound nickel? Synthetic stuff? xx [/quote] Strings should be no problem; gut strings are a bit of a niche interest and the majority of players are happy with steel or synthetic core strings.

Playing double bass while vegan can be a tricky one, as quality instruments are usually built using hide glue. Many varnishes use shellac too, which is derived from insects. Cheaper instruments are less likely to use either of these, but getting clear information on what they do use could be difficult. Also be aware that even cheap bows often use leather grips and mother-of-pearl inlays on the frog. It's a bit of a minefield!

There was the time at a small hippy festival near Dumfries when a naked guy ambled across the front of the stage, poured beer into one of the monitors then threw a child's bicycle on stage. I was the only member of the band who noticed, the others were too engrossed in the music! We saw him being led away with a blanket around him after the set, and he was ranting about a conspiracy involving cows...

I liked Hole at the time (I was a teenager in the mid-late 90s so it fitted well with the teenage angsty thing), so I'm prepared to cut her a bit of slack. It seems like the guitar is used more like a visual prop or cuing aid, and is probably not meant to be heard in the FOH mix. That's why there are two more guitarists in the band - Love will be well aware of this! When was Grunge ever about polished performances anyway?

[quote name='Zenitram' timestamp='1414012913' post='2584938'] I just discovered the Waldorf[size=5] [b]Streichfett[/b][/size]! Fans of German will know that means [i]spreadable fat[/i], or as one wag put it, it makes you sound like Margarine Dream. [/quote] It's an interesting one, that. The patch at the beginning sounds just like the Korg Delta I borrowed from a friend a decade ago, which he has yet to ask for the return of!

I've gone ahead and ordered the bare PCB and microcontrollers for the Shruthi. I'm going to source parts myself and use the ladder filter board from these guys; [url="http://www.tubeohm.com/TubeOhm/Shruthi-Filter.html"]http://www.tubeohm.com/TubeOhm/Shruthi-Filter.html[/url] Listening to the demos, the ladder filter just does the thing I like better than any other filter design, and I like the way the Filter FM settings resemble some of Tim Blake's droney noises on the old Gong records! Parts will be ordered as and when I have the money spare and I have a couple of other projects on the go, so it may be a few weeks before I have any further progress to report...

[quote name='Roland Rock' timestamp='1414077655' post='2585606'] OK, so it means 'Without Amp'. Brushing aside the fact that a preamp is, at the very least symantically speaking, an amp, what's the rationale behind the name? Is it aimed towards the studio market, saying that it's just as good as a mic'ed up amp? [/quote] The original Sansamp was intended for recording guitars direct in the studio, so that's exactly what they were going for with the name.

[quote name='Roland Rock' timestamp='1414067996' post='2585426'] Maybe that's why Tech21 have never made it into a full bass head - the sheer paradoxity would make it explode! [/quote] They do make guitar combos, but they leave the Sansamp name off.

[quote name='Kev' timestamp='1413996977' post='2584658'] Dingwall think the same, the frets are [i]tiny[/i] on the Lee Sklar signature. It puts me off, to be honest. Whether true or not, it just makes me think that a refret will be needed sooner rather than later after a few dresses. [/quote] I think that's a Lee Sklar thing rather than a Dingwall thing. Didn't he have mandolin fretwire fitted on his old mongrel bass? I find I quite like small frets, though more vintage Fender size than mandolin size. As a flatwound player I'm not worried about wear.

You've added another port and changed the tuning frequency; that might be what you're hearing or it might not. When I took the tweeter out of my cab, I made a little plywood panel to screw over the hole. Paint it black and you'll never notice it behind the grille.

[quote name='bertbass' timestamp='1413827623' post='2582474'] I can honestly say that in 50 years of gigging no one has ever commented on the look of my cabs and I've owned quite a few in that time. [/quote] I have had people comment on both my guitar and bass gear, and the only common factor in those has been sparkly grille cloth. It looks good under stage lights and people seem to like it.

[quote name='Toasted' timestamp='1413816514' post='2582243'] Super Midget is 10.5kg, advertised weight. [/quote] And can move as much air as two S112s, going by both makers published specs. Whether you like 'em or not, people do buy them for a reason other than fanboi-ism or forum hype.

[quote name='Toasted' timestamp='1413803001' post='2581991'] Barefaced Super Compact - 11kg Bergantino CN112 - 12.7kg TKS S112 - 10kg [/quote] Hmm, maybe not the best chosen example there. The S112 is a small box for a 1x12" so the BF Super Midget would be a better comparison, at which point the weight difference is negligible. The BF should have more low-end output available too, presuming both makers specs are comparable.

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1413729813' post='2581286'] Well, there were other names suggested. I offered 'Sunbeam', and '[i]Le[/i] 200'; hardly mega-macho..? [/quote] That's true. I'm one who struggles with names for things; I built my own pedals, guitar amp and bass and none of them have names as I can't come up with any that don't make me cringe a little! I had an Aria "Thor Sound Bass" which I always used to refer to as the TSB. I can see why manufacturers so often go with the boring alphanumeric titles...

[quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1413728260' post='2581268'] Seeing as it'll be a bunch of blokes using the amp that's probably a good thing. I suppose [i]you'd[/i] have named it the MJW Lilac Bouquet, ya big poncey metrosexual. [/quote] Hmm, the names in the poll do seem to be aimed at the D&D playing crowd! Still, EBS did OK with a similar naming scheme and it's probably better than sniggering-blokes-in-a-tour-bus style innuendo (as pioneered by Electro Harmonix).

[quote name='PlungerModerno' timestamp='1413647124' post='2580529'] If a reputable classical instrument builder (and it's an if, at least regarding the reputable ones!) chooses significantly inferior wood - purely for the name - that's sick. AFAIK (and I'm no classical instrument builder/player) the traditional instrument needs to be kept carefully to last - e.g. case humidifiers in dry environments. An instrument made with odd wood parts might have lots of issues - not only spoiling a luthiers reputation, but perhaps causing massive upset and lost earnings to a performer / teacher. Some people can't do without a given instrument. To risk them losing it, from the builders side, is exactly the opposite of what they should be striving for. [/quote] Yeah, it's weird, but players keep asking for it and even when it's crazy-grained flatsawn wood extracted from a tree stump it attracts a premium. The builders are just responding to demand, after all. FWIW my brother won't use Brazilian Rosewood at all - I think he's working with FSC certified African or Malaysian Blackwood at the moment.

[quote name='PlungerModerno' timestamp='1413640541' post='2580435'] You're on to something there. What if an unscrupulous builder / company uses wood of an exotic or rare tree to promote an instrument - but the woods rarity means less than ideal pieces are used, even though ideal pieces of a run of the mill tree as available. [/quote] My brother is a classical guitar builder, and I get the impression that this is what the demand for Brazilian Rosewood is doing in the classical and acoustic guitar world. The good stuff is mostly gone (at least through legal routes), but some luthiers will use wild-grained pieces just to have the cachet that goes with it. While Indian Rosewood is demonstrably not the same (being less dense and having a duller tap tone) and arguably inferior, there are plenty of other more sustainable hardwoods with similar properties and tone.

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1413580356' post='2579930'] There are some good used synths around for this sort of money. Obviously very different but you can pick up an almost new Novation Mininova for £150 on eBay these days. [/quote] True, but I'm as much into the DIY project aspect of the Shruthi as finding something ready made to do the job. I'd also prefer a module to a keyboard as I don't get on with mini keys.

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1413544450' post='2579316'] In fairness, if his Dad bought it in the early 90s (i.e. pre-Internet) then there was a LOT less information about this sort of stuff out there, and it was far easier to get done, even with a fraud as amateurish as this. [/quote] Yes, it could be a copy from that period with some cheeky fake labels and decal. It looks a lot like an Encore or similar, right down to the truss rod adjustment, bridge and tuners. It's weird that the seller points out that the control cavity had to be widened for full-size pots, without knowing that a Fender would have come fitted with them. This suggests a certain lack of knowledge on his part, as any scammer worth his salt wouldn't have mentioned this. So was his dad ripped off, or is it him trying to rip us off?

Those bridges with the extra screws at the front seem to be a cheap copy thing too.

I'm pretty sure that's ash. The picture seems to bring out more of a pinkish quality than it has in the flesh, but then the maple neck looks similarly warm toned.

[quote name='Zenitram' timestamp='1413475926' post='2578658'] Yes, it's very intuitive. The LEDs below the knobs let you know where you are. And if you have a midi controller thing, like a Behringer BCR2000 or a Novation Remote SL, you can control the 24 most common parameters by CC, so you have all those controls at your fingertips at the same time. Apparently. I haven't tried it yet, but I read it somewhere. [/quote] I'd be playing it from my Roland SK-500 keyboard which doesn't have any knobs, so hopefully I'll get by OK with the Shruthi as it is. If I don't I could always pick up a knob-based controller later. [quote name='Zenitram' timestamp='1413476711' post='2578674'] This is a good deal: [url="http://mutable-instruments.net/forum/discussion/5901/fs-shruthi-smr4-mkii"]http://mutable-instr...ruthi-smr4-mkii[/url] [/quote] Hmm, it does look like a good deal, but I'm viewing assembling the thing and coming up with my own case as part of the fun! I have access to a laser cutter for the front panel and I like the idea of making a case with hardwood sides.

[quote name='Zenitram' timestamp='1413470790' post='2578580'] I'm noodling around on it right now! [/quote] How do you find the four knob interface for tweaking sounds? Is it reasonably intuitive to get around? I want something I can play around with the different parameters on without having my head stuck in the manual all the time.

Yep, I'd say octaver too, ideally an OC2. Something about that synthy sound goes well with the ability to slide around. It's 80s as hell, but the good sort of 80s IMO!