Mottlefeeder

[quote name='grumble' post='747526' date='Feb 16 2010, 05:51 PM']Thanx for the offer lemmywinks, I'm Bolton based but I've decided to get a Stagg this weekend anyway. I figure that if I dont like it then I shouldn't lose to much when I get rid. As to getting a teacher, yeah I will eventually but at the moment I have a couple of DVD's on the way to get me started (The Evolving Bassist by Rufus Reid and Jazz Upright Bass by Ed Friedland). I will get lessons when the strangeness has worn off a little, no doubt by that time I will have a mass of bad habits to break [/quote] Can I suggest an alternative? - Get one lesson to start you off on the right track. Much of the traditional DB sound comes from the high action, which means more effort, and if you do not start with the right fingering and wrist positions, you can cause serious tendon damage quite quickly. David

[quote name='Jean-Luc Pickguard' post='747196' date='Feb 16 2010, 01:26 PM']I don't know why the advice given above was to avoid the dean pace - I thoroughly enjoyed the one I owned & it gave a sound & feel very different to a fretless bass to make it worthwhile. It isn't designed to be bowed as the target market (people like me?) are probably not interested in using a bow. They sometimes come up secondhand at a good price. A set of TI JF354 & a cheapo behringer ADI21 preamp made mine sound very good. I've since upgraded to a Ned Steinberger CR5M which is in a totally different class, but its in a different price range as well.[/quote] I have to start by admitting that I haven't played one, but I read around a lot before making my own shortlist. The messages that I got were that - a) they were not different enough to a fretless-on-end to be worth buying if you already had a fretless (you've been there, I haven't), b) with a standard bass guitar string length, they were little use as a toe in the water for a 42 inch scale 3/4 EUB or DB c) with a typical bass guitar string spacing and neck radius, you could not bow them. One of the reviews that I read suggested that they were designed to allow bass guitarists to cross-over to an upright-ish kind of instrument, but were not intended as an entry level EUB or DB. That is how I think of them. David

[quote name='karlthebassist' post='736670' date='Feb 5 2010, 09:09 PM']So one of the bands I play with is an Indi/Folk sort of band with multi instrumentalists, acoustic instruments etc theres the link - [url="http://www.myspace.com/hoaxfuneral"]http://www.myspace.com/hoaxfuneral[/url] - I'm not on any of the recordings I've joined them last year for the new stuff they have been working on - the new sound is a bit different to that on the recordings. But anyway, I play acoustic bass guitar with them mainly (and dabble on some other things too), but I keep thinking "man that would sound sweet on upright" on SO many songs that I think it may be worth getting one. Problem is, what. If I could just go out and buy one I'd get an NS WAV 4. To me, they look cool, sound decent (im not going for uber authentic tone as I dont need it), are pretty compact and well made. But £670 quid... Only other one I've ever seen and played was the Stagg... and that's a pretty big no. Its massive, ugly and not very well made. So what are my options? Are there £400 EUB's that fit the bill? Do WAVs ever come up second hand, and what sort of prices would I be looking at? Any opinions, suggestions would be great. Cheers. Karl[/quote] I put this together for a friend - most of it seems to be relevant to your query. With regard to ERBs, there are several at the bottom end of the market, and most seem to be pictured on the Thomann site [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/electric_double_basses.html"]http://www.thomann.de/gb/electric_double_basses.html[/url] In general: budget ERBs can be plucked, and the higher the action, the more they sound like DBs; most budget ERBs also have enough radius on the bridge / fingerboard to allow them to be bowed, but most sound nothing like a bowed DB. 1. Dean Pace - a 34 inch-scale bass-guitar neck turned vertical - avoid. [url="http://www.deanguitars.uk.com/basses/pacebass.htm"]http://www.deanguitars.uk.com/basses/pacebass.htm[/url] 2. Stagg - Double bass height, 42 inch scale at about £350. Gets good reviews. Does not fit across a car boot. [url="http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=344951&page=3"]http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.p...4951&page=3[/url] 3. Palatino - Double bass height, 42 (?) inch scale, hollow bodied - gets good reviews, but needs DIY modification to get the best out of it. [url="http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=22149"]http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=22149[/url] 3&page=3 Also appears to be marketed by Thomann as a Harvey Benton. 4. NS Wav - 42 inch scale on a short body on a tripod. Gets good reviews, fits across a car boot, early models had quality problems with the tripod, now redesigned. [url="http://www.nedsteinberger.com/i"]http://www.nedsteinberger.com/i[/url] nstruments/wav.php 5. The Aria SB lite one is probably just out of your price range, but appears to be the model that Stagg copied. [url="http://www.ariaguitars.com/int/03_products/pro_e"]http://www.ariaguitars.com/int/03_products/pro_e[/url] b_swb_liteone.html The guy who runs AGC basses is also an Aria stockist, and may be able to get you a good price. Out of that bunch, if you just want to test the water, the Stagg is alleged to be fairly good, and easy to sell on if it does not work out. The Palatino will draw fewer frowns in jazz and folkrock environments because of its hollow body. The NS Wav is good, but you either love the futuristic shape, or loathe it. David

[quote name='Beedster' post='704781' date='Jan 7 2010, 09:11 PM']Mmmm, I'm inclined to agree, and not of course forgetting that it's a high signal to noise ratio that's desirable, not a low one, although I'm assuming 90db is pretty high?[/quote] The signal to noise ratio is what makes the noise inaudible because the signal is much bigger. It is not really relevant when you throttle back the signal to practice in a smaller room. Your problem is posssibly better described as having an equipment noise floor that is too high for your quiet environment. As a result, you may find the supplier claims that the noise floor is adequate for the amp's intended use, and therefore they will not do anything about it, like, for example, an amp with a fan that is always on. There is not much you can say to counter that argument. I had a conventional amp with a buzzing transformer that I could only hear when we all stopped playing. It still drove me nuts while I practiced at home, and I ended up trading it for one that did not buzz. David

[quote name='fatgoogle' post='704821' date='Jan 7 2010, 09:34 PM']Hi Im going to build a 1x12 200 watt practice amp with an extension, ie im going to put a small power amp in the back of one and use a tech 21 Vt or aguilar tone hammer as a preamp. Now from other cabs ive built with help on the design, i understand to work out size you take its recommended cubic space for a vented enclosure do the relative sums and get the measurements for HxWxB. But the tuning i still haven't got, ive been meaning to get vance dickinsons book on cabinet making, but its quiet expensive and i haven't got around to getting the library to get it in for me. So how do you work it out. Im intending to use A fane sovereign 1x12 as i liked the 1x15 400 i used in my first few cabinet experiments. Thanks Sam H[/quote] The specifications for a speaker are an indicator of how it will resonate in a specified box, with a specified port (or no port). They are intended to be used in equasions that you can use to calculate the volume and the port tuning. I believe that the book you refer to gives you the equasions, but you can also find them free on the web. One of the more popular programs that uses these equasions is WinISD, which is a free download. It comes with a database of speaker types, and allows you to play with box volume and port tuning, and see the effect that has on a graph of the frequency response. However, unless you understand what you are looking at, moving a line on a graph does not get you much further forward. If you want a cab to experiment with, then you can check out how the different tunings sound, but if you just want to build and use, my advice would be to pick a Fane recommended cab design, and build that. David

Thanks for those replies - I'll have another go. David

Another related question - My basses are set up for low action without fret buzz, but above the 12th fret, the sound is choked, especially on the B and E strings. Should I be moving towards a straighter neck and higher action, or a more banana shaped neck, and higher action, or a more banana shaped neck, and a shim, or something else? David

[quote name='BurritoBass' post='680797' date='Dec 10 2009, 11:10 PM']I've said it before but once the feedback slips below 99.0% I always avoid. The reluctance to answer questions is bizarre, in part because it is the seller's option as to whether answers go online. Bizarre[/quote] I am no longer sure that feedback is useful. I left negative feedback for a commercial seller and they were so desperate to get it deleted, they started saying things like 'is there anything in our catalogue that interests you?' I was so hacked-off with them that I stood firm, but I can see that others might take the offer as compensation and delete the feedback. David

The Pandora is designed for headphone use, and the noise reduction circuit (a variable mute) will not be correctly calibrated if you use it in a higher gain set up. It is slightly hissy - this will be more noticeable: plus, you may not be able to find a mute level that takes out the hiss without bringing in a noticable mute level at the start of each note. As others have said, it may not have sufficient output voltage to drive your PA to the desired level, but a small cheap mixer ~£40 could fix that for you David

[quote name='Russ' post='672166' date='Dec 2 2009, 03:25 PM']I'm toying with the idea of picking up a Big One when I get back to the UK - the idea of a UK-built, lightweight and great-sounding cab really appeals to me. Having said that, I'm used to playing through a 6x10", with two guitarists with Mesas and a drummer who has been known to break Kevlar snare skins, and I've found, in order to hear myself well, I need the bigger cab to have the speakers up nearer my ear level. So, my question is, would the Big One suit me on its own, or would two stacked cabs work better? Also, if I did go with just the one, would elevating the cab off the floor help, and what would the best thing to use for this (ie, not beer crates :D )?[/quote] You probably have more gigging experience than me, but your post raises a few questions in my mind. a) If the on-stage levels are that high, do you wear ear-protection, and if so would in-ear monitors be an option? b) Is your backline for your benefit, or the main source of bass for the audience? c) Where is the drummer getting your bass sound from?

Just got home from my meetings in the NE, so can I also add my thanks to WoT for the organisation. Alpha-dave, the out of print tutor book for DB is "Creative bass technique" by Henry Portnoi. If you search on Portnoi on this forum you will find the thread that lists it and others. [url="http://www.vitoliuzzi.com/creative-bass-technique-by-enry-portnoi/"]http://www.vitoliuzzi.com/creative-bass-te...y-enry-portnoi/[/url] appears to be a down-loadable copy

That's good to hear - I'll see you both there.

I don't want to sound precious about this, but there is a certain amout of hassle involved in getting my gear over to the NEBB, and so far I have had no indication that anyone wants to hear the Omni 12 or the NS CR5M. If anyone does want to hear this stuff, please say so within the next 24 hours, and I will tell the other users of my gear that they need to find an alternative for the day. If I haven't heard anything within 24 hours, I'll leave the gear where it is. Regards David

[quote name='Musicman20' post='658394' date='Nov 18 2009, 06:33 PM']I'd like to know what a Warwick can offer me over, say a Lakland DJ5 or a MM Stingray5. My next bass has to be 5, and has to be nice and light, comfy, with a fast 5 string neck. I do like P bass necks on Precisions, but Id like a quicker neck on a 5 string. What are my options in Warwick terms?[/quote] I had a bubinga/wenge Corvette 4-string fretless, so I auditioned the lighter swamp-ash bodied 5-string fretless. The sound was similar, but I did not try it with a strap. I ordered one, and then found that it had neck dive - wider neck and and lighter body - should have seen that coming. I tried to get used to it for about 8-9 months and then gave up and sold it on. David

I'm travelling over from Warrington on Sunday for a Monday meeting, and I have only just realised that I can get to this. So - Does anyone need a lift from the Warrington area (one way)? Does anyone want to audition a BFM Omni 12? [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7VJH27HgSw"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7VJH27HgSw[/url] shows my Omni 12 lowboy on a dolly with a 24 inch wide sleeved amp on top, next to an Omni 15 tall boy. [url="http://www.dustyend.com/finnbass/Omni12Low.mov"]http://www.dustyend.com/finnbass/Omni12Low.mov[/url] has a higher quality and much bigger video clip. I'm not playing at the moment due to a hand injury, and my basses are fairly pedestrian Yamahas, so I won't be bringing them, but I also have a 5-string EUB (Ned Steinberger CR5M) which I can bring if anyone wants to have a go. David

One of the things that can make an EUB sound more DB-like is to raise the action. As a non-cost option, it might be worth trying on your P. David

Something that has not been mentioned in this thread is that pick-ups are basically coils of wire that have their own resonant frequency, and are designed to work with a specified resistance in order to damp down that resonance. Removing an on-board preamp, or a pot on a passive, can result in a higher amplifier input impedance giving you a more resonant honky sound, or a sound that will vary more if you plug it into a number of different amps. Some of the up-market preamp upgrades have a switchable input impedance so you can adjust it to find the tone you like David

Welcome to the forum - you're not that far away from me. Where do you play jazz, and are there any open mic nights on your side of Manchester?

I agree that you can pay the supplier to do straight cuts, but that still leaves you with the angled cuts where the horn starts and ends.

[quote name='ped' post='607084' date='Sep 23 2009, 08:50 PM']Hi folks Usually at home my Vbass and my brothers Vdrums go into a stereo mixer (via a pair of 1/4" jacks each) and we also plug in an ipod or similar to the stereo RCA Tape In jacks, usually sounds fine. Recently the music has started to hum incredibly loudly or the music sounds really glassy like it is encoded at 1kbps. Twiddling the lead sometimes seems to work, and other times not... you can twiddle it a LOT and it might do nothing or literally touch it and it works for a few seconds. However, it isn't the lead, and I am pretty sure it isn't the RCA jacks because the same thing happens when I plug the ipod into any other channel in mono or stereo - and guess what, it isn't the player either because we use several players into the mixer. Bloody confused and pissed off ped[/quote] From what you have said, everything works on its own, and the fault appears to be in the mixer. My starting point would be to check the power supply to the mixer. Hum and distortion could be caused by reduced supply voltage, either a voltage regulator not performing, or an internal fault losing one side of the supply or something similar. If the mixer runs from a wall wart, try a different one. If it's mains powered, check fuses and indicator lights, then call a service technician.

[quote name='solofunkyjazz' post='607131' date='Sep 23 2009, 09:33 PM']For my flightcase. Anyone know where you can buy them from ?[/quote] Most places that sell luggage.

[quote name='neilb' post='602040' date='Sep 18 2009, 10:38 AM']I had the same problem with my TE head. I got one of these 19" rack shelves off the bay. I turned it upside down and put it ontop of the amp chassis. I then drilled holes in the shelf to line up with the threaded holes on the TE chassis. I then bolted the shelf to the top of the chassis. worked great. [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/19-SUPPORT-TRAY-RACK-SHELF-1U-FLIGHT-CASE-DJ-DISCO_W0QQitemZ370261114322QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_3?hash=item5635483dd2&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/19-SUPPORT-TRAY-RACK...id=p3286.c0.m14[/url] The amp then mounts into the rack perfectly [/quote] That's neat - I thought of the shelf unit, but did not think to use it upside down. I think you would also have to make sure that the sides of the shelf you chose stopped you getting your fingers on any live parts.

[quote name='StevieD_FenderP2009' post='601840' date='Sep 17 2009, 11:11 PM']Hi there I've attached a picture of the side of my Series 6 Trace Elliot GP12 head after i took it out of the wooden casing as i'm going to be rack mounting it Thing is, i then looked at the side to see where i would attach rack ears to and it doesn't look like i can. Reason for this is, i looked at the official Trace Elliot rack ears on the British Audio Service website and it says they are for "Series 6" but theyre only a L shape bracket I've attached pictures of both the rack ears and the head unit from the side If you have any info, let me know. im really stuck and quite f*cked off right now with this Cheers [/quote] What you show in the picture is a trough which needs a sleeve to have any structural strength. The only way you could rack mount it would be to make it into a box by adding the top and sides, and then add the ears to the sides. The effort needed to bend sheet metal to fit, and bend flanges on each edge, and drill your existing amp chassis to screw through to the flanges - don't go there. Sorry that is not the answer you were looking for.

A second-hand Zoom B708 will set you back about £15-£20, and will give you a headphone output and a selection of drum patterns, but will not allow play-along with a backing track. Something that I have not tried, but sound as if it would work, is to wear in-ear phones and 'hi-fi' headphones together. One fits over the other, and you feed one from your CD player, and the other from your bass amp / headphone amp / etc. In-ear mixing.

Thinking slightly outside the box, have you considered a kickback bass combo. Hartke do 10 inch, 12 inch and 15 inch models with a balanced-out feed for the desk. You could use one as a dedicated instrument amp, or feed a mixed signal into it.