BillyBass

On 19/06/2023 at 18:34, martthebass said:

Farmyard rally last Friday.

First time I’d used the JMJ Mustang on one of these bigger jobbies but I was well chuffed with the sound.
 

https://www.facebook.com/molly.moo.1044186/videos/1611224812700875/?

Nice syrup!

Nice colour, congrats!.  Nevertheless, I have to disagree with:

On 20/06/2023 at 23:58, la bam said:

...and to be fair you cant play indie music on a sparkly blue shiny bass,

Yeah, you can.

On the other hand, as an excuse to buy a new bass, getting an appropriate coloured bass is valid.

I've recently acquired a Spector and am really blown away by the sound of it through my GK Legacy 800 and Super Midget.  Most basses will sound good through the GK and the Super midget but the Spector really does shine through it.

I tried @Merton's Trace Elliot 1200 and Barefaced 210 at he SE Bassbash in the Spring and that also sounded like a perfect sonic match.  I have a couple of barefaced 110s and my Elf also sounds sublime though them.

All subjective of course, one man's meat etc but has anyone else got combinations of kit that really just work perfectly with each other?

Gratuitous Spector & GK pic

Our lead guitarist does most of the BVs in my band but I have to do some.  I can't do the 'football terraces' style vocals often needed in my (mainly punk) covers band, as my voice is more 'angelic' but I can do harmonies, as long as the bass part during the harmony isn't too complex.

I've bought quite a few things from Andertons over the last few years, the transactions have always gone smoothly.  They are often slightly dearer than their competition but the loyalty points take a bit of the extra away.  When buying a microphone from them I called up for advice as all I knew about microphones was SM58.  I was put onto a knowledgeable lad who was very helpful and I consider this when making future gear purchases.

Welcome to the forum Frankie

Have a look at this and other basses by the same brand currently in stock at Bassdirect

https://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/MARUSZCZYK_Jake_4P_Nat_32.html

9 minutes ago, cetera said:

Saw that on eBay and that someone had got it for a complete bargain price.... didn't realise it was you. Congrats!

 

I love mine.... only upgrade I've done is to a full Tonepump pre (from the Tonepump Jr). IMHO it gives the whole sound a bit of a heft/definition kick but the TP Jr sounds great in it's own right, as you've discovered. I also add some crown inlay stickers, but that was just for my visual taste...

 

Enjoy!!

Not many people put serious bids in.  Times are tough and the advert wasn't very well written.  I put my max bid in at £720 with about 20 seconds to go and got it for £585, so I was very pleased and surprised about that.

I might consider the full Tonepump in time but at the moment I'm more than happy with the tones from this...and Spector and Gallien-Krueger seem to be a match made in heaven!

Thanks for letting me have a go with all you Spectors at the Bass bash!

Earlier this year, at the S.E. Bass Bash I tried several of @cetera's Spectors.  I was particularly impressed by his NS Pulse 2.  One came up on Ebay last week and I bid higher than the others and 'won'.

I played around with it a bit last night and had a look at the wiring and pre amp.  The seller told me the top pot was a 'mids' pot and I couldn't really get my head around it.  The Spector website says this would be a volume volume bass treble set up.  It isn't, but it isn't 'mids' either.  Anyway, on further inspection I have a 'Tonepump Jr' pre amp and the 4 knobs are: Volume, blend, bass, treble.  The blend knob is the only knob where you can feel a middle indent.  

And I'm very impressed by the tones I can get out of these pups and the Tonepump Jr pre amp.  I'm a fan.  It isn't as versatile as the John East pre amps in my Charvels but it isn't too hot and not having an indent on the bass or treble is, to a degree, liberating.  I will admit my default for bass and treble is usually the middle indent and I add a bit of mid.  With the Tonepump Jr I've been leaving the treble at: bright enough to make the G string sing but not hiss badly.  The bass knob I've been fiddling with along with the blend to get a good mix of growl and low end.

It's a light bass and there is a bit of neck dive without a strap but none with my strap on.

I prefer the feel and the necks of my Charvels but I will admit, this Spector sounds better.  It's a keeper, I believe.

Enjoy your new bass!  I'll have to treat myself to an American made bass one day.

On 08/06/2023 at 16:06, BassmanPaul said:

I won't put Black Nylon Tape Wounds on any of my instruments. Over my 60 odd years I've put them on three of my basses. A Hofner Violin, Gibson EB0F and a Gibson EB2. Each in its turn was stolen from me. The Hofner in Widnes, the EB0F in Liverpool from the 21Club and the EB2 also in Liverpool. For me I consider them too dangerous!!! LOL

You had something stolen in Liverpool?  Surely not.

23 minutes ago, Bluewine said:

 

25 people seems like " Woodstock " compared to the crowd of 6 we played to last weekend. Lol

 

Blue

Our previous gig was a bit like that.  The landlord of the pub had done pretty much zero advertising and there was a function in the outside area (it was raining quite heavily, so we were inside).  The only people watching us were a few regulars that happened to be in the pub on the Saturday afternoon.

We came away with a bit of a bad taste in our mouths, however, the landlord has asked us back for a birthday do in December, and we will be paid. so why not.

More photos of you wearing the cowboy hat are needed😉

We played the Load of Hay in Watford again last night.  We were outside in the beer garden this time, as the weather was glorious.  Unfortunately, I had come down with a chest infection the night before and have just started a course of antibiotics.  Consequently, I gave up on the backing vocals but I was able to stand and play.

The beer garden is quite small but we had an appreciative crowd of about 25; got asked for a few encores and several people complimented us afterwards, which is always nice.

Our set up last night

3 hours ago, cheddatom said:

When I was a kid we got a hash of the school's network admin password and cracked it in just over 3 days with a computer running constantly at home. That would have been 1999 ish

So, let us know what mischief you got up to.  Photoshopping the headmaster's face onto a pornstar at work and emailing to around?

And rich Tone Music has one for £849.  They do look good, lovely neck, rounded off body/neck joint, decent bridge and luminlay dots.  Enough there to justify a higher RRP than a MIM Fender Jazz.

I've just changed my password too.

On 04/06/2023 at 09:20, Steve1250 said:

Do you mean the metro express? Just had a quick browse, cheaper than the Schecter but didn't look as amazing, I know it's not about looks but that J4 has really grabbed my attention, reviews seem good and there are nice touches like full access to the top frets, vintage or modern sound via a push pull, easy truss rod adjustment etc. I'll probably stew on this for a few days before moving on to something else 😆

All subjective but for me, looks are more important than the sound.  A beautiful bass can sound different depending on where you pluck, your amp/pre amp settings etc. OK, a bass with a single pup at the bridge will never sound like a P bass and vice versa but you can alter the sound from a bass...and it will still be beautiful.  An ugly bass will always be ugly.

The other things you mention all improve the playing and user experience, which, again, is very important.  If a bass looks good and feels great in my hands, I'll do my best to get the sounds out of it that I want.  The looks and playing experience will inspire me to play it.

I've only ever played one Shecter.  A friend owns an old Schecter that, to me looks daft.  Its got a big flame sticker covering most of the body (I assume it's a sticker) and it has dayglo orange strings.  Fine for a teenager, which he probably was when he bought it.  When I eventually got around to trying it out, I was very impressed by the build quality and feel.  Though I would never buy that one, I certainly would consider other Schecters based on that experience.

27 minutes ago, Chienmortbb said:

I should have read your post before posting myself. However it is only the cable and connection  point that passes  the current. The socket will only pass what is being drawn by appliances attached to it.

That is why we fuse the plugs and not the sockets.  Something I commonly see in kitchens in London is a double socket used for an electric kettle (roughly 11 amps) and a toaster (up to about 7 amps).  Putting the kettle on while you are making toast is really putting that socket under strain, though the fuses in the plugs and the device in the fuseboard would not see that.  And don't get me started on extension leads!  

39 minutes ago, Chienmortbb said:

One other word of caution. Many Far Eastern imports come with IEC C14 (kettle) connectors but are fitted with 5A cable. That’s barely enough for an 800W amp.

Far Eastern imported electrical appliances should be used with caution, or not at all!  I have seen fake CE marks on Chinese/Far Eastern appliances.  I would trust Japanese stuff though.

1 hour ago, Cat Burrito said:

 Apparently he loved us but all the Brass band fans had been complaining that we played "miserable music". I might use that on some promo! 

Goths? Miserable? Never!

2 hours ago, NancyJohnson said:

My only criticism of last night is more my fault; the output on this bass is super-hot, it's got a John East on it, so need to do some set up tweaks (pickups down or adjust the output down on the East, which I'm sure is an option).

There is a trim pot on the John East pre amps, at least there is on the two I have in my Charvel PJs.  So you can wind it down to the lowest output and it will still be really hot.  Every now and again I start to doubt myself and think maybe the trimpot works anti clockwise and I've maxed mine out!

@Bill Fitzmaurice & @Downunderwonder Electrician here.  In the UK, every circuit would be protected by a device ensuring automatic disconnection of supply, at the fuseboard.  This will be either a fuse, a miniature circuit breaker, an RCBO or an AFDD.  The reason we have fuses in plugs is due to a quirk of history.

The Germans bombed the crapp out of us in world war 2 and after it finished a lot of rebuilding was done.  Electricity for the masses was a relatively new thing anyway, here in north London, we didn't get a power station until the 1920s and initially, I assume, it would have been the more affluent and the middle classes that got an electricity supply.

The usual 20A circuit Bill mentions was, back then a 15A fused 'radial' circuit, using 2.5mm csa copper cable (actually the imperial equivalent of about 2.5mm).  Radial circuits are: fuse>socket>socket>socket etc, the 'radial' or round name comes from the cable having the line or live conductor going out to each socket and then a neutral coming back, but both conductors, along with an earthing conductor, are enclosed in the same cable.

To save money after the war the 'ring final circuit' was invented (fuse>socket>socket>socket>fuse).  This used the same sized cable but then looped back into the fusebox, so there are two cables coming from the fuse, the combined surface area would be about 5mm, which was enough to take 30amps.  It became a cheap way of doubling or tripling the capacity for very little extra copper.

The trouble with ring final circuits is that there are some inherent safety issues.  One such issue, the fact that there could be, potentially 30 amps (or 32amps with modern circuits) passing through sockets connected to leads and appliances that would be fried by 30/32 amps (single sockets in the UK are rated at 13A.  Double sockets are also rated at 13A but, anecdotally, can take up to 18-19A before they are put under serious strain).  

Consequently, plugs are fused.  Standard domestic plugs have a 13A fuse at most, though, 3A, 5A, 7A and 10A are common fuses that might also get used.  As @BigRedX correctly points out above, the fuse is there to protect the cable, so if a kettle lead can only take 10A, it should have a 10A fuse at most, not 13A.

Only three countries in the world have 'Ring final Circuits'.  The UK, Ireland and one country in the Middle East.  They save money at the expense of safety.

4 hours ago, jd56hawk said:

I'm guessing you want a great bass, not just the typical suggestions.

So...

Reverend Thundergun 

One of the best-kept secrets in the bass world.

SPLIT BRICK

Strong lows and highs, open mids. Like a vintage P bass pickup but with more beef, yet retains clarity. 43 gauge wire, ceramic magnet, 8.5K ohms.

THICK BRICK

Warm and thick with strong mids. Output and punch like an active, but more organic sounding. 42 gauge wire, ceramic magnet, 7K ohms. 

 

 

Mate, You regularly post photos of your Reverends here and advise us to try them out.  I would love to but since the pandemic, American kit, that isn't made by Fender, has been quite hard to come by this side of the pond.  Reverend's main dealer in the UK is a shop up in Scotland; they have a few Mercalli 4s and 5s, a couple of Decision Ps and a couple of semi hollow short scales.  No Thunderguns, no Triads, no Wattplowers.  There is one other shop, to the east of London, that has a single gunmetal Mercalli 4.  That's it, for the whole country.

I have been gassing for a Reverend for a while but a round trip to the shop in Scotland would take nearly 14 hours from where I live. So I consider how scared I am of my wife and whether the 8 basses I already own are sufficient and put away dreams of a Reverend Triad.

Maybe I'll get permission to treat myself at Christmas.

44 minutes ago, snorkie635 said:

A classy looking pair indeed. 

Classy indeed, good description.  Ordinarily, grey would be my last choice of colour for a bass, there is too much grey in my life as it is, when I look up at the sky.  These basses, however, really do look classy.

6 minutes ago, Mykesbass said:

Isn't one of the main reasons for switching between fingers and pick to get a different tone?

I swap to both get the sound the song needs and for ease of playing.  Most of our set is punk (=pick) but some songs sound better with fingers, so yes, to a degree, you are right.  'Pump it Up', for instance, I believe, sounds better without the pick attack and slides in songs sound better with fingers.

10 minutes ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

I’m not sure there are songs that I find easier with a pick, but I definitely swap between pick and finger style depending on how much attack I require.

I don’t worry about tone or volume though. I’ll usually dial in a bit more treble if I’m using a pick, because most of the songs that require it have that gnarly pick sound that is more present in the mix anyway. 
I use Tortex Standard 1.0mm - the blue ones that John Deacon preferred. I don’t really like anything heavier than that.

I'm not sure how important evening out the tone really is, I'm sure the audience won't care/notice.  I would be happier with an even volume though.  I'm experimenting here.

I mainly play with a pick but there are a few songs, recently added to our set that I play better with fingers.  So I've been looking for a way to even out the tone and volume between finger and pick playing, as far as is possible, easily and accurately.

My favourite basses from my collection are active PJs, so, when moving to fingers, I've been dialling more bridge and less neck and then dialling in more volume.  Easier than this, I discovered yesterday, is the 'Presence' switch on my Gallien Krueger Legacy 800.  Flick it up and, hey presto, my fingers sound a lot like my pick tone.  The volume still needs to be altered and you still don't get the attack a pick gives but the sound is close enough.  

Another thing I have done is to use these picks. These are my preferred range.  I don't like large picks and the plastic or whatever it is made of dulls the treble and attack a bit, and the thicker the pick, the duller it gets.  The thick 1.5mm pick is not ideal for widdling.  We cover 'Welcome to Paradise' by Green Day, which has a 40 bar bass widdle and I started off with the 0.96mm pick from this range when I was learning it/acquiring the chops.  I'm now ok with the 1.5mm.

Anyone else got any tips?