David Cook

I put a John East pre amp into my EB Musicman Stingray 3 band eq about 8 yrs ago, kept the original but never swapped back. Lots of versatility. Easy to fit although when I did mine, following the instructions to the letter, it said I should have a green wire last to connect but all I had was a black wire. I knew where it must go so fit it. Everything fine. I emailed JE and he said ‘ Sorry, we knew about that, but haven’t changed the instruction sheet yet’.

Thanks all for your valued inputs. Just to clarify pete.young it is not an acoustic bass I have but a Gibson SJ 200 acoustic with an aftermarket Fishman Matrix Blend fitted with an under saddle pickup and a goose neck mic. I have tried running this to to our desk from a wedge monitor. The sound man says he has no control over my signal which through his headphones sound loud and boomy. Hence my purchase of the Rumble to double up for bass duties and for when I play acoustic. After ordering the 'Wine Cellar' I remembered that I had a Samson MDA 1 passive di box lurking in the back of a cupboard, obviously not used for some time. I always ask my wife 'Could you hear me today?" She invariably says no. I am competing with a lead guitar with the cab miked, a drummer, a keyboard and always two but sometimes three singers . Our service always gets transmitted out on Facebook. When I listen back I can never hear myself. Lots to tinker with.

Hi Downunderwonder. Thanks for taking the time to reply. I don't know the answer to your question but I have read somewhere that although you can run acoustics to bass amps which I have done with my Orange and it sounds good, in the case of a Rumble, which some people say already gives a 'wooly' 'empty box' sound the EQ can't get a very good acoustic sound. You will have guessed that I haven't actually tried it yet as the Rumble is brand new and was delivered to my sons house, so not got it home yet.

Hi all, just about to show my ignorance. I’m not at all technical which you will see. I can no longer carry my Orange AD200 long story ,and neither can my wife so that is confined to the bedroom. I still play in church and have bought a Rumble 100 for both rehearsal and use in the services. I don’t always play bass as we have another bassist but when I’m not bassing I play my electro acoustic. I have read that a box is needed in front of the rumble as it’s not great with an acoustic straight in. I have bought a Caline CP 60 (wine cellar) just to try. It hasn’t arrived yet. This is a long winded way of saying Do I take a line out of the Wine Cellar to the desk or do I take it from the Rumble to the desk? I only really need the Rumble for my own monitor.

Thanks both for taking the time to respond. Sorry iconic, can't remember which video it was, I look at so many!!! I think it could have been a Dan Hawkins one. I understand what you say Oomo. I was just curious about the notion that so many songs incorporate the Dorian mode. I am just trying to branch out a little from chord tones and pentatonics which I know all work well.

Thanks to you all for your contributions. The comments have been a real education for me. I will certainly try the options given and hear what sounds best in any given situation. In my original question I thought that there may be just one answer ie: When a dominant chord comes along you play the b7 but I was obviously wrong.

Hi Hope this isn't a daft question but! When you are following a chord sheet and say a C dominant 7(C7) comes along but there isn't much space within the music, ie 1 beat ,before the next chord change comes along. How do you show the correct flavour of the chord ? Do you play a B flat or stick to the root ie C and let the other instruments play the C7 chord. Thanks

Once again thank you all for your input. After quite some research I decided to put EB cobalt flatwound strings on. Wow what a difference. I did have roundwounds on before and those of you who pointed me in the direction of dead strings were exactly correct. When I played there was/is a real zing and back to how a Stingray should sound, in my opinion. Just an addition for anyone reading this. The feel of the EB cobalt flats is totally different to the silky,smooth, sliding feel of the Thomastik jazz flats I have on another bass, they feel in between roundwound and those. Frannie, I wouldn’t know how to check the pre amp. I can say there is a difference when plugging into the active and passive jack sockets. Definitely not a lead problem I have three and all were the same. Anyhow I think I’m sorted!!

Thanks again. I will try changing the strings as advised. I am also going to try an experiment by asking my mate to set everything flat on his Yamaha ,I will do the same and then in turn plug into the amp without changing any settings and see if there is a noticable difference.

My first thought. So I changed it for a brand new one.

Thanks for your replies. I did have the eq flat , then started tinkering to find its voice! Not sure about the other guys set up. With regard to strings which are a couple of years old, would that make a big difference? James Jamerson apparently never changed his strings the whole of his career!! With none of you mentioning pick ups or pre amp I guess you think this cannot be the issue. I was plugged into an Ashdown combi amp, which is borrowed and stays at the venue in fact it is owned by the other chap.He let me use it because he could tell I was struggling thats why he simply plugged into the foldback My amp is an Orange AD200, far too heavy to carry downstairs these days as I am disabled and it lives in a bedroom. Just to add the reason we were both playing was that it was a church practice and we have a rota for the Sunday. When I play at church I plug into the PA through a pre amp box and thats why I hadn't noticed an issue before.

Hi Hope this is in correct section. I have an EBMM Stingray 4knob built 1981 but in my possession for approx last fifteen yrs. At last band practice when my friend also a bass player with a relatively new Yamaha 5 string, don't know the model was killing me with his volume and tone and he was only playing through foldback . I was dialled right round volume on bass and plenty of gain and volume from amp. The only work I have ever had done on it was to change the Jack socket about 4yrs ago. Could this be a pickup problem? or a pre amp problem? If a pre amp would I solve it with swapping out for a John East model. Thanks for your thoughts