chris_b

[quote name='MB1' post='6421' date='May 25 2007, 12:35 PM']MB1.

I honestly dont see the point.i dont want my rig to sound like anything else.i spent alot of money buying what i wanted in the first place.i have tried the real amps and then tried the modeled equivalents they dont come close.a box you pick up for a couple of hundred quid is never gonna replicate a rig youve spent thousands on.theyred be a lot of manufacturers complaining if these things were accurate.stand in front of an ampeg 8x10 with a pair of flares on and ill see you in portsmouth(should blow you away). nothing in a pedalbox could ever replicate that.my view anyway!

MB1.[/quote]

Totally agree. These things are toys designed to get your money. Buy the real thing.

Great idea.

Check out the lessons section of the The International Institute Of Bassists site

www.instituteofbass.com/

[quote name='3V17C' post='5842' date='May 24 2007, 04:06 PM']Personally - I am against the smoking ban....i feel there should be choice...a smoking area and a non smoking area rather than a compusory law from a nanny state.

and......(opening a large can of nicotine flavoured worms)... alot of the 'facts' about smoking are unproven and based on either very old research of statistics that the government wants you to hear. yes, i'm a conspiracy theorist but check this link:[/quote]

Yeah.... and Hitler only went to Poland for his holidays!!! The facts linking smoking and ill health have been proven to the satisfaction of court cases in the UK and US. That is good enough for me and I reckon is nothing to do with the government.

On the other hand, I hope we are not going to loose any more gigs as a result of the smoking ban as enough have gone to the wall in the last few years anyway.

Is everyone signing the petition about the new alcohol and music licence? Now that really does look like another Blair cock-up which could really adversely affect gigging musicians.

[url="http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/licensing/"]http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/licensing/[/url]

There are currently over 76,300 signatures. The closing date is 11 June 2007.

[quote name='lowhand_mike' post='5576' date='May 24 2007, 09:36 AM']just the smell of vomit stale beer and sweat pervades the air instead.

and about the nanny state, if this is such a case then surely if it is their resposibility to ban smoking for the good of the people, surely iut makes sense to take a long hard look at alchohol, caffeine etc which have a detremental if not fatal effect on our lives, personally see it as a half arsed attempt at dealing with the bigger picture and more trouble is caused because of alchohol than smoking a fag, realy should have a smoking room and non smoking, that would be fair.[/quote]

I digress........

I don't think you would be happy if someone walked up to you in the street and punched you in the face. It is a medical fact that if you smoke next to me for long enough you will adversely affect my health. We all agree that the former is wrong but some don’t think the later is. Smoking in places of work, offices etc, was stopped when the medical evidence for health damage to third parties was proved in the courts. Kill yourselves but don't hurt me in the process. This is one little bit of "Nannyism" that I do agree with.

I'm looking forward to having my gear, clothes, body, car and back room not reeking of stale smoke after a gig.

I have heard two gigs when MB has been used. One got a good sound out of his MB rig and the other got a terrible sound. I have also tried a 2x10 and 4x10 at the Bass Centre and didn't like them much. The LMK sounded good though but only when running both channels together.

Has anyone used both the Epifani 3x10 and the 4x10? How would you describe the sound of each and what is the difference ?

After looking at Bob Babbit's site, it sounds like Bob is in the same boat as Carol Kaye with regards to incorrect recording details. I guess that if James Jamerson was still alive he would be making similar claims, given the seemingly incompetent way in which the record business was managed back then. It seems to me to be yet another example of the artists and musicians coming a long way last in the recording industry food chain.

The best bass tone on record is anything by Reggie McBride playing with Keb Mo (check out Muddy Water on the Slow Down cd), closely followed by Cornell C Williams playing with Jon Cleary (check out More Hipper on the Absolute Monster Gentlemen cd). These players are THE best but I think a lot of credit must go to John Porter who has produced most of these artists’ albums.... then there is anything by Paul Turner...... Larry Graham...... Aston "Family Man" Barrett....

I voted Lakland as I play my Translucent Blue 55-94 Delux with birds-eye maple fretboard the most at the moment.

My other favourite bass is a WAL mk3 5 string with American Mahogany facings.

I have a MusicMan Stingray 5, which I need to get around to selling, and a 1968 Fender Precision, which I don't play anymore but will probably be buried with me.

I'm currently using an Ampeg SVT3PRO containing 5 pre amp valves and a solid state power amp. This is a big sound. Goes deep and low with a lot of zing.

The first question is do you need to change your sound? Would different strings enhance your sound? High end strings are not important to many types of music.

Over the years I've used Rotosound, Elites, MusicMan D'Addario and Fender strings until I looked at DR. In my opinion they are the best strings I've used. I play a USA Lakland and my rig cost over 3 grand so I want to make the best of my investment and get the best quality tone that I can. Luckily, I get complimented on my sound.

This is a very subjective area and you can only be guided by others. Get a set of DR strings (I use Lo-Riders) and try them. They are too expensive in the shops here so check out the web. I buy a supply when I holiday in the US.

[quote name='lowhand_mike' post='4326' date='May 22 2007, 01:44 PM']totally agree chris but at the moment i am skint so i am going to have to compromise for a while till i can get the money together for some top notch ones, so any suggestions for us hard up bassits would be useful along with the custom jobbies.[/quote]

I understand... I used the "Soft Disposable Foam Earplugs" from Boots for years. They are not the greatest as they take out all the top end and most of the clarity, but they do protect you and they are the cheapest. You can see Superbike and Moto GP racers etc using these all the time. I brought Hearos when I was in Florida last year but haven't used them yet. They might be a step up from foam plugs. Good luck.

Your ears hurt or ring after playing loud music.... you have just suffered ear damage and have lost some of your hearing ability. If you continue you will accumulate more damage until you hearing is severely impaired. This is fact.

Protect yourself. Do it properly, don't skimp; don't think your doing a good job by saving pennies. I have had to start looking for a better solution than foam plugs and I have found it. Check out Advanced Communication Solutions on the web, www.hearingprotection.co.uk.

These moulded plugs are approx £160 but they cut db across the whole range. They are expensive but they are good, they work and they protect you. You have to get used to the feel of plugs in your ears and the other band members will take the piss, but you might not be able to play in a band in a few years time if you do not do this properly.

Well, I just had to watch it twice!!!

[quote name='paul, the' post='4128' date='May 22 2007, 01:28 AM']The quote is from the Ebay listing. Reliable source? I think not!

I'll see if I can find the same claim anywhere else.

paul.[/quote]

No problem... scrub that comment. I still think it sounds like JJ but the question is why is Carol Kaye so adamant about this.

[quote name='bass_ferret' post='4029' date='May 21 2007, 11:36 PM']Where did you get that from?[/quote]

Quoted in post #7.....

If you want to zinggg, want to thunder, want clarity and definition, want this all at the same time and want it to last.... you gotta use DR strings.

Motown recorded in Detroit, they recorded in LA, they recorded demos in LA and sent the tapes back to Detroit to be rerecorded, they also sent master tapes from LA to Detroit and JJ overdubbed some bass parts (what a mess!). Carol Kaye may have recorded the original of "I Was Made To Love Her" if it started out as a demo but my guess is that it is JJ on the record. Having said that, these songs were recorded and released more than once for singles, albums, shows etc. Which one is she talking about? If it is true that Stevie Wonder says she was the original bass player then I guess that settles the argument. KO to Carol Kaye.

JJ's sound is unique not because of his equipment but because he was a URB bass player who set up the Precision to approximate the very high action and feel of a URB and he only used one finger to pluck the strings, as URB players do.

Also the Blues Brothers band was the Saturday Night Live house band. The record included Paul Schaeffer and Steve Jordan who didn't make it to the film.

Check out Bobby Vega....... what a groove, and he's only "messing about"!!!

I suppose everyone should own a valve amp, I have, as I started playing when valve was the only option. But I my opinion these days valve is more trouble than its worth.

The worst amp I ever owned was a Boogie 400+, hundreds of expensive valves and always blowing one. OK, so I know that amp had a problem, which was never identified, but you can't accept unreliable equipment. The best amp I owned was a Dynacord BS412, which was solid state and a fabulous sound. The current SVT3 has a valve pre-amp and mosfet power section. That is as far as I'll go on valves now and this seems to be a good combination.

Spend as much as you can, then a bit more. High end bass gear seems to be mosfet these days, Epifani, Markbass, EA, Eden etc. High end hi-fi got rid of valves years ago, until you get to the stupidly expensive stuff. Even if you get a wonderful valve amp you will always Di through a valveless PA system. No one expects to use valves in a PA system do they?

In my opinion it is a myth that valves sound better. They are different, but an average bass and bad technique will affect your sound much more than the amp you play through. If you want to improve your sound put your favourite amp through a good speaker.... in my opinion EV's are the best sounding speaker you can get. A good cab with an EV will really make you go WOW!!

Hi, I'm Chris, living in Kingston upon Thames and have been playing bass for years.

I come from a time when you could name Bill Wyman as an influence (and I do) and people would be impressed! Other influences include John McVie, Duck Dunn and any black American who played bass between 1947 and the present, especially Willie Weeks, Reggie McBride and George Porter Jr. There were a lot of very good white ones as well.

I'm currently playing a Lakland 55-94 and a Wal Mk3 5 string through an Ampeg SVT3, Mesa Boogie 2x10 and Mesa Boogie 1x15 with EV speakers. I'm also using a GK MB150S. I use DR strings.

I'm currently playing with several loud and noisy guitar heroes following in the footsteps of Peter Green, SRV and Jimmy Page. A couple of "classic" pop covers bands and an acoustic duo with a great guitar player.

Oh, and I also use hearing protection from Advanced Communication Solutions Ltd, www.hearingprotection.co.uk.

Cheers