ShergoldSnickers

Harmonics are frequencies generated at whole number multiples of the fundamental frequency. Even order harmonics - 2x, 4x, 6x the fundamental etc - are considered preferable to the ear than odd order harmonics - 3x, 5x, 7x the fundamental etc. Even order harmonics are usually much greater in amplitude than odd order harmonics.

So, multiply the fundamental by these multiples to get the harmonic frequencies. If you do this for every conceivable note that can be played you'll end up with a real tangled jumble of frequencies to consider! Far better to consider broad frequency bands that might want to be boosted or cut. Which is what most tone controls do really, either graphically or via rotary controls.

Generally speaking, most cabinets introduce a boxy colouration that would benefit from a cut in the 200 to 600 Hz region. Some expensive cabs don't, but they are in the minority. Boosting the high mids adds definition, and boosting the low mids adds poke, but in both cases we are boosting harmonic frequencies rather than fundamentals.

Just a though - I reckon that a Rick or a Stingray generates more even order harmonics - or fewer odd order - than say a Precision or a Jazz. I've no way of measuring this - just a hunch.

[quote name='Mrs Tinman' post='107817' date='Dec 21 2007, 07:23 PM']Intelligence, wit and good looks, what more could anyone ask for?

:wub: :wub: :wub:[/quote]
We could hazard a guess Mrs T ...

As I don't have anything recent - the band is not ready for gigging yet - this will have to do. I'm third from the left. !984.
[attachment=4257:Agent_Orange_1.jpg]

Heart of the Sunrise was the first bass part I tried to learn. Result?

Bass Part 1 Me 0
I played at home and lost.

All long, long ago in a bedroom far, far away... well Halifax anyway.

Been using an Eden Nemesis NC115 for the last few months. Easy to get some great sounds and it's luggable. I can lift it with one hand and carry it a reasonable distance before I need to use both hands.

Only ever owned bolt-on, but when I've tried a through neck they felt and played just fine.

Funny this topic came up as I had a dream last night about a neck with inset nuts that catch the bolts as they poke through the body giving a much tighter fit. If the neck needs shimming then slim copper washers are dropped over the bolts. You have firm metal to metal contact at the joint. Bet it's already been done...

What an utterly sad git eh?

[quote name='Old Horse Murphy' post='90706' date='Nov 19 2007, 10:39 AM']If this Riccy plays like any of the other Riccy's I 've had in the past, it's going to be a short love affair. I've never got on with them. However, just to say I owned a Chris Squire for a short period of time is a good thing.

I'm going for a lie down now, but Pics to follow.[/quote]
A Rick is the only other bass I've tried that I did get on with. Twould be boring if we were all made the same... Anyhows, nice work Old Horse and not a little courageous. Right, now where did the wife put her foundation, I can't go around looking green [i]all[/i] day.

That really is a luscious bass. I have a thing for black basses... :wub:

Couple of tips: Now that it's set up, tighten all the screws on the bridge, including machine head/headstock ones and where the neck joins the body. Don't overtighten though

"How do I know when I've gone far enough or too far on the tightening?"

When you are using both hands on the screwdriver and you can't get any more grip on the floor - that's too far. Just keep gently nipping the screws a tiny bit at a time until they won't readily budge any more. All this tightening should prevent some of the loss of mechanical energy wasted in flexing loose joints etc, rather than sustaining the note.

Get a Badass bridge on it, as Simon1964 suggests. This will further increase the sustain and the ease with which you grin whilst playing.

Third tip (alright I can't count...), speak to Andy at [url="http://www.wizardpickups.co.uk/shop.asp?category=Bass"]Wizard Pickups[/url]. Those pickups he sells are just,.... just.... errrr.... thesaurus-worthy.

Keep the old stuff so if the need arises you can sell the bass as original.

Edit: silly typo

I used to have a 1981 100W Super Bass II, coupled with a Fender Dual Showman 2 x 15 cab. I was slightly disappointed by the power output and the inability to get really good fundamental bass notes out of it, but that was more to do with the fact that I was p*ss poor at that stage and bought the cab second-hand without any drivers in it, and I could only afford to get a couple of cheapish 15'' drivers in there (Baker C15s if my memory is correct). I don't think they did it justice. The tonal variation was limited and crude however, no matter which cab you were driving. Not overly impressed. This was over 25 years ago so don't take this as an indication of what Marshall are doing now!

A friend of mine did a cabinet making course to start with, getting used to working with different woods and tools. As the intricacy of the work increased, doing inlays etc, he realised that building basses would be feasible. He was taught by an elderly gentleman who'd been in the trade for donkeys years and knew all the tricks and techniques. The course was at a local college. Worth a look I'd say.

[quote name='stingrayfan' post='85959' date='Nov 9 2007, 02:31 PM']2. Stanley Clarke - see above. 'School Days'? I'd rather be in detention.[/quote]
His upright bass playing is a bit more considered, but even that's difficult to listen to now.

I bought the one Old Horse Murphy sold a while back. Fantastic. Compression without that awful frequency constriction breathing that some others give. Transparent, subtle and useful. I'm not a pedal person really, but I took a chance and this one won me over.

Now on the dreaded 'Bay. :ph34r: Thanks to Higgie and everyone who looked.

Higgie - another PM sent.

Higgie - PM sent.

[quote name='tayste_2000' post='67501' date='Sep 29 2007, 09:21 PM']That is in amazing condition for a CE-1 and thats a pretty decent price as well.

For the guitarists out there this is the Andy Summers chorus/vibe sound.

Good luck with the sale[/quote]
Thanks tayste! I'd sooner have it go via Basschat if possible, although it's really a guitar orientated pedal, it can sound stunning with a bass. This was recorded in the 80s - on a 4 track cassette I hasten to add. It's just the last dying moments of a track where I got a few moments glory, but it shows both the chorus and vibrato off nicely.

[url="http://homepage.mac.com/ianhalstead/Sites/Basschat/BossChorus.mp3"]Victim, by Sign Language[/url]

Edit: I'd put vibtato instead of vibrato.

"This is the first item in the start of the Ann Summers vegetable range - the Vibtato...."

[quote name='lwtait' post='67255' date='Sep 29 2007, 08:11 AM']I'm just starting to learn fretless and so far I'm transferring things like Red Hot Chili Peppers onto it. Are there any songs that are worth me listening to and then learning to play specifically to improve my fretless playing? What sort of stuff do all of the other fretless players out there play?[/quote]
The band I'm in - Desperate Din - play lots of improvised stuff so it's not tunes as such. Really. If you can spot a tune you're doing well. And so are we.

Bassists I'd listen to would be Mick Karn, Percy Jones, John Giblin, Eberhard Weber, and Jaco of course. There are others, but that lot have found something that instantly makes them recognisable and fairly unique.

I've decided to let you esteemed Basschat members have first crack at this one. OK, the specs:

UK model, the usual stereo/mono output, and everything is working, though the input level control pot is slightly crackly on sweeping it round. It has been gigged in the past and suffers the usual scuffs, scratches and paint wear. Not quite pristine I'll grant you! It is effectively two effects in one, a chorus - warm and rich - as well as a vibrato that actually works.

A bit of a legend apparently, with examples on eBay going for $450 over the last year. I'll let it go for £200 as I'm not using it, being in a naked sound phase at the moment.

I'll arrange special delivery to the buyer (there's optimism for you ), and charge at no extra cost.

Oh 'eck.

Just finshed listening back to some recordings I did in the 80s and 90s. It's the "How in god's name did I play that?" moment writ large and multiplied.

[quote name='Old Horse Murphy' post='62248' date='Sep 18 2007, 05:54 PM']I adore these 2. Gives me goosebumps every time

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23bRZL_55ok"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23bRZL_55ok[/url][/quote]
Couldn't agree more. Musicality oozes from every pore.

I had a jumper knitted for me with a design that matched how the bass hangs on its strap. Same colours, same position. Take the bass off and it looked like part of it had been left behind. It got nicked at a Red Guitars gig in Hull in the 80s. Grrrr.

[quote name='beerdragon' post='56155' date='Sep 5 2007, 06:45 PM']Not sure i like this, belonging to the Beastie boys.

[url="http://imageshack.us"][/url][/quote]
Evil thought: That cab could be 're-arranged' nicely with one of those paint stripper air guns.

[quote name='Simon' post='50618' date='Aug 25 2007, 05:21 PM']I hear ya. But Pro Tools really is that much better than everything else imo. To be honest, I don't think the top studios and the top recording engineers would use it if it wasn't the best.[/quote]
Time to do some research methinks. It's just about the only 'pro' recording software I haven't used in any depth on the Mac. This will have to be put right.

As for headphones, Grado make some stunningly revealing ones at relatively sensible money*. I use a pair of SR125s as a final check on instrument character and fine tuning. I'd hesitate to use them solely for mixdown, but I think I could still get some fantastic results.

* the most expensive pair are £900+ though Nearer the bottom of the range, the SR80s are about £80. I've heard dozens of headphones and Grados beat the lot. They are an open design, so the sound leakage may be a problem when also using them for monitoring in a quiet recording situation.

[quote name='Simon' post='50515' date='Aug 25 2007, 10:37 AM']Yes. I don't believe you will find a professional studio without it.

If there's one piece of audio software to learn, make it Pro Tools imho.[/quote]
I can see your point, but the world is littered with software that is 'standard' and really shouldn't be. Microsoft Office, AutoCAD, DreamWeaver, Windows even! These standards are often adopted out of fear of being different, not because they are necessarily any good.

Having said that, I've only limited experience of ProTools, so I wouldn't like to cast aspersions at it. I just automatically question anything that is a 'standard'. It can be a revelation to discover something else that isn't a standard and yet does the job far more efficiently. Examples:-

Windows -> MacOS
DreamWeaver -> Freeway
AutoCad -> VectorWorks

It would make a nice change to have ProTools as one standard that actually deserved the name.

Of course there is a personal element to this, what suits me doesn't always suit others.

[quote name='metalmaniac' post='50319' date='Aug 24 2007, 05:53 PM']I havent got round to getting a USB or whatever input yet.. Ive heard some have latency issues etc..[/quote]
Latency shouldn't be a problem with any device that enables you to monitor the input signal before it's digitised. I usually mix some of this in with some of the processed signal, so I get a firm idea of both the timing and the sound. I have a Tascam US-122 (USB) that's more than adequate for feeding Garageband, but when it's replaced I'll go for a FireWire box, something like a Focusrite Saffire.

If you've got a fretless bass, try the Garageband 'Tight Acoustic Bass' treatment on it, rolling some of the low bass end off. If I could get that in a pedal... :wub: