Paul S

Hi All

This is doing my head in. I have played it and played it until even my cat can play it. But not me. I've got all the rest down ok - the verses, chorus, bridge - but that *&*%ing intro always sounds wrong to me.

My best so far is

DD
CC
A#A#
GG
FF
DD
C#C#
B... and into the verseC

Is that right? Sounds awful. Especially the last bit. Is this nature's way of telling me I need to learn to read music/tabs?

Why the hell couldn't they run down from C?!

Ta

I love music, always have. When I was a teenager, back in the early 70s, I bought a series of electric/acoustic 6 sting guitars and messed about for a few years, but never seriously. Then life moved on, all the guitars went.

About 5 years ago reached my mid-40s and got that yearning to do something (you all know how it is, guys). Decided it would be cool to pick up the pieces of the old days again and re-learn an instrument - this time bass. So I bought a cheap Peavey kit, played it every day for a month then it gathered dust in the corner.

About a year ago I decided to get a bit more serious, practiced like mad, bought a better bass and amp, practised some more, auditioned for a few bands, got involved with current lot and have started gigging for the first time in my life at 51. Now got even better kit and practise even more.

Have to say it feels like the small piece of my soul that has been missing all these years has finally dropped into place. I love every second of being involved in making music and playing the bass and would say it is one of the most satisfying things I have ever done.

I know nothing about bass guitars and recently wanted to get a new one - I had no preconceptions, no budget except that I wanted to pay as little as possible. The Squier range seemed, in theory, to be exactly what I was looking for - I really didn't give a toss about what was on the headstock - and that blonde Squier 70s re-issue looked sexy as hell sitting on the rack.

I spent hours and hours playing everything on the wall in PMT music in Southend, which is quite a lot. Various Squier/Fender Pand Jazz - MIM, MIJ, MIA and Jaguar - loads, really.

Maybe I have expensive fingers but the only (Fender-type) guitars that 'felt' right - good tight build quality, heavy duty bling, good tone, playable necks, tone et al, were from mid range Fender upwards. None of the MIM felt good. Some of the MIJ stuff was good. Heck, I bought a MIJ Jaguar. The one that felt most comfortable, but not for me just yet, was the MIA Jazz.

Not one of the Squiers cut it, frankly, and I was really disappointed after everything I had read. Maybe I was just unlucky and they only had 'Friday Afternoon At The End of a sh*tty Week' basses there. But I tried.

Talking about the overdubs etc on Live and Dangerous - I was listening to Scott thingy being interviewed fairly recently (Planet Rock one night?) and he said that 'Southbound' wasn't actually ever part of the live set - they recorded it 'as live' at the venue as a sound check and included it in the album. Didn't know that before, either.

Speaking of which - it might be old hat, in which case I apologise, but just in case there is anyone who doesn't know of this version of 'Don't Believe a Word'? Completely blew me away when I first watched it.

[url="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=COTb93qoeTc"]Don't know how to embed the Youtube thingy so heres a link[/url]

Ok, stand by for the stupidest question anyone ever asked, ever.

Standing 2 x 10 on their side. Ok - I have my Ashdown MAG210 combo... what harm, if any, can it do to stand this on it's side? I mean - is there any reason it was made with 'this side up' type features or is it a case of Ashdown having to arbitrarily opt for making it to stand a certain way and that's it?




There, told you it was stupid.

+1

Saw them at Wembly in 1978 during the tour (but not the actual nights ) when they recorded 'Live and Dangerous'. Lynott was just about the most charismatic frontman I have ever seen live.

[quote name='Apex' post='360064' date='Dec 21 2008, 09:05 AM']Just come across this very informative thread. Your opening post sets out my own situation almost exactly - I have been running a 50W Torque through the PA and am looking to upgrade, but with a bad back weight is a major issue. The Ashdown clearly did the job, but how was it for transport?

Gordon[/quote]

Hi Gordon

Well, being honest the Ashdown isn't [i]that[/i] lightweight at just under 30kgs but it has good solid handles on each side making it easy to pick up and carry if you get into a sensible position - you know, the old squat down with your knees bent, back straight sort of stuff. If you suffer from back problems you'll know what I mean. My old Peavey was much the same weight but only had one handle on the top and that was REALLY bad to carry - puts your body in all sorts of stressful lopsided positions. Plus I use a wheeled dolley thing to move it along the flat which helps.

But I am sure there are lighter units around if it is a problem.

Small private birthday party in a small community hall. Everyone seemed to have a great time, especially us, despite making loads of cock ups. We were called back for a second encore, only planned for one. My second ever gig - I want more!

[quote name='Absolute-beginner' post='354891' date='Dec 15 2008, 11:38 AM']Hi Paul.
Thanks for that, can you let me know how it goes?
Matt[/quote]

Well, the morning after the night before. The Ashdown was great. Great in rehearsal - cut through the noise (rest of the band) really well and gave a great sound. It only seemed to go a little louder but filled the room more, if that makes sense.

For the gig last night the guy sorting out the mixer decided to keep the bass volume low through the PA so the main bass volume came from the combo itself - and it totally held it's own with a small crowd (100+/-) in a small-ish community hall that doubles as a badminton court with extra bits. Had the gain at about 12 o'clock and the output at around 1 o'clock so there was a little bit to go - but I will definately get the extension cab for future gigs. The sound was great, too - my litmus test is when we murder 'All Right Now' - during the guitar solo the bass part was ringing out beautifully on the high notes and low notes.

I should say I don't have experience of playing all sorts of different gear in all sorts of different places and so this endorsement isn't a particularly informed one, but it gave me the sound I wanted at the volume I wanted in the size of venue that I am going to be haunting, so I guess I can't ask any more.

Ok, thanks for that. I bought it new and am due a 'set up' as part of the service - they can deal with it.

Not dangerous, I imagine? (...hope...)

Result!!

Not only do they have a new perspex bit, they have a whole new bridge assembly - saves me a HUGE headache as there was a number of grub screws missing on the adjusters.

Thanks for the suggestion Beer of the Bass. I'll buy you a pint if we ever meet.

Hi All

My Fender Jag makes a quiet but noticeable humming noise when I engage the active circuit - this disappears as soon as I touch a metal part of the bass.

Is this to be expected or should I be alarmed?

Ta.

What the heck - here is one of our band from a month ago - my first ever public performance!
[attachment=17408:1stgig.jpg]

A study in concentration... but with a smile.

One question - should I join in the lb/inch debate?

Hi Tom

Just for an example with pics - when I bought my old Peavey TKO 80 it came with this dolly that the previous owner had knocked up:

[attachment=17405:dolly1.jpg]
[attachment=17406:dolly2.jpg]

The cab sat inside the rebate, making it pretty secure when trundling it along. My new combo sits on top, rather than in, the rebates so I secure it with a luggage strap and that does the biz. nicely. I may fiddle with it to make it fit exactly but in all probablility won't bother - if I were making one from scratch that might be worth doing.

[attachment=17407:dolly3.jpg]

It is actually extremely handy as I have a small cupbaord under my stairs and this means the amp slides gently and easily in and out of a tricky-to-get-to space with no back related issues. Or wife related issues - it stows out of sight rather than in the dining room.

Thanks for that Beer - I'll get in touch with them.

I wouldn't discount a Jaguar either. Well, I didn't because I bought one.

I can add nothing if a techincal nature to this discussion but I was in a position where I needed to buy a bass just a few weeks ago and from a standing start in terms of what I wanted. I basically didn't know. I thought I might want a Fender but had nothing set in stone.

After hours of noodling in the shop with nearly everything they had on the wall it became a playoff between a MIA Jazz and MIJ Jaguar. There was little to separate them in terms of playability - maybe the Jazz was a whisker ahead in build quality but it was also £150-odd more expensive. Not always the main criterion but it does come into play.

The Jaguar took it because of the huge range of sounds it makes - I play in a simple covers band so this is useful. Not everyone's cup of T I know but you can switch for neck only/bridge only/both in series OR in parallel (whatever that means - it sounds different - P-Bass VS Jazz? That's the spin, anyway). Then there is the secret weapon - a very primitive but highly effective active circuit with a 2 band equaliser operated by little rollers and still affected by the master tone knob (despite what you might read). So, as far as I can see (and hear) it has everything, tonally, you (or, at least, I) could wish for - a P-Bass or Jazz sound (arguably... different, anyway), with active boosting if you want it. Add to that a nice skinny Jazz neck and drop dead retro styling and I was smitten. Worth a thought, maybe.

Yup, will do Matt.

This is fascinating. I had assumed that the 1x 15 would be the cab of choice but obviously that was wrong.

Ok so, for the sake of discussion, what about a 4 x 10 cabinet - how would that affect the sound? Or do other issues start to come in here?

Hi Matt

Confusing when it's all new, isn't it! I took the step up from spare bedroom to band about 4 months ago and all this extra kit is doing my head in.

I haven't used the Ashdown in anger yet, only in the shop. I have a rehearsal tomorrow night so should be able to give a more informed reply on Wednesday, especially as I can pitch up an hour or so before the others and, er, fiddle with my knobs in solitude. Then a gig Saturday (can't wait!) so I will get to see how it performs with the DI through the PA.

That said even just playing the 115 and 210 alternately in the shop I preferred the sound of the 210. My back and wallet were shouting at me to get the 115 - which is significantly lighter and cheaper - but in the end my ears settled it. Plus the 210 has a built in compressor. I am not exactly sure of the science behind it - something to do with smoothing out irregularities? - but I DO know that it sounded a whole lot better with that engaged. Maybe that is down to sh*te technqiue, I don't know. But even without it, the 210 sounded better, to me, than the 115. I was playing with a USA Jazz from their Fender wall, incidentally, which plays similarly to my Jaguar when passive. I did also add an extra 115 cab for a while and this is something I will definitely get once my bank balance has recovered as it did make the sound 'fuller' - as you'd expect.

But, then, these things are so subjective. Best advice is repeated from the guys below - go and try it.

I think you are all on the money - deciding by sound must be the bottom line. Being able to switch and swap stuff about might not be practical but I guess is the only way to be truly happy with the sound.

Example was buying the Ashdown combo in the first place. I was highly recommended to go for the 115 version - the idea being that the bigger speaker would sound better with the high output of my Jaguar. When I tried the two side by side - 115 and 210 - the 210 sounded more like what I wanted even though it might have been, technically, wrong.

Incidentally they wheeled out an Ashdown MAG-115 EVO III 300W, reckoning the EVO II is now obsolete (I just looked, the EVO III isn't on the Ashdown website yet!). Smaller, lighter, vinyl finish, chrome corner protectors, cream coloured beading around the grille - no compressor! I didn't like it.

Thought I saw my name being mentioned here ... Hi Kevin.

Yes, I bought the bass and travelled a long way to pick it up because I REALLY wanted it, and for the money considered it to be a steal. Which it was. I fell head over heels for it - a thing of beauty.

[attachment=17198:4040a.jpg]

[attachment=17199:4040b.jpg]

Having lived with it for a while, I still love it to bits. It is a piece of British craftsmanship at it's best - superb build quality instrument that has spolit me getting cheap basses forever.

But... it weighs as much as a bus. The neck is almost as wide as a bus. The bridge is a little flakey - the perspex is starting to crack at the thinnest point where the end of the strings are held and it is going to be difficult to source an original to replace it. The sounds are always going to be very subjective - to my ears it seems very limited in the tones available.

I will keep it and love it forever, occasionally producing it with a flourish to the astonishment of other musicians ('what the f*ck is that?') but will no longer use it as my #1 bass as it is too precious - at least until I can get something sorted with the bridge - and, frankly, harder to play - I feel much more comfortable with the slimmer Jazz style neck.

There is a guy on the Shergold discussion forum who is in the middle of constructing a Shergold double neck from scratch - he is going to have a go a casting a new perspex but for his and, if it works, do one for me too.

[quote name='Musky' post='353779' date='Dec 13 2008, 06:39 PM']Congrats on the new combo!

Yep, any 8 ohm cab will do. You can in fact get away with a lower powered one if you wanted - with the extra cab the MAG will be knocking out about 150w into the internal speakers and 150w into the extension cab.[/quote]

Thanks guys.

Musky - that has confused me, not that it takes much. I thought you got [i]more[/i] Watts if you added the second cabinet, not less.

Or, thinking about it, is it simply maths - 2 x 150W > 1 x 250W?

Anyway, maybe to keep things ssimple the best plan would be to keep my eyes peeled for a second hand MAG 115, if and when I decide to extend. I may not need to but no doubt I'll find out once I've gigged this a few times.

Thanks again.

Yes, that seems to be the concensus on here which is why I felt confident to get one.

On a related note - if the times comes when I want to add the extension 15" cabinet the MAG115 is 300W and 8 ohms. So, stupid question maybe, but will ANY 300W 8 ohm speaker do the trick or is it more complicated?

I voted '3' because, technically, the third one is still a bass.

1 - Fender Jaguar, black, with which I am totally and helplessly in love
2 - Hayman 4040, natural, with which I am also totally and helplessly in love (2 loves, am I just a whore?)
3 - Starter Peavey Milestone II with which I am, er, not. Difficult to play in the loft, I suppose, but - hey - the others might spontaneously combust or something.

Quick edit - the thing on the left says 'no longer a newbie' - how did that happen? I thought I was?