Count Bassy

[quote name='BigBeefChief' post='151726' date='Mar 5 2008, 01:57 PM']As long as these people don't complain when a music shop shuts down, then I'm not really bothered either way.[/quote] That strikes a chord - our nearest music shop has just announced that it's closing afer 35 years, quoting internet competition as the main cause. It never really had any bass stuff, but had a lot of sheet music and tutor books which my wife (piano/Sax teacher) used to buy regularly, along with sax reeds etc, and guitar strings for my daughter. Also used to give her a 10% discount as a teacher. So now its a drive to Northampton (18 miles) and trying to find a sensible parking place etc etc, or resort to the net ourselves and thus accelerate the next shop closure! As they say, 'use it or loose it' - it's not just a cliche. Clive.

Would that drummer be the Ray Laidlaw of Lindisfarne fame? Talking of which, nice to see several of their tunes in the set list. One of my favorite bands of the time. Clive

Well (refering to the original post) it might lack something in the execution, but as an idea it seemed good to me. Far more interesting and musical than a lot of high speed slapping (for example). Clive

[quote name='alexclaber' post='146653' date='Feb 25 2008, 03:30 PM']Except in the instrument data window they have a photo of an electric bass guitar and an electric guitar, Alex[/quote] Ah, I stand corrected - I didn't even notice that panel on the right hand side, just went on the fact that the all the other instruments tended to be orchestral in nature. That'll teach me to read it all before commenting. Clive.

I'll have the musicmaster if you don't want it. I like a short scale, me. Clive.

[quote name='SJA' post='145063' date='Feb 22 2008, 02:10 PM']so the harmonics for guitar and bass peter out at about the same freq- around 5k?[/quote] And [quote name='Happy Jack' post='146336' date='Feb 25 2008, 08:14 AM']That is a fabulous piece of work. Thanks Alex. Just to confirm, do the descriptions 'guitar' and 'bass' in that chart apply equally to acoustic and to electric?[/quote] I think we should be careful here. Going by the rest of the instruments listed I would have assumed that they are talking double bass and classical guitar, and Im pretty sure that the harmonic content of these would be quite different to a bass and electric guitars. Clive

Keep the Bongo, buy a jig saw and a pot of paint. Clive

I Morris danced at Ken Clarke's daughter's wedding. Now I'd always had him down as a real ale man, but it was john smith's fizzy pop or something similar at the wedding do. Very strange. No wonder he never got to lead the Conservatives! Clive

[quote name='OldGit' post='135430' date='Feb 7 2008, 12:23 AM']And they say people don't "get" irony these days My brief to Jon was "62p bass with 5 strings please.. oh, and can it sound like the JJ Burnel one you make and have a bunch of oher features" but the 62 p was the starting point.[/quote] Sorry OG, the irony was lost on me. I just assumed it was yet another person having a dig at Fender, which seems to be the thing to do these days. Clive.

[quote name='OldGit' post='134845' date='Feb 6 2008, 09:17 AM']New for 2008, the American Standard Precision Bass® V Shuker P5 copy ..... It's a fret short, the pickup's on upside down and there's no LED's but, goodness, if this had been available a few years ago (at US prices!) I'd probably not have my Shuker 5 string P .. They have even used nice string trees like mine rather than that unsightly bar they use on the Jazz, and ... there's no extra J pickup to spoil things as on the earlier Fender P5 Just £600 in the US ... Fender Shuker [url="http://www.fender.com/products//search.php?partno=0190560700"]P5 on the Fender Website[/url] [url="http://www.samash.com/catalog/showitem.asp?ItemPos=3&TempID=4&STRID=20449&Method=0&CategoryID=0&BrandID=0&PriceRangeID=0&PageNum=0&DepartmentID=0&pagesize=10&SortMethod=2&SearchPhrase=&Contains=&Search_Type=GROUP&GroupCode=2008%5FAmerican%5FStd%5FBass"]Sam Ash page Just $1200[/url] [url="http://www.dv247.com/invt/48144/"]DV247 page - Just £1200[/url] [/quote] To be fair to Fender, it looks to me like the Shuker design owes more than a little to the original fender designs of 40 years or so ago!, so no one could really complain at Fender borrowing a few ideas back! Clive

[quote name='tauzero' post='133098' date='Feb 3 2008, 04:05 PM']Obviously a psychiatrist would be the best person to ask about this. As none was at hand, we asked Clement Freud to speak for a minute on the subject of Gear Acquisition Syndrome: "Gear Acquisition Syndrome, or GAS, is, according to Grandfather Sigmund, a form of kleptomania. The sufferer feels a compulsion to own a piece of equipment, be it an instrument, an amplifier, a speaker, or an effects unit. This feeling is not extended to the point of outright theft, however, and legitimate means of acquisition are pursued. The drive behind GAS is, in fact" Bzzzzzzz! Paul Merton has challenged. Paul? "He repeated GAS." That is a correct challenge. Paul Merton, you have fifteen seconds on the subject of Gear Acquisition Syndrome. "I remember once acquiring a gear. When I started driving I had a Mini, which I later replaced with a Maxi, which had five gears instead of four, so I had acquired a gear. Some Formula One drivers have taken this to the extreme, with seven gears in their" And there goes the whistle to mark the end of the minute.[/quote] Clive: Bzzzzzzz! Repetition of 'gears', Nicolas. Nicolas: Of course you are correct Clive, but the whistle had already sounded indicating that the minute was up. Clive: Can I have bonus point anyway, Nicolas? Nicolas: Eff off - you can't even spell my name correctly! Clive

I have an Suzuki classical guitar that I bought when I was 16. 34 years ago! Clive

[quote name='crez5150' post='129463' date='Jan 28 2008, 06:04 PM']Be careful as a lot of wireless systems do not support Dynamic mics..... if you need info on Sennheiser systems let me know as I am an employee. cheers Jay[/quote] That suprises me Jay, but I'll take your word for it. Is it a problem with the impedance/output level, or do they have a non switchoffable phantom supply. Good job I've never tried the E608 into a wireless system, or I may have learned the expensive way. Clive.

My wife uses an E608 on her Saxes, and its a brilliant bit of kit. Its a dynamic mic, so doesn't need a power supply, so it should work with any wireless system with an XLR input, or jack input if you have the correct adaptors/converters. Make sure that any phantom power supply is turned off. Clive

[quote name='7string' post='127966' date='Jan 25 2008, 07:06 PM']I've got a Fender Urge Mk1. 32" scale and I love the thing !! It's in Burgundy Mist, NOT PINK [/quote] Me too, I've got a Mexican in a Turquoise/bluey colour (just the two Jazz pickups, not strung through, less versatile electrics) and the US one in black. I love them both. In fact I was in a couple of music shops in Northampton at the week end and decided to try out a few basses. I tried out a classic Fender Jazz, a Precision, and a Jaguar (all 34"), and I've got to say I wouldn't have swapped either of my Urges for any of them. Not only do I like the scale on the Urges, but I also like the small body. The Urges aren't perfect however (what is?): Ideally I would the outer strings a little further in from the edge of the fret board, but this would mean a new bridge and nut. Also, on the US one I would like a bit more difference between the sound of the P pickup and an equal combination of the two J pups. Also the US one goes a bit thin when I drop D tune it (the mex one doesn't, so it might just be a string issue). I also have my first ever bass, with a 31.5" scale, which I built for myself about 30 years ago. This has a single piece utile body and a set sapele neck with a rosewood fretboard. It has a really dark sound compared to the Urges, and the E detunes to a D, or even a C without losing tone, but to be honest I don't play it much since getting the urges. 7string, is yours the one that was on E-bay about 10 months ago - I remember the distinctive colour? Clive

Thanks for your thoughts Mottle. I'm considering my options but will get back to you if I decide to go that way. You've also explained why I could find reference to it in other threads - I was spelling it wrong (ie Rocket, not Rock-it). I've now done a search for "rock-it" and see that it has indeed been discussed several times, so I'll refer to those threads for further info! Thanks again Clive.

I'm sure I've seen these discussed in a thread before, but a search for rocket did not reveal it (perhaps it was on bass world). Anyway, I'm doing a lot of traveling and spending nights away from home at the moment, so am looking for something portable (ie fits inside the bass case) to go between my bass and the headphones, preferably battery powered. The Pocket Rocket is one that springs to mind, but a few reviews on the 'interweb' mention excessive hissing. Does anyone have experience of these or equivalent devices, and if so what are your thoughts/recommendations? Thanks in advance people, Clive.

If I getv to it I will be bringing my Fender Urge Mk1. Clive

I've not been to one of these Bass bashes, but Northampton is close for me and I might give it a try. What exactly goes on? Is it aimed a a particular level (i.e Will I feel a complete plonker because I'm not particularly good?) Clive.

[quote name='Musky' post='121112' date='Jan 15 2008, 08:48 PM'][url="http://jeanoroid.com/danogirls.jpg"]http://jeanoroid.com/danogirls.jpg[/url] [/quote] Typical women though - all guitar and no bass! Clive

Yes, Happy Jack is right of course, it all depends on your aptitude and previous experience. Personally I don't believe that there's any secret magic to setting up a giutar. Its really a case of doing stuff in a logical order and very carefully. But: If you don't know the logical order, or if you don't feel confident/competent to do it, then get someone else to do it. HappyJack, where can I get a full size (or life size!!) copy of your avatar? Clive

If I'd answered last week I'd have had to say that "No I'm not in a band", and that I was finding it incredibly frustrating. This week, I can happily say that the old band has got back together, and that I'm very happy about it! My new years resolution was to start or join a band as soon as possible, and lo and behold, last Friday night we were all up the pub at the same time (first time since the last gig) and it seemed that we were all missing it - even the singer, who was the main reason for it stopping in the first place!. We had a practise on Saturday night and it all just slotted back together. Brilliant!! We're not aiming for anything big, perhaps just 3 or 4 local gigs in a year, and a regular once a week practise, but it gives you something to aim for. Our last gig was back in June, and I've got to say that practising and playing on my own, without any particular target was just not the same. I'd be playing along thinking (occassionally) "oooh , that sounded good", but then I'd think "what's the effing point?". Clive.

Is the action still very high, even after you've taken the bow out of the neck with the truss rod? If straightening out the neck has bought the action down then you may need to raise the action again. Remember to leave some relief in neck, and definitely don't have the neck bending backwards. Having said that, it sounds as if either your 2nd and 6th frets are very worn, or, more likely, your 3rd and 7th frets are high. Fret it at the 3rd fret and see what clearance there is between the string and the 4th fret. Then fret it it the 2nd fret and see what the clearance at the 3rd fret is. The two clearances should be about the same. Similarly for the 6th and 7th frets. If you have got high frets, and as long as the slot is deep enough, then you might be able to tap them down with a hammer, BUT! using a bit of wood. Don't hammer on the frets directly. Hope this helps with the diagnosis, if not the cure. Clive.

I managed to listen through it all, but it was difficult. Wonderful technique no doubt, but, apart from one or two moments in the middle, pretty un-musical. I'm sure there are far more musical things that can be done on a solo bass guitar, but as has been said, perhaps someone asked him to 'do that really fast slapping thing'. I'm not questioning his right to do this, just stating that it does nothing for me personally. If I had that much skill on a bass I don't think I'd choose to do that. On the plus side if he were to do this as solo in a band situation it would give the band and audience a chance to go to the bog/bar. Clive.

Excuse my ignorance, but can someone tell me what a compressor actually does? I have one built in on my combo (Marshall B65), but acoustically it seems to make very little difference. Thanks Clive