warwickhunt

Why you replacing the speaker? IIRC these came with quite a formidable Black Widow speaker installed (dead easy repairs if they do go wrong), which is a very good driver and matched to the enclosure. Most folks who I know have owned these have NEVER sold them and they've given 15-20 years of service with never a problem... and I agree they are bliddy loud!

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='1065084' date='Dec 20 2010, 08:33 PM']The most important thing to do is to [u]listen to what you are playing[/u]. If you don't do that, everything else is moot.[/quote] ... and listen to what everyone around you is playing!

There's a certain timbre in RT's voice during a part in this song that brings a lump to my throat and the general feel, lyric content, etc. that just gets me.

[quote name='thinman' post='1063963' date='Dec 19 2010, 08:33 PM']Well, you can always buy one of the heads back off me! I've still got one of yours and it's doing a stirling service after a little bit of work. Actually, I'm not sure I would sell it! My Ashdown MAG head sounds yeuch by comparison.[/quote] Typical! Help me out; was that the separate H&K BassBase 250 head, the amp section from the combo, the BassBase 400 or the BassBase 600 (Can you see a pattern)? If it was the combo section I'm well chuffed that the last repair done fixed it... but also a bit miffed! If it was the separate head then I'm equally chuffed that it didn't develop the issues that the combo did. As it happens I needed to use both of my combos when playing with my band so I'd still need to slave the H&K and find the same cab that was part of the combo. Not unachievable but then again it'd be a case of finding something lightweight enough (those H&K combos were a killer weight).

[quote name='Mokl' post='1063860' date='Dec 19 2010, 07:00 PM']Then the phrasing, attack and technique of the payer will surely dominate the tone? In my opinion tone is 80-90% technique. I am pretty crap though lol![/quote] The issue of equipment is more about the 'reproduction' at volume of the player's technique or [i][b]tone[/b][/i].

[quote name='TimR' post='1063823' date='Dec 19 2010, 06:33 PM']I found a nice workable tone several years ago, then my gear became outdated and started to be less reliable and there were lighter options around.[/quote] I went through exactly the same thing several years back. I've been playing bass and gigging for the last 30 years and for the first dozen years or so I used whatever I could beg steal or borrow (well... no actual stealing), then I found that I could afford a decent rig and bought a pair of B stock H&K Bassbase combos which allowed me to achieve what I'd not been able to with previous gear. That does raise the point that I'd been gigging with (IMHO) a substandard reproduction of the sound that I wanted but 'Beggars can't be choosers'! I gigged those combos for about 15 years and they gave me the reproduction of sound that I wanted until... they both seemed to electronically 'implode' and despite my best efforts of throwing money at repair bills, were beyond viable economic repair. [quote name='TimR' post='1063823' date='Dec 19 2010, 06:33 PM']The balance is then how much effort and money should I invest trying to find "My tone" again?[/quote] Well... my inability to find a replacement H&K BB combo lead me on my quest to try and replicate the sound that [u][b]I[/b][/u] wanted and had from my previous gear. Luckily I had more disposable income and subsequently chased my tail to try and recreate that sound BUT like you I also wanted to go light-weight; what a nightmare! It's taken me several years to find what I was looking for and oddly enough I'm recreating it with different size drivers (12's instead of 10's) and no valves in the preamp. So how much effort and money? For me a couple years of buying and selling gear, luckily BC (or one of its previous incarnations) was starting off and I largely bought and sold used stuff on here so it was damage limitation on the cost.

[quote name='lettsguitars' post='1063055' date='Dec 18 2010, 11:04 PM']fenders are big heavy lumps, about 2" thick. i doubt you'd have problems with dive, i'd be more worried about back injury! never fails to shock me whenever i pick up my friends jbass. i'm actually making a tele'esque bass right now that balances perfectly.[/quote] It's not just the weight of parts of the bass (body/neck/headstock+tuners etc) but with tele style basses (and LP for that matter) the positioning of the top/neck strap button has a massive effect on balance. My Bolin (LP single-cut style) overcomes this problem with a swivelling/extending strap arm.

[quote name='GremlinAndy' post='1063204' date='Dec 19 2010, 04:44 AM']I heard from a representative at Zon at the beginning of the week, saying my bass will ship at the end of the week. We're just discussing which courier to use, and I may ask them to hold off until the early New Year now.... but it's imminent! (pauses to touch wood)[/quote] Surely that should be "(pauses to touch graphite)"! Nice one Andy, lets hope the delivery isn't delayed due to weather conditions.

[quote name='TimR' post='1062730' date='Dec 18 2010, 06:24 PM']Buy something that sounds good and concentrate on the notes.[/quote] This one line defeats your whole post! The very fact that you are advocating buying something that 'sounds good' you make a conscious decision to select the equipment that gives you the sound that [u]you[/u] want. Another way of looking at it; if the sound produced by your equipment doesn't matter then we should all use the same equipment and more importantly not complain when we don't like the sound that we get. I'd HATE to play in my band with the same tone as some of the bands that I have seen but you are right that it is personal preference. I'll concede that struggling to get the minutia of nuance right whilst sitting in your bedroom/recording studio, then going down The Dog and Duck on Saturday night with your mates to play covers is a bit pointless. Saying that if it is your hobby and you want to spend your money on it why shouldn't you and in turn it gives you more pleasure.

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='1062621' date='Dec 18 2010, 04:29 PM']Something burnt, probably the inside of a fuse, that won't smell, but will light up real good. Not only must you replace the fuse, but figure why it went in the firstplace.[/quote] Yep, look for the obvious before you start assuming it's terminal/expensive. When you check the fuse, ensure that the one that you take out (if it is that) is the correct rating; I'd assume that Ampeg would have FAQ's section on their site or someone on BC/TB may be able to help. Don't always assume a previous owner would fit the correct one.

[quote name='walbassist' post='1062544' date='Dec 18 2010, 03:13 PM'][/quote] In that case I'll have your EBS chorus and octave to replace my ageing BOSS units!

[quote name='thinman' post='1062558' date='Dec 18 2010, 03:30 PM']By that argument if you were to play Wembley arena you'd need an enormous backline?. Isn't that why PAs are fed with either or both a DI and cab mic to capture the tone? I'm in no way saying everyone should play with a 60w practice combo I'm trying to understand the practical application of having very large rigs of multiple of 4 x 10"s etc[/quote] I'm not arguing or disagreeing with you; I'm simply pointing out that there are countless debates on virtually every bass forum about this speaker v that speaker and the various merits of their respective tone, when in fact if you are playing any venue whereby you are going through the PA then 'your' sound (if part of it is reliant upon the tone of your cab) is compromised because you are then reliant upon the PA speakers to replicate the tone you strove to create... again a massive can of worms if you are reliant upon a PA system recreating your signature tone regardless of mic/DI.

Snow hasn't really hit us here in SE Northumberland; well not this time... yet!

I own a Boss Chorus and Octaver and an EHX Phaser housed in a little Arion case with power-supply but my current gig requires none. Obviously I'm not adverse to using them and certain genres almost make effects a necessity.

[quote name='casapete' post='1062456' date='Dec 18 2010, 01:47 PM']Mine is on (so far). Am in West Yorkshire tomorrow though, so may be a tough one towards the Pennines. We've had it probably the worst over the last few weeks here in East Yorkshire, and have n't missed a gig yet! Been to London and the N.East and made it to them all. (Ironically my local pub gig 5 miles away cancelled us though!) Allow loads of time for travelling, take shovels & warm clothes and flasks etc, drive sensibly and plan your route according to BBC road/weather updates.[/quote] Both WoT and I know of bands that went out in the bad weather in the NE several weeks ago and one of the embarrassments was one band member sliding his car into that of another; that's their band money blown for a few gigs!

I use a rig that is easily manageable for manouvering into smaller pub gigs, that has enough umph to use without PA support and obviously can be dialled back to give me just enough on-stage monitoring if using PA support. However... With regard to the matter of letting the PA replicate your sound - that kind of makes a nonsense of any bassist's argument about the quality of the timbre of the combination of technique/bass/amp/cab; essentially you are eliminating the cab aspect of 'your' sound! I love the sound of my Aggies and though I've been tempted to go down the route of super-lightweight cab, I've not found one that I like the sound of. If I was just monitoring then this aspect of my sound would be redundant and I'd then have to rely on the quality of the PA system to replicate the sound that I want... I've rarely liked the sound of my bass through a PA as much as I do through my cabs! Hmmmm new can of worms.

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='1062439' date='Dec 18 2010, 01:33 PM']As WH says, we've missed out on the 'fun' this time, so my gig at Warkworth, up the Northumbrian coast, is very much on. [/quote] You wouldn't have been wanting to travel to that gig a couple weeks back! Is that a Caffreys gig?

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='1061772' date='Dec 17 2010, 04:43 PM']Well I'll be doing this one tonight and I'll get our resident expert opinion (keys player) because I'd have said D BUT I can see how it could as easily be read as G![/quote] It's in G... 'I' think!

Scotland and the NE had this problem a couple of weeks ago. Many, many gigs cancelled as it really wasn't worth risking life, limb and a hefty car repair bill to do a pub gig; that may seem melodramatic but if your travelling 20-50miles to and from a gig in the Scottish borders (wilderness ) you really don't want to slide your car into a ditch!

[quote name='thinman' post='1062388' date='Dec 18 2010, 12:40 PM']This and other threads have reminded me how amazed I am at the size and power of rigs people have or are considering. I imagine some sound mighty impressive by themselves but do they work well in a band context? In my band we've spent more on the PA with the aim of balancing the sound and keeping the backline volumes within reasonable levels. Drums, bass and a bit of guitar all go throw the PA - it saves a lot of rows and issues about one person drowing out everyone else. Given that the kick drum is often the first to get drowned out these rigs used at volume must necessitate more PA support to balance things? Maybe I'm just suffering from rig envy but I have trouble seeing the need to cart smething the size of my wife's wardrobe around with me![/quote] I hear what you are saying but for many of us the watts may have gone up (i.e. amps are more powerful for a lot less money) but the size of my rig has gone down (speakers are more efficient).