SumOne

I think I wouldn't mind that 'what you see is what you get' too much if it kept to that - but I assume that as it has presets and programming, each time you go to a new preset potentially none of the controls are actually in the positions where they are physically set, which I think could get really confusing. I suppose you could never change presets though and that'd solve that.

£345 from Andertons and GAK etc. I suppose it fills a niche, it is good to have physical controls, it looks tough, and the DI XLR could be useful. Not for me though, I think things have moved on from these sort of designs - something like the Boss GX 100 (£449 from Bax) gives a whole lot more control/editability in a similar sized and priced unit.

Yeah, as others have said: I'd prefer stage left. To be the same side as the snare & hi-hat, and it means the Bass headstock is pointing away from bandmates that could knock into it, and away from the crash cymbal.

Yeah, but not available for a couple of months. I wouldn't be suprised if the price goes up once in stock - I've seen shops do that before. It dissuades you buying from elsewhere in the meantime. And I think for the sake of £50 it might be worth avoiding international shipments with customs checks, my last Thomann delivery took about 2 weeks to arrive.

Arrived! First impressions are good. Sounds good. lightweight at 3.64kg (although I think my Ibanez EHB 1005 MS was even lighter at 3.4kg). Perfectly balanced (can sit with it on the lap and take hands away and it'll stay in position). Low action without fret buzz, no noticable things like dead spots and the strings all feel part of one instrument (I've had 5 strings where the B feels quite separate). Nice neck - satin rather than glossy, quite shallow but quite wide, some might find it a bit too wide but I like it (19mm string spacing and a bit more space on the edges than some fretboards give) Nice colours, it's a dark purple on the backk and there's more purple blending through on the front than pictures pick up (it is matte that seems that it'll scratch and dent easily though). Seems decent quality control throughout. Decent gig bag (weak point being a bit of a flimsy feeling zip). If I was being picky (which I am!) One thing I'd check if you're getting one: The bridge saddle for the G is pretty much as far forward as it can possibly go (less than 1mm forward movement left), so very little room for manouver if it needed going further forward for intonation. But that isn't an issue on mine as all the strings are intonating correctly without me adjusting anything. There seems to be no tone control in Passive mode. It'd be good if the volume and pickup blend knobs had white position markers on them (like the EQ knobs have). I would prefer more rounded edges where your forearm meets the Bass body. I'd prefer EQ with sweepable mids like on the Ibanez EHB or at least being able to internally switch different EQ points like Lakland do (perhaps there are internal switches for this - I haven't checked yet). Those plastic covers for the Battery that lots of manufacturers use seem like they're from a cheap toy, they could at least be flush with the back, I think I was spoiled with the Digwall system for that though. But these are picky/personal preferance things and comparing with Basses double or 3x the cost. Overall, it seems a great Bass, especially for the money. But even if money wasn't an issue, I think it gives the Ibanez EHB series a good run f

I've sold via commission through them before, and once it sells there is something like a 2 week wait until you get paid in-case their buyer returns it. So I assume they offer buyers returns/refunds easily enough if something is wrong.

Yeah perhaps it is from a different email and that's the issue, the ones I've received are automated from [email protected]

I've just bought a Bass from them and quickly received a series of emails (order received, order complete, feedback request) to my Hotmail account, no problem (but they do automatically go to Junk mail until marked as 'not Junk'). And the Bass I bought pretty much immediately then changed status on their website from 'available' to 'preorder now'. I also phoned up earlier and got a quick answer and helpful response.

Bass Direct just received a Green one which I've just purchased (perhaps a bit rashly!, I almost always like to try a Bass first, and usually go second hand). My Bass maths to justify it is that I've got a Jazz up for sale which should sell for more than the Cort, so it's not a cost - it's a saving! Exciting times. Now the waiting game (which I hope is quite a short game - next day delivery). Will report back. Edit: After I'd bought from Bass Direct I had been speaking to Guitar Guitar and they mentioned they price match. Bass Direct are now sold out of the Cort Space for the time being (£699) but Guitar Guitar have them in stock for £749, so you might be able to get £50 knocked off that price, although perhaps they only do it if other shops have them in stock and available to buy there and then. Thomann have them listed for £655 but not in stock for months - I've noticed a tactic is sometimes with long wait times they have a lower price while it's not in stock to keep you hanging on and not buying elsewhere, and then when it is in stock they put the price up. Another Edit: Grrr Parcelf*cks! 'Unable to locate address' It's a residential street with nothing out of the ordinary, the house shows up on google maps etc. No attempt to call me to try and find the address if that's really the issue, just an automated 'not happening today' which makes me think the driver just can't be bothered. And Parcelforce customer service app/call seems almost designed to wind up customers, but at least I could confirm that the correct address is on the package, so it is slackness from their side.

I've just been mucking about on my Yamaha RBX 765A which has been sitting in a case as a backup Bass for a long time and after only playing 4 string for about 6 months I'd forgotten how it isn't just about efficiency or the lower notes - it can also be more interesting to play a 5 even if you don't need anything below a low E. Right now I'm playing 'Baggy Trousers' and forgot it can be a lot more efficient if using the B string just for the E#, but can also use other positions going up the B string for a different tone to mix it up as the song progresses, or can go back to the 4 string frets (useful for parts like the octave jumps at the end). It opens up a lot of fretboard options, different patterns, and different tones regardless of going below the low E or being efficient. I've also just realised that certain songs where I got used to thinking it didn't matter to go lower (like the low D in 'Proud Mary' played an octave up instead), actually I now think that single low note is worth having (and without having to drop tune and change the fretting positions/muscle memory). I am fickle with these things, but I've put my 4 string Jazz up for sale and am getting another 5 (Cort Space), as it feels that while 4 strings will get the job done, 5 is more interesting to play. I do think if playing rock/metal with a plectrum then 4 might be better if you don't need the lower notes (which you do need for a lot of metal) as the muting is that bit easier, hence why a lot of guitarists that also play Bass tend to play 4 strings.

Friends/family/colleagues feign interest out of politeness. To pressure them and then get offended that they aren't being more supportive is a bit egotistical. Why should they care? If I wrote a Gothic Horror novel, I wouldn't expect my cousins/aunties/colleagues/long lost school friends to be the target audience and the ones that should support and be the deciding factor to make or break it. I'd send it to appropriate publishers, if they thought it was good enough to be profitable they'd promote it to the small % of the population that enjoy Gothic horror. I don't really see music as something all that different. I'd promote my Ambient Dub Techno album via appropriate social media pages for fans of that music, record labels, radio shows, DJs, clubs etc. they are the target audience who make or break it, I wouldn't pressure my Auntie Dorris to 'like' and listen and come to gigs.

I've gone right off any serious promotion to friends/family on Facebook. Friends I haven't seen for 10 years and my 80 year old auntie aren't gonna go 100 miles to a pub to watch me play ska covers! I feel that hassling them is just a few steps away from selling tupperware to friends and neighbours. Still though, I do a bit of 'playing at the Red Lion of Friday, head along if you're out and about'. There is a band Facebook and Instagram page that people can choose to follow (and mute) which does the more pushy advertising.

Yeah, 'New chapter of dub' is a great album.

Version excursion! Original: Aswad, Love Fire Aswad, Dub Fire Dennis Brown, Promise Land Damian Marley & Nas, Land of Promise

I've encountered this before from guitarists saying 'can you drop down a semitone' or 'you need to pay in drop D' (while I play a 5 string). I'm not convinced they know what they are talking about! Can play that low D on a 5 string,what do they care about how I fret it?! And is a low A# or lower really needed? I mean, almost all Reggae and Dub is with standard tuned 4 string down to low E and that sounds like plenty of low end - it's about the EQ and volume and giving Bass the space rather than playing inaudible rumble. And there are always alternative notes (like a third or fifth up). But anyway. Yeah, I've found multi fx best at detuning just by a set amount like a semitone if it really is needed (but I'm yet to find a situation where it really is needed).

Yeah, they do say 'apart from vintage fuzz and wah' and I guess it depends on how much overdrive before it steps into that territory, and they are talking about compression as an effect. Personally, I don't use much compression at all unless I'm playing a clean sound, then it can be good subtlety, or as a noticeable squish effect. But if I use effects I'll put more like a Limiter with a high threshold at the end - just in case there's something like an overly 'peaky' envelope filter that needs taming. I think, @garry warrington, you might want a compressor with clean blend, or change the compression settings lower, or if you are using the Beta with a lot of overdrive perhaps you don't need a compressor at all (as it'll be compressing your signal anyway). The Beta does tend to be quite muddy sounding.

This from Origin Effects website: "... where do you place the compressor in your signal chain? The Official Textbook of Pedal Placement™ states that, apart from vintage fuzz and wah, compression should always be first in the chain. For typical guitar use – that is to say, using your compressor as an obvious effect – we certainly agree. Compression reduces the dynamic range of your signal, squashing the peaks and preventing any notes from jumping uncomfortably out of the mix. For clean sounds, like those used by Funk or Country players, this is just what you want – a nice, even clean tone without slicing anyone’s heads off. If this is how you like to use your compressor, it will work best first in the chain. This is partly because the next pedal is likely to be an overdrive. Overdrive will also dramatically affect the dynamics of your signal, clipping the peaks and eliminating any difference between loud and quiet notes. As such, placing a compressor after your drive would not allow you to bring out all the snappy, funky bits of your playing – your overdrive has got rid of them all already!"

I'd put the compressor before overdrive.

I think, in the example of a Dog knowing how to walk, the point is that a Dog doesn't formally study the theory of how it is creating movement and it can't explain about energy and muscle groups and the physics of gravity and movement. It has learned by doing. Sure, it is useful for some people to formally study these things in-depth and knowledge is always a good thing, but you don't usually need to study in that level of detail to achieve your objective. It's semantics whether the Dog knows the theory of walking or not, but in science a Theory is quite a specific formal thing "supported by evidence: a principle formed as an attempt to explain things that have already been substantiated by data." You can apply Laws of Motion & Gravity and conservation of Energy and the Theory of General Relativity and use data and evidence to explain how the Dog walks, but generally speaking - in scientific terms, you wouldn't say the Dog understands the theory of what it's doing - it doesn't comprehend how it works, just that it works. In the same way, to play (or write) 'Creep' you don't need to know if chords are Secondary Dominant or Chromatic Mediant. In all likelihood, Radiohead didn't know in-depth theory of it, they listened to the Pixies and Bowie songs with the chord progressions and learned by doing, and they in turn had listened to the Elvis song that had used it, and that was influenced by the Ink Spots, who listened to the Shep Fields song - who probably heard it somewhere else. I wouldn't be suprised if none of them (and whoever originally did it) knew or spent time considering the theory of whether they are using a Secondary Dominant or Chromatic Mediant, they noodled about and made a chord a minor and thought it sounded good. Personally though, I'd say some formal understanding of music theory goes a long way and is pretty much essential, it makes playing a lot easier if you know something about timings, notes, chords, triads etc, you could figure it all out by listening/doing but you'd save yourself a lot of time and effort to just do a bit of formal learning. But for me, when it comes to more advanced music theory, learning about things like the difference between Secondary Dominant and Chromatic Mediant, personally, I think my time is better spent playing with bands and listeing to music to learn by doing. I don't think that's snobbery, I think most of those artists that recorded songs with that chord progression would probably say the same thing.

I know this gets into silly semantic stuff, but for sake of Internet argument: A Dog can walk, but it doesn't know what muscles, joints nerves etc are used or the physics of gravity, acceleration, momentum etc. Could we say the Dog knows the theory of walking because it knows how to do it? I can play 'Creep' and understand it sounds right, but couldn't explain the theory like the video on the first page. Can I claim to understand the music theory though?