4-string-thing

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1363439268' post='2012704'] Good luck with [b][i]all[/i][/b] of that [/quote] Cheers, I'll let you know how it goes!

I have the single piezo version of this, £25 off the bay, and it was a bit too thick to fit all he way in to the wing at first, but I wedged it in and tried it. Result, a weak output and not too inspiring, but after filing the bridge for a few minutes and getting the unit to slide fully between the wing and the bridge it was a lot better. I used it on the bass side. It was a good tight fit and no shims were needed. I bought an ART tube preamp last week and although I don't have a bass to use it with (after the little accident) the ART sounds really good with my acoustic guitar (piezo, no onboard preamp) So when I pick up my new bass tomorrow it will hopefully add the magic required. The new bass already has a pickup fitted, but I'm not sure what it is. I'm looking forward to using it at rehearsal tomorrow night, new band, new bass..... Talk about in at the deep end!

Or, if you only need a small amount, ask a local electrician if he has a couple of feet of catinary wire he would let you have.

[quote name='gjones' timestamp='1363372777' post='2012078'] I'm Scottish and I like my Irn Bru and shortbread but surely only Donnie Munro's mum can listen to a Runrig CD all the way through. [/quote] And one of my ex bandmates, who isn't Scottish!

I got a cheap wing type on ebay, and at first was not impressed, but once fitted properly (after a bit of careful filing) things improved no end! Sadly, I didn't get to try it with my other ebay purchase, an ART tube MP project preamp which sounds really good with my acoustic guitar.... But as some on here said, it might be worth going down the cheap and cheeful route first, you can spend a lot ofmoney and still sound rubbish!

I wasn't especially attached to it, it was a G4M that I'd only owned a few months, so most people would regard it as bass-shaped firewood. When I said "damaged beyond repair" I should have said "beyond economical repair" As it only cost me £120 in the first place. I would imagine repairing the several cracks in the scroll and re-attaching it, would be a lot more than that! It just wasn't worth spending the money on, in my eyes..... There are a couple of potential replacements out there, and I'm hoping to have a new bass within a short time. I've also stripped the bass down and will be putting the parts on ebay (and here) to recoup some of the cost. The strings were D'Addario and cost about £120, I was told. I'll see what comes on the new bass and maybe swap them.

I'm back on the prowl for another cheap bass, due to an accident with an unstable stand, an even more unstable mother and a wall... Long story, but basically my bass was knocked off it's stand and the scroll hit the wall, hard, by the look of it. It's damaged beyond repair. I'm gutted, but have decided that as I liked playing it so much and my new band sort of expect me to play upright, that I'm after another. If anyone has, or knows of a bass going cheap, you know where to find me....

I have no idea either Pete, but it seems pretty much essential to have something to match a piezo to an amp. A cheap preamp seemed ideal, we shall see. . .

I can't believe 4stringfortress let it go so cheaply, so it's a big thanks to him really. I know the G4M basses are probably bottom of the DB ladder, but for what I want, it's ideal!

It's "carved" according to the G4M website.... carved by whom and with what, is up for debate! But it looks like a DB, seems ok to play, for a relative newcomer like me at least and has cost me just over £200 including the ART MP Project Series preamp I've just won on ebay for £20! Happy days!

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1362337370' post='1998606'] Sounds like a bargain that g4m bass, I never get deals like that! [/quote] I got it off 4stringfortress for £120 plus the petrol money from Leicester to Cardiff.... Including gig bag and stand! I left him the hard case to sell seperately, he would have given me that too if I could have got the lot in my car!

[quote name='zero9' timestamp='1362331446' post='1998486'] Don't go spending good money on a different amp, it won't improve the sound as much as you think. Only amps designed specifically for DB/acoustic instruments will be an improvement (but only if the instrument is set up properly to start). The quality of the DB setup and the piezo / pickup / mic system is paramount., that's where you should invest imo. [/quote] I guess so, but I'm only dabbling at the moment. It's a cheap G4M bass, "carved front" and a cheap piezo. The whole thing has only cost me about £150 so far, and tbh I don't want to spend much more. I got the bass for the price of the strings that were fitted (d'addario) and although the action is high, I find it quite playable. I may look into taking the bridge off and lowering it though. I'm wondering if a cheap valve mic preamp like the ART or Behringer will improve things enough to use it for gigs? I'm not after hi fi quality, just decent volume and a half decent tone.

[quote name='thisnameistaken' timestamp='1362251496' post='1997642'] Oh no I meant even with expensive gear getting a good amplified sound with a double bass can be very difficult. Piezos have unpleasant dominant characteristics and there's no real killer design out there, they all have their good and bad points. If you can get a sound you like from a piezo + preamp setup (any piezo + preamp) then more power to you. I never managed it. [/quote] It's nice to know that I could spend a fortune and still get a rubbish sound!

I spent 20 minutes with a file this morning, fitting the transducer into the bridge wing properly and lo and behold, the output is a lot better! Tonally, there is still room for improvement but at least come gig day, I would be heard. A preamp might still be a good idea, but I'm thinking a small 10 inch cab might be a better investment at the moment?

[quote name='thisnameistaken' timestamp='1362244425' post='1997514'] You might still find that things don't sound so great, welcome to the world of double bass amplification. [/quote] Yes, with cheap gear I'm not expecting too much, but as I'm just dabbling with upright bass really, I'm reluctant to spend much. I just want to make a loud thump while looking cool.... I do intend to buy a small, loud combo at some point, probably a promethian, as I doubt very much that my Acoustic or Ashdown rig with 15 inch cabs will be ideal.

Right, I've bought a cheap bass, a cheap piezo and well, everything sounds less than great. To be fair, I've yet to try it through anyting other than my practice amp so I can't really tell what it sounds like, but I suspect that there isn't much output from the piezo so I am going to need a preamp of some kind. Bearing in mind that so far my outlay has been around £200 (including £50 for petrol to collect the bass) I am reluctant to spend a lot. I'm looking at using one of those ART or Behringer tube mic preamps that you can get for about £40, is this a good idea? Or should I go for the Fishman B11 acoustic bass preamp at around £70. I'm playing in a noisy folk/country/skiffle/Irish type pub band so I'm not looking for a hi-fi sound, I just want to be loud! Any suggestions more than welcome!

[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1362232478' post='1997294'] I think bands seem to spend too long getting the song 'exactly like the original', when really, no matter how hard you try it will never sound exactly like the original. Therefore without consciously trying to make it sound different it will sound different and until you try a song you don't know how different it will sound and whether even it will sound good or bad. Having a closed mind is not what being a musician is about. Well, at least it isn't for me. If it was, I would still be listening and playing along to Iron Maiden's Live After Death album... [/quote] Agreed, I'm trying to get a band together at the minute and we had a first rehearsal/audition session last week. I'm hoping to do a folky/country/skiffle thing and when the guitarist/singer suggested Bon Jovi's Wanted dead or alive, I was more than doubtful. It turned out to be the best thing we did by miles! Normally the sort of 80's rubbish I hate, but with acoustic guitar, db, fiddle and stripped down drum kit played with brushes, it really did sound good! Very different to the original, and we're now talking about doing a lot more of that kind of stuff....

[quote name='BILL POSTERS' timestamp='1362232073' post='1997288'] I cant see any other valid reasons. Except maybe a song thats just too personal, or say, with the name of an ex in the title. Isn't this why Wilko Johnson left/was kicked out of Dr Feelgood? Because he wrote a song (walking on the edge?) which dared to mention his girlfriend.... [/quote]

Never mind walking off stage, I've left several bands because of Brown eyed girl.... +1 for Gay Bar though, great tune to cover!

My first bass was a "Top Twenty" Short scale with a neck like a (warped) baseball bat, awful sound from a terrible pickup that broke after a few weeks. I replaced it with an Ibanez pickup which improved the sound but a few weeks after starting work in 1978 I bought a Hondo II Rick copy. That was pretty awful too, so as soon as I could, I went and bought the S/H Fender P in my avatar.

Oh, and if you're sleeping on floors and in the van etc, a sleeping bag, bed mat and inflatable pillow will make it a lot easier to sleep!

[quote name='oggiesnr' timestamp='1360404439' post='1969792'] Be nice to the soundmen, crew and venue staff you meet along the way. Not only will it make your life easier on the road but folks have long memories and word get's around in this business. It's lost in the folklore of the industry who said it first and to whom but the advice "Be nice to people on the way up because you'll meet them again on the way down!" remains good. Have fun Steve [/quote] I've never been on tour as such, but I think this is very sound advice.... Oh, and it's rock n roll so don't be too sensible!

Wow, 5 pages and nobody's mentioned Behringer, so let me be the first! In a certain rehearsal complex in Leicester they had, at one time, a Behringer head and 4x10 which sounded completely sh*te, due to one of the drivers missing a cone! They also have a selection of totally crap Peavey combos. In another, more upmarket, rehearsal complex round the corner, they have a selection of "decent" gear such as Fender, Markbass, Trace, and Ampeg. Only the Markbass sound any good, the rest are all bobbins! (The Ampeg being especially dull and boring) These are expensive amps and cabs, in good conditon, but to my ears just don't sound as good as my own amps (including my cheap Ashdown Mag)

[quote name='BluRay' timestamp='1359621602' post='1957555'] I had a Cougar 115 combo that was horrific. I'd "upgraded" from my first amp, a 1968 fender bassman silverface, because the cougar had more watts (which I thought meant it was better). I still weep bitter tears of regret. [/quote] I bet you do!

[quote name='Sean' timestamp='1359061284' post='1949379'] This wasn't the point of the thread. My SEAT Altea suits me the best out of dozens of cars but it's not the greatest car ever. Come on, dream a little :-) [/quote] I guess not, in that case it's a P Bass through an Acoustic 220 head into a 404 and 402 cab. Or possibly something else made by Acoustic! To be fair, it's probably a one trick pony, but what a trick!