Jolltax

I love my active basses with all the whiz-bang controls but every time I travel/ move with my bass(es) and set up somewhere new it sounds nothing like it did at home.  I then spend ages fiddling with all the buttons and switches and getting annoyed with myself because I can't make it sound right. 

Halfway through the session everyone else in the band turns up the volume and are playing so loud that I can't hear myself playing anyway so my 'tone' obsession is a bit irrelevant

On 03/05/2025 at 19:33, ian61 said:

Dont try and play with others immediately tho. Lock urself away in ur room and learn the fingerboard. A sure fire way to get enthused is to play along to ur fav tunes/bands.. in front of the mirror if you need to.. we've all done it, its grt fun and you learn pretty quick.

Hi losting, I think this is sound advice from @ian61and @bass_dinger. Personally I would try and get a grip of the basics before trying to play with others, and a teacher does help.

In your situation I would buy a modestly priced decent quality second hand bass, there are many on FB / ebay and start playing along with your favourite tracks at home. 

I spent my first year watching and playing along with videos on YT, I didn't even buy an amp! The best thing I did is find a good teacher online, you progress so much faster. 

The electronics side of it is interesting, some good advice on here about self builds, speaker cabs

Have fun

J

Hi Steve, welcome

I'm originally from Cornwall (Mylor Bridge), like many of school friends I left to find a job, haven't made it back yet but it will always be home!

I bought one those HB basses in lockdown, mine was a 5 string stingray - the same black colour with black headstock, they look really bad-ass! It was amazing for the price.

J

1 minute ago, EJWW said:

Saw him play when he came to Brum last month. He was superb, pure class. 

Gutted when I found UK tour dates were just finished, next time ...

Just found him through Justin Hawkins who recommended him on his channel. He has got something weird but wonderful going on here, clearly a talented guy. He is a great player, I'm watching his videos and I'm laughing as well as really enjoying his playing - I got to assume he has irony turned up to 11, absolutely brilliant

J

Dani California (RHCP) - putting the main riff on a loop and practicing the fills between each cycle 

Save a Prayer (Duran Duran) - so nice to play, the bass line is almost the melody 

Le Freak (Chic)  - I can get up to speed, but how long can I stay there and will I last the whole 5m27?  .... No.  Can I do the fills , also frankly no ....  ? If you click the link you can see Tom do it properly 

Hungry like the Wolf (Duren Duran) - fun when I get tired after the above

J

On 18/03/2025 at 21:35, Burns-bass said:

As someone who has designed surveys before (and who works a lot with academics) I’d suggest changing the title of the survey and consider adjusting some of the questions as they’re quite leading. 

I also completed the survey and as another person with experience of surveys and data collection I also whole-heartedly agree with the above statement.  

I bought my Ibanez from them and they did a set up before dispatching it, I think they have a dedicated pro-audio and music department - I met  a bunch of them last year as they had a big stand at the Guitar Show in 2024, not sure if they were there this year.

Like others above I have used them on many occasions over the years to buy computer parts and equipment but it wasn't until I saw them at the show that I realised they do music stuff.

I rate them highly they have always been very good with me - they have a solid returns policy which I have used in the past and decent customer service.

Hi Debagio, I am also a baggio 

Lots of people on here started as mature students myself included, interested to see what your choice of first bass is, mine was Sire M2 which was / is still fantastic to play (I modded it a bit though after a year or two)

Welcome

PM'ed

4 hours ago, Al Krow said:

Oooh it sounds incredibly glitchy! But maybe that's the point of it and if that's your cup of tea...

 

I'll be sticking with my Boss OC-5!

Great video, thanks for posting, its put me right off, lol ....

Its awesome in a weird way, but I  think I am looking for something a bit less adventurous, hehe

On 08/01/2024 at 10:37, xgsjx said:

An ad for this just popped up in my facebook feed. 
Interestingly enough, I might be in the market for a new octave pedal.
 

Anyone tried one yet?

 

 https://www.behringer.com/product.html?modelCode=P0EAE

Sorry to resurrect this thread, did you get one? I am also interested and would love to know how you are finding it.

Welcome, I have the 5 string version of the same bass, awesome.  No way I could manage 6 strings!

J

Very cool, love the sparkle, very disco (in a good way!)

If you already got a sensible bass then I would go crazy, scratch that itch .  I got my crazy, its this one - 5 string, fan fret, headless active, no regrets!  Its probably not a bad idea if you live near a major city then go to guitarguitar or whatever and try everything, you might click with something unexpected

To my ears a lot of stuff can do a pretty good stingray impression, depending on your budget.

I am still getting used to it but am probably about to switch to playing my 5 string in the band, it gives you more options playing things de-tuned, so if you don't have one it might be handy

Welcome, ATK -  isn't that the one with the great big bridge / pickup thing, I read they are are growly like stingrays but aren't they discontinued? Make sure you add a sound sample to the NBD post when you find one!

Hi!

10 hours ago, MichaelDean said:

It doesn't look overly neat when it's off the wall. That's my only real criticism. It certainly seems to do the job!

 

The only other one I'm sure would work is these, where it just hangs from the strap buttons:

https://woodieshanger.com/shop/woodies-hanger-for-fender-style-guitars/

Agree its not pretty, I would say the same about my other conventional wall hangars as well, really nasty looking

I retrospect I think I am guilty of not thinking too much about the aesthetics, particularly when not in use, a mistake.-  next time I redecorate I think I will go for something a bit simpler / classier, maybe like these guys https://gatorco.com/shop-by-category/guitar/wall-hangers/

J

Since getting my Ibanez headless bass I have keeping it in a floor stand - this created constant anxiety due to me being the owner of a couple of excitable dogs, so I decided to try a wall mount, bought one of these : https://www.dangleberrymusic.co.uk/products/nordell-horizontal-guitar-wall-hanger

I actually got mine from their Amazon store at £23 ish but note they are actually cheaper elsewhere - delivery was very prompt.

It is designed in the UK, but of course manufactured in PRC, I would actually describe it as 'okay', reasonably sturdy, fairly simple to install, averagely made - it didn't come with a wall fixing kit i.e. rawl plugs / screws - you will need to buy those and be prepared to drill and screw it to your wall. It doesn't fit a bass particularly  well but does work, even the small brackets are a little too wide for an electric bass. My guess is that they have tried to make it fit everything, including acoustics, which had compromised it a bit.  It also remains to be seen whether the allen key bolts which hold it in position will hold firm with time. 

I thought people might be interested to see pictures and I am also curious about any better alternatives - any suggestions?

J

Hi NB, plenty of mid (or end of) life crisis peeps here, I am one too!

Great choice of first bass and cab - I have never had a Squire P Bass but I do have a Fender Rumble 100 and it is excellent. I use the Rumble for band rehearsals and also around the house for practice, sounds great and really light (v. important when you are old-ish).  I can carry my Rumble 100, my bass in a case and bag full of bits and pieces to a location / venue without giving myself a hernia 

Hi Simon, I started during lockdown and in my 50's - welcome!

On 03/06/2024 at 21:24, tauzero said:

Lekato WS-50 - use it all the time, for rehearsals, open mic nights, and gigs. Have also bought a Lekato WS-90 recently which is a bit bigger, has a longer battery life (the WS-50 isn't bad at 4+ hours) and can be switched to any of four channels.

For reference, I also have Lekato WS-50 and it works with all my basses, they are all active  - an Ibanez, a Musicman and a Sire. They also worked fine with passive basses I owned previously. I haven't yet had any issue at all with connections or interference.  I like the price, size and simplicity - playing without a cable is so much nicer, would have liked a longer battery life but it hasn't actually caused me any issues because so far I have always remembered to charge them between sessions!

Great playing! V nice bass too ...

On 13/05/2024 at 21:10, Pirellithecat said:

I use the Stereo channel at live gigs.
If the "Recording Input"  is ABOVE 0.5 to 1.0 the output distorts and the Red LED flickers.   
The unit is "top of head height" on Mic Stand towards the front mid right of the stage.
To minimise additional wires on stage, I do not add anything else into the unit -  I just take the headphone out via a very long 3.5mm jack to jack to a little mixer by my feet. (cable adapter at mixer end to a stereo channel.)
I power the unit from a Battery Powerpack at the base of the Mic Stand. (lasts for several gigs).

I use the H4N via a small mixer which also accepts my bass - at least this is by my feet so I can adjust the mix to my wireless IEM's.

Our live gigs don't provide the luxury of set-up/sound check in an empty room, prior to kick off.  It's set up, make sure it's all working and there's no feedback, and do a sound check number just prior to our first number and hope for the best. 

Needs work!!  

Thanks that's very useful, It sounds like you are mainly using the H4 as a stereo microphone and mixing separately - having had a good play with mine I think I would like to try the same approach - I am finding the mixing software on the H4 fiddly and don't imagine wanting to mess with H4 levels and setup in a rehearsal / gig situation, it also seem quite battery hungry and is a bit bulky.  I also find that the stereo mikes seems to distort quite a lot with music at even modest volumes and will need the gain adjusting / turning down a lot

What kind of mixer would you recommend?  I might get one and try  - I keep looking at the zoom Livetrak L-8 as it is quite small, has lots of inputs and headphone / other outputs, USB powered and can record .... expensive though, lol