GreeneKing

Well I and quite a few others had a real treat last night. I'd best 'fess up' and say that I'm not a Steely Dan fan, not because I don't like them but because musically I've gone in other directions. The gig was pure entertainment, the band was as tight as could be and I found every song a joy. A great bunch of musicians including our Pete of course. Lots of entertaining banter and band interplay that made it fascinating to watch. Where did you find that drummer? So a thanks to Pete, if you enjoyed it half as much as I did you had a great time. Nearly Dan? I suspect that live you're all the way there Dan Peter

[quote name='bigthumb' post='654997' date='Nov 15 2009, 09:25 AM']I've waffled on about how much I like my iAmp800 over on finnbass probably a bit too much so I wont start here! I've used the amp with just one 4ohm EBS cab before and its been plenty loud enough and I've been more than happy with the results. I've played an outdoor gig with both cabs 'at volume' and the sound was massive. Again very very impressed. I think your iAmp puts 350w in to 8 Ohms Peter so I'm quite surprised that you're struggling with it. Your band isn't particularly loud by any means and when I watched you a couple of weeks ago the bass was cutting through nicely with the one cab, no drama at all![/quote] Yes I agree Paul. That was with the RH450 though. I'll try 2 cabs next time and a bit more EQ fiddling. Peter

[quote name='The Bass Doc' post='654654' date='Nov 14 2009, 04:57 PM']Eye karnt cee ennithing rong wif de avdert.[/quote] I always wondered how Geordie is spelt

I think MM's tune in the vid has got stuff all to do with bass playing, talent, de-tuners or technique if you look at the product, the music. I love it, a lot don't. I consider myself lucky that I can gain enjoyment from this piece where others can't. Peter

I took the EA iAmp 500 to practice last night instead of my TC RebelHead 450 along with just the one Aguilar DB112 cab as per usual. The verdict? Well with the iAmp I suspect I needs 2 cabs to get the enough output available for my band practice. The gain was up to just past 3 o'clock and the master volume pretty much the same and the o/p limiter light was coming on all the time. The input gain light never clips though, even with 18v Spector and Status basses going in. Has anyone else noticed hard difficult it seems to be to overload the input into these heads? The head sounded like it was straining to be honest whilst at lower volumes at home it sounds pretty lush. Maybe the limiter introduces some harshness? In the home scenario it sounds a lot less coloured than the RH450 too. I used a range of EQ settings including EQ'ing the low mids up which seemed to help a bit. Strangely I've heard a few times that the iAmp 800 isn't much if any louder into 4 ohms (these amps will go down to 2 ohms). I'll try two cabs for next practice but the TC RH 450 easily copes with just the one. I suspect it'll be a fine sounding head with 2 cabs but just less powerful than the RH. Interesting. Peter

That must rate as the worst eBay ad ever? Maybe very young, have learning difficulties or illiterate. Might be worth a visit if you're near Nuneaton. You never know what it's going to be (probably crap though).

Just saw this. Seems an okay price from a retailer. [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=67343&hl="]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=67343&hl=[/url]

Thank you guys it's as I thought and I'll bring em in. Not many thieves where I live though, unless you count the chickens, cows or sheep Chicken's 'll chase you round the yard for a bread scrap. Peter

It'd be easier for me to leave one DB112 (covered) in my van for band practice. I don't as I worry about the paper cones becoming soft with damp and corrosion in the frame. What do you reckon. I live in the cold and very damp Lake District. Peter

[quote name='jakesbass' post='654100' date='Nov 13 2009, 10:43 PM']He's dynamite on Rickie Lee Jones' 'Flying Cowboys' produced by Walter Becker[/quote] Now you've got my curiosity wetted Jake

Polish for a bass? Basowa evidently

Well he says Sheffield in the OP, could be a subtle clue?

A stunning CS there Alan. I'm loving the NS though, it's a bit special. Peter

I've started playing with a new band and the drummer recommended Document by Karizma. Neil Stubenhaus is a little bit good isn't he. I hope they don't want that standard of playing from me or I'm on my ear [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqaWRgwYer0"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqaWRgwYer0[/url] 5:45 Peter

[quote name='BigRedX' post='652404' date='Nov 12 2009, 10:59 AM']But IME unless you're paying serious money for an on board pre-amp (at least J-Retro minimum) then the circuitry isn't really going to do you tone any favours. Anyone with a decent audio electronics knowledge can build a musical sounding circuit when space is no object and you can power it off the mains - your standard amp head tone controls. The real challenge comes when you want to do the same thing in the space provided by a Jazz bass control cavity and power it from a single PP3 battery. That's why the active electronics in your average sub-£1000 bass are a poor substitute for what is already there on your amp.[/quote] I agree but whatever the overall effect of any circuitry I think that we need to remember that the human ear and it's associated brain are the receiver. I suspect that a perfectly symmetrical and evenly spaced series of sine waves and sub harmonics would actually sound pretty uninteresting. To my ear the best sounding basses I've owned have been active, with higher end pre-amps such as U-Retro's, ACG's and Status's product.

[quote name='BigRedX' post='652411' date='Nov 12 2009, 11:02 AM']What you want is a programmable rack-mounting pre-amp and a footswitch. I use a BassPod XT Pro and the Line 6 Shortboard to do exactly that.[/quote] My thoughts entirely. Easier to use a toe than your fingers. The RH450 only has 3 presets but I find it very useful. Peter

Well you've seen mine Joe but I could start a NS5 thread

[quote name='Fraktal' post='652153' date='Nov 12 2009, 12:20 AM']No, I dont run my amp EQ flat. There isnt much difference, but since you cant bypass the EQ section on most amplifiers, why not use that one and get rid of your bass preamp? Everytime your signal goes through a microchip your signal loses a little something and gains some hiss, harmonic distortion, phase issues and general crap. Thats why we prefer passive basses: Less crap in the signal path, cleaner sound.[/quote] High quality signal processing doesn't have to be crap. Poor signal processing, even if there's less, is still crap.

I'm travelling 31 miles each way over Shap Can be a challenge in the Winter.

Yes I have a U-Retro in my NS5 too and one incoming for my Euro LX 5. I'd probably have gone for the ACG01 but they can't be bought without buying an ACG. My new ACG of course will have one

Now this is a REALLY interesting 'here's my basses' thread that I'll follow with intense interest.

A bit samey for me, as nice as they individually doubtless are. Now my 6 would be quite a different story

This has gone around before and I have said this before. A string vibrates above a coil and induces a small voltage. In order for that voltage to drive a speaker coil it needs to be amplified. Do it on the bass, in a pedal, or in the amp (or all 3) it still needs amplifying. Passive has to go to active somewhere and to say that this or that works better is I believe folly. Personally I like a high quality pre-amplifier onboard so that a boosted and frequency biased signal goes out through the lead to the amp and therefore suffers less losses in the cable. I also get a real buzz out of setting up my bass to produce my tone regardless of the amp, within reason. As far as the speaker coil is concerned there is no such thing as a passive bass. Peter

[quote name='Fretless Eric' post='557592' date='Aug 1 2009, 07:46 AM']Hi all, I know this might appear as if I am a right tart, after all I registered a while back but hardly contribute, but I do lurk and read post. This time I would really like some advice, possibly from someone who has had experience and I think I would get a more comprehensive and considered response from Basschat UK than my regular music forum in Melbourne [Melband]. My Giffin Custom (1987) has developed a problem in the electronics. The pre-amp is a Bartolini dual band "TBT". It still works but as time goes on, during playing, it produces a loud pop. In my mind it is as if a capacitor is charging up over a 5 to 10 minute period and then discharges producing the noise. I'm also guessing that this may be part of a component failure in the preamp. Am I on the right lines here? I'd really like to fix it rather then just replace it with some modern equivalent (NTBT?). Thanks guys.[/quote] I'm assuming you've tried the obvious, a new battery checked for voltage?