cameltoe

[quote name='lemmywinks' post='806281' date='Apr 14 2010, 05:19 PM']The amp had a "growl" knob and a sticker that said "Hear this Gorilla growl", which i found rather embarrassing[/quote]

I want that on a T-shirt!

Believe it or not the first bass I ever played with my band was a 70's Rickenbacker! Didn't have an amp, so it either went through the crappy Peavey thing they had at the rehersal studio or through the PA. It belongs to my brother-in-law who played a few years ago in a decent local band.

He actually gave me a great piece of advice, and was the reason he bought the Rick- "Once you realise that bass playing is your thing and you're going to do it for a while, spend a decent amount of money and get a really nice bass- don't bother chopping and changing cheap basses or messing around with midrange basses you may or may not like- take your time, save up and find one that you love"

A good piece of advice I reckon, and especially considering his bass is worth a lot more than he paid for it.

My actual first set up was an Epiphone EB-O and my Hartke vx3500 combo, which I still have.

Only two years ago- still a noob!

I'm yet to adhere to his advice- I've been messing in the midrange!

No worries, just kidding

What I'm after is a percussive thump from my P bass (what it's good at!) that sits nicely in the mix and can drive a band along. I also need to be able to have fairly good note clarity- not trebely clunkiness, but enough tonal clarity that it's evident I'm actually playing notes!

DR Sunbeams seem to be the ones to go for, although I have heard people mention Thomastik Infeld roundwounds.....

[quote name='discreet' post='806008' date='Apr 14 2010, 01:25 PM']Will try these, sounds like just my thing - thanks. [/quote]

Oi! My Thread!

Thanks, I'll try these, they sound like just my thing.



Gonna give the Sunbeams a go I reckon! If I find them lacking a little snap I'll try the Lo Riders. Just trying to get away from the 'zing' of the D'addario's. They do have a sweet spot that they hit after a couple weeks of playing, but too often that doesn't last long enough and before you know it they're dead

I'd like to go for a set that gives me the sound I'm after fairly soonish after restringing, and that keeps that sound for a decent while. I notice when they're in their sweet spot as I hardly have to adjust my EQ when the strings are performing. Sunbeams seem to be the way forward- cheers for the advice!

I didn't have the chance to strap up and play it standing, so I'm hoping the neck dive isn't too bad, but honestly, when I was interested in getting a Classic 50's model I really didn't think you'd be able to tell much difference between that and a Road Worn. I thought I was being clever by going for a Classic 50's, as it would be essentially the same guitar at a much lower price. Believe me, it's not!

I'm hoping this isn't a fluke, as I was really impressed by the feel of this guitar. And for the extra ££ they cost new, it's nice to know there's some substance behind that price, rather than just missing paint.

I've got to pay the other half of the £699 before you guys can see it I'm afraid- for now it waits for me behind the counter!

Awesome player! Remember seeing him on that Elvis live from Hawaii concert they had on the BBC a couple months back. Crazy stuff.

I've been gassing for a Classic 50's P for ages, and got my local music shop to put a couple aside for me when the next batch came in. I just went down there yesterday to try them both out, and what did I buy? A fiesta red Road Worn.

I'd had the pleasure of trying this guitar out a few times whilst i'd been in the shop to check the progress of the Classic '50's, and everytime I picked it up I absolutely loved it, even after trying pretty much every bass in the shop. However, the £899 price tag put me off quite a bit in comparison to the £499 the Classic 50's would cost me, and after checking the spec on the fender website it didn't seem like you were getting alot more for your money, other than Fender paying a Mexican to get the sander out and drill a couple more holes. I'd always been dubious of the whole Road Worn thing too, it seemed a bit desperate!

I had a good play on both a honey blonde Classic '50's and a sunburst version, hoping they would feel the same and I would like them as much as the Road Worn. Unfortunately they didn't feel as comfortable as how I remembered the Road Worn to be, and also seemed to feel very similar to my Mexican Standard I already own. A bit better quality, the neck was more comfortable to me, but essentially they felt like the same instrument, albeit with a TON of laquer all over it!

After spending a good half hour on both these, I picked up the Road Worn again and was absolutely blown away by it. It just felt in another league. Way more comfortable, it felt like I'd owned it for ages, and, crucially, it didn't feel anything like my Mexican Standard! You could tell it was a different quality altogether- it sounded better unplugged, it rested easier on my lap, everything about it felt better. It was also way, way lighter than both the classic 50's, which leads me to think they may not be identical specs to the Classic '50's after all.

Anyway, I'd already previously managed to haggle to shop owner down to £799 on a previous visit whilst discussing the Classic 50's, and whilst sitting there with the Road Worn in my hands, struggling to work out where I'd actually get the extra £300, he knocked a further £100 off the price and offered it up at £699. I had to have it!

Whether the specs are different between the Classic 50's and the Road Worn, whether the QC is just a hell of a lot better, or whether it was just a case of finding a 'good one' I don't know (although the shop owner had previously had two other Road Worn precision's in stock and he seemed to think they were all as good as the one I bought) -All I know is it felt leagues above both the Classic 50's, so for me it was easily worth the extra £200, and I'm chuffed to bits I made that decision, even in spite of myself not actually liking the whole Road Worn idea, or 'Salmon Pink' Fiesta Red!

Now I'm gonna have to show everyone my 'brand new guitar'.......

Road Worn- Amazing bass.

Ah f*** how did I miss this? I'm about to pay £499 for a new one. Crap!

Well I'd love it. It looks awesome. Can't afford it though! Bet it's punchy as hell

£739 new? Not much of a knockdown on price for an 18 month old, 'well-used' amp! I appreciate they may be 'rare' second hand....

[quote name='throwoff' post='771340' date='Mar 11 2010, 11:23 AM']Ok here is what I have however I'm going to make a statement first. This is my personal recommendation, I am familiar with every item on this list personally and feel the quality of the overall rig is great especially in your price range. I have used thomann simply because everyone knows them and they have a good 30 day money back deal so if you ordered this exact list and tried it you can return it.

Even if you dont use this exact list be aware everything on it I would call 'essential' ie even if you order something totally different I believe you would need something to fill each space.

[u]First and foremost desk and speakers[/u]!

[b]Peavey Pro 15 messenger speakers and a TMix powered desk.[/b]
This is bundled together with the speakon cables and gives you 375W per side into 15" full range speakers. For this budget its nigh on impossible to get something with subs im afraid without a massive loss of overall quality to the components and to be brutally honest you dont need them for a straight vocal PA. I use 15" tops and always mic the kick and often run a bass DI in small venues and I dont bother taking my subs 15's can handle it!
The desk does have 2 unpowered outs as well so the option is there to add Powered subs or passive subs with a power amp later.
[url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/peavey_pro_15_messenger_serie_bundle.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/gb/peavey_pro_15_mes...erie_bundle.htm[/url] PRICE £525.33
[b]Speaker stands[/b]
2 with a bag (I still use a set of these I had over 2 years now! quality for the money)
[url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/millenium_bs2211b_boxenstaenderset.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/gb/millenium_bs2211b...staenderset.htm[/url] PRICE £37.20

[u]Mics! [/u]

[b]Drum Mics Superlux DRK A3 pack[/b]
I still use these for my drum mics (a bigger pack admitedly but the same range) 3 mics; one kick 2 snare/tom
Ideal for smaller gigs as a kick can be essential. snare probs wont use too much if your drummer has a nice one but always have the option
[url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/superlux_drk_a3.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/gb/superlux_drk_a3.htm[/url] PRICE £24.50

[b]T-Bone MB75[/b]
As the name suggest this is a rather naughty SM57 copy. Rumour has it they are made using old shure machinery in China and having side by sided my one of these with a 57' I'm not sure thats just a rumour. Great for guitar cabs, random instruments you might need. I have used this on snare, guitar cabs, tambourine, brass and even as a vocal mic its just a great all rounder.
[url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/the_tbone_mb75.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/gb/the_tbone_mb75.htm[/url] PRICE £28.13
[b]
BeyerDynamic Opus 29 (bundle)[/b]
I chose the bundle version simply because you get a 6m XLR for about a quid! and an extra cable is always helpful. For my money this is the best budget mic on the market today. I have 3 of these and an SM58 which was my original mic set for vocal. The 58 invariable got left in the box, I just think these sound nicer
[url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/beyerdynamic_opus_29_s_bundle.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/gb/beyerdynamic_opus_29_s_bundle.htm[/url] PRICE £34.48

[u]Cables +Stands![/u]
Now the boring bits that hold it all together!

[b]10x SSNAKE SM10[/b]
Basic 10m XLR cable. Does the job and buying 10 means you should have spares (essential as the first time you gig without at least 2 spares 2 cables will break!) They come in a bunch of colours if you fancy it (I use red ones for kick and snare just to keep them in my eye) But traditional black works!
[url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/the_sssnake_sk233-10.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/gb/the_sssnake_sk233-10.htm[/url] PRICE £57.20 (for 10)
[b]
Millenium MS 2002 low stand[/b]
Short stand for kick mic (sometimes guitar cab but more often than not kick!)
[url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/millenium_ms2002.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/gb/millenium_ms2002.htm[/url] PRICE £12.61

[b]4x Millenium MS 2005 regular stand[/b]
You said you have a couple already so I put down 4, gives you 6 total which is plenty for most occasions. Tough and reliable stands
[url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/millenium_ms2005_mic_stand.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/gb/millenium_ms2005_mic_stand.htm[/url] PRICE £33.76 (for 4)
[b]
Mic clips x4 [/b]
Old fashioned rubber bits. These are strong gripping and have no moving parts like some of the budget spring ones ie they wont snap!
[url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/the_tbone_mikrohalterung.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/gb/the_tbone_mikrohalterung.htm[/url] PRICE £10.16 (for 4)

TOTAL! £763.37

OK I went over budget! But this as close to it as I can get!

Of course as people have said you can always go second hand and a lot of people do, I have found some bargins on the bay and elsewhere but you dont usually have a returns policy! Some stuff I bought and wish to God I could take it back even though it was very cheap just because I'll never use it.
Mic's especially and speakers are liable to be 'ragged' and with the amount of counterfeits on eBay I would be wary.


Anyway thats my suggestion. I found it quite enjoyable If anyone else wants me to do something similar just drop me a PM[/quote]


Monitors?



Dude in all honesty, what people here have been touching on is correct. 500+ people is a crazy amount, and I can't see how a 750w desk running only two speakers is gonna be anywhere near enough.

What this guy has recommended is probably as good 'bang for buck' as you will find, but it's still a small venue PA. It's similar to what my band uses, and that's just for pubs/small clubs.

Wow £27.60......yeah not cheap, but if they last twice as long as £14 strings then i'm happy. Are these silk wrapped on the ends?

Anyone got any words of advice as far as gauges go? I want the tension to be low. I usually use whatever has the 100-gauge E. Can be anywhere from light to medium.

Whats the deal with cloth wrapped strings?

Nice one, I'll check em out.

OK i've been generally using Fender 7250's for the last year or so, but recently went back to the D'addario XL nickels as my Fender's had started to feel dead.

Turns out I hadn't realised how 'dead' the Fenders were, as the new strings now sound waaaaay too zingy for me! I was sure they had sent me stainless by mistake, but no, I had just let the old strings go completely flat.

While the new strings now sound alive and fresh, and that's a good thing, I've realised how damn bright and zingy these D'addario's actually are. I had to raise my action a bit a couple of days after I put them on as the sudden increase in fret noise was getting on my nerves, even playing extra clean!

I don't recall new strings ever sounding as clunky as this when going from the 7250's to new 7250's

Some of the reason-I think- could be down to the fact that the D'addario's don't have any silk windings at the ends, which results in a lot of sustained 'laser-beam' type zing when open notes are played- but also on the whole I think they must be quite bright for nickels.

Can anyone recommend a set of nickel roundwounds which have all the warmth and punch of fresh nickels, but without too much zingyness to them? Silk windings at the ends would help too. And while I'm here, I'd actually prefer low-tension strings, if anyone can recommend a set that will do everything I want!

I've heard that lighter gauges=less tension, I've also heard that heavier gauges=less tension, and I've heard that it can be down to the way they're made as well- but I've also seen strings advertised as low tension before, so maybe they're out there.......

AHHHH Keep the SubLime warm for me! I want one! Can't free up the cash this month though.

Weird. I found the playability on my brother-in-law's 70's Rick to be the best I'd ever played. Absolutely, ass-to-the-floor action, brilliant to play with no effort at all. I gigged it for about 6 months while I was 'between' precisions. The one thing I couldn't get on with though, was the sound. OK, it wasn't a one trick pony like the precision, but I just couldn't get a tone out of it I liked. It went from very wooly sounding, to very twangy, and that was about it. No punch, just a mellow spread of sound. Vintage sounding, no doubt, but so wooly and muted that nothing would cut through the mix at all- and that was with fresh stainless strings. It certainly never sounded 'Huge', and using the 'twang' wasn't an option. When I got my next precision it was a total relief. It didn't struggle in the mix like the Rick, it managed to sit exactly where it needed to, whilst cutting through beautifully. Huge is precision through and through!

Of course, recording may be totally different, this was only live experience.

I'd be considering a Stingray over a Rick if you love the Precision sound, but need more versatility.

Yep, this old conundrum. I get fed up twiddling my EQ for what seems to be ages, thinking I've nailed it, then standing out front and realising I sould like crap. What follows then is 20 minutes of me walking to and from my amp, twisting everyone up in my leads as I go, trying in vain to guess what to adjust. I wish someone would do a remote control for a bass amp EQ! Can't be that hard, surely? Would allow me to stand way back and fiddle around whilst the band played, hence I could get it spot on! What really annoys me about this whole process, is that the gig venues seem to have more of a variation on the sound of my bass than any of the other instruments in the band. The others usually just need to toy with their level a bit, whilst I'm tearing my hair out trying to get 'that sound'. Carpet, no carpet, high ceilings, low ceilings, wood floor, slate floor, stage, how many people are in the audience..... the variables are huge.

You got the tab for this?

Welcome from St Austell- yep another one.

We're taking over!

just spreading a bit of love for Nick.

What can I say? Paid for a Hartke pedal on Monday afternoon, it arrived Tuesday morning well packaged, boxed with instructions.

Can't recommend highly enough.

OK good man.



So if I measure the beast up, can you recommend a couple options to me? Like I said before, I'm after strong but tight lows, good low mids for a bit of tone definition and to cut through a bit, keeping the high mids down and the treble fairly even. Kinda how I set up my EQ really! So armed with that info, and my combo measurements will you be able to recommend something or do you need more info?

I have a 200w combo made by a company called AC EURO..... yeah me neither!

It kicks out a fairly decent sound, and is fairly punchy. I tend to use this over my Hartke vx3500 combo as most of the gigs we play are small-ish pubs, and unless I can get the Hartke up to a respectable volume, it doesn't seem to drive the speakers hard enough so it can end up a bit muddy.

The AC Euro has a 1x15" speaker, that looks pretty 'aged' and possibly past retirement. The amp works fine and actually kicks out a nice tone, I would guess it's early 90's? And the only thing I can find out about AC Euro is that they may now be called Audio Concepts.

I've been toying with having a gear-overhaul but since I'm due to be buying a house in a couple months I thought maybe a new speaker could freshen things up? I'd like the lows to be punchy and tight with good note definition, and nothing overly bright sounding.

Can anyone recommend brands and where to buy?

Cheers!

p.s see below for measurements

[quote name='Sibob' post='783889' date='Mar 23 2010, 09:01 PM']Whats the point of trying a bass out and then buying it online??
There's a great probability that the one you buy online will be different enough for you not to be happy than the one you loved in the shop!
Support your bricks and morter music shops and do yourself a favour by doing so

Si[/quote]

I'll happily support my local music shops, but the point that was being made- if you had read the whole thread- is that London is ridiculously overpriced. I'm always happy to pay a bit extra to get that extra service, but when you're talking several hundred pounds more, then it's not something I can actually afford to do, especially when these aren't my 'local' music shops. I've got my eye on a Classic 50's P bass- these can be had at £479. The Gallery wants £665.

My local music shop can get these in at £499, and yes, that's where I'll be buying it.

It's not just singers, it's all kinds of musicians.

Our singer just likes to ask for more monitor constantly, untill there's so much monitor he can't hear himself and all we can hear is him. Then he still asks for more monitor.

We have a similar situation with our fiddle player. Never says Yes or No to gigs, just mysterious comments like 'it's all good'. He's cancelled gigs at short notice in the past for feeble reasons (and reasons that could have been avoided had he been more organised) and I reckon he never truly confirms gigs in case he needs to pull out again. With him it's just that he's henpecked by his Mrs, which means if she wants him to do something else, he has to do it. It would be a lot easier if he just told her when his gigs where so she could see when he was busy. As it is, he keeps us both in the dark and hopes the two never clash. Which they have and probably will again. He never used to help pack any gear away either, just grabbed his fiddle once the gig finished and buggered off. We had words about that though. The main problem is his playing. He's tone deaf, and pitches all over the place. Not good. We're looking to replace him though, so it's 'all good' for us.

Seriously though, I reckon a lot of these problems are caused by the 'other half' and the musician not having the balls to stand up to them.