cameltoe

I checked out the Fender SubLime, and that seems quite close to what I'm looking for. I've got a EHX double MUFF, but it's way too sharp to me and seems more of a distortion that a fuzz. I've used a standard Big Muff, the black one, and it didn't seem to quite cut through enough, It sounded OK on it's own but once the band was playing it kinda disappeared. I'm yet to try a bass big muff. What do you have silent fly?

Cheers guys, I'll check out all your recommendations. Glad you understood what I was on about, sometimes hard to describe 'noise'!

Hi guys, wanted your opinions on a suitable pedal to give me a really rich, creamy thick fuzz. I don't want anything too sharp really, I've used overdrive pedals before that have sounded more like distortion, and fuzz pedals that have sounded like overdrive pedals. What I really want, is a big thick sound, with a bit of a lazy fuzz feel to it, if that makes any sense at all! At the moment I get by using a Cool Cat fuzz (danelectro pedals always seem to work well with bass) coupled with a nobels Bass OD pedal, and the tone pot on my precision rolled halfway back. I don't crank the drive on the OD, i just use the DEEP switch to get the full bodied sound. So ideally i'm after a bit of an old-school, soft fuzz feel, nothing too sharp or queens-of-the-stone-age esque, but with alot of depth and maybe a bit of punch. cheers if you can recommended something!

[quote name='bassmachine2112' post='602710' date='Sep 19 2009, 08:43 AM']hiho,this might sound daft but you seem to be happy with your p-bass and your forever havin to eq your amp. Might I suggest that 300 quid might be better spent on gettin a good amp set up ?.Just a thought ,it can make a serious difference.A good pre amp can be a good investment as well. I,m goin to get shot down in flames here but here goes,try a behringer bdi21 s/h they are cheap and if you don,t like it not much lost but will transform your sound and if you like the direction it,s going then sansamp,hartke bass attack,mxr di80 and others are worth considering and you can use them as a DI box for PA and recording.You also have the option of goin ampless through a PA,no more heavy lifting. I know it will not satisfy the GAS but worth considering.[/quote] you have a point, but I already have 3 amplifiers, a 100w Ampeg, 200w AC EURO (the one that doesn't sound great) and the 350w Hartke. For most gigs, I use the AC. Pubs round here are small, and space is usually at a premium so it doesn't make sense to lug the big Hartke around unless I really need to. Having said that, it could be that most of the reason behind me not liking the feel of the AC comes from the single 15" speaker. Looking around, alot of similar amps use a similar set up, so I may be no better off. In hindsight, I should never have bought the Hartke combo and instead gone for a decent amp head and a 4x10 cab and a seperate 2x8/10 cab, then I could just switch speakers for the bigger gigs. The reason I'm focusing mostly on another bass, is because my P bass is my only bass. I don't have a spare, none of the guys in the band have one I can use, so if something were to go wrong at any point I'd be properly stuck. At the mo I'm gigging at least once a week, 3 times last week, and I wouldn't have time to sort anything before the next gig came along. On top of that, I really haven't played many basses, so I'm still at a stage where I don't actually know what I like and dislike, I'm just judging it on whether it feels weird or not. I read an awesome review of a peavey zodiac bxp in some guitar magazine, and as well as the millenium coming highly recommended looks like that's where the safe money could go. Although I'm still taken by the cort. Cort basses, anyone? I don't know much about them but I think I remember them being fairly well regarded.

Love the look of the Cort C4H. Can't seem to find anywhere that offers it with finance though.

[quote name='EdwardHimself' post='602475' date='Sep 18 2009, 07:30 PM']Well active is like the sound of the ESP, lot of treble and definition, although i'm surprised you couldn't get enough low end and/or punch out of it because generally you also get that with an active curcit too. Maybe you could have turned the bass up and the treble down on the EQ?[/quote] I played with it quite a bit if i'm honest, and although there was no lack of low end if I needed it, it never felt quite as punchy as the P bass, and yeah, it all sounded a bit hi fi for me. I'm up for any suggestions, and I'm pleased how many people are recommending the Squier's. Any word on the Ibanez's? Oh and I will have to buy this bass new, as it's a finance job, so 80's ebay bargains are no good

Cheers.... Yeah I looked at the VM Jazz before, really like the look of that. Never got to try one out though. As far as the Yamaha's go, I've heard some really good stuff about their instruments, although for me, it's still a bit tainted with the stigma of Yamaha being 'school instruments' so to speak. I'd like to know more about the Ibanez SRX series (no idea what the differences are between the 360, 430 or any of that nonsense), and also more about the ATK series I've seen. The ATK's look really nice, but I'm a bit put off by the whole 'massive body and neck' description. I really don't want a behemoth of a bass, plus it's really pushing my budget. As for the SRX's, those big humbuckers look awesome, and I keep hearing the words 'big sound' and 'punchy' in their descriptions, so i'm also considering these options. Ideally, I want to get a bass I can get a decent sound of out my smaller (200w 1x15") amp with, as I'm forever EQ'ing it to get what I need, which I rarely do. As for passive or active, i'm still none the wiser. My mate swears by Washburn for all his stuff (although he's never played bass), and I love the look of the T24.

I posted on here a while back about wanting to get a second bass, around the £300 mark, to go with my P bass. So- first things first- I'm in a regularly gigging band, it's a folk/rock type affair, similar in feel to bands like dropkick murphys, flogging molly etc, and as such I like to get a nice punchy feel from my bass (which is why I went for a P bass in the first place), with clear tight low-end and a not-too-bright top end. But- it's my only bass. So, wanting to take advantage of the governments interest free credit 'take it away' scheme, I thought I'd reinvest the £40 a month I recently re-aquired after I finished paying my TV off, and use it to buy a spare bass. I've only had 3 basses my entire life, an Epiphone EB-0 (sounded ok, nice meaty bottom but not really enough note definition) Esp LTD B-405 (sounded OK, but a little Hi-Fi for my taste. not enough punchy power- was a bass you heard rather than felt, and I want both!) and my current Mexican P bass (which I love, if I can get the EQ right. Love it when I get that tight, punchy low end, but can sometimes sound a little dull, and sometimes not enough definition and clarity in the bottom end). I've also had the use of a older rickenbacker 4003 (didn't like the sound of that, just always sounded wooly or twangy to me). Thats all the experience I have of bass guitars. So.....I don't know if or why i'd need a passive or active, (I know the difference, but I don't know the difference it makes to the tone of the bass) , what bass I can get for the money, which brands to avoid, whether I need it to be thru-body or bridge stringing, or anything that will make a difference to trying to get a bass I like the sound of. Trying a load out isn't the answer- 1) I live in cornwall, and as such we have very limited access to music shops. There are really good ones near us, but they mostly stock Squiers and random second hand basses, as well as Ibanez entry-level stuff. 2) How good it's sounds in a music shop, will not reflect how good it will be playing in a full pub with the rest of the band, going through either a 350w 4x10 Hartke, or my 200w 1x15 AC EURO amp. So really all I can do is take a punt. I need a bass that I like the look of, that has 4 strings not 5 (couldn't get on with them on the LTD) and is easy to play like my P bass. That I can get a nice defined, punchy low end, can hear all the notes clearly and doesn't sound too dull but also doesn't sound too thin or Hi-fi. That can go through both my amps and I can get a good tone from. If it makes a difference, I far prefer the sound of my P bass through the Hartke than the AC EURO. For me, the AC makes the note definition too dull, and the bottom end always sounds too flabby. Make any sense at all? I've just had a drink.... Cheers if you can throw any suggestions my way! Oh and yeah I know that strings make a big difference- I usually like the sound of nickels, especially fender 7250's and the D'addario ones

right I'm getting a good groove going when I try both using my hand like a hitchhikers, using the pick up as a bit of an anchor, and using the E as an anchor on the other strings. I can also get a good rhythm going using the A as an anchor when playing the D and G. I have to decide which to go after now, as I feel comfy with them both but obviously need to stick to one to practice. Is there any advantage of moving to the A as an anchor when plucking D and G or is it just more faffing which will eventually slow you down?

Its finding a decent anchor I'm really struggling with. My pickups were quite low- I've wound them out a touch to see if I can use them as an anchor- not too sure yet. My gig on Friday was weird. I've now highlighted the problem, so all night I was struggling with making anything feel comfortable with my right hand. Should I have my thumb anchored to the side of my fingers- i.e, like a hitchikers thumb laid flat- or should I have my thumb underneath my fingers like a kind of weird claw shape- as if i was controling a puppet, so to speak! It all feels weird at the moment. Plus I think I may need to invest in a thumb rest to use as an anchor but I don't want to mutilate my bass before I know what will feel comfy in the long run

nice advice, cheers guys. There is alot of tension in my hand, and it happens more and more the more challenging the song is. I could play them with a pick, no problem, but using the fingers gives alot better control, when you can do it right, of course! Curling the knuckles like that comes from finger picking on my guitar, i've just taken the technique I use there and applied it to bass. Maybe I need a better anchor! I've only been using the very top of the neck on my p bass, just that little small bit of the fret board that juts out, then using the A string when I need to move down. I'll see if I can use the pick up if not I guess I could buy one of those thumb rests and put it exactly where it feels comfortable. It's the relaxed hand issue thats getting me! Can't get my head round it! How do you get any sound out of the bass? Getting the bass to lock in with the drums on 'Symapthy for the Devil' is the one I always get stuck on at gigs. I mean, I do OK, but it could be alot better. Like I said, the tension in my right hand with the curling fingers makes it feel like the strings are sticking almost.

Well i'm fairly new to bass anyway, and for the first year or so I used a pick. Since I bought my P bass though I have been using a 2 finger technique (which I might progress to 3) which has served me well. However, on faster tempo songs something isn't quite right, I can't get my fingers to move as quickly as I need them to do, and I'm convinced it's because i'm curling the fingers too much. My fingers feel like they're almost 'sticking' on the strings sometimes, yet whenever I try and straighten my fingers a bit I find I either have very little accuracy or i can't attack the strings enough. I've been looking at right hand techniques on youtube, etc, and it almost seems like I hit the strings with too much tension in my fingers whereas the correct way is a bit looser. I need someone to explain to me the dynamnics of playing like this. I can see what I'm supposed to do, but I can't make it happen. pic:[attachment=28076:15_1.jpg]

anyone?? tried it out t'other night and it has alot of balls for a little(ish) amp. Volume was close to max, but it had so much depth in the sound, plus the EQ seemed to really work well in shaping the sound.

I've been offered an amp from a friend of a friend, and can't find any info on it. It looks fairly old, but sounds good and seems to work o.k. Would be good if I knew more about it though, as I can't find much online. It's an AC EURO amp, and the model number is ac200b. Given that there's a 200 in the model name, i'm kinda hoping it's 200w. It's in a reasonable gigged condition but doesn't seem to be damaged in any way, i'm gonna try it out at a gig tonight and see what it can do. The same guy has also offered up a bass pedal which I again can't seem to find much about, It's an AKAI unibass. It sounds ridiculous! any info welcome!

No, not yet. Hence the question! Cracking advice though guys, cheers. At least I'll have a vague idea what I'm doing with all this at my next gig (tomorrow). So will try plugging directly from bass to OD, Compression, Amp, and run the Eq in the Fx loop. I'll see how it goes!

I've been using my effects loop for a while, just cos it's there, really. I use a Nobels bass overdrive, Bass Eq pedal, and Behringer Dc9 compressor, not in any particular order(which is another question in itself). My rig is a Hartke vx3500 combo, and I don't actually know how good the effects loop is on these amps, whether I should run one, two or none of the pedals through it or what. All I know is, the compressor is as max output, but there is still a volume drop-off when I engage it, even if the compression level is low. ( not limiting, just an actual decline in volume) The EQ pedal works really well through the loop, but the overdrive again seems a bit tame in the loop. I used the OD through the Fx loop on an 100w Ampeg rig the other day and it seemed much 'beefier', whereas it seems quite timid on the Hartke. Same with the compression-worked real well through the loop on the Ampeg, not very good on the Hartke. Didn't Compress my lows and give me some punch, just reduced my volume a bit. If anything it was punchier when I had it off! Oh and the send/return level? I had it set halfway for a while, then toyed with it and realizes it was almost a blend knob, allowing me to retain some clean signal. Is that right? I have it all on return now. I clearly don't know what I'm doing so if anyone can shed some light on all this..... Cheers.

I need to see if can find the review online. The guy from the mag couldn't praise it enough. What sold it for me, was him saying he wasn't making any allowances because it's cheap, it really was good full stop. So yeah, looks like that or a Squier VMJ at the moment, although I'm leaning towards the peavey as I already have a Fender. Would like to hear from someone who had one though

I'm in the market for a £200-is pound spare bass, and almost settled myself on a squier vintage modified Jazz. My bandmate today though, gave me a couple of pages from a guitar magazine(not sure which one) where they review the peavey zodiac bxp. The guy reviewing it absolutely loves it, and not only thinks it's great for it's price (£200) but actually great full stop, comparable or better than basses 4 times the price. Anyway, that's the only review I've read of it( bar one guy on harmony central) so wondered if anyone had one and could let me know how good they actually are? In comparison to a squier VMJ would be even better!

now lighter, cos I just ordered one. £23 all in. If the guy who tested [i]all[/i] those pedals recommends it, it must be useful, especially for a relative beginner like me.

[quote name='bootleg' post='430839' date='Mar 10 2009, 06:36 PM']This one? [url="http://www.ovnilab.com/"]compressors[/url][/quote] Awesome, he actually [i]recommends[/i] the behringer DC9. My wallet suddenly feels alot heavier..

Just one knob I'm afraid- 'compression' with a neat little light that comes on green when doing nothing, flashes orange when doing a bit, and flashes red when it's sounding awful. What I would like then, is a seperate compressor. We have a rack mounted one in the band, but as I play soley through my amp I guess I need a pedal of some kind? I.e the Ashdown?? Unless I can find an alternative.

I kinda get the idea behind compression. It makes the louder notes quiter, and raises the lower volumes, to make it 'even' sounding. Thats all great and all, but I've never got along with the compression on my Hartke amp. It's the vx3500 combo (HA3500 head). I've used it quite a bit recently, and it just seems to do nothing until you get to 6 or 7, when it squeezes the hell out of everything. I don't really care for the whole 'evening out the volume' thing, I'm all for dynamics, but I really like the thump you get from the amp when a bit of compression is applied. Last night at rehersal our drummer and sound guy brought along a little Ashdown electric blue combo, 180watt, as I'm in the market for a smaller amp for little venues (as seen in my other post!), and the compression on that thing seemed miles better. I turned it up to around 4, and it just seemed to give the notes a bit of whack, without making them sound 'squeezed', if that makes any sense. It didn't seem like it was limiting the notes at all, just making them sound a touch more compact, giving my bass a nice rhythmic thump. I'm sure if I had gone up to 10, it would have sounded the same as my Hartke, but this seemed to be a nice subtle bit of compression, which my Hartke seems incapable of! Compression on the Hartke seems to go like this- 1-4 no effect, and no audible difference between on/off at this stage. 5/6, limits the hard hit notes a little bit, but you can really hear them being 'compressed' and it doesn't sound great, also creates a completely different sound to the rest of the notes, so sounds out of synch when it cuts in. 7-10, You get the thumpy effect from the low notes, but it doesn't sound great, as you can really hear them being forcefully compressed, they sound overly boxy, plus a little bit of what sounds like 'air' in the mix of the note (make any sense?), and puts no 'thump' into the higher notes, just louder! I'm not great at describing this stuff so I hope it makes sense, but basically I'd like my Hartke to do what the Ashdown does! Sounding less like a 'limiter', I guess. So is this down to crap compression on the Hartke, or am I completely wrong and was it something else about the Ashdown that was giving it the thump? (I did turn it on/off and you could feel the difference). Who knows- I may have imagined it all. If I didn't, I see Ashdown make a dual band compression pedal........for a very reasonable £49