BottomEndian

[quote name='bilbo230763' post='746954' date='Feb 16 2010, 10:27 AM']Also, the third finger is dependent upon the second for its muscle power and is, thus, less flexible. If you place your hand flat on a tale then curl your middle (longest) finger underneath your palm, you cannot move the third independently as teh muscle is locked into the finger being restrained.[/quote] I've just done this and my mind is blown. It's a bizarre sensation, willing your finger to do something and it failing utterly to comply. I never knew...

[quote name='thunderbird13' post='746941' date='Feb 16 2010, 10:14 AM']One question though - why is it the 1st 2nd and 4th fingers can you not just use 1,2 and 3 with the 4th being held out of the way , like when you drink a cup of tea[/quote] The hand's much less stretched and strained with 1-2-4 than with 1-2-3. On a 34" scale, frets 1 and 3 are 8.9 cm apart (that's 3.5 inches, you ol' dinosaurs ). That's quite a stretch for me with fingers 1 and 3; 1 and 4 is no problem at all. It's that simple. I'm sure I've read somewhere that Jaco played 1-2-4 up to 4th position and then OFPF from 5th position up, and he did alright for himself, didn't he? Well, for a while at least...

[quote name='ThomBassmonkey' post='746890' date='Feb 16 2010, 09:30 AM']I can't read music[/quote] I'm just going to pre-empt Bilbo... LEARNTOREADMUSICLEARNTOREADMUSICLEARNTOREADMUSIC...

[quote name='ThomBassmonkey' post='744951' date='Feb 14 2010, 04:37 PM']Another one I use (for both hands) is (as intervals, I start off higher up the fret[board]) 1, 2, minor 3, 4 and back down (so for example C, D, D#, F, D#, D, C.)[/quote] <pedant> If the root is C, then the minor 3rd is Eb, not D#. I know they're enharmonic equivalents, so they sound the same, but they perform different functions within the scale. "C, D, D#, F" is part of no scale I've ever seen. D# would be a sharpened second (or usually a sharpened ninth in a chord symbol), and you'd usually see it in fruity little numbers like C7#9 (the "Hendrix chord") where it coexists with the major 3rd, causing a lovely little tense clash. </pedant>

[quote name='M4L666' post='745620' date='Feb 15 2010, 10:31 AM']How is your looper set up, BottomEndian?[/quote] Loop 1: Bass Big Muff Loop 2: Digitech Grunge --> Wren & Cuff Pickle Pie B So I can switch back and forth between the fuzzes of my choice. The rest of the chain: IN --> Turbo Tuner --> Loooper (as above) --> EHX Enigma --> Boss Bass Chorus --> Maxon CP-9 Pro+ compressor --> huge DHA box o' tubes --> OUT

Bear in mind that everything that follows comes from someone who largely plays colossally heavy proggy-stonery-doomy 3-piece rock, usually tuning down to C, B-flat, A or A-flat as the whim takes us. The guitarist's running a 4x12" from a 150W solid-state bass head. IME, in the vast majority of venues we've played, the PA has been for vocals only. Occasionally a drum or two might creep in. Everything else we just balance at the backline to the sound of the drums in the room. We've never drowned out a drummer (our drummers have always played hard), and the vocals are always audible. We're [i]nowhere near[/i] as loud as we have been on the rare occasions when we've had everything through the PA (which has never been up to us anyway -- always down to the venue/sound engineer), so it's not a volume thing. [quote name='Phaedrus' post='745473' date='Feb 15 2010, 02:08 AM']If your drummer can master playing dynamically, or is willing to experiment with damping, or even using smaller/thinner (read "quiter") cymbals, you're on the right road.[/quote] Sadly, drums played quietly (obviously not the same as playing dynamically, but you get the drift) or damped or with thinner cymbals sound completely different from undamped, whacked drums played with cymbals as thick as a baby's finger. Of course, that might be fine in the context of a particular band, but not with mine. We have to remember as well that it's a bit silly to compare amp rig power using watts. It depends on how clean (how much THD) the amp power is rated, how sensitive the speakers in the cab are and all that stuff. I've used (among many others) a 150W valve amp and 1x15" cab (plenty loud), a 300W solid-state 1x15" combo (just about held its own), a 2x10" G-K combo (plenty loud through the mids but no real bottom), a 700W solid-state head with 4x10" and 1x15" cabs (OK for volume but a heavy pile), a pre- and power-amp setup at 800W with the same 4x10" and 1x15" cabs (way, way, [i]way[/i] too quiet)... the list goes on. Too many variables to say that "200W should be enough" or whatever. At the moment, my 500W amp head rarely gets above 10 o'clock on the master volume, but that's because the speakers in the cab are [i]soooo[/i] sensitive. It's nice to know the extra room's there if I need it. Also, a 2x10 and a 4x10 sound pretty different at the bottom end, even with the same speakers and the same general construction. The larger box of the 4x10 allows a deeper sound, and an 8x10 will go deeper still (assuming it's a single box and not internally divided into two 4x10s). I know I'll get effortless bottom end from my cab because it's got a nice big box, and when your guitarist is tuning down so far he's into bass territory, it's nice to know that there's some real bottom available. And obviously there's a context to everything. If I started doing more gentle, acoustic-y stuff (which I'd like to some time soon), I'd probably lug a different, smaller cab along. Not because the Vintage couldn't do the job, but because it'd be overkill and I wouldn't need so much bottom end.

[quote name='witterth' post='743989' date='Feb 13 2010, 01:57 PM']whats PSP!!?!! is it that "some bloke,someone else and palladino" thing Ive seen on another thread? Dr Evil: "chuck me a frikken bone here."[/quote]

[quote name='Jean-Luc Pickguard' post='743253' date='Feb 12 2010, 04:22 PM']10,000 is a ridiculous amount for a limited edition. As a comparison, Epiphone's limited edition thunderbirds such as my alpine white one was a run of 500.[/quote] Much more sensible. Warwick also seem to keep their Limited Editions to two or three hundred. Mind you, if I was Hans-Peter Wilfer I'd keep the numbers down just to save my headstock-signing hand.

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='743175' date='Feb 12 2010, 03:08 PM']Yes mate, they changed the pickups in the 5-string in early 2008 from the ceramic magnet one (a la Sterling) to the traditional alnico magnets. So if you love the sound of your 4-string Stingrays, have a new one.[/quote] Or an old one. They were alnico up to around 1992/3*, and they swapped to ceramic when they added the phantom coil. [size=1]* Officially 1992, but there seems to have been a blurred transition -- my SR5 is from 1993 and has alnico/no phantom coil.[/size]

The latest incarnation of the BottomEndian board (quick phone snap... the SLR's hidden behind an impenetrable wall of basses, cases and fireguards):

[quote name='thunderbird13' post='743085' date='Feb 12 2010, 01:55 PM']am I the only one who thinks it looks quite nice ?[/quote] Nope. There are at least 9,999 others.

[quote name='OldGit' post='743068' date='Feb 12 2010, 01:43 PM']Just how many Iceman Bass customers are there?[/quote] Actually, this raises an interesting question: for a given model of bass from (say) Ibanez, how many are usually produced? Anybody in the industry know typical figures?

[quote]There was a very very limited run of these available, (10,000 each of this and the black and red chequerboard finishe as far as I am aware)[/quote] Very very limited? Ten [i]thousand[/i]?

My Hondo's probably a keeper, but that's because I'd never get anything for it if I tried to sell it! Also, it's never even crossed my mind to get rid of the SUB. Many others have come and gone, but that one's permanent.

[quote name='Tech' post='742238' date='Feb 11 2010, 04:20 PM'] i'd be happy to answer any questions![/quote] The only question in my mind: are you tiny or are they giants?!

[quote name='Musicman20' post='741984' date='Feb 11 2010, 12:48 PM']I would love to a b them both, but the store I am dealing with are way down south. I can't even have a quick road test of one up here as no shops stock either of them [/quote] Sounds Live don't have an SR5? Well, my offer of a few weeks back still stands: if you want to have a noodle on my fretless SR5 (and my OLP if you fancy it), let me know. I'm pretty nearby. (Be warned, though: it's a 1993, so it's alnico magnets and no phantom coil.)

[quote name='Musicman20' post='741843' date='Feb 11 2010, 11:17 AM']You know what puts me off though? Not the retail, but the price they go for secondhand. People seem to lose a lot. I don't expect to sell it on, but it's nice to have that security.[/quote] Everything seems to go through phases, and Warwicks don't seem to be doing that well second-hand at the moment. Remember that we've had some massive price hikes recently (across pretty much all brands), so comparing [b]current[/b] retail prices with second-hand prices is going to distort the apparent losses. The people selling SR5s around £800 may have only paid around £1k for them a few years ago. Not a huge hit to take. If the retail price stays high, I'd expect to see second-hand prices creeping up again soon. [quote name='Musicman20' post='741843' date='Feb 11 2010, 11:17 AM']Suprisingly I like the plate...I would get a classic series but they are more money, and they have no selector/2band eq, and I'd like a mid control for max flexibilty with a 5 string.[/quote] Having just taken delivery of an OLP 5-string with John East pre, I'm quite tempted to get an East for my fretless SR5. The sweepable mid takes it even further in terms of flexibility. Just another thing to think about!

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='741739' date='Feb 11 2010, 09:05 AM']It'd be the MusicMan 5 for me as well. The Warwick 5's have narrower string spacing which can be a pain if you're used to 18-19mm spacing...[/quote] This ^^^. I tried a Warwick FNA Jazzman 5-string, and I pretty much couldn't play it. I mean, I'm sure I'd get used to it, but the spacing's about 14.5 mm (unless you get a "Broadneck" model, in which case it's about 20 mm or something... no sensible middle ground at Warwick! ). The Stingray 5's 17.5 mm at the bridge, and while it feels noticeably tighter than a Fender or a 4-string Stingray, it's a much easier transition. Plus the 3-way switching (series/single-coil/parallel) makes it really flexible tonally. Team that up with the 3-band EQ and you're away. Who needs a neck pickup?

[quote name='TommyK' post='741086' date='Feb 10 2010, 02:54 PM']Is it possible to do it on a fretted?[/quote] I've never managed it, but I've just had a look over on Talkbass and there's many a p***ing contest. Plenty of people say they can, and plenty of people say it can't be done. If there's any consensus, it's that you need a well set-up bass with a good fret job to even come close. [quote name='TommyK' post='741095' date='Feb 10 2010, 03:03 PM']Will practice method 2 for homework!!! [/quote] Well, having now heard the tune, I can say you don't need it for Even Flow. Phew. It's good fun, though. [size=1]P.S. I'm sh*t at it. :ph34r:[/size]

[quote name='bigjohn' post='741085' date='Feb 10 2010, 02:53 PM'] A visual demonstration![/quote] Oh, yeah. That's Method 3! Reduce the length of the string by sliding up from the nut.

[quote name='bilbo230763' post='741073' date='Feb 10 2010, 02:42 PM']Sliding harmonics on a fretless is easy. Don't know this tune so can't comment on the specifics.[/quote] I don't know the tune either, but nothing's easy if you don't know how to do it! Method 1: Play the harmonic normally, then press the string down at that position and slide. If you do it nice and smoothly, you'll keep the harmonic sounding as you press down. Just make sure it doesn't turn into a hammer-on! Method 2: Use artificial harmonics, frett(less)ing the fundamental note with the left hand and simultaneously stopping the string at the harmonic position [i]and[/i] plucking with the right hand. Then slide! For example, if you "fret" with the left hand at the 5th position, the octave harmonic can be generated with a finger of your right hand over the 17th "fret", and all the other harmonics spread out from there in the normal way. Method 1 is easy-peasy lemon-squeezy (but requires the harmonic to be one of the open-string harmonics!). Method 2 is more flexible and less likely to get fluffed by an inadvertent hammer-on, but takes more practice.

[quote name='Sibob' post='740915' date='Feb 10 2010, 12:53 PM']If they did, it would be on the D & G strings instead wouldn't it!?[/quote] By eye, the E/A unit looks to be around the normal position, so the D/G unit has basically "jumped" over the E/A and ended up much closer to the neck. I stand ready to be corrected!

[quote name='Dubs' post='740893' date='Feb 10 2010, 12:32 PM']It was coming up as ended earlier for me - possibly something funny happening with the cookies on IE on my work computer... I shouldn't even be on here shhhh...[/quote] It was ended earlier for me too. Maybe withdrawn and then reactivated?

[quote name='2x18' post='740819' date='Feb 10 2010, 11:38 AM']Anybody on the forum got one?[/quote] Go on, I dare you: start a thread called "Who's got a boner?"