BottomEndian

Now that Reverb have their 10%-off-everything sale going on, I'm wondering... I've been GASing for a Jazz for a while now (never had one, always loved the sound), and I've been thinking about trying out fretless. So, I've combined the two into mega-GAS for the Squier VMJ fretless, which you can get new from Reverb's website for under £200 with the 10% off. Cheap and cheerful (and well-reviewed!) way to try out fretless and settle my desire for a Jazz on a budget, right? Trouble is, I've never been convinced by the Jazz necks I've played. I've always found them [i]too[/i] slim, even for my little hands. But is it just that I'm used to Precision and 5-string necks? Would I get used to it eventually? And do people find it easy to switch between the different nut widths and string spacings on different basses? :wacko: I don't have enough experience across the world of basses -- I tend to just play my own! -- so I cast this one open to you, the educated hordes of Basschat! EDIT to remove some of the million uses of the word "just"

[quote name='51m0n' post='488740' date='May 15 2009, 12:04 PM']Heil PR40 FTW![/quote] Hey, that thing looks sexy! And a third of the price of the RE27. Hmmm... FTW indeed!

I've had the Max 450 and I've currently got the Max 700. I've always run them at 2 ohms, and never had a problem. They've never shut down unexpectedly. The 450 once fell out of a moving car; took it to rehearsal, plugged it in... perfect. Sturdy and reliable. Sounds like you've got a duffer.

[quote name='JPAC' post='486765' date='May 13 2009, 11:31 AM']...btw most young people work in metric now.[/quote] +1 If there were metric measurements and weights, I'd be able to visualise the cabs much more easily. As it is, I have to use a tape measure or a conversion website. Just don't take it too far and start talking about your "381 mm speakers".

And if you want more web traffic? Get your cabs on [i]This Morning[/i] with Phil & Fern! It's amazing how much sway that programme holds -- it's like a lesson in herd mentality. A couple of products that we sell got featured yesterday, and our web traffic doubled through the afternoon and evening (and into this morning), with probably a 300% increase in people either adding stuff to their baskets or actually buying. And we're just a new, tiny business in the nursery industry. The big players must have been inundated. Just imagine Fern Britton's endorsement, delivered straight to camera: "I've never come across another 1x15 cab that has pummelling low end, driving mids and just enough highs to cut through, yet weighs less than a 3-year-old girl. And it's so loud that Phil's ruptured something. This is a must-have for every gigging bassist." Seriously though, once everything's sorted in terms of website and production, if you get your PR campaign right, the sky's the limit.

If you've got one handy, the ElectroVoice RE27 is a beauty for kick drums and bass amps. And if you're miking up a cab, try sticking a mic on the port too (if you've got one). It can add loads of whump. It can sound gash too, so go easy on it!

[quote name='Clive Thorne' post='486543' date='May 13 2009, 12:58 AM']From that article: "This formula may look pretty formidable: just take it for granted (it's actually derived from the fact that the note produced by a string is proportional to the speed that sound travels in the string, and that speed in turn depends on how tense and how heavy the string is." I dispute that. It's nothing to do with the speed of sound in the string. If I remember correctly it's to do with the mass of the string/unit length and the force produced by the displacement of the string by plucking, i.e good old Newton's laws of force, mass, and acceleration. Please correct me if I'm wrong (it's been 30 years since my Physics degree).[/quote] It's been 7 years since mine, but I'm not really much wiser when it comes to physics. I think it's just badly worded. It's not to do with the speed of sound in the string (although as a rough guide, the higher the mass per unit length, the more dense the string will be and the higher the speed of sound!); it's to do with the [i]wave speed[/i] along the string. There's not really any involvement of force (apart from the tension) in the calculations. It doesn't matter how hard you pluck the string (within reason) -- the frequency should stay the same. Quick derivation: For a fixed string of length L, the wavelength of the fundamental mode of vibration (the basic note you hear when you pluck the open string) is 2L. Because f = (v / lambda), where f is frequency, v is wave speed of the oscillation along the string and lambda is wavelength, we can then see that our fundamental frequency is f = v / 2L. When the amplitude of oscillations is small (i.e. you're not digging in like a terrier), the wave speed is v = sqrt(T / rho), where T is tension and rho is mass per unit length of the string. (Trust me, the derivation for that bit isn't for the faint-hearted.) So, by simple substitution into what we had before: f = (1 / 2L) sqrt(T / rho) For anyone who's interested, the derivation of wave speed as v = sqrt(T / rho) involves the "small angle approximation" that A is roughly equal to (sin A), where A is the angle between the string's resting position and the string's position at maximum excursion. So if you pluck too hard, the formula breaks down and your note will go out of tune. There's your lesson, people: don't mess with physics -- you'll go out of tune! This was never my area of expertise, though. More of a quantum mechanics and relativity kinda guy.

There seem to be a lot of people who think Ibanez = metal. While I would agree with that first impression when it comes to their (6-string, up an octave) guitars, I really don't get that from their basses. The only Ibanez bass shape that shouts [b]METAAALLLL![/b] is the ICB: The rest just seem like nice simple designs (with the possible exception of the BTBs, which are admittedly a bit pointy, like a stag beetle had sex with a tree). Compare with ESP. They're all points and edges. Pure metal. And my Ibanez BTB sounds... well... sort of... kind of like a Jazz, but a Jazz that's been to the gym. Huge, but well-rounded. Not really a metal tone at all. Just my 2p. I haven't had enough experience of different bass brands to contribute much more, so... as you were.

[quote name='markdavid' post='485949' date='May 12 2009, 02:16 PM']You may well be right there, that would make sense to me as I did not initially notice the tension when I first strung the bass with these strings , it was only after I had played the bass for a while that I noticed that my fingers felt like they were going to fall off[/quote] I got that when I changed from XL rounds to Chromes (flats). There's a tiny increase in tension between the string types, but the difference in stiffness is very noticeable. It was also the change in string surface that made my plucking fingers suffer. The increased contact surface area on the flats meant some very sore fingertips for the first few times I played them. Is there a noticeable difference in surface feel between Slinkies and ProSteels? (I've never used either type!) Also, we shouldn't forget that there are factors of instrument build which affect the [b]perceived[/b] tension or softness of strings, like break angles over nut and bridge, and length from nut to tuning post. That means that the same strings on different basses might feel very different, even though the strings are at exactly the same tension (assuming identical tuning on identical scale lengths). This article has an interesting little section about two-thirds of the way down about exactly those factors: [url="http://www.noyceguitars.com/Technotes/Articles/T3.html"]http://www.noyceguitars.com/Technotes/Articles/T3.html[/url]

[quote name='Clive Thorne' post='485836' date='May 12 2009, 12:45 PM']...you could have a 105 thou solid stainless rod, with zero tension, but you'd find it very stiff and difficult to pluck![/quote] Someone on BC is sure to take that as a challenge!

This all sounds a bit odd to me. ProSteels are listed as having a [i]lower[/i] tension than D'Addario XL nickels at the same gauge -- and only slightly, to the extent that you might well not notice, and you might not have to adjust your neck relief or action. Behold (for example) the [url="http://store.daddario.com/category/145919/EXL165_Long_Scale_45-105"]45-105 long scale XLs[/url] compared to the [url="http://store.daddario.com/category/145893/EPS165_Long_Scale_45-105"]45-105 long scale ProSteels[/url]. I don't know how Ernie Ball's tensions compare to XLs, but I wouldn't have thought they would be [i]so[/i] different that switching to ProSteels would mean a huge jump up in tension. Might it be the case that people are actually finding the ProSteels [b]stiffer[/b] (i.e. less flexible, so more difficult to pluck laterally) than nickel rounds? That seems more feasible, and it explains Delberthot's statement that he didn't have to adjust the neck. Two strings at exactly the same tension (tension being measured along the length of the string) could feel completely different to pluck, depending on the construction of the string -- they'll move differently. This is all just falling out of the top of my head, so it's not very well put, but it's something I've been wondering about for a while.

[quote name='bilbo230763' post='483935' date='May 9 2009, 07:04 PM']Don't worry, pip. I only found that out last year and I have been reading for nearly 20 years [/quote] Yeah, it's one of those bits of notation that's much more common (no pun intended ) in some environments than others. I spent a good few years of my youth playing in brass bands, and the "common" and "cut common" (C with a vertical line through it) symbols were absolutely bog-standard.

[quote name='Eight' post='483747' date='May 9 2009, 03:04 PM']Especially if you lose the browny/orange theme. [/quote] +1. Very retro. Or very IBS bowl-splatter.

[quote name='Kongo' post='483710' date='May 9 2009, 02:11 PM']I always thought weight to be a good thing anyways.[/quote] That explains your love for the BTBs!

[quote name='Mr.T' post='483442' date='May 9 2009, 12:08 AM']5 strings... Will he play the B, or use it as a thumbrest?[/quote] Or, if it's a metal band, will he play the E, A, D or G?

[quote name='spinynorman' post='483110' date='May 8 2009, 04:58 PM']Go on, someone tell us what percentage of the population can taste the difference in their urine after eating asparagus.[/quote] Well, 90% of taste famously depends on your sense of smell. So presumably pretty much everyone who can smell the difference can taste the difference in their "special lager". Any volunteers?

[quote name='OldGit' post='483127' date='May 8 2009, 05:10 PM']...sequence of images with good tities...[/quote] NSFW?

I'm just waiting for someone to draw a direct parallel with jazz. Something like, "Everyone's capable of hearing jazz, but only 22% of the population have the genes that allow them to enjoy it." (Not that I agree...) :ph34r:

[quote name='Paul Cooke' post='482668' date='May 8 2009, 07:37 AM']I like Asparagus... unfortunately it makes my urine smell weird afterwards...[/quote] Bizarre OT factoid here: although pretty much everyone produces "asparagus wee" after eating asparagus, only about 22% of the population have the ability to smell it (it's genetic). So chances are that someone who says, "My urine doesn't smell weird after I eat asparagus," is merely incapable of detecting the stench of their own micturitions; said stench will instead be affecting 22% of the people in the toilet with them at the time!

[quote name='BigRedX' post='482171' date='May 7 2009, 04:55 PM']Cool stuff! Not as musically immediate as Pandora, but it'll do for now.[/quote] Yeah, I know what you mean. Last.fm's good for that immediacy (and Tuneglue gets its info from last.fm and Amazon), but I like being able to see all the interconnections, and the way it automatically rearranges everything is really very, very cool.

Just discovered this: [url="http://audiomap.tuneglue.net/"]http://audiomap.tuneglue.net/[/url] Just type an artist into the search box and they'll pop up in the big blank area. You can then click on the artist to "expand" to the next level of related artists, and then you can expand them, and expand them, until you end up with a huge network of stuff you need to go and listen to... [attachment=24921:tuneglue.jpg] A nice visual way to find new bands, methinks!

[quote name='51m0n' post='482012' date='May 7 2009, 02:19 PM']Me too, I wasn't happy till I'd built [b]bespoke interconnects[/b] for mine using only [b]premium grade components[/b] and [b]absolute minimum line lengths[/b], seems completely natural that she would view hers in the same way to me.....[/quote] :splutter: You carry on with filth like that and the moderators'll be on you like a ton of bricks.

[quote name='johnnylager' post='481992' date='May 7 2009, 02:06 PM']MILFtastic. Or is that GILF?[/quote] GILF? Give her time. Her kids are only teenagers. I thought she might be a bit up her own arse, but she was genuinely really, really lovely, and spent a fair bit of time with the choir backstage and in rehearsals. A bit too obsessed with her own rack, but lovely nonetheless.

Thanks for the greets, y'all. [quote name='Golchen' post='481721' date='May 7 2009, 10:44 AM']Greetings. Another Zappa fan and multi-instrumentalist here.[/quote] So what are [i]your[/i] other instruments?

[quote name='skankdelvar' post='481888' date='May 7 2009, 12:59 PM']* There is no good and bad Asparagus * There is commercially successful Asparagus * There is Asparagus which used to be commercially successful but isn't anymore * Jazz is a form of Asparagus which used to be commercially successful but isn't anymore * The French call it Asperges * Aspergers syndrome has nothing to do with Jazz * Jazz mags are sometimes not about Jazz or Asparagus[/quote] S**t, man. I just spat water all over my laptop. Thanks!