bassjim

[attachment=250891:JD J Classic 4 1000x72.jpg]. Thanks yorks5stringer!! Here she is !!

New Overwater Jazz just arrived before the weekend so obviously I took it out at the weekend to play at a wedding. Yep that works! Warm and punchy, responsive, balanced,easy to play, feels great, looks great,sounds great. All through the gig I'm just going "wow" to myself. Band members said I was in my own little bit of bass heaven and could see and hear how pleased I was. They could tell the difference in sound as well and that says a lot in my book. To say I'm really pleased is an understatement. Money very well spent, I cant recommend these guys enough. Very happy bunny. Id post some pics but my 30mb data allowance here on FC is being used in an ad so if any one wants to see it , please can the advise how to get round that and I'll post some pics!

I was all good with the AH200 combo and then an AH200 head with a Hartke transporter 4X10. I liked the footswitch thingy where you could switch in the pre-shape for slapping. Many happy years with that. A good working set up. Then other things happened and was led blindly to the new SMX, The valve head and latest Trace cabs. All downhill from there. Never could get a sound I was ever happy with once. Twiddle twiddle twiddle with the sliders and not once satisfied with the result. The user could have been at fault here but I never had a problem with the AH200 so maybe it all got too sophisticated for me. The Ashdown stuff improved things , and other class D stuff along the way, but never really as happy as that old AH200 till landing in EBS territory. Having read this thread I'd happily try out another AH200 head with the foot switch just to see if it really was that good compared to my current choice.

When its a backline only gig with my regular band or depping and 9/10 it is just using back line, I'm happily the loudest drowner outerer if I want to be, with just the EBS 350HD head and an ebs neo 2x10. I use an extra neo 112 when I want that bit more. Then I'm hands down the loudest if I want to be. I know I could be that bit more *yes* with a proline 4 x 10 but I think the compromise all round is a good one with the neos. Plus most of the smaller places I play i wounder if the 4 x 10 would be too much? Still.......a 4 x 10 proline with the HD350....hmmm...yes....ahhh..

[quote name='Sibob' timestamp='1501235964' post='3343463'] I play in a covers band that ranges from 60's to modern-day stuff and just use a '71 Precision with flats (or my P/J Lakland with the P solo'd, rounds on that, tone backed off a bit). We don't particularly try to sound like the original band/recording, very much do our own thing arrangement and general 'vibe' wise, so I guess that makes it easy to carve a space for myself. If you're trying to accurately approximate Mark King in the 80's, a Precision won't do it......but we're not interested in being a tribute act, much more interesting doing our own thing with the songs. The Precision sits in the mix beautifully and doesn't thin out when playing up high. A sprinkling of some effects, octave, envelope, overdrive and it's all there. No EQ tweaks at all, only take a second bass in case a string breaks (hasn't happened in 10 years, but you never know). If you're interested in having a listen, bunch of live stuff here, these are my Precision with Chromes, Little Mark II with my Barefaced Super Compact mic'd with an SM57: [url="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEEfKwixZBpOacl2xdsZJcA"]https://www.youtube....ZBpOacl2xdsZJcA[/url] Si [/quote] Awesome band ! Great playing all round. Love the bass tone.

As already said here, when learning material for say a dep gig I can usually find someone who has worked the part out and I can save a lot of time. Sometimes you get some really good players that have improvised on or slightly changed the original that inspires. Like Gail on the Bowie track put up here. I'll happily nick that and where it fits, throw in my own ideas. Good or bad for a beginner? Overall I think its a good thing. I learnt a lot of things parrot fashion when starting out and was happy with that. I was gigging long before I even knew what all the notes were on the fret board. The theory side of things came later when I was ready and I think thats the deal for anyone who enjoys it and sticks at it. Little bits fall into place. I mean even on a basic level at some point you are going to say to yourself. That's a G on that fret with the dot. You remember that and its a start. In the meantime you can learn how to play a tune and enjoy it long before the resentment of inferior band mates and the search for tonal perfection sets in. If anyone has a real passion to play then youtube is another of many readily available learning tools. I think most can tell the difference between a beginner having a go to an advanced player showing exactly whats what. If someone is posting a clip claiming to be a teacher when they are obviously not qualified is usually ridiculed. Sometimes all I can find is a complete amateur showing what I am guessing is what their tutor has taught them, but if its the right notes in the right order, and I just want them here and now, its good enough for my purposes. I think anyone that has a natural ability and flair on any instrument will have that regardless of YT.

The thing about covers and originals for me is knowing when and where to play either. If you have a regular crowd at the local Dog and Duck that adore you and love every thing you do, doesn't mean the punters at the Pig and Horse Manure in the next town will. I'd approach any gig that is not an originals only night, with the view to drop all originals,if the gig is going that way. In other words no interest from the punters. And the opposite of course if your original stuff is being well received. I do remember a very good blues band I used to go and watch regulary when I was a kid that played original material only but considering the overall theme was about "waking up in the morning, something bad happening, face ache solo followed by advice that it wont be happening again" they could have been playing covers .

Not exactly but points of view are; Pessimistically: As a perm member joining a band .. If you want to improvise in any way beyond that chart or if a player/singer makes a mistake and say, you stay on the verse part for a few more bars = car crash? You could end up constantly explaining whats going on and whats required at given points all the time. Optimistically: Having said that.... To be fair, I dont know anything about this person. She could be well experienced. If you try her out you may find it all a lot easier than previously thought and she may have good ears and a sense of the bleedin obvious. IE: Singer comes in late so don't simply plough on regardless. We are still in the middle 8 as the git is still soloing,again, so hang on and repeat this bit till the vibe/cosmos/ the force/ band leader tells you its back to the chorus. And you may find it keeps every one more focused in the band. You may even learn something useful from her. Sometimes the second guessing of a chord/ arrangement can be solved instantly because its there written out in front of her. I've done gigs where a brass section has turned up, with charts on an ipad each and its all gone fine. But these were experienced players that were also "musically aware". Suck it and see i think. Worth a punt on a rehearsal just to see how it goes.

Another passive jazz fan here. Use back, both or front PUPs, and adjust tone to taste to whats useable more often than not. Dont always get exactly what I like or want but do get what I can use. I throw in some chorus as and when I feel like it too even though the original has none. Sometimes I will play over the back pick up when the record is a deep P bass part. But that may be because the room sounds sh*t if any low end gets boosted in any way including just panning over to the front pick up. Sometimes its what others in the band are doing that can also dictate what works. I dont think you can watch a youtube video demoing a certain brand of bass or amp and except that that is what its going to sound like any where you go and in any situation. Live sound I think is part of the never ending learning curb. Can be very frustrating if you have had 2-3 gigs in a row and not the sound you want due to the room acoustics ect and can also be rewarding if the opposite happens. Too many good sounding rooms/ stages in a row can make you think you have it sussed, all your gear is the best money can buy, you know exactly what you are doing and all is well in the world only for that next bad one to put you back into having doubts. Overall though with my jazz, it does more often than not, sound like a bass, playing the bass part.

yes

[quote name='6feet7' timestamp='1500745287' post='3339952'] Thats why I haven't played a gig (or even gone to one) in Brighton in years. [/quote] it was eastbourne. last few gigs i did in brighton this last month were really good. no yobs

Ok probably more of a "get it of me chest" rant but I'm gonna share... Dont you just hate it when.. Last night I ended up in a venue which had about 7-8 coked out of their minds, pissed up, big and mean enough, yobos all shouting at each other , constantly reaffirming their undying love for one another whilst simultaneously threatening to beat the living sh*t out of one and other. Not exactly a great atmosphere. The landlord , let them get on with it. Probably because they were the only punters in the place. Unsurprisingly any one poking their heads in, unless also yobo on coke, would do a u turn and off they went. When not talking/shouting utter sh*t to each other they danced in a piss take kind of way up close and in front of our female petrified dep singer. Again , all fine with the landlord. By the end of a long night (play till 1am policy) finally its the last number. To be fair by now there are probably about 30-40 people in total have drifted in there , most of which are also of the same mentality. The yobs have managed to keep it an almost women free environment. Bit like a football screen pub. Only a couple of either brave or emotionally attached to said yob fest are there. Could not wait for that stagnant atmosphere sh*t of a gig to end. Usually a good gig at this place to play so disappointed that a few were allowed to reign supreme. Its now very possible we as a band will vote to not go back there again because of it. Shame as we have had some blinding gigs there in the past but it would seem its now yob territory. If other bands on this circuit we know affirm this is the case then thats it, defo no more playing here. They weren't openly doing coke in front of anyone but I have been around long enough to know when folks are wired. A trip to the bogs for a top up and it keeps on going.Its just dangerous when these sort get on it. One sudden paranoid instance and it all kicks off. All the talk we do here about tone, string height, what amp, where to place it, jazz, precision, fender good, fender bad, you name it ect ect suddenly dissipates into meaningless nothing when attempting to "entertain" the brain dead. Bernie the life saver: To add salt to the wound, a few hours before leaving for the gig, I changed my strings. Or at least I tried to as the machine head for the E string decided to break. I called Bernie as I have at the moment, no back up bass. (It is on its way but thats another story). He very kindly waited for me to arrive instead of going home for the evening, and not only repaired it but lent be a back up bass in case the worst happened. Then he changes the strings for me!!! How about that!!! What a guy eh? Bloody fantastic bloke. All this extra behind the scenes activity to make sure the show goes on and to be the best I can be......for what? maybe there is a funny side to this but I haven't reached it yet. Utter deflating experience. Ok we got paid but quite frankly Id have rather of gone to see a mates band play or even better than that done the gig with him ( I dep for his band when I can). Tonights venue however is a really nice place in a nice area so at least I can look forward to that. Thanks for reading.I feel a lot better now.

I think I've seen somewhere or other that placing your bass cabs in the middle of a room or not against/near a back wall can have negative results rather than good. Something to do with soundwaves, omnidirectional bass transithingys ect. on /off axis? Whatever the reason is , its obviously advised against....on paper. Eden amplification once came out with a 2 cab solution where by one cab was traditional square shape and the other like a wedge. The idea being you stood between the two. One fires front and one fires back at you pointed upwards. You could also stack the two cabs for a trad set up. One has to ask why this never caught on and we settled back into backline at the back with its proven up and downs? And of course IEM, stacking cabs high ect all play their part. I would wonder if by moving the bottom cab to the edge of where the stage area stops and the audience begins, in a pub without a stage, are you just firing the sound straight at their ankles and therefore they now don't get the clarity unless standing well back. If moving the cabs as you have is really working for you and where ever you play it works, resulting in no sound issues whatsoever, then regardless of what any law of physics says,... it works. Have you tried this in more than just one venue with good results? Personally I would worry that the audience see my cabs as a good place to lean up against, put drinks on, bump into,kick ect.

yes .like that

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1500627826' post='3339174'] Not bad for almost 71. Edit - cos I can't add up! [/quote] even so......... Lovely bloke. "I cant go for that " with the guy on the vocoda thingy is one of my favs from this series

so very pleased for you!!!!!!

Sorry to hear about this. This must be very frustrating and annoying. Each time I read about this happening its usually starts with ....."stolen out of my car/ the band van....." These bastards that steal our beloved gear have an eye out on us musicians. What I'm saying is its probably not just by chance they strike lucky when randomly choosing which car/van to break into. Its a fair amount of grief when you are tired getting back at 1 am ect for sometimes the third night in a row, and the thought of carrying all our gear back inside is more work at the end of a busy night. Its late and no one is around and its out of sight in the boot. Surely no one can be arsed to run off down the road with a cabinet/s can they? Yes, they can be arsed ,and they have probably been watching you more than you think. Stolen out of an unattended vehicle is way down on the "would cough up " list by insurance companies. Not that any of that helps the OP now

Because I've pretty much got the tone I'm after using my gear I know its all doable. There are only conditions I cant do anything about that prevent it coming through. The constant change from gig to gig like the sound of the room and stage area. Some places I look forward to playing again whilst other places I dread. The rehearsal room we use is ok but not perfect. I can fiddle all I like with the EQ but the room acoustics wont allow it to happen. I get close enough though. When i have a gig and the drummer is brain dead and has no respect for the music, volume,feel or tempo, or any band member for that matter, it can drain all my enthusiasm and mojo. When this musical scribbling happens my tone may as well count for nothing as its either getting drowned out or I cant play the parts I want to, how I want to. Also I think the temperature has its part to play as well. Like too hot and humid to freezing cold all put the boot in as well. I have come to accept sometimes I have great tone (as far as I'm personally concerned in this pursuit anyway ) and all is well on Earth and sometimes I just dont. The best tone I get with complete satisfaction with the best consistency is when I'm working at home through a sh*tty little £15.00 off ebay practice amp, at low volume. Be it twiddling or working out new material for gigs playing along to youtube ect its always very good. But then all the other conditions that effect tone at gigs are not there and I'm in control of the environment! I think its a good thing to pursue a good tone and the one you want though. The want to be that bit better just for your own satisfaction is not a bad thing at all. It all adds up.

Learnt 20 new tunes for a dep gig. ended up playing half of em! We just all happened to know other tunes that worked well on the night.Still, good learning process. another string to the bow. was a great gig!

I have come to the conclusion that the quality of the musician and respect for volume, dynamics, what works best where and when and overall awareness of the gig as its happening, like experience, differs from one to the next. I have gigs where the some of the band that use IEM disappear into their own little worlds and disconnect from whats going on around them loosing all perspective. In fact several times I have had to give them a nudge or a kick to point out something otherwise obvious. There are some musicians I know, that if they turned up with IEM and put them selves in the PA ect I would trust their actions completely as I already know, with much confidence, that they know exactly what they are doing. There are some venues that sound messy no matter what is or isn't in your ears or the PA or back line. We played a function at the Grand in Brighton last week and it was like playing in a Cathedral. Thankfully the punters loved it and were up dancing in front all night but which helped a lot but still not really an ideal room to play in. Agreed in buckets, its not the tech but the user. Sometimes I wish some of this tech just wasn't there in the first place. Its been more trouble than its worth IME. Even if the whole band are on board with it it still seems to me that you need someone within the band, or a sound guy with a fair amount of real experience and good knowledge to lead the way. I guess I just haven't been lucky enough so far as so many, with very good reasons, are very pro IEM as a volume solution. I'm still into turning it all down and asking the drummer, when necessary, to watch it on the snare drum. IMO thats' where the volume problem usually starts. It would be good if they could get a snare that just didnt take over when they hit it at the velocity they need to get the sound they want. Like an electronic kit but the same feel as an acoustic one. Hmmm........

Big fan of the flat eq here. If I can leave it here I will. Depending on the room and placement of the cab ect ,say down the Dog and Duck, squeezed up next to the drummer and between the fruit machine and gents bog entrance, : If it needs it, a bit of a bump in the mids at about 200hz to cut through/ more presence, and maybe a slight bit of top to taste but the bass knob 9/10 stays flat and in some cases I back it off slightly. Turn the amp right down and it sounds wrong but whack it up to band volume and the picture becomes clear.

Yes annoying isn't it? I think when performing covers, changing the key is something that goes with the territory so you may as well get musically equipped to deal with it. I find with bass parts, some tunes suffer for it and some tunes can even sound better for it. Sometimes changing key can go in your favour. Like, off the top of my head, Chaka Khans' Aint NoBody going up a semi tone from Eb to E or Rock With You by MJ up a semi tone for example. I prefer a 4 over a 5 string and for some singers these tunes would mean I de tune my E string to Eb, and rethink my fingering, which ok, isn't that big a deal but when you don't have bother......ect ect. But bottom line is if the singer can sing but needs it in another key then that's where you have to go. We (my reg band) find if something just doesn't work in another key we accept it and move on. Loads to choose from.

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Congratulations !!!!![/font][/color]

[quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1497891641' post='3321170'] I do like nickels but I find they take away some of the single coil sound/magic. [/quote]having tried the nickels im keen to check what else they have. what do you use for the single coil magic?