TheRev

On 29/06/2025 at 20:57, Beer of the Bass said:

.... the locking Neutrik jacks are huge and won't fit in my jack clamp,

I have locking Neutrik jack sockets on my basses - I found a rubber lined pipe clamp of just the right size that holds the socket nice and firm.

Happy to send you a clamp in the post in you like?

2 hours ago, Fishfacefour said:

Well that's exactly what prompted the search. I was discussing using an electric upright, but the affordable ones all look terrible. My other half suggested getting a 'real' bass instead; id always assumed that would be off the cards due to space. Result!  😎

 

The only other worry is that my usual practice time is after the kids have gone to bed. We'll have to see how that goes.

My ususal playing time is 10-11pm, so I use mutes and plug in to a headphone amp.  That doesn't help when I start singing though.

Last summer, out of desperation, I dug an old Peavey 2 x 15 cab out of storage to use as backline for a festival stage and it sounded bloody amazing. Not amazing enough to want to lug it to gigs, but I'll be using it on all my stages this year.

£90? If they last 30 years like a good set of flats should then they're a bargain.

Christ.

It's a bit alarming that it fell apart like that. A well made bass should last more than 19 years and it's not like Kolsteins were cheap.

....must go check on my Eminence....

There's currently three double basses at £1000 or less in the 'EUB & double basses for sale' forum, any of which would be suitable for your needs, with the added bonus that you know they've come from reputable people and haevn't been abused.

I use the Fishman and am very happy with it. I also see a lot of folk musicians using them for guitar, mandolin, violin, etc.

There's also an input trim control and a boost switch, wich is very useful if you swap between instruments.

Bob Gollihur's site has a good explanation of why impedance matters and why you may need an impedance matching preamp for your piezo pickup

https://gollihurmusic.com/ohms-impedance-from-the-input-perspective/?srsltid=AfmBOoqHLBKvd9-BHmshssKiCIrAT5-J3dtKmh8iyoYJAZfJ0RjsUZO7

If your Shadow 950 sounds nasal and thin through your Rumble 115, then you probably need a preamp with a high (5-10 MOhm) input impedance to match the high impedance of the pickup.

The simplest preamps, like the K&K pure preamp will buffer the impedance difference between the pickup and the amp input but offer no EQ, phase inversion or high pass filter (HPF).  If you can afford it, I would recommend a preamp with a HPF control as that will help defeat feedback on loud or boomy stages.

Again, Bob Gollihur's site has a good range of preamps available, but it's a USA site, so it's worth seeing waht's available from a european dealer

https://gollihurmusic.com/preamplifiers-and-eq/1-channel-preamplifiers/

Another year where the SW bash clashes with a regular gig booking.

I came across this in my lunchtime interweb browse - I had no idea that SGC made guitar versions of the Bass Collection bass.

The sound of wing mount piezos will vary with fit - too tight and they sound very mid-focussed. You could try widening the slot in the bridge wing to give a looser fit and see if that gets closer to the sound you want.

I thought there were no wrong notes in jazz?

Bought about a year ago but now no longer required.  It's in very good condition with no major scratches and in full working order.  I haven't got the box but it will be very well packed. Price incudes UK tracked delivery.  

The official Line 6 blurb is here:

https://line6.com/relay-wireless/g10-g10s

Churrz

Dave

2 hours ago, Beedster said:

 

I think I've got one going spare, I'll have a look 👍

You'll have to send it 9 years back in time, mind.

We use iZettle. Whichever one you go for it's definitely worth it in terms of additional sales.

I only change my strings when a new set is released that claims to be the best string for everything, ever.

And then I go back to what I've been using for the last 8 years.

I bought my late 60s Musima for £500 and over the years have spent about £400 on a finger board reshoot, full setup, new endpin & soundpost. It's perfect for me and I very much doubt I'd find a bass as good (for me) for £900*.

All the work was done by Bristol Violin Shop.

* Not including various experiments with strings and pickups, amps and cabs. That's a very different number that I don't want to talk about.

Personally, I don't have any bass through the monitor as there's too much risk of feedback, but it depends on how loud your band is on stage.

An acoustic trio, plus HPF and F-mutes should keep everything well under control, but I'd try to place yourself or the monitor so that it fires at the side of your bass, rather than the front or back - that will reduce the chances of a random frequency setting off a sympathetic resonance in your bass.

If, even with all of the above, you do experience feedback issues, then get the monitor up on a stool/chair and pointing at your ears rather than your bass.

4 hours ago, Burns-bass said:

Can I ask what battery life you get?

It's never run out on me so I don't know!

I've done 2 x 45 min sets without a recharge.  Usually I only recharge it between the soundcheck and the start of the gig - so 30 min or so, and it's fine for the rest of the night.

It has a feature where the transmitter shuts itself off if there's no signal for 90 seconds (or thereabouts). You wake it up again by playing a couple of notes.  It's a useful feature which helps reserve the battery, but I've been caught out a few times when our singer has gone on a bit with his audience banter and I haven't noticed it's shut itself down.

36 minutes ago, gjones said:

If a charismatic and talented singer/front person is good at what they do, then the band revolves around them. All the successful bands I've ever been in have revolved around the singer/frontperson. 

 

 

We've got one of those - the band would be much worse off without his ability to engage the audience. He's also totally ego - free and values the input of everyone in the band.

Some of our guitarists have been tw@ts mind, but the current one is a good'un.

I use the Line 6 G10ii. Of all the bug-style wireless units I tried, it sounded the most transparent.

I also used to suffer from unintended lead removal - I installed a locking jack socket and used a velcro cable tie to secure the cable to my tailpiece.

Wireless is the better solution though.

On 10/12/2024 at 14:53, tauzero said:

 

I like the Variax one. My own Variax is sunburst with tort though. I've also got a Ray5 which is very like the second one. None of the other 30 or so have pickguards. Still, to add to the ugly pickguards:

 

 

and especially

 

 

 

10 years ago I'd have slammed me nadgers in a drawer rather than play a bass with a '51 style scratch plate, but now I quite like them. Especially when they're sexed up a bit like this: 

Does anyone know how much audio (i.e. minutes) will fit on the 32gb card if you're recording all 12 tracks?

On 04/12/2024 at 10:34, Al Krow said:

Came across this YT video, which was really helpful in terms of more detailed EQ settings for each channel strip, which I'd initially not managed to figure out from the manual:

 

Allen & Heath CQ-18T - Learning From The Complete Channels

That opened up a whole level of options i didn't even know existed..... Tidy.

In my experience, there are two essential features that you need from a preamp for double bass - a high impedance input (10MOhm) and a high pass filter (HPF) to roll off the really low end frequencies which will really help in the battle against feedback.

The Fishman and K&K preamps both have 10MOhm input impedance, but only the Fishman units have HPF controls.

I find that with a good preamp with HPF, your choice of amp is much less critical, so in your position I'd go for the Fishman platinum pro EQ pre and then look for a second hand combo like a TC BG250 208 as suggested above.

The Fishman pro EQ is all the preamp you'll ever need, unless you start using two pickups or blending a pickup and mic, so it will see you well along your playing journey.

If you still want to squeeze the pennies, then look for the previous version of the Platinum pro EQ - the Platinum Pro. These can be found used for around £120 and has the 10MOhm input, HPF, 5 band EQ and a DI.  If you're really lucky you might find a used Fdeck HPF or similar clone for about £100 - this is a real bare bones preamp with a high impedance input, gain and variable HPF, in a tiny box that can be mounted on your tailpiece.