uncle psychosis

[quote name='throwoff' post='1365268' date='Sep 7 2011, 01:35 PM']Where a bass is built is very ingrained into our culture as players and generally where a product is built can affect our decision to buy.[/quote] This is totally true. For myself, I don't care where a bass is made, so long as its a good instrument. However, when buying an instrument I also consider resale value when buying things these days and unfortunately a lot of the musical world is biased/prejudiced/downright racist when it comes to where instruments have come from. A sad fact of the guitar/bass world is that an American made instrument is probably going to hold its value much more than a Korean one, almost regardless of the actual quality of the instrument. There are probably exceptions out there---but until the bass/guitar playing community as a whole overcome our instinctive feelings that "American (or German, or wherever) = Better" then it'll keep happening

[quote name='bassman2790' post='1361526' date='Sep 4 2011, 09:07 AM']Traded my Midnight Blue Rickenbacker for Martthebass' 30th Anniversary Stingray yesterday. Fret slots were a little shallow making playing around the first three frets hard on the tendons but with some careful use of the nut files and a tweak of the truss rod, this bass is amazing. Almost plays itself. I should have bought a stingray years ago, would have saved me alot of GAS money [url="http://www.flickr.com/photos/markmojo/6111742078/"][/url] [url="http://www.flickr.com/photos/markmojo/6111742078/"]Stingray 1[/url] by [url="http://www.flickr.com/people/markmojo/"]markmojo[/url], on Flickr[/quote] Wow. I'm not normally a fan of Stingray aesthetics but that one is gorgeous. They should do more in fun colours

Posted this at musicradar the other day but its probably of interest over here too: I noticed the other day that Guitar Center (massive US chain) are now shipping to the UK. Here's what they claim, based on a visit to their website: All prices in pounds sterling Duties and VAT calculated at checkout Low international shipping rates Guaranteed landed costs (no additional charges at delivery) Free shipping over $300

[quote name='Truckstop' post='1360876' date='Sep 3 2011, 12:28 PM']If getting a blue bass is a deal breaker, why not buy a regular german Streamer for £600 or so and spend £200 getting it refinished in Ocean Blue? You'll still save a few hundred quid and you get exactly what you want! Truckstop[/quote] ^^^ This. Second hand Warwick prices are stupidly low at the moment, it seems really silly to buy a new one.

[quote name='Musicman20' post='1362484' date='Sep 5 2011, 12:37 AM']I realise the economy hasn't been that strong for years, but over on talkbass you see offers like '100 dollars off' even sale items, for certain holiday periods. I know it's mainly US gear, but you even see it on Markbass equipment. Why can't we have a few sales over here (and I mean decent sales)?[/quote] I think its partly a cultural thing. Loads of US companies do "crazy" sales at their major holidays---I guess its the norm over there. There's probably also a considerable supply/demand element to consider. The USA is a much, much bigger country than the UK---I guess that Boss can halve or quarter their profit margin on their pedals over a weekend and still sell enough to make a decent profit. Not sure they could do the same here. And, unlike clothes, music gear tends not to go out of fashion so theres less pressure on retailers to shift their stock, like in the January sales. It is rubbish though!

[quote name='Westie9' post='1359589' date='Sep 2 2011, 10:35 AM'] As far as I'm aware [b]it's now a straight 10% fee based on the final amount[/b], THEN your paypal fee... What bumps it up is all the little extras, reserve price, buy it now, extra pics, initial listing fee etc: Try Gumtree or even Preloved for a couple of weeks first. It's free and you can put pics on too. Bit of a pain though waiting for folks 'not' to turn up![/quote] There's a maximum fee. Can't remember what though.

I have recently come round to the "if you 'aint using it, sell it" school of thought. HOWEVER, now is a terrible time for selling gear so you might want to bear that in mind. Personally I would put a "for sale" ad up with a fixed price that you'd be happy with. If it sells, great. If it doesn't, just hang on to it. No need to give it away!

[quote name='Rasta' post='1359285' date='Sep 1 2011, 10:16 PM']Depends on the type of dub your trying to replicate and what bass your playing i guess but role your tone almost off, use your neck pick up if you have more than one and play close to the neck for a warmer tone. Flatwound strings are good or dead dirty rounds. Boost the bass on your amp, turn you mids almost off and your treble almost off...a little lo mid is good for definition - and a good speaker capable of holding the lows and particularly the cabinet.[/quote] Thanks. These days I'm mainly playing a Yamaha TRB---active humbuckers with 3 band eq. I'll try what you suggest and see how I get on. Suspect my amp will really struggle though

[quote name='Rasta' post='1355613' date='Aug 29 2011, 06:59 PM']I'm trying to replicate the sound effect at 30 sec & 55 secs. I know this is digital bass but i'm looking to get something close live with my bass guitar, what could i need to make this sound?. To date I've been using my Boss ME6B synths sounds plus a little reverb and a JD wah to make a sweepable filter sound to good effect in a separate loop on a Boss LS2. Using the LS2 allows me to maintain the normal dub bass line and just wah the synth sound in the loop, its ok and sounds good but i'm sure i could get better. Also I am thinking i would like a decent synth pedal, one that can have an expression pedal added to control the filter sweep (not sure that is the right term ), and then i can do away with my ME6B and have all my pedals on one board.... any advice ? [/quote] Can't help you out with the synthy stuff but the "normal" bass sound in the rest of that track is absolutely killer. I listen to a lot of dub and reggae but have never (until now) tried to replicate it on the bass. Any tips for getting that sort of sound? Cheers

[quote name='bassman7755' post='1358915' date='Sep 1 2011, 03:57 PM']As for the other artists you list, thanks but no thanks, none of them do anything for me and I'm not going to squander my precious time on this earth forcing myself to listen to them. I know that as a bass player I "should" be listening to Jaco as well as Geddy Lee but ... nope, leaves me cold. Simply put, listening to stuff I dont actively like (i.e. about 95% of all music) is too high a price to pay for makign me a more "original" player.[/quote] You have completely and utterly missed my point. Nevermind.

[quote name='Skol303' post='1358541' date='Sep 1 2011, 10:38 AM']Here I go, blundering into this discussion and likely to put my big, sweaty foot in something... Surely, regardless of personal situations, it's better to know how to read music than not, if you're a musician. That doesn't mean you HAVE to read music. If you're having a happier time not worrying about it, then that surely speaks for itself. But if we could take a magic pill and suddenly be fluent at sight reading then we would, no? If you're not enjoying learning to read notation; if you find it to be a chore that's taking away the fun and enjoyment from music, then stop. It's simple. But don't try justifying your decision by trying to persuade yourself (and others) that you're giving up because it's unnecessary, as that just comes across as sour grapes. If you're going to give up on something, do so in earnest, not begrudgingly. Otherwise the pangs of regret will only come back and bite you in time...[/quote] This post pretty sums up my opinions on reading music and learning theory. I get really annoyed at people (and its usually guitarists, but I imagine theres a lot of bass players like this too) who somehow think that learning to read music is a bad thing. That there's some kind of twisted universe out there where learning more about music makes you less of a musician. Its absolute madness! Back to the original post, I think the musical world would be a better place if more musicians learned to play multiple instruments and, perhaps, learned to broaden their horizons beyond the scope of their own instrument and genre. If guitarists tried to emulate John Coltrane, Yehudi Menuhin, Tori Amos, Keith Moon instead of endlessly rehashing Hendrix, Van Halen, and Clapton then the rock world would be an infinitely more interesting place!

[quote name='Doddy' post='1357592' date='Aug 31 2011, 02:48 PM']I've always found the problem with guitar to learn theory is it is too easy to rely on movable fingering patterns and chord shapes without knowing anything about what you are playing other than the shape,which is why many guitar and bass players don't know things like chord tones and scales-they can play the pattern,but they don't know what they are playing.You can't do this on a keyboard.[/quote] +1

Just be yourself, and remember you're auditioning them as much as them you.

Angst about the feedback system / buyer "protection" scams etc I can understand, but I don't understand all the angst about eBay fees. Work them out in advance and then price accordingly. TBH, now is not a good time to be selling anything, especially Warwicks. There was an absolutely beautiful custom shop Warwick sitting in the classifieds here at a ridiculously low price for a considerable length of time recently. If you're not desperate for the cash I'd consider holding back for a while. Its definitely a buyer's market at the minute.

My dream rig: Either of my current basses (Jazz or Yamaha TRB) Good amp (not too fussy, so long as its good) Roadie to carry it all around and set it up for me The third part is probably the most crucial part if I'm being honest!

I say "get it refretted". Once you see what violinists have done to their 300 year old Stradavarius instruments a refret doesn't seem so bad

I am slowly trying to convince myself that I have all the gear I need, because I do! I'm an amateur bassist. I play purely for fun. I have two basses---a 4 and a 5. Both are good sounding, good playing instruments. Both of them have received very nice complements from professional bass players, so its not like the basses are in anyway lacking. I have a decent enough amp for my purposes. I'm not into effects on bass. I only really have time for 30 mins practice 4 or 5 times a week and a gig maybe once a month. So why, why, why, do I keep catching myself in the classifieds? "ooh, that precision is pretty....", "ooh, marcus miller jazz...", "ooh, G&L..." Its like a disease! I also play guitar and I have finally stopped gassing on guitar stuff---so maybe there's light at the end of the tunnel for my bass gas too?

My jazz has a push-push switch to add series/parallel. Well worth doing imo. But you should only mod it because you want to, not because your mate says!

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='1351455' date='Aug 25 2011, 03:57 PM']Ive only used my Snark once on a 5 string bass but yes, it seemed to work well. I checked it with my Peterson Stroboclip and both showed correct pitch. It does light up so yes, you can use it on a dark stage. If you have seen any images of it the coloured sections are back lit. They arent too bright but i like it like that as it doesn't draw any attention.[/quote] Cool, I've just ordered one. Thanks for the info

[quote name='AsterL' post='1351922' date='Aug 26 2011, 12:52 AM']So whilst looking on a infamous bidding website, I've found several absolute bargains on 810s and 610s at the moment. Its quite funny seeing as they are the most expensive to buy out of any cabs, yet at the moment have no resale value what so ever. Why do you guys think this is? [b]And on a sidenote, (this my seem like a silly question) But how practical are 810/610s to move and live with? [/b][/quote] Its not a sidenote at all, its the answer to your question [quote name='AsterL' post='1352011' date='Aug 26 2011, 08:57 AM']Thanks for all the responses guys, very informative as always. But would you consider it value for money to get one as some are going for the same/cheaper than 210s! [b]And once they are on castors, can one person manage one?[/b][/quote] Only if you live in a magical land with no stairs, I'm afraid.

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='1344192' date='Aug 18 2011, 11:38 AM']Ive now switched to using a Snark clip on tuner. That cost me £10 but its just as accurate as any tuner ive owned, at gigs anyway. I tend to use the Peterson more for setups/intonation as its more precise but im sure it doesnt really need to be that good.[/quote] Does the snark deal with a low B ok? And is it backlit (ie can you use it if its dark?) I'm really tempted by one, especially if it meant I didn't need to take pedals anywhere...

[quote name='BottomE' post='1347144' date='Aug 21 2011, 02:08 PM']I've seen these things on the net that are a kind of halfway house. They are foam cases - with a shoulder strap. It looks like a hard case in shape but is made of lightweight but durable foam and has a nylon type bad that goes around it for carrying. Looks a bit of a faff to me.[/quote] I've got a foam case and its no more faff than a hardcase. Weirdly enough, this is the second time in minutes on this forum that I've mentioned it! [url="http://www.skbcases.com/music/products/search.php?fuzzy=0&query=1SKB-SC44"]http://www.skbcases.com/music/products/sea...query=1SKB-SC44[/url] Its lighter than a hardcase, easier to carry (it has shoulderstraps), but protects it much better than a gig bag would. As someone who doesn't drive and regularly has to get public transport its perfect for me.

If its one of those two you want, I vote Hiscox. I do, however, use one of these for my jazz and its also ace: [url="http://www.skbcases.com/music/products/search.php?fuzzy=0&query=1SKB-SC44"]http://www.skbcases.com/music/products/sea...query=1SKB-SC44[/url] The shoulder straps are extremely handy.