uncle psychosis

[quote name='bassman7755' timestamp='1435949101' post='2813976'] It somewhat of a generalisation but there are entire brands of guitar amplifiers where most of them are designed specifically to sound best when run hot, e.g. marshall, laney, H&K and a whole bunch of others. People often buy these amps (as I did) not realising this because they might not not too much about valve amps and/or maybe want the same amp their favourite player/band uses (neither of which are heinous crimes before you get on your high horse again). Aside from a minority of specialised models from those I've mentioned and others, the market for "rock" guitar amps doesn't cater very well for the practicalities of getting the best sounds at moderate volume levels (line 6 being the most obvious exception to that rule). Its a triumph of marketing over practicality, with bands up and down the country having to deal with the consequences of guitarists many of whom probably bought these amps with the best of intentions to get the best sound they could [/quote] So, err, you bought an amp despite not knowing anything about it, and therefore all guitarists must be like that? Erm...No. No modern rock amps have volume controls? [font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][color=#282828][quote]You've basically decide that your going to be annoyed because people have the temerity to speak in generalisations which apply at least some of the time, rather than restrict themselves to universal truths with no exceptions (of which there are very few in anything related to music). Go ahead know yourself out.[/color][/font] [/quote] No, I'm annoyed because some people are incapable of thinking outside their own narrow worldview and instead to prefer to talk in rude, presumptive, insulting generalities about their fellow musicians. Why anyone chooses to be in a band these days I don't know. Apparently all guitarists are idiots and no drummers can play.

[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1435949814' post='2813991'] I suspect there is no smoke without fire and guitarists who don't crank their amps to 11 are the exception to the norm. [/quote] This just isn't true as far as I'm concerned. A sizable minority---if not in fact an actual majority---of guitarists get their distortion from pedals these days. Modern guitarists are accutely aware that cranking your 100W amp into power amp distortion isn't particularly practical. Visit any guitar forum and you'll see that "I want an amp that sounds like this, except quieter" is an exceedingly common question. Guitarists using either modellers or clean amp + pedals are really, really common precisely because of the volume problem associated with valve distortion.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1435927492' post] IN MY OPINION, if a guitarist is getting his sound from overdriving his valve amp then generally speaking a 15 or 20W amp will be more than sufficient in [i]most [/i]circumstances. I know that if our guitarist turned up with a 100W half stack, questions would be asked... [/quote] Opinions are fine, and yes, for that very specific use case you don't "need" lots of power. But not everyone uses guitar amps like that. Maybe I'm being overly pedantic but the thing I object to is when an opinion on a specific use case becomes twisted into a generality and seemingly stated as fact - which bass players regularly seem to do when it comes to guitar amps and what a "reasonable" size is. For all that we bassists like to present ourselves as the cerebral, reasonable, musical ones in a band we don't half like to make some totally nonsensical judgemental statements at times. ;-)

[quote name='bassman7755' timestamp='1435911267' post='2813452'] So yeah someone can use a 100 watt amp and turn it down but theres not much point in carting around a guitar valve amp and running at tickover (unless you only ever play a clean sound). [/quote] Sorry, but this whole "opinion dressed up as fact" is exactly what annoys me. [b]Big amps sound different to small amps[/b]. Just because [i]you[/i] did not like the sound of [i]your[/i] JCM800 turned down does not mean that its "pointless" for [i]anyone else[/i] to have a big amp and keep it at a sensible volume. I love the tone of the JC120---why is it wrong to have the master set at 1 or 2? Is there a magic spot on the dial where it becomes acceptable to use the amp? Big amps also [b]feel distinctly different[/b] to small amps---they respond to nuance in your playing differently. Why should those of us who like the response of big amps but know how to keep the volume sensible have to restrict ourselves just because of some arbitrary notion that 30W is all you ever need? Not every guitarist needs to have cranked power tubes to get a tone they like. Lots do, many don't. For starters, you might like preamp distortion but not like power tube distortion---crank the pre and turn down the master. Tube distortion, sensible volume. It would be really, really nice if bassists would stop assuming that everyone who has a big guitar amp is an idiot that doesn't know how to work it in conjunction with other instruments. Its a ridiculous notion that is incredibly disrespectful. I say again: If you turned up to an audition and the rest of the band had decided you were a moron before you'd played a note, just because they thought the number written on your amp was too big you'd be absolutely furious.

[quote name='mrtcat' timestamp='1435850653' post='2813055'] Yeah but if I turned up with a 300w all valve bass head to play the local wine bar and then proceeded to state that I need to crank it up to make the valves really do their thing then I would rightly deserve to get shot down by the rest of the band and told "if you want to get an overdriven sound from a bass amp then a 300w head is far too powerful for this gig". I think that's the point being made here, a 100w all tube guitar amp with a 4 x 12 cab is not the rig for small - medium sized gigs[u][b] IF you want to get your sound by driving both the preamp and poweramp tubes to the edge[/b][/u]. And even on large gigs why so powerful? Your gonna put a mic in front of it anyhow so why use something so loud you're going to p155 off the rest of the band. If however you want a big powerful amp for overhead for clean sounds - knock yourself out but please make sure you eq it right as 4 x 12s are terrible for muddying up the sound if not eq'd sensibly. [/quote] [b]This is exactly the point I'm making[/b]. The point is that the[i] actual wattage value is utterly irrelevant[/i]. Its what you do with those watts that count. A 30W valve amp cranked up is completely inappropriate for a quiet jazz gig. A 100W valve amp is absolutely fine for small-medium gigs, [b]so long as you keep the volume at a sensible level. [/b] But according to the supposed accepted wisdom of bassists 30W guitar amps are fine but 100W guitar amps are overkill. Its nonsense!

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1435836872' post='2812858'] Fair enough, but frankly I've rarely encountered a guitarist with a large amp that doesn't abuse its power. Also I've met few guitarists who are sensitive to the needs of the overall sound of a band, whether it be economy of playing, volume, or frequency encroachment. So generally speaking (and from my own experience) I'd say an [i]average [/i]guitarist [i]probably [/i]needs no more than a 30W amp in [i]most [/i]circumstances... this either means that most guitarists are incapable of doing the right thing, OR I've just been unlucky with guitarists, OR I just don't revolve in those circles where the decent guitarists hang out... sorry if this seems arsy or whatever, but I have a fascination with guitarists and their habits, being a guitarist myself in other lives... [/quote]I am also a guitarist, but just because lots of guitarists are idiots does not mean that its not wrong to make blanket statements about what power is "appropriate" for any given band. As bass players we'd be furious if we turned up with an 800W amp because we wanted lots of clean headroom and some guitarist said "what you using that for, you only need 300W, you don't know what you're doing, moron, you'll ruin the sound of the band...". 10W, 100W, 1000W. Doesn't matter. What matters is how you use that power. (Ironically, of course, the supposedly too loud 100W amps are not much louder (about 10%, all other things equal) than the supposedly acceptable 50W amps. )

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1435830915' post='2812765'] I've been judging guitarists for a long time and what some of them actually do is use a 100W half stack at a pub gig and have it arse-shatteringly loud 'otherwise I can't get my sound'. In this case a 15W amp would be more appropriate, IMHO.[/quote] Well, yes. That's what some guitarists do. But its the nonsense blanket statement of "no guitarist needs more than 30W" that gets thrown about (mainly by bassists) that gets my goat. The guys who have the 100W half stack too loud would probably find a different way to ruin the sound if they were using a 15W amp. Its not the wattage that's the problem, its the idiots using it. [quote] If a guitarist uses a 1000W rig but can get 'his sound' at a reasonable and usable level, then I have no problem with that. [/quote] This is my point

[quote name='40hz' timestamp='1434973499' post='2804243'] Totally agree Discreet. I've always said that at small to medium venues a guitarist really doesn't need more than a 30w valve combo or a 50-100w solid state. Anything else is pure overkill. Preferably in a a 1x12 format as well. [/quote] With the greatest of respect: No, no, no, no, no. There is [b]no such thing[/b] as inappropriate power, only inappropriate volume. Lots of people prefer the sound of big amps turned down, instead of the sound of little amps turned up. On top of that, if you are a guitarist and you want a genuinely clean valve sound to compete with a drummer then a 30W amp isn't going to cut it. I get really fed up with bassists making presumptions about what other gear is "acceptable" for other musicians to use. Having a 100W amp is not a problem. Having a 400W amp is not a problem. Playing your amp at an inappropriate volume is the problem, and the two are [i]absolutely[/i] not the same. Stop judging people on what the technical spec says and start judging them on what they're actually doing instead.

Looks great with the black scratchplate. Do you reckon the paint will stay on once you start using it in anger?

If it sounds right, it is right. That's the only rule.

Take them out if you're not using battery power. Battery leakage is not a particularly rare occurance and can damage the device.

Not a bass but I bought a Danelectro U2 guitar and it was shipped in a gig bag. Not only did it arrive intact, it arrived in tune!

That's nowhere near as bad as some of you are making out. I [i]almost[/i] like it.

Absolute best way is with something like a Halifax Clarity Card. It's designed for foreign currency transactions. No commission, no fees, best exchange rate going. Pay it off at the end of the month and you pay nothing extra at all.

Another forum I'm on has done this for lots of different topics - footballers, films, etc. One person does all the legwork. They define a set number of nominees (e.g 20 per person). Everyone then sends the organiser their list of 20 nominees via PM, in strict order (unordered lists are thrown out). There needs to be a strict deadline. If you nominate someone as your number 1 bass player they score 20 points, number 2 scores 19 points, and so on. Once all votes are received the organiser sums up the weighted votes and produces the list. Ties are broken by some predetermined mechanism, e.g most number one nominations or how many people nominated them. On the other forum they release it in reverse order, normally with a brief writeup of each entry (for bass players this would be a brief bio and maybe a seminal recording). They release one or two list entrants at a time to allow for discussion and have a bit of build up. It works best if people try not to have to much discussion before submitting their list, otherwise people start to influence each others choices. You can see an example thread here : http://www.pieandbovril.com/forum/index.php/topic/221950-top-21-films-of-the-21st-century/?fromsearch=1

I haven't heard any of the set but if he managed to piss off people who think that Bohemian Rhapsody is a good song then he clearly did at least one thing right. :-D

[quote name='Nicko' timestamp='1435572717' post='2810045'] I fail to see why getting paid for gigs comes up in the insurance enquiry [/quote]Because covering items for "professional" use is not what home insurance is for. Some of the home contents insurers get angsty if you work from home, nevermind anything else.

Probably easier to get separate instrument insurance from a specialist. The usual names are New Moon and Allianz and depending on your requirements joining the MU.

[quote name='kodiakblair' timestamp='1435312202' post='2807480'] Do Thomann ship through Calais ? [/quote] Saw a picture in the papers yesterday of guys in calais climbing into trucks during the trouble. Three or four Thomann boxes clearly visible in the photo!

[IMG]http://i60.tinypic.com/nwj6a1.png[/IMG]

On the main deko page.

I was going to get the P bass but the fact it was a "b stock" deko put me off. If it's been returned by someone (makes it b stock) then I'd be worried it was genuinely unplayable.

One of the reasons I got rid of my DHA pedal was because I got fed up of explaining to sound guys it wasn't going to damage their kit. They all thought it was some homebrew thing I'd chucked together. Great gear, but Dave could really do with sorting out the aesthetics.

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1433957641' post='2795477'] As does the later model Les Paul Double Cut: What's that? There's one for sale in the forum? Well, I'll be damned! [/quote] Gorgeous bass Matt. Wish I had 75,000 spare pennies to send your way