uncle psychosis

Did a gig once on St Patricks day and the highlight was a punter puking on the bar half way through our set...

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1427119424' post='2725926'] Can you post the second like again please? AFAICS the 5-string Artcore Bass is short scale. I's want to try one before I actually bought it but have never actually seen one except on the Ibanez site. [/quote] This one? [url="http://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/bass_guitars_detail.asp?stock=12122215361632"]http://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/bass_guitars_detail.asp?stock=12122215361632[/url] GuitarGuitar in Edinburgh had one in last year. It looked great in the flesh but I didn't get the chance to try it.

[quote name='miles'tone' timestamp='1429568443' post='2752800'] A series/parallel switch mod. That's what the S1 switch was on some noughties Fender Jazzes. Cheap mod that when in series will give you the oomph of a P bass. [/quote] This. I had a Jazz bass that had this (it was McNach's, then I bought it, he missed it so much I sold it back to him) and it was fantastic. Sound guys used to complement me on how good it sounded. No, really!

[quote name='FuNkShUi' timestamp='1429524615' post='2752176'] Never heard Hotrods before. I'll suggest these to the drummist [/quote] They're like a whole bunch of thinner rods taped together. Give a more mellow, quieter sound than traditional sticks but are much harder than brushes.

[quote name='FuNkShUi' timestamp='1429522565' post='2752147'] Yeh he had brushes. But disco/funk/motown didnt sound right with them at all [/quote] Lol, no that wouldn't work. Hotrods might have been acceptable though---I actually really like the sound of hotrods, more drummers should use them anyway

[quote name='FuNkShUi' timestamp='1429521182' post='2752121'] Our drummer was probably the most effected by it. He said he resorted to almost letting the sticks drop onto the drums rather than hitting them. [/quote] Hotrods or brushes can help in this scenario, although thats still not an enjoyable compromise for the drummer.

Depends on the bass.

Last time I did this I just bought really cheap slug tape off ebay, a fraction of the price of the "conducting copper tape" and it turned out to conduct across the glue anyway :-) win!

[quote name='SpaceChick' timestamp='1429294183' post='2750233'] Anyhow..... For mine: Wonderful tonight - Eric Clapton lay down Sally - Eric Clapton Tears in Heaven - Eric Clapton I think you can see a theme [/quote] I like you. We can be friends :-) Clapton Is God... Damn awful.

Hotel California - The Eagles. Hate it. Awful, annoying guitar solo. Riddled with clichés. Money For Nothing - Dire Straits. Symbolic of everything that was wrong with the 1980s Don't Stop Me Now - Queen The ultimate "I'm going to force my idea of a good night on everyone else" anthem. Beloved of people who think that if you haven't put 1500 pictures of your evening on Facebook to show everyone just HOW MUCH FUN you're having then you can't possibly be enjoying yourself. All of the subtlety of a brick in the face but with none of the charm. Awful, awful, awful.

I reckon I could get away with 3 strings. We recorded an album last week and I honestly don't think that I played any notes at all on the G-string. Mark Hamilton from Ash had only three strings on his bass for years, he claimed that it was because as a teenager he broke the G and was too poor to buy a replacement so learned to play that way.

These multi-genre gigs are always a nightmare in my experience, but for a first gig they're fairly standard. I try to avoid them now, unless the bands are utterly fantastic everyone tends to go home a bit disappointed! With regards gear sharing, there is no "right" answer. What is expected varies from bass player to bass player, band to band, venue to venue, promoter to promoter and gig to gig. The only golden rule is "sort it out in advance". Contact the other bands, contact the promoter. Arrange in advance exactly who is providing what. So long as all the planning is sorted before the night and everyone knows the score then thats the important thing. If you don't want to share your gear, thats fine---but make sure you state that in advance, because the other bands may have been given a different impression by the promoter or even by whoever it is in your band that does the bookings. If you are going to share gear, brilliant, but arrange it in advance so that there aren't three drumkits and four bassamps sitting at the side of the stage taking up precious space. My own experience of gigging the originals circuit is that if you are completely unwilling to compromise on gear sharing then there's going to be problems. Its just not realistic to completely tear down between every single band at multi-band gigs. You just have to make sure that the compromise is acceptable to everyone.

Timmo another great trick for discerning bass notes is to use something like Audacity (suspect Transcribe does it too) and shift the entire track up an octave (but without changing the speed). The singers will sound like chipmonks and the other instruments a bit odd but the bass lines should really jump out at you. I do this all the time for learning things like Reggae tunes where the original recording is so muddy that the pitch just disappears.

[quote name='iamtheelvy' timestamp='1429189699' post='2748989'] Use the vented ones myself, but I think both work well. [/quote] Thanks. I’m a bit confused by the Doc’s Proplugs to be honest. The music shop near me only seem to sell the vented ones, and the Doc’s site says get Vented for music but, strangely, according to the Doc’s website the vented ones barely attenuate at all below 1000Hz which I think is a bit pointless for rock music. [url="https://www.proplugs.com/protunes.shtml"]https://www.proplugs.com/protunes.shtml[/url] This is the frequency response of the ones I have just now: [url="http://media.etymotic.com/media/wysiwyg/hearing_protection/etyplugs_nr_chart_foam_2015b.png"]http://media.etymotic.com/media/wysiwyg/hearing_protection/etyplugs_nr_chart_foam_2015b.png[/url]

[quote name='iamtheelvy' timestamp='1429186968' post='2748908'] Yep, used them for years, couldn't recommend them enough! Very comfortable, long lasting, hardly noticeable by anyone else, and don't muffle the sound at all. Good clear sound, just the volume reduced! Make sure you get the right size though... [/quote] Thanks. Did you have the vented or unvented ones?

Anyone tried Doc's Proplugs? I have some er-20s but I don't like how far they stick out from my ears. The proplugs are flush with the ear and a bit more discreet. Would be interested to hear from people who have tried them in a musical scenario.

Richard's Guitars is a stockist, they're in Stratford-Upon-Avon which isn't *too far* from Yeovil. Small shop though, I'd phone first! For what its worth, I can definitely recommend an M-series (I have an M2000 Tribute).

Welcome Always good to have another Glaswegian on board (although I live in Edinburgh now, for my sins...)

I'd be tempted to put some paper or blutack into the knob to make it grip more tightly, as well as using nail varnish on the grub screw.

[quote name='lojo' timestamp='1428555860' post='2742341'] I love SH and the bass, but I'd mod it with Tottenham upgrades [/quote] Nah, if he's going to upgrade it he'd be better doing it with something a bit better than mid-range ;-)

There's a lot of excellent info at bassesbyleo: http://www.bassesbyleo.com/

[quote name='jonnythenotes' timestamp='1428420396' post='2741108'] All I am trying to say, is when you buy certain musical instruments, unless you play for your own pleasure, it usually means involving other instruments, amps PA's etc for it to do its job. An expensive watch, a vintage bottle of wine, a super car, an ocean going yatch or even a private aircraft are all stand alone, and can be used or enjoyed independently from other watches, cars, yatchs etc. With a lot of musical instruments, and particularly the bass, they have to rely on other instruments and players for them to sound their best. Once you introduce these other 'elements' to get the best out of your bass, can be where control is lost in how it sounds to an audience. Its like being the strongest link in an unpredictable chain. I am certain the Fodera sound wonderful, and streaks ahead of most £1000ish basses, if you were just testing bass against bass, but add a few more musicians to the mix, and wind it up to gig volume levels,and that margin would soon shrink, not because of the bass, but because of everything else going on round it. [/quote] You're still thinking of it in practical terms, like "the sound" is the only thing that matters. Its also, for many, about the look, the feel, being in a fairly exclusive club and also just the simple act of owning a thing thats been made by a master craftsman. Once you get up to that end of the price scale the instruments are as much a piece of art as they are a practical thing.

[quote name='jonnythenotes' timestamp='1428415526' post='2741059'] . After you get your new wonder bass, do you then have to upgrade your amp and cab. No good putting aa £11000 bass through a Laney combo. Then are you going to find a new band, where all their gear is as good as yours....don't want to lose all that quality in a mess of lesser instruments. Then there is the PA.... That will have to be pretty good to show off the full potential of the bass. Also, make sure you have a top notch engineer... You cant mix something like that without a bit of expertise... you don't want it sounding like a run of the mill Fender. What about boomy stages, funny shaped rooms, and stuff that changes the sound you want that you have no control over. Then there is living in the fear of theft or damage. These mega basses sound great on there own, but once you introduce all the other countless things that make up a band, and the things that make a bands sound, your £11000 investment won't sound too different to instruments at a fraction of that cost. I use a Yamaha Bb2024....cost £1400 new... Not everyone's cup of tea, but It's a great bass that can take a few knocks, built like a tank, and out Fenders most new build Fenders in terms of sound. If you have the cash or desire...why not buy a super bass,, but don't forget that it won't sound like it did in the shop when you start gigging it. . [/quote] Some people like to buy luxury items just because they derive pleasure from having nice things. Its not always about practicality. People buy supercars but they still have to drive on the same roads and at the same speeds as the rest of us. The user above you likes expensive watches but they won't keep time significantly better than something that costs £10. Some people like to buy designer trainers for £££ even though they aren't much different to the ones you can buy in Schuh for £50. People spend £thousands on paintings---literally just paint on a canvas. Why not spend similar money on a bass? Disclaimer: I think people who spend Fodera money on basses are nuts. But thats cool, they can be nuts about Fodera and I'll keep being nuts about my own luxury purchases

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1428405718' post='2740923'] Do we really see posts from 5 stringers saying they are superior? Or that 4 strings are inferior? I must have missed that bit. [/quote] Its implicit in the endless repetition of "anything you can do on a four you can do on a five, plus more besides".

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1428401441' post='2740852'] It is a boring debate because it is never a debate. A 4 stringer usually kicks off with "Why bother with 5 strings". A thread of negativity from 4 stringers usually follows with 5 stringers explaining why 5 works for them [i]and why 4 strings is inferior[/i]. A 4 stringer then usually accuses the 5 stringers of getting touchy [i]and a 5 stringer tells the 4 stringers that they're wrong to prefer 4 strings[/i] and it all fizzles out only to start up and follow the same script a few months later [i]except this time its a 5 stringer saying "why doesn't everyone play 5 strings"[/i]?. [/quote] Fixed that to add the bits you missed out Other than that I very much agree with you. The "cheap vs expensive" thing is equally dull. Personally I think some people are mental to spend £thousands on a bass but they probably think I'm mental for spending ££ on comic books. So long as families are being fed and clothed getting wound up about how other people spend their money is really odd.