uncle psychosis

Plastic is really nowhere near as weak as internet forums would have you believe. I love having an excuse to post this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QL-6eTHSHQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Fantastic idea, but I wouldn't buy a bass. As much as you'd love them to, there's no guarantee they will be a bass player, and a bass guitar isn't really a practical thing to have purely as a keep sake. I wouldn't go for a guitar either. I like the idea of a nice bottle of wine/port/whisky though- its the kind of thing you can sit down and share together, regardless of what the gift is. Plus a bottle is easier to look after/store/keep than a bass!

[quote name='SteveK' timestamp='1352763700' post='1867274'] It was/is common practice to listen to a mix on a small, cheap system. In many studios, Auratones with their 5" drivers were considered ideal for this purpose. And many a producer would do a mix to cassette and have a listen in their car on the way to and from the studio. [/quote] An unreleased mix of London Calling (on cassette) got lost on the London underground as the album was being finished off... Wonder if anyone ever found it...

Normally sandbergs don't excite me but thats lovely. Enjoy!

[quote name='Skol303' timestamp='1352731987' post='1866639'] Big fan of vinyl here. I have crates and crates of the stuff, much to my wife's occasional annoyance. My turntable is kaput so I rarely get chance to give it an airing, although I'm loathe to part with any of it. That said, I do agree with BigRedX (above). I think much of the love of vinyl is nostalgic, coupled with the ritual of using a turntable - a pleasure in itself to many. Digital has the potential for better quality and a larger dynamic range than vinyl (I'm not talking about MP3s here but lossless formats like .wav and .flac). And while this isn't so important for most music, it can have a bearing on some electronic styles that like to employ super low subs, for example. But ultimately, whether you choose vinyl or digital has much less of an impact on the overall sound in comparison to more important factors, such as your choice of amp, speakers, the characteristics of your room, the production style of the music you're listening to, etc, etc. Everything else is an illusion... Still, given the choice I prefer to listen to vinyl. Not because of anything to do with the sound itself, but because it reminds me of happy days [/quote] +1. Its a nostalgia/ritual thing, not a sound quality thing.

I love the ritual of vinyl---and the larger artwork etc---but I don't try and kid myself that it sounds "better" because it doesn't. Some genres that I like (reggae, dub, jazz) sound good on vinyl but I think thats because the analogue recording and scratches/pops etc add something to the atmosphere, not because it makes it sounds "better". Yes a lot of modern music is horribly compressed but thats a choice made by the producer, not a limitation of the digital format. Properly recorded, well mixed music sounds amazing on digital.

[quote name='iiipopes' timestamp='1352730674' post='1866615'] My 5-er is very light weight, almost to the point of having neck dive with mini Gotoh bass tuners. I've also seen Fender Precision Basses made out of USA Northern Ash (the stuff we make baseball bats out of) that weigh, proverbally, a ton. A well designed 5-er need not weigh any more than a 4-string. [/quote] Yes, but the four string version of your bass would weigh even less. And a 5 string Fender P made out of Northern Ash would weigh even more.

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1352727354' post='1866552'] Don't blame 5 string basses for the technical shortcomings of the player. [/quote] Why bother wasting time learning to mute a 5 string bass properly (and taking the risk of said technique going wrong at an inopportune moment) if you're never going to use the fifth string? I play a five string bass. I like it. But the idea that you "might as well" have a five string, regardless of what it is that you're actually going to play, is clearly nonsense.

[quote name='BassPimp66' timestamp='1352711270' post='1866289'] The decline started after the suicide of Kurt Cobain. This was the last time I heard music on the mainstream radio, before rap and r'n'b took over the waves for good. Kids today do not care about electric bass. Most of the music now comes from a computer, add a few lyrics and spend all the budget on the music video. No money, no time for a pre-historic bass player. Same goes for drummers. It's disappointing because it's never been so good being a bass player in terms of technology. The gear has evolved tremendously over the last 2 decades. Sadly, music has not... [/quote] Woah there, Captain Caveman I love these "the end of the (musical) world is nigh" threads. They're always good for a giggle at the middle aged men turning into the very thing they railed against in their own youth

[quote name='pendingrequests' timestamp='1352721902' post='1866447'] Speaking of which, anyone recommend the Hiscox cases? Think he is ordering me this one: [url="http://www.dv247.com/cases/hiscox-std-epb-larger-style-electric-bass-guitar-case--56184"]http://www.dv247.com...tar-case--56184[/url] [/quote] Lovely bass. I approve Hiscox cases are fantastic. There's a reason everyone recommends them.

[quote name='ThomBassmonkey' timestamp='1352496549' post='1863980'] . Even if you don't use the extra notes on a 5, [b]there's no negatives to having them there just in case.[/b] [/quote] Well, apart from a bass that weighs more than it needs to (and frankly some of them weigh more than enough as 4 strings!), the increased risk of unwanted notes ringing out (especially important when recording), and the increased price of sets of strings... My only bass is a 5 string---but I don't buy the "just in case" argument. If you're not going to use the fifth string then its pointless having it there. Might as well get a bass which is lighter, has infinitely less chance of you having an unwanted low b mysteriously make its way into your EP, and probably costs a little bit less! I only use the b string on my Yamaha occasionally, so I'm looking to pair it with a nice passive four string---then I'll have all my options covered.

http://www.mooeraudio.com/en/ProductInfo.asp?id=60 ^ should do the trick!

[quote name='BigBeatNut' timestamp='1352311142' post='1861488'] Somebody on TB opened up one of the analog pedals and talked about modding. In particular, changing a resistor value. He concluded that because they're all tiny (SMD ?) components, modding would be pretty difficult. I would guess the same applies to the digital pedals. (Not sure which delay you mean, I think there are 4 now). [/quote] I read this about SMDs all the time but the electrical engineers at my last work used to regularly mod pcbs etc with surface mount components without too much hassle. You just need the right tools and a steady hand!

Sometimes I wonder if companies in the music business actually know *anything* about their customers. For £3k, if I wanted a vintage Precision bass, I could get a real vintage Fender or even get a Fender custom shop and probably have some change. WTF is the point in this?

Stop giving me gas! (although the neck on that one was *slightly* too chunky for me... ...doesn't mean I'm not lusting after one though )

[quote name='Big_Stu' timestamp='1351981436' post='1857626'] hint: if you decide to "have a bus trip to the zoo", it'll just happen to go past GuitarGuitar which is do-able if you get day ranger hop on/off tickets. [/quote] If you're coming from the city centre then you need to go past the zoo to get to guitar guitar... But the point still stands---they're pretty close to each other. Red Dog and Guitar Guitar are definitely the best shops in the city. There's a couple of others but they're not very big.

Great band. "Cissy Strut" is one of my favourites to play---one of the first songs I learned when I decided to try and play with fingers instead of just a pick all the time.

Renting an instrument will probably cost at least £50. You could buy a basic squier/vintage/something else for less than £100 second hand and either 1. keep it as a permanent backup or 2. sell it for what you paid for it afterwards.

Yep, mainly used for changing key but keeping the same open chord shapes. I am a big fan of using a capo up around the 5th, 6th, 7th frets. You get a very distinctive timbre up there that just sounds beautiful with open chords.

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1351680424' post='1854008'] orange, bright orange... a bright orange jazz... with rosewood fingerboard. yes... oh yes... [/quote] ^^ this man speaks the truth Capri orange looks amazing on Fender style basses.

I've never had a problem with a strap falling apart---but I tend to just put them on and leave them on. I need a new strap, actually---any recommendations? I want something wide, and padded, but also fully adjustable (the ones that aren't fully adjustable never sit at the right height for me). The mono straps fit the bill but they're a bit ugly. I'd prefer something which was made of suede or leather but not hideously expensive either!

My wife is perfectly understanding when it comes to buying new gear. She does give it a good "really, do you actually need it?" which is actually a good thing---its stopped me buying stuff that I am only buying on a whim. Its meant that I no longer buy stuff, let it get dusty, and then sell it again! On occasion she's even been known to say "are you sure you want to sell that? You used to rave about how good it was...don't feel like you have to sell it...". We also have an understanding that I am saving up for a new bass (P, of some kind, once I work out which of the infinite variations I want) and so long as we can afford it it won't be a problem.

[quote name='danweb22' timestamp='1350945027' post='1845544'] I have everything crossed mine slip through! [/quote] My shimverb was marked as a gift (I didn't ask them to, and since I paid by paypal I figure the risk is all theirs). [quote name='Ancient Mariner' timestamp='1350988370' post='1845827'] I keep thinking about how I'd like to redo most of the pedal board with those. A set of 6 or 7 would allow me to replace everything else I have on the board and add a wah alongside the volume pedal. Slightly wishing I'd gone for the electric mistress clone instead of the shimverb, although I didn't have a reverb, and also fancy the Hustledrive/OCD pedal. [/quote] Yeah, I could easily have a full pedalboard of these. I've got a shimverb (annoyingly I'm in the middle of moving house/redecorating so I can't test it out!) and have an orange faze on the way. I really want the Electric Mistress clone too, as well as the pitch box (and if the bass eq comes out probably one of them too!)