Skybone

[quote name='6v6' timestamp='1385476825' post='2288679']
It's interesting you'd say Marshall JCM or Fender Twin, they are pretty different amps IMO.

If budget is limited, I'd suggest looking at a Laney VC30, they are excellent for the money, I'd get the 1x12 and swap out the speaker for something better like a Celestion G12H30 when budget allows.[/quote]

+1 Another vote for Laney.

Something to bear in mind, if you're after a "slightly overdriven" tone, turn the gain down and the volume up, especially if you have an amp with a valve power amp. Front end gain sounds too harsh & brittle, and is a mistake that a lot of players make by simply cranking the gain to get an overdriven sound.

All those classic rock albums from the 60's & 70's, where they have a nice smooth overdriven sound is done by turning the amps volume up and letting the power valves break up naturally. If you went for a lower output amp, like the VC30, then the headroom will be lower and the natural power valve overdrive will happen at a lower level. With bigger amps, it's often wise to use an attenuator to get that sound without deafening everyone.

Yamaha BB424?

A very nice looking T'bird there Rik. only ever-so-slightly jealous!

No Firewire interface, so I'll avoid the Saffire then... Looked good as well.

Quite impressed with the Lexicon Omega, even though it's bundled with an older version of Cubase LE (4), have seen a couple of the larger UK retailers selling them off at a reasonable price for what you get. OK, so I do realise that this means that the product will no doubt be discontinued in the not too distant future, but even so, it still seems like a good deal. Plus I've used an older version of Cubase, so should be at least a teensy bit familiar with it (in theory of course!).

Time to raid the piggy bank (again).

[quote name='dave_bass5' timestamp='1391558297' post='2358692']Ive always thought internal sound cards were better, and i had a M-Audio Fast track that was a nightmare to use a few years ago. With M-Audio not writing any new drivers, specifically for Windows 8 i felt it was time to move on.

If on a low budget the Behringer interfaces look really nice, and they are a lot cheaper.
[/quote]

Didn't know about M-Audio not supporting equipment for Win 8, was looking at the M Track as a possibility as well, but with my new machine running Win 8.1, it sounds like it's one to avoid.

I was hoping to get a 4 input interface rather than a 2 channel, partly as a hang-over from the Delta BoB, but partly with the thought that I can record say a drum machine or other source as well as a guitar/bass. The Akai EIE caught my eye (retro design , vu's & switches), as did the Focusrite Scarlett 6i6/Saffire Pro 14 and the Lexicon Lambda/Omega amongst others.

More research required I think, but keep those suggestions/recommendations coming, all fuel for the fire...

My third ever bass was an SB Special II, another one I regret selling (especially as I part-exed it for an Encore Strat... WHY!?!?!?!?!?).

I picked up an SB900 in the late 90's, owned it for a year or so, then chopped it in for a blonde '89 StingRay. About 10 years ago, I found a beaten up SB Special II on eBay. Very shocked when it arrived, as it was packaged up in nothing more secure than some plastic bags & parcel tape! Thankfully, it was still in 1 piece, and played quite well once I'd cleaned it up & set it up again.

Anyone interested in old Aria Pro's should check out: [url]www.matsumoku.org/guitars.html[/url], loads of info including catalogues and a forum.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1391521821' post='2358046']
Actually it's not the pickup that's the problem (these have barely changed from the original version form the late 70s), It's the pitch detection system in the foot controller that comes with the GR77. The great pity is that the synth part is actually rather good - it's essentially a Roland JX8P which was the successor to the Jupiter 8. It depends whether the cable that connects the bass to the foot controller is compatible with the newer pitch to MIDI systems.

In the end though pitch to MIDI on its own is a dead end. There will always be an unacceptable lag between playing a note on the bass and the detection circuitry working out what the note actually is, and the lower the note being played the longer it takes to work out what it is. That's simple physics and there's no way around that. IMO the way forward is either the Industrial Radio system which uses fret sensors to work out the pitch and the string pickups just to trigger the notes, alternatively the Roland V system which processes the actual signal from the strings and doesn't bother with trying to extract MIDI information from them.
[/quote]

It was the current Roland V system and current hex pickup system I meant (VG99/GR55 & GK3). Obviously, you'd loose that "analogue" synth "feel" from those older systems, as the current ones are purely digital of course, but surely they do have analogue synth patches/simulations?

My old PC was finally retired last month after goodness knows how many years of sterling service (and not to mention numerous upgrades, PSU's, motherboards/processors & a multitude of video/sound cards), after it deciding enough was enough when I put Windows 7 on it.

Thing is, it also has/had an M-Audio Delta card (with break out box) and an old copy of Cubase (with dongle!) that had both performed admirably over the years, and been used to sketch out ideas etc.

Admittedly, neither card or Cubase had much use in the last few years, but I do quite fancy getting a USB sound card & DAW Software to see if I can come up with some new ideas and get writing again (when time allows).

So...

What's the "best" USB multi-input sound card available for not much cash?

Which is the best, reasonably priced DAW recording package to go for?

Are there any reasonably priced USB sound cards that have the DAW package bundled?

Looking for some recommendations/scare stories etc, while not looking to spend too much cash on it.

Ta.

One of the few basses I ever regret selling was my old Thunder 1A, superb guitars that carried an amazing punch (though weighed a fair bit IIRC!).

Loads of Matsumoku info & forum here: [url][url="http://www.matsumoku.org/guitars.html"]http://www.matsumoku.org/guitars.html[/url][/url] - Mainly Aria Pro II info, but links to a Westone specific site.

My second ever bass was a Westone Raider (in black & red). Nice bass, but a bit too much 80's garishness going on!

I like weird guitars, and the Roland GR808(? IIRC) is up there as being "quite cool" (even if the synth side of things never worked that well - it's still got the magnetic pickups). As an aside, I believe that the classic Roland GR's were actually made by a certain company by the name of Ibanez, which kind of makes them collectable as "classic" Ibanez (had a thing about late 70's/early 80's Ibanez for a while).

You would think that, if you did get the Roland guitar/bass for synth work, then surely, it could be possible to upgrade the hex pickup to a more modern version & interface with the modern Roland guitar synth units, which will have better processors in.

Very tempted by a BB424/424x...

Maybe when the Jazz sells...

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1390848827' post='2350357']
[url="http://www.lakland.com/geezer.htm"]http://www.lakland.com/geezer.htm[/url]



[/quote]

About time too! Sweet... want one!!!!!

[quote name='Spike Vincent' timestamp='1390392452' post='2344795']
Girlfriend
Or if you're really good,Roadie.
[/quote]

Or your Dad, who gave you a lift there...

Assuming you're in a Heavy Rock/Metal band playing 80's/90's type stuff as mentioned in your "Interests", one could also assume that you're playing songs that are a bit faster than 120bpm?

The Jazz neck is not only not as wide as the P bass neck, but thinner as well, could be that you're having to adjust your hand/finger positions for the Jazz, and having to hold your hand that bit tighter than you're used to on the P neck. One possible solution to this would be to get a 2nd hand P bass neck, and put it on the Jazz if you want to keep on using it?

Also, how low do you wear the basses on their straps? Might be worth looking at.

How do you "warm up" your hand before playing? It's worthwhile doing hand and finger stretching exercises for a while before starting to play (easy enough to do on the way to rehearsals/gigs).

Just a thought.

Been trying to get back to playing with my fingers over the last few years, so rarely use picks these days, however, I always have at least one Dunlop Nylon 0.73 (the light grey ones) pick handy (tucked into scratchplate) for those "I need a pick and quick" moments.

Tried many, many picks for bass over the years, from big heavy one's that everyone says are excellent, to the really thin ones that no-one uses. IMO, the .73 Nylons are stiff enough for fast playing, but flexible enough to give a more gentle string attack sound more akin to a finger style sound, where the heavier picks tend to give a snappier "clicky" sound (IMO), great if that's what you're after. Another plus side to using the Nylons is that they last for ages (but are a bugger to find if you drop them!).

Also ended up using the .73 Nylons for acoustic guitar too (again, softer sound), but use Tortex .63's (Orange) for electric.

[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1360625642' post='1973789']
Sunday was great for TV. CHiPs used to be on in the afternoon just before The Big Match. What more could anyone want?
[/quote]

CHiPs was on at Saturday tea-time, Sunday was for The Professionals.

TBH, if you aren't sure which one to go for... head out to your nearest musical instrument emporium that has any of these guitars in stock, park your poverbial and give them all a try. The best feeling/playing/sounding one wins and gets to go home with you.

Quite a number of years back, I did exactly the same and lined up 5 or 6 basses that appealed, then another 2 or 3 that were in the right price bracket, and bas(s)ically sat in the music shop for a couple of hours trying them all out. Nedless to say, the couple that were my "front runners" quickly fell by the wayside, a few more kept getting added to the trial selection, but the one I walked out of the shop with, only joined the trial because it was in the right price bracket, but it sounded and felt the best for me at that time. It was a Fender Mex Jazz.

Done it with quite a few guitars over the years, especially with acoustics. You really cannot beat going into a shop and actually trying guitars out. If none of the ones you try float your boat, you're free to walk away, but you also have a better idea of what fits you and what doesn't.

I just sit and play with my instrument on my own.....

Have only glanced at the replies to the original post, but... a similar thing happened to me...

If you have had a particularly busy spate of flogging stuff via eBay & getting your payments in through PayPal, because (or despite) of the fact that you're a private individual selling stuff off, it would appear to any remote analysis of your account, that you are running a business and not just getting rid of some old stuff.

What happened to me, my wife and I had a spate of flogging stuff, most cases it was very low value items (old but useable kids clothes and toys) and a couple of high value music related items. We got a few emails from PayPal asking us to go into our account & verify some things, though the email was very unspecific and thus got ignored and deleted thinking it was spammage. Roll on a few weeks, and our PayPal account was blocked because we hadn't logged in & gone through the questions. It's all to do with their compliance with UK Tax Regulations, as if you're running a business, you're liable for tax in conjunction with that business. If you're a private individual selling stuff on, then you're not liable for tax.

Basically, they're wanting you to verify that you aren't running a business to comply with UK Tax Laws/Rules.

Login to your PayPal account via their website and there should be more info there. If the account's still blocked, give them a call.

I've been trying to sell my Modern Player Jazz since before Christmas with no joy. First eBay auction was won by a non-payer, the second most recent auction had tons of views and watchers, but no bids. I did get one offer from someone, but I [i]had to [b]politely[/b][/i] decline because it was way, way, way off the mark.

And that's for a Fender (albeit an MIC Fender).

I guess post-Christmas isn't a great time to sell anything.

Surely one signature bass that should exist would have to be a Lakland Geezer Butler

[quote name='Toasted' timestamp='1386862651' post='2305592']
Is this the one with Dave Main in it?
[/quote]

It is... he's the only person to get sub-titles!

Theoretically, it should be possible... if you remove the pre-amp & associated gubbins, and replace with traditional pots/caps, though what size cap(s) you would use is for someone else to answer.

I think most people would answer: Why? Why get an active StingRay and why would you want to remove the eletronics?

I guess one option would be to get an active T'bird (that Epiphone one) as well as the StingRay, or like you say, another passive T'bird. What about a P or P/J bass or a G&L L2000 (switchable from active to passive)?

After many, many, many years of playing active's, I went back to passives, mainly because of all the active's I'd had (from Aria/Westone/Washburn/Tobias/EBMM and a few others), I'd never really been that happy with the way they sounded, no matter how much I tweaked them and the amps, either live or recorded. I plugged in a friends passive, instant tonal gratification, great sound straight off and every time. From then on, I've been a passive re-convert, but buying a new bass is frustrating, because it seems that nearly everything has active electronics in them, apart from the good old P or J (and even they don't escape the all pervading 9v treatment!).

Stay passive!

No matter how much you try to sell your music, and no matter how much time, effort & financial input you and the rest of your band put into making the best recording you can...

There's always some freeloading numpty's who expect you to give them a copy for free... more these days thanks to "free" downloads on Blogs and other sources.

And I've had numerous "discussions" with folk on various forums (fora/forii?) be they musician or just music related, there are still more people arguing that you should give your music away for free.

IMO o'course.

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1386783093' post='2304500']
Geezer is indeed the guv'nor.

What a fantastic player. His sound is always great, and his playing over the years has been an inspiration . Heaven And Hell and Mob Rules are my favourite albums for Geezers playing , but he is great on everything Sabbath have ever done . In fact, it was Geezer Butler and Geddy Lee that really inspired me to take up the bass, and I like to think that if by some amazing breakthrough in medical science Geezer and Geddy were able to have a child together then I would be that child.
[/quote]

Remember watching the "Never Say Die" tour video on telly many moons ago (when we only had 4 channels), and he was knocking seven shades out of a Fireglo 4001, though my absolute favourite was the "Live in Paris" film from about 1970 (Paranoid tour?). Utter classic.

Also remember reading a Guitar mag interview with Tony Iommi a few years back, and he said that Sabbath never had the need of a rhythm guitarist, "because Geezer filled those spaces with the bass". Awesome player and all round top bloke.