bassman7755

1 hour ago, Chienmortbb said:

To be pedantic most people use FRFR to mean a powered PA Top/ Monitor wedge. My rig is Flat Range/Full Response* but ther amp is outside the cabinet and it cannoy be used as a wedge floor monitor.

 

*I know I have crossed terms, it was deliberate.

Your right that is pedantic 😉, I think the key point with FRFR is that your not reliant on a purpose built bass speaker to get your tone - you get your tone from a bunch or pedals and/or a preamp (or even just the bass itself) and then just need something to make it louder. 

1 hour ago, Delberthot said:

but IEMs are a group decision made by the whole band so we all have to agree.

Not necessarily. Drums you can probably hear those anyway even through the IEMs isolating pads, might possibly need an ambient mic, vocals will be going through the PA so you can take an aux out to your own mixer, ditto for any other person in the band using an amp, they will all have a line or DI out somewhere you can use. I'm not going to let the fact that other people in the band dont use them stop me from doing so.

Anyone done this ? considered it ? am I completely nuts for even thinking about it ?

OK so the back story is that I have a couple of hohner jack 5 string basses that have non standard sized and string spaced pickups. Well I say non standard but they are basically 4 string jazz fitments i.e. 91/94 mm single coils  but since there is 5 strings over the 4-string sized pickup, standard jazz pickup pole pieces are completely out of line as you see here:

So I'm thinking of  3D printing some bobbins with the right spacing spacing and winding them myself using a cobbled together pickup winder built from an rechargeable  drill.

Should all that the original pickups are EMG selects which are apparently ceramic blade pickups and they sound decent enough, very punchy/dynamic but I want a bit of old school grind/clank on one of them so want some alnico Vs on one of the two bases.

Yes I have approached a custom builder (bloodstone) who will do the custom pole piece spacing for a very reasonable extra £15 making the pickup set about £100 so which now I think about it is a bit of a no-brainer but ... wheres the fun in that eh ?.

1 hour ago, bobbass4k said:

Adjustable crossovers adds a fair amount of complexity/physical size. Certainly not beyond a DIY designer but as bloke_zero has pointed, when there's a decent kit that covers everything you're after that's always going to be the easiest option. 

2 hours ago, bloke_zero said:

Bing! https://schalltechnik04.de/en/instructions/omnilooper

 

Has 3 sends, LP HP and full range with the filter frequency of each channel adjustable. Adds in phase as well which is a must for some effects (lovetone meatball for example) that flip the phase.

 

It's a very dense build so not for the faint hearted! I'd recommend buying the case from him as well as drilling to the required tolerances seems non-trivial to me!

Yeah that does everything but is way more complicated than I was hoping for. For a start I don't need a full range channel, also the per channel volumes are superfluous as pretty every pedal on earth has a gain (where appropriate) and a volume control. Given I only want the crossed over highs and lows I'm not convinced I need the phase controls, also the pre post filter selection is irrelevant as I cant conceive of a need for doing the filter post split.

I'm presuming I could do the variable high and low pass filters with a 2nd order RC using a dual gang pot ?.

Given theres been a lot of talk about split signal setups I wonder if anyone has (or could) designed something like this:

A box with 1 input, 2 "sends" and 2 "returns" mixed back to a single output. For bonus points the signal for the sends would be highs on one and lows on the other, for further bonus points the crossover/splitter frequency would be adjustable. 

The most complicated circuit I've ever designed myself was a single stage op amp pre amp for one of my guitars so the splitter doo-dah is well beyond my knowledge.

2 hours ago, Al Krow said:

I guess a related question is how many of you folk who have gone FRFR have gone the whole hog and adopted IEMs? If you're not using IEMs how many monitors are you using?

100% IEMs for me from now on, for me this is in addition to rather than instead of backline.

On 20/08/2021 at 18:29, missis sumner said:

Yes, I've been asked to learn this. 🙄

 

I quite like the song though, and well, the bass line is very, um, interesting! 😄

 

 

So listening to it, I've just started to get the intro and verse down as G F# E E, F C D D.  The song sounds very much like it's in G major to me, so where's that F come from?  Is it just a borrowed note from another scale?  It's very prominent - at the start of every second line of the verse.

 

Assuming I'm not wrong, can someone with a lot more theory knowledge shed a little light on it for me, please?

 

TIA

 

@jrix 's explanation is technically correct but another (simpler IMO) way to understand it is as a borrowed chord from the G mixolydian mode. 

Borrowing chords from different modes is very common e.g. Summer of 69 is in D major but the middle 8 switches to borrowed chords from D Aeolian  (AKA D minor).

5 hours ago, Freddi375 said:

Hi all,

 

I have been using a Streamliner 900 for a fair few years now, and along with my TC RS212 cab and fender elite 4 jazz bass, I have the perfect sound for me.

 

Now looking to purchase another amp so that I have a back up, but looking to get something a bit newer which still has the heft of the streamliner in the class d package. 

 

Would also consider a bass power amp (class d size) which I can plug my Sadowsky preamp pedal right into.

 

Any recommendations appreciated...

 

Thanks

Freddie

If its just a backup though I would the Bugera Veyron would be the obvious choice as its seems to be intended as a streamliner clone especially given the price: https://www.thomann.de/gb/bugera_bv1001t_veyron_bass_head.htm

For a full fat modern replacement then Genzler is run by the guy who used to own Genz Benz I believe: https://www.andertons.co.uk/brands/genzler-amplification/genzler-magellan-mg-800-two-channel-bass-head 

Interesting, I've seen similar explanation before, the big take way seems to be that you should rotate through short bursts of different things you are learning so lets say your studying 4 things, in an hours session you should do 5 minutes each subject then repeat 3 times rather than say 15 mins each subject. Takes a lot of discipline to apply though.

I have the now discontinued Akai Unibass which does this all one unit - clean bass + octave (plus optionally 4th or 5th) with distortion. Used to use it to fake a rhythm guitar when playing a 1 guitar band. Should sell it really so someone can get some use out of it.

Same applies to dialling in sounds at home as well - they tend to be way too bassy and boomy when out front at gigging volume. Weirdly I've found that sounds dialled in using headphones translate better to a good gig level sound than using my actual amp and speakers at low volume in a small room.

Thats so true, I despair every time I go to see a band in a pub/club and the bassist has his bass knob at 5'oclock or some extreme smiley face dialled into the graphic because hes stood 2 feet away from his amp when dialling in the sound.

Top tip #2 use a looper rather than a long lead or radio to check to sound out front as you also hear your tone differently when not actually playing (try it if you dont believe me - its actually quite shocking how different your tone sounds when your not using half your brain on playing).

14 minutes ago, Dan Dare said:

If you're playing in an out and out covers band, it is usually to get paid gigs first and foremost ...

I've played in lots of covers bands and never because of the money and likewise for most of the other people playing in those bands.

On 11/10/2021 at 18:14, ikay said:

Et voila!  Thanks for all the input chaps. Next on the list is a DIY fret crowning tool of some sort. Any ideas welcome!

I made myself a fretboard rule like you have but my attempts at an improvised fret crowner failed so I ended up buying one of these: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Guitar-Crowning-Dressing-Repairing-Luthier/dp/B07KTNBT3P

1 minute ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

The final straw in my previous band was Rocking in the Free World. I decided there and then I'd never play another song I couldn't stand. Nothing wrong with it if that's your bag, but I'd rather sit in front of the telly. 

Haha hate that song with a vengeance too.

17 minutes ago, TimR said:

I think the problem in every band is that whatever your reason for playing you have to take into account the reasons your band mates have for playing. 

This so much. Having everyone in a band with the same motivation is a massive plus, mixing people who play purely for fun and people who have to play to pay the rent, or for originals bands mixing hobbyists with "pros" who want to make it, is a recipe for discontent and ultimately failure.

Have enjoyed in the past playing in a commitments type soul covers band and a blues covers band even though I don't especially care for either type of music (being more of a rock/metal guy). Thing is you get gems in every genre that make it worthwhile - I enjoy playing Tears of a Clown as much as I enjoy playing Enter Sandman. RE the original post, would jump at the change to play Dancing Queen for example - what a fantastic bass line.

18 hours ago, Jus Lukin said:

I think that this is very key. I liken it to my interest in film, which I come to as a complete layman. There are no doubt countless details and techniques employed at every moment of a good film, from the writing to the cinematography, to the lighting and dubbing. I only really notice those things if they aren't quite up to scratch, however! Moreover, I don't really care about those details- as a viewer I just want to experience a good film. However, someone needs to consider those things so that I don't notice them

This is kind of where I am, people definitely enjoy a band that has a good balanced sound with good sounding instruments more even if they don't consciously know why. However in this day and age theres really no reason to have to "tap dance" - just get a decent processor board and change the patch. 

The money-no-object option:  https://www.thomann.de/gb/eich_amplification_t900_black_edition.htm

I have its predecessor the techamp puma 900, absolute beast of an amp, ideal as a small super powerful small/light power amp. I believe these amps are also design to be flat response with all the controls at 12 so you could just centre everything and plug in the front as usual.

Which reminds me, I've been meaning to do a class D vs other sound test at gigging volume, see if people can tell which is which.

7 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

RCF 745 FRFR. That's what I use.

 

No conventional bass amp and cab is remotely flat despite what the marketing department might want you to believe. That all have their own unique baked-in sound. That's why you choose one brand over another - it's has a baked-in sound that you find pleasing.

For a solid state amp the baked in tone is in the preamp though, so if hes going into the effects return or line in its just getting the power amp section which is usually some off the shelf module or follows a standard design.  

On 01/04/2020 at 14:19, NickD said:

A big +1 for this.

I don't often watch anything more than once but this set on Youtube with his Dad, and Gene Coye on drums is beautiful His tone and taste, with a foot in the traditional and a foot in the modern day, is brilliant.

 

Massive fan of Larry and Travis.

55 minutes ago, ubit said:

 

 

I found boiling got more crud out than meths but to be fair I didn't leave them soaking for days. Ive heard people saying that boiling rusts the core but I never noticed any difference in sound plus I didn't boil them more than twice. Second time never had as good results.

Yeah I tried boiling and it works but it stresses and corrodes the strings, only time Ive ever had a bass string breakage was with strings boiled multiple times.

I have two bases I for which I keep 4 sets of strings in rotation - 2 on the basses and 2 soaking in a methylated spirit bath. Swap out a set with the freshly cleaned set about once every 2 weeks, the 4 sets last almost indefinitely and I get a very consistent bright sound, the meths doesn't bring them back to absolute new but its good enough. Using headless bases with double ball end strings makes the constant swapping very easy and doesn't stress the strings.

So I decided to the try to get a sound on the zoom as close as possible to my sansamp VT Bass. Of course the zoom sound is based on the BDDI model so not the same pedal, still an interesting comparison though. Both were played the same input using the zoom looper function.

bassexample1.mp3

bassexample2.mp3

17 hours ago, Lozz196 said:

The cheaper (and apparently easier to use) Zoom B1 Four has the same compressors on it.  At around £60 it’s got to be worth a try, and given it’s a multi fx pedal as well as tuner could make life easier too.

Just bought a B1 four myself, fantastic bit of kit, cant understand why every bass player on earth doesn't own one really, at change from £70 delivered its a no brainer, even if you use to just audition various types of compressor then buy the dedicated pedal (although I recon the models are as good as the real thing in most cases ...) .