maxrossell

[quote name='Eight' post='482329' date='May 7 2009, 07:20 PM']Maybe they're doing it on purpose - i.e. using the Warwick label to boost sales of Rockbasses at that competitive end of the market? For the money of a new Rockbass, there are a hell of a lot of options in terms of new basses and higher end stuff on the used market.[/quote] To be honest the way I see it is they're trying to increase the value of the Rockbass brand by basically saying that although it's not MIG and it's not made of tonewoods, they still reckon it's made to a high enough standard that it deserves to wear the Warwick logo. I can understand how that might piss off some current 'wick owners who up until this summer will have had to shell out a lot of bank for something with a "W" on the headstock, just as I'd imagine Gibson owners would be just a tad miffed if Epiphone started putting out Gibsons with the Gibson logo and headstock. But on the other hand to my mind it'll actually make the MIG 'wicks even more choice. Every Tom, Dick and Harry will have a MIC 'wick, but they'll have a REAL 'wick with the fancy woods and everything.

Mute/Tuner. Don't have to break the bank for a good one, and I think they're necessary if you're having to tune up when there's other noise going on.

[quote name='Eight' post='481954' date='May 7 2009, 01:39 PM']At the risk of sounding like a fanboy (as he happens to also play a Vampyre) - I would probably say Marco Hietala from Nightwish has a pretty useful sound for me. Wouldn't sound hugely out of place in a death metal band, but really excels with that lovely deep bassy rumble in symphonic/power metal bands.[/quote] Marco Hietala uses a Warwick Pro Tube XI, which would set you back a grand on its own. However it's not a massive stretch to assume that their cheaper heads, like the pro fet series, might be quite close in sound to what you require. Just taking a couple examples from GAK, a Pro Fet 5.2 head would set you back just under £400. I've played one and I'd describe it as very decent, especially for a quite "modern" sound. And it's a very simple, intuitive layout. Not that I necessarily think you should buy a Warwick cab, or even a 4x10", but for the sake of the argument, a Warwick 410 WCA Pro is £350. Add a WCA Pro 1x15" and you have a full stack for a shade over a grand. And that's brand new. Second hand, I wouldn't expect to pay more than £700 for that kind of equipment in very good condition. I hope that helps.

[quote name='Mikey D' post='481949' date='May 7 2009, 01:35 PM']Which reminds me of one of my favourite 'jazz' bands around at the moment:[/quote] The irony there of course is that Soundgarden got accused of being "jazz-metal" and then "jazz-grunge" because they were always playing with time signatures and dissonances.

[quote name='neepheid' post='481942' date='May 7 2009, 01:31 PM']I'm not going to inflict my views on everyone, all I will say is that I do not want a reliced instrument in the same way I don't want a reliced car.[/quote] Ahh man! Really? I offer a car relicing service. For a mere £300 I'll crack your windshield, slash your tires, key your bonnet, put superglue in your door locks, jam a banana up the exhaust and spraypaint a crude penis on the roof. It'll look exactly like you'd left it parked on a sink estate overnight!

[quote name='skankdelvar' post='481935' date='May 7 2009, 01:27 PM']Readily available in Southern Germany and Austria[/quote] I'm there, dude. Auf wiedersehen!

Okay, but seriously, skankdevlar, where can I get one of those pointy hats with the shaving brush in it?

If I were being completely picky though, I would say one thing: Good relics feel different from new instruments. Most instrumentists would agree that older instruments have a "played-in" feel that new instruments don't, and a good relic will have something close to that kind of feel. The Fender roadworn tele, for instance, I tried it out and it had an "old friend" feel to it that the new US tele didn't. I still wouldn't own one, but that's worth considering.

[quote name='Zoe_BillySheehan' post='481917' date='May 7 2009, 01:18 PM']Im actually after a Rockbass, but yeah i totaly agree with the logo. but i guess it only does say 'rock bass' and people dont complain if it says 'jazz bass' Z x[/quote] It's not to do with what it says, it's more the layout and lettering. I think the design looks cheap.

[quote name='skankdelvar' post='481926' date='May 7 2009, 01:21 PM']In support of my earlier contentions, I reproduce this [i]image[/i] of the (late) legendary Jazz DJ, Al 'Jazzbeaux' Collins without comment: [/quote] Oh man, I want one of those hats.

[quote name='Eight' post='481903' date='May 7 2009, 01:08 PM']Hmm. I was thinking that say if I walked into a big shop which had like twenty different amps and a dozen or so cabs; would I be able to use headphones to get a basic sound out of the amp, enough to say like "ok these three have more boom in the low end than those so I'll try them with cabs". Or might I find that some amps sound like they have no low with headphones, but are great compared to others when used with cabs? This is all so complicated.[/quote] I think the problem there is that headphones would probably be an even less reliable source of comparison. Headphones tend to be very flattering, especially in the bass end. Also headphones come straight from the preamp, so you wouldn't hear the influence of the power amp on the overall sound either. Can you describe to me the kind of sound you're looking for (as in "a bit like Rex from Pantera" or "more like the dude from Tool") and I'll have a look to see if there's a useful starting point for you?

[quote name='rslaing' post='481880' date='May 7 2009, 12:57 PM']Don't take it personally, the thread was closed, and I am sure because of that, they do not want it to continue in here, as IT IS NOT RELEVANT TO THE TOPIC. Thanks[/quote] 1. Describe someone's qualifications that they worked hard to achieve as worthless, they'll take it personally. Anyone with basic social skills understands that. 2. Your slagging off pop music isn't relavant to the topic either, but away you go. Is it a bird... Is it a plane....? No! It's DOUBLE-STANDARDS MAN! Don't take it personally, by the way. It's just my opinion of your opinion of my opinion of your opinion.

[quote name='jonny-lad' post='481876' date='May 7 2009, 12:55 PM']I would have thought the appeal came from the fact that it's an accessible way to owning a 'vintage style' instrument. Far easier and more affordable to buy a reliced bass than it is to buy a real vintage instrument. Of course, it's not the same, but an acceptable compromise for many people. I don't think it's necessarily about fashion (although for some it may be), but more about coming close to owning something that would otherwise be out of reach.[/quote] Bingo. A lot of antique (or vintage, or what have you) instruments are beat up. Some people like that kind of rough, heavily-used aesthetic but don't have the means to buy a quality piece of gear that's old enough to have suffered the kind of abuse. And they wouldn't feel comfortable taking some tools and acid to their own gear, so they'd even pay extra for someone else to create the look for them. Not for me, but each to their own. I don't like figured maple tops, they look too flashy to me. But some people will pay hundreds extra for one.

[quote name='BottomEndian' post='481873' date='May 7 2009, 12:52 PM'] I was only joking about the mortal enemies thing...[/quote] Hardly. I'd buy him a pint. If he'd lower himself to setting foot in the kind of plebian establishments I frequent, that is.

[quote name='rslaing' post='481868' date='May 7 2009, 12:46 PM']I will challenge any point I disagree with, but I would not get personal - big difference.[/quote] That's absolute rubbish, mate. What was your view on my university degree, again?

[quote name='rslaing' post='481857' date='May 7 2009, 12:40 PM']Please retract your post, you are out of order. Make as many opinions as you like about my opinions, but don't get personal (again) or amend my posts in a cheap attemp to denigrate my views. Are you stalking my posts or something? Baiting does not work with me I'm afraid. Thank you[/quote] You said it was your opinion. So I modified your statements to reflect what they would have been if you had expressed them as if you really believed that they were just your opinion, as opposed to absolute truth (which is how they originally read).

[quote name='Eight' post='481846' date='May 7 2009, 12:32 PM']Seems like those Barefaced cabs are quite highly rated on here then? No Alex, you don't get to respond to that. I was liking the MarkBass LMII until the Bass Player review mentioned it didn't have "burly" lows. Still, might try their gear if I can. BTW If you're testing amps, many don't seem to have a headphone out so what would be the best way to approach comparing them? Since running them through a cab is also going to give you the characteristics of the speakers right? Maybe you found the perfect head but the cab let it down and you moved on unknowingly.[/quote] Difficult question. It's true that most high-end heads don't have a headphone jack. Since you're looking at buying both, my advice would be to (if you can) play mix n' match. The only other way I could think of would be to take a DI out and run them dry into a studio desk through flat-response monitors. But even then, as much as you'd have some basis of comparison, they'd still sound totally different depending on what bass cab you run 'em through. You just gotta try a bunch out, I don't think there's a really simple solution to it, I'm afraid.

Taste. Er, that's it.

[quote name='rslaing' post='481827' date='May 7 2009, 12:20 PM']Can someone please define "good music" for me?[/quote] Oh, me! Please sir! Me me me! The notion of quality is derived from an entirely subjective standpoint. You'd hate my record collection. Does that mean the records in it are not "good"? Of course not. They're good because I like them. The people who made them like them (in most cases), and a whole lot of other people like them. When I say "like them", I mean that I find something in them that speaks to me emotionally. Whether it's the need to get up and boogie, the need to go and protest against stuff, the need to give my lady some good lovin', or the need to cry, these are some of the things that the records in my record collection variously touch upon. Furthermore, the quality of the music is such that it enables people such as myself to dismiss the curmudgeonly accusations by people such as yourself that it isn't "real" music with a sigh and a genuine regret that at your age you're still at a point in your life where you can't accept that something can have value if it doesn't adhere to your painfully narrow standards. I'm not saying you [i]have[/i] to like it. I'm saying it's a shame that you hate it. It's a shame that you wouldn't be able to listen to Nirvana's [i]Nevermind[/i] without feigning nausea. It's a shame that if I played you Soundgarden's [i]Superunknown[/i] you'd pull a face like a six year old with a mouthful of asparagus. Because all this music that you hold in such high regard, I'm open to it. Indeed, I know a lot of it and I love some of it. But you hate everything I stand for musically, you despise it quite passionately, and because of that you're missing out on some real gems that if you opened your mind even slightly, might just brighten up your life. A piece of music is not inherently good because it fulfils this or that criteria. A piece of music is good if someone loves it.

[quote name='rslaing' post='481804' date='May 7 2009, 12:02 PM'][b]The music I think is[/b] good quality "proper" music will always survive, like classical and jazz for example, (or anything that is innovative) and [b]I hope[/b] that [b]everything I don't like [/b]will just fade away never to heard again. The main reason being that [b]I am unable to relate [/b]to its substance and [b]my [/b]ears get tired of it very quickly. Just my opinion of course, as usual.[/quote] I've rephrased it for you. It's much clearer now.

Solid state, you're looking at 300w as a good starting point. Anything less than that and you may run out of headroom, and start to sound less good at higher volumes. With bass, the very low end is what gives you the air-moving, room-vibrating feel with those slow frequencies that should sit just under the kick drum. The "grind" comes more from the higher midrange, where you get definition and a more vocal quality to the sound. Low-midrange is a compromise, because you need some to sound full and meaty, but too much and you start to sound dull and muddy. The very high end is where you get rattle and other sounds that can come across as sounding quite sharp if they're too loud - but again you need some high end so you don't sound dull. It's kind of counter-intuitive, but I'd say that if you're not overly-familiar with dialing in sounds in a full band mix scenario, you probably want to avoid getting stuff with graphic EQs and shelving and all that stuff. Stick with the stuff that has a basic three or four-dial EQ, maybe with some on-off switches for added low and high end etc. A lot of amps come with all sorts of gubbins like inbuilt compressors and even basic octavers, but I don't know if you'd be into all that. Beyond that, your next stop is going to be hitting some music stores and seeing what gear they have in you can try. Again, for a grand or even a bit less, I'd be surprised if you didn't find something very decent indeed.

These days I'm all about the Digidesign C24 (with the Focusrite preamps) into ProTools 7. I'd get geeky about the Neumann U87 as well, but I have a slightly preference for the warmer Rode NTK and the more shimmery AKG414. U87s sound in my opinion just a little tad bland, and need more work in the mix to make them come alive. My home setup is Reaper, EZdrummer, Garritan, Guitar Rig 3, Ampex SVX, Waves plugins, and T-Racks Deluxe.

[quote name='Eight' post='481712' date='May 7 2009, 10:36 AM']Too much for what I need? Or about right do you think? Obviously I'd rather not spend money needlessly but will spend what it is required (or what I can) to get the right tools. Plus I look at it like this, expensive bass running through sh*tty cheap amp means I wasted money on my bass. I've looked at them online, but don't know anything about them other than they look pretty good and don't seem bad money. Part of me likes the idea of all Warwick gear too. [/quote] I really can't say if it's too much or about right - I'd say you could get yourself a very respectable used 300w+ 410 halfstack for around half your budget, but how much more you spend really depends on what you're after. If I had a grand I'd be looking at a 500w+ head and two cabs, that way I can mix and match. Brandwise, Ampeg, Trace, Gallien, higher-end Ashdown and so on. If you're after lighter stuff, I hear MarkBass is a good candidate. But I dunno if that's your kind of sound.

That's a lot of bank, dude. That'll get you something very decent. Have you considered Warwick bass amps? In theory at least they'd be a pretty good match for Warwick basses.

[quote name='clauster' post='481647' date='May 7 2009, 09:39 AM']As a commerially profitable venture, Jazz may not be top-of-the-heap at the mo, but here in Tunbridge Wells we have more venues where you can regularly go to a jazz gig than you can for rock.[/quote] Cool about the Jazz thing, not so cool about the rock thing. Here in Preston there are more venues you can go to to hear some jumped-up douchebag in a neon vest and a wigger baseball cap play his glorified mobile ringtones for fad-hungry w***ers than there are venues you can go to to hear someone play something they actually wrote themselves on any kind of instrument. I don't think live original rock music can currently be described as a profitable venture, either.