WinterMute

[quote name='steve-soar' post='502163' date='May 31 2009, 11:43 AM']I remember when we bought our first colour telly, about 1974, after a couple of years it started to go on the blink and every time this happened, my Dad would slap it and it came back on. This went on for a good few years and I naturally assumed, as a young boy, that if something didn't work properly, then a good old slap would sort it out. This has served me well throughout life. How much did you pay? Three years is a good innings for one of these, maybe time to retire it if the repair is going to be costly.[/quote] "Impact maintenance" as my dad used to call it! Works better on old stuff than on your new Apple laptop, trust me....

[quote name='jakesbass' post='499513' date='May 28 2009, 12:21 AM']I sold an 87 warwick thumb 5 thru to buy an Alembic MK5 deluxe. Best move I ever made. I am a much better player because I now sound like I want to... result: I never put the Alembic down [/quote] My Warwick was a 87 Thumb 5 thru as well, not many of those about, mine had EMG's and gold hardware. I didn't go for an Alembic though..! [attachment=26336:DSC_0012.jpg]

I moved a Warwick Thumb 5 string off to the US last year, and was sort of thinking about giving up bass in favour of the NS Stick, but then played a mate's Jazz and thought "I'd like one of those to noodle around on". Bought a VMJ fretless off a basschatter, modified it a bit, then picked up a Geddy Lee. The answer is that neither is remotely like the Thumb in character, but the Geddy Lee is one of the best basses I've ever played, and the VMJ is a cracking bass for the money. I'm not sure I'd go back to the Warwick now if I had the choice.

As ever it depends if you know what you're doing with the pre/power amp balance and the tonal/dynamic controls. I've heard guys with killer SVT + 8x10 rigs get some weak-arsed sounds, and some guys with cheapo copy basses and old HH amps knocking out great tone. I picked up the Studio 110 amp a month or so ago, simply because at £100 off Evilbay it did everything I needed in a 1 foot cube. The presets suck, and of the 4 modelled "states" only the SVT and the clean (fender I think) blues models are worth a damn (the grunge MESA model is awful). However, with a little tweaking and a definite idea of what I'm after soundwise, it soon turned up with some very pleasing and useable sounds. Then the kicker: the DI uses speaker simulation and sounds great going into my Protools/PCM studio rig, very punchy indeed. In absence of the GK mini combo, it's a keeper... plus the wife loves the fact there isn't a sweaty great bass amp and cab cluttering up the room anymore. I'd love an SWR Redhead 2 x 10, but as I'm only just back at the noodling around stage it'll have to wait.

That's a serious bit of wood right there...! I love natural finishes when the wood looks that good. Congrats mate, use a coaster eh?

[quote name='benwhiteuk' post='495286' date='May 22 2009, 03:53 PM']The single ply black pickguard works so well with the black body, black binding, and black blocks. Proper cool [/quote] Definitely considering that for my new Geddy, looks reet grand.

[quote name='jezzaboy' post='495457' date='May 22 2009, 06:26 PM']Need help quick! Buying ramorraw! Just sold a mex jazz but am missing it already. Every home should have one so am looking for one. Now here is the tricky bit. I like the white Classic 60`s bass in white with the old style headstock and tunning pegs, but it`s £635. Has anyone got one/had one? Is it worth the cash to have fender on the head or should I get the white squire cv bass at £279 which seems to be the dogs dangalies? Jez[/quote] I can't comment on those particular models, but having recently bought a Squire VM fretless and a Geddy Lee Jazz, I can comment on the quality. The Squire is a perfectly acceptable bass, well finished with decent hardware and a good range of sounds. It plays comfortably and, for the money, is a very good buy indeed. The Geddy Lee feels more solid and sounds incredible, it plays like a dream. The finish is about the same, but the hardware and pickups are much, much better. The Fender is heavier with a slightly higher output. If you intend to get a lot of use out of this bass, buy the Fender.

We have a Nexo rig at the Uni for the big stuff, 4 bins and a bunch of the small units for mid/hf FoH and monitors, got Allen and Grief desks. We have a stack of the self powered JBL full range cabs and some subs with Mackie desks for the smaller gigs. I have my eye on a flown Turbosound Flex array for the new theatre, but I need someone to give me £40K first!

I had an Aria precision copy for a long time as a kid, it wasn't a bad bass, and during the rehearsals and gigs it got beaten up a bit, the point was, every ding and scratch and mark were there because of something that happened and a lot of the time it was something i remembered. I can't understand what memories a sanding disc and a blowtorch impart.

If in doubt, search!! You know I looked at that thread earlier, but I didn;t make the connection.

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Fender-Squier-reliced-Fretless-Vintage-60s_W0QQitemZ280345425992QQcmdZViewItemQQptZGuitar?hash=item280345425992&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A10%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1309%7C301%3A0%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50"]Ebay link[/url]

The original AKG D12 is excellent, but the newer "egg" D112 is nowhere near as good. EV RE20 is excellent. Beyer M88 maybe. Got very good results out of a Neumann TLM170, but it;s an expensive vocal mic. Standard set for me at the moment is an M88 in the drum, an RE20 on the sound hole and a Yamaha NS10 driver in a 10" tom-tom case as a sub bass mic. You shouldn't need a DI for any of these mics, as they are already mic level, just go to the mic input and adjust the level at the mic amp.

I've been using the Etymotic ER4p's without the in-ear moulds, they sound great and provide 70-80db of attenuation. The moulds are supposed to provide a better seal. The ER's push right into the ear canal, there's no way they are going to fall out. Pricey, but very good.

I recorded a band called Aftershock in the 90's, in fact my wife gave birth in one of their t-shirts!! Not the same band I'll warrant.

Just to add, the Geddy Lee turned up this morning, and the difference between it and the Squire is a lot more than I expected in terms of playability. The Geddy is the most comfortable bass I have ever played, hands down, and fast like you wouldn't believe...! The VMJ is still a very comfortable bass to play, and with it's new Wizard pups it sounds great, but it's not a patch on the Fender. Bugger, I gotta find me a Jaco signature now haven't I?

That white Ricky is bloody lovely mate! Very nice work.

I've just switched back to Jazz's from a Warwick 5 string Thumb, and I've doe exactly what you are thinking of, bought the "Jaco" looking fretless VMJ. I have small hands and I have to say the Jazz neck is by far the most comfortable neck I've found, I felt right at home on it almost straight away. Prior to getting into The 5 strings, I had Precisions and Wals, radically different neck profiles, neither of which I was completely happy with. I've also bought a Geddy Lee, which is supposedly as slim as they come for a Jazz.

Bought a pair of Wizard pickups from Dave, arrived in good order and in excellent time. Many thanks.

[quote name='51m0n' post='485044' date='May 11 2009, 01:35 PM']Don't get me started on overuse in mixing - I thought I was as bad as the next for that, until I heard a recent mix from a friends studio in which everything was so unbelievably squashed I couldn't tell where anything ended and anything else started. It was an amazing sound, but not nice IMO. I like to get the bass and drums sat together, and maybe a rhythm guitar or two with a couple of group comps, bass normally with the drums. But nothing too over the top, just a tad of 'glue'. Same for BVs, and Lead vox (seperate comps though). Limiting in tracking is important (esp on drums and bass) but I try and mix without a limiter anywhere - then master afterwards. I know people who just ram everything into the red on ProTools with the safe button engaged and say 'Ta-daaaa loudest best-est mix ever' - sounds like cr@p though![/quote] rofl No, don't get me started on over compression....! I've been mixing and recording in protools at -14db for several years, certainly since I started habitually using 88.2Khz 24 bit. My mastering engineer is Sean McGee at Abbey Road, he's always commenting on how much better for him it is to have mixes that aren't crushing the transients in the digital buss and already compressed to buggery. The masters I get from him are quite as loud as anything short of some "maxed to 11" pos, but they have space and depth and movement, qualities all but forgotten by modern production.

[quote name='51m0n' post='484967' date='May 11 2009, 12:17 PM']Other than the highlighted statement I think this is a great post. Unless you set a compressor to an unbelievable extreme then the statement:- [b]What compression really does is makes you lazy in the observance of your dynamic control, and it robs you of the ability to use volume as expression[/b] is hogwash IMO & IME both live and in the studio. You are saying here that no matter how light the touch a player could not make the result quieter if a compressor was on. That is not the case. With sensible/normal compression settings on a bass (even for fairly obvious or heavy compression) the player still has the ability to back off the volume from their fingers to below the threshold that the comp is set at. Since no one ever sets a threshold at -infinity db. It just is not done. Now anywhere below that threshold dynamic control is as if there were no compressor. Up to that threshold you have to back off by the ratio setting more than otherwise. In reality with any ratio I've ever used up to about 10:1 this is not even hard to do. It just takes a couple of minutes of playing around to find the required amount of gentleness to get the effect you are after. So you can in fact play with dynamics when you have a comp engaged, especially if its set to do some sensible levelling. Also the perceived loudness of a sound is not just as a result of its volume, but also its envelope and timbre and while a compressor has an effect on both, playing more gently will still have a huge effect on both even with a comp engaged. IMO & IME both live and in a studio.[/quote] Yeah, I guess thats what you get for playing rock and recording rock and metal for a living! There is a general inability to discern dynamics anyway, due to the over use of compressors in mixing, my point is that in the bassists I've seen who employ a compressor in a live rig they tend to do exactly what you suggest they don't, i.e. smash it flat with a very low threshold, tons of ratio and as much gain as the system will allow. Every note at exactly the same volume regardless of the input energy on the string. Guitarists do this all the time, although in my experience a guitarist will also know when to turn it off. Using a compressor the way you describe requires an understanding of the mechanics of the system, and some experience in using a compressor to enhance your sound, not merely bolster your level. Of course it's entirely possible to employ a compressor sensitively to support an instrument in an ensemble, it's done all the time, my point is that most players will stack one on the live rig and let it do the job that their ears and fingers should do, hence "lazy". Lots of players owe their sound to the compression effect to some degree, whether that is amp or effect compression, I wasn't suggesting every bass player who uses one is lazy.

[quote name='rslaing' post='484607' date='May 10 2009, 09:05 PM']Physical problems with your hands when playing bass, whether it be a narrow 4 string or an expansive 8,10 or more, is normally down to poor technique. Spend some money on a good tutor..................[/quote] In my case it's down to physiology, my wrist joints have been over developed and strengthened by years of martial arts, they don't have the radial angle movement needed for comfort on a long necked 5 string, the extension to the B string on the lower 5 frets or so just stretches the tendons and causes pressure on the nerves. It's just the way I'm built. I have no such issues on a 4 string bass.

[quote name='Golchen' post='484638' date='May 10 2009, 09:37 PM']I never really get what a compressor is for?? It sounds like it will magically improve my playing and if so I NEED one now![/quote] A compressor makes loud bits quieter and quiet bits louder, essentially compressing the dynamic range, or the difference between said loud and quiet bits. Once the loud bits are closer in volume to the quiet bits, you turn everything up (or down, natch...) to get the over all level. Compressors give an evened out loudness to a performance, so that despite how you play, everyone hears everything at a more even level. Used to extreme, compressors also have a tonal shaping aspect.

[quote name='Kongo' post='484321' date='May 10 2009, 02:18 PM']+1 Then you have the option of two basses. How did you injur yourself playing one? Was it your hands or techneque? I play a very broad 6-string and my hands cramp up on 4-string with thin necks.[/quote] I have small hands, and the span on a 5 or 6 string was making me stretch my left hand on the lower end of the neck, couple with the scale length of the Warwick and the angle of my wrist when playing the bottom of the neck was causing problems during gigs, long session and rehearsals, it never became a real problem as I moved into studio production before i did any real damage, but it bloody hurt at the time. I find the Squire jazz to be much easier to play for extended periods.