WinterMute

I'll limit a bassist on the recording phase, just to stop clipping, but otherwise will attempt to reproduce the sound he already has (unless it's crap). If the player has no dynamic control, I'll suggest a compressor on his rig, I'll use a dbx 160 usually, if he has a preferred unit, I'll play with that a little, again it;s what the guy sounds like that's important. Compressors in the mix are an entirely different proposition, often they are employed to "set" the instrument into the mix, not to alter the characteristic of the sound, however a Urei 1176 or a Joe Meek Opto will give a good warmth to the sound. Rupert Neve's 9098 compressor by AMEK is my weapon of choice for hardware, followd by an LA 2A or a Focusrite RED5. Plug-ins can be a pain, but the Sony Oxford Comp/lim is very good, as is the standard Digi Comp/lim 3, Guitar rig and Digi'd 13 are good for a bit of tine shaping too. I used to use the 160 live, it's essentially invisible, there a decent opto-compressor in the Line 6 110, which I use lightly now. 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. Now, if your in a balls to the wall metal band, that's irrelevant, and a compressor is essential for a skull crushing sound, if you're a slapper compression makes your technique a little more sloppy, as all those triplets will be audible regardless of whether you catch them. If your a jazzer, I'd think you'd want to be in control or every nuance of your playing, and automating the volume would be limiting your expression. I'm no jazzer though, and many jazz players I've recorded will compress at amp or pedal board. My name is Richard, I play rock, I use a compressor...

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='484389' date='May 10 2009, 05:02 PM']Have you got an offer from eBay/PayPal of 10% off your purchase price when you pay via PayPal?[/quote] Had one last month, used it on a new bridge for the Squire, it would have expired before this purchase anyway.

FWIW I've gone back to 4 strings after 20 odd years of a Warwick thumb 5, I found the extra extension for my small hands was causing tendon and carpal tunnel problems, (not massively, but after a couple of hours, it definitely hurt) I'm back with Jazz's now, and the only pain is in the fingers from all the extra playing I'm doing. However, I'd definitely recommend a 5 string and not a re-jigged 4, it's just easier, and a good 5 will end up replacing your 4 live if you need the extra extension.

[quote name='Protium' post='484297' date='May 10 2009, 01:31 PM']Ended on £485, gone to anyone here?[/quote] Yep, me in the end. Seen 'em go cheaper occasionally, but seen 'em go for more too, the cheapest price in the UK seems to be £620 from Peter Cook's without a case, so I reckon that's a good price.

Another vote for the Boss Bass Chorus (the old brown one). It doesn't muddy the bottom up like some choruses do. The EBS unit is also pretty damn good, and I've gotten great results out of a Roland Space Echo/chorus, but only in the studio.

Indeed it is mate, Squires doing fine, got some roundwounds on it, looking at some Wizards at some point and probably a better bridge, but I want to get the Geddy Lee sorted out first. I see your a bit of a martial artist too.

Not me mate, sorry, someone else with a William Gibson fetish...! You're the second person to mistake me for the other WinterMute today.

Have we met? Been using the name for many years at MacRumors where I'm a mod, and it's been in my email accounts for ever. William Gibson fans usually wave as they go by.

Congrats on the job mate, and that is precisely what I'm talking about. A degree will not get you a job these days, and far too many degrees are dumbed down to serve the bottom line, but the good ones take effort and skill to gain, and the effort of graduating gives skills way beyond the subject.

It really depends on what you study and who teaches you, the Music Tech dept at TVU (where I am a senior lecturer) is staffed by some heavyweight industry pros, you get taught studio techniques by Pip Williams (Quo and Moody Blues producer) and Industry studies by Andy East (ex chairman of the MPG) t name a couple. The studios are pro level and are designed by a 24 year veteran engineer (me) and we have plenty of them. We haven't learnt this stuff out of a book, we still practice our craft (Pip did the last Nightwish album). The bottom line with all Music tech type qualifications is not the level of the degree or diploma, but the individuals ability and talent and their willingness to put the hard hours into their career. We are never less than honest about our graduates employment possibilities, as the studio recording profession has changed beyond recognition in the last 10 years, and what the MT courses at TVU provide is the skills to succeed in an industry diversified into commercial audio, audio post, game sound design, live music performance, artist management etc. etc. We are beginning to see acceptance of degree qualifications in more structured professions like Audio Post, but if anyone tells you that getting a degree will get you a head start in a career in music, they are having a laugh or trying to sell you a bridge. The real worth of a uni education is the personal growth and expanded learning opportunities, and the chance to learn a complex subject from people who have the t-shirt. It's not for everyone, and not everyone will get a job upon graduation, but everyone who goes to uni come out a better person imho, albeit a poorer one!!! If anyone wants to talk about studying at Uni (and not just mine, this honestly isn't an advert) drop me a line.

After selling my 87 Thumb 5 to a nice bloke in the States last year I decided to get a 4 string. Bought a Squire Vintage Modified fretless Jazz off the e-place, 1 week old, the bloke bought it to try fretless and didn't like it, my gain. The VM's getting Wizard 64's and a better bridge when I find the time, just having fun getting back into playing. Looking for a Geddy Lee as well, which will become my main bass once I find one. Not much point posting pics, y'all know what Jaco's bass of doom looked like when it was new.

He's confirmed it's a Geddy, I'll just have to watch it all week and see where it goes to, I think he's quite relieved that there's a bid on it, he's expecting more than £400 now...

[quote name='~tl' post='478297' date='May 3 2009, 03:49 PM']It looks like a Badass II to me, but it's not very clear.[/quote] The serial number reports the place and date of manufacture, all consistent with a GL, but so far no-one can confirm what model that number is for, any where on the net that can correlate Serials to model type? Unfortunately I'd forgotten you can't cancel an auction once someone has bid on it, so our mystery bidder gets to eat his amp after all! I guess I'll have to go through the bidding round.

[quote name='maxrossell' post='478277' date='May 3 2009, 03:23 PM']I had no idea these were CIJ models.[/quote] Yup, all the Geddy Lee's (and some of the other signature models like the Jaco) are made there. I've contacted the vendor, he's happy to let me have it for the BIN price, but I want to be sure it's a Geddy Lee, the bridge doesn't look like a Badass in the pics. He'll be back in Scotland on Tuesday and he's gonna have a look at the bridge. Wateroftyne was right, he doesn't know what it is.

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='478249' date='May 3 2009, 02:51 PM']WTF? Which lunatic stuck a bid on it? Just buy it, man! [/quote] Missed it by seconds!!! I'm going to track him down and feed him his amp.

Hi all, been browsing the forum for a while, thought I'd sign up and say hello. Been playing bass for 30 years, used to gig a lot, but got into recording in the mid 80's and got restricted to session and the odd jam. I'm a pro recording engineer, 24 years and counting. I specialise in band recording, mainly rock and indie, and I'm still of the opinion that 2" analog tape sounds better than anything on the market (good job I've got access to an Otari MTR90 isn't it?), but I now do most of my work in Protools. I've been lecturing at Thames Valley University in Ealing W London for the last 10 years, I lecture in Non-linear Recording and Audio Post Production, and I'm responsible for designing the Uni's studios and labs. I'm a Mac evangelist, been recording with Macs for years, converted the entire Music tech dept at TVU to Apples as soon as I could and never went back. I sold my Warwick thumb 5 last year to a lovely bloke in the US, I hadn't played it for 2 or 3 years and it was a real shame, it was one of the early 5 thumbs, a real beauty, but it's in a better place now.... This year I decided to pick up a couple of 4 strings to get back into playing, and I now have a Squire VM fretless and a Line 6 Studio 110 combo. The VM's getting a badass 11 and some Wizard 64's over the next month or so, but I'm just getting back into the swing of playing (sore fingers and blisters anyone?). I have a dbx 160 and some neat outboard to play with too. I'm in the market for a Geddy Lee jazz as well, I might drop a post into the wanted forum. ATB and see you all on the boards