Hodge

So, last night was the first proper gig with the Big One. I'd used it a couple of times in rehearsal, but due to volume restrictions and the abysmal acoustics in the old village hall we practice in, I hadn't been able to get an accurate idea of how it performed. Suffice to say that by the end of the night I was one exceptionally happy bunny (and not just due to the jiggly lass in the lycra devil costume dancing at the front). Firstly a word on the weight. Alex had mentioned how much (or how little) the current incarnation weighs in a PM, but I'd sort of read it and thought "oh that's good" without really taking in what it meant in real terms. Honestly, when I first unpacked it I thought for a minute that he'd screwed up and sent me an unloaded cab. It's unbelievably light.....worryingly light until you hear it. Both the placement of the handles, and the handles themselves are perfect for making it manageable ....even though it's light it's not small and poorly thought out ergonomics could easily have cancelled out the benefits of the low weight. I said it's not small, but it seems alot narrower than most of the cabs I've had in the past, although I've not measured it...perhaps the excellent weight and ergonomics make it deceptive. I certainly didn't experience the usual knuckle skinning on the door frame of the pub we played at. Chest height with the side handles, lengthways in front of you with the top handle and one of the side handles, above chest height to clear pool tables etc, or even trundled along behind you on the wheels with amp etc piled on top.....the design and weight give you numerous options and make this by far the most gig-friendly cab I've ever owned. Of course all that is nice, but ultimately meaningless if it sounds sh*te. That's not an issue with the Big One though. I actually felt my trousers flapping for the first time since I ditched my old Ampeg B25B 2x15 cab years ago (christened "The Bastard" by band-mates who would avoid helping to move it like the plague). I'm not particularly well versed in all the standard phrases used to describe sounds, nor can I listen to a sound and analyse all the frequencies and how much of each etc......what I do know is that this thing sounds HUGE. I was using a Lakland 44-01 through a Little Mark III, EQ all flat on the amp, VLE at 9 0'clock-ish...maybe a bit more, and the VPF around 8ish. On the bass I had the treble cut a little and a very slight boost on the bass end. It sounded great to me, but of course that doesn't always mean alot, so afterwards I spoke to a mate who comes to see us play regularly. He said it was the first time since I stopped using "The Bastard" that he'd really felt my sound hit him in the chest, but without being oppressive or overwhelming. He said it just seemed to be everywhere, very warm, very smooth, and very, very big. The only negative comment he had was that the vibrations in his bar-stool gave him, what he called, "a lovely, special feeling" until he remembered it was me doing that to him and then he felt rather dirty. I'm afraid he's going to have to get used to feeling dirty, since I'm going to be using this cab for a very, very long time. This may not have been the most technically eloquent of reviews, more based on general perceptions both on stage and out the front, to me that's what matters....and besides, you know how when you're really happy with something and you've just got to tell some one who'll understand......? I'm so happy to have joined the ranks of the ever-growing list of satisfied Barefaced customers. P.S. have to dig out the camera now to stick the pair of Aguilar DB112s up for sale.....and they were so pretty, all in tweed.

[quote name='OldGit' post='638367' date='Oct 27 2009, 07:33 PM']Well put! So many bands forget to rehearse the show bits as well as the music[/quote] Reminded me of this clip [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4R3fmyr0DY&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4R3fmyr0DY...feature=related[/url] Now THAT's a rehearsal ....... wish our rehearsals were as much fun as that, maybe the drummer would turn up more often.

[quote name='bubinga5' post='538753' date='Jul 12 2009, 07:54 PM']Hey hes using tha Lakland in your Avatar.. [/quote] Yes, it's that very one.

Maceo cerainly knows how to pick a bass player, here's one of his others.... [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FR41cXuUfPg"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FR41cXuUfPg[/url]

Cheers for that OldGit, I really got into that. The last time I tried a bass in a music shop was in Hamburg. There's a fairly big shop in the Saint Pauli area that has loads of little stations with a stool, some good quality headphones and one of those Line 6 pod type things (sorry, I'm not really clued up on this new-fangled stuff) ..... one of those things where you can select an imitation of various amp/speaker configurations, you know what I mean. Although I dare say it's no substitute actually feeling the air move, it was a nice way to get some idea without having to feel too self-conscious. Never come across a shop in the UK set up like that (surely some of the ones in the bigger cities must have summat similar) but I reckon if more shops offered these facilities they may find a good few more people trying stuff out who've previously not been confident enough to offer themselves up for scrutiny.

There's a few videos on YouTube of that band of Maceo's and each one is an absolute cracker. "Let's get it on" in particular is awesome. Jerry Preston does a decent turn on the vocals later in the song too. Well worth a look. I'd love to know if this is from a DVD or summat.

I have an Epiphone El Capitan and it's a cracker. It's big, very big. So unplugged it has a decent amount of volume and a very pleasing tone. Amped it's an absolute beast. It can do some very nice, warm, traditional acoustic sounds, but can also, with a bit of EQ tweaking kick out a blistering rock tone. The only real drawback with it is the feedback if you don't have room to stand a good way off from your rig. What makes this slightly more of a problem is the oval sound hole which precludes the use of one of those insert things, whatever the proper name for them is. Not sure of the prices nowadays, but mine cost me £650 about 12 years ago, hard case included.

[quote name='Musky' post='529886' date='Jul 1 2009, 07:35 PM']That's a strange one. I've heard of scams where people have been phished by accusing a seller of duplicating another auction and posted a link as proof. Of course the link takes you too a fake Ebay log in page and they get your (and anyone else who was interested in the auction) password that way. If your email included your name it's also possible they could have sent you a convincing looking email from 'Ebay' and phished you that way. How were you certain that it was the same guy responsible for hacking your account?[/quote] Well as to how it was done I really have no clue. All I know is that I sent the guy an email (to be honest I can't remember if it was via the eBay messaging service or direct to the hotmail address he gave in the auction) and a day or two later there were alot of dodgy auctions on my account. I'm assuming the contact I had with him was somehow involved, since I've never had a problem with my account security before or since. I'm pretty sure that had I not contacted him I wouldn't have had any problems, unless, of course, you have any other explanation that doesn't involve a thoroughly staggering coincidence? As to how I know it was the same bloke...... the Eden head I'd originally enquired about was among the items falsely listed on my account and I also recognised a couple of other items that had been in the "view sellers other items" when I was first looking at the Eden. Just to clarify, the scam wasn't perpetrated by the owner of the account on which I first saw the Eden, his account had also been hacked in order to list the items, hence the good feedback. So this particular scammer had a chain going on, where he'd hack an account, list some spurious auctions, then anyone who contacted him would also find themselves hacked and unknowingly selling the same items and so on and so on.....

There's alot of suggestions here for questions to ask suspected scammers. I'd have to say if you have serious doubts about the legitimacy of a seller then don't even send them a message. I had an experience several years ago, it was an Eden head of some sort if I recall. The seller had all the tell-tale signs.... payment via Western Union, a hotmail address for contact etc. although his feedback was very good. I contacted him to ask about cash on collection and got some story about having a policy of not meeting strangers off the internet, protecting his family etc. That settled the matter for me and I took it off my watching list and forgot about it. A week or so later I had recieved several messages from irate buyers wanting to know where their goods were. It turned out that somehow, through my contact with him, or possibly it was through my watching of the item???...dunno how these things work, but basically he'd hacked my account and used it to stick up a new batch of scams, benefitting from my 100% positive feedback. I contacted Ebay security and they immediately sorted the matter out, removing all auctions in my name, contacting buyers and even removed negative feedback I'd recieved due to non-arrival of goods. It all worked out in the end, for me at least, but it just goes to show that there are risks in merely contacting someone you suspect may be a scammer.

[quote name='Grissle' post='528916' date='Jun 30 2009, 06:14 PM']And this isn't bad technique, I've been to too many NAMM shows to remember and have been fortunate to see and meet some great players, and when you see them up close you'd be surprised at how hard most of these guys attack the strings, and how noisy their playing sounds unplugged. Then they plug-in and it's still kinda noisy sounding.[/quote] Aye, I remember the first time I heard the isolated bass tracks on the 'Standing in the Shadows of Motown' CDs...or cassettes rather, as they were back then. Many of these world class bassists were fairly clanky when you heard them without the full band masking the clunks and scrapes. I seem to remember Chuck Rainey in particular striking me as quite noisy, which made me worry alot less about how I sound unplugged.

[quote name='Musicman20' post='519507' date='Jun 20 2009, 07:10 PM']Hows the Lakland?![/quote] Well it got lots of "oohs and ahs" from the rest of the band when I turned up to last night's gig with it. It was absolutely gorgeous to play, I'd put TI flats on it and it just played so smoothly. The neck is a work of art. I've been mostly playing G&Ls for a good while and, while I love them, their narrower but deeper necks aren't my first preference. In comparison the wide and shallow neck on the Lakland felt very roomy yet accessible. Sound-wise it's hard to say yet. Last night was not only the first outing for the Lakland but also the first do where I could turn up a bit and hear the new LMiii/Aggie rig. At times it sounded awesome, other times I was a little less satisfied, although it certainly never sounded bad. But as yet there's too many variables still to sort out .....the new amp, the new cabs, new bass and also the TIs were straight out the packet so a bit brighter than I'd like. So it'll be a while before I make up my mind if it's "The One" or not. One thing that did strike me though was how feeble the G string sounded, although the pick-up is particularly low on that side, and pretty well up on the E side too. So a bit of fiddling there may sort it, although I'm also considering trying different strings. I like the JF344s on many of my other basses, the Asat and the SB-2, the Highway1 P and the Lakland 44-01 are all great with them. But maybe this one would benefit from something more meaty?.....dunno, have to try it. All in all I was very happy with it all last night, but it could be a bit better once I've got it all sussed. Edit: ....Oh, and thanks for posting those two pictures. I'd just about talked myself out of getting a tort pickguard for the Lakland and now I'm back to square one.....cheers for that.

[quote name='therealting' post='519987' date='Jun 21 2009, 03:14 PM']Congrats on picking up double bass! I started in October having played guitar and electric bass for the best part of 20 years, and playing and teaching professionally for the last 5. I will say that it is STILL worth having a few lessons from a good teacher, particularly with left hand technique. It really is a completely different animal to electric bass and guitar, and although you may well have your technique down, you could very well have it very wrong and you could end up injuring yourself very badly and jeopardising your guitar playing too. If I hadn't started taking lessons, and simply decided to knuckle down and work through the pain the way I did with guitar and electric bass when I was starting out, I would probably have had to give up playing stringed instruments due to injury... it really is no joke. At least take a few lessons, and if your teacher says your fine, then go ahead. But our hands are our livelihood, and this is one instrument that you don't want to take ANY risks on.[/quote] +1 to all that. I've just recently taken up the double bass and from my first lesson (with BCs own OutToPlayJazz) I got not just the peace of mind of knowing I wasn't doing anything that would cause me any grief months or even years down the line, but also discovered how much less of an issue intonation is if your left hand thumb is in the right place and all the other fingers are positioned correctly. I was amazed at how much I learned in just half an hour. In addition to this I'd add that the guitarist I bought my double bass from was giving up because he kept getting painful lumps on the tendons on the back of his left hand, so there's definately risks there if it's done wrong. It really is a beast of an instrument and for the sake of half an hour and a few quid getting a bit of professional advice is well worth it.

Bought Jase's Lakland Bob Glaub. Immaculate condition, well packed etc. Great bloke to deal with, good communication, a smooth hassle-free transaction. You can deal with this bloke with confidence.

Aye, that one does look a tad anemic. I don't mind those old maples that have gone all yellowy (they match my nicotine fingers) but I do tend to prefer the look of rosewood. As for the sound, everyone always says maple is brighter and rosewood is warmer but to be honest, by the time the pickups, the amp and the speakers have all added/subtracted elements to/from the tone I'm not sure the difference is worth worrying about if it means you're less satisfied with the look of the instrument. Not saying that looks are more important than tone.....just that I'm not convinced the fingerboard material has a significant enough effect on tone to swing a decision either way. The way I see it (perhaps I'm wrong, and I'm more than willing to be corrected if someone wants to explain how it all works) you have a string vibrating between two pieces of metal (the fret and the bridge)....so where exactly does the fingerboard get to make a contribution to the tone? Is it something to do with how vibrations within the fret are transferred via the fingerboard to the neck and then to the body and bridge and so back to the string? ...dunno? Having said all that, out of nine electric basses I only own one with a maple fingerboard and that's a G&L SB-2 which has such a brutal sound anyway I'm not sure that I'd notice if the maple board was having much effect. Maybe I just haven't had enough experience with them to notice the difference?

[quote name='Musicman20' post='518325' date='Jun 19 2009, 01:03 PM']Stunning Lakland![/quote] *pokes head out through curtains* ....I said IN PRIVATE!......go and look at the fenders or something *pulls curtains shut again*

Oooh, oooh......my new baby has just arrived....... [attachment=27303:DSCI0006.JPG] I think we're going to need a few moments together in private if you'll excuse me *draws curtains*

I recently had a similar issue with my G&L Asat. Took it to a local luthier and it turned out the body end of the fretboard was just slightly kicking up, like a ski jump. He whipped the frets out, shaved a millimeter or so off the fingerboard and refretted it and it now plays like a dream. Cost something just over a hundred quid, but well worth it if it's a bass you love and the rest of the neck is spot on. Mind you, with a P you have a few more options in terms of getting a new neck cheaper than that I think?. It's definately worth getting it looked at properly though.

[quote name='Musicman20' post='516770' date='Jun 17 2009, 07:07 PM']We are playing with Your Demise in Louth on 26th June....a pretty big up and coming hardcore band. Its going to be a loud night![/quote] Mebbe I'll just sit at home where the beer's cheaper and open my windows then.

My own P bass GAS has a good chance of being appeased within the next couple of days. Awaiting the arrival of Jase's Lakland Bob Glaub. I have a Highway1 P Bass and it's a cracker, but somehow I've never felt that it quite filled the boots of my old USA P that got nicked in Cardiff about nine years ago....I'm hoping the Bob Glaub will do the trick. I see your playing in Louth sometime near the end of July (if I recall). If you fancy a try and I'm about then I may be able to drop in with it. Not sure of my movements work-wise yet though

Hi Ken and welcome. Before I became more of a regular on Basschat I followed alot of your posts with interest on Talkbass; in fact you were fairly instrumental in persuading me to try out a pair of Aguilar DB112s, so thanks for that. Good to have you over here and I look forward to plenty of enlightenment from your, always well informed, posts.

[quote name='Musicman20' post='509201' date='Jun 9 2009, 04:27 PM']Excellent I am the same about the Aggies...as much as I will end up with a lightweight setup/neo cab in the future...you cannot beat those Aguilar 12s. Im thinking chocolate brown to go with my Orange....hence Chocolate Orange![/quote] Mmmmm.....chocolate orange........... ......mmmm.......Dawn French eating chocolate orange........ I think I need a lie down.

Thanks for all that info, especially BOD2; that's just the sort of info I was looking for. The shop in question isn't a specialist guitar shop by any means, they have a few guitars upstairs. As such I don't think their customer base is made up of more experienced players, more the beginner end of the market....lots of Stagg stuff etc. That's what made me think that their badly informed staff were potentially much more dangerous, considering the people who would be recieving this sort of "advice". Worse thing is it wasn't even a case of them jsut wanting to sell what they had in stock, since she eventually found a speaker lead. It was more a case of she didn't want to root through them all to find one if she could just 'fob me off' with the ones at the front of the rack. I'll get out me pipe later, put on my 'retired colonel' voice and compose a strongly worded email to them. Musicman20: Didn't realise you were round this way too. The Aggies are tweed, I decided if I was spending that sort of money I could wait two weeks for the Bass Merchant to get them over from the US. Glad I did too, they look gorgeous. If I can manage to get me arse in gear and buy some batteries for my camera I'll stick up some pics. The first outing for the new rig was last weekend, but it was a strange garden-party type affair where we had to be fairly quiet, but even at low volume it sounded fantastic. In fact I'm quite pleased it was a quiet gig, gave me the chance to hear it a bit clearer and now I still get to look forward to giving it a good blast at the next proper gig.

[quote name='Musicman20' post='509078' date='Jun 9 2009, 02:44 PM']OBBM will no doubt talk you through the technical side of why you have to use different cables. Basically, you cannot use an instrument cable to connect cab to amp. You need a good quality speaker cable from amp to cab. [/quote] Aye, I'm aware of that. What I'm after is what would happen if someone followed the bad advice given in the shop. The reason I needed another cable was I'd just taken delivery of my lovely, new, lovely, lovely LM III .....did I mention it was lovely? and a pair of Aguilar DB 112s. I know that you've recently aquired an LM III too, so I'm sure you understand my reluctance to do a practical test and find out for myself.