JTUK

I am playing round with the Boss Me50-B..don't know how that compares... It has a lot of sounds, but none ..so far ..that is particularly sospisticated to my ears..but I've only had it a day

I'd take the bump... I might comment that a bass, for example, is a nice looker, but it doesn't mean I want to buy it. The alternative could be that the FS thread only has one poster..and that is the seller..which is not a good look either...at least if people comment on the item, you and others know that someone out there is interested in your thread. Pretty lonely place otherwise :lol;

If you really want to eliminate strings from the equation, I'd put Newtone Diamonds on it..and keep to the same gauge within 2 thou or so which they make. I think you can get them from Stringbusters or Strings Direct, I can't recall who handles them, but I go direct anyway. I am on my fifth set and they are the best string out of the pack I've tried..and since I changed basses these last few years, I've tried most. Having said that..if you know and like pro steels, then no problem, they are decent when I tried them

yep, split the signal and mix but you can't put two power sources into a cab without seperate loads being available within the cab and since your cab will not be designed like this you can't do it that way with blowing up your gear. So, yes, silly idea. Best idea is to sub mix the kick signal...but you have already lost a dgree of control which kind of defeats the object, IMO, and re-route at line-level into the amp but a bit hit and miss...as no control. You also need to make sure your tops can handle kick ..which most can't ...as you also need to have a absolute level of the signal of the kick if not engr'd ..which isn't likely in your case. Drums are notorious for not having a constant level as the buggers decide to hit the things harder..and that destroys your mix unless attended

I did the same with my old MM. Far too clanky and I ran it with everything off and I used it for a lot of slap at the time. Eventually, I got Kent Armstrong to make me up a passive pickup with multiple coils taps and it worked pretty well. I had to sell it with the original 2 band though so make sure you keep all the bits so someone can put it back together, altho the JE pre will negate that to a degree, I think. The MM is bought because it has THAT sound, IMO.

Got to say.. of all the sounds you could have chased after, this one is going to be the easiest. There is nothing going on there that a thumpy clanky dulled-off sound will not get close to. The Thunderbird is not noted for producing a distinctive sound...it is more a distinctive look and therein lies the appeal as opposed to the Musicman or even a P-bass which can only be replicated by same. IMO.

More likely to be the amp..unless you have an active bass.... in which case I'd make sure it isn't the battery starting to fade. It sounds like the output stage on the amp is having problems so I'd get it down to a tech as soon as poss... as it could die at the wrong time. But you can try and help pinpoint which compoent by swapping out the cabs and seeing if the problem remains with different cabs.. so at least you can go to the tech and say it is definitely the amp.

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1347871553' post='1805855'] Adding a 210 to a 410 makes quite a bit of difference in the size and depth of the sound, without having to re-eq. So the advantage is use the 410 on its own for rehearsals, use the 410 & 210 for gigs. You have a bigger sound for your gig, with the added bonus of being able to hear yourself that bit better, due to the height of the speakers. I`ve generally found that 210 & 115 are great together, each seeming to bring to the deal what the other lacks, but with 410 & 115, the 115 seems to get lost somewhat. [/quote] I'd go with this... I don't see what a 115 can add to a 410 but I do like the way a 115 can compliment a 210. I had a very good SWR rig that worked great together like that... but either cab on its own was inadequate IMV. You'd also need a very big stage for a 410 and 115 together and I'd expect the 115 to start to cause problems soundwise from time to time. I get very good stage volume with a 550w amp and 2x210...but feel on one or two occasions a 610 would be ideal. It depends what the engr is prepared to put through his monitors and the amount of mon mixes but 410 and 115 wouldn't be the way I'd go anyway

I guess it is how you see yourself as a bass player. I do have a showy side so the funk element appeals to me..upto a point, as the bass can be pretty integral to that and it the natural thing I gravitate towards but reggae doesn't do it for me... too samey and dubby and droney in a way and it just doesn't really register as a type of music for me.. So, I am 50 cents

Bang for buck...the Goliath ll is the best cab around...IMO. I sold mine fro £250...so I'd pay between £2-300 for one if I could carry it. I would also have a Goliath snr, 610 as a spare, so £350 for that, maybe, is what I'd pay

[quote name='0175westwood29' timestamp='1347879938' post='1805981'] so the sealed cabs have a tighter low end? makes sense with what marcus plays. the more im looking im thinking im gonna have to be silly lucky to get a golight cab doesnt seem to be many around at all! swr in general! andy [/quote] Not so sure about that in that the Goliath is not a boomy cab at all..it is very tight an punchy IMO..but then I ran it with a SM400...which had the silly sub element to it...and the semi para notched out any boom anyway...but i certainly wouldn't call the Goliath ll a boomy cab. I can understand the sealed cab giving a certain sound but boom wouldn't be the issue, IMO. IIRC, the G ll was rear ported, for sure, and the Glll front ported. I prefer rear ports as it happens.. but can't reall say why other than the cabs I have liked best have been rear..with the exception of GS cabs

At the time they came out the G ll was a bollocking cab. They used PAS speakers which really worked and the cab was rear ported and exceptional for the day....but agree, they were heavy. PAS speakers are a devil to replace and so check out the cab for good cones..as you will struggle to get kits for PAS in this country and SWR/Fender aren't forthcoming on their spec... as are most makers, IME. The G lll was also good and they are great bang for buck, IMO..as nobody wants to carry them. I don't know about the Golight series, but the Workingman range was a budget range by comparison and nowhere near as good..again IMO. The Golight are NEO, IIRC..but my experiment in SWR cabs with Em deltalites didn't work for me..others say it worked for them so I am the lone discenting voice in all the people I know who tried it... I know about 4-5 guys who did it and they said they liked the results..?? Don't think any of them still have the cabs tho... but it did make them a better carry.

[quote name='Evil Undead' timestamp='1347798142' post='1805054'] Triads? [/quote] Ignore the video cover posted in the first instance ....please. You can walk through the verse, but you really need to pick up the chorus... so play major triads over the two chords of the chorus G/C... and if you lock in, then that will give the chorus the boot it needs.

[quote name='lowdowner' timestamp='1347799128' post='1805073'] I think that the band is not improving at the moment because it's not taking it as seriously as I'd like. I don't want to be a miserable sod, but I'd like to spend rehearsals actually thinking about what we're doing wrong and improving, and not just playing through the songs concentrating on whether the chords are in the right sequence. I'm going to suggest we start videoing the rehearsals and looking back at them critically - i think that will be a start. Everyone in the band was tired before this gig, there wasn't enough practice (I think) and it's not healthy... Dunno - maybe I'm taking too seriously but - personally - I think it's worth making the effort because the joy when it goes right is pretty much unmatchable... [/quote] No argument from me on this stance..... Of course, you can say that the extra effort required to make the next level..whatever that is, might be too much for the gains or fee etc but for me, I want the most we can get. I think it is a waste not to push that bit extra..especially as it might only need time and a little thought or imagination working on things to step up. I would also say, don't flog a dead horse either, but if all the parts are there, then it is almost criminal to let that go and not be the best you can get out of the unit. I am the hyper-critical one and I get stick for it within the band, but it is because I care... (but I am not anal...)...if I didn't I would get an easier gig...but that wouldn't work for too long either. If the gains are attainable, then go for it ..and you'll reap the rewards if only in your own satisfaction..and when/if you outgrow your band then move on and leave them behind. I work on the basis that if the gig pleases me, then that is a good start ..and it is the reason that people who know me ask what I am doing musically... if I tell them not to bother about a gig I am doing, then that is because I don't think it is that great...they may enjoy it anyway but I am not really selling it and it isn't my 'gig'.. but they also know if I tell them to check something out, then it is worth checking out. i guess they trust my point of reference. It is what it is... not going to change anything. No bad thing for the OP to know what he wants out of his musical adventures. IMO.

Learn your triads and make the song move and flow... forget the specific part as it isn't a definitive bassline, IMO. but if you need help making it work, then nick one or two lines and bu;ld on that

Marginal if that, IMO. Same with Neck-thru and bolt-on... if you can hear a difference then it is more likely due to a whole host of other parameters before you can point at thru the body etc etc

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1347795776' post='1804998'] There's a difference between being crap because your band isn't very good and being crap because an unexpected set of circumstances at a gig conspired against you. To me it's obvious that the OP knows that his band's performance wasn't very good. It's what they do about it that counts. As much as we should all like to turn in a perfect performance every gig, for nearly all of us that isn't going to happen. The important things to do are to minimise the impact of any mistakes so that only the band and it's most obsessive fans notice them, and to take steps to reduce to possibility of the same mistakes happening at a future gig. [/quote] The OP says he hasn't done many gigs and the band seems to be getting worse... that doesn't sound like a one off..so alarms bells for me. The OP can't do anything about the bad gig but one bad performance can take a lot of recovering from, and a run of them can pretty much damn the band for good..or a very long time. It takes a long time to build an audience and no time at all to trash it. I just say, don't make light of it..as too many people do, IMO. It may be too much trouble for £70pm at a pub gig, but if you can't be bothered to improve..and I am not saying the OP is saying that himself, then you shouldn't bother at all, IMO. It isn't good enough to have a show built on sand... you should have some competance as well and for that, you'll need to learn and continue learning.

See...glad you posted and got pointed in the right direction..as your post somewhere on here which said you were just going to run with trial and error was not something I would have done... and with some good pointers from this page you can expect reasonable results. You may even get someone who could tell you how to port it should you need to do so. BC in action..it works sometimes.

It wouldn't be my choice on te face of it but it depends how they are voiced as to whether they compliment each other or step over each others toes... but if you like the sound, then ok...

I think you are worrying about nothing... it the combo suits you in most regards, then use it until it doesn't

One thing tho............... just because you think the audience let you off it is good to retain your own opinion that you were awful...by your admission. If you kid yourself it doesn't matter...and there are degrees about how bad you should beat yourself up, but a bad gig should be filed as a bad gig and you can take positives but it also keeps you a bit more musically grounded to know it was poor. Just because people gloss over things, I think you are right not to. A band that doesn't care or even realise is a band I'd avoid like the plague and it is also a band that will not learn or progress.

Could have been a variety of things as playing with a P.A isn't easy. You should now realise how to deal with a mix..and also how unprepared you were but you had to do the gig just to see where you are in development. It is possible that the soundcrew weren't that good either, but other more experienced bands dealt with it better. First priority for a good show is to make sure you can all hear each other, it is so much easier that way, so if you can't, go back to basics and sound levels until you can.

You'll cook the amp... IMO. repair bill

[quote name='ScreencastTutor' timestamp='1347664288' post='1803928'] Well groove can be pretty much anything surely [/quote] No, it can't... there can be different nuances, but you need to be on the same page...and some on this page just....aren't.