thodrik

Well, I mentioned that you have to choose a type music you actually like, not a type of music you don't like and have no intention of actually playing. If my former bands had decided to suddenly become a downtuned stoner band then I probably wouldn't have left them so I wouldn't consider this an example of the tactic backfiring. Even then, if the resultant music wasn't what I liked I would advise that I was looking to do a different type of downtuned stoner and leave anyway.

'Hi everyone, I have really enjoyed rehearsals over the last couple of weeks. However after much thought and deliberation I can't help but realise that we are focusing on traditional Czech polka music. I do not wish to force you to change directions again and as such I must with regret offer my resignation in order to enable me to put together a new group which will focus on my own particular love of Slovenian polka.' When there are sub-genres there is always a way to quit.

Exactly!

I'm a big fan of The Cult and every time I hear She Sells Sanctuary on a coffee advert, a car advert, holiday advert, adverts for podcasts, adverts for tv shows, adverts about musical streaming sites, adverts about headphones or adverts about the merits of advertising, my first reaction is one of 'good stuff, Billy Duffy and Ian Astbury got paid again'.

My response is usually 'I really enjoy playing in the band, but I have come to the stage in life that all I really want to play is downtuned stoner doom music' Just insert a genre of music you like that the band isn't playing and is never likely to play and you are fine.

Clover basses. I don't think they are made anymore but some of the models looked quite cool. I was tempted by the Xpression models back in the day when Bass Direct carried them. Don't think they go for much when they do come up. I don't actually know the history of the basses but before they stopped the general electronics and pickups seemed very familiar with Sandberg models and bore no resemblance to the earlier models.

I have only heard the first half of the album but I quite like it so far. The whole sound of Deftones has changed post Chi. Carpenter now generally uses 8 string guitars which takes up a lot of low end space. The bass now takes up a lot of the midrange and doesn't have much sub-frequency content. Even when Sergio was in the band he often wasn't even playing downtuned like Chi was previously. I don't think it is bad at all, just different. Still sounds like Deftones to me, though I actually like Diamond Eyes and Koi No Yokan more than a lot of the earlier albums.

When I was 15 I had saved up enough money to buy a Fender American Standard Jazz or a Musicman Stingray. I went to Denmark Street in London for the first time, tried a bunch of basses and ended up buying a 1974 Gibson EB3 purely because 'Jack Bruce and Andy Fraser played them'. I rarely use it, but I still own it 24 years later. The other one would be a Boss ODB3 (the yellow bass overdrive) because every bass player I knew had one. I used it a lot, but ended up selling it for £30 during lockdown because I was fed up of even looking at it after 20+ years. I probably should have kept it.

Not sure if it counts as a 'great deal' but Softube just announced their Equalizers plugin. It is essentially Softube's own version of the Fabfilter Pro Q4/Sonnox Claro/name your graphic EQ. The main benefit to the plugin is that if you already have any of Softube's EQ plugins, then you can load these into the Equalizers plugin so you can use a Softube Neve/API/Trident EQ for 'broad tone shaping' and use the graphic for for detailed corrective work. The graphic EQ includes dynamic EQ and mid-side processing. You can then manage the EQ within a single plugin window, at least that is the idea. It is very smart, at least in concept. Launch price is £69 or £87 bundled with your Softube channel strip or EQ of choice. The bundle options include the ridiculously expensive Softube EQs which get sold for up £250 individually (I can't even imagine paying that for a plugin). So if you really really want a very expensive Softube EQ this is the most cost effective way, even though it is not particularly cost effective. I tried the demo, just because I own the Softube British Class A (Neve) channel (I got it in a bundle for £40 or so) and use that on most stuff for half-arsed, 'that'll do' post tracking tone shaping before I sent the tracks off to somebody who knows what they are doing (I am better/less bad at setting up mics and tracking than I am at mixing) Also, you can't add drive or compression within the Equalizer plugin. If you want to add in preamp/console saturation/compression then you have to load another instance of your Softube EQ of choice which to me kinda defeats the point of the 'single plugin' basis. I am better off using a regular channel strip and Claro or Pro Q3 because with Neve and API type plugins, the saturation and colour is a key part of the sound. Worth a try if you have a bunch of Softube EQs but I don't think I need it and not even worth considering if you have no Softube plugins and already have a decent graphic EQ.

I completely agree with this take.

I did buy Smart-EQ3 but didn't really enjoy it. I found that the EQ moves it suggested with some instruments (mainly acoustic drums) to be truly strange! I didn't get to the point of using the plugin as intended over a number of tracks. I might have to revist it. Smart-gate however is really great.

After years of everyone taking issue with Waves business practice of always running sales, nearly every plugin maker is going the same route and/moving to a subscription model. Claro is really good. It lacks a couple of key features for me (being able to raise/lower the overall volume post EQ, dynamic EQ) but for 20 quid it is marvellous. I use Listen Hub a lot. It really helps to bring into context how crap my rough mixes are!

The guy in the store told me that the pickups had been changed before he even plugged it in. I think that it is a website description error rather than a case of the dealer being deliberately shady.

If you fancy owing essentially the same bass as me: https://www.kennysmusic.co.uk/1979-82-fender-usa-international-series-precision-bass-in-sienna-sunburst-pre-owned-p8462 I actually played this bass when I was in Aberdeen a few months ago. Definitely replacement pickups but they sounded great. Neck was in better condition than mine. I nearly bought it, but I didn't because it would just be a back up to the bass I already have. I do really love the neck profile of the Precisions from this era.

Sonnox has been doing 90% off most of their plugins this month. Some of the plugins fall into the ‘ancient but still good’ category. The drum gate, dynamics and Oxford EQ are really solid plugins and definitely worth it for £20.

I did think that. Whether it is a 1979 or 1982 bass doesn't really matter to me as I bought it for less than £400 in 1999. It was the cheapest way that I could buy an American made Fender. At the time (late 1990s) the late seventies/early 1980s Fender Precisions were cheaper than the new American Standards. Any notional increase in value from the bass being a 1979 bass rather than a 1982 bass would be off-set by the damage of me playing it constantly for 26+ years and mostly storing it in a gig bag so it has cosmetic dings aplenty. It is very much a 'never sell' bass so if someone told me that it was a 1982 bass worth 'only' £1,200 or so rather than £1,500-£1,600 late seventies P-bass it would make no difference to me whatsoever.

Exactly. It could be made from 1979-1982 using whatever bits and pieces Fender found around the factory at the time. I haven’t had it taken apart and dated all the various parts. The only thing I know for sure is that the nut and jack socket are less than a week old.

Got my old s9 Precision a proper set up. New nut, new jack socket and tidying up of the wiring. I’ve owned it since 1999 and it has had a lot of use, as shown by the way the nitro finish on the neck is flaking off. Might get the neck refinished eventually but will leave it as is for now. Pick guard was like that when I got it. It does make for easier access to the wiring I suppose. Not a ‘proper’ vintage Fender compared to classic earlier models, but it is a damn good workhorse bass.

Year started playing: 1999 Number of basses: 6 Music theory: 2.0 litres Technique: 4x4 Groove: about 5.5 seconds

I played downtuned guitar through an Orange Micro Terror connected to a Mesa 6x10 bass cabinet. It didn't sound good, but it was definitely loud.

You could try the new TE-1200, but it is very expensive. You could also try some of the older Trace Elliot gear which can be found for relatively cheap second hand, but they are very heavy. However, 200 watts at 4 ohms should be plenty loud enough, if it isn't ask the guitarist to turn down.

I just love reading old Trace Elliot brochures describing the 4x10 combo as a 'portable gigging solution'

If that amp and cab isn’t loud enough then your band is too loud, even if it is a doom band. It should be plenty loud and then some.

Lewitt LCT 040. £140 for a matched pair brand new, less second hand. If you only need one then you could probably find one for £50-£60. I have a pair I bought used and I'm really impressed. I have a matched pair of AKG C414 XLII large diaphragm condensers and as part of a larger drum mic set up the Lewitts hold there own and don't sound 'cheap'. The best thing of all though, they are tiny so can pretty much be positioned anywhere and despite the size and price they are good full range mics which capture plenty of bass.

I generally use tubes from JJ as they are cost effective and just work really well. I used them in my Mesa amps as well instead of Mesa tubes.