Muzz

Always happy with This Uneven Sky - the four of us have known each other for 30 years, and it just works on all levels. The covers/function work I do is as part of a dep collective around the main man, and the standard of players has stepped right up recently with some new additions, which has meant me upping my game considerably - always a good thing, and very enjoyable in a completely different way.

[quote name='ezbass' timestamp='1352307883' post='1861429'] I like me some P (check my sig) but that didn't do it for me, a typical Later mix devoid of anything musically discernible in the low end I thought . I was about to dismiss it as that until the next act, Trey Songz, came on. Now that was a bass tone that made my ears prick up, really nice. YMMV. I think it was an MTD through a GK rig. Now this brings into question whether Soundgarden were badly mixed or whether it was just a poor tonal choice by them to start with? [/quote] Just watched both bands, and all of this +1: nail > head

One of the first things I look at these days when I see a new bass is "How much does it weigh?" My 7.5lb Dingwall makes a real difference. I also sit at rehearsals most of the time.

I can concur with the above - the pickups are absolutely standout on these basses (pretty much the only bridge pickup I've played which I'd seriously consider soloing), and I'm sure the niggles/design changes (mostly the neck profile and heel) identified by most of the bassists there will be easily rectified. Massive range of tones (at least a dozen coil selection combinations) and output from a passive bass, and there are some very very nice design touches (like the back contour) which point to a quality instrument. Top marks to Nige for refusing to slap, even when asked to several times!

I've recently traded my RH450 for a Streamliner 900, and it's a much better fit with my Schroeder - the TC's low-mids combined with the Schroeder's low-mid hump to provide too much of it in the end. The Streamliner's a lovely warm amp, although with the Schroeder I have to push the bass to 3 o'clock. The Schroeder and a LM (had one of those, too) is a great combination, I only moved mine on because I wanted a more tubey tone than the LM gave me.

I use Watford Valves, spot on for me.

Yeah, it's not really possible exactly as per the record ( see t'other thread about that around here somewhere), but there's a ton of playthroughs on YouTube which get pretty close to the live version, so it's not as hard as it could be. I was more worried about the overall feel and sound - after all, there's 27 people on stage with Mr Simon on one version, that it worked at all with guitar, bass, keyboard and drums was the biggest surprise.

Ok, so a very occasional function band rehearsal today to run through some new numbers, and the one I'd been wary of was finally dragged into the light: You Can Call Me Al. I'd been wary because I really didn't think a four-piece could pull it off, but Blimey, it worked a treat. A bit of creativity from the keyboards (and a lot of splits for different patches) and some moderate clenching on my part, and by the third run through it sounded good - even the two-bar bass 'solo'. Very pleased. Anyone had misgivings about a cover before the band played it, only to find out they should have had a bit more faith?

I love the Dingwall multi scale, 34 to 36.25, all in four strings! No problems changing mid-gig to a normal 34", either.

Completely agree with playing with EQ in a band setting - I spent years going round and round adjusting backwards and forwards, before I realised that what sounds good in a mix with the rest of the band doesn't always sound as nice when soloed, and vice versa. What really brought it home was using my Schreoder cab - the low mid bump doesn't sound fantastic on its own, but in a band context, it really delivers. Also a big +1 for attenuating issues out rather than adding more in - it's counterintuitive at first (it just feels more natural to add more bass, or mids, or treble to a problem sound to fix it), but it can work a lot better. As someone else said, hours of fun!

Sounds very different, and a really interesting spec, although I was derailed by the phrase 'fancy Thunderbird'...hmmm...