alexclaber

Passive EQ can be pretty weird - often interactive with 'flat' at unexpected knob positions. The easiest way to suss it out would be to play a CD through your amp and through some hi-fi or PA speakers and twiddle until it sounds normal - that's your flattest position. The Fender/Alembic tone stack is flattest with bass and treble at 2 and mids at 10, whilst a true cut only EQ on a preamp with flat response should be flat at 10,10,10.

Really nice amp, btw!

Alex

Alternatively if you want to get that vibe with your hands, slide in and out of notes and using plenty of vibrato.

Alex

Very daring of you to try a guesswork based horn cab! Curious to see how it turns out, suspect it'll prove surprisingly effective...

Alex

[quote name='paul, the' post='52965' date='Aug 30 2007, 07:43 PM']A -salesman- told me that to get a valve/SS comparison you times the valve by 3.3 to get its SS equivalent.[/quote]

How very creative!

Alex

Done some of the vocals this evening, getting my head round what's needed in terms of backing parts. Need to get my monitors back from my drummer's so I can hear it properly - am not the greatest fan of headphones!

Alex

Just going through the tracks to see where everything is - on the first song I've looked at there are four tracks of drums, one of bass, five of guitar, four of sax and two of backing vocals. Fortunately you never get all of them simultaneously!

Alex

The multitracker is finally back with me! Now to add final vocals and mix...

Alex

Robbie McDade of RIM Custom. I've played two of his basses and they were both sublime.

Alex

I have three words: Balance, balance and balance! That bodyshape and headstock look a recipe for disaster in a bass version...

Alex

If you want to get the full fat sound from your EMG pickups they need to be VERY close to the strings, basically as close as you can get them without the strings hitting them. When set up like normal pickups EMGs tend to sound very clear but rather thin and lacking in oomph (lows and low mids). When correctly adjusted they sound very clear yet fat with tons of bottom.

An oft overlooked issue!

Alex

[quote name='Geddys nose' post='50551' date='Aug 25 2007, 01:25 PM']I think the best thing about having castors is that you can remove the back ones and have it pointing upwards for better monitoring...[/quote]

Exactly!

Alex

I too have just added mine!

Alex

[quote name='P-T-P' post='50539' date='Aug 25 2007, 12:32 PM']...To explain, from the nut down, the inlays show a mountain with a sun in the top right. As you move towards the bridge the sun drops down and to the left until it disappears behind the mountain... ...Does it set that way in the Southern hemisphere?[/quote]

Yes, it would do that in the very far South. In the Northern hemisphere at noon the sun is in the South, therefore it rises from the South East, to the left, and sets in the South West, to the right. In the tropics it moves directly overhead at the height of summer therefore the left/right thing switches and isn't very clear anyway.

Alex

[quote name='Subthumper' post='50221' date='Aug 24 2007, 04:08 PM']Was wondering if its of any use in a bass rig for a sub.[/quote]

No. Fs and sensitivity are way too low.

Alex

[quote name='chris_b' post='50249' date='Aug 24 2007, 04:31 PM']No. I'm better served by using my own ears and judgement... which is what I said in part of the post that you didn't quote.[/quote]

Well maybe I wasn't disagreeing with using your ears then! My point was that much of the hi-fi world bases its views on anecdotal evidence, pseudo science and poorly conducted testing, whilst the pro and DIY audio world tends to use far more solid scientific analysis and rigorous testing.

In other words, if you're going to "read what they have to say, think about it, try it for yourself and then make your own judgement" do so based on more accurate information. If you want to think about how a power conditioner affects your tone, find out how an amp transforms the AC mains into the DC voltage on the power transistor rails...

This website is quite informative: [url="http://sound.westhost.com/articles.htm"]http://sound.westhost.com/articles.htm[/url]

Alex

Meshell Ndegéocello is barely 5' tall and a seriously bad mofo. I remember reading that she can't actually reach the tuning pegs when her bass is strapped on.

Parker, for a 6'3" bloke you seem far too concerned with how heavy your cab is!

Alex

[quote name='chris_b' post='50066' date='Aug 24 2007, 12:23 PM']When it comes to tone and the "sound" of music they (the Hi-fi world) are definitely people I would listen to.[/quote]

You'd be far better served by learning about pro sound and audio engineering. A huge amount of the audiophile market is driven by snake oil sellers and psychoacoustics, supported by the magazines whose revenue stream is driven by the advertisers of said snake oil.

The majority of power conditioners should not be used with high power amps as they have insufficient current capacity. A properly designed amp will not benefit from an external power conditioner as its own power supply should deal with all the filtering and buffering of the mains supply.

If you use any digital gear it would be wise to protect it with a simple surge protected power strip, though this is much less important for analogue electronics.

Alex

[quote name='LPG83' post='49470' date='Aug 23 2007, 12:33 PM']The trouble I have, even since upgrading the pickups, is that clackety/ reedy/ grainy/ brittle sound, that I suppose is the nature of "the sound of wood".[/quote]

That definitely isn't "the sound of wood"! However it may be the sound of your bass.

What does your bass sound like when unplugged and in a quiet room? If it makes the sound you want to hear then the electronics are your weak link and could be upgraded successfully.

If it doesn't make the sound you want then can you do something about your technique to get the right sound? If that doesn't work, can you try different strings to get the right sound? If that doesn't work then the bass just isn't the right bass for you.

Alex

[quote name='chris_b' post='49907' date='Aug 24 2007, 02:36 AM']The Hi-fi world claims that an improved power supply gives better clarity, tone and weight to the sound. They might be right.[/quote]

They're the last people I'd listen to!

Alex

I regularly record rehearsals with the video function on my digital camera, and then pull the audio track off the file with mediacoder. You need to bear in mind the following:

1. Both mics and instruments have varying directionality - use this to your advantage when positioning the recorder; i.e. close to the bass amp but pointing towards drum kit and vocal PA and pointing away from guitar amp tends to balance quite well.

2. You need to get as much direct sound and as little reflected sound as possible. The best way to achieve this is to keep the volume down in the room.

3. You need to play within the limits of the recorder and its mic to minimise distortion.

IMO single mic recording is more revealing of how well a band is playing than anything else.

Good luck!

Alex

[quote name='paul, the' post='49737' date='Aug 23 2007, 06:36 PM']It looks cool but I find this uncomfortable. Like my arm is supporting the bass rather than my shoulders. And I'm trying to play, not support a neck.[/quote]

In that case your bass doesn't balance well and as you say, having to support the neck isn't good for you. Moving the rear strap pin higher up, using a rough backed leather strap, wearing the bass higher, all help with positioning the bass at a nice angle.

Alex

I went to a ball a couple of years ago with the world's worst covers band playing. The drummer was like a robot, no groove or swing whatsoever, it was so painful I was unable to dance despite the songs they were covering being great songs. Awful.

I hate to say this but I would rather listen to a DJ than mediocre covers bands that think being able to play the right notes and sing in tune is good enough.

Alex

[quote name='The Funk' post='49286' date='Aug 23 2007, 01:19 AM']I also keep my bass angled diagonally upwards. It means I can play with less strain in the right and left hand.[/quote]

Good point!

Pivoting thumb technique is very important if you want to comfortably cover more than three frets without shifting in the lower reaches. Once that became intuitive for me the whole 'stretch' issue became basically irrelevant.

Alex

[quote name='niceguyhomer' post='49468' date='Aug 23 2007, 12:29 PM']I think if I had to make the choice, I'd rather listen to something new played badly than something I'm familiar with being murdered.[/quote]

Exactly! At least when an originals band is bad you can blame the songwriting to some degree...

Alex

[quote name='lee4' post='49171' date='Aug 22 2007, 08:24 PM']I also play my bass slung low.I find there is less strain on my plucking arm.[/quote]

Hmmm... Try it a bit higher, it shouldn't cause any problems with your plucking hand but should make your fretting easier. Do you use correct left hand position (i.e. thumb behind the neck) and pivot?

Rocco Prestia, Flea, Victor Wooten, Steve Bailey, come immediately to mind as shorter bass players and there are plenty of ladies that can play circles round me despite being smaller.

I don't think one finger per fret is a great rule in the lower reaches unless you have huge hands and/or v low action and/or very light strings. Better to shift between left hand techniques as the music requires, always aiming for minimal strain.

Alex