waltsdog

Thanks for all the advice. I set up the amp the correct way checking the clip light last night and set it a bit under clipping although it doesn't clip until the gain is very nearly all the way up. I had plenty of volume on tap, so much in fact I couldn't get the past about 10 o'clock without the possibility of blowing some windows out

It seems to boil down to my basic misunderstanding of the controls and misconception that lots of gain = bad which everyone has pretty much said is not the case providing the sound is good. I have a gig on Saturday so I'll be setting up the amp as suggested and report back.

Thanks for the replies, ill try and fill in the blanks. I do play with a fairly light touch and by volume I mean more out front, as I can usually hear myself fairly well in most places we play. My settings were gain about 12 o'clock (no clipping) and volume about 2 o'clock with the 2 cabs in a maybe 200 capacity room (albeit a very odd shaped room) everything else on the amp is dead flat. The bass is a passive dingwall abz on standard strings. Last gig I used just the midget in a small room maybe 50-75 capacity, cab up on a stool about 2ft running gain at 2 o'clock and vol up around 3 o'clock. I don't think I've ever had the clip light come on using this bass, when I used a stingray it would clip with the gain on 9 o'clock. I'm going to try Redstripers and york5stringers suggestion as I always want to keep the gain as low as possible rather than adjusting to the clip light. I'll also check the pickup heights. There is also the possibility that the band is far louder than I think it is as well.

I have a Little Mark iii and have found I need to run it with the gain up really high to get enough volume out of it, just wondering of this is normal? I'm using a barefaced midget and compact but don't always use them both together, playing with 2 guitarists using 1x12 100w combos and a not hugely loud drummer.

Not read all the replies so someone may have said it already, but you can buy liquid chalk for climbing or weight lifting which would sort this out and it shouldn't harm anything else or leave a residue. Here is a link [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Yoga-Mad-Liquid-Chalk-250ml/dp/B000U2AQR0"]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Yoga-Mad-Liquid-Ch...l/dp/B000U2AQR0[/url]

How about building the ikea Gorm pedal board, less than a tenner so student friendly. [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=63783"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=63783[/url]

[quote name='Jakeabilly' post='1207168' date='Apr 21 2011, 03:27 PM']Hello guys and girls, Ive just received my first double bass, i just got a cheap one from gear4music to get me going, ive heard from a number of punk/rockabilly guys that they are perfectly adequate providing they are set up right. Thing is, i dont have a clue what i need to do to get it set up more for rockabilly. I want that 'tap' sound, so i'm guessing that i should sand the bridge down? By how much, cant i just chisel a couple of mill off the top and recut the string grooves? If i take the bridge down, the strings will no longer run parallel to the neck, they'll impact at the bottom right? What else is needed to get that slap sound? can it be had without amplification? And on that front, ive heard K&K do a good rockabilly set-up, with an extra pickup sitting behind the neck. What are you all using? Appreciate the help in advance guys. Jake[/quote] There is a set up guide in pdf format in post 10 of this thread [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=42654&hl=setup"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=42654&hl=setup[/url] if you're feeling brave enough (I'd get it done by a pro personally). You won't need a pickup/amplification to get a slap sound from the bass so probably best to look into that once you're a bit further along?

Neck from my Sue Ryder, rosewood board comes with plate and screws. Pick up from SW London.

[quote name='Ancient Mariner' post='1195585' date='Apr 11 2011, 12:21 PM']Loaned mine to a friend last week, who took it to compare with another friends (bought a while back at full price). He thought mine sounded very dark and a little muffled, despite the maple fingerboard. Compared to my J type, when the Ryder is on full treble it's as dark as the neck of the jazz with the tone rolled off to about half. Anyone else find theirs dark, and those of you with several, did they sound different to each other?[/quote] Mine isn't dark at all in fact quite the opposite, loads of top end probably a touch more than my 50s Precision. The strings are some cheapo hartke rounds which are a bit zingy anyway so that might have a lot to do with it. What strings are you using?

I would have been seriously tempted by the candy apple red one but the black headstock just ruins it for me.

[quote name='hellothere' post='1185979' date='Apr 2 2011, 05:27 PM']Also I might fit the pick-ups into my Sue Ryder instead and use the body of the squire for something else after I've replaced all the wiring. I was thinking about fitting a Jazz neck to it. How easy is it to fit one, how do you go about doing it and how much would a decent neck set you back?[/quote] Are you thinking of fitting a jazz neck to your squire or Ryder? A decent neck will set you back somewhere between £50 -100 ish, maybe a bit less for a squier or similar one. have a look in the classifieds there have been loads up for sale recently so you can get a good idea. I've just fitted a Mexi fender jazz neck to a Ryder body and needed to replace the neck plate, screws and add a 5mm shim to the pocket. I was pretty lucky as there was no need to fill and re-drill any holes so the whole thing was done in about an hour. If you have some very basic woodworking skills and more importantly have a good idea of how to set up your bass then it's fairly straightforward to swap a neck. Had I been able to buy a bass in the exact configuration I wanted then I would have much rather done that than collect the bits and hope they could be made to fit.

Sold a precision to Alex, no problems, deal with confidence.

Picked this up courtesy of geoffbyrne, just started with a few small mods.

Bough a cab from Andy, top guy. Buy with confidence

I'll have the cab if it's still available

Probably correct as I bought the first one off him outside ebay, was definatley not a scammer and the bass is fantastic.