lanark

Okay - when learning a cover version, how do you go about isolating the bassline. Is it merely a case of turning up the low freqs on the stereogram and listening carefully or are there free / cheap programs I can use to isolate the bass to hear exactly what's being played? Then, do I try to pick out the main basslines first and try to ignore the fancy fills that go on? Basically, any tips would be much appreciated. I'd like to hear what your processes are when you haven't got dots or tabs to work with.

I use Cubase LE4 and what you need to do is load the midi and then assign midi sounds (they won't be done automatically). Cubase comes with Halion, which has a range of very basic vsti sounds, but you can add a piano sound to the piano track, percussion to the drums etc and it should replay. Remember, though, that Cubase does come with a manual - the Getting Started one is definitely worth reading. It took me a while to set up my dummy keyboard so it would make sounds.

Okay - dare I ask? Is there a reason for the dairy cow theme, or is it on a whim?

[quote name='Shambo' post='757780' date='Feb 26 2010, 01:05 AM']Send me an SAE and 20p and I'll send you enough neoprene to make several mutes. [/quote] I may well take you up on that.

[quote name='jezzaboy' post='757474' date='Feb 25 2010, 07:31 PM']Aw naw man, ye cannye! [attachment=43551:452w_312..._artic_1.jpg] Jez Ps Should this topic not be mooo`ved to the build diary section? [/quote] Or maybe the Build Dairy section?

I need more hats - trouble is that I have a small head so it's difficult getting them to look right - usually they look way too big. I have a trilby from the 50s which is just right (smaller heads back then).

So I'm looking to use a mute / damper to get that motown / baby bass sound (already have flats). But I was wondering where to draw the line - how much damping do I need before it gets too much? (by the way, I'm just using a kitchen sponge with the scourer pad cut off, stuck under the strings near the bridge - should that be enough to do the job?) So what do you all use?

Ashdown are confusing me: the "high instrument input" is for passive basses and the "low instrument input" is for active basses? How counter-intuitive is that?

[quote name='BottomEndian' post='752302' date='Feb 20 2010, 10:46 PM']I've added the "can't slap, won't slap" option for... well, those who can't slap and won't slap.[/quote] Yeah but it won't let you vote without also choosing which direction the thumb you're not using is pointing lol

[quote name='Phil Starr' post='752000' date='Feb 20 2010, 06:05 PM']the internal speaker is 8ohms and the ashdown only develops it's rated output into 4 ohms. It is designed to work with the extra cab so no worries. Your sound man may have wanted things up high for two reasons. If you put out the bass through the stack and keep it out of the PA and monitors it reduces the demand on the PA and can clean up the sound. Alternatively he may have just wanted a high level feed to the mixer because it reduces noise and/or the mixer lacked an input which was sensitive enough for the feed. The line out on an Ashdown is only at mic level and a lot of cheap mixers only have a limited no of mic pre amps to keep costs down. The line out on my Ashdown is at quite a low level. In other words he wanted it turned up at the mixer but not necessarily on stage. An Ashdown giving 200W into 2x15 should be loud enough to drown out the drummer unless you are cutting the mids and boosting the bass[/quote] So your reccomendation is to insist he use the balanced DI socket instead of the line out unless he has a damn good reason not to?

[quote name='silddx' post='750784' date='Feb 19 2010, 12:35 PM']Given what you're telling us, it's patently not a quick and painless approach, is it chrisba is right, it's doubtful that downloadable templates will be correct fit anyway.[/quote] Bugger!

[quote name='elliswasp' post='750105' date='Feb 18 2010, 07:22 PM']Does the extention cab have a power rating on the back to give you an idea of what you would need to run them both? Markus[/quote] Well the cab is the Mag115 so it's designed to go with the combo so I'd assume that it can handle it (although perhaps best not to assume anything really lol)

[quote name='Killstarz' post='749782' date='Feb 18 2010, 02:52 PM']to answer 1 of your questions. I've used D'addario chromes which i loved!![/quote] +1 for chromes. I changed to flats within three weeks of taking up bass and have always hated playing rounds everytime I've played someone else's guitar. Anyone have thoughts on the Rotosound black taped flats? I've almost bought a set a few times now, but always backed out.

[quote name='geoffbyrne' post='749691' date='Feb 18 2010, 02:01 PM']Loosen the neck screws *a little* and tap the top of the headstock toward the right until the strings are central enough to please your aesthetics. Tightens neck screws *properly*!! You (probably) have a loose neck pocket, my man! G.[/quote] If it's purely aesthetic and has no bearing on the sound, I'll leave it as it is. But thanks for the advice.

I'm thinking of buying a clear scratchplate and painting the underside to give a quick and painless way of personalising my Affinity P-bass, but I don't want to take the guard off to draw round it to make a paper template, then put it back on just in order to doodle on. Anyone know if there are any full-size scratchguard templates I can download from the internet to scrawl and play around on before I start unscrewing the real thing?

As a newbie to basses and never afraid to ask idiotic questions, here's my latest: I was looking at my precision last night and noticed that each string has two magnets on the pickup, one on either side, but each string is much nearer to the left one. Now my question is (well, questions are is more accurate) a: will this make any difference to the sound and b: should the string be central between the magnets and are my pickups therefore positioned incorrectly or does not matter? Told you it was a daft quesiton.

[quote name='cheddatom' post='749517' date='Feb 18 2010, 12:06 PM']The master volume knob shouldn't affect the line-out level. Only the input volume knob will affect this.[/quote] That's pretty much what I thought - but had I cranked the Input knob all the way up it would have distorted horribly. Weird - as it's the trombonist's dad, we're almost certainly going to be using him at some point because he'll come cheaper than hiring an outside company, but I think that next time I'll ignore whatever he says and set the input at a reasonable level so it's not clipping the red and let him set the mix in ignorance of what I've done with my controls.

[quote name='cheddatom' post='749399' date='Feb 18 2010, 10:51 AM']Your amp should have a line out, or DI out, or pre-amp out, or something, that the soundman uses to DI your bass from the pre-amp to the desk. If not, he needs a DI box which you put before your amp in the chain.[/quote] It has a line out and a DI socket - he used the line out as he only had jack plug leads.

Yeah, I know it's a kind of how long is a piece of string question, but I've just acquired an Ashdown Mag200 15" combo with a 15" ext cab and I was wondering - from all your experience - how flexible this is likely to be for me in gig situations? I bought it hoping that when running through a PA I could DI out and use the combo as a personal backline and use the extra speaker on those occasions when we're having to take our own much smaller PA for vocals, keys and congas so I'm not hogging the output. Having only used a weedy Laney 35w practice amp before this, I'm thoroughly enjoying the extra floor-rumbling power of an amp that's almost as tall as me (although I AM very small), but (and here's the reason behind my question). We invited a friend over with his PA to try out mixing at our last rehearsal and when I was plugged in he wanted the output from my amp turned all the way up - which seemed odd to me. Does this sound normal behaviour? How would others expect a setup this size to be plumbed into a PA system? - (adding that I know that the amo itself isn't massively powered) Thanks in advance for any comments.

[quote name='Alien' post='746547' date='Feb 15 2010, 09:20 PM']First gigging rig was a Laney Linebacker Bass 100 head into a DIY 1x15 cab (a little later I added a DIY 2x10to the setup), and a no-name piece of crap Fender copy. Currently gigging a Hartke HA7000 through a DIY 2x10, with either a Schecter Stiletto Studio 4, an Ibanez Musician 824 or a Peavey BXP 6. In between there was a lot of other stuff, and I'm not done yet, not by a long shot A[/quote] My first gig was through a Laney Hardcore 35 practice amp (okay, it was only used as a monitor and lined out into a PA - but still, lol) and a Squire Affinity P-bass. I've just bought an Ashdown Mag200 15" Combo with a 15" Extension Cab and hoping that this will be enough for the next gig (yes, I've only gigged once).

In the 70s the latin music GOD that is Eddie Palmieri formed a band, Harlem River Drive, that was extremely funky. But this is my favourite of his 70s funk tracks: Lakumi Makumba Voodoo [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fI8rLt-PW0o"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fI8rLt-PW0o[/url]

[quote name='KevB' post='740955' date='Feb 10 2010, 01:28 PM']As someone else pointed out the pic is misleading, they actually have a side mounted jack socket and 3 knobs, 2 vols and a tone. When I ordered mine it didn't have a matching coloured headstock either on arrival but I wasn't bothered. I did little tweaking of string and pickup heights but it was perfectly playable out of the box, there have been a few posts about these on other threads and evryone that has bought them seems happy with them. I bought mine as a backup after seeing someoen play one at a jam session and thought the tone was excellent for a low cost bass. Fender take some flack for QC problems but whoever is running the Squier line in China or Indonesia where these are built seem to be getting it right most of the time.[/quote] A side-mounted jack is one thing I'd love to change about mine - that's where the scratchplate was broken when I bought it.

[quote name='KevB' post='740701' date='Feb 10 2010, 10:17 AM']If you are on a budget these are very playable and excellent value for money: [url="http://www.soundslive.co.uk/product~name~Squier-P-Bass-Special---Black-Metallic~ID~3431.asp"]http://www.soundslive.co.uk/product~name~S...lic~ID~3431.asp[/url][/quote] Apart from the black headstock, that's exactly the bass I play and I've had absolutely no problems with it at all. Bought it 2nd hand and when I took it for a setup, the guy didn't have to adjust anything. I've mended the scratchplate and put flatties on it and it plays like a dream. EDIT: Actually, I tell a lie - this one's mine. [url="http://www.soundslive.co.uk/product~name~Squier-Affinity-P-Bass---Black~ID~3423.asp"]http://www.soundslive.co.uk/product~name~S...ack~ID~3423.asp[/url] *(And damn - at this price new, I reckon I overpaid for mine when I bought it)

So ... without being a qualified experience electrician, what should you be regularly doing to keep your amps and speakers in tip top condition? Is there a routine, like the way you'd top up the fluids and change the filters on your car?

Anyone got one? They look great and are a good price - even brand new. Do they sound like cheap crap or are they a good buy?