lanark

[quote name='BigRedX' post='1283702' date='Jun 27 2011, 09:04 AM']Having gone the DIY route for many years I now believe that making your own leads is only worthwhile if: 1. You are already an experienced solderer, or have the time and patience to learn how to be one. 2. You have lots of free time that wouldn't be better spent doing something else. 3. You are going to be making up a large quantity of leads, or you need some highly specialised ones. 4. You are looking to save every penny that you can. Otherwise get OBBM to make them for you. You'll get high quality cables which will most likely be made better than you can do yourself and only slightly more than the cost of the materials in the quantities you'll be buying.[/quote] But part of my reasoning is that learning to solder is a useful life-skill I have yet to acquire and could do with learning - especially if I ever decide to build up my own custom bass - and soldering cables would be a useful way of learning - and I need a few new cables anyway.

What material would you use if you wanted to make such a grill cloth for yourself? And I don't mean the hawiian shirt material lol Oh - and my amp already has a metal grille, so would there be a problem fitting a painted cloth over the top of this?

[quote name='4000' post='1283981' date='Jun 27 2011, 12:40 PM']EDIT: One thing that blew me away was the Pierces acoustic performance. Loved it.[/quote] I felt sorry for the guy who had to stand 10 feet behind them in his wellies so as not to spoil the illusion of the two women doing it all on their own

[quote name='Gareth Hughes' post='1283234' date='Jun 26 2011, 07:08 PM']Bust the blisters, superglue the skin and smile. If the skin needs ripping off, you can still go down the superglue route, but that will require more smiling. If it all gets too much, you can try playing with the area between your finger tip and second knuckle, with your fingers pointing towards the ground (look at Ron Carter for this). I literally have a callous that runs from my fingertip to my main knuckle. All fun and games.[/quote] I saw maverick harpist Joanna Newsom in Leeds and it was near the end of a loooong tour and she took breaks between songs to superglue the skin on her fingers about half a dozen times in the show. What a trooper.

and which elements are the best to use when making your own - both best value and best best. With a soldering iron and a bit of practice, surely it's not too difficult.

What do people fasten them to? Do you have a frame or just any old stuff that looks secure?

Okay - final update to this thread. Tascam have mended it - they replaced the memory card. Unfortunately it wasn't free, it cost me £36 (inc vat). The guy I bought it off from ebay is paying half the repair cost - I couldn't be arsed pressing for more. But at least it's back - and more importantly, working.

Absolutely fascinating. This is genuinely the only clear wood bass that I've thought WOW, beautiful. It doesn't look like a sideboard or a coffee table. I trust you're very proud with your two builds. I'd love to try it someday.

I thought it was Bill Wyman.

[quote name='AttitudeCastle' post='1277556' date='Jun 21 2011, 07:34 PM']Never, its still An Extended Range [b]Bass[/b][/quote] But that's just nomenclature, why isn't it also an Extended Range Guitar? A guitar with its range extended downwards, rather than a bass extended upwards?

This is looking great - and only about 6 weeks since you started. That's pretty good going, all things considered. It actually makes me think that I could even try it myself - although I'd want to paint it too.

Cool - I'd be interested to know what they say. I also like Ross's idea. The logo is fairly simple - we might be able to use paper templates and spray paint (on a very dry and windless day lol)

Just wondering who uses a backdrop for gigs and who you'd recommend I approach for quotes. It would also be useful to hear any feedback about the best way of hanging them (self-standing frame, bungees etc), whether vinyl or fabric are best and what would be the most flexible size. We tend to play stages (at working men's clubs, dance halls, that sort of place) so something too small would be lost behind a 9 piece band, but getting something too big might not always fit and would be bulky to transport. So, over to the wisdom of Bass Chat - please let me know all about Stage Backdrops: good and bad.

My wife saw me looking at the pictures (of both the guitars you've veneered) and even SHE said that they were gorgeous.

[quote name='Lozz196' post='1275817' date='Jun 20 2011, 12:43 PM']I bought a set of these, after seeing this post. Fantastic things, my cab now goes faster that most performance cars! I may still have to lift the cab up stairs etc, but on the flats, especially on uneven concrete, where the stock 1 inch plastic castors had difficulty, now it just glides along. Great recommendation Monz.[/quote] So with castors, do you screw them onto the side or the bottom (If on the bottom - how do you stop it moving around when you're playing)? Would it also work for a combo?

[quote name='51m0n' post='1275597' date='Jun 20 2011, 10:01 AM']Another big big hint is get the band used to being recorded, any means you can, a dictophone, an iphone, literally any recording device at all, put it in the corner of the room and do takes in rehearsal. Nothing worse than getting to the studio to discover that one or more memebers of the band suffers ternminal 'red light fever' whereby as soon as the record button is pressed they forget how to play their instrument to some degree. ..... Splitting the recording into sections in no way guarantees a lack of the 'live' sound.What is that anyway? Assuming you play without a click, and the percussion, keys and vocals practice giving the songs there all as that section (as if the horns broke down on the way to the gig and you had to do the first set without them) there should be no loss in energy whatsoever. ..... You need to aim to be able to get a great take in 3 attempts, or the band will naturally start to reign it in to guarantee a good take, and that loss of exuberence comes across as a more mechanical sounding take. ..... Once you have the rhythm horn sections down look to spend as much time again on lead and backing vocals. They [b][i]are[/i][/b] the song for the punters, they will only notice the rest of the track if its amazing, but if the vocals are even a little bit pants then the average punter can pick up on it straight away. A blinding vocal will get you noticed more than anything else. Work the backing vocals and harmonies out beforehand too. Yes even if you dont have any live you need to put them down on the recording, they make the vocal stand out, and they are the accepted sound of vocals in songs - especially with larger bands. ..... The more rehearsed you are for this the quicker and easier it will be on the day, get the band really tuned up for the recording and the process will be slick, the results slicker, and the cost lower.[/quote] These are all excellent, excellent points. Thank you very much.

[quote name='Vibrating G String' post='1275489' date='Jun 20 2011, 02:28 AM']This kind of test has been going on for at least 30 years IME and no one can ever tell the difference, but those who believe they can tell still believe they can tell. No matter how badly they can't when tested. Basic cognitive dissonance and refusal to admit you're wrong after strongly stating an opinion.[/quote] Like with high end A/V cabling in a home environment, the eagerness to percieve a difference is also linked to how much lighter your wallet is after the purchase.

Okay - that makes sense. Could 1) (perc, keys and vocal guide) be done earlier and then the horns, real vocals, extra bits and bobs added at a later session? I'm thinking that the horns etc could then take a few weeks to practice to the rhythm tracks and make sure that they can nail everything as quickly as possible when they eventually get into the studio. Part of me is also thinking that the more people there are in the studio at any one time, the longer everything will take to get done. I know that we want that "live" sound that you only really get when playing as a unit, but if it takes an extra few days in the studio because of all the faffing about, it might be worth sacrificing.

On the subject of wood and tone - I remember this thread on Talk Bass where someone fitted the same electronics to an Alder Jazz made by Warmoth and a square of scrap lumber. He recorded several examples of music played on each "guitar" and put them up to the forum for people to guess which came from a Warmoth Jazz adn which came from a planed off-cut of scrap pine. Turns out that nobody could actually tell the difference - the results being completely random. [url="http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f8/scrap-lumber-bass-vs-alder-bass-can-you-tell-difference-743932/"]Scrap Lumber Bass vs Alder Warmoth Bass[/url]

This thread has been absolutely fascinating - I've learnt so much. And realised how much I really really don't know.

As someone who reckons that 5 strings is one too many, this obviously has 8 too many and looks pig ugly to boot.

So - to keep the budget down as much as possible, and massively increase the range of options we can choose from as far as recording studios go, would it be possible to: i) record the rhythm section and vocals first (assuming that we're extremely well rehearsed and the length of any horn solo are known in advance) - to avoid bleeding into the percussion mics, we have the bass and keys DI'd straight to the desk and the band wearing headphones to hear the rough mix live as we play. We then take this away and the horns practice with this rhythm section recording and later .... ii) the horns come into the studio at a later date, to record their sections to the pre-recorded rhythm section recording, which they'll be listening to through headphones to avoid the earlier recording being heard on the horns' mics. Have I got that anything like straight? The two sections would then be taken away and mastered (what on earth goes on in the matering process by the way - and does it come before or after the "mix"?) and mixed or whatever black art gets practised on them before you get the shiny silved disc? Would that sort of thing be practicable, as we've ascertained that for an unsigned band of our size, it would take a friendly millionaire to bankroll the ideal recording setup.

Aaaaagh - too much bare wood!!

Just a query - is there a knob missing? Or is that a switch?

[quote name='51m0n' post='1272708' date='Jun 17 2011, 01:30 PM']Given the OP's question I would imagine this is self funded, and therefore the budget isnt stratospheric[/quote] Absolutely right, sir. Budget at the moment is minimial. Obviously it would have been wisest to have started an acoustic folk duo. [quote name='PapillonIrl' post='1272979' date='Jun 17 2011, 05:22 PM']@ OP : Do you have a short list of facilities at this point ?[/quote] Not at all. Realistically, we're still many months away from doing any actual recording, but I figured that given the complexities of the band's configuration, I thought it was wise to have a really good idea of what would be needed, what would be expected, as early as possible: and this thread has given me an awful lot of food for though. Perhaps it would be easiest to organise a live gig recording and overdub any serious fluffs / audio issues. But then I imagine that would open a whole different can of worms.