waldemar

>if he has a bit of gear he is saying use

Nope, he's not recommending using gear that he has access to already, he's recommending that I bring along a vintage set-up to compliment the type of music we're recording. Yes, I'm being totally realistic regarding what we'll get out of this - part of me thinks that we'll be lucky to get a single recording finished let alone the three we're planning on doing... and I'd be happy with just that, in all honesty..! He'll mix the audio in the week or so after the session so there'll be a fair bit of time for post.

It'll be interesting to see how this all pans out. Right again on the vocals - we have two females fronting and it seems that putting a mic in front of 'em gives 'em ADHD - great fun but terrible as far as getting stuff done goes...

w./

>You havent booked enough time to be playing about

Yep, you're exactly right, Si, which is why it's a bit funny that he's after using a vintage rig that isn't mine... I'd have thought that for what we're doing (a basic demo to help us get more gigs) a DI would have sufficed, which is why the question of whether this was going to make that big a difference arose.

Like I said before, he's a good guy and he's been fantastic to have around when he's done the sound at a few of our gigs. I'll take both rigs and see what happens on the day. I'm fairly easy about the whole thing and in this case happy to do as I'm told.

Hehe - for the record, I can be unpacked, plugged in, tuned up and ready within 5 minutes... Probably less. Won't be me that's wasting time..!

All of the above makes sense. Like I said - the guy's very knowledgeable and there's no reason to not do as he's asking but it's interesting to see how this divides opinion. Another friend of mine who's spent a lot of time in studios insists that the most versatile instrument in there is the mixing desk - maybe this guy's hoping to bypass the amount of post work that needs to be done - and that's fair enough given the limited time he'll be spending on it.

Cheers.

w./

Hi all.

I'm recording with my band this coming Thursday evening and I'm debating what gear to take in with me. Here are my choices:

1. Straight out of a DI box into the desk (with a feed going into my combo purely for monitoring).
2. DI out the back of my GenzBenz Shuttle 3.0 combo.
3. Hire a Bassman 100 to drive my GenzBenz 2x10 Focus cab and mic it all up.
4. Hire a Bassman 100 and some sort of vintage cab and mic it all up.

Here's the thing. The guy that's recording us did this quick and dirty test during one of our rehearsals:

http://soundcloud.com/schweinhaxe/why-dont-you-do-right

Even in this very rough mix I think the bass sounds half decent but he's keen that we use an old school rig.

He's a really nice guy, he knows what he's talking about and you can tell that he wants to do a great job so I'll probably hire that Bassman and do it his way - but really - is this going to make that much of a difference in the 5 hours we have in the studio? Just seems like added ball-ache...

Opinions?

w./

Soz Bassmonkey - they've gone to rubis..!

w./

They looked great on one of my basses, but I just don't get on with 'em from a playing perspective...

They're used, but not heavily (the cotton wound onto the string ends is tatty and they were cut down for a 2x2 tuner headstock, so probably won't stretch to a Fender style 4 in-a-line headstock...) - if you wanna try a set of coated strings for free then hit me up. I'll pop 'em in the post to the quickest responder at my earliest convenience.

w./

Bump.

Here's what's on GAK's site:

[url="http://www.gak.co.uk/en/vintage-est96-5-string-bass/7264"]http://www.gak.co.uk...tring-bass/7264[/url]

Here are some pictures of mine:

[url="https://www.dropbox.com/sh/wcw0azuz0aqr1r0/z2OQRNq2Wj"]https://www.dropbox....r1r0/z2OQRNq2Wj[/url]

I bought it in another attempt at giving 5 strings a go. No change. They're still not for me...

The condition of this bass is [i][b]not[/b][/i] A1 - there are a fair few dings here and there, but nothing that affects the playability - which is so-so, but nothing that a competent set-up wouldn't make better.

Build quality/hardware is pretty typical of the cheaper end of the market.

The biggest issue with this bass are it's electronics. Without a 9V battery it functions quite happily in passive mode (although the tone pot[b]*[/b] makes very little discernible difference to, err, the tone) pop a 9V battery in and you get what I can only describe as an unusable noisy signal. If you're happy to run it passive with not much control over the tone then it's good to go. If you want what it's meant to have [i][size=3](according to the blurb: powerful 3-band onboard EQ, controlled by active bass, mid and treble rotaries)[/size][/i] then you'll need to be prepared to install new electronics.

I'd like £90 for this please. Collection, or I'll deliver in the Manchester area (within reason). Busyness and/or laziness mean that I'm currently not able to post this.

w./

[b]*[/b][b]E[/b][b]DIT:[/b] I assumed that the active level pot functioned as a tone when no battery was present - being an electronics buffoon, I'm not even sure if this is at all possible - maybe it's just me hearing things if indeed I hear any change to the tone - like I say, it makes very little difference (if any). Just be aware that in it's current state this bass is passive and (in all likelihood) has no tone control.

Hmm. My ad really does this bass down, doesn't it..? It's actually not as sh*te as I'm making it sound. It does play and makes a reasonable sound. Here's a quick demo recording I made last night. Sorry for the agricultural rendition - my technique is poor..!

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JN6bovee5Io[/media]

Hi all.

I'm selling these on behalf of a colleague who has had them in his possession for a while. Despite their age, they are in good shape and have essentially been mothballed since being hung in a studio for a few years back in the 90's.

I'm led to believe that the 15" Tannoy 3805 dual-concentric drivers being used in these PA cabs are well regarded in the audiophile community and since they're full range, it's not uncommon to find the odd pair sat in hi-fi speaker systems, however, the drivers in these cabs [i][b]should not be confused[/b][/i] with the highly desirable (and much more expensive) dual-concentric 'Gold' drivers which are identifiable by a gold plastic cover over their alnico magnets.

The upload feature doesn't seem to be working, but you can see some photos of what's for sale here:

[url="https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ergmddeauf05va6/BTB6b3wNGb"]https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ergmddeauf05va6/BTB6b3wNGb[/url]

A bit more information on the Tannoy Wildcat series is available at these sites:

[url="http://www.preservationsound.com/?p=1729"]http://www.preservationsound.com/?p=1729[/url]

[url="http://www.hilberink.nl/codehans/tannoy125.htm"]http://www.hilberink.nl/codehans/tannoy125.htm[/url]

(The latter link includes a fairly detailed specification chart at the bottom of the page).

From the limited amount of research that's been done on these, a reasonable asking price (so I'm told) is around the £500 mark.

Collection only (Manchester) on these - they're big buggers.

w./

Thanks guys. Yeah, the two front-women are great. 2 very different voices but they work well together. Will try reintroducing a bit of percussion, we used to start it all in, but it slots in after a loud number now so the drop punctuates the set a bit. Can't hurt to give it a go, though. Thanks again for having a listen.

w./

Recently had the opportunity to pop along to SSR in Manchester for a couple of hours, where a few of their students had a go at recording the blues band I'm in. The results:

http://soundcloud.com/schweinhaxe/need-your-love-so-bad

All in all a pretty decent job considering it was all live and mixed on the fly..! I think we could have played better, but ain't it always the way...

Thoughts? Observations?

Yeah, I was watching it - I thought that it would fetch a little bit more - even in the condition it was, they're rare old things.

Ah well, something else will show up in someone's attic some day..!

w./

+1 on BassDoc - I hear nothing but good things about the man. As an alternative, I cut my own plate on a laser cutter over at Fab Lab in Manchester, there's bound to be a facility (sign-writers/vinyl graphics etc.) near you that can do it - all they need is a to scale vector .pdf and you literally send it via the Print menu. The advantages of a laser cut are super precise, super clean curves, but no bevel - although that might be preferable with a clear plate... Some more details on how I cut mine [url="http://wrbl.tumblr.com/post/14084056420/finished"]here[/url].

w./

'Twas the right thing to do...

>Might have a punt on that nothing a little work can't fix.

Let us know how you get on. Would you colour-match the front of the head-stock to the body colour..?

A '62 Jazz:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/230865684594

Shame about the obliterated date on the heel...

And a Fenton Weill:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Not-Fender-vintage-60s-Bass-Made-London-England-restoration-project-/160899750593

Gah, if it wasn't for that re-drilled headstock...

The blues band I'm in spent a week together in a massive house we rented in a little village called Paul, just outside Mousehole last month.

The idea was to try and write some new originals, but after a promising start with getting all the gear set up (on only the second day) it pretty much turned into a good old fashioned piss up. Good times.

Here are a couple of vids - one's from a practice at the house and the second is part of an acoustic gig we managed to get ourselves at the local pub.

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3eK4KbLRTo&fmt=22[/media]

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GncWVyQfQz8&fmt=22[/media]

[Slightly off topic, but somehow related - we're playing a couple of gigs in Manchester in the not too distant future, [url="http://www.facebook.com/BexleySquare"]check us out on the 'book if you fancy coming along..![/url]]

Cheers.

w./

Quality.

Excellent.

Hiya, we're seeking a new lead guitarist (male or female - electric and acoustic) to join the 3 of us in our music making activities.

You'll be half decent, listen to others in the band and take pride in playing well, you'll have gear that works and hopefully you'll have transport and be able to make a Tuesday night rehearsal once a week close to Manchester city centre (which will cost you a fiver).

Currently there's me on the bass, a drummer and a rhythm guitarist/vocalist. Our previous guitarist was pretty handy on the mouth organ, so if that's a skill you can bring then that would be great.

In the short term we're hoping to get a set together that consists of fine classic and contemporary covers which can be performed both electrically and acoustically (depending on the venue). We're open to suggestions with regards to the set - ideas are totally welcome.

Gig-wise we're into stepping out to perform. A gig once every three or four weeks would be great. In the medium term we know we're not going to be rock stars and we've all got careers to keep us busy, but we've started having a go at writing our own stuff. It's all good fun - as it should be.

A bit more about us - Originally we got together for a single gig as a Dylan covers band, but enjoyed it enough to keep at it. We're a pretty sociable bunch and more often than not we'll have a beer at the pub next to our rehearsal space before getting in to play. Our ages range from 26-42. Here are a couple of vids - the first is from a rehearsal, the second from a gig. As usual the quality's a bit ropey but they should give you an idea:

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19OrFdXvrxQ[/media]

and

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzmx-CH5Iq8[/media]

If you're interested in coming along to our next rehearsal then drop me a line.

w./

Hey, thanks very much man. I know exactly what you mean about the over-anxious timings. Even when I know a tune reasonably well I'm always second guessing whether or not the next note's the right one - I'm not a natural musician and don't know anything about music theory so find myself returning to tried and tested patterns, which frustrates me a bit. My left hand techniques a bit weak - too tight a grip leading to awkward fingering - which doesn't help..! Having said all of that, I am trying to do something about it.

Thanks again for having a listen. Much appreciated.

w./

http://soundcloud.com/schweinhaxe/101-1

It's pretty much a noodle around a repeating pattern of chords that our keyboard player had been jamming last week - not being a knower of music I looked 'em up on the internet and managed to get something that sounded a bit like what he'd been doing, although not quite as lush.

Drum loop's straight out of iDrum's box and as ever the bass went in via my Line 6 GX.

More than anything it was an excercise to see what I could come up with bass-wise, I think I've played it a bit safe and could have been a bit more adventurous, but my technique's a bit weak under pressure, as I'm sure you'll hear.

Anyways, have a listen and give us a shout if you've got any suggestions on taking it further.

Cheers!

w./

'Ello all.

Got a gig on tonight at the Sandbar in Manchester, if you're stuck for something to do. [url="http://www.sandbaronline.net/"]http://www.sandbaronline.net/[/url]

3 bands playing - Bluesy Steve, [the bloody good] MilkPunx and then us - Bexley Square Blues Band.

Bands start at around 9pm and I think we go on around 11pm. Open 'til 2am.

Entry is £3 on the door which gets you 10% off every beer - drink 11 pints and you'll actually be better off.*

w./

*But probably not in the morning.

[attachment=118404:BSBB.jpg]

PM'd

Played a couple of gigs last weekend, one with a Dylan covers band put together very hurriedly and rehearsed over 4 weeks. Ok, not exactly complicated, but it went really well - a great confidence booster..!

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tm7NZvpJPAk[/media]

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzmx-CH5Iq8[/media]