mep

I had a bad experience with Rotosound Steel Roundwounds many years ago with a duff E string. I swore I'd never go back. I have just fitted a set of Nickels to my Stingray (not the bass with the previous issue) and am quite happy with them. Great value at about £15 a set as well.

PUP or E string depending on what I'm playing. ALthough I will move my hand up towards the neck for a more full mellow tone for some parts.

[quote name='Doddy' post='774864' date='Mar 15 2010, 01:43 AM']Yes I was in that one I was with them for about 12-18 months around '04-'05....they're still really busy. The Half Moon in Paignton right?[/quote] Yes it was The Half Moon. Good gig. Well met after all that time. We wrapped up our tribute band after a couple of years and the others went on to do an original project (which didn't get anywhere). I've just been busy with the local cover scene and doing a bit of teaching since.

[quote name='4-string-thing' post='773569' date='Mar 13 2010, 01:09 PM']Ha ha ha... I love the idea of a gig with The Stereophonics tribute and The Nolans being on the same bill....[/quote] Glad you liked the idea. It was a student end of term bash at a college in Plymouth. A couple of thousand students partying all night. On the main stage there were 3 acts. Top of the bill was supposed to be Artful Dodger, but he cancelled at the last minute and they had some DJ's from Radio 1 do a set - can't remeber who though!

[quote name='Doddy' post='773334' date='Mar 13 2010, 02:39 AM']Which one?[/quote] We were called Stereotonics. We were based in South Devon and played quite a few places over the south west and wales (of course). The student scene was the best. This was between 1999 & 2002. There was another band with the same name around the same time. They even played at a local venue in Paignton once which I went to. You weren't in the band were you?

What about the 2 Ashdown pedals. The Drive Plus or the James LoMenzo Hyper Drive. I hear they are good, and cheap. [url="http://www.ashdownmusic.com/bass/section.asp?section=pedal"]http://www.ashdownmusic.com/bass/section.asp?section=pedal[/url]

I meet Nick Cave at Terminal 5. We were both on the same flight to Stuttgart, him going to play a festival and me to Legoland Germany (work related). I got his autograph for the wife. He signed my copy of Q which had him in it. I was in a Stereophonics tribute band and we were followed on stage by The Nolans, complete with younger daughter & Niece - with 2 of the original members. I managed to get a photo with them in their dressing room as we knew the guy who was doing their backing tracks. [attachment=44683:nowlans_4.jpg]

Are you gonna go my way - Lenny Kravitz Rocking!!!

That's a great service story. Others could be be really funny if you didn't check the contents first, even if they delivered to the wrong address. Adrian is a top bloke. I live in Torbay and have seen loads of music shops come and go. Exeter is the nearest city and Mansons has a huge reputation and are always worth going to.

[quote name='mep' post='765562' date='Mar 5 2010, 08:10 PM']Here are some photos with the G string more over the pole. The bits of plastic are not easy to see, which is what I intended. One more tip is to roll off the bass eq a bit. If you can't increase the level of the G string much then at least try this. I also wonder if different strings make any difference, as old ones certainly do. I'm going to have another go at pushing down the pole pieces as suggested by funkgod after reading a bit more about it. I guess I was to delicate at first and couldn't get them to move. Won't have a chance to try it out at a practice or gig for a week ot two.[/quote] Well, I managed to lower the 4 middle poles as funkgod recommended. I managed to do it with the pup in place! Now the poles are pretty much flush with the pup and I have adjusted the pup height so suit. I have a Trace head and the G string is showing a good input level and matches the A & D. The E is allways a bit louder. Combined with my string alignment and new strings it feels and sounds fantastic. I can't wait to gig my refreshed Ray. Funkgod, add me to the list of satisfied bassists. Thanks a lot!!

Let's get back on track after I mentioned Jeff Berlin! Look out for Stu doing a Beatles meets Beethoven piece - Mind blowing.

[quote name='green' post='764530' date='Mar 4 2010, 10:00 PM']mep, let us know if it worked. and if it did, could you please post a closeup photo of your bridge after your modification ?[/quote] Here are some photos with the G string more over the pole. The bits of plastic are not easy to see, which is what I intended. One more tip is to roll off the bass eq a bit. If you can't increase the level of the G string much then at least try this. I also wonder if different strings make any difference, as old ones certainly do. I'm going to have another go at pushing down the pole pieces as suggested by funkgod after reading a bit more about it. I guess I was to delicate at first and couldn't get them to move. Won't have a chance to try it out at a practice or gig for a week ot two. [attachment=44218:MM_Bridge_012.jpg] [attachment=44220:MM_Bridge_015.jpg]

I've started to use my Aria Pro 2 SB600 fretless again for a few songs. It's easy to get stuck into the chorus laden slow song with vibrato and gliss, and I am guilty of this on our version of Angels when we do it (not very often). I have looked at other songs and the lovely organic tone I get out of mine with it's Seymour Duncan Basslines passive pickup makes for a great change in tone and feel. Mixed with an ocatver (no chorus - I promise) and you can get deep synth like sound. I use nickel coated roundwounds. It's a very inspirational instrument that gives you a different perspective on playing and coming up with basslines. I'm suprised no one has uploaded any photos, so here's mine. [attachment=44122:aria_006.jpg] [attachment=44123:aria_005.jpg] [attachment=44124:aria_015.jpg]

What about the Ashdown Envelope Filter. I read a review and it's the business, and their best pedal. [url="http://www.ashdownmusic.com/bass/detail.asp?ID=154"]http://www.ashdownmusic.com/bass/detail.asp?ID=154[/url]

I went to one he did in Exeter that Mansons organised last year with 2 of my students. What a great night, and what a great guy. He tells some great stories and plays some wonderful bass. It's all solo stuff with no backing. He seems to have a bit of a grudge with Jeff Berlin!. Go if you can. You won't regret it. Oh & ask him about Jeff if he throws in a few comments.

[quote name='farmer61' post='763818' date='Mar 4 2010, 11:57 AM']Only issue I can see is Sweet Child as I believe it's downtuned on the E?[/quote] Good luck with that one at short notice. It's a great bass line, but not easy at first.

I was looking at my 4 string Ray last night. I changed the strings to Roto Nickels which sound and feel great. I didn't have too much luck with Funkgods idea of removing pup and pushing the 4 middle poles dosn and re-installing with the G string end set higher. What I have noticed is that my G string is not central to the poles. The bridge and string saddle design has changed over the years (well documented on the web). I therefore forced my D & G string saddles over by inserting a small folded strip of plastic between the circular ends of the saddles. The G saddle is now as far over as it can go and is stopped by the circular piece next to it. This looks discreet and has made a bit of a difference to the G string. I need to try it out in a gig setting to see if it really works, but for now I'm happy.

[quote name='Bassman68' post='760066' date='Feb 28 2010, 07:34 PM']Trace are notorious for under-rating their outputs especially in their earlier models i.e MKIV, V'S & 6's! Find one of these models & you're on to a winner.[/quote] I have had my Series 6 AH200 GP12 head for years now, mostly coupled with various 152 cabs. The sound is huge and rarely do I turn up more than 1.5. I now use 2 cabs as a mini stack so it's runing at 4 ohms. There are always some on ebay, and you can get a good head from that era for around £200 or so, dependinh on wattage. There is a venue near us with their own backline. For bass it an AH350 GP7 head with built in compression and a Trace 15" cab with horn (i think). Great acoustics on stage and it sounded the nuts.

[quote name='funkgod' post='758098' date='Feb 26 2010, 12:22 PM']take the pick up out you can leave it connected THE 4 middle poles WILL push down, the 4 outside ones WONT push up because of the coil tensions at the ends, the middle ones will do it slow then when you put it back you can raise the pick up. JOB DONE And remember you heared it here first folks, (or mabe not)[/quote] Definitely worth a try.

I've suffered this for sometime now on my 2 band Ray 4 string. There is a lot of stuff on the net and EB are really funny about it by all accounts and swear there is no problem. It seems to be in the neck design. Mine is quite bad now and it's probably down to old strings. I have a new set of Roto Nickels ready to try for the first time. I have noticed that it is usually ok if you go through a PA as well. Other options to improve it are: Adjust the neck and tighten up the truss rod - helped a bit. Use compression - hasn't made much difference. Add mass to the headstock with a Fat Finger - helped a bit. Sounds the nuts on a Jazz by the way. Adjusting the pup - too high over the G and it get's in the way of your fingers, so not much scope there. Turn down the bass eq, helps a bit. This whole issue has been getting on my nerves and I have started using my Charvel as my main gigging bass again. This bass has no problem what so ever and the G is super strong. In fact I would consider selling my Ray cos of this and getting something else such as a Lakland or something, which would be shame as I love everything else about it. Now let's see about those strings - it's worked for others.

I will always check out the gear on stage, but keep it discreet. I'm not one for talking gear with others much, but will talk the talk with someone who approaches me as I don't want them thinking I'm that ignorant arse in the band - that's the singers job. Love the term 'Gearstalker'!

[quote name='Rimskidog' post='755620' date='Feb 23 2010, 10:52 PM']That was all good until this point: Carpet sucks the high frequencies out of a room and makes it sound even more dull and boxlike than it already is. Carpet is bad. As for eggboxes, well, their great... for holding eggs. As acoustic treatment they are hopeless (if not worse). Am happy to provide advice on acoustic treatment on down the line as required. Much of the requirement for acoustic treeatment will be reduced if you get the design right from the outset.[/quote] That was the cheap and nasty option for reducing reverb. What's a good option, is it the pointy foam on the walls? as it's about deflecting the sound path. My comment about the roof being the same as the walls was to use plasterboard and insulation behind, not additional carpet and egg boxes. I suppose the thing about reverb is to see what you are dealing with when the room is kitted out and then make any provisions to deal with it effectively. I'm sure you'll get some good advice on dowm the line.

[quote name='51m0n' post='754171' date='Feb 22 2010, 06:25 PM']Rule 1 Its all about mass - 2 or 3 layers of plasterboard on the inner wall each layer at rightangles to the last Rule 2 No Gaps. Absolutely none, sound will get out of any gaps you have, so each layer of plasterboard needs to be fully caulked and glued (green goop stuff is good) Rule 3 HEAVY doors, two of them, sealed Rule 4 Things like airflow, power etc require proper thought so buy the book above! Rule 5 You know its right when people are asphyxiated inside.... Rule 6 Talk to Rimskidog on here he knows a thing or two about building [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=49754&hl="]live rooms[/url]. [url="http://www.avforums.com/"]AV forums[/url] are an absolute gold mine of great info and clever people.[/quote] Good stuff here. Couple of extra points. The layers of plasterboard need to overlap so the joints are not in the same place. I think that what he was getting at. Use British Gypsum SoundBloc and/or Plank plasterboard. Put some proper acoustic insulation behind the plasterboard. Rockwool slab or similar, do not use thermal insulation like in your loft. Set your new walls off from the existing ones at least 50mm and only fix the studs to the floor and roof. You can run your services in this gap. If you have space set the shorter ends walls at an angle less than 90 degrees to the long ones to reduce reverberation. You will still need to reduce reverberation with all that hard plasterboard. Cheap options are areas of carpet or egg boxes. Don't forget about the roof, do the same as the walls.

I help out with backing vocal duties in our band along with the drummer. Although sometimes it more like backing shouting! Who else does and what songs do you like singing. How do you get on, it's easier than doing the main vocal line. Can you harmonize? Some fav's of mine over the years are, to name but a few: Any Oasis song Buzzcocks - Ever fallen in love REM - The one i love Kasabian - Fire Stevie Ray Vaughan - House is rocking Stereophonics - Just looking Beastie Boys - Fight for your right The Beatles - Twist & shout The foundations - Build me up buttercup Primal Scream - Rocks ACDC - long way to the top Kenny Loggins - Footloose

[quote name='EdwardHimself' post='754805' date='Feb 23 2010, 11:02 AM']nice. Unforturnately you have made one erronious assumption, that is the assumption that i have loads of money. Y'know if i did have loadsamoney then i'd have done a much better job of it but as it is i didn't.[/quote] I don't blame you for spending your cash on what really matters - your equipment. Anything else is a bonus. Presumably your neighbours are either deaf, like your music or can't hear you.