LawrenceH

I've never tried the P, but not had any problems with the E string volume on my J and I am relatively picky about these things. I think it's currently wearing D'Addarios. The stock pickups are very fat sounding, it has the 'thickest' tone of any of my basses with a lot of low-mid punch.

Hi all I had a Deep Impact a while ago. It was ok. Tracked well, and had a couple of useable voice settings, but having been a keys player in a former musical incarnation and done a fair bit of synth tinkering as part of that, sound quality and tonal flexibility were nowhere near even a modest analogue (or VA) synth so I sold it on and don't miss it. But, I would still love to be able to play a decent synth via bass rather than keyboard. My ideal would be something fairly straightforwardly giggable, so compact, reliable and tweakable in real-time - obviously not wanting or expecting the full front panel of an Andromeda on there but an ability to use controller info eg to tweak filters or LFOs would be good. Is there anyone in basschat land who's using midi or similar systems to do this, and does anyone have any recommendations? I am totally out of touch with the synth market but it seems there are loads of small synths that might fill this function nowadays, if I could get a pickup system working which is also something I've no experience with. At the moment this is a bit of a pipedream but if it seems feasible and not outrageously expensive then I would be keen to take it further, I have a spare bass body that could serve as a test site.

[quote name='cheddatom' timestamp='1351588588' post='1852849'] was anyone else using effects on bass like LG before he did it? [/quote] What about the heavy bass fuzz on the Beatles' 'Think For Yourself' in 1965?

It's all a bit silly really isn't it? Bass just doesn't have an equivalent figure to Hendrix because it's not normally a lead instrument in pop and rock. Jaco was on the jazz scene so very different. Closest to Hendrix in terms of changing the way people played? Maybe Jamerson, but he was hardly a pioneer of the possibilities of electrified sound - OTOH Hendrix did that, the fact it was on guitar is almost secondary.

Had to put decent headphones on to hear anything of the bass, not much going on above 400Hz there - but he articulates very clearly as a player, lovely smooth technique. I expect it sounded a lot different in the room when you could feel that low end thump. Nice band and really entertaining performers, but like Eddie I didn't like the bass & drum groove much; felt it didn't go anywhere without being funky enough to justify staying where it was. The patterns in the bass line feel like about 4 different standard/cliche R&B runs sped up and put on shuffle, got a bit frustrating quite quickly. Can see why people like it though, it's indecently tight!

Yup it's come up on another thread that Simon and I've both commented on, and I think it's a fairly regular issue - those filters are powerful but not well understood and I think Markbass missed a trick by making them so the notch in the knob doesn't sit at 12 when they're off! From previous comments I'm sure a lot of people have been put off Markbass, without realising the filters were frying the sound at what looks like a default setting. Anyway, I hope it has helped!

[quote name='Ed_S' timestamp='1351188884' post='1848512'] I always finish with them off, too! [/quote] Hah, 9 times out of 10 so do I!

Make sure those markbass filters are off - the VPF particularly! Off is fully anticlockwise, NOT 12 o clock. The VPF filter cut sits right around the first harmonics of the upper string upper notes, too much of that and it'll suck the volume right out.

[quote name='51m0n' timestamp='1351164490' post='1848076'] Wow [b]massive[/b] overuse of the VLE and VPF in here. [/quote] Totally agree! I always start with these off. The VPF is quite useful in moderation for getting the sound a bit 'tighter' - as well as the low-mid scoop it has the effect of tilting the overall response towards the treble. A little bit reminiscent of SWR. I like Markbass stuff but I do think the centres on their hi-mid and treble control leave an annoying gap in an important tonal region, right across the resonance peak of a typical pickup.

Bloody love this band! Assumed it was a 'Ric' but tbh don't know what I've based that on other than the cover art - never played one so not familiar with the sound, just know I can't get there with any bass I've owned regardless of what EQ I set. For the bass, the first two albums are great but I think my favourite overall is 'Out of Here', beautifully constructed. Glad I'm not the only one who still listens to this band

I have also found that it's typically in the lower mids, and that it's easily audible - I've used foam under monitors on numerous occasions and a couple of times I've had the time to experiment with and without. On a particularly resonant wooden stage (with a microphone that's not directly mounted on the stage on a rigid stand, removing that from the equation) I've gained greater than 6dB before feedback when ringing out, centred around 315Hz. The audible effect is consistent with what the 31-band graphic suggests; a 'tighter', more coherent sound.

Sorry Bill but you're still wrong about this. Count Bassy understands and has said much the same thing as me but expanded on the role of mass. A speaker cone vibrates, that creates the pressure waves in the first place. Now, third law of motion. It's not '95% acoustic 5% mechanical' it's 95+% heat, the rest mechanical. That mechanical energy will be distributed between the cone and the magnet/frame/whatever that's attached to.

[quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' timestamp='1350996408' post='1845970'] Point of fact: Unless the cab is defectively constructed there's no such thing as mechanical coupling. That phenomenon can only occur if the cab walls flex [/quote] With all due respect, that's not correct. A diamond stylus is extremely rigid and makes a great mechanical coupler. Mechanical force can either be transferred, or converted e.g. to heat. With a rigid body it is being transferred, to the floor in this case. [quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' timestamp='1350998366' post='1846002'] Since the cone is isolated from the cabinet by the driver suspension the effect of the feedback loop isn't severe, but it's there. [/quote] The force is generated in the motor. That includes the magnet, which is rigidly attached to the cab. Newton's third law - the force transmits into the cab as well as the cone. Efficient transfer of energy by a lightweight but rigid cab (without damping) will give greater vibration transfer to a resonant body like the floor. Mass greatly increases the force required to produce a noticeable reaction. This is secondary school physics in action!

I reckon it's sometimes worth having something without back windows or it's blindingly obvious a vehicle's full of valuable kit. But perhaps a van's even more of a target, the lure of the unknown? We've had a Vauxhall Combo before and that seemed decent enough, really good fuel economy too.

[quote name='brensabre79' timestamp='1350993932' post='1845926'] I guess I'm asking how is it going to be different to a stand (or a beer crate etc.) in terms of a solution to the problem? [/quote] Because foam is a better mechanical decoupler than a solid stand. Having said that, I've used offcuts of fairly stiff packing foam under monitor speakers etc for years and they work just as well as 'acoustic' foam in this application.

What about the issue that electric bass isn't a 'classical' instrument (and has very little in the way of established solo repertoire)? Drums have a lot of formal military stuff at its foundation, guitar has a strong classical/Spansh tradition, but e-bass started as either guitarists, or jazzers coming from upright.

[quote name='skej21' timestamp='1350769112' post='1843396'] I think the point has been missed here. The idea is that you start spot sight reading after the aforementioned 'chunking' has been done... I think the point Bilbo and I were making is that exposure to lots of new material after 'chunking' may be a more natural (and familiar) way to quickly develop reading skills. [/quote] I understood the point, but myself meant that 'chunking', as far as I understand, is not something you learn, master and finish - it is a continual process that gets ever-more refined as you integrate more complex groups (or you plateau and don't get any better at reading). I imagine different strategies for this suit different people. Practicing at tempo and not going back is a different thing but in a way easier, in that you can happily continually fumble the same types of thing unless you go back and work out what's going on. I must say though, I've never read on bass! Had my fill on piano

[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1350757689' post='1843236'] Lol. Coffin dodgers? Anyone over 45? We play all those. In fact loads of them get requested. Next time you're in a pub with a jukebox listen to what the punters are choosing (and paying!) to put on. [/quote] I guess it depends which pubs you go to, whether the punters are stuck 50, 40 or 'only' 30 years in the past

[quote name='Doddy' timestamp='1350750141' post='1843072'] It is,but I can honestly say that I've never practiced 'sight reading' once. The ability came from reading and fixing mistakes so that next time I see a particular note or rhythm,I can play it. I've never made a difference between 'reading' and 'sight reading'. [/quote] I agree with this totally - for most people (non-dyslexics) reading words, we get faster by by learning to recognise whole sets of words and phrases rather than spelling out each letter. In psychology this is called 'chunking'.

Hmm, I had an Ashdown Perfect 10 as part of a trade - muddiest, worst bass sound I've ever heard, awful at any volume. If you're looking to spend that kind of money then I'd assume it's for sound quality? Which is why I think the ultimate could be a great preamp/headphone setup, perhaps with a rumble pack to help 'feel' the bass. But at the lower end of the combo market the Roland stuff with built-in modelling is hard to beat for versatility of sound.

Can I ask whether these are with the Celestion Orange or Green label speakers? Also, what's the 'bass trap'?

Maybe I've missed it but I can't see 'Play that funky music' on any list so far? Been a LONG while since I heard a functions band that didn't play that one...

The AER really is an excellent performer - whether it's enough for gigs depends on what type of gig! But I've been at plenty as a punter where the AER was the only source for bass guitar and it has done the job and IMO sounded good to boot. It doesn't defy physics but I think it's well designed and contains a fair amount of electronics to make optimal use of the power/volume available. If you think how much 'punchier' and subjectively louder recorded music can sound through a given PA system than a live band, then it's clear there's a lot of potential - if you like the tonal changes that come with it, that's another matter (eg I don't like the TC heads much).

An SWR Marcus Miller pre-amp, some high-end open backed headphones and a little Yamaha mixer.

[quote name='muttley' timestamp='1350459701' post='1839025'] In the old days the formula for Xmax was often (coil length - front plate thickness)/2, sometimes adding a fudge factor "for good measure". Nowadays, with sophisticated kit like the Klippel distortion analyser there are various ways in which it can be quoted, for example within a certain % of max Bl (motor force) or shove factor (Bl[sup]2[/sup]/Re) or % THD. [/quote] Trouble is we don't have access to all the data to compare different drivers, and even then it's arguable which is the 'best' method though a lot of work recently seems to have been done on linearising BL curve across the operating range. Certainly can't account for all these in the small signal-based programs used by DIY-ers to simulate loudspeaker behaviour. Ears are a much cheaper and quicker way of gauging things! [quote name='bremen' timestamp='1350466162' post='1839124'] Trace 4 by 10s use Beta 10s, am I right? [/quote] Dunno what they use nowadays but Trace certainly used to use Celestion