Earbrass

Hi, I'm a (not-intensively) gigging London bassist, playing in an originals band. When I joined them I thought I'd best get "tooled up" up bought myself a MarkBass 121P combo, as the lightest, most portable gig-worthy rig I could find at the time. That was about 18 months ago, and I've never once had to use the amp. Every rehearsal room we've booked has had a bass amp provided, and every gig we've played has had amps / drumkit provided by the promoter. I'm now wondering if I should sell the combo, as it seems a shame to have it sitting in the corner "just in case" - especially as it's the most valuable bit of music kit I own. May not apply to you if you're playing in a covers/function type band: "originals" gigs, if you're unknowns like us, tend to involve 5 or more bands on the same bill, so they don't have time to swap out all the gear, or the space to hold 5 bands' amps and drumkits.

Purcell - Dido and Aeneas - and it's just coming up to the best bit.

[quote name='silddx' post='735159' date='Feb 4 2010, 03:49 PM']It is media and manufacturer bullshit and player insecurity, mostly, that dictates buying habits. It creates a sustainable industry.[/quote] Truer than a true thing on National Truth day. Just say no to GAS - it's addictive and it doesn't get you anywhere - just a temporary high, then you're back wanting your next fix.

[quote name='Tait' post='735105' date='Feb 4 2010, 02:57 PM']in all fairness, i've listened to the other bands on myspace and stuff and they seem like decent bands.[/quote] I wonder if they'll sound as good without a drumkit.

[quote name='derrenleepoole' post='734937' date='Feb 4 2010, 12:18 PM']All available from [url="http://www.playawayguitars.com/play_away_guitars_shop.php?itemID=547"]Playaway Guitars[/url] - they have a used section too [/quote] Really like the look of the F-Light bass....but way too pricey for my taste.

[quote name='obbm' post='731777' date='Feb 1 2010, 02:51 PM']The solution has been a Precision body, Jazz neck with PJ pick-ups. Deep growl and ticks all the boxes.[/quote] Yup, that's the ideal combination I think. [quote name='obbm' post='731777' date='Feb 1 2010, 02:51 PM']Oh but it's not a Fender, its a Lakland.[/quote] ...or a Peavey Zodiac BXP. And had it been a pound lighter, I'd still have mine....

Hi, You could try asking this at [url="http://forums.rolandclan.info/"]http://forums.rolandclan.info/[/url] There are often Roland reps lurking, and they can be very helpful. Regards, E

There's a bass failure in the Stones' 'Let It Bleed'; I seem to remember the bass jumping up to the III chord late on one verse. Also the early Dylan albums are full of band mistakes.

Of, course, this is just the prototype; the production model will have seven strings.

[quote name='hillbilly deluxe' post='718699' date='Jan 20 2010, 08:16 AM']Have you heard his old band ? Aphrodities Child.Demis played bass,and did the vocals.[/quote] ...with Vangelis (Papathanassiou) on keys. Check out their album '666'. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=selfqEH-JnY"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=selfqEH-JnY[/url]

I have two Peavey Milestone III's - my only 2 basses. Not quite identical as one's red and one's sunburst.

[quote name='Earbrass' post='710167' date='Jan 12 2010, 04:22 PM']Could be worse - suppose you'd taken up collecting Faberge eggs instead.[/quote] [quote name='Sarah5string' post='710169' date='Jan 12 2010, 04:23 PM']I have *some* taste you know [/quote] You're right, they're rubbish. I'm holding out for a Faberge chicken.

[quote name='Sarah5string' post='710147' date='Jan 12 2010, 04:10 PM']I nip into local guitar shop for 'a few little bits' and end up spending £47. And they didn't even have 5 string strings in, so it would've been even worse!! Anybody fancy lending me a tenner? [/quote] Could be worse - suppose you'd taken up collecting Faberge eggs instead.

[quote name='Dom in Somerset' post='708757' date='Jan 11 2010, 01:05 PM']Lemmy's playing on Hawkwind's Space Ritual album.[/quote] +1, also John Wetton's stint with King Crimson.

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='707985' date='Jan 10 2010, 06:38 PM']To use the Clarkson analogy, if you were in a top function band at a London glitterati party and you were trying to impress Kiera Knightly, you wouldn't be playing a bass like that. [/quote] If you were out to impress Kiera Knightly at a London glitterati party, you wouldn't be playing bass in the function band. You might as well be one of the waiters.

If you enjoyed that, you should check out the Tribal Planet gigbag "tests" performed by the Music Room online: eg: [url="http://www.youtube.com/user/TheMusicRoomOnline#p/u/4/HSUAo-dkHpM"]http://www.youtube.com/user/TheMusicRoomOn...u/4/HSUAo-dkHpM[/url] [url="http://www.youtube.com/user/TheMusicRoomOnline#p/u/5/lXh1fjeh15Y"]http://www.youtube.com/user/TheMusicRoomOn...u/5/lXh1fjeh15Y[/url]

I think the only time I've felt emotionally upset at the death of someone I didn't know personally was when John Peel died - and that was more about missing him from R4's Home Truths than for anything to do with music.

Cheers Geoff, I'll give that a go. [quote name='geoffbyrne' post='688173' date='Dec 18 2009, 11:03 AM']- if the string/scale length is too long, the note would be flat - not sharp.[/quote] Yes, the open string is a wee bit flat compared to the fretted notes - so if I tune the open string to E, the fretted notes become slightly sharp in comparison, whereas if I tune the fretted notes correctly, the open string is flat. Hope that makes sense! Regards, Earbrass

Ha, yeah it is a bit weird. The action was very high - about 5mm: I've lowered it to about 3.5, which has helped. It just seems that there's still more than a semi-tone difference between the open string and the note on the first fret, which I'm struggling to understand. Had a band practice last night, and I think the error is small enough to get away with in a band context, especially as I rarely play the E string above the 4th fret anyway. I'll think about taking it to a tech once this gig is over. Thanks for your thoughts. E

Hi, I tried to check/set the intonation on my bass last night, and was having big problems getting the E string right - however far back I moved the bridge saddle, the note at the 12th fret remained obstinately sharp. Eventually I realised that when the open E string was in tune, the notes on [b]all[/b] the frets were sharp, and by about the same amount. No problem on the other strings. I checked these results with 2 electronic tuners, so its not "tuner error". I tried changing the E string for a new one, but the problem remained unchanged. I can have all the fretted notes in tune, or the open string in tune, but not both. The only explanation I can come up with is that the length of string between the first fret and the point in the nut from where the string starts to vibrate freely is too long: I can't see any damage to the nut, but perhaps the bed of the slot is not even, and the string is vibrating from a point within the slot rather than the "bridge-end" edge of the nut? Is that possible? Should I try gently filing the slot to make sure it's even? I'm a bit non-plussed as I have a gig tomorrow night, and don't want to do anything that could make things worse or cause another problem. I'm not the world's greatest with tools of any kind, and am a bit nervous about trying out a new (to me) procedure. Any ideas or suggestions? Thanks! Earbrass

[quote name='YouMa' post='683540' date='Dec 13 2009, 11:31 PM']I cant believe he went on the program, more dignity lost....Just not cool.[/quote] I don't think Macca and cool have been on nodding terms for some decades. (Mull of Kintyre? Frog chorus? Band on the Run?)