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I'm a big fan of the Dunlop Ultex picks, the heavy ones. They don't snap like a lot of other picks, and they wear down very slowly. In other news: I just bought the zVex Mastotron. Holy poo poo!
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Apr 7, 2011 15:14
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I model my picking after Phil Lesh and Mike Gordon. I use the CoolCell by Cool Music Inc. 100% celluloid, have a more unique rubbery feel that I think gives a great sound. Kind of a *doink*, especially when combined with some groundwound strings. http://www.coolmusicinc.com/
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Apr 7, 2011 15:26
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betterinsodapop posted:I'm a big fan of the Dunlop Ultex picks, the heavy ones. They don't snap like a lot of other picks, and they wear down very slowly. Holy poo poo is right. I love that thing.
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Apr 7, 2011 15:32
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Scarf posted:I model my picking after Phil Lesh and Mike Gordon. I use the CoolCell by Cool Music Inc. 100% celluloid, have a more unique rubbery feel that I think gives a great sound. Kind of a *doink*, especially when combined with some groundwound strings. I don't know much about either the Dead or Phish. What's unique about their picking style? I'm still trying to get a hang of basic alternate picking.
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Apr 7, 2011 15:49
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TyChan posted:I don't know much about either the Dead or Phish. What's unique about their picking style? It's kinda hard to describe. At least with Mike, it seems more like the emphasis is on the up-pick rather than the down-pick. That could just be my imagination, but that's what I pull from it. He also carries a pretty strong grip on it, doesn't really hold it like a guitarist. Kinda keeps a clinched fist. I guess most of what I pull from them both is more just their melodic style rather than their actual pick technique. But yeah, when I'm picking, I'm usually thinking What Would Mike Do? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AM2dqCEDW1o&t=52s
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Apr 7, 2011 16:00
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It's taken me a long time to figure out how to get the sound I want while playing pickstyle. I actually prefer the sound of a bass played fingerstyle, but I prefer the technique of using a pick. The solution that worked for me was to switch to flatwound strings, which cut a lot of the excessive brightness of rounds played pickstyle, and change my EQ settings so I'm cutting bass and adding low mids to compensate for the inherent bassiness of flats. I play in a loud 4 piece rock band and I can get pretty close to the Geezer Butler "WHOMP" sound from Master of Reality, which fits perfectly between the kick drum and guitars.
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Apr 8, 2011 02:13
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I almost always play fingers but occasionally I get the need to play some fast sludge/punk and my picking technique for those times is pretty much "beat the hell out of the strings".
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Apr 8, 2011 03:59
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Upright/Double Bass – Starting Out I have a burning desire to learn the upright bass. I’ve already got some lessons lined up, but I haven’t done anything in the way of purchasing the instrument. I have a few questions, and I couldn’t find anything double bass related in Musician’s Lounge, this megathread was the closest thing. What are some good beginner brands? Should I rent or purchase? Should I just start out with an electric upright? I can see the advantages being portability and noise reduction i.e. just plugging in headphones or an amp. Not having to worry too much about temperature fluctuations affecting the wood of an acoustic double bass etc. I think eventually I’d like to play possibly in a jazz/classical format. Do people often do both? Or is it impossible to divide your time effectively between the two styles? I would like to be able to play Jurrasic Park then throw aside my strumming wand and start plucking away. I could just be living in a fantasy realm, but this appeals immensely. any help would be appreaciated.
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Apr 8, 2011 04:53
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DrDraxium posted:Upright/Double Bass – Starting Out Last question first, absolutely. Especially because both are now offered in academic settings, at least from my experience, it's usually weirder if a jazz player doesn't double in classical as well. Definitely purchase. Shen basses are usually the best entry level bass for the money, but the key to having a GREAT beginner bass and a POS is the quality of the bass, but also getting a GOOD LUTHIER. Do you know any people in the area? Can you ask your instructor where they get a good luthier? You could start out on electric although I know most upright bass players would advise against it. Part of why I play upright is because I don't need power to play, it's kinda liberating. It's a characteristic of the instrument.
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Apr 8, 2011 05:23
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DrDraxium posted:Upright/Double Bass – Starting Out I have never rented, but a non-lovely instrument helps A LOT. It really depends on your budget. I would recommend you spend AT LEAST 2 grand (US dollars) on an upright, but it would be better if you could get past 3,000. If you can't afford that, renting may be a better option. I would recommend that you don't go to MusiciansFriend.com or something like that for a new instrument - from my experience they aren't worth what you have to pay for them. Try to find a bass luthier in your area. They know far more than me and can give you good advice on what to look for, plus they usually have a decent inventory of uprights. My personal opinion on electric uprights, or EUBs, is that they are the spawn of Satan and should disappear. The scale length is wrong, so your intonation will be terrible. If you want a portable bass with upright qualities, either get a fretless or make do with a real upright. From my experience, doubling on both styles is quite common, as is doubling on electric and upright. I do jazz and classical, but I lean quite a bit towards jazz. If you do play classical, you will need a decent bow. I use a carbon fiber bow myself, which are not too much more expensive than a decent beginner bow. I saw a violin playing friend snap his $1400 bow's tip after dropping it from an inch off the ground, so carbon fiber looks quite attractive due to the fact that it can't do that. I paid about $325 for mine, but my luthier increased prices since then. Your mileage may vary. You will need to practice at least 50% more to work on both styles, maybe up to double the practice time, but it is quite common to play multiple styles.
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Apr 8, 2011 05:34
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CaseFace McGee posted:My personal opinion on electric uprights, or EUBs, is that they are the spawn of Satan and should disappear. The scale length is wrong, so your intonation will be terrible. If you want a portable bass with upright qualities, either get a fretless or make do with a real upright. There are plenty of EUB's with the scale length of a 3/4 size upright. The NS NXT, for example, has a 41.73" scale. My 3/4 size Englehart was 41.5".
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Apr 8, 2011 05:51
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Noise Machine posted:Last question first, absolutely. Especially because both are now offered in academic settings, at least from my experience, it's usually weirder if a jazz player doesn't double in classical as well. Awesome to hear. Obviously I am a long way from learning one of those styles, let alone both, but it’s very heartening to hear that it’s a common thing, as both worlds of music appeal to me greatly. My friends are starting up a bluegrass/jazz fusion sort of band, so I guess I’d focus on jazz technique for the live stuff and keep classical for my own enjoyment. Anyway, enough fluff. I checked it out http://www.uptonbass.com/SB80-SHEN-BASS-Samuel-Shen-Double-Bass/ which looks perfect. Pricey of course, but I see the slapping down of $1500USD as a meagre amount considering the emotional/mental investment I’m making for my future. I didn’t know what a luthier was until the last three posts above, but I will certainly have a chat to the instructor on my first night. It was difficult enough finding someone in Adelaide, South Australia who gave lessons in upright/double bass. Whilst on the subject, there seems to be a divide on the nomenclature of double vs upright. I think I prefer upright, because it can’t be mistaken for the “double bass” technique of drumming. I assume in a band/ensemble situation the acoustic bass would be amplified by a simple mic -> amplifier setup so it wasn’t drowned out by all the other instruments? CaseFace McGee posted:I have never rented, but a non-lovely instrument helps A LOT. It really depends on your budget. I would recommend you spend AT LEAST 2 grand (US dollars) on an upright, but it would be better if you could get past 3,000. If you can't afford that, renting may be a better option. I would recommend that you don't go to MusiciansFriend.com or something like that for a new instrument - from my experience they aren't worth what you have to pay for them. Try to find a bass luthier in your area. They know far more than me and can give you good advice on what to look for, plus they usually have a decent inventory of uprights. Wow I can’t believe bows are so expensive. All of this is completely new to me, in case you couldn’t tell through my more-than-likely naïve questions thus far. Good to hear another chime in on the dual-classing approach. Thanks for the help so far guys.
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Apr 8, 2011 07:31
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Could somebody give me a quick rundown or a link to some brief, layman-oriented site about bass amplification? Even though I've played bass for a while, I didn't start playing in a band until last summer. So, this far I've been using some 100 watt Fender solid-state amp from the 90s that happened to be lying around at the rehearsal place but would want to upgrade now. My budget is around 600 euros / dollars and I'm looking for something that would be loud enough for both bar and bigger gigs. I know that amps are often micced and thus played through PAs but I don't think a 300 - 400 watt amp would hurt. So, what kind of head + cab combinations, solid-states or hybrids would you recommend? I'm looking for a vintageish, warm sound since the stuff we're playing is a mix between 70s rock n' roll and some funky vibrations. Sterile and cold tones are the bane of my ears. I know that with 600 euros my choices are more than limited but I guess I'm not looking for 2000 dollar Ampegs or anything like that. Some stuff I've considered: Ashdown 550 W 2X10 Combo Spyder Marshall MB4210 450 W or Kustom DE 300 HD head (I've heard both good and bad stuff about this one) with Kustom DE410H cab Also, Ashdown has a few budget-priced heads and cabs I've been thinking. These Loving Eyes fucked around with this message at 12:30 on Apr 8, 2011 |
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Apr 8, 2011 12:14
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DrDraxium posted:I checked it out http://www.uptonbass.com/SB80-SHEN-BASS-Samuel-Shen-Double-Bass/ which looks perfect. Pricey of course, but I see the slapping down of $1500USD as a meagre amount considering the emotional/mental investment I’m making for my future. While some players (Larry Grenadier, for instance) do clamp a mic to the double bass, it's more common to get a pickup because of the horrific fiddliness of such a setup. The most popular either sit under the bridge or replace one of the bride adjusters. You shouldn't just get an electric bass amp, either, buy a double bass amp, but hold off on that and the pickup until you're actually playing in groups that need it. A decent bow is a way better investment. I paid roughly what CaseFace McGee paid for my carbon fiber bow, and it was a huge improvement over the ~100 dollar bow I had been using. Even if you only wanted to play jazz, the bow is essential for work on intonation. Good luck, follow this through. It's totally worth it. Oh and a player I know learned for a couple of years on AlterEgo EUB before upgrading to a beautiful fully carved La Scala: http://www.newstandardbass.com/lascala.htm She said the transition was seamless, so it is a viable route. In my opinion, though, an EUB seems like too large an investment, since a good entry-level double bass will run you only a little more.
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Apr 8, 2011 13:52
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Maybe this is an opportune time to ask - has anyone here had any experience with the Ashbory? You know, that incredibly stupid looking dog-bone-shaped thing with rubber strings? I've been sort of fascinated by it for a couple years. I think I have a thing for terrible-looking instruments with huge sound. I mean, come on.
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Apr 8, 2011 14:07
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DrDraxium posted:I checked it out http://www.uptonbass.com/SB80-SHEN-BASS-Samuel-Shen-Double-Bass/ which looks perfect. Pricey of course, but I see the slapping down of $1500USD as a meagre amount considering the emotional/mental investment I’m making for my future. That looks to be better quality than the basses that I have found in that range, that should suit you well for a starter instrument. DrDraxium posted:I assume in a band/ensemble situation the acoustic bass would be amplified by a simple mic -> amplifier setup so it wasn’t drowned out by all the other instruments? In an ideal world, the bass is probably using a dual input of pickup and microphone. In most cases, bassists just use a pickup. My bass instructor, luthier, and high school orchestra teacher all recommended me the Fishman Full Circle pickup, which is roughly 200 bucks. The David Gage Realist is also an excellent pickup for a similar price. There are cheaper pickups out there, but from my experience they have abysmal tone. I have A/B'ed my Full Circle against another guy's budget pickup through my Ampeg BA210 combo (which is surprisingly good for upright) and I could not get anything good out of his bass, while mine was reproduced accurately and clearly. A quality bow is quite expensive. You can probably find a used bow for cheaper. I think of my bow as an investment - my bow will never need to be replaced, just have to rehair every once in a while. Your luthier or instructor can probably point you in the right direction to find something in your budget range. Seconding that you look into a bow before a pickup. You will find a lot of use from the bow before your skills develop to the point where you can use a pickup. The Science Goy fucked around with this message at 16:03 on Apr 8, 2011 |
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Apr 8, 2011 15:56
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Cross posting from Effects and Chain Recommendation thread After running straight into my amp for several classic rock/jazzy sets I'm back to using effects. I decided to rip everything off the pedalboard and play around with the order of the pedals. I'm currently playing an alt/indie 3 piece so I'm responsible for a lot of different sounds that we come up with. Especially since our guitarist plays keys sometimes and I need to keep the grit of the song going. Current setup Spector Euro 4LX \/ Genz Benz Shuttle 9.0 \/ Effects Loop Send \/ Boss TU-2 Tuner (I know I have a tuner out, I just don't want another cable to deal with. If this is insane, let me know.) \/ Boss LMB-3 Limiter/Enhancer - Not a ton of limit, just keeps me evened out. I keep the enhancer part off and I'm still messing with the ratio and threshold knobs. This pedal is brand new to me. \/ EHX Bass Big Muff Pi - Tone at 3, Sustain at 1:30 \/ Snarling Dogs Blues Bawls Wah - This is one of my favorite pedals. It's technically a guitar pedal but sounds great with bass. I have the Wah type on "White Room" which gives it a Creamy (get it?) deep rounded out wah sound. It also has an overdrive circuit that I'm still playing with for the right balance. \/ Wasabi Trem/Chorus pedal - Both effects are very light. Noticeable but it's not in your face. I'll run the Chorus with the Fuzz a lot of the time. Sounds awesome! \/ Effects Loop Return \/ Avatar 2x10 and 2x12 Cabs Any feedback about pedal placement would be appreciated. Especially the placement of the limiter. Should I be limiting at the beginning of my chain like it is now or right between the Wah and Chorus/Trem? I'm having a bit of trouble hearing a difference but I'm currently in my apartment and can't make a ton of noise. I'll do some tweaking this Sunday at practice but I'd like to have most of the kinks worked out beforehand. Especially the pedal order. I want to tweak the knobs, not rip everything apart. I'll post pics when it's in its final order. I have a sweet home made pedal board that I made from a couple pieces of wood and a door handle. I actually drill the pedals in using bicycle chain links threaded through the screws on the back. Also, if you got to add one more pedal to this set (that's all I have room for!) what would it be?
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Apr 8, 2011 18:51
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Anybody have any experience with the "Sterling by Music Man Ray34?" I believe they are Korean/Indonesian. Anyway, my primary interest in them is that they are available left-handed and are relatively affordable. I'm currently playing a '98 MIM LH Jazz bass. Would this Sterling be an upgrade, or more of a lateral move?
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Apr 8, 2011 22:46
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These Loving Eyes posted:Could somebody give me a quick rundown or a link to some brief, layman-oriented site about bass amplification? Even though I've played bass for a while, I didn't start playing in a band until last summer. So, this far I've been using some 100 watt Fender solid-state amp from the 90s that happened to be lying around at the rehearsal place but would want to upgrade now. My budget is around 600 euros / dollars and I'm looking for something that would be loud enough for both bar and bigger gigs. I know that amps are often micced and thus played through PAs but I don't think a 300 - 400 watt amp would hurt. Check out the Amps FAQ on Talkbass, and if you need specific information that's not contained in there, just do a search of their forums. I would actually recommend putting some Talkbass FAQ links in the OP because they're much more comprehensive than anything we could come up with.
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Apr 8, 2011 23:22
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CaseFace McGee posted:That looks to be better quality than the basses that I have found in that range, that should suit you well for a starter instrument. Uptons are very, very good. quote:Seconding that you look into a bow before a pickup. You will find a lot of use from the bow before your skills develop to the point where you can use a pickup. Yeah, if you're just starting out you need a bow to work on your intonation, BUT I don't think you need a megabux bow in order to do that. If you're coming from electric and have some jazz ability already, I'd say you'd need a pickup before you'd need a *good* bow. betterinsodapop posted:I'm currently playing a '98 MIM LH Jazz bass. Would this Sterling be an upgrade, or more of a lateral move? Probably lateral, but MIM quality has been all over the place. I wasn't super impressed by the ones I've played and thought the best MIM Fenders were definitely better, but I've played worse MIM Fenders too.
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Apr 9, 2011 18:49
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Are there any fun classical pieces you guys would recommend for a standard electric bass? Just for something new to try
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Apr 9, 2011 21:38
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betterinsodapop posted:Anybody have any experience with the "Sterling by Music Man Ray34?" I believe they are Korean/Indonesian. Anyway, my primary interest in them is that they are available left-handed and are relatively affordable. I've got a Ray35. It's pretty awesome; it SOUNDS great. The setup from the factory left something to be desired, and I've got some fret buzz when I set the action where I like it, so I'm going to get a luthier to look at it. But the instrument quality, parts, build, and sound are fantastic. Just dont be expecting much on the setup itself.
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Apr 9, 2011 23:22
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I'm in the market for a used bass. I already play the piano and viola and want to learn another instrument and maybe play in some bands. I've found one for sale online - the guy says it's a Mexican Fender Precision bass. He'll sell it for $215. My questions: - does anyone know if that's a good price for the model? - anything in particular I should look out for? I'm worried because even if he provides an amp to test it out, I won't really have much idea if it sounds good or not.
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Apr 10, 2011 03:25
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Well you could probably buy a new squire precision for close to the same price, its really up to you. Squire is pretty decent for cheap/entry level instruments, but a Fender should be a tiny bit better at least. Go for it. If the signal cuts out or gets real fuzzy, or the tone and volume knobs are hosed up, then you probably shouldn't buy it. Other than that a 210$ Pbass sounds pretty good to me.
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Apr 10, 2011 06:35
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Demon Seed posted:Well you could probably buy a new squire precision for close to the same price, its really up to you. Squire is pretty decent for cheap/entry level instruments, but a Fender should be a tiny bit better at least. Go for it. If the signal cuts out or gets real fuzzy, or the tone and volume knobs are hosed up, then you probably shouldn't buy it. Other than that a 210$ Pbass sounds pretty good to me. I wouldn't even worry about the signal fading or the knobs loving up. If that happens, use it as a haggling point, then spend like $5 on new pots and fix the problem yourself.
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Apr 10, 2011 06:53
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MIM Fender Basses usually go for $300ish, so the price is good as long as there are no problems with the neck and the body's not all beat up.
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Apr 10, 2011 15:35
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Juaguocio posted:Check out the Amps FAQ on Talkbass, and if you need specific information that's not contained in there, just do a search of their forums. Thanks, been reading through some of the links and they've shed some light on the subject. One small but important question: I got a deal on Marshall MB450H head and Marshall MBC410 cab to go with it for 600 euros. Now, I'm going to give these a test ride within two weeks but since I'm still somewhat unfamiliar with the tech behind the equipment I'm afraid I'll miss some crucial flaw that dawns on me later. So, in addition to trying that every knob functions and doesn't rattle, every channel works etc., what should I try? Of course I'll try to play at both higher and lower volumes so that nothing rattles or clips.
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Apr 10, 2011 19:10
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Here is a question so basic that no FAQ I've run across even mentions it. How do you turn on/off a plain combo amp/speaker like a practice amp without making it pop?
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Apr 10, 2011 20:45
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Fuzzy Pipe Wrench posted:Here is a question so basic that no FAQ I've run across even mentions it. How do you turn on/off a plain combo amp/speaker like a practice amp without making it pop? Some of it is unavoidable. The best that you can possibly do is to turn down the volume knob on the bass and the volume knob on the amp. If you have two volume knobs (volume and level or something like that) try turning down one or the other, or both. Some amps are just made in a way that the pop happens no matter what.
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Apr 10, 2011 20:56
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gotly posted:Current setup Any particular reason you're running them through the effects loop? Pretty much all of that stuff is designed to be run in line with your instrument. As for the limiter, it's pretty much up to you. Placing it at the beginning may affect on how the rest of the effects trigger/react. Doesn't mean it's a bad thing, but I think the more typical location is after certain effects that cause spikes in your sound. For example, I put my limiter (same one as yours) after my envelope filter due to the resonant spikes that result from it.
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Apr 11, 2011 02:28
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Scarf posted:Any particular reason you're running them through the effects loop? Pretty much all of that stuff is designed to be run in line with your instrument. Yeah I put it back into the input and it sounds a lot better. I guess I thought since I had an effects loop I should use it. Whoops. I tried putting the limiter after all the dirt (right before the chorus/trem) but it seems to kill the low end even more than distortion/fuzz/overdrive usually does. I'm putting it back in as the first thing in the chain. I go back and forth between a light touch, really digging in, slap, picking, etc. I change it up for the tonal changes and want the volume to stay the same so I guess that means it goes first.
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Apr 11, 2011 03:54
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Walked posted:I've got a Ray35. It's pretty awesome; it SOUNDS great. The setup from the factory left something to be desired, and I've got some fret buzz when I set the action where I like it, so I'm going to get a luthier to look at it.
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Apr 11, 2011 04:01
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gotly posted:Yeah I put it back into the input and it sounds a lot better. I guess I thought since I had an effects loop I should use it. Whoops. Well some effects do pretty well in the loop... but in most cases, if you step on it, it's meant to be run at instrument-level. If it's killing the low end then you might have the ratio too high. What to the settings look like on it? I typically leave mine at: Level: to unity Enhance: off Ratio: about 2:1 (near noon) Threshold: Usually at about 11-noon. Scarf fucked around with this message at 05:24 on Apr 11, 2011 |
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Apr 11, 2011 05:18
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I'm looking for a 5 string acoustic bass. Any suggestions? Current winning contender is: http://www.guitarcenter.com/Ibanez-EWB205WNE-Exotic-Woods-5-String-Acoustic-Electric-Bass-104317631-i1172995.gc Ibanez EWB205. Played pretty nice in store, although the strings werent as "grippy" as I like to feel on my bass. Thats incredibly minor though. Very minor. It's nice that it's got a tuner on board, because half of the time this is going to get playtime at my office during lunch. The XLR out is really, really nice too. Any others I'm missing? GC has 10% off through today, so I figure if I can snag it for $500, I may as well.
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Apr 11, 2011 13:48
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Cross-post. Eastwood is releasing their remake of the Ovation Magnum bass. http://www.eastwoodguitars.com/Bass/magnumBass/magnumBass_frm.htm  I think Ed Friedland is getting ready to do a review of it. I'll keep track of his postings for the vid.
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Apr 11, 2011 18:58
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Stambaugh #3 deposit: deposited. 
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Apr 11, 2011 20:11
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DEUCE SLUICE posted:Stambaugh #3 deposit: deposited. What are the details on this one?
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Apr 11, 2011 20:16
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DEUCE SLUICE posted:Stambaugh #3 deposit: deposited. feeling is probably just the anesthesia wearing off from having your kidney removed and sold to pay for #3.Congrats DS!
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Apr 11, 2011 20:17
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Nah, no kidneys needed, just a few months of me crying, curled up in a GAS-induced ball, not being able to spend any money while saving up. His prices are still really, really reasonable. The bass is going to be: 5-string bolt-on, CB body style, like my other two. Mahogany body, flamed/spalted maple top. Standard thickness instead of the Fender-style thickness of my white bass. Wenge/bubinga neck, wenge board, ebony laminate on the headstock Nordstrand J+MM pickups / Aguilar OBP3 preamp edit: Just an example of how reasonable this dude is: When discussing the wenge neck, he said that it's now an upcharge as the prices have gone "through the roof." Cost of the upcharge? $75. DEUCE SLUICE fucked around with this message at 20:28 on Apr 11, 2011 |
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Apr 11, 2011 20:24
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| # ? May 13, 2024 13:02 |
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 STAMBAAAAAAAAAAUGH!!!Can't wait to see it 
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Apr 11, 2011 20:37
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