|
So I'm having an issue with my bass. I'm getting this annoying-as-hell feedback when the bass is plugged into my amp, and turned on. It's constant both when I'm playing, and when I'm not playing, although I have noticed that the sound strangely gets quieter if I touch any number of the strings. I've also noticed that the sound goes away if I slightly press on the cord coming out of the jack on my bass. The noise is there on two different amps, and with two different cords, so I'm pretty sure it's something to do with the bass. Any suggestions on how to remedy this? Side-note: the sound also goes away if I put my fingers on the volume knob on my bass. Edit: I've tried tightening the nut on the jack to my bass, but I think that the bolt may be stripped or something, because if I tighten it too much, it slips loose. Tightening does reduce the sound, but since the nut slips, the fix is only temporary - the noise comes back. Nosy_G fucked around with this message at 22:31 on Nov 27, 2011 |
#
?
Nov 27, 2011 22:13
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 12, 2024 23:47 |
|
|
I know nothing about musical instrument electronics but that sounds like a grounding issue maybe? My question: I have borrowed two amps: a 1970's WEM valve amp which is a little hissy but sounds good unless it's cranked, maybe 50w in a 1x12. I also have a 4x10 Ashdown C410 which sounds the business but has a broken headphone jack and is too loud for my house. I need my own amp. My first solution was to buy a headphone amp like the Sansamp Bass Driver, but then I realised I might want to gig in future, so I'd like the flexibility. So then I figured that getting a cheap-ish head would make sense - but the GK is not available in the UK from anybody (thomann has it out of stock) and the PF-350 doesn't review favorably to the MB200. So, my question/s: - Since I will want a speaker for occasional home practise, might I not be better off with a combo that has an XLR-out for the PA at a gig? - I will never be able to afford or want a top-level head, is spending the extra for a premium 'small' head (i.e. GK MB500 / Ampeg PF-500) a false economy? - Does anyone have a recommendation for a head other than an MB200/PF-350/500 in the same price range? Trace Elliot, TC Electronics/etc. all seem to have equivalent products.
|
|
#
?
Nov 27, 2011 22:27
|
|
|
So I've been playing bass for a year or so and something I would like to learn at this point is how to solo or write interesting things. I've spent the vast majority of my life being trained classically on cello and then viola, so I have a respectable amount of music ability, but I've never had to come up with anything myself, as I've always been reading off of sheet music. As a result, coming up with my own bass parts beyond just repeating the main notes in a chord is really weak. Can someone help me on getting started on actually writing something interesting?
|
|
#
?
Nov 27, 2011 23:47
|
|
|
Transcribe interesting bass parts.
|
|
#
?
Nov 27, 2011 23:56
|
|
|
To take that further, take a song or a piece of music and analyse it and how the bass part works within it. Check out the chord progression and which chord tones the bass hits and how it leads to the next one in the progression, and the different ways the bassist does this throughout the song. Any bass part that makes you prick up your ears, get in there and look at what's happening and why, and try to learn that trick for your toolbox. Pay attention to rhythmic variation and interplay and how those dynamics affect the feel of the song. Basically take a closer look and develop more of an awareness of what's going on, if only to put more ideas in the back of your mind. Try thinking of basslines in your head too, away from the instrument. Try singing them, even if it's just a rhythmic thing, and then bring it to the bass and make your idea happen
|
|
#
?
Nov 28, 2011 00:37
|
|
|
Thanks. I've been trying to do more of that lately, so I guess I'll continue trying that. Is there anything I can do to help break away from doing things too formulaic? I feel that when I try to write something, I'm doing it based off some pattern on the fingerboard or page as opposed to what it actually sounds like.
|
|
#
?
Nov 28, 2011 00:59
|
|
|
Yeah I know what you mean, that's partly why I suggested trying to think of lines away from the bass. If I'm holding it I find my fingers kinda gravitating to familiar patterns and forcing me into a box. Plus if I'm playing along I don't really have time to hear something in my head and make it happen, which does come with practice but I'm definitely not there yet. How well do you know your fretboard, and keys and all that? Do you know exactly what notes you're playing, or are you more like 'well I know the root is C and now let's play the 4th and then the 6th'? For me that tends to put me in the box again, and it really helps if I know the key, what notes are in the key, what chords I'm using and which notes are in those, and then try to apply all that at once. So instead of going C 4th 6th, I know I'm playing C F A, and then I know that I can hit any F on the fretboard on any string (which opens up some nice ideas for movement), and if the next chord is G (G B D) then I could go A Ab G and head for the next root, or come in from below and do Gb G which gives a different sound (you could bounce back to the F first even), or you could head up to the third instead and do A Bb B and give the chord a different character because you're not on the root Basically experimentation is a good idea, just to give you more ideas and also to get you playing more instinctively. Like check this video out about walking bass for applying a concept (and also being familiar with the actual notes you're moving from and to): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzfYIFTHLdo And if that's something you already know, Bootsy has some advice (do this for hours) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHE6hZU72A4 Oh also, record yourself! Play around, just go with what you feel and don't worry so much about hitting the wrong notes, just let fly. Then listen back and pick out the cool sounding parts and develop them. Half the time you'll come out with something cool and completely miss it when you're playing
|
|
#
?
Nov 28, 2011 01:50
|
|
|
baka kaba posted:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzfYIFTHLdo Why is he wearing a glove? We've all tried that during those winter rehearsals from hell, but what's the use here - damaged his fingers? baka kaba posted:Oh also, record yourself! Definitely helps a lot. And if you feel like it, try writing songs starting with the bass. I once realised that our most popular live songs were the ones where I'd come up with the bass first. The other parts seem to write themselves when you have a nice bass line going.
|
|
#
?
Nov 28, 2011 10:43
|
|
|
Underflow posted:Why is he wearing a glove? We've all tried that during those winter rehearsals from hell, but what's the use here - damaged his fingers? He goes into it on his website but he developed a neurological disease called Focal Dystonia that fucks up his hands and makes it impossible for him to play. Someone suggested the glove after hearing about a violinist who managed to play with the same condition, apparently the constant contact does something to prevent the spasms and give him back control of his hand. Horrible thing for anyone to get, especially a professional musician, but at least he's found something that lets him deal with it for now
|
|
#
?
Nov 28, 2011 16:48
|
|
|
baka kaba posted:He goes into it on his website but he developed a neurological disease called Focal Dystonia that fucks up his hands and makes it impossible for him to play. Someone suggested the glove after hearing about a violinist who managed to play with the same condition, apparently the constant contact does something to prevent the spasms and give him back control of his hand. drat, that's tough.
|
|
#
?
Nov 28, 2011 18:44
|
|
|
Any preferred method for removing rust off of a pickup? It sounds fine, just looks crappy, wondering if there was an easy way without a lot of damage risk.
|
|
#
?
Nov 29, 2011 00:02
|
|
|
NarkyBark posted:Any preferred method for removing rust off of a pickup? It sounds fine, just looks crappy, wondering if there was an easy way without a lot of damage risk. http://www.nevrdull.com/ I used it on my nickel-plated pickup when it started to turn green then thought why did I do that, it looks cool green
|
|
#
?
Nov 29, 2011 01:55
|
|
|
NarkyBark posted:Any preferred method for removing rust off of a pickup? It sounds fine, just looks crappy, wondering if there was an easy way without a lot of damage risk. WD-40, q-tips. There is no easier way, and you probably have both already.
|
|
#
?
Nov 29, 2011 03:43
|
|
|
That's the bass's natural funk accumulating. Leave it 
|
|
#
?
Nov 29, 2011 04:37
|
|
|
I have plenty of funk already on the frets on my "real" bass. That's the green stuff though. This is pure brown rust. (and it's not my funk since I just bought this one, nice backup ibanez bass that I got for cheap.) I figured WD40 would work but thought I'd ask first, thanks!
|
|
#
?
Nov 29, 2011 09:04
|
|
|
Scarf posted:That's the bass's natural funk accumulating. Leave it I clean the green funk off my fretboard because I want my Marcus Miller jazz to stay nice and bright. Now whenever I get around to getting a P bass I'm slapping some flats on there, some foam under the bridge and never cleaning it ever  God I want a P bass 
|
|
#
?
Nov 29, 2011 20:18
|
|
|
   Going to go with the first one, I think? DEUCE SLUICE fucked around with this message at 00:07 on Dec 3, 2011 |
|
#
?
Dec 3, 2011 00:03
|
|
|
DEUCE SLUICE posted:
Spalted flame maple? Very nice. I agree, first one has the most attractive grain.
|
|
#
?
Dec 3, 2011 03:34
|
|
|
I dunno, that second one would look incredible bookmatched on a relatively flat, symmetrical body.
|
|
#
?
Dec 3, 2011 08:04
|
|
|
I have a hard on for spalted maple instruments. But I favor asymmetrical/non-bookmatched tops.
|
|
#
?
Dec 3, 2011 16:51
|
|
|
Yeah, I'm not having him bookmatch it. I want all that spalty weirdness.
|
|
#
?
Dec 3, 2011 19:35
|
|
|
DEUCE SLUICE posted:Yeah, I'm not having him bookmatch it. I want all that spalty weirdness. What kind of electronics setup are you going for? Single coil? Humbucker? How many? etc. etc.
|
|
#
?
Dec 3, 2011 19:46
|
|
|
Yeah don't leave us hanging. Give up them details
|
|
#
?
Dec 3, 2011 20:24
|
|
|
Schlieren posted:Yeah don't leave us hanging. He probably just went to Stambaugh and said "surprise me."
|
|
#
?
Dec 3, 2011 20:27
|
|
|
Scarf posted:What kind of electronics setup are you going for? Single coil? Humbucker? How many? etc. etc. It's basically going to be this, but without blocks, and with an ebony overlay on the headstock (Warwick-esque.)  Maple top, mahogany body, wenge neck/board Nordstrand J (split coil) + MM (quad coil) + Aguilar OBP3
|
|
#
?
Dec 3, 2011 22:05
|
|
|
On the bass I've been constructing for a year or so, I'm using a passive setup. I'm putting a Nordstrand NJ4SV in the neck; surprisingly, I like how it sounds way more than the NJ4SE. Given how the SE is described in words, with all that mid-rangey growl going on in the description, one would think I'd like it. But, it sounded too honky, warm, and creamy. I guess for me, growly means scooped. And in the bridge I'm putting a Delano Xtender 4 D/HE-M2, which are these two oval-shaped P-bass style pickups that look like this:  I'm taking a chance but the Xtender that is one Big pickup sounded really good on YouTube -- good luck finding guitars with this stuff in them (at least at the time I bought all this stuff which was like a year ago). I don't really like pickups in the bridge position anyway and use them mostly for a bit of timbral coloration, so I figured what the hell: at least it'll serve as a conversation piece. Hopefully it has a nice full bottom end. The neck is a beautiful Warmoth Tele-style (Padouk / Goncalo Alves) with threaded inserts, and the body is a Chinese SX J-bass. I had the bridge pickup slot filled with Bubinga and I filled a couple drill holes (for the old school bridge "protector") with Cherry, then re-sanded and re-finished the back in Behlen's master gel, and the front in TruOil. The TruOil is truly a beautiful finish. I designed the pickguard myself, the bridge is a Schaller 563 or whatever. Lollipop-head Hipshot Ultralite tuners. Electronics are going to be 1 Stellar Tonestyler, 1 master tone (I Like Tone Controls) and 1 master volume, 1K push/pull pots with series / parallel and in-phase / out-of-phase options. Maybe throw a 3-way pickup selector switch in there while we're at it. I took the control plate and sanded off the chrome, leaving the copper plating, but it makes the thing look too busy, so I'll be going back to a chrome control plate. In any event, it really, really needs to get relic'd a bit, because the pristine look of the finish doesn't jibe well with all the disparate elements. Aside from some custom knobs I might get made at Armadillo Guitar, it should be done next week some time   Pics:      DEUCE SLUICE posted:It's basically going to be this drat, lookit all them switches and knobs. Just look at 'em
|
|
#
?
Dec 3, 2011 22:30
|
|
|
Volume \ Blend \ Passive Tone are the big knobs Treble \ Mid \ Bass are the small knobs Coil tap \ Active Passive \ Mid shift are the switches
|
|
#
?
Dec 3, 2011 22:36
|
|
|
How heavy is that bass going to be?
|
|
#
?
Dec 4, 2011 01:46
|
|
|
It should be closer to my fretless, so 9-ish.
|
|
#
?
Dec 4, 2011 05:39
|
|
|
I've been out of the market for a really long time, so I haven't a clue if my bass is worth anything. The P-Bass has been calling my name and my home-refinished J-Bass needs to make way for the New Hotness. It started its life as a MIM J-Bass and has been refinished in sea-foam-ish green (here's the only picture I have of it on-hand) with DiMarzio ultra jazz pickups and D'Addario groundwounds. It hasn't had a professional setup done on it but it hasn't really needed it. The neck is pretty darned good, and has an after-market Schaller rolling bridge and straplocks. I'm thinking $400, but like I said, it's been a while and the finish isn't perfect (a couple of small blobs that I missed around the edges).
|
|
#
?
Dec 5, 2011 23:18
|
|
|
Bought myself an early Christmas present: fearful 15/6 cabinet. Now I just gotta sell some more stuff to pay for the speakers going into it in the next few weeks.
|
|
#
?
Dec 7, 2011 02:14
|
|
|
I haven't played bass in years but today I stumbled into the thread, which made me impulsively pull the trigger on the Dean EABC acoustic-electric bass: http://www.zzounds.com/item--DNEEABC I did a search on it and found that most goons don't think highly of it...but all I really want is a cheap acoustic that I could pick up and play solo from time to time or use for an occasional couch jam with my girlfriend. All in all, I hope I don't regret the purchase and who knows, maybe it'll spur me to upgrade in future. Thanks for reigniting a former passion of mine, goons.
|
|
#
?
Dec 8, 2011 20:21
|
|
|
DrChu posted:Bought myself an early Christmas present: Did you build that or is it a kit? I would love to play through one of those. If nothing else, to see what kind of cabinet you get from a bunch of Talkbass threads and some enterprising nerds.
|
|
#
?
Dec 8, 2011 23:40
|
|
|
DrChu posted:Bought myself an early Christmas present:  Whatup, custom cabinet buddy    What speakers do you plan on putting in that bad boy, and what are you going to do for a finish?
|
|
#
?
Dec 9, 2011 04:19
|
|
|
TyChan posted:Did you build that or is it a kit? Its a kit from speakerhardware.com, I think it was just the basic 15/6 flat pack. I've got more work ahead of me than I thought, but it should be manageable. CaseFace McGee posted:
|
|
#
?
Dec 10, 2011 01:01
|
|
|
DrChu posted:I'm going with the recommended Eminence 3015LF and 18Sound 6NM410 combo. I plan on trying a Duratex finish, though I'm not sure what I want to do for a grill yet. I've got four Eminence speakers in my cab, I like them. I want to make another Bill FitzMaurice cab in the next few years and throw a 3015LF in - they look awesome. DuraTex is a fantastic finish, totally worth the price. I'm really tempted to coat my wooden futon in DuraTex just because I can. For the grill, I would recommend something like this or this. I used it for my cabinet, and I am very happy with it. It's a bit on the expensive side for grill cloth, but it looks simply fantastic. Metal grills look stunning also, but a good one can be a bit on the expensive side also. However, with metal grills, you can see the speakers vibrate as they shake the walls down, which is pretty cool.
|
|
#
?
Dec 10, 2011 07:14
|
|
|
My wife wants to try learning the bass, but she hates the fret size on mine (I have one of these). Is there a decent beginner's electric bass with smaller fret sizing? Would she have more luck looking at an acoustic? We're planning to poke around our local music store, but I figured better to do research first. She's not planning to buy right now, just rent and take some lessons first.
|
|
#
?
Dec 11, 2011 05:07
|
|
|
CaseFace McGee posted:I've got four Eminence speakers in my cab, I like them. I want to make another Bill FitzMaurice cab in the next few years and throw a 3015LF in - they look awesome. DuraTex is a fantastic finish, totally worth the price. I'm really tempted to coat my wooden futon in DuraTex just because I can. ibntumart posted:My wife wants to try learning the bass, but she hates the fret size on mine (I have one of these). Is there a decent beginner's electric bass with smaller fret sizing? Would she have more luck looking at an acoustic? We're planning to poke around our local music store, but I figured better to do research first. Do you mean the spacing between the frets (scale length)? Or the actual size of the frets themselves? If its the latter that's such a weird complaint, but I know some Ibanez models use smaller frets. If its a scale length issue, you've got some choices for a short scale bass. Squire recently has released several models in short scale, like http://www.fender.com/products/search.php?partno=0328800506 Rondo Music has some Fender copies in short scale as well. And there's always the Epiphone EB-0.
|
|
#
?
Dec 11, 2011 06:47
|
|
|
ibntumart posted:My wife wants to try learning the bass, but she hates the fret size on mine (I have one of these). Fretless. Only kind of kidding, if she's got experience with a violin or cello or something like that, she would already have a basic understanding of the added challenge of fretless. If your local shop has a fretless in stock see if she wants to try it. I personally love my fretless, but I've got an upright bass background. Could the fret issue be due to your bass's action? My first thought would be to try an Ibanez Soundgear series bass. I don't know where they are price-wise, but their playability is really friendly to beginners. An acoustic bass, in my opinion, isn't really friendly to beginners. From my experience, they have higher string tension and take more strength than a standard electric bass. Your mileage may vary. The simplest thing to do would just be to try out a variety of instruments and see what tickles her fancy.
|
|
#
?
Dec 11, 2011 06:48
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 12, 2024 23:47 |
|
|
DrChu posted:I'd like to do a cloth grill, but I lack the means to make the frame right now. I'm probably gonna end up with something like http://www.reliablehardware.com/customspeakergrill-532diastaggered.aspx for this. It'll probably cost me about $50 when all is said and done which is more than I'd want to spend, but its the easiest choice. Frames are a bitch - I'm still not happy with mine. I stretched the cloth super-duper tight to give it good tension. I spent over two hours making my speaker grill, with most of that time applying the grill cloth. It's very tedious, and it was difficult to line it up to my satisfaction. When I finally finished, the long sides of the frame had been pulled inwards by the tension, and I had to build and fit a brace in the middle to make it look halfway correct. The metal mesh is easy - in a relative sense - more rugged, and you will be able to add a logo to it easier than with a cloth one if that floats your boat. I think it's worth the extra cash, it mostly comes down to personal preference.
|
|
#
?
Dec 11, 2011 06:55
|
|