Recent content by AnthonyW

"You and the drummer sound like an old married couple who finish each other's sentences."

I recently bought the TC Electronics Spectracomp as I wanted a multiband compressor to play with. I had read hear that some people had problems with them being noisy and some didn't so I was pretty disappointed to find that when I plugged mine in it was quite noisy. The signal chain was...

This seems to be descending into a discussion about speaker \ cab properties, which I thought we'd done to death here. What I was really interested in is how my playing had changed to compensate for the different sound and I only noticed because my hand felt different. I wonder if the sensation...

Although the story begins with speaker size, that's not the interesting thing about this. I recently filled in for my old band and shared a backline on a small stage. After 25 years of only playing with 15s I got to plug my amp into an Ampeg 6x8. We didn't have much time for sound check but all...

I've used one of these heads for 25 years now with a single 15 inch cab and can easily overpower an accoustic drum kit. I figure if the drums need to go through the PA, then so does the bass.

I'm looking for thoughts on what kind of compressor pedal to add to my rig. I'd like to set up as follows: Bass --> OD pedal (eg sansamp bddi) --. compressor --> power amp. The drive is set so that at instrument volume 4, I have no distortion, and I can control the amount of distortion simply by...

I've been thinking about the age old dilemma of how best to spend to spend some extra cash on a new rig. As a thought experiment, I've assigned myself $1000 for a new bass and $1000 on a new amp, then applied my famously boring, rational brain to the problem. Here's my solution: - Take a week...

Thanks for the reply, I think you're right re the P picked close to the bridge. I think it's a wonderful example of how you don't have to play a lot of notes to really enhance a song. That song would hold up just fine with a dead straight bass line, but that lurching rhythm makes it for me.

I was listening to Australia give England a hiding in the cricket on the radio and REM's Orange Crush came on as a segway from the drinks break. I happened to have the radio running through a decent system and I noticed how awesome that thumping bass line sounds. I quite like the REM song I...

The really great teachers understand that everyone is self taught. Teachers are only there as guides or to help the student find the resources required to learn something for themself.

Don't underestimate the quality of analysis your own ear can do. Even if you're not really confident yet on fretless, it is better and faster than any electronic tuner on the market. If you're used to playing a fretted bass then you probably don't realise you've been making subtle adjustments to...

Down here in Australia, we know The Tragically Hip, I grew up listening to Triumph and I saw the Watchmen at a suburban Pub in Sydney one time (must be close to 20 years ago). Probably the most famous Canadians here are The Tea Party. I heard somewhere they are not well know outside Australia?

Another thought, (it's early morning here so they're coming in short bursts) is to learn the "flamenco" technique Geddy Lee uses. Especially if you're playing lots of 8th or 16th notes, half the notes are played with your fingernail and the other half (the down picking notes) use a different...

I just remembered a teacher many years ago telling me, if you have trouble with blisters, take the fingerprint off the offending area with an emery board. This take the friction away which is what causes the blister. I remember I did it a few times and it seemed to help. but then I changed...

Another vote for the pressure wounds. I use Rotosound 55s, they almost feel like flats and they almost sound like rounds.