Knob placement and Rod Stewart

[Jeff Scott]

This is a joke, right? I mean, it reads like a joke, but it's hard to tell for sure.

Have you ever seen the Fab Faux perform ? Their drummer does not tear down and set up his sets during a show but he does use two sets that are set up side by side, depending on what era of Beatles songs the band is playing.

 

[plankspanker13]

WORST SONG EVER
It was the tune that I lost my virginity during, back in '79.
We started after the song did.
I finished before the music did. Whaddaya want? I was quite young.

Sorry for the temporary thread hijack.

 

[Mosstone]

Yeah, you're not at all important to the music, nobody gives a rat's ass about your sound, and you should go away and sit in a corner and eat worms.

Why do we as bass players do so much to discourage those who actually care about the job they're doing? Don't we get enough of that BS from guitarists?

That's quite an extrapolation... and not at all what I was saying.

First of all, I was talking about ANY musician, not just bassists. I was actually replying to a drummer's post, after all.

Believe me, I'm quite familiar with the frustrations that can come when trying to get the tone you want in a live situation. But I don't think you should obsess over it if you're not getting that ideal, perfect tone for just one song. You may think it sounds like shite, but the audience - and probably your bandmates - will think you sound just fine.

 

[mcarp555]

I was actually replying to a drummer's post, after all.

No, I'm not actually a drummer. I can read music, use silverware, etc.

 

[Off-Beat]

I've been thinking about moving the knobs off the bass altogether and putting them on a pedal... or something. Unfortunately I know nothing about electronics, but I'm imagining an onboard bluetooth transmitter/receiver that can transmit the audio signal and a pedal that would receive and amplify, control the pickup balance and volumes and forward to the rest of the signal chain. This would solve that problem I think.

The knobs in your bass are mechanical. You could make digital killswitches via Bluetooth, but that's not what you want. Let's say you want a VVT set up on your pedal you'd need a seperate chord with the wiring that usually runs in your control cavity, but I don't see an advantage there unless you run various setups with let's say 9 pots where 3 a piece run parallel so you can switch between them.
3 knobs you'd need to turn them around all the time just like on your bass. You could do a bypass for pots fully open no tone and a second setting with 3 knobs though.

Your bass would need a second output jack and a switch for onboard and outsourced controls.

 

[Jim C]

No, I'm not actually a drummer. I can read music, use silverware, etc.

No more calls; we have another winner….

 

[Mosstone]

No, I'm not actually a drummer. I can read music, use silverware, etc.

Haha!!

 

[Sweet Willie]

So that made me think further: why are those ****ing knobs so far away? If they were on the top side of the strings instead of the bottom, I could reach them more easily...

Hmmmm... Are they really that far away, and would having knobs above the strings really make much difference in the end? You're talking about a matter of a couple of inches at best, and in either case moving your right hand to adjust a knob would interrupt the aptly described boom-ditta of which you speak in this instance. I guess if the knobs were above the strings and close enough that you could adjust with your right thumb while plucking with your right fingers, or close enough below the strings so you could pluck with your right thumb while adjusting with your right fingers, then you might be in position to make changes in tone while continuing to boom-ditta along --although still required would be some quality dexterity.

EQ changes via footswitch are likely the best remedy for uninterrupted playing, but dependent on being able to program/set a limited number of tone options that hopefully cover the majority of songs you play. (For example, I know one cat who does a nice job getting a lot of mileage out of three settings on the programmable SansAmp DI pedal, and doesn't need to move through "banks" of sounds on a more complex device.)

I do sympathize, however, with the desire to have the tone you want, while also recognizing what others have said -- very few audience members, if any, would've noticed anyway.

And...what's the best knob placement for metal? Or, what's the best metal for Rod Stewart? Or...?!?!

 

[hobosong]

The knobs in your bass are mechanical. You could make digital killswitches via Bluetooth, but that's not what you want. Let's say you want a VVT set up on your pedal you'd need a seperate chord with the wiring that usually runs in your control cavity, but I don't see an advantage there unless you run various setups with let's say 9 pots where 3 a piece run parallel so you can switch between them.
3 knobs you'd need to turn them around all the time just like on your bass. You could do a bypass for pots fully open no tone and a second setting with 3 knobs though.

Your bass would need a second output jack and a switch for onboard and outsourced controls.

Im not sure why we couldn't take the analog signal directly from the pickups, convert it to digital, and bluetooth it to a receiver. There would be no knobs and no cords, just a compartment in the back for the battery, cpu, and transmitter. Then the receiver could manipulate the signal accordingly (volume, tone, pickup balance, etc..) before converting back to an analog signal for the amp.

 

[Off-Beat]

Im not sure why we couldn't take the analog signal directly from the pickups, convert it to digital, and bluetooth it to a receiver. There would be no knobs and no cords, just a compartment in the back for the battery, cpu, and transmitter. Then the receiver could manipulate the signal accordingly (volume, tone, pickup balance, etc..) before converting back to an analog signal for the amp.

I wouldn't ADC and DAC my signal and send through that unstable transmission - a phone in the audiance could, by accident, kill your signal. Thought you wanted to manipulate your signal through bluetooth actuators in your bass' control cavity.

 

[Winterglo]

IMO the only acceptable cover of Rod's to play is "Hot Legs". You have to sell / rock it though or you come off like a generic bad Holiday Inn 70's Tuxedo Wearing Band. Maybe "Stay With Me" too.

 

[hobosong]

I wouldn't ADC and DAC my signal and send through that unstable transmission - a phone in the audiance could, by accident, kill your signal. Thought you wanted to manipulate your signal through bluetooth actuators in your bass' control cavity.

Yeah maybe bluetooth isn't the right way, but Im sure one of the wireless protocols must be stable enough