This is my favorite place to buy bass and guitar strings... Since I don't play in standard electric bass tuning, I need to buy individual strings because they don't exist in pre-packaged sets...
They have strings for just about any stringed instrument imaginable...
Anyways, I bought some strings a few weeks ago, and needed to make a return because the strings I chose were too heavy for my tuning... I called them up and they said to just send back the unopened strings that you don't want along with a note that describes why you are returning then, and then original invoice... That's it. When they receive the strings back, they will credit the credit card you made the purchase with, minus the shipping... So simple, no RA authorization # needed either...
JustStrings.com rocks!
Monday, October 20, 2008
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Barber Electronics Launch Pad Boost Pedal...
My Barber Electronics Launch Pad Boost Pedal just arrived today... Ordered it from Tone Factor earlier this week. This is my "cheapie" attempt at using a clean boost pedal for a preamp for my bass...
So far I am very pleased with it. It boosts my signal quite a bit, and it actually clears up my bass.
My signal path is now as follows:
Bass=>Launch Pad=>QSC PLX1804 Power Amp=>Dr. Bass 1580 Cabinet...
Now off to rehearsal to test it out some more... So far, so good...
So far I am very pleased with it. It boosts my signal quite a bit, and it actually clears up my bass.
My signal path is now as follows:
Bass=>Launch Pad=>QSC PLX1804 Power Amp=>Dr. Bass 1580 Cabinet...
Now off to rehearsal to test it out some more... So far, so good...
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Jean Baudin's Solo Bass Album "Solace"
So last night I downloaded Jean Baudin's solo bass album "Solace"...
If you don't know who he is, or have not heard his music you owe it to yourself to...
It is some of the most beautiful and peaceful music I have heard in a very long time...
Please go here to download: http://jeanbaudin.com/store.html
Or check him out on Myspace at: http://www.myspace.com/jeanbaudin
If you don't know who he is, or have not heard his music you owe it to yourself to...
It is some of the most beautiful and peaceful music I have heard in a very long time...
Please go here to download: http://jeanbaudin.com/store.html
Or check him out on Myspace at: http://www.myspace.com/jeanbaudin
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Searcy String Works...
So for the 2 people that know about my blog and my bass playing...
I have been designing a new custom bass to be built by Matt Schmill of FBB Custom Bass Works. Matt built my 1st custom bass between 2001-2002. This is my main bass...
For this next bass, I need to enlist the help of many people... Clint Searcy of Searcy String Works. He has been working on a custom pickup for this bass for the past few months. Please check out his blog at: http://searcystringworks.blogspot.com
Over there you can check out some progress pics and find out what the heck kind of bass I'm designing...
I have been designing a new custom bass to be built by Matt Schmill of FBB Custom Bass Works. Matt built my 1st custom bass between 2001-2002. This is my main bass...
For this next bass, I need to enlist the help of many people... Clint Searcy of Searcy String Works. He has been working on a custom pickup for this bass for the past few months. Please check out his blog at: http://searcystringworks.blogspot.com
Over there you can check out some progress pics and find out what the heck kind of bass I'm designing...
Monday, October 13, 2008
Pickups…
So my main 6 string bass built by Matt Schmill of FBB Custom Bass Works started out with Bartolini P4 Quad Coils, and a Bartolini NTMB 9V Active preamp…
A few months back, I got frustrated with the preamp, and had my guitar tech take it out and convert it to passive VVT with coil-taps for each pickup and a passive tone control (500k pots).
The P4’s sounded ok in humbucking mode, and better in coil tap mode, but the output was not to my liking…
So I ordered some Nordstrand Big Singles 6 string model from Brian Ristola of Best Bass Gear… Great guy! I put them in, and had high hopes for them, but wasn’t sure if I liked them or not… At this time, I had Ken Smith Stainless Steel Strings on… They sounded sort of muddy for some reason… Oh, I still have 500K vol/tone pots in… I was hoping for a jazz like tone from my bass, but it ended up woollier than I had hoped…
In the meantime, I ordered some Delano SBC 6 H/E pickups from Fearless Guitars out in Oregon… I’m still waiting for them… It’s been about 4 weeks… I hear they take a long time to make, and arrive from Germany…
Then, about a week ago, I decided to order some D’Addario Pro Steel strings… Please see my previous post about strings… The Nordstrands along with the Pro Steels seem to be a happy combination for now… Still not the output level that I would like, but they sound pretty good…
Then, this morning, I ordered a Barber Electronics Launch Pad Boost Pedal from Tone Factor… Should be here by the end of the week… I’ll hopefully have something to report back to you all…
That’s the story for now… I should really get back to playing bass instead of messing with all this tech stuff…
A few months back, I got frustrated with the preamp, and had my guitar tech take it out and convert it to passive VVT with coil-taps for each pickup and a passive tone control (500k pots).
The P4’s sounded ok in humbucking mode, and better in coil tap mode, but the output was not to my liking…
So I ordered some Nordstrand Big Singles 6 string model from Brian Ristola of Best Bass Gear… Great guy! I put them in, and had high hopes for them, but wasn’t sure if I liked them or not… At this time, I had Ken Smith Stainless Steel Strings on… They sounded sort of muddy for some reason… Oh, I still have 500K vol/tone pots in… I was hoping for a jazz like tone from my bass, but it ended up woollier than I had hoped…
In the meantime, I ordered some Delano SBC 6 H/E pickups from Fearless Guitars out in Oregon… I’m still waiting for them… It’s been about 4 weeks… I hear they take a long time to make, and arrive from Germany…
Then, about a week ago, I decided to order some D’Addario Pro Steel strings… Please see my previous post about strings… The Nordstrands along with the Pro Steels seem to be a happy combination for now… Still not the output level that I would like, but they sound pretty good…
Then, this morning, I ordered a Barber Electronics Launch Pad Boost Pedal from Tone Factor… Should be here by the end of the week… I’ll hopefully have something to report back to you all…
That’s the story for now… I should really get back to playing bass instead of messing with all this tech stuff…
Preamps and Amplification…
Here’s another installment of Bass Geekdom…
My main bass started out with an active preamp… I have since taken it out and am left with 3 empty holes on my bass, but no matter… My bass is for playing, and not for just looking pretty…
I am rather anti-EQ, and currently play my bass through the following rig at home:
Bass => QSC PLX1804 => Dr. Bass 1580…
I figure that if the bass doesn’t sound good on it’s own, it’s not going to sound better with more junk in the signal…
I am not against the right preamp though… I just don’t think that on-board preamps are all they are cracked up to be. For me, it’s one more think to worry about/fail… Is your battery fully charged? Besides, if you get a good out-board preamp that you like, you can use it with all your passive basses, right?
Anyways, my favorite preamp of all time is the A-Designs REDDI… It’s just great sounding and great looking. It’s sort of a fire engine red brick with 1 gain knob, and a very bright blue light… If it weren’t for the weird form factor, I’d still have it…
I tried out the Tech 21 RPM, but wasn’t too happy with it as it got in the way of my bass signal. There was a magic that was lost when I turned on the pre… The sound sort of became less open…
I just ordered the Barber Electronics Launch Pad Boost Pedal… It’s got up to 20db of gain, and 2 outputs, one of them is balanced… I have high hopes for this one. I just need a boost before the power amp… I’ll keep you posted…
My main bass started out with an active preamp… I have since taken it out and am left with 3 empty holes on my bass, but no matter… My bass is for playing, and not for just looking pretty…
I am rather anti-EQ, and currently play my bass through the following rig at home:
Bass => QSC PLX1804 => Dr. Bass 1580…
I figure that if the bass doesn’t sound good on it’s own, it’s not going to sound better with more junk in the signal…
I am not against the right preamp though… I just don’t think that on-board preamps are all they are cracked up to be. For me, it’s one more think to worry about/fail… Is your battery fully charged? Besides, if you get a good out-board preamp that you like, you can use it with all your passive basses, right?
Anyways, my favorite preamp of all time is the A-Designs REDDI… It’s just great sounding and great looking. It’s sort of a fire engine red brick with 1 gain knob, and a very bright blue light… If it weren’t for the weird form factor, I’d still have it…
I tried out the Tech 21 RPM, but wasn’t too happy with it as it got in the way of my bass signal. There was a magic that was lost when I turned on the pre… The sound sort of became less open…
I just ordered the Barber Electronics Launch Pad Boost Pedal… It’s got up to 20db of gain, and 2 outputs, one of them is balanced… I have high hopes for this one. I just need a boost before the power amp… I’ll keep you posted…
Timothy Leung Interview in Oct/Nov 2008 Issue of Bass Musician Magazine
Please check out my interview with Brent-Anthony Johnson in the Oct/Nov 2008 issue of Bass Musician Magazine.
Here's the link: http://www.bass-musician-magazine.com/General/bass-musician-magazine-detail.asp?article-id=923464836
Here's the link: http://www.bass-musician-magazine.com/General/bass-musician-magazine-detail.asp?article-id=923464836
Full Circle With Strings…
Sorry for not posting for such a very, very long time… Many things have happened since I started this blog earlier this year… I will try to start posting more regularly these days. I just have to start getting into the habit…
So first off, I would like to announce that I am right back where I started with respect to strings… I have pretty much used D’Addario ProSteel bass strings ever since I started playing bass about 7 years ago. They stainless steel with a hex core, and have that very bright, piano like tone… Also, they are cheap, and available in many single gauges and lengths at juststrings.com. Since my main bass has a 35” scale length, there are a limited number of strings that I can use as most strings are made for 34” scale length and would be a too short to clear the nut… Some of the strings available that fit 35” scale length basses are Ken Smith, and DR. There are a few others, but you will have to do some research on your own…
So I haven’t played in standard 6 string bass tuning (BEADGC) for many years now. I flip between (ADGCFA#) and (E0/ADGCF) in which the E is one octave below standard E on electric bass. I will be switching back to ADGCFA# very shortly as I have come to some realizations about strings, scale length, and tunings in the past weeks… Here are my findings:
I am currently using the Warwick Black Label Stainless Steel .175 string tuned to E0. This is an expensive string that is about $30.00 each on eBay. I think it was developed to be tuned to low F# on a 35” scale length bass (Warwick Vampyre Dark Lord)… Here’s what I like about the string: It fits a 35” scale length bass, it’s readily available, it has a taper core with one heavy wrap on the part that goes over the bridge… What I don’t like is that it is dark sounding for a stainless steel string, and it really sounds better tuned to D0 (18.35 hz) rather than E0(20.6 hz) or F#0 (23.12 hz). Tuned to E0 on my bass the string reaches about 33.39 lbs. This seems for me to be too tight because the open string does not sustain for very long, and feels and sounds like a choked thud… When I tune the string down to D0, the string tension goes down to about 26.5 lbs, which allows the note to blossom and open up… I think this string could work well on a 34” scale length bass tuned to E0. It should reach about 31.5 lbs of tension tuned to that pitch… I have yet to try this as I don’t have another bass I can set up that way yet…
Now, back to the D’Addario ProSteels…
Their .145 Pro Steel tuned to A0 (27.5 hz) is a think of beauty. It is very bright and piano like, and the tension is very nice at about 34.83 lbs. Please check out the string tension chart on D’Addario’s website to see where I’m getting all these numbers from…
I am in the process of changing my strings to the following: .145, .105, .080, .060, .045, .032 tuned to ADGCFA#.
I had experimented with a .110 for a D string, and .090 for the G string, .065 for the C string, and .050 for the F string.
The .110 tuned to D (drop) reaches about 38.72 lbs, the .090 tuned to G is about 45.34 lbs, and the .065 and .050 are over 40 lbs of tension. I think these feel OK, but a little harder to play on, but they also again choke the string and don’t allow the notes to blossom and sustain for as long as they should.
As for optimum string tension, they should range from low 30 lbs for the low strings to mid to high 30 lbs for the higher strings…
As for other strings, I thought I liked the Ken Smith Stainless Steel Strings, but they didn’t sound so good on my 6 string bass with Nordstrand Big Singles. They sounded a bit weak and mushy for some reason… Then I tried them on my cheapie 4 string P/J bass and they sounded worse… DR strings just seem expensive to me. I am in the process of changing my 4 stringer over to drop tuning DGCF. I had it tuned normally, EADG and used Ernie Ball Slinky Nickel Round Wound strings which sounded great. I will probably continue to use those on the 4 stringer…
So that’s it for now with regard to strings…
So first off, I would like to announce that I am right back where I started with respect to strings… I have pretty much used D’Addario ProSteel bass strings ever since I started playing bass about 7 years ago. They stainless steel with a hex core, and have that very bright, piano like tone… Also, they are cheap, and available in many single gauges and lengths at juststrings.com. Since my main bass has a 35” scale length, there are a limited number of strings that I can use as most strings are made for 34” scale length and would be a too short to clear the nut… Some of the strings available that fit 35” scale length basses are Ken Smith, and DR. There are a few others, but you will have to do some research on your own…
So I haven’t played in standard 6 string bass tuning (BEADGC) for many years now. I flip between (ADGCFA#) and (E0/ADGCF) in which the E is one octave below standard E on electric bass. I will be switching back to ADGCFA# very shortly as I have come to some realizations about strings, scale length, and tunings in the past weeks… Here are my findings:
I am currently using the Warwick Black Label Stainless Steel .175 string tuned to E0. This is an expensive string that is about $30.00 each on eBay. I think it was developed to be tuned to low F# on a 35” scale length bass (Warwick Vampyre Dark Lord)… Here’s what I like about the string: It fits a 35” scale length bass, it’s readily available, it has a taper core with one heavy wrap on the part that goes over the bridge… What I don’t like is that it is dark sounding for a stainless steel string, and it really sounds better tuned to D0 (18.35 hz) rather than E0(20.6 hz) or F#0 (23.12 hz). Tuned to E0 on my bass the string reaches about 33.39 lbs. This seems for me to be too tight because the open string does not sustain for very long, and feels and sounds like a choked thud… When I tune the string down to D0, the string tension goes down to about 26.5 lbs, which allows the note to blossom and open up… I think this string could work well on a 34” scale length bass tuned to E0. It should reach about 31.5 lbs of tension tuned to that pitch… I have yet to try this as I don’t have another bass I can set up that way yet…
Now, back to the D’Addario ProSteels…
Their .145 Pro Steel tuned to A0 (27.5 hz) is a think of beauty. It is very bright and piano like, and the tension is very nice at about 34.83 lbs. Please check out the string tension chart on D’Addario’s website to see where I’m getting all these numbers from…
I am in the process of changing my strings to the following: .145, .105, .080, .060, .045, .032 tuned to ADGCFA#.
I had experimented with a .110 for a D string, and .090 for the G string, .065 for the C string, and .050 for the F string.
The .110 tuned to D (drop) reaches about 38.72 lbs, the .090 tuned to G is about 45.34 lbs, and the .065 and .050 are over 40 lbs of tension. I think these feel OK, but a little harder to play on, but they also again choke the string and don’t allow the notes to blossom and sustain for as long as they should.
As for optimum string tension, they should range from low 30 lbs for the low strings to mid to high 30 lbs for the higher strings…
As for other strings, I thought I liked the Ken Smith Stainless Steel Strings, but they didn’t sound so good on my 6 string bass with Nordstrand Big Singles. They sounded a bit weak and mushy for some reason… Then I tried them on my cheapie 4 string P/J bass and they sounded worse… DR strings just seem expensive to me. I am in the process of changing my 4 stringer over to drop tuning DGCF. I had it tuned normally, EADG and used Ernie Ball Slinky Nickel Round Wound strings which sounded great. I will probably continue to use those on the 4 stringer…
So that’s it for now with regard to strings…
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