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Any thoughts on this Ashdown Five 15 100 watt bass amp?
After starting lessons in a studio with proper big amps, I fancy something LOUD for the occasional blow out. This is local for £100. I'm not sure about the durability of the sliders, but anything else to consider?
TIA
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In my experience 100W isn't LOUD as bass amps go. It's virtually just above practice-amp level 🙂
If you're playing with big bass amps in a studio, they'll probably be 500-800W heads running a 4x10 and 1x15 or whatever. I'm sure the Ashdown will be fine, but due to the crazy way we perceive volume and low frequencies, you'd have to go a lot bigger to get to trouser-flapping levels...
(Caveat - I am not a bass player, but I find my 250W TC bass amp only just copes with a drummer...)
In my experience 100W isn’t LOUD as bass amps go. It’s virtually just above practice-amp level
I'm at the very inexperienced end of the spectrum and just bought my first ever bass amp. It's a 50w Orange Crush and I can only run the volume knob up to where it just kicks in. That's practicing in a biggish living room at a comfortable level.
If I turn it up over half way you can hear it down the street. According to some very friendly neighbours. It's brand new and not sure how it compares to older stuff.
I haven't been in a room with a drummer yet but I'll welcome a good excuse to buy something much bigger!
You don't need a bigger amp.
Just get a smaller drummer. Ideally with an electronic kit.
As a home amp it'll be fine....I actually quite like the sound of even the budget Ashdown stuff (apart from that hateful mini rig think that they did)
However, one of my former students had that amp and it is literally useless playing in a band (at least with a drummer). 100w is really low power for a bass amp, my rig when I played a lot of bass was 600w....the bassist in my wedding band and touring show is on a similar powered rig to that too.
Well here's my current 'rig'. Thanks to lockdown business disaster it has lost some weight but being honest I'd happily have a playdate down the pub with mates using it.
As long as I have enough volume and 25watt DT25 has enough for that, and reverb (DT25 has a choice of assorted modelled ones) or even better a delay (via the Pandora) and a switchable drive then I'm happy.
If I was expected to do accurate cover versions or played anything other than pub rock standards then it wouldn't work but all I need to do is find away to turn on and off the Pandora and I'm sure some Sugru and some carbon fibre rod I have will let me extend the Bypass switch enough for careful foot tapping.
The variety of guitars sounds available especially using the THR10 is more than enough to play with at home. It's not like I'm recording a masterwork.
Looking forward to changes next year when I plan to head back to Weymouth, maybe retire and play with my old guitars down there.
If we're doing rigs
Fender Duosonic
Fender Stratocaster
Line6 Variax
Simon & Patrick Woodland Cedar
Ibanez V72
Line 6 Spider II
Spark Positive Grid
Boss ME25
🤎 the duosonic
Are rigs the new sleds/weapons/steeds?
@BoardinBob I reckon the original Strat on your Variax is better sounding than the HD model on mine.
@BoardinBob, what do you think of the Spark Positive Grid? Looks promising from the marketing material.
Yay. I'm in holiday now, so more time for riding and music. I'm putting together a fingerstyle version of the foo fighters, My hero. Needs more work, but you get the idea. That's a Lakewood M1 guitar by the way. It's about 15 years old and is lovely.
@BoardinBob, what do you think of the Spark Positive Grid? Looks promising from the marketing material.
I love it. Its perfect for the type of player I am now. I just play myself at home and I play a huge range of stuff. Everything from mainly blues and classic rock but also loads of alternative, grunge & metal. The range of sounds from the Spark is immense and covers everything I like to play. I can jump from a classic Hendrix sound to a Pavement-style indie jangle instantly, then onto a ridiculously good BB King sound. It's so versatile. The only thing missing is some kind of foot controller to switch between patches but I have to think they're working on one.
@BoardinBob I reckon the original Strat on your Variax is better sounding than the HD model on mine.
Pretty much. It's crazy how accurate it sounds, particularly as it's almost 20 years old and really at the infancy of this kind of tech. The criticism levelled at it initially was that it didn't feel that great to play but I like it. I know a lot of people stuck upgraded necks on but I find it's ok. Somewhere between a strat and les paul neck. The Strat, Tele and Les Paul models are spot on to my ear. It's worth nothing on the 2nd hand market so I'll always have it and I've really enjoyed playing it recently.
I bought it. It looks nice in the flesh once the baby blue controls have been cleaned up. And it's loud enough for what I want and it's nice to have a piece of British engineering doing a job. For £100 it seemed rude not to.
My rig(s)
Live (remember that?)
Shure wireless system > Digitech Whammy DT (for fun and to save de-tuning for Eb songs) > Orange Rocker 15 Terror Head > Hughes & Kettner cab loaded with Celestion V30, usually via an SM57 to FOH and in-ear monitoring system.
Recording
Blackstar Artisan 15H > Boss Tube Amp Expander (Load box & Cab IR’s) > Apogee Element 24 AD convertor to Mac Mini. Have experimented with blending a SM57 on the cab recorded at the same time but TBH doesn’t add much and is hassle. Will sometimes have the cab in the room if I need to work the guitar for additional sustain but usually silent recording wins.
Practice
Until recently this used to be plinky plinky on unamplified electric but just bought an HX Stomp and enjoying using that. Getting some nice sounds out of it in my headphones and will seriously consider gigging with it in 2021 (feeling positive)
I've gone and done it again. New amp day soon, 65 amps Ventura Head....Nice
I will post a rig pic when its complete but
Tele, Strat
Gigrig atom and strymon
Stereo Ventruas 🙂
but just bought an HX Stomp and enjoying using that. Getting some nice sounds out of it in my headphones and will seriously consider gigging with it in 2021 (feeling positive)
I've used my stomp on quite a few gigs both guitar and bass and really apart from the power supply it has been excellent
What plumber says! Got mine powered via a truetone cs12, but did have one mysterious failure during a theatre gig.
My first post in this thread so be gentle!
My son lives with his girlfriend now and a month ago I took the acoustic guitar I bought him years ago off the wall and started trying to learn a bit... I am the most novice of novices but really enjoying trying to learn to play. I have no aspirations other than to be able to entertain myself and Mrs Surfer has treated me to a Yamaha Pacifica for my first electric jobby so I would appear to be hooked 🙂
I have been following Justinguitar on YouTube and I am amazed that so much excellent teaching is freely available. anyway I will read this thread from the start...
edit: I should say any recommendations for beginners would be appreciated
@surfer I would really recommend you learn some music theory to go with your "learning to play guitar" journey. Its the one thing I wish I had done when I was first learning guitar 30 odd years ago.
I've started back on guitar since the CV19 thing hit as a way of keeping myself amused and I can honestly say learning the theory behind the music has been the most enjoyable thing ever.
It has explained so much of what goes on in music but has also given me a greater appreciation of how complex and refined some seemingly mainstream classic guitar music was/is and how genius some guitarist are/were.
@surfer I would really recommend you learn some music theory to go with your “learning to play guitar” journey. Its the one thing I wish I had done when I was first learning guitar 30 odd years ago.
I would second this, I have also found that playing a bit of keyboard where all the notes are there in front of you is an aid to learning music theory.
I’ve started back on guitar since the CV19 thing hit as a way of keeping myself amused and I can honestly say learning the theory behind the music has been the most enjoyable thing ever.
Yeah, I've been doing something very similar this last year - Forcing myself to learn all the theory I neglected when I started playing many years ago. Like you, I've found it super interesting and also useful for livening up my playing. I wish I had done more structured practise when I was starting out at 13, maybe I'd be decent now.
Like @surfer says, there's a load of teaching available. In my day, it was all Ultimate-Guitar.com and tabs of very variable quality. So I ended up learning killer riffs but with no idea of the theory behind them. Whereas Justin / Marty and especially Paul Davids (who I guess is a fair bit more advanced) et al will give you some of the theory and other tips, alongside the riff lesson.
That said, I don't think you need to go crazy with music theory as a beginner. If you're not that bothered it's a good way to suck the life out of something that's supposed to be fun!
JustinGuitar for me at the start of lockdown and then gravitated to a mixture of him for the lesson structure and Wayne R Guitar on YT for some indie tunes
You can get most of his chords on Ultimate Guitar if you just search the song
I learned theory in my lessons early on which has been the biggest asset to my ability to learn songs very quickly
One thing to know is music theory is finite and once youve learned it thats it.
The places it can take you however is infinte
Also what I say to everyone is practice 10 minutes every day rather thanks an hour a week
good luck
Have a look at Andy Guitar as well, I found him a lot easier than Justin when I started.
Its strange as a learner the things that you think are impossible such as fast chord changes. They become possible quite quickly (still very messy but almost there with a couple of easy ones)
And the the things that look dead easy which arent (to me) such as strumming. it looks like childs play but I am finding it difficult. spent an hour last night and made a mini break through 🙂
I'm finding that, and it can frustrate the hell out of me, it's not linear, it's periods of nothing and then POP - suddenly you can.
Have you ever read Bounce by Matthew Syed? All about the 10,000 hours of practice, and other stuff. There was something in there about learning to do physical things, where you need to create a pathway of synapses that have to fire in the right order and timing, to for example move the fingers to do a chord change.
As well as linking them, there's also a process where once linked they then firm up - don't recall exactly the process but you lay down insulation around that link so the signal gets through better. That takes time, it's a biochemical thing.
When I'm trying to learn a particular sequence (playing mainly bass it's all about fingering oo-er!) I set myself a task to play it 20 times, no more, no less. If after 20 you still don't have it properly, move on. If you have it after 10 goes, do another 10 and then move on. Go back to it tomorrow, or the day after and you may be surprised how without practising any more, you still improved.
I played recorder to a good standard 35 years ago. When my kids had to learn it in music at school, I picked the recorder up, and barring a bit of fumbling around, after no more that 5 mins could play my exam piece pretty well perfectly. I didn't need sheet music and had no idea what note came next but my fingers did. The pathway was still there, just needed to find the entrance and then let my brain do its thing. Which is also frustrating with my guitaring....stuff I've learned I frequently have to look up the tab again to find the first two notes!
Anyone ordered one of these yet?
Anyone ordered one of these yet?
That's fantastic
I'm assuming the spinning part is plucking the strings. You can see the low E oscillating a lot, yet he's not touching it.
There's actually plectrums on the rotating thing!!!
Found it here- https://www.wired.co.uk/article/circle-guitar
Kind of explains it but not very in depth and there's nothing on the official website yet. I want to see it running in slow motion and know what all the buttons are for.
I'll pass.
I'm still waiting for my Gizmo from 1975.
I love that people make stuff like that. Quite a bit of engineering in it.
The "bounce" book recommended up there ^ is good. Well written and some interesting examples of skills acquisition.
The “bounce” book recommended up there ^ is good. Well written and some interesting examples of skills acquisition.
Syed is one of my favourite non-fiction authors. Black Box Thinking and Rebel Ideas are also worth the time.
I love that people make stuff like that. Quite a bit of engineering in it.
The problem for me is that a lot of this stuff just makes a guitar try to sound like a synth. Doesn’t work for me as I’ve tried Roland (and that wierd Yamaha) synth guitar and it isn’t ... right?
I love tech but that just looks crap.
I have a Vox Organ guitar in my brothers loft. It doesn’t sound that different to rotary guitar thingy above.
I do think it's actually a bit pointless, but still like that people take the time and effort to try out thier ideas. I think that's more where I was coming from.
Made this for our work Xmas party. Totally just for a laugh so it's a bit rough and ready. Most parts recorded on phones etc. I'm on the bass this time. 2:25 for some slapping action! 👍
Thanks for bringing a bit of cheer into this dismal Christmas, Adam, that made me smile. 🙂
Another five-string bass owner who hasn't worked out what the fifth string is for. 😉
Looks like it'll be the last face to face lesson for a while tomorrow. It's a pain because I feel like I'm really starting to make progress by having someone point out and correct all the things I'm doing wrong. 🙄
Zoom lessons are really good though too @oldtennisshoes.....different and not as good in some ways, but still really worthwhile imo
I’m really starting to make progress by having someone point out and correct all the things I’m doing wrong.
Post a video of yourself on a Facebook guitar group and you'll have loads of people point out what you're doing wrong :}
Wrong or different. As noted on this thread some people like to wrap their hand around the neck when playing some chords to either mute the E/A or make a chord, it's "wrong" but works, and it if it feels comfortable why not? Earlier in the thread someone was saying you need the guitar in a particular position below your eyes or something, **** that, let it hang where it feels comfortable and don't be afraid to move it around to make things easier - I lift the neck to play things with my thumb on the back of the neck and and drop it to play solos or with my hand wrapped around the neck.
Leaving the E string ringing when you're not using it sounds awful so that is "wrong" but there's no "right" way of muting it so long as you mute it.
Waiting on work to be mailed over I was browsing the web and found there was a major update to the firmware on my THR10-ii.
A quick install and it's pretty ace. A new 'Open" mode for the physical speaker cabs give basically 32 cabs to hear (but not on the digital output), a lot of amps have been reworked a bit, everything seems to sound good with all the tone knobs at 12 o'clock, there's a new digital delay and you can record in Stereo with one effected channel and one dry so you can play around in your DAW.
Best of all a bluetooth MIDI footswitch can now control everything with a very easy setup via the app.
Brilliant stuff and obviously FREEEEEEEEE!!!!!
The MIDI assign page:
I only have a MK1 THR10, but it's nice to see decent new features added. BT midi footswitch compatibility is a great addition
Bluetooth foot switching would rely on the THR app actually working reliably which IME it doesn’t at all. Mine probably works 1 time in 5, and then only for a few minutes before it crashes. Rubbish. And the same with both the iOS and Mac app. Seems to work over USB but that’s not very convenient.
Also the THR update made the wireless dongle useless until I disabled the new ‘eco recharge’.
I’m just ranting. Hopefully they’ll patch it soon.
Well I wish it even existed on the Boss Katana. I regret buying it as there appears to be no foot switch method of changing effects.
I've got two foot switches on the Mustang, one to change amp model and the other with a tuner/mute, stomp, modulation, delay, direct access and big jumps to amp models. Everything you need on stage under your foot.
Bluetooth foot switching would rely on the THR app actually working reliably which IME it doesn’t at all. Mine probably works 1 time in 5, and then only for a few minutes before it crashes. Rubbish. And the same with both the iOS and Mac app. Seems to work over USB but that’s not very convenient.
Also the THR update made the wireless dongle useless until I disabled the new ‘eco recharge’.
I'm uploading files to our printers and playig at the same time. All seems OK for me on Mac (Only running Mac El Cap 11.6 on this machine) and latest iOS ipad and current Samsung Android, so happy about that. It wouldn't work if I had USB connected at the same time as bluetooth.
My wireless is via a cheapo set of wireless connectors and the only problem with them is the battery life is down to about 2.5 hrs on the transmitter end as I've used it so much over lockdown.
@edukator: If I can change between the 5 presets and turn off the delay I'll be happy. Cant see a way for tap tempo but being honest its a little practice amp, not meant for gigging. I'd drag it down to the local for a quiet jam night but it wouldn't work over any kind of drummer...
Well I wish it even existed on the Boss Katana. I regret buying it as there appears to be no foot switch method of changing effects.
Whicb model do you have? If it's the 100w, artist or head then the GA-FC footswitch allows switching between patches and turning individual effects on and off, plus two additional switches can be added which are customisable, plus an expression pedal. Or two expression pedals and one additional switch I think.
For the 50W the GA-FC isn't compatible (I assume deliberately by Boss to drive people to buy the 100W). You can use a MIDI controller apparently - there are some youtube videos on how to get that working - it sounds very complex though and I think most people would trade in the 50W for a 100W and buy a GA-FC instead - assuming that they like the Katana itself that is.
It’s the Katana Air which as far as I am aware has no options at all
This guy demos the foot switch on a THR for those interested.
It’s a shame there’s no looper capability built in, otherwise it would literally do everything.
The new app and firmware make it a lot easier. Open the app screen I screenshot posted above, tap the function you want to control and then operate the MIDI switch or slider you want to control it with.
If you have the THR30 with the separate outputs you can feed those into your looper and then run the looper back into the Aux input on the THR top panel so it will record your playing with all the effects. As it is going into the aux input it won't play through the amp/FX section a secondtime but you can keep adding layers with different effects if you want.
Pretty smart. Doesn't work on the 10 though. #sadface
@Superficial I’m reading assorted reports that the iOS app doesn’t play nicely with anything other than the latest iOS 14.3 on the iPad.
Not the best guitar or vocals but this video and twist on a a Christmas song, is something I knocked up.
Edited to add, how do you embed youtube ?
Don't knock yourself, that's great, if a little sad.
Edit to add: copy paste the url into the forum just like pasting a line of text and it will work.
Don’t knock yourself, that’s great, if a little sad.
Thanks I really appreciate it, yes came out a bit sadder than I expected 🙂
I quite liked it too. I'm trying to improve my singing, so impressed by anyone who can sing and is happy to put it on the internet! 👍👨🎤
@bazzer I liked that. It is a melancholic song, but still fantastic. FGTH are underrated IMHO. Thanks for sharing.
Cheers guys for the positive feedback, I was more chuffed how the video came out. I wish I had recorded it for longer as he melted even more 🙂 Its sped up and then processed into an animation.
@AdamT I appreciate you kind workds on my singing, I am always happy for people to hear me play. I am really embarrassed about my singing so it means a lot 🙂 My voice has got stronger with practice, but still warbles off a fair bit 🙂 I bet Holly Johnson also did a fair few takes to hit it all on the record 🙂
Two Girls, 2 guitars. One Christmas song. A great end to the year.
Have a great break folks.
Is anyone into guitar fettling to the extent of fretwork, and are there any suggestions for sourcing luthier tools other than Stewmac who are both expensive (but I assume high quality and "worth it") and charge a lot for shipping to the UK ?
I ask because I'm considering learning how to do this - fret levelling, recrowning etc as I quite enjoy doing this sort of thing and it's where my current skillset / confidence runs out and it's frustrating to have to go to a luthier to sort out the odd high fret etc.
Initially this would be practicing on scrap / cheap ebay guitars, then gradually building up until confident to work on my own guitars. The cost of the tools would hopefully pay for themselves over time - but that's a long time at Stewmac plus shipping (and I guess import duty) costs.
I'd get onto the fretboard for that level of advice. Maybe a more likely audience?
https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/categories/making-modding
@markwsf
Check out Crimson Guitars, their tool shop and their excellent videos on YouTube on building stuff.
https://www.crimsonguitars.com/
Yep, Crimson will sell it. I watch the Crimson channel as I appreciate and am interested in what Ben is doing but I never actually like the guitars he makes!
I went for bits and bobs from eBay.
My Harley Benton had a few frets that weren't level. It was cheap enough to have a go at.
It wasn't hard. Just a load time spent carefully following instructions and slowly using files.
The most expensive bit was a diamond file with a bit of wood stuck on it.
In hindsight, I should have spent more time masking the fretboard as I scratched it in a few places.
I ended up with level frets that were a bit rough. The solution to this was 3min per fret with some very fine micro mesh cloth. That's 3x24, which is a lovely job and the frets are very smooth, it would have taken a lot let time if I had sprung for some slightly less fine micro mesh and worked my way up.
I watch the Crimson channel as I appreciate and am interested in what Ben is doing but I never actually like the guitars he makes!
Me to. I really like the way Ben comes across and I’d love a guitar from him. His craftsmanship is excellent but I find some of his finishes ‘challenging’.
Still always tune in to his 3 videos a week.
@tall_martin it must be a bit worrying taking a file to your precioussss the first time. My Floyd equipped beast has a couple of worn frets and I’m trying work out the best way to sort it. I’m thinking I’m going to have to go down the partial regret route at least.
Thanks! This looks like potentially quite a deep rabbit hole...
I went on Crimson’s site for the first time after a mention on here from guitarhero. I looked at the tool section as I like tools. Ten minutes later my cart was nearly up to £300 just from thinking “oooh, that looks useful...”.
Just spent a few hours with 'just' an Ipad, a THR10ii and my JTV.
Someone up there said how good modern gear is. Even with a couple of beers in me I was getting better sounding results with far less fuss than the Portastudios and pedals of my past.
Golden times.
Just spent a few hours with ‘just’ an Ipad, a THR10ii and my JTV.
I suspect a THR10ii maybe my next significant purchase.
I spent just a few hours with my Katana and a Windows 10 laptop...
Lots of fun making noises that weren't really music, but I hit on one bugbear.
The input through the USB to the laptop is really low. Unless I whack the output of the Katana to 200% and have it in a loud setting it's really quiet when recording into Audacity. To record my acoustic I just strummed it and used the laptop mic. This came through about 30 times louder than the USB.
I've heard this is a known issue with windows 10. Has anyone found a workaround? Installing drivers, that sort of thing?
I suspect a THR10ii maybe my next significant purchase.
I doubt you’d regret it.
Mine gets used every day, usually several times as it sits to the computer I work on. It sounds pretty great at low volume and is so easy to get great sounds from. I’m getting rid of gear before moving back to Weymouth and my much loved DT25 will go before the THR.
I've fixed my problem with the low input through the USB port; I downloaded Equalizer APO, a bit of free software, and I've now got a complete home recording set-up on the cheap!
I'm amazed by the number of sounds and effects I can find on the Boss Katana 50 II, plugged into my old Core i3 laptop. I'm just using Audacity and headphones which gives the ability to lay down a click track plus a number of other tracks. Even my acoustic comes across sounding quite real.
There is one major problem: just like nobody likes hearing the sound of their own voice, hearing my own terrible playing is truly terrifying!
More time spent playing guitar, less time playing with the tech is definitely needed.
Just spent a few hours with ‘just’ an Ipad, a THR10ii and my JTV.
Out of interest, what were you using / running on the ipad?
GarageBand normally. I also have CubaseLE3 but haven’t tried that yet.
My mate has just let me know he has a new guitar. An acoustic guitar. With a built in amp/speaker. And multi fx. And a looper.
I s****ed a bit until I saw this.
@markwsf I've recently leveled and re-crowned my three guitars.
In terms of tools the only special tool you really need is the correct size diamond crowning file. I started with a three sided crowning file from Crimson and it was bloody hard getting any reasonable shape. Diamond crowning file just does the job, don't bother getting any other crowning file!
I also wouldn't bother with the abrasive rubbers, I didn't find them all that effective. I got some varying grades of emery paper (400 to 2500) and just worked up through these to get pretty polished looking frets.
The process of leveling and crowning is quite easy, just take your time, don't rush it, and make sure you tape up the fretboard well!
Oh, and if you want advice, post on a forum of crusty old guitar dudes and brace yourself:
There's a Kevin Bacon fronted look at the electric guitar over the years. A bit of a generic documentary but it passes time.
If you have Prime it is on there.
If you haven't it is free on IMDB TV if you have an IMDB login (also free.)
https://www.imdb.com/tv/watch/tt1112291?ref_=tt_wo_fdv_1
Trailer:
BBC had a great series on drums, bass and guitar. Not available currently but I'm sure it'll be on again
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00024k9/episodes/guide
Yep, I downloaded them. Pretty darn good. Stuart Copeland on Drums. Lenny Kaye Guitar and Tina Weymouth talking bass.
I see a lot of people saying they wish that they had a better understanding of music theory, could someone please suggest some good reference books on this or other resources that might be helpful.
