Leaderboard

I'm lucky enough to own a 1978 Pro ii, built out of Matsomoku factory. Its a dream to play. loads of mojo. Pups upgraded years ago to Dimazio pickups. Loads of punch and tone. Not sure of its value? but a keeper none the less.

Picked up one of these babies today and it's absolutely sweet !

I bought one about a week ago. A 2009 Musicman Stingray. 3 band EQ, single pickup. Candy red, rosewood fretboard I've only really had Fenders before, so I can only describe it relative to those... Build quality is great. Components seem excellent quality, and the fit and finish is great. If you've played fenders before, you'll find the neck is very much like a Precision. It's quite heavy, but not too heavy. Nice and solid. Sounds nice acoustically. The G string was a bit quieter than the others. I'm convinced it's because the pickup polepiece doesn't line up properly with the G string. This is apparently a common issue with Stingrays. I fixed it by raising the pickup at the treble side, and managed to get the string volumes balanced enough to where it isn't an issue. You'd think in an otherwise very well designed bass they would have fixed this years ago. But no. Apparently the new ones DO have the polepieces in the right place... but 2 grand's a lot to pay imo for that My takeaway from the G string polepiece issue is that it's pretty sensitive to how you have your pickup height set - so be aware of that Re the sound and having a single pickup. The most noticable thing is that the kinds of warm, vocal mids you might get from a precision are totally absent. And the second thing is that the low end is deep and tight. I heard the preamp has a high pass filter, and it sounds like it. There's loads of thick, punchy bass, but it somehow has a tightness to it. As if it rolls off quickly below 40hz. My main bass is/was a precision, and I use an SVT. So my go-to sound is that classic grindy rock tone (with a plectrum) with the SVT deep switch in, and a bit of mid scoop. Loads of low end, but it's more of a fat and woolly low end, and those precisiony, expressive mids. You can't get anything close to that with the Stingray. With a plectrum, you get LOADS of zingy top end, and that tight bass, with no real Fendery mids no matter what you do. It's very scooped, even when you goose the mids on the EQ For a punk or rock gig I would leave the Stingray at home and take the Precision, unless it was something modern like RATM or RHCP etc For a pop/funk/disco type gigs, the Stingray would be perfect. It seems to have been primarily intended for fingerstyle players. The frequencies that the pickup and preamp accentuate are ideal for a nice tight, modern fingerstyle sound. Lovely for fingerstyle The 3 band EQ is interesting. I tend to leave everything centered. Sounds best to me that way. The treble and bass tend to either let you take far too much off, or add far too much on. The middle isn't really a traditional mid frequency knob like on a fender amp, it's more like a knob that lets you make the sound go from fairly scooped to very scooped... whatever you do, there isn't much mids I heard someone say (and I agree) that a fender jazz (both pickups on) is more scooped than a precision, with deeper lows and higher mids. And that the Stingray is even more scooped - deeper lows and has even higher frequency mids. I think that's a good way of putting it. If there's a path from P to J, then the Stingray is the next step along I think no matter what you do it'll sound like a Stingray. But I think it has enough to make it a fantastic bass in the right context. It's certainly not a swiss army knife, and almost certainly the wrong bass for certain things I really do like mine. Got it off eBay for £900, and I'm glad I got it. Not sure I'd buy a new one for the prices they're asking now

My SB1000. Iconic, in my opinion. Nothing comes close

Any excuse to pop a picture of this 1981 SBR-150

I've had a small windfall - about the size of a new tip-top-notch bass as it happens - and I'm having serious GAS for a Stingray Classic 4 string. I buy a new bass about once a decade so it's a BIG decision for me and I need to know how many of you guys (possibly the greatest bass playing experts on the interweb so I trust you) rate this bass? How's the quality of build and is having a single humbucker a limitation? Has anyone bought one recently and are you pleased with it? Obviously I'm looking for encouragement but if there are any serious worries I'd probably rather know!

Hi my name is Alex and I have Dirt Pedal Adddiction Syndrome. I also have a great affection for envelope filters. I can't afford to buy new ones so mainly build DIY. So many pedals! I've been questing for the ultimate fuzz plus envelope filter tone. Bass - US G&L L-2000 made in 2000AD! In the UK, London, playing in a 90's rave band.

Funnily enough I’ve had basses built by both Martin at Sei and Jon at Shuker and both were fantastic experiences. If I had to choose though, Jon was the more approachable and much more open to working with me on my design and build. Both very high quality builders though & all fantastic basses. Proof of the pudding is I now own 2 Shuker Jazz basses (both shown on the Shuker web page you’ve linked to) and no Sei Jazz basses.

Hi guys, just wanted everyone who has replied to my original post to know; the transaction with Alex went absolutely seamlessly, despite my reservations. It was just such a different way of doing things. And a way in which I am totally unfamiliar, being from the UK lol!! It seems that this way of doing things is so normal in some EU countries other than UK, and I had no bed to worry. Thanks Alex, so glad you are so pleased with your purchase, wish you all the best. Timmynumbers 👍

OR... for £1169 you could buy very nearly thirteen used Trace Elliot combos and keep one at each venue. Saves carrying 'em.

Pure class, this. Lovely bass

I had a TH350 and it never wanted for more beans. Where will it all end? 'Markbass announce 2kW RMS @ 4ohms amp the size of a credit card - earplugs included'.

i ve asked my wife and she said defo fingering !

Started to knock the sharp corners off to match the vibe of the original carve. The light is starting to go but made a decent start with spokeshave and cabinet scrapers:

Which Mac?? Gary Mac!!

With regards to active/passive controls, a while ago I came to the realisation that what I'd really want is a passive tone control coupled to an active mids control with adjustable frequency centre, something like the John East module which covers 100Hz - 1000Hz (or 200Hz - 2000Hz, as it's got a switch for both ranges). I don't need a bass control, really. Treble? A passive control is sweeter, for my taste. What I want is to control what happens in the middle, and with a wide range like that, I can get punchy low mids, or hollow tones, or beautiful deep bass tones... For me the on-board EQ on active basses is merely to fine tune my sound and make some small adjustments for specific songs, but the basic sound comes from the amplifier's EQ. The small adjustments I want are all in the mid range or something that a passive treble cut is better suited for.

I can't help but to get a little giddy with excitement over Jon's headless basses! I think you are quite right to say you have your own template! I think your two have the most identifiable outline in the range surely!? (Don't change it for the next one, ok?)

and mine...

Roughly 108 days give or take..... shiny new Status series II to be flaunted, shamelessly, here as and when it arrives...... 🙏🏻😃

A picture of John in today's Daily Mail. Please leave the guy alone. I would kill for an hour with him to talk basses etc but he has no desire to delve into any aspect of his past and he deserves that privacy. Much less the fairly mocking tone of the opening lines.

New I think - though I'd be tempted by a Trans-orange pre-loved if available!

A few new toys and some rearrangement. This is more of a band board so the order reflects set demands. The Scrutator has given way to a Mastotron - the low end has to be heard to be believed and I only use the bitcrusher for solo stuff. Similarly, a second delay was a luxury so the Hall of Fame has taken its place. In a away it's a pity because the Echorec style delay I have on the Flashback is probably my favourite 'effect' delay and I just can't quite get to it with the El Capistan. I need the really solid low end of the Strymon's repeats though and one had to go. I use the HoF for literally one note and TBH I'm not entirely sold on the core tone of this pedal. Not sure if it's a keeper. The Moog needs it’s own loop due to noise issues, but it just sounds better than the Manta for sweeps and I lead a whole song with it, so it stays. The BCD gets swapped in and out with a Boss Harmonist and I think on the whole, I prefer detune to chorus. The trusty Pork Loin ain't goin' nowhere. It's easily the best soft clip overdrive I've tried in a band situation. Solo'd it sounds oddly wooly and rolled off, but once the drums kick in it totally works. It also had the best switch ever. n

Those of you who follow the ‘Ebay Weird & Wonderful’ thread in Marketplace may have seen a recent entry about this. I was lucky enough to be able to use the buy it now and my bandmate who was in Manchester yesterday picked it up. So for the princely sum of £20 and some cash for my bandmate’s dinner and petrol - this old amp arrived last night. I’ve included some pictures as I know very little about the amp or the brand - I do know it is around 40 years old and SAI recently began producing boutique valve combos again in the UK. I have owned a SAI amp before - that was a slave amp and I used a Trace Elliot preamp with it and a Trace cab. It sounded big and fat and very clean but it weighed a ton. This one is much lighter. I wouldn’t mind more info as there is little on the net about them. I also am looking for a local tech to service it. The good news is it works! Well partially, channel 1 is not working however 2 gives a lovely warm tone. I haven’t boosted the Master volume yet as all the pots are very scratchy and need a good clean. It’s also got the usual valve buzz, very clean inside with little corrosion to the chassis ( it was the ubiquitous loft find ) Overall I think I got a bargain - reminds me of the days when my Dad helped me fix up an old Selmer Zodiac and a Vox AC50. I definitely need a grill for the back. Any information gratefully received!

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F143001497752 You just don't see these in this condition with the perspex ashtrays AND the perspex 'H' logo. Seriously tempted. Fantastic necks and monster tone for weeks. If you can afford it, buy it - these are getting rare.

Yes, there's always a part of true historical sequence that doesn't work in a feature film. I think they changed and condenced how Mercury met and joined the band in order to focus more on the bands years as a group as oposed to the build up.I think Mercury went to school with the original singer from Smile and it was the original singer that introduced Mercury to the band. I also think Mercury was still wearing long hair when they performed We Will Rock You in 1977 at Madison Square Garden. It wasn't till later that he changed his look with the short hair and mustache. Blue

Hi-fi speakers however, are anything but flat - studio reference monitors should be - but a hi-fi speaker will have an inherent (often mid-scooped) sound

Older seems to take longer to dry properly I find - or even that it doesn’t quite dry as strongly or properly. That’s just my limited experience of it though!

Given the number of people who assemble an unbranded bitsa Precision or Jazz and then waterslide a "Fender" decal onto the head, there may be a surprising amount of truth to that for some people!

I would imagine that the guitar designs went through a number of prototypes with varying success until he settled on those design features. The bass model(s) will need to do the same. I wouldn't expect him to get everything right first go. The most important thing to remember is that despite outward appearances a bass guitar is not simply a normal guitar scaled up. Things that work well on a guitar are not always desirable on a bass and vice-versa. Plenty of experimentation is going to be required before he come up with a suitable bass guitar design.

A good way to sort this out is to play plugged into a very accurate tuner, preferably with a large display I find. Then try each note on each string up and down the fretboard, and see where to position the relevant digit to get the accurate pitch. This really helps me to train my ear. My fingertips differ slightly in softness and width, so each requires a slightly different approach, in my experience.

These types of ads seem to be prevalent in all sectors now. There are similar sites advertising £3k bikes for hundreds of pounds. They all "take" paypal. I get a feeling that the real scam is the harvesting of your PayPal details via a phishing site that looks like PayPal.

My old fretless Status Electro (that I actually rather miss) had a similarly flat neck profile. I really liked it. P

Yes it does. It's a continuous length of Grommet Strip, used to line holes in metalwork to protect wiring from chaffing like a Grommet. The beauty of it is you could do the whole grill in one piece and it would be virtually invisible. Here is a different one that should show the slit better. This one is also self adhesive so much easier to apply. https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/door-seals-brush-strips/1706169/

Indeed. As a result of seeing one at a gig I ended up playing an EUB for a time, which I ought not perhaps to have done as it was expensive, not as comfortable to play as a BG and a faff to transport. Looked and sounded good, though.

Flavor Flav?

I’m more Black label...

And one lined fretboard

What @Dood says. My P is probably one of Jon's plainest builds (exactly what I wanted) but I've never for a split second thought of parting with it. Also, I emailed Jon this week for an insurance valuation (he built the bass in 2011). Jon responded within hours. Pretty good service considering I last bought from him 7 years ago!

being a lefty on a left handed guitar works in your favour as well though, when someone you don't know asks to borrow your guitar at open mics, the reply "Oh you're left handed too are you" gets rid of them, it amazes me how many people don't notice you are left handed when you're playing, sticks out like a sore thumb to me

I'm not sure really, it's easy enough to wind the bridge up and down to play around with it, higher action gives a more dB like thump especially with foam behind the bridge which is the best mod you can do anyway, too low then it starts too feel and sound more like a fretless electric, have a play around, you won't hurt it.

I've still got my old Aria Black & Gold I - in fact I played it at a gig recently The Aria was the first bass I bought with my own money way back in '83 when I was a mere 15 years old. IIRC it cost the princely sum of £230!