Telebass

Seen those - no bottom end...

Always some you got rid of that you shouldn't...

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='320158' date='Nov 2 2008, 02:21 PM']Telebass. Yes, i agree although with two of the band being really skint at the moment i felt it wasnt the time to talk about how i just spent £1000 so i didnt say anything. I was tempted to get a black/maple as well but ive always wanted a white bass as as Fender are kind enough to supply it with the tort PG i just couldnt resist.[/quote] One of the few things that puts me off the 5er is that I like the covers on my basses, and that's obviously not an option with the 5s... My black one is rosewood, very dark, much like one John Deacon used to play, but without the gold bits!

Howdy!

And welcome, minimolizard!

Quite correct!

nice one!

You lot know that I'm a reactionary-old-fart-Precision-loving-Fender sort of a guy. But the only bass I seriously considered buying, and more to the point, gigging, was a Washburn version of a Status S2. Balance was 1st rate, it fitted into any old guitar gig bag or case, it didn't need stupidly expensive double ball end strings, and it played REALLY well. Quite likely, if I'd had the money, I'd have got it, ripped out the actives (it didn't sound too nice to my ears), and would be playing it now. If I could have one with a single passive spilt-coil, I would. So, there is something good about headless, even for me!

I understand entirely about a well-used bass feeling good, sounding a bit 'lived-in', as it were - I've worked in a guitar shop and played them and worked on them. I just prefer new when possible, and then gig it until it feels the same as those old ones. My black MIM Precision has done hundreds of gigs, is 4 years old, and I look after it. It plays beautifully, the fingerboard has worn in nicely, and, to me, it sounds good also. Just so happens my no.1 (the51RI) was not new to me, although it was almost completely unused... What really gets my goat is the notion that the older stuff was 'made 'better'. Yes, the wood has aged, and this may or may not affect the sound. 70s 'thick-skin' Fender finishes don't age or change colour like nitro finishes (exception: some of them were even then clear-coated with nitro laquer). The consistency of build cannot have been other than more variable than it is now, even at its best. 70s and early 80s Fenders, now well into vintage territory, could be truly dreadful, and there were certainly more duds from that era than any other. But there were also good ones. As the Strad post mentioned, they sounded better not neccessarily because of wood or basic craft, but because a new method was also introduced with the explicit intent of improving the tone. Robert Benedetto and Bob Taylor have said, and proved, that close-grained tonewood, although more consistent, is not remotely needed to make a good instrument, even a craftsman-built acoustic guitar, and Mr Taylor has built several first-rate acoustics from pallet wood, just to prove the point that it's build that counts. And build today is more consistent than it ever was before. It's entirely subjective, is the point I'm trying to make. There's no science whatever that says this is better or worse than that, and no matter how hard you look, or who you listen to, it's not likely to change any time soon...

And down a semitone, too.

P with flats, lovely tone! And a pick...

[quote name='umph' post='320360' date='Nov 2 2008, 06:52 PM']imo it comes from the combination of a valve pre amd power amp, most amps with a "valve pre" still have alot of solid state stuff in the signal path. I think anything else i say about valves is going to be buyist because after my experiences with building and modding, Valves are so much simpler / easier to fix and sound so much better even when you accidentally overdrive them to much[/quote] Agreed, if you're going to have a valve amp, have an [i]all-valve[/i] amp. If you know electronics and are savvy with working on high-voltage circuits, AND you have the back of Hercules, go for it. It's like anything else, if you're prepared to put in the maintenance, they last forever. I would get something that's fan-cooled, or add a fan if not. It helps a great deal with the valve life, and might give you valuable seconds to switch off in the event of one tube blowing and taking others out with them. Me? Markbass. Back's far too gone for valves these days!

As I mentioned JO, I think I'll play along with some...Carpenters!

Tell us how good that was! I SAID...! They are LOUD!

[quote name='thedontcarebear' post='313532' date='Oct 24 2008, 07:42 AM']..., don't really like watching live music anymore.[/quote] Me either...odd that, used to love it. But now, all I want to do is PLAY it, not WATCH it. Shame, I would probably learn from it. I also don't actually sit and listen to music much, either. Possibly a hangover from the 17 years off I took from music, completely. No basses, no CDs, no going down the pub, even. When I first gotback into it, someone said about doing 'Sweet Child O'Mine', and I'd never heard of it... Embarrasing! Going to the blues night at Tavistock Wharf next week, though...must put oneself about a bit more!

[quote name='Rich' post='316372' date='Oct 28 2008, 07:26 AM']I'm not going to argue with that top 3 [/quote] +1 Sorry I'm late!

[quote name='ARGH' post='320276' date='Nov 2 2008, 04:49 PM']But nobody in a correct, professional, versatile, state of mind takes a 4 string bass to gig, where they know that a 5/6/7 will offer AND deliver so much more[/quote] Simply not so...different strokes, is all. 4-stringers are in no way limited, just one form of the instrument. The four is 'traditional'. That does not equate to 'limited'. Ask Jaco and Victor Wooten, for example... I wouldn't get anything from the extra strings/frets/pickups myself. Others can and do. Doesn't make either one the standard. By that outlook, everyone should also be using 7-string guitars. They don't. Why? Who knows, I'm no guitarist!

Some good takes on this. My view is that vintage is fine if you've the wonga. A tatty, well-played bass is likely to be one that you'd play and go 'whoa! that's nice!' whereas a pristine '64 Sonic Blue P might be pristine and still in its case because it's an absolute dog... I have been through a few basses that were not original to me. A '68 Jazz/mint/dog. A '69 Telecaster/beat to crap/amazing. '96 51RI/mint/amazing. 80s Tokai P/pristine/amazing. New ones: 2xStd Jazz - nice, but....Warwick Streamer Std 5 - see below...there's no telling, really. Mainly, I buy what I can afford new, because, in the main, I like my basses to be [i][b]mine[/b][/i]. I got the 51RI from Mickeyboro of this parish, we did a swap between that and a Warwick Streamer Standard 5 that I bought new-old-stock but didn't get on with. I wasn't expecting a gem, just a good backup for the black MIM Precision. But it's now number one, all done up in metalwork and finger rest as per 51 specs, nice tweed case, and it [b][i]ROCKS[/i][/b]. You just never know...

Great stuff!

You Scored as Victor Wooten (at least he's a dyed-in-the-wool 4-banger, so we're alike there...) Victor Wooten 67% Pete Wentz 25% Jaco Pastorius 8% John Myung 8% Micheal "Flea" Balzary 0% A quarter Wentz? Do me a favour...I'm more Joe Osborn than any of them, and I'm patently nowhere near as good as Joe Osborn's left earlobe! Barring the pick...Joe always uses a pick...I never use a pick...ever.

Can't beat the good ol' SCPB!

"Oh, and not one of them mentioned the bass, at all. They were all aware it was new but not one comment. miserable gits." Oh dear...silly or not, it's nice to hear a bit of bass phwoar from your bandmates - miserable indeed! PS - If I ever manage to buy a current model P, Oly/tort/RW is THE colour scheme, even edging out black/maple...

[quote name='AndyMartin' post='315575' date='Oct 27 2008, 09:52 AM']I'm sure you'll be very pleased to discover how far bass gear has advanced both in quality and price since you last played. Unlike the skinny stringed stuff of course, which seems to remain firmly rooted in the 1950s [/quote] Oh dear...that must mean I'm some sort of closet guitarist! AAAAARRRRRRGGGGHHHH!