dan670844

[quote name='thebassman' post='1322032' date='Jul 31 2011, 11:27 AM']Thought I would share my experience. Being the impatient guy I am, I went to audition an Orange ad200 yesterday evening. I took my Mesa 2x12 and stingray 5, I was like a kid in a sweetshop. I plugged in turned up the volume and was completely devastated, this combination was the worst sound I think I have ever heard. I messed around with the gain, volume and tone controls trying to dial in a nice sound, but failed miserably. I was so pi**ed off. I did try the ad200 with the guys obc410 and that sounded better, but still not what I was looking for really, and I don't want to change my amp and cab, the 4*10 was like moving a house. Just another note, the guy had a Ricky blue boy and that sounded awesome through his orange setup, but still a bit ropey through my 2*12. So the moral of this story is, not all high gear works together, make sure you try before you buy. I am now looking for a pedal to add a bit of valve colour to my sound. Thanks for all your comments Thebassman[/quote] Dude just get a Sansamp !!!!

[quote name='throwoff' post='1221846' date='May 6 2011, 02:32 AM']I have been thinking, most of us here have more than 1 bass (a lot of us have more than 5!!) But which one would be the one you would save if you had to pick? I will start with my Washburn XB-120. Ok it's the worst of my group both in terms of playability, sound and build quality and the neck is no longer straight (about 6 degrees to the right!) but it was my first bass. It has played probably 100+ gigs with me of varying quality with varying bands. It was thrown around, never had a hard case and was the bass I learnt to balance on my chin before I risked my Fender. The headstock has burns on it from fags stuck under the strings (bloody hell you could smoke indoors when I was gigging it!) There is superglue on the cutaway from a misguided attempt to glue spare picks onto it. The control plate screws are just glued on heads and the plate is held on with tape. The tone control is no longer connected (neither is the neck pickup!) The dice control knobs are not shop bought but actual dice I drilled into and then applied far too much glue to to get them to stay on! There are about 5 layers of stickers on it ranging from bands to brands to stickers which come on underwear you buy from Sainsburys. Most of them on the heel are actually melted due to the pints of acidic sweat I produce in a 40 minute set. It was thru-blue but in my younger 'punker' days I hated any through colour and scratched a lot of the paint off on the botton of it! But I love it to bits. It last got on stage about 3 years ago when my P and MM were both laid up and I got a gig with 3 hours notice. Check the neck angle compared to the 4 bolts [/quote] It Would have to be her (see below) I play it all the time in home studio, Studio, but never live, she is too precious, I have a couple of Early Fender Japan Jazzes for that but, they have a lot of mojo too and now a MIM which goes to pub gigs ( I don't care about this bass) This bass belonged to my Grandad so I know its real ha ha ha!!

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='1317339' date='Jul 26 2011, 05:17 PM']But i wasnt saying that, at least not without qualifying the statement. From my earlier post: "Ive had a PJ but the problem there is you dont get a true Jazz tone as you only have the one single coil bridge pup, and [b]i like the slightly mid scooped tone of both pups on[/b]" So we both agree with the above, both pups on can give a slight scooped tone (im not the only one saying this), and ive said i like both pups on so it was the "this is just not true" opening line in your post that seemed confusing. Im no there to argue, just to point out i did say with both pups on and never meant to make it to mean anything else. Ive only owned a handful of Jazz basses, far less than most people on here but they all sounded different. The HW-1/one definitely had a lot of clarity and growl, were definitely the ones that cut through alot better than the others but lacked a bit of low end, the Lakland DJ5 was warm and solid, a bit too warm for me back then and the CV jazz is pretty close to the Lakland, although with the 74's in it was a nice mid punch to it. I also had 3 MIA's last year and these sounded just perfect to me, full and deep but with the articulation of the HW-1/one's, and these also had less of a scoop with both pups on.[/quote] Dudes Jazz pickups are out of phase always just to varying degrees, so they always cancel each others freq out a little, if it bothers that much get a series switch

[quote name='Mylkinut' post='1317223' date='Jul 26 2011, 03:52 PM']It's a beauty, there's also a 2008 MIA that turned up on Gumtree yesterday for £450. Was in the market for a Precision but I can't really ignore many of the Jazzes that have been cropping up. Anyone want to lend me their Jazz for a band practice or 3? [/quote] No worries dude when I can get my lazy arsed lot out of London town, even though last time they played down in Bournemouth it was ' Quote one of the best gigs we played, great great crowd' and no one could get them out of Wiggles afterwards Lauren you are a babe he he he!!

[quote name='Mylkinut' post='1316414' date='Jul 25 2011, 10:21 PM']Since the clientele at my band's regular gig venues seems to be going downhill pretty rapidly, I'm in need of a new 'giggable' bass. I love the sound of Jazz basses played alone but I've never had the chance to try one in a band situation. How well do they cut through? My band is very Arcade-Firish in style, but my lines are pretty complex so I'd rather they didn't get lost in the mix. Up till now I've been playing my '77 Precision (which does the job just fine) but there are so many cheap Jazzes out there at the moment I kinda want to take advantage...[/quote] As been said by others, tweaky of the eq will help cut through, if you have a lot of guitar in your mix, you need to bump up your mids (only slightly), sad face eq, this is because a jazz has scouped mids and you need to bring them back up level, or you can roll off one of the pickups slightly, usually the neck for me then quarter turn roll off of the tone, this is the most used setting on a jazz I would think. Having said all this it depends on the jazz really, the older ones have very scouped mids and very powerful low end and and a sparkly top, these produce a wonderful tone but with a lot of guitar you need to sort the eq to cut. Unless your amp is mustard This is true of the Japanese reissues they sound and feel like a fullerton jazz. 70's era ones are much better at cutting through, true of reissues as well as they moved the bridge pickup closer to the bridge which gives the bass a more agressive sound and more zing with a bit more mid. Bassically the pickup and tone roll without using the controls. Don't believe the horse doo about they moved the pickup for aesthetic reasons. 70's era jazzes are great funk and rock machines and they are well made and less temperamental and easier to live with than the early ones again don't believe the BS. You can still pick them up for reasonable money. If you want a modern one try to find one with S1 switch, basically a series switch or you can do it yourself for a little time and money (about £25), it brings the pickups in series, basically a P sound with much more clarity punch and definition.

[quote name='Alec' post='1315951' date='Jul 25 2011, 05:00 PM']Er, don't think MK have gone bust at all! [url="http://www.screwfix.com/c/electrical-lighting/mk-range/cat830656"]MK stuff at ScrewFix[/url] Do agree about quality vs cheap, buy once, suffer the pain of spending once, and then sit back & enjoy the right product. And, for MK stuff, not as expensive as you'd think: £1.09 for a single light switch, £3.91 for a dual 13A socket. Compared with all the decorative, but poor quality stuff you can get, really not that expensive. And *so* much easier to install, and will last forever. Back on topic, I and some mates have some basic skills, so can replace kit reasonably. A good example was an active subwoofer at my local venue that had died. Took just 10 mins to identify a faulty resistor, replacement cost 60p, and a quick resolder job. Compare that with the cost of return to an authorised agent - who might well have replace the whole amp unit, for around £200 & shipping... Obviously, as said before, needs the local skills. One of the big problems with the "just replace the module" approach is the relatively short support life for these products, after which the spare modules are no longer available - at which point you're stuffed. At least when you're repairing at the component level, that tends not to happen.[/quote] Cheers, you have just saved my life!

[quote name='KiOgon' post='1311933' date='Jul 21 2011, 07:24 PM']Snap - almost I've been the proud owner of Little Bastard Number 1 of 100 (first one out the factory front door) since March 2010 & still love it to bits! No volume problems here - through LB112 + ABM Mini 48, abfab old school all tube goodness Best sounding amp I've ever had [/quote] Agreed great amp I thought the UK one sounded a lot more detailed and smoother than the Chinese one, both are good though, I don't think you would notice unless you a/b. Maybe UK versions have better tranformers. Just don't let any Blues guitarists near them (they have fantastic cleans for bluesy / hendrixy stuff with a 'verb pedal), if you do will never see it again. (I think they have missed a trick here as a lot of 6 stringer like a nice low gain preamp. But I think this is the way amps are going, as pa sound quality capability is improving you don't need a big amp any more, just a great focus on great sound quality, these do the preamp is genuis, I also think the 30watts rating is conservative, they have 4 el84's pushpull which can be good for up to 50watts and the power and output transformers are way overated they are huge for the rated power, so i guess everything will come through pretty clean and clear.

[quote name='Alec' post='1312386' date='Jul 22 2011, 09:34 AM']The problem with the modern class D amps is their very complexity and density of components. This means that in most cases, when failures occur, all that can be done is to switch out and replace a whole board/module. Fine in principle, albeit potentially costly to the consumer, but you're stuffed a few years down the line when spares cease to be available. Don't get me wrong, I'm a complete convert to the new, lightweight bass kit. But I *know*, that a fault in my old Trace combo would generally be a piece of cake to fix, as it's all discrete components, tidily laid out. Never did have a fault. But in kit like that, if you are capable of diagnosis & replacement, parts are typically in pennies. Compare this with £10s, if not £100s, for a replacement module in a modern amp.[/quote] +1 I agree and with other posters about Trace elliots and Valve amps etc its just how you design and make stuff, the whole world is heading down the route of throw away design that is difficult to fix its not really a question of the amps topography i.e. class A to H. People are not prepared to pay that bit extra for something of quality or that has a renewable design i.e. that can be repaired. This is best illustrated by the amount of light switches and plugs I have replaced in our new house. Go to Homebase / Wickes etc and buy a lightswitch and they are so cheap like 59p or something but they are crap and don't last, the switches always go, the missus is not that heavy handed ha ha!. I would be quite happy to pay £4-5 pounds for a quality one but you can't can't 'cos MK have gone out of business because of this cheap crap as people are just thinking about the price. Its false economy in the end and and these cheap switches still use nearly as much plastic in its production, but you get through far more of them, the whole world is like this now.

[quote name='Bankai' post='1311078' date='Jul 21 2011, 06:36 AM']We've just taken a bass in as a part exchange. It's a early 2000's Fender MIM Jazz. Nothing special, except for the fact it's Sage Green. What is this? I don't even... I already have exactly the same, but in a different colour. But something draws me to this. I didn't even know they made them in this finish![/quote] Haha who are we to offer sage advice everyone one has Gas for shiny on here...................

[quote name='Bankai' post='1311078' date='Jul 21 2011, 06:36 AM']We've just taken a bass in as a part exchange. It's a early 2000's Fender MIM Jazz. Nothing special, except for the fact it's Sage Green. What is this? I don't even... I already have exactly the same, but in a different colour. But something draws me to this. I didn't even know they made them in this finish![/quote] Haha who are we to offer sage advice everyone one has Gas for shiny on here...................

[quote name='mikey_reed' post='1311196' date='Jul 21 2011, 09:36 AM']Ok so maybe I'm an idiot for asking this question but can a guitar head be plugged through a bass cab???? I've got a hartke hrdrive 4x10 which will take a 1000w (250 per speaker) from a bass head so i would imiagine that would take anything???? help please folks. thanks[/quote] Bass cabs are ok for cleans, for distortion you would have to disengage the tweater if you have one as it would sound horrid. As another poster said bass cabs have a flatter freq response rather than the scouped response of a guitar cab. You might need to drop the mids and push the bass and treble on the amp to try and get it sounding half decent. For distorted guitar its a bit more tricky as quite a bit of those nice crunchy sounds are coming from the speakers inability to deal with the signal going into it i.e. they break up, a bass apeaker will handle it and and as result may sound unresponsive sterile and muted. But quite a few of my friends that are blues and jazz players use bass cabs to play, one even uses a tweaterless 1x15! but this produces a very strong clean sound with big low end, most of them play old fender heads like showmans and duals these have a almost subterranean low freq output esp ones with valve reverb. Its a big part of the hendrixy, SRV John Mayer, sound with the highs and lows pushed up and a low mid output, But always clean, To get clean with this you need a tough speaker!

[quote name='LemonCello' post='1311140' date='Jul 21 2011, 08:44 AM']I haven't had any experience of an Affinity, but I have had a VMJ, quite nice, good build quality, decent pick ups a good all round bass. Sometime ago I bought from here a Samick built 50th Anniversary P bass for not much dosh at all. It's been set up properly, new strings and jack socket and I can't put it down. I even took it to rehearsal last week instead of my US standard. It's a very personal thing this. I would suggest playing lots of basses, even of the same type/model and you will find one that has that elusive 'something' that makes it feel just right in the hands. Go tyre kick and have fun! LC[/quote] The 50th aniversary ones are a different kettle of fish, I have a black 50th ani strat and it the muts, hot but smooth pickups and very well made. As I said earlier there are some good affinitys out there, but I don't understand the logic, if you spend £100 VM or CV £150 sheets more, you can get a classic vibe or a vintage modified, different world, they are both quality professional instruments, suberb setup and playability, they are the JV products of our age and will probably appreciate in value over time, esp the CV P, Jazzers. The quality fit finish sound and playability of these is top notch. Forget is says Squier on the neck, they are way better than Mexi stuff. Forget about the Basswood stigma, Basswood is a North American word, Basswood = Tilia or in Common English = Lime, So Basswood really is Lime wood. It more depends on the quality of the wood they use, Lime has been used for ornamental carving and musical instruments for a long time in Europe, since the middle ages in fact (a lot of it imported) to make top notch stuff.It also has better sustain than alder and better resonance at mid freq great for a J bass. If you don't believe me look it up on wikipedia or something. They got good wood...... You can get an Alder guitar that sounds sh*te as its a duff piece of wood. Its just marketing, product placement. Lime is common in China and when something is common you can pick and choose to get good quality stuff for a good price.....

Anyone tried one. A friend heard one at Musikmesse said it sounded very rich and detailed and punchy. Not seen any live demos etc. They should sell like hot cakes if you look at the quality of components the unique features etc but not much hype or rumble. Discuss Ha ha Edit I am a Dumb Fk....

[quote name='lobematt' post='1310664' date='Jul 20 2011, 06:46 PM']Haha i do love an SVT, whats the SVT settings on a sansamp??[/quote] Download the manual dude, its in there if you got a sansamp bypass your preamp on your amp go for the poweramp in option, its pretty close. Check out the new Ampeg stuff as well is pretty good.............

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='1310570' date='Jul 20 2011, 05:23 PM']Yep, im on my iPhone so typing with a finger tip while walking. I think my main issue was the bass rather than the 84's. Ive had the same set of pups (84's and 74's) in both the CV Jazz and a HW-one Jazz and they sounded a lot more articulate and open in the HW-one. To be honest i really only noticed a small difference in the CV between the 84 and 74 but it was a nice difference.[/quote] With the 74's I find (purpose intended) they cut through like a knife in a live mix esp with a lot of loud guitars, they are a great pickup for live work, they also like the 84's have a big dynamic range which is a big part of my sound. If you ever get the chance to try it plug your bass (with the 74's in) into a SVT, or even a sansamp pedal (SVT setting) the tone will make you cry haha

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='1310491' date='Jul 20 2011, 04:19 PM']Ive just noticed a typo in my post. It should have read "When i put [b]84[/b]'s in my CV Jazz i felt it was a bit too dark" and not 74's.[/quote] Yes I also had a typo bleeding Ipad too clever...... I found that with the 84's too, but they are great for Dubby type choones I sometimes cover and three piece kind of power trio band I am in. They fill out the bottom in the music, they have a big low end wack and loose no definition. I have not found that with any other pickup everything else always goes muddy.

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='1310322' date='Jul 20 2011, 02:16 PM']When i put 74's in my CV Jazz i felt it was a bit too dark. To me this means too much low mid bump and lack of sparkle. I felt i lost some definition in the harmonics. The bass itself is quite warm sounding IMO so this didnt help (the same pups in my HW-one sounded very different). Have a word with Andy and ask about 74's . These are in the middle of the 84 and 64. Still with a nice low end thump but with more going on up top. Im also playing weddings/functions etc and i find they work well with this bass.[/quote] I have the first 74's !! just ask Andy!! They go great in non ex Jap Fenders (they are more like old fenders than new fender USA if you know what I mean they are quite a bright sounding bass) it was an idea we had to get that cut through that you need with the Jazz sometimes. These pickups have been used on a lot of recordings over the last 2 or so years.

[quote name='lobematt' post='1310319' date='Jul 20 2011, 02:13 PM']Thats it I'm going for it! I'm thinkin a set of 84s for my bitza J. I want it to be pretty upfront tone wise, are these the right choice rather than the 64s? It'll be used mainly in wedding band function stuff, kings of leon type stuff...[/quote] 64's are classic J bass sound smooth very detailed warm. I mean like original fender pickups not reissues modern classic whatever they are that good. 84's have more low end extension, they are overwound, more aggressive , they are very responsive to how hard you wack em, top end is rolled off a little but still there, they have a lot of detail though not just deep mud. A great pickup forget your basslines etc these are a notch above Hammers I have not tried next on the list I am after some more 84's so if someone buys em and doesn't like em I will buy em for what you paid! But I know you won't ha ha

[quote name='ROConnell' post='1309627' date='Jul 19 2011, 08:49 PM']Hi all, Just been looking at Squier Basses and while looking at both the Affinity Jazz and Precision I noticed that the body is Alder. To me this seems weird as normally Fender American's have this wood. Is this less expensive and not as good quality as the USA's? I found that my Squier Vintage Modified Jazz is Basswood but a lot more expensive, this may be due to the Seymour Duncan's in them but I was wondering how well Affinity's are made. Could and owners/past owners give me a general idea if they're good build? Cheers, got GAS for a Precision/Jazz Bass right now so thought I'd ask some questions. [/quote] I would have a punt on a squier VM Jazz 3 tone sunburst with rosewood neck, I had the opportunity to mess with one at the weekend quality of the finish and how it was put together was really good put most std mexi fenders to shame and they sound good too. £229 from Gak way better than an affinity. With this one unlike the classic vibe you can upgrade the bridge if you want its std fender.

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='1294971' date='Jul 6 2011, 05:21 PM']From Wizard themselves, or second hand off here although you might have to wait a bit for a set to come up.[/quote] £70 quid a set is very good for what they are they are made like the original fender ones were, plus you can flog your old pups to recover some coin

[quote name='Mook' post='1263256' date='Jun 9 2011, 08:54 PM']A while back I got some great advice from the good people of this forum about pickups to replace the stock one's in my Lakland DJ. I put in the Wizard 84's and I'm a very happy camper. So much more balls and beef that I was looking for and much more character to the sound. Have to admit I miss a bit of the top end bite I used to get with a pick but I'd get over that for the growl I now get out of the neck PUP. I am loving my Lakland again!! just thought I'd share my joy [/quote] I love 84's and 64's initially I gave some 64's a punt as I wanted my late 80's jap jazz to sound like an old jazz I have (This bass is 'the one') they are spot on. Then I wanted to rude a mexi Fender (the club bass) up so I got some '84s in nice very forward authorative sound but without loosing any clarity no mud fantastic. They are half the price of a big name set and just as good or better good stuff

[quote name='spongebob' post='1309211' date='Jul 19 2011, 02:48 PM']Had a rehearsal with the current band last night. It's a 5-piece, rock/pop covers. The two guitarists are both quite loud, so I have to make sure I cut through! For the previous rehearsals, I've been playing a MIM 50's P-bass. Always cut the mustard. Yesterday, I was playing my (recent used purchase) Geddy Lee Jazz. Had one a couple of years back and loved it - probably my favorite bass I've owned. My amp set-up is a Markbass Amp (121) and extension cab. I'm really bad on amp settings - most are set at 12 o'clock, with a dash more high, and both filters off. I've done a little research on settings - but unless their in 'clock' mode, I get confused!! This worked fine on the P - but I found myself buried with the Jazz for some reason. I tried turning up the mids, but that just sounded awful to me. What can I do with the amp settings to improve this? Just want a bit more clarity high-end (both D &G strings were very weak when band in full-force) and bottom thump. Doesn't help as the rehearsal room suffers with quite a muddy tone as well - but the P cut right through. Appreciate the pups are weaker on the Ged, but I don't remember having this problem before with the same gear! Any advice on this please?[/quote] Maybe a a problem is a lot of Rock guitarists are wanna be bass players! most of the time the more distorted you go with a 6 string the more you should cut the bass. Otherwise its a wall of noise! (I have even struggled to hear the kick drum with some of the bands I have seen!) have a word maybe they are in your space in the mix. Also for a jazz you want that classic sad face rock tone, to compete with loud guitars push up your mids more to cut through. This is a common problem with a jazz and loud guitars, it's a more refined instrument, where a p is just ballsy. and has a lot more mid content. With a jazz certain amps work better than others in this situation, not sure of the markbass, but a trace head flat with a jazz will cut through pretty well as 'flat' its very middy. But another amp may not as it may be more scooped, as flat eq is never flat on a bass amp! try fiddling with you mids its there you just have to find it. The P is a great bass for loud rock, but so can a jazz if you eq right, you will find more fidelity and complexity.

[quote name='dc2009' post='1300318' date='Jul 11 2011, 09:19 PM']It's bizarre that 16x6" is just two of my marshall, but awful. My marshall is also for sale in the relevant section (shameless plug ) As for your suggestion, I think you're correct. Peavey stuff is super cheap on here, fleabay or gumtree, even freeads they turn up often enough![/quote] Those Superfly 48's and Minis have good low end extension its the top end they suffer, very old school high end roll off, ok not lows like some ultra modern stuff but i have always found they do pretty well with a 4 string. In anycase they arent made by ashdown!!

[quote name='dustybass' post='1299007' date='Jul 10 2011, 03:04 PM']Hi all at BASSCHAT forum, my first post and looking for advice: I have a peavy black widow cab (1x18", 250watts 4ohms) I also have a ibanez active 5 string bass, sadly there is nothing to join the two together in low frequency harmony. was looking at the MARKBASS little bass, any one know of any other amps that are good and within a £400 budget? cheers Guys (& Girls) Regards Dusty[/quote] There are many my friend you have a big choice new and don't forgot second hand, some good bargins on here. But you don't mention what sound you are after and what sort of music you want to play, orange bass terror is pretty good for rocky tones its quite aggressive little B but if you are playing smooth its not gonna be mustard.

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='1309266' date='Jul 19 2011, 03:33 PM']So where is the equal and opposite force required to fret the notes coming from, or do you temporarily suspend physics for the purposes of playing bass?[/quote] Doddy is right in a way, most injurys like this are caused by excessive pressure usually the thumb or the heal of the hand, you will be suprised how little pressure is needed to fret a bass properly if your fretting finger, positioning is in the right place. I have spent a lot of time getting my hand position right, rists straight etc. Its tricky at first, but if you pay attention to it, it comes round in the end. My advice would be lay of playing for a few days, then go back to it, this time think about getting into a comfortable position with your fretting hand and try to fret the bass with as little pressure as possible. For me keeping my thumb pad-flat on the back of the neck is most comfy. I know playing live is difficult to do this as you tense up, but be aware, take a deep breath and try to relax reduce pressure and go back to the comfy way you fret during your practice time. You need to develop a different hand style for bass, don't try and fret like a Guitar. Have a look at Dave Marks on You tube he's got some sage advice on how to avoid injury. If it is still hurting I am afraid its Doctors time. Many Bass players have to give up playing later on, because they didn't pay attention to this and do permanent damage, don't be one of them.