Lozz196

Every Musicman Stingray that I’ve had. They look great, play great, are really comfortable to wear/play but after the initial buzz I realise that I just don’t like the sound, or at least the sound when I’m playing them. When others play them I think they sound awesome but I’m so Precision ingrained any bass in my hands other than a Precision just doesn’t sound right to me. Now if a Stingray sounded exactly like a Precision, well I’d be in bass heaven as the ergonomics & fit are better for me.

Roqsolid, great products with many options.

For me most of the bassists whose both sound and playing I like/liked played Precisions, so I suppose it was fate/the hand I was dealt that I would end up playing them as well. Those sounds and playing styles inspired me to play the bass, without them I might not have found the instrument and ended up on the G-word full time. Makes sense to me, in as much the same that if I couldn’t stand the sound of a certain type of bass then I wouldn’t choose to own/play one.

I unfortunately managed to land on Sultans of Swing, right notes I think but no feeling, so nothing like a solo really.

Must admit when we used to tour I also had a backup amp with me, trusty Ashdown RM500 (ably backing up my ABM600) fitted easily in my leads/pedals/gumf box, kept at the side of the stage with my backup bass. Any problems sorted quickly.

Now if they didn’t have the multicoloured silks I’d get some but my OCD just couldn’t deal with it.

I don’t know about how the insides are configured but they can be fixed as I had a problem with mine. Rather ironically when engaging the mute switch it squealed like a Telecaster leaning up against a Marshall full stack on full volume/drive. Took it to Ashdown who sorted it within a few days, was advised that they build all their amps so that they can be repaired rather than needing to be replaced.

Yep, I recall a mate of mine bringing his Status bass round one day and thinking how great it sounded isolated in comparison to my Precision, made it sound rather dull indeed. But put in a mix that dull Precision just sang.

I would never think a musician inferior if they only took one instrument to gigs if one instrument was all they could afford. I would think them to be maybe underprepared and unprofessional if they only took one to a gig and had others at home as I was on the day that my bass decided to not work when all my others were at home. Had it not been for the decency of another bassist we would have either had to play just guitar & drums or cancel - neither being that good a deal for the people who had paid for tickets & travelled to see us. And it would have been solely my fault.

A luthier I know loves those robotic tuners as they give him so much work converting them to manual.

DG is just a a genius, in fact I’m sure that DG actually stands for Dat Genius and not David Gilmour.

Surely the Precision is a trusty Volvo with an old faithful Labrador in the back

I think it’s one of those comparison things, if the solo was written & recorded with humbuckers then moving to single coils will inevitably make it sound thinner. As such when single coil players write solos they write them to suit their instruments and make sure the song keeps going. I’ve heard some fantastic solos from Strat players in 3 piece original bands but when those bands do an occasional cover the solos (that were invariably done on Les Paul’s) sound weedy.

A Low End

Yes, that’s what I do, one PSU to the daisy-chain cable which then feeds my three pedals (Sansamp, compressor, tuner)

I had similar at a gig, only the jack was completely gone and I didn’t have a backup. Lesson learned, especially as I’d checked it was working before I set off.

I never take a backup bass to rehearsals but always to gigs.

I’m not so sure, some prices of used Mex Fenders seem higher than ever, as do some US ones on the bay. That said there have been some very good bargains on here. I should also add that most of the gear I’ve sold over the last year went on other sites rather than here, and I usually price to on here to match what the going rate is.

If the whole album is like that track (and available on CD) please let me know, I`ll happily take one off your hands.

Same for me in my old band, though it was the Tech21 Para Driver for me. In a 3 piece the guitar solos need to be worked out well so that they lift the song, with the bass staying largely where it was but maybe digging in a bit more, and the drummer using the ride cymbal stops the arsend of the song falling away. Having the bit of compression helps greatly as although you can dig in more the volume doesn`t really jump, just the amount of drive increases so filling out nicely. I also do a bit of Macca style note choice, same fret but one string down or one string up/two frets up, or some ghost notes on open strings, or maybe same string but either one or two frets down for one note here & there, it keeps to the original format if the solo is on a verse but just brings a little extra in. I`ve recently watched some live shows of bands like The Jam and Oasis, and on songs where they were originally recorded/played live with certain guitars (Rickenbacker for The Jam, Gibson 335 for Oasis) both have swapped on those songs to Teles for some reason. When the solos have kicked in it`s almost been like the band have downed tools for tea break, whereas before on live shows where they`ve stuck to the original guitar types the solos have really lifted the songs. So if one instrument lifts a solo, and another flattens it is it the solo arrangement that`s wrong or the instrument choice?

Johnny Was by Bob Marley Doesn’t Make it Alright by The Specials Both covered by Stiff Little Fingers

Agree, we were a 3 piece and that was something we were very conscious of avoiding, and did, but many 3 pieces don’t. Instrument choice does help though, easier to get away with it with a Les Paul than a Strat (from my experience anyway, as a not that good guitarist).

It’s funny isn’t it, with today’s so-called much better designed, much more efficient equipment we now need all these filters to get the perfect sound that we heard people in the 60s/70s/80s achieve from the supposed sub standard gear around at the time that wasn’t scientifically any good.

Depends on style of music, given that 3 pieces can sound empty especially in solos I’d prefer a humbucker equipped guitar rather than one with single coils. And yes, the answer to what are they playing is in general “too loud”.

In the end - after a few tryouts - I settled on the Seymour Duncan Studio Compressor, and have just set it to the manuals “even things up” setting. It doesn’t sound like it’s doing anything until it’s switched off which really suits me. Compression level fairly low, Attack on minimum, it levels everything out nicely, doesn’t affect the tone at all but just allows each note to have a greater clarity.