mcnach

well, I bought one now ebay

Not really. And the neck dive wasn't as bad as some other basses I have tried... but it was annoying nevertheless. The pickups were pretty good sounding, powerful beasts. If a bit of neck dive doesn't put you off, it was a pretty cool bass. I was looking for the all maple one... (just looking, I promise ;)) but I could not find it. Do you have any links to it? I'd love to see it.

I'm a fan of the standard white nylons, but upon investigating a little it looks like coppers might be more my thing (a bit less bright, with stronger low mids, apparently)... I've just ordered a set of the copper ones. Let's see.

UPDATE: Model T Session RAWKS!!! It's been a week now... and the initial doubts are well and truly over. Once I was convinced that I wanted it, I lost caution (I wanted to keep it pristine and clean in case I returned it) and really started to play it in earnest... and further adjusted the neck and pickup heights. Adjusting the pickup heights had quite a profound effect... and I can say that this is a great bass indeed. I know that pickup height is pretty important, but it seems to have much more of an effect on these EMG pickups (active) than on passive pickups. I've got it now pretty balanced across strings, and also between pickups. Well, no, the P is a bit louder... but I decided I wouldn't really play the J on its own, so I set the P first (did I say earlier just how great these EMG P pickups are???) and then adjusted the J so that the blend sounded good to me. The J is a bit quieter than the P, but boosting bass a bit gives me a pretty useable sound. As it stands, there are 4 basic tones that I really like and are easy to get to simply by using the blend control (I keep the bass EQ flat and the treble cut about half way). My favourite sounds are, in order: 1) Blend all the way towards the P. It's not a classic Precision sound, but it's a very nice and growly Precision sound. Finger style it has very good definition and I can make it more or less aggressive by dialling in more or less treble. Pretty cool slap tone too. 2) Blend set to centre detent and then a *tiny bit* towards the bridge. This way both pickups are on, but the bridge adds extra definition and compensates for the natural mid scoop you get with two pickups on. It sounds fat, defined and refined. Nice low growl. Cool funk sound, turn treble all the way off... hmmm. Nice slapped too. 3) Blend set to centre detent and then a *tiny bit* towards the neck. It's almost a variation of the P alone sound, a bit scooped in the mids, just a bit... nice slap sound. 4) Blend set to centre detent. The most mid-scoop setting, even if it still retains a lot of presence compared to your typical Jazz or PJ. I would not use this in a busy mix with lots of other instruments competing for bass, but in a sparse mix it will sound thick and glorious. Yes, I'm liking this bass a lot. I've got a set of DR Sun Beams (45-100) to try on the bass, as I like a more flexible/compliant string... I'll have to tame the initial zing by playing the hell out of it, but it doesn't seem like a chore So, if you were dismissing this bass from the race after my initial comments... I think you should put it back in. However, do so only if you are not after a traditional PJ type of sound. These EMGs are not going to give you a traditional passive bass type of sound, despite the look of the bass. It is a very good sound, 'though! And the neck is fantastic. It's just a bit slimmer than my 2002 Stingray. Nominally it's just 1mm difference in width, but it's also a little bit shallower, which makes it feel clearly slimmer but nothing like a Jazz (which would be a deal breaker for me). If it were lacquered it would be perfect (I had my Stingray's neck lacquered)... but no biggie.

I have a similar case, one for bass and one for guitar. They do a great job. The downside is that they're not comfortable to carry for any distance... but they weigh nothing and offer pretty decent protection, so not bad at all. I prefer my Fusion F1, but it cost about 3x more...

It sounds very easy, and it is indeed very easy to play all the notes... however, to play then *right*, it takes far more practice/effort than you first think. The first time I heard it I liked it and went and played it from memory. Something wasn't quite right, I thought. Then I went back to the original. Ah... so many little details that together make a huge difference!

I would have been not long ago, but my Mesa D800+ has a variable one built-in that works very well

That's just one way to use it, for speaker protection. You can definitely turn up the cut off frequency higher into the audible range and get very useful results too. Bass is not that much about the lowest frequencies, for most people, even if they don't realise it until they check. I used to have a Thumpinator, but once I tried a frequency-adjustable one, the Thumpinator went, as I often found useful to go above its rigid cutoff of 30Hz

Need one? Probably not. But they can come very handy. I would get a frequency-adjustable one, something like the Broughton Audio one. Small, simple, and not extremely expensive. I find it very useful to tame unwanted 'boomy' sound you get in some stages/rooms. THAT will be audible. It's surprising how much you can cut while still sounding fat and big. It helps getting a fat but clear bass, I find.

I've had a neck made and bought a couple of preamps... no trouble, but won't be top quality either (no surprise). Communication can be tricky, so be concise and use bullet points if possible...

Not the answer my wallet wanted to hear... but fortunately it's a cheap pedal Thank you! I must try one of these. The sound seems right and the size is perfect...

I haven't seen the new all maple bass, but if it looks half as good as the one I used to have, it'll be a beauty. However, the neck dive was annoying in the end. It was made worse by the fact the bass was very light, but I wouldn't want a heavy body just to help a bit with the neck dive. A suede strap (which I also have) just grabs whatever you're wearing: it's ok if it's a jacket, but if it's a t-shirt, you end up with a diving bass anyway and a t-shirt pulling out from the side looking very odd. It sounded good, 'though.

True. About half an inch!

It looks like it's a good thing he's gone. People with temperament like that are a liability. I'm not the calmest person, but even I would not leave a band hanging. It looks like you've got it covered for the upcoming gig... do it that way and try to get a replacement for the future. I'd personally never go back to playing with that drummer. You need people you can rely on, and accept criticism when is due.

That would be a good bass for sure, but it'll easily add another £500 or so, depending on options, than the Schecter.

I had a Cort GB74. It had a slimmer neck than I like but it was a very well made bass. However the electronics were very disappointing, especially the preamp. Still... they're not that costly, and I got mine used for £150 (yup), a beautiful natural/maple one that weighed just over 7 lbs. The Sires... I have just tried a 5 string V7 (Jazz) and I thought it was incredible, especially considering the price, but even at a higher price. I have heard of them being heavy but this one was not overly heavy. Judging by the quality of that one, I'd definitely keep Sire in my radar. It was very very very nice. The Sire P7 comes in some nice finishes... the least favourite of mine is the Tobacco sunburst... but it seems to have the J pickup farther from the bridge than the others, and that could be a very cool configuration.

well, I changed my mind. I'm keeping it. It's just too nice to play. The Yamahas have an interesting look and sound good but they've never felt "right" when I tried them.

I know it has a volume, but the pedal I mentioned earlier was too sensitive. If I wanted to quickly increase or lower gain *a little bit*, I'd have to readjust the volume too, which is not so easy while on the go, as a small tweak made my bass inaudible or too loud. Most overdrive pedals will also increase the volume when turning gain up, but not an increase that would be problematic. So just wondering how sensitive this pedal is.

heathen!

I am tempted to keep it... but removing that preamp and installing a 3-band John East U-Retro (which I already have in my drawer, doing nothing, waiting for the right bass) with its wonderful semiparametric mids control... I suspect that I would like the bass a lot more then. But it just seems to me I'm trying to make it sound like the Maruszczyk Jake I have... so what's the point? I wish I had kept an older set of DR Fat Beams to try it with, as the right strings could transform the bass, perhaps... Hmmm...

I took it to rehearsal today, very very very carefully, alongside my passive Maruszczyk P/JJ (a Jake). I like the neck on the Model T better... even if the Jake's neck was specified by me and they built it just like I asked. I love it. It's a great neck... but the Model T is really really nice. However... I think I'm going to send it back. When I finally get the sounds I'm after, it turns out that I'm making it sound like the Jake. The EMG P sounds very nice on the Model P, and that's something I never really loved on my Jake: the P pickup alone is ok but not smile-inducing like the EMG on the Model T. The Model T is nice... but not nice enough for me to have two terribly similar basses... where the Jake wins with its double J and general vibe. I know the comparison today wasn't fair as the Jake has strings that feel and sound just right, while the Model T has strings that I dislike profoundly because they're way too bright... but it seems the character of the Model T is something I'm fighting against [*] while the Jake's character is more to my taste. [*] nothing wrong with it, just a little too aggressive and bright for my liking (although the EMG P sounds great). It's a shame... it's a really good looking bass and feels really nice to play.

I like the sound of that! Do you find that changing the drive setting alters a lot the volume? I mean, yes, it will affect the volume but is it so much that small changes in drive will make you change the volume too? I have a Joyo Ultimate Drive which is based on the OCD as well and sounds nice... but when I need to adjust the drive, the volume either drops or increases a lot even for relatively small changes in drive... which makes adjusting it while playing live a little more complicated. I'd love it if the volume change weren't as drastic. On the video the changes in volume sound reasonable but there could be a lot of compression going on... What do you think?

I'd love not to notice. I sold quite a few basses over the years mostly because I didn't get along with the neck after trying to like it... and some were really nice. Lucky you!

Totally. They're good instruments, without a doubt. My 'niggles' were purely about whether this is the sound I want, and I should have started by saying that I don't normally get along with twin pickup basses, except things like the Warwick Corvette $$, where the two pickups are not at their 'usual' positions. Unfortunately these basses are not very commonly found in the second hand market, so if one really wants to try it, buying online and gamble is the only option. So the question is: do you think it will be a better bass than other similarly priced ones that you can find more easily? If the looks grab you, there's no question as there isn't really another one like it around. But if you just want a PJ style bass, there are lots of other options too. I have to say I like this better than the vast majority of PJ basses I've ever tried so far. I played the Model T a bit more this morning and now I'm at 99% keeping it. It feels right for me. It's a lovely neck, I got it playing very nicely with pretty low action smoothly, no buzz, I can still dig in and will sound good... and it does sound good. Now that I know where the "sweet zone" is for me, so I don't need but to tweak very slightly the blend or treble controls... I'm pretty happy with the sound. I'll take it to band rehearsal tonight and unless that reveals something negative, I'm keeping it.

Not as many hits? Ah, you haven't seen me! They ask me to play right at the back of the stage to avoid riots with women trying to climb up and get closer... it's a curse, but I live with it I might do some recording, could be fun... however all these basses have completely different strings, so not sure how useful it'd be as a straight comparison, but could be fun. Right now it's: Model T: very new nickel Ernie Balls Fender P: 3 year old stainless steel DR Fat Beams, I like them a lot but they have lost the very top by now. Squier P: Fender Original 60s pickup, Status black nylon tapewounds Maruszczyk P/JJ: Seymour Duncan SPB-1 replacement on the P. Original Maruszczyk nickels... they are very old and mellow and I like them as they are Maruszczyk reverse P: Delano something or another, fresh DR Fat Beams Stingray: two year old DR Fat beams... very mellow, but the preamp still extracts a lot of treble if/when I want to EBMM SUB: one year old (or so) DR Fat Beams we'll see...