mcnach

[quote name='Sean' timestamp='1390843932' post='2350238'] I've not heard a peep since placing the order. [/quote] Oh, me neither, but don't worry, it seems to be the norm. It certainly was the same way when I bought my BF Compact last year. You'll get an email when the time approaches. The March estimate was just from a couple of emails we exchanged before I decided to order.

[quote name='Sean' timestamp='1390782304' post='2349566'] My guess is that it'll be late April or early May. [/quote] Hmmm, Alex hinted at March...

[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1390340482' post='2344336'] Help me out...I don't use a plectrum so I'm a bit dumbfounded.. I'm looking to order some plectrums but the manufacturers can't offer me anything heavier than 0.9mm gauge - is this too light for bass players?? Advice please... [/quote] I don't normally use picks, but I bought some Dunlop "stubbies". They come in up to 3mm! I used those, and sometimes 2mm ones, for bass.

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1390674133' post='2348249'] As I'm nowhere near you either, here's a link to a good tutorial: [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=te44eWXd9pc[/media] Keep us informed about how it goes [/quote] Good video, nice and simple!

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1390736250' post='2348731'] It's not just about choice - if you have a fixed budget it can be about whether you can get something that will do the job, or nothing. [/quote] indeed! I have to thank Behringer for all the stuff I was able to play with when I had little money to spare. It may not have been the best, but it worked. Some I even loved. Some I still have! I have a seemingly indestructible practice amp, a BXL450A that actually sounds pretty good. And a guitar amp, an AC112 that once you ignore all the added effects etc and just keep it on a simple reverb patch, it sounds really good... so it's still with me, after many years.

[quote name='Sean' timestamp='1390677886' post='2348298'] Anyone out there using a big valve monster through a BareFaced? I'd be interested in your reaction to the change, what differences there were, any thoughts related to this. I've just ordered a Big Twin 2. [/quote] I ordered one on Saturday! I'll race you!

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1390677003' post='2348283'] The littler amp of the new Peaveys looks quite elegant really, with no flashy lights or knobs labelled "Kosmos", so I think they're aware that not everyone will love the one with the lights. [/quote] I rehearsed for a while at a place in Edinburgh where they provided the Peavey Tour 450 amps with the Cosmos control. Sometimes I'd turn around to look at it, and I liked to think that if I used it it might just take me on a trip around nearby galaxies. That and the blue led made me feel happy. I never used it 'though, as I wasn't sure I'd be back in time for dinner...

It turns out I had another pickguard, a cream one, and cream knobs too... I just places the knobs over the original ones, they're not installed, but you can see what it looks like... I think I like this. Also the green tone in the picture is closer to the real thing.

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1390671378' post='2348201'] Ooh, I look forward to hearing that one. I wonder how many gigs you'll really need both cabs for? Although I guess with three guitarists plus brass in SBK, you do need quite a bit of onstage volume at some gigs, especially with a dancing audience. [/quote] Yeah, in most cases I really don't need it. I do most of my gigs with the Markbass combo alone as it's strictly a monitor onstage and I love walking in/out with it. But I do play some where it's just us and our amplifiers... those guitars get loud, our drummer can really sound thunderous when he hits that white beauty of a kit he has, and SBK needs a bass that sits proudly in the mix. Not all soundmen get it, but when I have control over it, I make sure that's how it goes.

[quote name='Paul S' timestamp='1390647946' post='2347854'] The sound is not like a Stingray, not like the Westone but somewhere between with a very definite character (actually very similar to a Westone Pantera Deluxe X790 bass I have). [/quote] oooh, I like that! About not sounding like a Stingray... it looks to me from those pictures that the pickup is probably about 1-2cm farther from the bridge than on a Stingray, so it would sound quite a bit different (assuming my judgement of the spacing is right). I had a Tanglewood Warrior once, with a single MM pickup located roughly at the spot where I think yours is (actually, mine was probably a tiny bit farther still), and it was *awesome*. It was not a Stingray in any way, and it did not sound anything like a P bass, as it was somewhere in between. It sounded BIG, and with great definition, and it was lovely. Another bass I regret letting go. It was totally battered but it looked great and played really well. I found a picture of it:

well, I've gone with a Barefaced Big baby 2 for now, and see how that works...

Well, a Barefaced Big Baby 2 has been ordered... If it lives up to expectations, I can see two of these in my future, we will see. I played a gig last night in which I used the Compact with the MB combo. Afterwards I disconnected everything and left it in a pile onstage while I went to get the car, which was parked a couple of blocks away. Meanwhile, my girlfriend and the trumpet player decided to move my stuff closer to the door. My gf knew the Compact was light, so she grabbed that, apparently turning heads as she went by, since people expected it to be heavy. Superwoman She loved the weight and approves my choice

[quote name='Funky Dunky' timestamp='1390665861' post='2348112'] I'm in Beith sadly, about 18 miles from Glasgow. Thanks for the offer though, I appreciate it. I'm a novive bassist so I'm a bit out of me depth. [/quote] well, if you're coming to Edinburgh in the near future I'm sure someone here can have a look. I know a thing or two, and know another BC member here who knows a lot more and builds his own instruments that he may be able to help too.

[quote name='Funky Dunky' timestamp='1390660541' post='2348045'] I will try the scrunchie. Seen Guthrie Govan with that on his guitar, genius idea. I attempted the truss rod, a quarter turn at a time. I have made the action significantly worse. I then tried tweaking it back in the other direction and it's still somehow worse. I will just have to sell.a kidney and get it done by a pro. I ain't fooking with it any more. :-( [/quote] In the short term, it's probably the best option. But seriously, learn the basic adjustments you can make and lose the fear. Once you understand how it works, you can make your bass life much more pleasant without extra expense.

[quote name='clashcityrocker' timestamp='1390507863' post='2346270'] I thought I had a girlfriend like that once,turns out she was just fat [/quote] some people ask me why I like BC so much... I guess they never see jewels like this

I have wished I'd written this song a couple of times [url="http://youtu.be/Rcmdl6vpujw"]http://youtu.be/Rcmdl6vpujw[/url]

I like Jen & The Gents a lot, the band where 'beer of the bass' plays bass... I could not find a video of my fave "Lost the groove", but this one is great too [url="http://youtu.be/OJGAGVVuvI0"]http://youtu.be/OJGAGVVuvI0[/url]

[quote name='tom1946' timestamp='1390632868' post='2347708'] Everything Mac says is right. Mine is getting collected on tuesday because the neck has levelling issues and buzzes quite a bit. I have experience setting up basses and I can't get near with this one so they are sending me a new one and collecting the old one at the same time. I have to say DV247 is an excellent company to deal with, my emails are replied to very promptly and they don't mess you about, 10/10 [/quote] ah, sorry to hear that, but great that you can get another one so easily! I have now played with it a little more, and tweaked the truss rod a *tiny* bit more, and brought all saddles down a fraction. Getting to the point I really like it. Still no buzz. Frets seem pretty well levelled, so hopefully your next one will be like this. what files do you use for the fret ends? I'd really like to do mine.

[quote name='clashcityrocker' timestamp='1390582971' post='2347270'] So if the,I assume fender,pick guards fit around the neck snug it looks hopeful the neck pocket will be similar, fancy a blue one to stick my CV jazz rosewood neck on you see. Mmmmm [/quote] Yes, it does look like a Fender sized neck would fit. I actually like the neck on the J&D except for the slightly sharp fret ends. I wish it had no binding... but what can you do? One thing I like about maple fingerboards is having black fret markers on the side on a pale background. When you have black binding, I lose that.

[quote name='Lee Carter' timestamp='1390577460' post='2347147'] Which would you say is the closest to the actual colour? [/quote] Probably the one with the white pickguard, but it's still not quite correct. It's somewhere between the white and the tortoiseshell, but closer to the white.

a few pictures, without pickguard, and with various ones overlayed... I think I actually like it without, despite the wider routing on the neck pickup. the auto colour correction is a bit annoying, but...

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1303138872' post='1203737'] Well, it arrived and was installed: I posted about my first impressions here: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=132430"]John East P-Retro on Squier CV series Precision bass[/url] [/quote] I can't believe I sold that bass, what was I thinking?

well, I received mine today. Beautiful. The green is a bit more "yellow" than I wished, I would have liked it more if it were a more faded tone... I guess I'll have to keep it by the window and wait a few decades But it is pretty. One cosmetic thing that annoys me: if you're going to make a copy, can't you measure the original a little better? This one is like the Westfield Jazz in that the control plate (and the end of the pickguard) is farther from the edge than it should, which -to me- looks a bit disturbing (ocd?)... as it looks right, but something is not quite right and it's hard to pinpoint. UNtil you find what it is. Then you see it all the time. Considering I bought this for esthetics mostly, it's a bit disappointing. But only a bit. My first impression upon unboxing it is that it seemed very well made. The finish is good, it feels solid... It felt a better instrument than the Squier VM Jazz I used to have... except for the fret ends and the scratchy pots. And the nut. But those are pretty minor details really considering this costs about £160 or so less than the VM Jazz. The fret ends are a little sharp. It's not terrible, I will not cut myself with it, but it's not nice either. I'll have to get a file and spend some time on them, carefully. The nut just looks a little rough, but it's well cut on my bass. The A string has not been wound well so it barely angles at the nut, so it rattles a bit there. I'll rewind it as I think there's enough room to wind it down and create enough of a break angle to remove the rattle. I actually like the strings it came with! So if I can wind the A properly, the strings are staying. I plugged it in... slightly scratchy pots, all of them. It doesn't seem bad... I think contact cleaner will fix it. The action was high on mine as I took it from the box, but I played it a bit as it was, after tuning it (it was almost in tune, but one semitone down). Punchy. These pickups are not weedy at all. Both pickups on sounds unmistakeably Jazz, with enough of a scoop but not so much that loses definition. The pickups were very well balanced on this bass. I decided to adjust the relief, as there was too much. I turned the truss rod about 1/2 - 3/4 of a turn. The result was immediate, nice action without fret buzz all over the fretboard as far as I could tell... Nice. The saddles turned out to be adjusted just right and the intonation was good as far as I could measure with my basic tuner, so I guess this bass had been set up like this, and then the truss rod loosened as I don't think the wood would have changed so much by climate alone. It now plays very nicely. I could bring the action a bit lower perhaps, so that it "clacks" when I dig in hard, but it feels goos as is. I'm not in love with the neck pickup sound... but the bridge one is really good! It's meaty, fat, and rolling the tone control a bit irons out the edges beautifully. I'm pretty surprised at this. I had a set of Fender pickups in my drawer that I though I might use here, if I liked the bass... but no need. Nice slap tone as well. The tone control has a nice range, all positions are useful, bit it does not get too dark. Perhaps a different cap would be nice if you want deeper tones (thing reggae), but as it is it's a great funk machine. Like all the other "70s inspired" Jazz basses that have come out lately, the bridge pickup it's at the "60s" position... But that's cool by me, as I am not sure I like the 70s position much, as I feel the pickup is a bit too close to the bridge and the tone a bit too thin. I wonder who makes these basses. The headstock and finish is very reminiscing of SX. I am not sure they had the control plate farther from the edge than normal... but Westfield basses had, and I was also surprised at the pickups on the Westfield Jazz I used to have (I still sort of have it, it's with my brother). For £119, pretty good! In fact, if someone had spent a little time with a file sorting out the edges before selling it, I would think it clearly deserves a price tag of around £300-350. I think it's a bargain, even if you don't do anything about the fret ends. I removed the pickguard to have a look, as it had been reported that the routing of the neck pickup was neat. Well, it isn't. I was a bit disappointed there as I was considering using it without a pickguard. The routing does have the pickup shape, with the ears and all... but it's oversized. A little oversize is ok. This is *quite* oversized. Still, it looks a lot better than the usual rectangular routing. I think I will get rid off the black pickguard. White looks good. Tortoiseshell is not bad at all either. Or... maybe a strange anodised cyan pickguard I bought a while ago but never used... going with the "sea foam" marine theme I'll post pictures later. I don't need this bass, at all. But it looks awesome and I have pedals that I barely use that cost a lot more... When I was a kid, a budget instrument meant you had an instrument that was decidedly inferior. Now I buy a budget instrument and I'm just being picky about fret ends and pots being a little scratchy, all stuff that can be fixed easily. Lucky kids today, eh? edit: scratchy pots are gone. All I did was turn them up and down fast for a few seconds, and it went away. How long it'll stay scratch-free? who knows? But whatever the dirt was must have been little and not really stuck. I brought the action a bit lower, and it's smoother and still buzz free I still like these strings!

[quote name='tom1946' timestamp='1390508169' post='2346276'] I just used a fine file, VERY carefully then shielded the board and wire woolled the fret tops. works for me, they are better than they were. [/quote] what kind of file? (coarseness) I don't have one, and I think I should get one.

[quote name='Immo' timestamp='1390510841' post='2346320'] No direct distribution, I'd need to order it from the site linked in the OP, however it's a bit risky and, of course, we have ridiculous tax policy recently, those freakin' bloodsuckers would take a last penny from a woman dying of hunger and trying to save her baby from gangrene. Maybe later [/quote] tax? I thought there was no import tax between EU countries...