mcnach

Try Hi Beams. They're nice strings, but they feel a bit more taut than the other two, and the E and A strings in particular sound crisper longer. It's the reason I prefer Fat Beams. I like low strings with good definition but I'm not into 'piano' crisp tones. Hi Beams do that better than Fat or Sunbeams. I found out when I bought Hi Beams by mistake and I couldn't figure out why the bass was so different... until I saw the package on my recycling bin

I think you won't go wrong with either. They're my two favourite strings. I tend to favour Fat Beams. I don't love them initially as they are pretty bright as most stainless steel strings tend to be, but they quickly settle into a slightly tamer zone that lasts a LONG time. They feel nice on the fingers, smooth and flexible, and sound great on anything I've tried really. They are the only strings I use on my Stingrays. SunBeams are slightly differernt but they really aren't that far from Fat Beams. When fresh they're not quite as bright, so they don't have that initial period where I wish the zing weren't there, and they're maybe a little more 'polite' than Fat Beams... but it's not that one is better than the other. I have been using them on my Precision and PJ basses, where I previously had Fat Beams, and I can't say which is better. They're just slightly different, but both are very good. SunBeams a bit smoother perhaps and the low mids stronger on the Fat Beams... but there really isn't that much between them after a week playing them. Both are great choices, for my liking, with Fat Beams slightly being favoured. I discovered Fat Beams by chance. I bought a used USA MM SUB a few years ago. The strings had a lot of life in them and sounded good, so I kept them, which is unusual as I generally rip off whatever strings any bass comes with and put my own, especially if used! The bass sounded great. I thought it was just the bass. The pickup is wired in series rather than parallel and I seemed to like that punchier sound a lot. I was in a RHCP tribute band at the time. Then one night, I broke a string. The only time I ever broke a bass string, and of course it was live. The G string. We were playing Blackeyed Blonde, which makes the G string in particular take a beating as I am not the subtlest kind of player when it comes to slap, especially in a fast song like that. I finished the song without it... and took a new set of strings from my bag while the band started jamming with made up lyrics making fun of me and how I broke my G string 😛 I had a set of nickel D'Addario roundwounds, which were what I generally used then as they sounded and felt good and the price was reasonable. I replaced just the G string, to be quick... and I wanted to cry. It was so out of balance! Same gauge (I measured it with calipers at home) but there was a distinct lack of volume and body. It wasn't just quieter... it just didn't have... girth... Finished the gig, replaced the other strings... and what a sad bass that was. I mean, objectively, it wasn't BAD... but it felt like it was a sad depressed bass compared to the happy confident instrument I had before. So I took pictures and set out to find what strings they were, in this very forum, as others do at times. The consensus was they were likely DR Fat Beams. I didn't like that answer as the price was over 2x what I was paying for D'Addario at the time, but I bit the bullet and bought a set. When it arrived... I was happy it very much looked like my old strings. I installed them and they were so much better than the D'Addario ones! Still.. not quite right, I felt. But it only took a week or two to start feeling THAT sound. The strings I was used to were clearly not new, and I just needed to get over the initial extra zing of the new strings. Very soon, that bass was happy again. I've tried many other strings since, as I'm always curious to try new things... but Fat Beams are the ones for me. The only other roundwounds that I've liked enough were SunBeams. I use both 45-105 and 45-100. Gauge 40 on the G is a bit too weak and didn't like it. The 45-100 is the better balanced one, in my opinion. The E string is strong but not overpowering and the G has good volume. Great strings to bend, if you're into that.

Then what are you doing here?

I hope you don't! (do a Pete Townsend) It does look like solid wood indeed... the ones I had seen before were all plywood, and heavy. Nice one!

I'm not sure there are many pickups 'designed' that way [1]. Even the Stingray pickup, which was arguably designed to be used with a preamp, has a very healthy output by itself. Passive pickups come in a wide range of outputs, and I haven't found a correlation in any way. [1] edit: unless you meant *active* pickups, which are very low output and contain a preamp built-in their case, like EMGs... but those don't work passively.

I like that one

Some speakers seem to roll off high frequencies at 6-7 KHz, and on paper appear to therefore lack treble compared to other wider response cabs. In truth, I don't find anything missing in those, and I actually prefer them as it's harder for me to get a shrill/brittle top end sound. I slap a fair amount with some bands, and my Two10 cabs (roll off at 6 KHz I think) sound beautifully. I miss no treble on those. The reason I bring this up is that during my quest for the right cabs for me I'd look at how high and low cabs could get, and I missed on a few good ones just because they would not go high enough, or I chose their tweeter versions to compensate for that, which -for my taste- was a complete waste of money. The only 'tweeter' that sounded any f=good, for me, was the horn (not exactly a tweeter, it seems, I don't know the difference) on the BF BB2. Very well implemented. But ultimately, not the right speaker for me. The VdK MNT210 is a very nice cab, but one alone may not be enough if you require high volumes. If you need a single cab... The ST will work, but see if you can try it first, you might prefer the sound of other 'less transparent' cabs. I used to own a pair of BB2 and I spent way too much time EQ them to taste. Once I moved to other more coloured cabs (in a way I liked) I achieve the sounds I like much more easily. The MNT210 would be in that category, as was the TKS 1126 (single 12", I owned a pair) and TKS S112 (single 12", I still own a pair). Although all three sounded a bit different. I favoured the S112, but two were needed as they're not the most powerful cabs... yet they're tiny and super light so carrying 2 was no problem. In fact, for a one cab solution, I'd recommend a TKS S212 (2x S112 in a single cab form) to be in your list. Not amazing power handling, but very very good sound, light and easy to transport. If a MNT210 is ok for you volume-wise, a S212 would also likely be ok. They respond very well to boosting lows a bit (by default they may seem lacking a bit of lows compared to other cabs), and the low end is very nice and tight without getting boomy as easily as others. I like a strong fat sound with good definition (Precision or Stingray) and the TKS S112 worked very well for me with a range of amplifiers. I only moved to a pair of Two10 because I sometimes needed more volume (with one of my bands in particular I often have to carry all bass with my amplifier) and they get me very close to the TKS, with some extra low end... however sound-wise I still prefer the pair of TKS S112. They roll off also somewhere in the 5-6 KHz region I believe, but I find them beautifully sounding for slap too. However I'm more classic 70s funk and 80s slap sound than Wooten/Miller type of slap.

Pretty sure it's plywood, and the heavy weight is consistent with it, but you can check it easily. Regardless... it's beautiful and if it sounds good who cares? My favourite Jazz is a plywood body Squier from 1994. I preferred it to three 75RI Fenders and a RW Fender, which were all sold on, but the Squier remains...

I suspect that a lot of the entries will be much more interesting that what he played there... which might actually be the point! I don't get his constant quest to play something that resembles a Stingray, without being a Stingray I'd just take a Stingray and modify it to taste. Well, that's probably what his Modulus was, to be fair. Having said that, I'm a fan. I like how there's never "this is the ultimate". Tastes change, and he does different things on different basses, even using a Precision in some cases...

Usually in good terms. The most recent band I left (where a member here was guitarist too), I liked them a lot but I joined them at a time when my main band was not that busy and things looked a bit down... then things got better and much busier. At the same time this band got a bit busier too and I was feeling like I was going to be spread too thin and it wasn't fair. So I announced I was going to have to leave, but I said I'd play whatever gigs they needed me to until they found a replacement. I actually suggested a friend as a replacement, he auditioned and he is still with them. A few years earlier I left another band whose music I liked but there was a BL and he was too much of a control freak. It was taking the joy out of playing, and after one particularly awful gig where he kept talking on his mic over the first 3 songs to ask various changes in the monitors (he refused to go in early to do a soundcheck!) I just quit. I'd have played any gigs to avoid them cancelling but they got a new guy in time for the next gig. Shame, as it was good material and played a few really cool gigs with them... but the joy was no longer there. Then there was that band, we didn't get to gig... I was a bit fed up with volume wars and a very insecure guitarist. This guitarist was their former bass player, and the minute the band started praising my bass style he got a bit grumpy. I thought it was coincidence. Then a couple of weeks later I was playing guitar and I don't know if he felt threatened or what but he became a real silly billy from then on. We had booked a gig just over a month from the date when I decided it was not for me, but I decided I'd like to play that gig. However, I cancelled two practices leading to that gig (I couldn't be arsed to subject my eardrums to that infernal racket... and we already knew the songs well...), and drummer emailed me to say they were talking and thought things weren't working out. So I got fired before I could quit. Then they did not play that gig, or any others in fact, as I was following them for a while. It annoyed me a little bit I didn't get to say "I quit" Another band I was the founder and main person, it was a RHCP tribute... things were fizzling out and I was clashing a bit with our very good but a bit arrogant guitarist. He started out a different project in another town and was finding it hard to meet for practices too, it was obvious his heart wasn't into it anymore. Then we had a very meh gig, and I announced that I didn't think I wanted to continue doing this. So we played one more gig a month later, supporting my main band actually, and we called it a day. Drummer had been recruited to my main band soon before that, and I stayed in touch with singer, and we've played together a couple of times after that. Guitarist... I hear he's doing well and has adopted a kind of rock star look in his late 40s. I wish him all the best but have no interest in meeting him again. However I'll forever be grateful for the first couple of years in that band, I had some of the best gigs and much more fun than I imagined. He actually was very helpful and a cool guy to be around with for some time. Shame we couldn't just part in good terms.

On the mend, thanks, but slowly... urgh. As long as i get better before my holiday next week it's all good

I apologise if I misunderstood the tone of your questions. It sounded to me as if you were saying "all you need is in your amp, onboard preamps are ridiculous and so are their users" reading between the lines. Hence my tone. But it's very possible I misunderstood too. Somehow, in person, we can disagree very strongly and pull each other's leg and keep smiling, but in writing it all can look so damn serious. Especially if the reader has been having a bad day. I've been pretty sick the past few days and had to do a quick run to hospital [1] last night... and I'm a terrible patient, I get really grumpy when I'm ill. So, yes... I'm not going to re-read it all, if you say you didn't mean it the way I took it, I believe you, please accept my apology, and let's keep it cheery edit: [1] by the way it's all good, just a scary false alarm. I just need to be a patient patient, and I'm still grumpy, but not about onboard preamps

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate your suggestions. It's impossible for you to know what's in my head when only rarely I know it myself 😛 It took me a while to learn that onboard happiness, for me, is passive tone with semiparametric mids.

What would we do without your wisdom? edit: I'll explain why my tone. It grates when someone keeps insisting that HIS way of doing things is THE way of doing things, just because he likes it better that way. Wake up. Thank you for the input. I get it. Now let me carry on doing what works best for MYSELF.

In those days we'd all waste a lot more time, it's true. You can't, in 2019, say you played in function bands and say they didn't have a name. A function band without a name? That is a band that never left the rehearsal studio. The guitarist could well be fantastic, but when you have others to try, why would you give him a chance? Certainly not because his natural charm...

I didn't know Donald Trump played guitar!!! Last year we tried to start a side project with members of my main two bands. We went to the first tryout with this guitarist we found on facebook... talked the talk, but what a poser he was. Horrible tone, all he could do was widdle over bluesy tunes (and my rule #1 when we started the project was "I ain't playing no steenkin' bluez") and often out of tune. After we gave him the "thanks but we're going in a different direction", he got really upset and bombarded our messenger with short messages about how we clearly feel threatened by his superior musicianship and bs like that. It was hilarious, in a cringeworthy manner. Poor guy. Maybe he moved towards your town?

Hey, the possession of knobs do not imply you need to use them all the time. If you're endlessly tweaking then maybe you haven't figured out what sound you're after... or the bass just cannot produce it and you haven't realised it. And yes, I fell for that too. My first active bass, a Warwick Corvette $$, with multiple switches and push/pull knobs... I swear I spent more time playing with my knobs 😛 than playing music. Then the Stingray saved me.

That's a bit of a flippant answer, isn't it? Let us, who know how to use our knobs, have them. Or something

I find it much nicer to have it at my fingertips. Just my preference. I set the amp for the 'general' sound, and then use the onboard controls as required. I'm also one of the people who use passive tone controls a lot, while others just leave them open. I also favour single pickup basses while others keep playing with different pickups and combinations... Are you really suggesting I should ask the guy at the desk to change my mids for monitor and FOH as the gig progresses? As for 3 band over 2 band... funny, I don't care for bass/treble controls, so give me the 3-band purely for mids. But I want mids where I can select the centre frequency between as low as 100Hz to 1000 or 2000 Hz. That one single control is very intuitive and powerful. I like it. My preference. Possibly not on the bible, 'though but there you go.

Oh there's a few for bass preamps. John East make a stand alone mids module... out of stock right now, temporarily, but it's part of the 3-band MMSR, so not difficult to obtain. Selectable sweep between 100-1000 or 200-2000 Hz As the Model T is EMG equipped, I looked at EMG, and they have a stand alone module, the VMC, which is very similar although only 100-1000. I've seen others by Noll, I think, and cheapies by ToneMonster.

You show me a cannon when all I want is a newspaper to hit a mosquito A simple semiparametic (100-1000 Hz) with two controls, stacked, is all I want on the bass. I find that effective yet easy to tweak on the spot. Give me a passive tone plus a semiparametric like that one, and I'm happy. Resale value is not a factor for me. I really don't care. I find it odd to not modify an instrument the way I like it just in case I lose a few £ should I want to sell it in the future. Besides, it's easy to restore to stock, all I'm doing is changing two components and wires. And finally... this bass stays. I love it. This and the Stingray are the unsaleables

Ah, it looks like they merged with the bar next door, and that's where the band plays now (which is the restaurant during the day). The other side is as you describe, and much smaller. The after gig parties still happen

Yup, that's the one, next to a little SPAR (I think) shop, with a beer garden behind, and the walls painted a very interesting shade of... yellow/green? Hard to tell. They have a few rooms too. Restaurant on the left side, where bands play, and bar on the right. There's a fireplace right behind where the band sets up, and you MUST remember to ask them to put it down well in advance, or you'll have a toasted drummer. We've played there many times, and it's always been busy in the end... but sometimes it looked a bit sad to start. We had some 'fans' who would always be there from the start, but sets would be variable. We generally played 3 sets and had to time the breaks well because all it takes is one little group deciding to try the other bar up the road and suddenly you've lost 15-20 people, in a bar that holds maybe 100 at best? Although I'm sure sometimes we had more people there... It's one bar where we actually barricade ourselves in as the locals can get pretty... enthusiastic Last time there owner was a bit 'erratic' and we got a bit fed up with her attitude, and two of the guys don't seem keen to return. We'll see. Typically we'd play there at the beginning of the summer and then at the end, so if we go back I'll find out soon. It was a fun place to play, mostly.

The stock preamp is EMG on the Model T. Not a bad preamp, and you can tweak it a bit (a couple of internal dip switches changes its mode of operation a bit)... but with most preamps I find it's mids I want to control easily: bass I set with my amp, treble... I haven't really found an active treble control I like as much as a passive treble-cut. Semiparametric mids is where it's at for me. Back to the stock 2EQ EMG, I don't think it's bad, just that it doesn't suit me. I worked hard at learning how the bass/treble controls interact, much like I did with the Stingray... but the Stingray is dialled in just right for my liking, while the EMG is just not quite right in combination with those pickups. I was going to replace the whole thing, put a set of DiMarzio Model P/J and passive controls... but I thought I'd try this passive tone + semiparametric mids trick first.