Wil

I'd really like an SBV800MF. Rare as hen's teeth though, the only one I can recall seeing up for sale was when Paul C sold off his SBV collection some years ago.

Those fretkings look interesting. I love SBVs, theyre a bit bonkers.

That Mostrite

Reverse offset basses are pretty cool, I reckon. I once owned a Mockingbird which had the curious effect of making you feel like a rock god as soon as you strapped it on (it was too pointy for me however, in the end). I'd quite like another reverse offset design, but the only ones I can think of are the Gibson Thunderbird (lower horn too bulbous), RD Artist (too expensive/rare), Explorer (too pointy), BC Rich Mockingbird (same) and First Act Delgada (horrific headstock). So, as you can see, I'm a fussy bastard. Are there any other notable, mass produced reverse offset basses?

Yeah, I tend to back the bridge off 10% or so - I like the definition it provides, but I'm a P man at heart so the neck pup is always full on for me I only recently discovered this trick - for years I'd always have both pups up full and wonder why the bass was getting lost in the mix.

Try rolling one of your pickup volumes down a touch - due to a quirk in the wiring, when both pickups are up full the mids are scooped a bit. When you roll back the volume slightly on one of the pups you get a little low mid bump that can add a lot of definition.

Sound quality is a bit poor, but it's fairly rare for us to get live footage so thought I'd post anyway. This was our first show with a new drummer, really enjoyed it This gig really reminded me how much I love my old P bass - it hangs just right, it looks cool (I think!), and it sounds perfect for a rock band... odd really that of all the basses I've owned, including high end stuff like Status and Warwick basses, I keep coming back to a plywood bodied parts bass that cost under £200 to put together

I've been tempted by the Bongo before, but it always comes down to the fact that they're a bit ugly.

Nope, I just switched back to my fretted and got the sound I wanted without messing about They do sound different, naturally, and you'll never make a fretless sound exactly like a fretted bass. You can get close, but if the tone you want is a "fretted" tone, then there's little point messing about IMO. I'd rather make use of fretless in a genre where it can shine doing it's own thing.

I wouldn't use a fretless in my band either, as much as I like them. For fast rock/punk the attack of the note on a fretted bass just fits better IMO. I've tried with both a fretless Warwick in an indie rock band years ago, and a fretless P more recently, and it detracted more than it added to the sound.

[quote name='Bottle' post='1286103' date='Jun 29 2011, 09:30 AM']Tried my bass tutors' fretless Warwick Corvette five-banger - it was an awesome experience. Also tried Silddx's fretless Warwick at a bass bash once as well, liked it a lot. I'm planning on defretting my spare Precision Special bass (well, now my [i]second[/i] spare bass!!), since I have two basses with rosewood boards, both currently fretted. Looking for that sweet 'mwaaahhhh' from it once I swap over the LaBella flats from my Vintage 'Ray copy. That will get me into fretless territory without a large amount of expense. I'm eager to hear of people's experiences with fretless P-basses and what pickups they'd recommend Ta, Ian[/quote] I've had a fretless neck on my P before. It was lovely - my P sounds quite dark anyway so the end result was a bit like an upright on steroids, rather than the cliched Jaco thing. You can hear it on the blues track "The Flood" on my solo recordings link in my sig. I'd quite like another fretless P, I must say...

Apparently the melodic percussion instrument sampled for the track was built by a chap in Bath - a "gamalan celeste".

No problems at all. you'll need to adjust the intonation and most likely the neck relief too. Its great having the low b on a comfy 4 string neck, especially if like me you rarely use the g string

New Bjork tune. The last minute is [i]barking[/i] mad. [url="http://www.slantmagazine.com/house/2011/06/single-review-bjork-crystalline/"]http://www.slantmagazine.com/house/2011/06...rk-crystalline/[/url]

Korg DT-10 for me. Rugged, nice clear display, accurate tuning. The other day it fell from the attic space we rehearse in to the landing below, a good 15 foot drop - not a scratch on it and still works fine, so thumbs up from me.

This has some interesting footage of the Fender factory pre CBS. It looks like any other workshop, no magic elves or anything

[quote name='Ancient Mariner' post='1280987' date='Jun 24 2011, 01:49 PM']A lot of the time it's not how the instrument sounds of itself, but [b]how it responds to our playing[/b].[/quote] Very true.

The best sounding bass I currently own is a good 15 years older than my other one. It's also made of plywood.

I've had two Markbass heads now, and I really like them. The F1 is probably the most musical sounding head I've owned - I've not used a Sansamp or similar with it yet. I'm not sure I really need to - despite being clean, it just sounds better (clearer, warmer, punchier) than my previous sansamp/poweramp rig in a rock mix. I would imagine it would pair well with a VT, though.

[quote name='xgsjx' post='1280388' date='Jun 24 2011, 12:16 AM']Mine has the Omni-Adjust bridge, I believe they later replaced it with one called the Accu-cast. [url="http://www.flickr.com/photos/xgsjx/5864441787/"][/url] Not sure how it compares with the SR5xx bridges that appear to be having issues.[/quote] What model is that? Great looking bass. *Doh, just read that it's an SR1000 on page one. Nice looking bass anyway

I really enjoyed having a fretless neck on my P for a while. Seemed to increase the thump, in fact!

There's the rub, you see - lots of people like steamed cabbage. It's good for you and rich in flavour. Steamed cabbage must be a good thing, then, much like the P bass. QED

If Fender release a P bass with a chorus pedal and reverb built in, that you can't turn off, I'm sure Chris will come round

[quote name='Chris2112' post='1278685' date='Jun 22 2011, 04:29 PM']Ah, the P bass. The last resort when all inspiration has left the player. [/quote] That's a bit like saying "steak, the last resort when inspiration has left the chef".

I've had all sorts of basses, but I've found nothing sits in a mix as effortlessly as a good P does