Rayman

[quote name='silddx' post='712643' date='Jan 14 2010, 03:08 PM']Fantastic! The EMG is good then? Wondering if I should swap the EMG Selects for your EMG model in my Steinberger Spirit. The EMG Selects are not much cop.[/quote] Yeah I'm impressed with it. Quite a high output and nice and punchy. I have to be honest, I wasn't expecting a lot from it, I just hoped it would be better than the toy pickup the bass came with, it is, and it's great. I'll reserve the final judgement for after I've at least rehearsed with it in the band. The EMG-35HZ is a passive pickup FYI.

Sadowsky RV4 with it's newly fitted VTC, Upgraded Fleabass (thread details in Bass Guitars section), '91 MIJ Squier Precision. The Sadowsky is magnificent. The Precision is as good a Precision as I've ever had, beautiful player, great tone with the TI flats, loads of mojo. The Fleabass is great (post upgrade), I'm very pleased with how it's turned out, even though I've had to throw some cash at it to get it how I want it, but it now plays great and sounds very punchy.

The finished bass. £309 for the bass, 50 EUR for the EMG from Thomann, CTS pots, Switchcraft jack and brass nut all fitted for £60. I've had it cranked up at gig volume this morning, and I have to say it sounds awesome and plays absolutely great, and I still love how it looks. Very impressed with the EMG, it'll be ideal for my band in terms of punch, so I'm looking forward to gigging it. As I say, I'll post after a gig and report on the tone etc then.

Notice the difference in the thickness of the top of the two posts, only one of them is thinner, the other three are the same.

Steve Robinson "Manchester Guitar Tech" in Sale.

Well, yes I guess you could say that. I feel that I'll have a decent bass at the end of it, but the longer I have it, the more I realize they really are over priced for what they are, and mr Balzary's vision is through cheap chinese made rose tinted spectacles somewhat. Never the less, I'm having fun with the project, my daughter will inherit the bass eventually anyway, and she loves it. It's only really going to be used for fun, for the odd gig, and for at home, so I won't be throwing much more money it's way now. I can't see the Sadowsky being under threat from this bass.

By the way, my tech who did the work for me, reckoned the stock electrics were very poor quality indeed. The entire contents of the control compartment, including the pickup, went in the bin.

OK, so the mods are done, EMG-35HZ, CTS pots, Switchcraft jack, and a sexy brass nut. I won't hear it at volume until next weeks band rehearsal, but first impressions are very good post upgrade. Much punchier, more tonal options (although not a vast selection still), it's still quite middy but with more clarity at the top end. Closer inspection since last post has revealed pretty poor quality tuners. They keep it in tune ok, but the casting isn't consistent leaving slightly different sized tops to the tuning posts, not ideal, they might get pimped to later down the line. Also I think the maple used for the neck is quite soft and will ding very easily, although the fretboard is now very nice to play. The finish on the [i]back[/i] of the headstock is frankly hopeless. I still love this bass I really do. I love the design and colours as pointed out before, and the mods have made it a sensible backup to the Sadowsky for gigs on occasion, although the Precision will hold that job down most of the time. The mods were a necessity though, as in all honesty it was a very ordinary bass for the price tag out of the box, even though I was happy with the setup and general playability of it on first play. I'll post again once I've rehearsed/gigged it for a proper sound analysis, and I'll post a couple of pics too.

The Cover Stars Under Cover Outliners Lust In Space Shlemp Fallout You Pay We Play

Well it's now fitted, and I couldn't be happier, marvellous.

Best live bass sound I've heard in a long time was Adam Nitti's Warrior. I was lucky enough to look at it up close recently and it was even better in the flesh than in the pics. I love his sound, but some find it too harsh, and as stated before quite MTD like. It's kind of Fender Jazz on steroids for me. Very nice gear indeed.

How does the Vintage tone control fit in to the existing Pre? Current layout on my RV4 being Volume, Pan, Treble, bass/active passive push pull. Which pot gets replaced with the control? Needless to say, my tech will be doing it, not me.

Yeah, well it's Fedex so that's OK, but I remember getting charged a fair chunk by Parcelfarce when I imported a Seymour Duncan humbucker a few years back. I lost the money I'd saved buying it in the US, and it would've been cheaper going up the road and buying it full price at the local guitar shop. As you say, the post office would've been responsible for some of that charge too.

Just had a thought, am I going to get stung on import duty for a Sadowsky Vintage Tone Control unit I just bought directly from them? It's only tiny yes, but cost over $100.

Fabulous bass tone, love it.

Yes of course, but then I've had basses worth a grand plus that I've modded too, in fact my Sadowsky is about to have a Vintage Tone Control fitted which is not standard either. I think it would be a shame to write these Fleabasses off, when the addition of a decent pickup would improve them immensely. Maybe it'll all be a waste of time [i]and[/i] money, we'll see.

A rehearsal with the Fleabass (before the upgrades) was enough to convince me not to use it for last nights gig. It was very middy and lacking any serious punch. The tone control did very little to make things any better. Playability is really good with this bass, it's really only a tone issue now for me. It's now with my tech having the upgrades done, I'll post again when it's finished.

Yeah I understand JV's had 5 figure numbers, never heard of a 3.

[i]For me[/i], and I like weird basses, that's hideous, sorry.