Rayman

Of course, being a musical genius is a rare thing, and pretty much all of us on here could never qualify in that particular area, and I take no offence at all in anything you point out, we're just having a debate, and I must admit to be playing devil's advocate a little, but nevertheless, I still think there's an argument for those of us that [i]are[/i] theoretically illiterate, genius or not, that we have little or no need to understand theory to get as far as we want to go as musicians. I'm not a pro, I'll never be a pro, and I'll never be in the position to have to read charts. I have however been in semi pro bands for years, and in one case had 10 days to learn a two hour set when depping for a band which I did no problem, by ear. Yes, I could have stood on stage, Thunderbird around my knees on stage with said metal band, with a stand and charts in front of me if I could read, but I'd have looked a total twit. I'm perfectly at ease learning my way. I aint no Jaco, god I wish I was, but I'm too old to change my ways now. I'm off to learn a new song on my iPod for tomorrows rehearsal.

I need to learn some theory. Apparently.

I'm with Clarky, I don't have either the time or inclination to learn any theory at all. I too have tried in the past, but got frustrated and went back to my own way of doing things, maybe it's the punk in me. It would be great if I could read I guess, but I can't, and frankly, I'm not bothered.

I'm just making the point, not arguing against learning the theory. I understand that theory would help me be a better bass player, but still, after all these years of being in bands, I have no desire to learn any.

Do you not feel that reading the dots makes you stay within the box rather than think outside of it with your own creativity?

[quote name='redstriper' post='700374' date='Jan 4 2010, 12:37 PM']I love TI flats and I have them on a fretless, but I can't get on with them for reggae coz they don't go deep enough for me. I need heavier gauge flats and I don't really dig the precision tone for reggae either. I always come back to the jazz bass using only the neck pup with the tone rolled off, this is the closest I have found to my ideal tone but it's still not quite perfect coz I don't like the hollow sound at higher volumes.[/quote] Understood. Well I'm not a reggae player per se, but I love to play some at home away from the band, and certainly to listen to in the car. However I reckon the Sadowsky is to modern sounding, even with the the bridge pup rolled off, so I'm hoping that the Precision will give me more of an old school vibe for playing funk and some dub too. You're right about the TIs, they're quite bright and flexible for flats, and maybe LaBellas would be more authentic, but I just happen to have a set of TIs floating about the place so I may as well use them eh? I think you're right, Precisions can sound a bit [i]too[/i] woolly and dull with the tone rolled off, whereas a Jazz still seems to have a little punch and definition to it, even with all the tone rolled back.

Does the fact that I've been teaching myself by ear alone for 30 years make me a bad musician?

I know no theory at all, none. I started playing bass in the early 80's and taught myself by playing along to the Stranglers at first, then onto Talking Heads etc, all learnt by ear. I'm now 44, and learn the sets for the band the same way, totally by ear, it's the only way I can do it, forget TABs, they mean nothing to me, let alone charts, but give me the song on an iPod to listen to, and I'll have it sussed in minutes (most of the time). I see in the interview with Stuart Zender in the new BGM he says he sees shapes on the fretboard rather than notes.....well that's me exactly, I just remember the shapes on the board for each song, I really haven't a clue what notes I'm playing most of the time.

I just landed an old Japanese Squier Precision for my dub style stuff, once the TI flats are on there it should give me a nice thump. I do fancy a Hohner too actually.

[quote name='AndyTravis' post='698734' date='Jan 2 2010, 01:58 PM']as a side point, the headstock design is weak, and the truss rod cover looks like a kay from the 70's. I used to have an ns-94, but got rid as it was too 'modern' for my bands image, the name of the link got me excited, but now i'm just a bit confused. The logo looks 'placed' on, it just hasn't been thought through. Still, $3200 eh? BARGAIN![/quote] You beat me to it, my sentiments exactly, the headstock and logo looks awful.

I understand baking it in the oven for an hour first is recommended though........

Quick update.... I decided to put my favourite strings on the Fleabass while doing the same to the Sadowsky, a nice new set of Super Slinkys. I also Lemon Oiled the fretboard, and once I'd gotten rid of a couple of layers of brown crap off the fingerboard, it's actually a very nicely playable fretboard indeed. I must reiterate, the setup out of the box is spot on for me, I still haven't changed anything there at all, the saddles and action are spot on, so maybe [i]some[/i] of these basses actually [i]do[/i] get a decent setup before dispatch. I won't lie though, the pickup is coming out at the earliest possible juncture, ie; next week, once the EMG arrives from Thomann. The stock pickup is very middy indeed, and if Flea's intension was to create a Stingray/Modulus type of [i]sound[/i] on a budget he's failed miserably. However, I still believe that with the addition of the EMG (I'll be keeping it passive for now) some decent pots and a brass nut it should be a cracking little bass. I'll be rehearsing with it for the first time on Tuesday night, and I doubt the upgrades will be done before that, so I'll update the post again after anything significant occurs.

I'd love a red Jaguar, I think they're fantastic basses.

Thanks everyone, when it arrives I'll decide which route to take then.

Well I've got a US one coming, but of course it might not fit. I'll see how easily the paint will flake off first as I can see some flaking from the pictures of it. I don't fancy wire wool because I want to avoid swirls on the plastic after I've finished. Maybe acetone will do it, but obviously I want to avoind melting the guard in any way.

I will hopefully be taking delivery of an old Squier Precision in the next week or two, but the previous owner has painted the white pickguard with grey paint. Is there anything I can try to remove the paint without damaging the guard itself underneath?

First impressions of the Fleabass are as follows....(these are [i]my opinions[/i], others may disagree)....... [u]Pros[/u]: I like the design and colours offered, many don't, I do. Mine's the Blue/Orange "Water" bass. [i]For me[/i], out of the box with no adjustments, the setup is great. I like a medium action, not too low so I can pound the strings if I want, but not too high so that I can back off and groove in comfort too. The bass came exactly how I like it. It feels nice, good balance, plays well acoustically, slaps nicely, and there's little buzz. The frets feel fine to me, no sharp edges, and the nut's not bad. Fit and finish, the neck fits the pocket very snuggly, no shoddy paintwork that I can see on the body anywhere and the knobs feel pretty dependable. Cool gigbag with some nicely embroidered logos on the front, feels like around 10/15mm padding. [u]Cons[/u]: OK, so the tone is....unexciting shall we say, but only through the Tascam, I haven't had chance to play it through a rig yet. My favourite tone is with the tone pot set around halfway. It sounds more like a mid control than bass/treble though, maybe it is, I haven't read up on that yet. So there isn't a lot of top end sparkle, and the bottom end is lacking a bit. Fit and finish, I've seen worse, as mentioned before the truss recess is poorly finished, and the rear control plate isn't the cleanest fit. I like this bass, more than I thought. My wife bought it for me for Xmas, and I'm glad she did, I'm going to have fun with it. Upgrades will surely follow, firstly an EMG 35HZ, and maybe the EQ too, and I like brass nuts, so I'll have one of those too. Is it going to rival the Sadowsky at gigs? No, but it'll certainly come out for a couple of tunes, and I'll be perfectly proud to use it. I think these basses have had an unfair press on here. Some may be better than others, but the couple I've tried have been genuinely great. I think maybe they [i]are[/i] a bit expensive as I'd but them into the Epi Thunderbird, OLP Tony Levin kind of bracket (I've had both), and while I think the Thunderbird is a better bass for that money, I believe the Fleabass is not far behind, and [i]for me[/i] it's a better bass than the OLP was out of the box. A brand new bass really shouldn't need obvious upgrades, especially at this price, but the Fleabass really does need a better pickup, the stock pup is pretty lifeless, but the rest of the instrument is great IMO. I'm a 44 year old bloke with 30 years of playing on and off behind me, and I've owned/played a lot of decent gear, so I know what's good and what's crap. The Fleabass is not crap, but it needs further attention to detail and a keener price. If it was made in Japan maybe it'd be a cracking bass, but probably even more expensive. Get it [i]under[/i] £300 and it'd be a better option, and in fact I only paid a fraction over that for mine after looking around. The Fleabass is not for everyone, but [i]it is [/i]for me, and I'm going to have fun with it, that's if I can prize it out of my daughters hands. I'll give a few more details on sound and playability after I've rehearsed/gigged it.

I endorse McDonalds, but I'm still waiting for my freebies.