acidbass

For me, the change is the way the string vibrates. If it's positioned directly over an exposed pole piece, there is surely a certain amount of magnetic pull, whereas if it's off centre (or in the case of J and P basses, not over a pole piece at all), the pull will be less. I'm no engineer, but this could certainly affect sustain or tone.

I do believe things like this make a difference sonically, but aesthetics are a major consideration also for me when buying a bass.

Seems this only extends to the 4 string Specials and not the 5's, disappointingly.

Why can't they change the string spacing on the pickup pole pieces, if this has been an issue since the 70s? Seems the design can be improved upon.

Yeah I get that there are fixes but it's the sort of design flaw that shouldn't exist in the first place! It's putting me off buying one of those new Ashdown/Lakin basses big time!

Dodgy alignment puts me right off. By that I mean the way the pickups and inlays are aligned with the strings. You mostly see poor examples of the latter, even on handmade basses costing thousands, whereas conversely the instruments at the cheaper end of the spectrum often have it nailed. I just couldn't bring myself to buy an instrument where the strings don't pass through the middle of the pole pieces on J or P pickups. To me, it's a sign of either bad design or bad manufacturing. Why would I want an instrument that's any less than perfect? Really grinds my gears.

You might recoup some of it for sure but the exposure would be worth it. Vulfpeck haven't yet peaked commercially - this next album could be the one with a hit single.

Yet another interesting marketing vehicle. I hope it isn't bought and used to convey some political message.

None as yet. I use Helix into IEMs live, I will almost certainly invest in an FRFR when gigging resumes proper, definitely going to go for one of the Yamaha/JBL/QSC cabs 2 way cabs with a 15" driver for nice lows.

I'd happily gig with just the Helix and an FRFR, in fact I am considering selling my Aguilar DB751 and matching 4x10 cab!

I'd like to see a comparison video where a bridge, pickups, frets, a nut, tuners and strings are mounted on a work bench and things like sustain and waveform are measured. These to me are the only variables which make a difference to my mind from a physics perspective (apart from the way it is played of course)

Agreed. Steve Howe etc are done. Rabin and Pomeroy are so much better.

Yeah I use it to clean up my tone, my speakers don't need to work as hard and having it at the start of my signal chain really tightens up overdrive and octave down effects

Yeah I'm a 4 string player! Even without the lowest fundamental, your ears have a way of filling out the missing frequencies by utilising the other harmonics of that note (80hz) etc. I'm using a Class D head and two 10" cabs which beforehand I could never get enough headroom out of. Now I have it in spades!

Yeah the Global EQ - is there a Global HPF? I used the Global EQ to cut the lows but the slope was too gradual for me. Cutting everything below 50hz sharply sounds amazing particularly for smaller speakers.

Hey all This post is inspired by a Youtube video where a guy said he chose maple fretboards because ‘they sound better for slap bass’ I simply don’t understand this. How can this be true, from a physics perspective? Slapped strings hit off the frets only and don’t actually make contact with the fretboard at all - in fact, do strings ever actually touch the fretboard at all? Surely if the speaking length of the string starts at the bridge and ends at the fret you are playing - the string never touches the fretboard at all. To my mind, fretboard wood is all smoke and mirrors and doesn’t make a jot of difference to tone (unless on fretless) - change my mind! Danny

I use the High/Low Cut EQ block which is a hard curve below/above the points you set.

I tried that but didn't like the slope! The hard shelf of cutting everything below 50hz works better I think. My two 10" cabinets sounded huge!

Just getting to grips with the HX Stomp - oh my what a unit! I've added a 50hz low cut EQ block and Rochester comp with a 4:1 ratio to literally every patch I create. Such a clean, even sound! Made a great patch for Plug In Baby (Muse) and also a few automatic drop tuning patches for when my band tunes to drop C etc. So useful and I've only scratched the surface!

Ghost The most radio friendly death metal band ever! Absolutely love the vocal harmonies.

I use the Cruztools Bass Player kit: https://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Cruz_Tools.html Has everything you need for a full setup except radius gauges and a tuner. The only thing I can't do with it is fretwork!

Sold Ross a set of Jazz Bass pickup covers, I received payment minutes after his PM and communications were excellent throughout. Many thanks mate and enjoy!

Love the clay dots! Disappointing that a new bass shouldn't be perfect on arrival - seems a common theme these days!