darkandrew

There's little question that both Bob Marley and The Beatles were musical phenomena that rose above music and became something more but who has made the biggest and most enduring impact?

[quote name='dood' timestamp='1474061549' post='3135424'] Definitely try the X models instead (DCX for example) as they have a more traditional and slightly less hifi tone. Or if you want to try something a different size then the Alnico EMG's are really nice. Coming away from EMG, well I love the Aguilar DCB - a great sounding passive pickup - The Delano SBC is very nice too but has a different flavour. Nordstrand, I think the big singles are superb and would love to give more of Carey's products a test drive for sure. My 'grunty' pickup of choice is a Dimarzio P style but this may not fit the configuration! I need to try some J styles, just a shame Dimarzio don't do soap bars! [/quote] EMG also do a passive range in the same soapbar format, it's called the HZ range. These will fit into your bass with no additional routing, etc but you may need to swap your pots for different values (I think these come with the pickups anyway). I once had an HZ set and was very impressed with them - warm and musical.

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1473969748' post='3134652'] How do you fit the strings? I put them through the hole, then bend them sharp as they exit the slot, effectively anchoring them. A couple of turns is all I need. [/quote] That's about how I did it. Ernie Ball and D'Addario strings all seem to grip OK but I can't get the DR coated strings to stay on without slipping - I can only assume that the coating is too slippery and stops them gripping the tuning post. It's strange, I've always used these strings (with my Warwick and when I had an Aria SB1000) and this is the first time I've had this problem. I've also now swapped the D'Addario XLs for an Ernie Ball hybrid slinky set - to be honest I found the D'Addario XLs to be too polite and wanted something with a bit of rawness. I haven't used Ernie Balls for years but from what I remember, they used to die quite quickly - are they still like that?

Not a problem anymore ... I couldn't get the D string to grip the tuning post (coated strings too slippery?) and so put on a set of D'Addario EXLs that I had in my box instead.

I've just put a set of DR Silver Stars (coated Sunbeams) on a Sterling and the wind on the E is a little too long so that the thickest part of the string is wrapping around the tuner. (A little research on the Net shows that DR strings are 3/4 inch longer from ball to taper than Ernie Ball strings). Is this going to be a problem?

I heard one of the songs (your song?) on the radio and it sounded as though it had been transposed down incredibly low - don't know if it was to accommodate his more mature vocal range (happens to us all) or whether it was for the orchestra's benefit, either way it didn't quite sit right.

We've all heard of bass players' backs and shoulders creaking under the weight of a hefty piece of wood but what of the more obscure bass related injuries? Last week I broke one of my front teeth because of my bass ... I was playing my new EBMM Sterling and noticed that one of my finger nails was catching the string when playing finger-style so I instinctively began biting off the offending nail and crack, the top of my tooth broke off! So, there you go, playing bass is officially bad for your teeth! I'm sure others on here must have some better bass related injury stories to tell ...

It's not just sellers, buyers can be a pain too. I once sold an Akai controller keyboard, with standard delivery (ie. Parcel Force) and collect in person options. On completion, the buyer ticked the collect in person option (and so avoiding delivery charges) and then expected me to deliver it to them in person.

[quote name='progben' timestamp='1473267037' post='3128538'] Death's Symbolic is still the best metal record I've ever heard. [/quote] I've got to admit I'm not familiar with that one but I'm going to go and check it out now. Thanks for the tip.

https://www.gak.co.uk/en/fender-8250-5m-nickel-plated-steel-taperwound-5-string-45-130tw/41253?gclid=CKSEy7i69s4CFRaNGwodaqYELA Do you think these will be OK? GAK describe them specifically as being 34" scale - will they be OK on the 35" Spector Euro?

[quote name='macb3th' timestamp='1472994937' post='3125832'] bass noob so to speak, what bass would get me in a similar ballpark as this: [url="https://www.thomann.de/gb/gibson_es_les_paul_bass_fdb.htm"]https://www.thomann....ul_bass_fdb.htm[/url] a violin bass? I think my ukulele bass probably ain't gonna cut it due to intonation issues (don't laugh too hard.. I'm an amatuer) [/quote] I know it's not going to help but that is one very pretty bass.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1472966691' post='3125611'] Newtons will do this custom. La Bell Steps are tapered and DR also had a T B option as well. [/quote] Thanks for the recommendations - I've just looked up the La Bella Steps and unfortunately they appear to be stainless steel and not nickel plated. I'll look up Newtons - being custom made, are they stupidly expensive?

I have a Spector Euro 5lx and due to the shape of tbe bridge am limited to using strings with a tapered B. My last few sets have been Spector branded and bought direct from Spector USA. Rather than buying another set of Spectors from the USA, can anybody recommend a similar set of nickel plated round-wounds with a tapered B string that are easy to get hold of in the UK?

BFD 3 is my choice.

I'm Bootsy, apparently.

That would have been Depeche Mode - saw them on the Music for the Masses tour (as captured in the 101 DVD / CD) when I was 16.

[quote name='josie' timestamp='1472434147' post='3121106'] Definitely guitar and not ukelele? I got my 3yo grandson a professional quality ukelele 2nd hand for £35 - not much more than the cost of a horrid "children's" one new - and he can already get a nice sound from it, and loves it. They can actually be played as small guitars. [attachment=226604:IMG_B2.jpg] [/quote] Don't forget though that ukuleles are not tuned from low to high, as guitars and basses are, and may need to be unlearned if you progress to other stringed instruments later.

I am a "rock" player with a very broad definition of "rock" that goes from pop to death metal, so when I had to play the bass parts for a production of Bugsy Mallone I used tab and a music stand but if you don't want to do this, then your best friend is interpretation - as long as it sounds alright then what does it matter? Will the audience know? Probably not, as long as (and here's the biggest secret of all - don't tell anybody else), as long as you play it in time. Honestly, if what you're playing is in time and sounds good then 99% of people aren't going to notice, and the other 1%, well, you can even win them over if you play with passion - after all by interpreting the piece you are demonstrating your own artistry and creativity and there's nothing wrong with that. Just play in time, be confident and relax - everone's come to have a good time, so enjoy yourself and everyone else will enjoy themselves too.

The thing that convinced me that a partial shim would be OK was EBMM USA confirming that they use them and have never had any problems with them.

[quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1472506772' post='3121739'] Never tried a Sterling in the flesh, just heard a few Sterling vs Stingray videos on YouTube, where each and every time the Stingray sounds miles better. I prefer a smaller body and neck so the Sterling appeals on paper, but it's sound just doesn't do it for me. SLO Specials are rare but you can always put in a custom order for a new one. [/quote] When I picked up the Sterling, I had a little play with the previous owner's Stingray and comparing the two, side by side with the same amp, etc I found I prefered the sound of the Sterling. Don't get me wrong, the Stingray sounded nice and I found its neck very playable but it was just a little too polite for me. I got the impression that I would really have to dig into the Stingray to get any sort of aggression out of it whereas with the Sterling it was much easier, and as I play with quite a light touch, this suited me better.

Have you been stalking my posts? Until recently my main basses were a Warwick SS1 and a Spector Euro - this has now been complimented by the recent addition of an EBMM Sterling. I had asked the Basschat community if an EBMM Stingray or Sterling would bring anything new to the party and the concensus was a resounding yes and the rest is history. Anyway back to your question asking for a comparison between a Spector Euro and an EBMM Stingray ... The Euro is much more modern sounding - by that I mean fuller and more compressed, mainly as a result of its active EMG pickups. It possibly has less variety in its sounds but the sound of the Euro is the sound that I want for 80-90% of the stuff I do, it's also extremely easy and forgiving to play. For all of the reasons, my Euro is the bass that I use most often. The Stingray, on the other hand, can produce an extremely wide variety of sounds from its single, passive pickup and is much more responsive to the "tone" in your fingers - I never really understood what people meant about tone being in your fingers until I played a Stingray (and its brother, the Sterling), it really does give a huge range of tones depending on how its played. This dynamism really rewards good playing but is possibly less forgiving than the Euro to inconsistent playing. Now, a little something to confuse things for you - have you considered a Sterling? Not a "Music Man by Sterling" but a USA EBMM Sterling. This is what I opted for in the end. It's got three way switching on the pickup giving you easy access to different tones ranging from slightly more modern than the Stingray (ie. bright and ringing) to a good impression of its older brother. It also has a smaller / lighter body and a narrower neck which appealed to me being a Euro / SS1 player already.

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1472472963' post='3121344'] Nice job! [/quote] Thanks. It's the first time I've done this sort of thing on a bolt-on. My other basses are all neck-throughs and my guitars are all set-necks. Everytime I buy a new bass or guitar I promise myself that I will leave it as it is - I think I managed to last about 30 mins before giving in to the overwhelming urge to take this one apart and give it a thorough set up! Maybe next time.

To switch to an active pickup would need something like this: http://www.emgpickups.com/bass/mm-models.html These include the pickups, the pots (you need different values for active pickups) and a TRS jack socket to act as a switch to switch everthing on when you plug your lead into it. The tone control included with this is a fairly simple one that lets you roll off the higher frequncies in the same way that your current one does - if you want to have more control over your tone you would also need to add an active eq to it. I should add that the "Hz" range of EMG pickups at the bottom of the page are actually passive and not active.

Basically, no. What pickup configuration do you have? Is it a single "MM" type pickup?

The term "active" can refer to one of two things; The first use refers to an active pre-amp - typically (although not always) this is a tone control circuit that allows the levels of different frequencies to be raised as well as lowered and also to act as a buffer between the pickup and the outside world. The second use refers to active pickups, these differ from passive pickups in that they incorporate a built in pre-amp of their own. Pickups are essenially coils of wire running side by side - to achieve a decent signal level requires quite a few coils of wire but coils create inductance and wires running side by side create capacitance, this in turn creates a "band pass filter" which attenuates high and low frequencies. To get around this, active pickups use less turns of wire but require their own pre-amp to bring the signal level up to a useful level (I hope that all makes sense). So, if you want an active bass you will need to either switch your pickups to active pickups, install a preamp or both.