joeystrange

I bought mine in 2011 and it came with a manual, two allen keys, guarantee info and a padded Fender gigbag. Oh, and a Fender sticker too. The factory setup was actually pretty decent but there was a cold solder joint on the tone pot that caused it to have barely any output. In fact I think the joint was oxidised or something because it was green! Anyway, As I was planning on replacing all of the electronics anyway, that didn't bother me. I probably would have at least tried to get some cash back otherwise. EDIT: Just remembered that I found out a little whille later that the saddle on the E string kept dropping right down every time I played it too. By then it was too late to expect the retailer or Fender to do anything about it as I went a while without playing it whilst I was waiting for new pickups. A very nice guy on another forum sent me a bridge for nothing though, which was really nice.

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1358617400' post='1942329']The only other solution to keeping the clean bass sound, but having overdrive as well, as I see it, is having another amp for the overdrive. [/quote] A lot of pedals these days have a blend knob so you can find a balance between the effect and the clean sound. If you set it high enough you can still hear the clean sound pretty clearly as well as the effect over the top. Obviously it won't sound the same as two amps but it's a lot cheaper!

I'm using the Dean Markley Nikki Sixx strings at the minute. They're pretty decent!

SansAmp and Big Muff for me.

Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl.

Chris Layton and Tommy Shannon.

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1357066419' post='1917091'] ...and yeah, The Hives brought the energy. [/quote] The Hives are such a great band. They're a lesson in how to be in a rock n roll band! [quote name='bozzie' timestamp='1357078410' post='1917326'] wot Ron Dennis? what we he doing there anyway. [/quote] I thought that was a bit odd too. I wonder how many people actually knew who he was?

I've been wearing them for years too. I also find it really hard to find wide ones that aren't fat and fluffy so I took to average-sized thin ones and sewed them together. does the job pretty well!

My action is pretty high. Not excessively high, but not low either. I'm far too heavy-handed to play with low action.

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wH2umxtA_sc[/media] Brilliant.

Here's our last video, featuring Colin Buchanan of Dalziel and Pasco. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anF6Q5BNgGw"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anF6Q5BNgGw[/url]

It's rosewood. There's a bit of laquer on the back of the neck, although it's not much more than a dusting.

I didn't notice anything different about the fretboard so I think it's just the frets. I'll see what a polishing does.

I've got a Squier VM P Bass that I bought new almost two years ago and has been my backup for probably just over a year. After a gig on Sunday I was packing my gear away and they had the house lights on in the venue, which was nice, so I could actually see what I was doing, for a change. Anyway, whilst putting the Squier, which doesn't get played much, I noticed that the fret wires have turned a strange goldish colour apart from four points on each fret where they have a bit of string wear. Has anybody else come across this with these (or any other) basses or does anybody know what might have caused it?

I'm far too heavy-handed for light strings. Been using 50-110s for a while but if I could find a heavier 4-string set easily I'd probably use those.

Another one for lemon oil here.

[quote name='51m0n' timestamp='1349862176' post='1831343'] Well that means Drastic Measures by Michael Manring must sound sterile then because it clearly cant have been played by a human being Oh no, hold on. it was though, and some of it was first take [/quote] That's what I said, unless it's way out it sounds perfect anyway. I meant that a human being cannot physically play [b]every single[/b] note [b]exactly[/b] on [b]every single[/b] beat. It's not possible. It's when it sounds too perfect that it doesn't sound human.

[quote name='51m0n' timestamp='1349861530' post='1831334'] There is no direct correlation between using a digital system to record and sounding sterile. Thats just nonsense. However grid-iron production techniques (everything being laid on the grid exactly in time) does sound terrible. That isnt the fault of the fact things were recorded to a digital medium, thats a stylistic choice of the producer. I only ever track to digital, I never rely on a gridiron beat matching, preferring the sound of musicians squeezing time about to make something organic and full of life. Doesnt mean I wont edit the occasional timing error, or even tweak the tuning on a single note in an otherwise wonderful emotive take. Tape, 2" or otherwise, doesnt mean you have to get a take in one go either, I was dropping people in on the fly to fix a couple of notes in a track before anyone thought of digital recording on computers.... [/quote] Analogue recording can sound sterile, yes. Maybe I used the wrong word to describe what I meant. What I really meant was that it sounds like it cannot possibly be produced naturally by a human, because it can't. To me the grid-iron system just sounds lifeless. I think tracking to tape is a lot easier for everyone if it's done in one take, unless there's a gap somewhere to stop easily. Even the last Foo Fighters record had some bad punches in it.

[quote name='crez5150' timestamp='1349861072' post='1831327'] It doesn't have to be Sterile.... a lot of that is down to the engineer... not the technology. You can still track a recording in one take with digital technology.... it's just that people don't and in studio's time is money. [/quote] I know that but it just seems to be the standard these days. Pretty much all 'big' bands do it now. At the end of the day it's each to his own. Some people love perfect, polished records and others love more raw, human-sounding records.

A friend of mine recently got fed up of this kind of thing and converted his studio to analogue. We recorded some b-sides for our last single there on 2" tape and had a lot more fun than recording to a computer. It demands a lot more of you than digital recording but somehow it's more relaxed having to play a full take faultlessly than it is when you're sat staring at a computer screen for most of the day watching different coloured blocks being moved exactly into time. Obviously the timing can never be 100% perfect, like you can make it on a computer, but IMO that's a lot of the reason that music sounds so sterile these days. When every single instrument is exactly on the beat it just doesn't sound human. Tape isn't perfect but unless you're way off the beat it's not noticeable. Records we fine like that for years anyway!

Does the tuner have a 'flat' button? If it does, press it twice and two flats will appear on the screen. Now tune the bottom string to that note, which is D. Don't forget to set it back to normal for the other strings though.

I looked into them once. Didn't try one out but I chatted to a guy in a shop who said they track bass really badly.

A couple more pics for those that were interested. With added cat.

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0yqKmtyWZU"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0yqKmtyWZU[/url]

I second Krist Novoselic. I heard some Nirvana multitracks and there are a lot of subtleties that don't come through on the record. He's one of my favourite players.