fretmeister

His style annoys me a bit but a quick look at Companies House suggests he's got a good product that people like. So good luck to him. Running a business is always about where the next cheque comes from because it feeds the family. Nothing wrong with that.

Is the pickup angled wrong? os the string old and dead? piezo lead fallen off the saddle?

Big modern amps often have fans. That is the issue for me - fan noise at low volume. Drives me insane. I love my Darkglass M900 but I don't use it in the house because of the fan. Helix and studio monitors all the way in the house. Although I gather that the Mk2 heads have a fan control system now that only turns them on when it gets hot. Can't wait to try one!

Get stuck in. https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/web/mcol/welcome

Darkglass M900 will do a very good old skool Ampeg sort of tone (and many others) and Barefaced Two10 or Four10 cabs. The Four10 is monstrously loud and loads lighter than your 610.

The TT headstock has changed a tiny bit - but it's only got a touch smaller. That's it. Same basic outline.

I quite fancy trying one of those. If the weight is low enough.

I've experienced the Delano J and MM pickup in a Sandberg TM4 and TM5 (and some buckers in my Marleaux) I think the main thing I would say is - they just don't let the bass sound like a Jazz bass. There's too much hifi mids going on. It's more like it's got a couple of humbuckers. That's fine if that is what I wanted - but I didn't. The Black Labels are stacked buckers so they do retain a little bit of that but they sound far more traditional than the Delanos. The Black Labels sound a little like the Sadowsky singles to me - almost a bit plain when played solo, but come alive in the mix, but there's also a touch of the Marcus Miller going on when the preamp is maxed for bass and treble - the scoop isn't as deep in the mids as a true set of singles when the preamp is set that way but that's not a bad thing IMHO - far too many players go for the Marcus scoop sound and then disappear in the mix completely because the band hasn't been built around that bass tone. Do I like the Black Labels more than trad single Js? Probably not - my favourites are the amazing Aguilar 60s winds - would I bother changing them? Can't see it. They are very good pickups, they are silent in operation, and the neck pickup on it's own will do a passable P bass sound better than a true single coil J, especially if the bass and treble are cut a little to give a mid hump like a vintage P would have. I don't do the bridge pickup solo'd Jaco thing so my experience of that is limited - it sounds ok but I suspect the pickup being closer to the bridge would be more important than the actual pickup type for that sort of thing. I don't really like that sound for my own playing so I can't really help for that. Summary - Black Labels will let a Jazz sound like a Jazz The Delano's Sandberg use (there might be other models for all I know) don't. Whatever you like best then...! Hope that helps a bit!

Lack of board markers is easily fixed with removable stickers. I’m not a massive fan of the Delano’s they use, but the Black Labels are superb. Pickups swaps are easy!

Ceder body. Norwegian maple neck, both lighter than other options. New super light hardware. No chambering!

On Friday I took delivery of a shiny new Sandberg California II SL Super Light from the good people of Bass Direct. When the box arrived I thought it was empty. Then I was even more convinced the gig bag was empty when I got it out of the box! Its astonishingly light. I weighed it myself at 6.58lb Plugged it into my Helix and studio monitors and had a minor issue with noise... turned out my wireless bug unit was clashing a bit with the preamp. No probs, just out a cable in between the bug and the bass. Sounds very punchy and clear. Piano tone on steroids. As usual I binned the horrible stock Sandberg strings and found a pack of D’addario Nickels I had lying about. It was comfy enough to want to want to rehearse with it on Saturday. But of a head twister as I’ve been giggling 5 strings for a decade. At rehearsal I used a Darkglass M900 and barefaced One10. Its a big band with about 20 horns and woodwind, piano, drums, bass etc. My amp settings needed a bit of a rethink as I usually play a 5 string PJ with flats. Used an Octave on a couple of sections as I didn’t have that B string anymore. But when sorted it was thick, clear, and with a touch of grit from the B3K circuit in the amp. Sounded massive. Did big band arrangements of Superstition, Uptown Funk, 7 Nation Army, Havana, Don’t Worry about a thing, In the mood, and Zoot Suit Riot. Its a superb bass and I’m really happy with it. I’m now thinking I need another one for flats! Easter concert is in 2 weeks and I’m really looking forward to it. Anyway, here is it!

Rehearsal went like a dream. Needed to re-eq my amp a lot from my usual bass (mostly P pickup) but once I got it dialed in... lovely! Used an Octave pedal to deal with not having a B string and all was good. Very punchy indeed. Did 1 slap tune this morning - Uptown Funk. Had the B3K circuit on my M900 on a little bit for a touch of grit and it sounded massive. Also did Superstition; Havana; In the mood; Zoot Suit Riot; Don't stop me now; and probably something else I can't remember right now. It really sits in the mix well. I've got 1 more rehearsal before the easter concert so I'm thinking of gigging it.

I found some old daddario nickels lying about so I’ve put them on. They feel like 35-95 (for my Les Claypool attempts) and I quite like the lightness on this bass. Big band rehearsal tomorrow morning! Can’t wait.

I’m wondering about rounds or flats now. Mmm...

Here's an insane comparison. My Mono Vertigo gigbag is 6.2 lb empty. This bass is 6.58 lb. The bass is almost as light as the bag!

I have raised the pickups a bit - I'm used to an Aguilar P in my main bass so the Js are a bit quiet in comparison. Just raised them to balance it a bit when swapping basses. Tomorrow will be the first time in about 8 years that I've used a 4 string. There will be wrong notes!

It has arrived. After a small heart attack of strange noises that I quickly realised was being caused by my wireless but being too close to the preamp I got it plugged in. But first the weight.... 6.58 lb!!!! Astonishingly light. It felt so odd I wondered if it was too light for me, but that feeling passed quick. So far I've had a 20 minute blast at lunchtime through my Helix and studio monitors. Even through the monitors and not my usual BF One10s it is really punchy. Very Marcus Miller. Neck is super smooth, fretwork is very nice. Strings... meh! But I either use D'addario or TI Flats and nothing else. I forgot to order any at the same time as the bass but thanks to Amazon Prime some D'addarios will arrive this evening. I have a rehearsal tomorrow morning so I think I'll jump in the deep end and use it straight away and see what happens. I'll report more after rehearsal

Out for delivery between 12:19 and 14:19 Going to be a long couple of hours!

I've even got the day off work - was actually to sit around while a plumber sorts out my heating, but the stars have aligned!

I finally raised the money! Ordered - should be with me tomorrow. Woohoo!

No basses on the SVL website?