funkypenguin

My personal favourite 'Slap Album' is silver rain by Marcus miller. But +1 to everything already suggested. specially anything with Mark 'thunderthumbs' King on bass!

Welcome to the family!

[quote name='ahpook' post='212064' date='Jun 3 2008, 08:36 PM']yup, that's the one oooh - i hate you i have one or two festival dates this summer and i don't want to take any of my 'posh' basses...so it's either the bass i'm building or something like the spector...[/quote] go on...you know you want it...did i mention its as tough as nails?

Just had a look on Ebay. its the red stain one yes? thats one of the older models with a few upgrades on it. my advice is go for it.

[quote name='BassBalls' post='208876' date='May 29 2008, 02:05 PM']Down to experience i would pay what ever it cost to get my perfect set up. For example i bought a brand new Ampeg SVT4 pro around christmas time for just over a grand. I had the choice to buy a cheaper head (less than half) but i would have regretted not buying the ampeg because it was love at first sight. The other head would have been cheaper but a waste of money so i would have ended up spending more in the long run. So my answer would be; I would pay what ever it costs to get my perfect set up, even if it meant i had to save up and sell some bits.[/quote] +1. whatever's necessary to get 'my' sound.

Mine is the best feeling 4 string bass i've ever played. something about the way mine came from the factory, with REALLY low profile frets. i prefer it to my teachers fancy NS4 (which she just seems to leave in its case at home...) and if Spector had offered a 6 string when i switched last year, id have ordered one. Not so thrilled with the new model tbh. i don't like the 'flatness' of the body. if it isnt curved and carved , dont use the NS body IMO. its a real letdown after the body on the USA series basses and felt very uncomfortable after the contours of the older version. Its a solid passive bass. always sounds better with newer strings in my experience. through a powerful amp it has a lovely warm sound. i still use it on some songs in preference to my 6 string just because the sound is better for some of the mellow songs my band plays. less punch and roar. The independent tone controls are a real plus for variety. youl find you can get all sorts of sounds out of it! If you can find one of the older models, my advice is go for that. bottom line. try one and see what you think Hope this helps.

[quote name='ashevans09' post='208470' date='May 28 2008, 10:39 PM']Dood! [/quote] +1 Personal Favourites: John Myung, Geddy Lee, Steve Harris, Chris Squire, Justin Chancellor, Cliff Burton, Alex Webster, Mike Lepond, Les Claypool, Tony Levin cant decide between them. theyre all very, very good

Hey there, The usual warning, try before you buy. Its always nicer to try the bass you're looking to buy but if you can get one secondhand, theyre often more 'broken in' than new instruments, the result of them being played for a period of time. Yamaha basses are always a good buy and are really well built. String wise, drop a different brand on each time its due new strings, then decide which ones you like best. you could try chrome coated, steel coated, roundwound or flat/semi-flatwound. average cost for a 4-banger is around £20-£30 a set, depending on the make and type of strings. You mentioned something about pickup change/refit. depends what you want fitted (prices vary depending on type/make of pickups) and how much work would need doing to the bass (assuming you went to a luthier for the work doing). If the bass needed alot of work the price could easily be sky high (£250+). i wouldnt recommend it on a BB as the refit could end up costing more than the bass itself, so unless you're really set on it, i wouldnt bother Passive electronics are IMHO every bit as good as actives and are far easier to use. some of the cheaper active circuits can sound wooden and dull, and if you put lots of boost on, you can end up with volume peaks and troughs as you move over the fretboard. passives, more or less, always give a good sound and consistent volume across the fretboard. useful when playing in a band mix hope this helps!

'Instrumedley' and/or 'the Dance of Eternity' by Dream Theater. i can play bits and pieces of it but its that long i dont have the patience to sit down and work it all out! [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieRFnlcsZ0g"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieRFnlcsZ0g[/url]

You can certainly tell the difference if the fretboard/neck is composite. modulus and status basses both have a certain clarity that the wooden neck/fretboard seems to lack. As for the rosewood/maple fretboard argument, put two same spec stingrays, one maple one rosewood, through a back to back test and make up your own mind. i find you can tell the difference, for what its worth, the maple being slightly brighter and having a little more punch.

[quote name='crez5150' post='202197' date='May 19 2008, 03:41 PM']My function band is turning more and more gigs down that have Sound limiters in the venues.... just not possible to get the same vibe at 90dB....[/quote] +1000 tend to turn down gigs where you get a nervous looking chap asking 'how loud are you lads?' we once subtly disconnected a sound limiter for a gig....didnt go down too well afterwards like, but the crowd loved it!

Im certainly interested. and im sure i can convince a few bassist friends to stick their heads round the door. Il bring my full rig with me and both basses nice to have an event in't north!

(for cutting through in a band) - slight boost on bass and mid, treble flat. growls like no ones business and cuts right through distorted guitars

carole kaye. nuff said really. stunning bassist if i ever saw one. right up there with james jamerson

looks tasty! whats the string spacing and pre-amp on that puppy?

+1 on the spector front Dood. their legend series basses are awesome and only around £400 (i nearly got one but got fed up with waiting when i saw my bass sitting in a window ). So if you if it floats your boat, buy it in the confidence that its an excellent bass. it WILL do everything you ask of it. The peavey basses are all good too. my advice is buy secondhand if you cant try it out. Doods Tobias is a quality bass and he seems to be selling it at a superb price. Specially with the EMG upgrade, so it will sound good. Hope this helps!

I would recommend you try all of the above and, if you run into them...... Cort Artisan A6 Peavey Cirrus 6 Spector Legend 6 Yamaha RBX 6JM (two pickup John Myung signature, but you'll be unlikely to find one these days) Schecter stilletto 6 (any model, they're all good) Status S2 6 string (bargain if you can find one SH. usually around £800) Indie IB606 (my current main bass, albeit 'souped up') The best advice that i can give you is noodle on (insert bass here) for a few hours and see how your hands respond to the spacing, neck width, shape and thickness and see how your muscles feel (I've no idea how big your hands are etc! ). you might find your surprised with what feels comfortable. Hope this helps!

Spector Legend 5. excellent EQ and pickups, pleasure to play (when set up properly), well made and competitively priced. see if you can find one of the new set neck versions and see what you make of it. failing that then the SR505 happy hunting!

Warwicks dont really do it for me (something about the necks...), but i tried a $$ 5 string and some of the tones that thing threw out were shattering. one of the best sounding B strings (going through a BIG trace rig) ive ever heard (others being my own axe and the H/H bongo). if you find them playable and you see one going secondhand, go for it. im interested in trying a 6 string $$ just to see whats what.

Hey! I tried one a while back. 4 string in silver. I found it sounded a little sterile (IMHO). Similar sort of core tonal quality to some or the all-graphite status basses. If you're after an 'organic' sound look elsewhere. i have heard a few rumours about suspect build quality... On the upside, it certainly projected across the whole fretboard with no deadspots. the EQ is excellent and the slapswitch is a real bonus if your usual sound is very bassy. It has a very clear (glassy might be a good word?) sound, due to the luthite and composite Fretboard (i think?). i never tried it in a band setting but i would image it would cut through with minimal effort. not really the sort of thing i go for but the specs are solid and if you like it go for it!

Is it the thru-neck grind? i tried a 4 and a 6 string a while back. great bass for the money! it might want the frets filing a little but if you're into the passive sound and want a thru-neck, look no further. The slap cutaway is a useful little feature too and i found it very playable! hope this helps!

alternatively if you can find songs with simple bass lines, you could always find the TAB and jam along to them?

Bongo. The sound is out of this world and its something other than the classic shape alot of builders use. Specially a 6 string H/H. first real GAS ive had in quite a while.

Thats a toughie......probably John Myung's Musicman bongo 6 string (preferably H/H but i'd take H/SC ) That said i am quite partial to the Doodle.....

You shouldn't have too much of a problem tuning BEAD. many 5 and 6 string basses with a low B are "34". all you might find is that the pitch definition of your very low notes may be less than that of a "35" bass. As has already been mentioned, some truss rod and nut (and possibly bridge) adjustments may be necessary. alternatively you could splash out on an octave pedal and play standard B? Hope this helps