neepheid

[quote name='lowvoice' timestamp='1369734235' post='2092005'] It was indeed buzzing on all frets on all strings! Yesterday I was passing through denmark street and thought I'd just take it in for one of the techs to have a look at, a guy took one look and said, 'looks really nice, but theres no relief in the neck', within five minutes he had adjusted the truss rod half a turn, and checked the intonation. Within moments most of the buzzing had gone (now it only does so when played with a pick pretty hard!). Best of all, I went to give the guy some cash for his efforts and he wouldn't accept it, saying that it was such a small thing he couldn't possibly take any payment! Really nice to know that people like that exist in this world! [/quote] Which establishment was that?

All I know about your bass is that it has a popping output, not an input

I haven't sold anything on eBay for nearly 5 years, and I don't miss it one little bit.

The best way is to remove the neck, hopefully there will be a date stamp in there. [url="http://guitarsbyleo.com/FORUM/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=19"]http://guitarsbyleo.com/FORUM/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=19[/url]

[quote name='1970' timestamp='1369648917' post='2091130'] I've had enough of the 'sassy' bedroom shots from all angles. Just show me the whole damn thing front on please. Ahem. [/quote] Grumpy.

It's an output. Sorry for the pedantry.

Excellent stuff, looks really good. How are you enjoying the G-3 sound?

For some balance (which is more than can be said for the bass in question), I do not miss in any way my first bass. It turned out to be the antithesis of what I now know I like in a bass and I couldn't care less if it has been turned into a coffee table. No pining here. Hope you're liking your first bass though!

Just started dabbling in it, of course I do it the "wrong way round" and often start with something on the bass, the rest of the guys then build around it. Then none of us come up with any melodies/vocals. I'm trying really hard to break out of that and have started to try retrofitting some ideas with melodies. I don't know if I'm doing any good or not though - I suspect that I'm making it too complicated, particularly as I'm not the one who's going to be singing it. Just recruited a singer so I hope he'll bring some ideas to the table. Absolutely +1 to the idea of shared credit with the whole band - without the band, the songs simply wouldn't evolve and exist as they do. It might have been someone's idea originally, but once everyone brings their contribution to the table, it's usually far removed from where we started. Our sax player sent a recording of him humming along to some piano chords. He was late to rehearsal so the rest of us started mucking about with it. He came in later and said "that sounded good, what is that?" and was rather surprised and amused to learn it was "his" song

I felt I crossed a line at my last gig. Was in a venue which has a usable house amp so didn't bother taking anything - because sometimes it's nice to be able just to turn up with a bass and a bag o' bits. Arriving for our soundcheck (on first, so soundchecked last) I find an unfamiliar Ashdown combo on the stage which had a sticker with the headlining band's name on it. No sign of said headlining band so I couldn't ask. House amp was buried in the corner of the stage. Sound engineer told me to plug into the DI box under the combo (on a stand). I felt a bit hmmm about it, but I did as I was instructed. I didn't touch anything on the amp other than the mute button when appropriate. I made sure I stuck around for the whole gig and afterwards thanked the bass player in the headline band for the use of the amp. It was the wrong way round to do things and I felt a bit bad about it but thankfully the guy was cool.

[quote name='munkonthehill' timestamp='1369336103' post='2088055'] Well folks this ain't going well at all :-( [/quote] Try this: [url="http://www2.gibson.com/Gibson/Talk-2-Us.aspx"]http://www2.gibson.com/Gibson/Talk-2-Us.aspx[/url] They don't have a bloody clue about historical stuff, but you might have more success with a current/recent product.

Well, it's not much of an update but I've received my waterslide Gibson logo and I've found a source for the dial plate - a guy in the States is planning on making a run of replicas.

[quote name='The Dark Lord' timestamp='1369177327' post='2086062'] Maybe he's indignant. [/quote] Indignation isn't a licence to be rude. And there's never an excuse for bullying, which this basically amounts to.

[quote name='Gust0o' timestamp='1369142884' post='2085354'] Last time we had some grumping about John Hall on a personal level. Seemingly he's active on the forums, so I would ask people to keep maintain decorum with any responses. [/quote] You can ask I have no interest in Rickenbacker, their products or ones that look like them, so their legal bullying is a matter of some irrelevance to me. But thanks for the headsup.

The SG will certainly be "well bassey" Good luck with whatever you decide to go with.

I once modded a Squier Bronco for through body stringing, thinking it would make the short scale a bit less flappy. It made little or no difference to the feel of the strings as far as I was concerned and although it was a cool mod, it ended up being basically cosmetic. Speaking from a Gibson-centric point of view - stringing through the body exerts some downward pressure on the entire bridge, which should prevent the ghastly three point bridge from lifting the threaded inserts out of the body under lateral string tension. If the holes through the body are not obscured by the bridge (like RDs and Rippers) then they look pretty stupid and redundant if you don't fire the string through the holes. There's something reassuring about stringing through the body from a structural point of view, a stronger anchor than simply your bridge screws versus string tension. Sometimes despite appearances stringing through the body is mandatory - for example, a 5 string G&L MUST be strung through the body because if you don't, the bridge is only held on with two screws. Don't fancy that much. They can be modded for top loading with machine screws and threaded inserts in the string anchors though. I think that's all my thoughts on the subject. Other than that I don't really care. If the facility is there, I'll use it.

RE: pickup cover/neck gap - it's little things like this that piss me off when I'm laying down significant coin on a new bass. If I'm buying something new, I want it to be pristine and properly screwed together, especially as it's supposed to have had some decent one-on-one time with human beings during its production - isn't that where the price premium goes? Sounds cosmetic though, won't matter a jot operationally I would think. As for the perceived quiet E, it could be lots of things. Could be a duff string. Could be that the action on the E side of the bridge is a touch high, thus taking it away from the pickup. The pole pieces can be height adjusted a bit on an SG bass, so the E could be brought up a bit. Did it seem quiet on one or both pickups?

[quote name='lowvoice' timestamp='1369044416' post='2084115'] Well to be honest when I started playing electric guitar Squier were really a bit of an argos brand to be avoided, and even though the one I tried out felt very nice indeed [b](in fact it's fit and finish was better than the mim fenders I also looked at)[/b], I still can't shake the idea that it is a brand to be avoided! I guess I just don't have much faith in it. Also, the Squire is £291, made in Indonesia and comes with nothing, the Gibson is £649, made in the US, and comes with a Gibson hard case. The Gibson seems to be to be the far better deal? As it won't be my primary instrument, I can't see myself buying loads of basses (as I have done with guitars), and I'd like something that will literally last me a lifetime. As a Gibson fan, could you advise me as to any potential issues to look out for when buying an SG bass. [/quote] You've kinda answered your own question with the bit I highlighted in bold. Trust what your eyes and hands are telling you, the name on the headstock and its country of origin are in my opinion irrelevant. If your senses are telling you it's a good instrument, then it is a good instrument. The quality of output of the Indonesian factories is excellent. Would G&L or Lakland have trusted the construction of their "budget" basses to muppets? I think (and know) not. I have two G&L Tributes and they are exceptionally good instruments for their price point. In fact I would say they are "too good" in the sense that I have never felt the need to "upgrade" to a USA made G&L. Of course if you're really bothered about the name on the headstock then there is a "proper" Fender Mustang but even that's made in Japan if memory serves me correctly. There are Chinese made Fenders. The game has changed. Everyone in the far east has upped their game to the point where at times it's embarrassing to the old hands in the west and seriously calling into question the worth of the price premium. Regarding your Gibson question - just check everything and double check it. In no way can 2 instruments condemn the entire output of a factory, but at the start of the year I tried to buy a Gibson Grabber 3 70s Reissue bass and both of the ones I received had issues and had to go back, including strap buttons screwed in squint, orangy peel finish, wiring issues (touch buzz on pole pieces and hum/buzz in general) and basically I didn't feel like I got my money's worth, it didn't feel like an £800 bass. I have an old Yamaha BB450 that I resurrected and it felt and played better. Of course, these judgements are deeply personal and only applicable to me. But as far as I'm concerned (and this was the double whammy of my first ever brand new Gibson USA purchase), there's something rotten in Nashville at the moment and it saddens me. In the end I went and bought an Epiphone Jack Casady for just over half the price and it was so much better. Better looking, better feeling, better built, just intangibly better. And for the record, it's made in South Korea. So, to bring it all back round to my initial point - ignore the name on the headstock, ignore the country of origin, it's either good (by your own standards and definition), or it isn't.

Sorry to leap straight in with a question but why wouldn't you be proud of either bass? The Mustang is probably the better all-rounder in terms of sound and I would imagine an easier introduction to bass. The SG is a little more polarised in its sound, given the nature of its pickups and their relative positions. On the other hand, the Mustang has a 19 fret neck, the Gibson has a 20. Not a huge issue unless you're wanting a high Eb, but I thought I'd try and balance things out. Either could be a great bass. But as much as I am a dyed in the wool Gibson fan, I wouldn't recommend an SG for a first bass. The Mustang has a much greater chance of being a simple "plug and play" and the ergonomics are probably a bit more forgiving.

Who am I to judge? What's the difference between owning multiple basses and multiple amps? I'm a one amp guy myself. Two cabs, technically. One can take the carrying spares thing too far in my opinion - do you tow a car behind your car in case car #1 breaks down?

[quote name='uke' timestamp='1368792396' post='2081556'] How rare are these! [url="http://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/rare-1956-gibson-eb-1-violin-bass-with-stand/1018866982"]http://www.gumtree.c...tand/1018866982[/url] Got to be a good buy for someone! [/quote] Not working - ad pulled?