neepheid

[quote name='Pestie' timestamp='1377619112' post='2189490'] I have a lovely CV Precision which I really like. However, I have the chance of a lovely 1983 USA Precision. Now this might sound daft but will the 83 be so much better than the 2010 Chinese made CV? I just don't know because I really like the CV but also like old basses. Can anybody help please? Thanks Mike(Pestie) [/quote] There will be people that will tell you it must be better because it was made in the USA, or it must be better because it was made 30 years ago, or that it must be better because the market says it's worth more. It's all hogwash when it comes down to individual instruments. You'll have to try it for yourself. Try to remain objective when inspecting/playing the bass - does it feel right to you? Does it sound right to you? Does it feel easy to play? Is it in good condition? If any of these come up no then do yourself a favour, don't get sucked into all the vintage BS and walk away. There'll be other basses. But it might feel just right in your hands, and if that happens, grab it.

[quote name='4 Strings' timestamp='1377617520' post='2189456'] Apologies, not meant to be terse, certainly not meant to make anyone look stupid. [/quote] I accept your apology. Now, on with the PAT testing bellyaching

[quote name='4 Strings' timestamp='1377613412' post='2189389'] Sorry, wasn't intending to 'be' like anything, but couldn't think of any actual maintenance compared to my car! [/quote] Well, perhaps I should let you know that your terse response was interpreted as an attempt to make me look stupid.

[quote name='Pete1967' timestamp='1377610766' post='2189349'] Stentor told me that Schaller only manufacture in house, in Germany, a statement supported by their website [url="http://schaller-electronic.com/hp801/Produktion.htm"]http://schaller-elec.../Produktion.htm[/url], but it doesn't say so explicitly. [/quote] Written explicitly on [url="http://schaller-electronic.com/hp172463/Just-a-moment.htm"]http://schaller-elec...st-a-moment.htm[/url] "Schaller is – as it was back then – an owner-managed company with 100% of its production "Made in Germany".". Also on [url="http://schaller-electronic.com/hp292161/That-s-Schaller.htm"]http://schaller-electronic.com/hp292161/That-s-Schaller.htm[/url] "All of Schaller's products are manufactured completely in-house in the company's production facilities - 100% Made in Germany."

[quote name='4 Strings' timestamp='1377610672' post='2189345'] The routine maintenance on an amp being...? [/quote] Why are you being like that? Common sense stuff - periodic check for loose connections, crackly pots or switches and clean as appropriate, damage to cables, valves properly seated (if appropriate), valve biasing (not that I know anything about that), fans clear of fluff/debris and working effectively and so on and so forth. Your amp could be PAT tested and the next day someone puts a chair leg down on your mains cable and damages the outer insulation. The parallel between the long term validity of the MoT test and the PAT test is a valid one, IMO.

[quote name='warwickhunt' timestamp='1377596862' post='2189093'] However, playing Devil's Advocate... it is a Ctach 22 situation because even if your gear is PAT tested professionally and it causes damage or injury, you have no come back on the tester nor can you hold them liable, as the 'pass' is only valid on the day that it was done. A friend does PAT testing and the company he works for are not liable for any come back if anything happens post test; the test just checks that it is OK 'then', you may well tinker or break something moments after the test hence they are not liable (and that is their get out clause). I'm not saying it is an excuse to not PAT test (especially if you want club/corporate work) but theoretically (though bookers/organisers might not see it that way because it is all about doting the i and crossing the t), if you have the equipment and a basic instruction in PAT testing then your equipment is 'tested' whether you are qualified or not. [/quote] Although an MoT test is compulsory, it's the same deal, the car only passed that day, the MoT test is not a substitute for routine servicing/maintenance etc.

[quote name='spinynorman' timestamp='1377606256' post='2189277'] Someone ought to be able to recognise it from a static picture, which is on the Beeb website. One or two highly scripted Ls to start? I can't embed it, go to the site and pick slide 4. [url="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/galleries/p01d76m3"]http://www.bbc.co.uk...leries/p01d76m3[/url] [/quote] Pfft, no such thing as "can't"

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1375822721' post='2166253'] I recently sold mine for quite a bit more than I originally paid for it. [/quote] Careful now. It had better not have been on here. Down with that sort of thing!

Once your name becomes a verb, you've truly made it.

It does not automatically follow that active bass == high output. Are you plugging it into the "Active" input on your amp, or engaging an active signal pad via a switch? Try using the "Passive" input or not engaging the Active switch. Of course, if your amp doesn't have either of these facilities then never mind!

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1377520964' post='2188393'] I agree with that but all the Mexican basses I have tried were dogs yet the guitars brilliant, so on a personal level 100% of Mexican basses are rubbish [/quote] I've no problem with that opinion, you are more than welcome to have it. But when such an opinion gets paraded around as universal fact, that's when I get irritated.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1377519687' post='2188360'] Has it left a nasty taste..?? [/quote] You tell us. I can't taste anything other than free market opportunistic enterprise and that doesn't taste bad to me, because I'm a capitalist pigdog.

[quote name='karlfer' timestamp='1377495492' post='2188064'] It still hacks me off though, how much slagging Mex basses get, until it gets to the Road Worn series [/quote] All slagging based upon country of origin I find highly irritating, and if I'm perfectly honest, a teeny bit racist - not so much here but particularly when it comes up in conversation on Talkbass. Particularly irritating because I have seen amazing, flawless instruments from "the East" and absolute howling dreadful instruments from "the West". For the record, my MIM Cabronita P bass is lovely. No instrument has a divine right to be perfect simply because of where/when it was made. Neither is any instrument automatically an abomination on that same basis. But the way some people talk, that's the impression I get.

[quote name='thisnameistaken' timestamp='1377429320' post='2187337'] Sort of I suppose. If you went into a shop and they had one of the thing you wanted left, and another guy bought it and offered it to you for 200 more. That's basically arsehole tax. [/quote] A rather extreme and unlikely scenario, but c'est la vie. Should have got in there first then, if you really wanted it. I think this is merely enterprising. Cheeky, maybe, opportunistic, most certainly, but I don't think it's fair or appropriate to use terms like "arsehole tax". Sounds petty to me. Also, "200 more" means nothing without an original figure. It's clearly preposterous if you're talking about a Mars Bar, I'll grant you that. But would anyone be stupid enough to buy a £200.75 Mars Bar?

[quote name='Prime_BASS' timestamp='1377425618' post='2187272'] You sound like a girl who gets cheated on and brands all men scukbags [/quote] I don't think that's fair. I read it as the experience having torpedoed a hole in the concept of the so-called "community", it wasn't made personal, it wasn't said that everyone on here is a lying, cheating scumbag. I think that your comment is out of line and an unnecessary dig.

[quote name='thisnameistaken' timestamp='1377417196' post='2187176'] I don't really like the idea of people buying stuff with the sole intention of selling it for a profit. Either here, or on eBay, or in life in general. [/quote] Life in general? Isn't this how shops work?

Sounds great, go for it. I'm too lazy to embark on something like this, so do it for me as well as yourself

Nope. Happy still to play anything from a simple P bass to the absolutely bonkers RD Artist. Funnily enough, they all sound like basses.

[quote name='uncle psychosis' timestamp='1377376208' post='2186946'] The last time this topic came up (a few months back) there were quite a few posters who were adamant that selling stuff on here for more than you paid for it was a massive abuse of the community and completely and utterly unforgivable. It got fairly heated as I recall. [/quote] Yes, unfortunately I remember. I'm a free market radical. Not to mention the worst kind of amoral profiteer it would seem.

Rig - no problem, as long as I'm asked first. I'm not being difficult, it's just simple manners. No prior permission sought, no play. Anyone who thinks that's dickish I wouldn't want within a 10m radius of anything of mine. I'm not precious about settings or any of that nonsense (I know my settings) but please NO drinks on top of amps. Also - I don't understand the "use your own head with my cab" thing. I'd rather have a head going through my cab that I know is hooked up right and that the cab can handle maximum output from the head. Bass - highly unlikely. Sorry. It's going to have to be one hell of a tale of woe.

Are the pickups in phase? Try swapping the hot/ground wires of ONE of the pickups and see if that helps?

[quote name='Lowender' timestamp='1377215248' post='2185018'] Only in the most low end market is there a big difference in quality. Once it gets to a certain point, a bass is as good as a bass can be. It's just a matter of what you like. [/quote] I'd agree with that. The beginner is spoiled for choice of quality instruments these days. There's even less excuse to jack it all in after a month because at least you won't be fighting the instrument you're supposed to be playing. Diminishing returns as the price increases though, agreed. [quote] So which budget basses are great and which are garbage? [/quote] I do not agree with the pigeonholing of entire brands/models of instrument. I don't think it's useful. Each instrument is a unique instance (every bit of wood is unique, will have seen attention from different people along the assembly line for instance) and must be evaluated on its own merits. There will be Friday afternoon specials from so-called superior brands. There will be diamonds in the rough from brands that some will turn their nose up at. [quote] I feel the VM Squiers are cheap basses. But for a few pounds more you can have a CV, which is as good as any Fender other than an american standard from a good year. The custom shop is just an AS with hype. Music Man came out with the Ray line and they matched the original in quality. Now there's a SUB series for even less and THEY are every bit as good. It's actually quite ridiculous. [/quote] I'm going to extend the "I feel" at the beginning of this paragraph to include the whole of these quoted paragraphs, as I hope you meant that. [quote] So has everything changed? Are super expensive basses a thing of the past? I appreciate the dedication Luthiers have for their craft but why should I have to spend all that money on someone's personal carpentry hobby? [/quote] You don't have to. I don't get where this indignation is coming from. If you don't think it's worth it then fine, walk away but there must be a market out there for "bespoke", not "off the shelf" or however you want to describe them basses otherwise they wouldn't get made in the first place. No-one's forcing you to commission a custom made bass. [quote] Is there a future for elite instruments or are we looking at a future where instruments will be like TV's? Far better and far cheaper. [/quote] I don't know, and because I'm highly unlikely to want such an instrument (as I feel I'm not worth it, coupled with the financial imprudence of it all), I don't particularly care beyond the disconnected, offhand "that's a shame" level if they did die out.

Oh, I didn't notice you said PJ - G&L SB-2.

G&L L-2000. Might be able to pick up a second hand USA model for that if one shops around, easily get a new Tribute for that. Passive EQ, there is an "active" setting but that's just a line boost. There is one active tone shaping thing - the "treble boost" setting and I think it sounds terrible so I never use it.

I love my bands too. I'm in a good place right now. Managed to get a 6 piece band together (The Inevitable Teaspoons) with no egos who keep in touch, turn up when they're supposed to, actually work on stuff when they say "I'll work on that", aren't afraid to say "can we run through that song again?" get involved, make suggestions, all help carry big stuff and are good guys who I get along with. Songs are coming together and I think it's sounding ace. Next weekend we've got our first gig since our singer John joined us and I'm really looking forward to it. My other band (FaR) is doing fine also in this respect. It's a different dynamic because it's a creative duo (who sometimes play acoustic shows themselves) with a rhythm section tacked on so I guess I get to take a relatively further back seat on this one but it's been going great since the start of the year, played on average twice a month and one festival. Great players who are also nice people, I think I've been very lucky this year. Good times! Mind you, last year was the worst I've had for scheming, backstabbing, conniving, childish, passive/aggressive nonsense, so maybe it's just evening itself out.