dc2009

Welcome, Ali. Keep chugging along with the rockschool grade 8, I found the book again the other day and had a go through it, I never sat the exam though due to school committments! Good luck with the pavilion gig, weymouth is, interesting to say the least!

[quote name='chrisd24' post='1303124' date='Jul 14 2011, 01:34 AM']Strange considering what time it is that I was literally just this second looking at that combo....really like the look of that and I'm betting it sounds sweet as a nut![/quote] I can't vouch for it, as they are rare, but I'm willing to bet your assessment is spot on. My Hartke arrived today, really don't wanna say goodbye to my head, think it'll be for keeps if I can

[quote name='chrisd24' post='1302705' date='Jul 13 2011, 06:41 PM']Sorry my bad,did a search on eBay and got nothing back for "series 6 trace elliot" so thought maybe the product codes didn't include it,think there's just no series 6 stuff on there at the minute.[/quote] Make sure you search item and description, and remember some people don't know what they're selling. A quick look yielded these: Never remember what series these are but they're fairly common on the bay and do the job well: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Trace-Elliot-GP7SM-300-Bass-Pre-Amp-Head-Unit-/170666491305?pt=UK_MusicalInstr_Amplifiers_RL&hash=item27bc83fda9"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Trace-Elliot-GP7SM-3...=item27bc83fda9[/url] a beaten up cab currently at £2 (pickup only) and this gem: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Trace-Elliot-Valve-Bass-Combo-/320727862074?pt=UK_MusicalInstr_Amplifiers_RL&hash=item4aacdecb3a#ht_500wt_1156"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Trace-Elliot-Valve-B...a#ht_500wt_1156[/url] - series 6, valve, she be tasty and mighty rare - if you're thinking of a new amp though, a regular series 6 like mine or more powerful (not that you need it) is worth waiting for, when i was looking for mine i'd say you got a new one on ebay every 1-2 weeks. I also got mine as a bargain because the guy put preamp in the listing title, because it has the GP12 preamp as part of the head unit - i think this dissuaded some buyers. You see this done relatively often, worth looking out for!

I was very much hoping for cetera's attendance with a plethora of Spectors

[quote name='Muzz' post='1303021' date='Jul 13 2011, 11:32 PM']Yup, s/h and German's the way to go. Don't underestimate the Fortresses, tho - I've had a few Warwicks (Corvette, $$ NT, etc) and I think my 93 wenge-neck Fortress is one of the best basses, let alone Warwicks, I've ever played. Mmmmm, wenge... [/quote] Gotta love it, that wenge is something special. Works so nicely with the understated hero here too, the ovangkol. Gives warwick's that beautiful throaty quality! To the thread starter, if you're short on funds then a S/H rockbass is a good buy (I'm with waynepunkdude here), but if you have the extra to spare, or will do if you save a little longer/sell off some crap, do it, because the s/h german ones are worth it.

My arrival was inevitable I suppose. I'm completely with the concensus here. I've got to say that second hand german warwicks are the to go right now. New Warwicks have seen their list prices double (literally) over the past 4/5 years, partly due to a drop in popularity, and warwick wanting to push the rockbass brand and make the german stuff a bit more elite again. Rockbasses are not bad, but last time I looked they had things like the screw on electronics cavity, it's a nice little clip system on the german made ones - handy for an active bass. There's a few other similar touches, but the rockbasses still play and sound almost if not exactly as fantastic. Thing is, I'd never buy a new rockbass at the moment, given the trough that second hand german made prices are in. Go for one of those, you won't regret it. As for models, if you like a corvette stick with that, I wouldn't recommend another without trying it, unless of course you go for a corvette $$ like myself and a few others here. Those switches enable you to have each pickup as a single coil (so same as a regular corvette) or as a humbucker wired either in series or parallel (distinctly different sounds) - tonally very versatile, very comfortable to play (balances beautifully, nice neck etc), and I think, quite nice to look at too.

Pics for youuuuuuu. She sounds fantastic. Only put the Warwick through her so far. Put the Warwick on passive, no effects no sansamp or anything in the circuit, just let the amp do the talking, and boy did it shout. It sounds great across ALL the volume and tonal ranges. These speakers are fantastic - good solid sound from the paper, but some very nice brightness and edge from the aluminium. A huge range of sounds available, makes me feel a bit silly with my 12 band Trace. As Mr Ellefson said at the clinic, he used to buy into all of that stuff, and then with this thing he realised: 'Bass, mid and treble. What more do you need?' - I couldn't agree more having heard this amp for myself. There are the added features of DI, limiter, bright switch and three settings on the back for the tweeter, on, off and a 6dB cut. I should add that the EQ contours are set as boost only, no cut. There is the numbers to get a completely flat eq in the manual. There is also a lead allowing me to disconnect head/cab so can be set up differently if I so wished. If someone can tell me a smart way to record my bass other than through my built in laptop speaker mic I will more than happily put up some sound samples.

[quote name='chrisd24' post='1302649' date='Jul 13 2011, 06:02 PM']Do you recomend anymodels in particular? I only ask as there seems to be loads and I'm a clueless noob when it comes to this gear![/quote] As the man said, series 6 are golden, mine has all sliders and knobs working and all caps and knobs present which isn't always the case, I also have the footswitch which isn't often present This adds to the value and usability, but is probably worth the extra

[quote name='urb' post='1302552' date='Jul 13 2011, 04:18 PM']As I mentioned earlier I'd be happy to give a demo - either in small group or to the whole Bash if my embarrassment levels will tolerate it - explaining some slap and picking techniques that get away from relentless machine gun triplets and always riffing away in open E or A when slapping... I'd be happy to have a few others plugging in as well to enable them to learn or share any of the techniques discussed/demonstrated... Let me know if any of y'all is interested - we can always use one of the off-shoot performance rooms to do this in Cheers Mike[/quote] Interested for sure, provided no one hears me slap. I'd love to learn off someone who knows what they're doing instead of imitating what I've seen on youtube.

[quote name='Mylkinut' post='1302348' date='Jul 13 2011, 02:05 PM']Very true, I keep my Ric for the 5 minutes of magic it can provide in an afternoon of frustration [/quote] So why is living with them a problem? :-s

Hi all, I've just been reliably informed that my brand new Hartke 5410c has been delivered to my home. I'm currently at work but will fill you all in on the gory details when I get back. I was fortunate enough to be the one prize winner at the David Ellefson and Frankie Bello clinic/show put on by the dv247 music store at the moment. The guys were all really nice and I now have £830 worth of brand new model, top of the line combo Hartke for the £10 cost of my ticket. Absolutely chuffed to bits with the win, can't wait to hear how she sounds. Dan

[quote name='yorick' post='1302288' date='Jul 13 2011, 01:19 PM']How about Alembic? [/quote] Whenever I think Sandberg I always think Lakland, Sadowsky and to some extent even Spector as direct competition for their market. Perhaps this will help Sandberg carve a bigger market over the other two.

I've always hated rics, never liked the tone or looks. Thought they looked ugly as sin, and that they sounded like someone hitting a rusty drainpipe with a lead bar. I'm now finding myself increasingly drawn towards the shape and sound too after loving some bass I didn't realise was played on rics, in an alarming, coming on of a GAS overload kind of way....can someone please help me snap out of it?

If you like the commando sound, stick with the solid state stuff for now (i.e. not V-type). It'll save you a bi of money and will be easier to find/pair up with other non v-type gear. Old traces are the business in my book, which is why I'm hoping to hang onto my head (despite my Hartke combo having just been delivered at home - damn I wanna leave work early), though I've sold my cab already. They are notoriously under-rated power wise, I read a review of mine (I was concerned about it only being 200W) on harmony central (i.e. independent) before buying, and the guy said it blew the socks off any other brand of solid state amp that had a 400W power rating. The thing never went above 1 in my bedroom, 1.5 if I wanted to pee off the neighbours. Fantastic sound quality too. It's all about the trace heads, so look for one of those first, their cabs are good too (celestion drivers usually if IIRC), you can get some real ebay bargains on cabs because of 'pickup only' many of these you can message the guy and say you've found a courier for about £20 (not at all unlikely) and they'll be happy to ship, or you can of course pick up if you're close. The heads tend to have a standard going rate on ebay, but of course from time to time you get some go for more than the odds and some for less, depending on the usual factors. Alternatively I'd recommend one of their combos with the built in 4x10, can't go wrong there, and will be a nice upgrade on the commando. Finally, don't even bother looking at the new traces. IMO they're nothing particularly like the old ones asides in looks, they are distinctly overpriced for what they are and you wont likely get a significant reduction second hand.

[quote name='Machines' post='1302252' date='Jul 13 2011, 12:56 PM']I nearly liked it until I saw the weird top horn plus the lower cutaway looks a bit extreme. Thomann has the price for the 4 string at £527, that means it's going to compete with Tanglewaters, Sterling by EBMM, G&L Tributes etc. Not sure if it'll be a big success based on the looks, but the tonal options should be pretty good.[/quote] IMO that's a bit steep given a second hand proper Sandberg isn't that much more, compared to a s/h actual overwater which is significantly more than their tanglewood version. Will be some competition for these, which I think is good. Glad other, smaller manufacturers are doing this. Gibson and Fender have had Epi and Squier for years, Warwick have had Rockbass for a while, nice to see other manufacturers doing the same. Just trying to think who else I'd like to see this from.

looks like Johnston 'went there' I'm a big fan of Dir En Grey and D'espairs Ray, a bit of a gritty rock edge to the former and a pop-punk (but not sh1t) edge to the latter. Check out TwentyFour Cylinders by DEG.

[quote name='Machines' post='1302141' date='Jul 13 2011, 11:43 AM']Interesting, sounds a lot like the Overwater/Tanglewood team up. Are there any pics yet ?[/quote] agreed - maybe there's more companies that will follow suit! If I got one I'd have to seriously restrain myself from marking out those 4 dots on the body....

Thing is BGM strikes me as Top Gear for bass players. It can be entertaining/interesting yes, but can I afford to go and buy that new stack/bass/pedal every month? Of course not. It's usefulness ends there, it is good for entertainment and interest reading, nothing more IMO. If I'm googling a product I'm interested in buying, I won't even bother with an official review. This is where sites like harmony-central (and our very own BC though the reviews section could do with being more active) come into their own.

[quote name='EBS_freak' post='1301715' date='Jul 12 2011, 10:59 PM']Says the man with the custom shop Warwick?[/quote] It has a custom top, I wanted a standard model but the upgrade in accessories I got (a bulletproof hard case, 2 sets of black label strings etc) with the custom top were worth comfortably over double what I spent extra on the top. And by boutique I specifically meant basses produced by companies/luthiers that only do made to order, and therefore are boutique, Warwick is by no means a boutique name.

[quote name='dood' post='1301672' date='Jul 12 2011, 10:16 PM']I wanna get my mits on some of that HP Guinness sauce![/quote] You're welcome to mine, Dood, I wasn't a fan!

still waiting on the hartke, this courier company is taking the michael! looks like the interview was properly good and lengthy, dood, looking forward to seeing the full thing! Also mighty looking forward to seeing the price tag on an ellefson sig, I may well have to consider one if it doesn't take more michael than this courier!

[quote name='silddx' post='1301510' date='Jul 12 2011, 08:00 PM']Not ALL of it mate, come on! Hello TD, it's a lovely forum! Especially if you have a big mouth and an even bigger wallet (I've only got the former )[/quote] I'm just as silddx here, though I buy stuff on the marketplace like I've got the latter, the missus is growing weary of it methinks! It's a great place here, they make you very welcome. Tell us about yourself!

[quote name='mcnach' post='1301585' date='Jul 12 2011, 08:57 PM']Yes, but if it doesn't *sound* Stingrayish... [/quote] Depends how pedantic you wanna be, a $$ sounds a lot more stingrayish than a P/J i think. IMO stingrays sound different in everyone's hands i've heard them in. Also, if you want to side with the only stingrays sound like stingrays camp then I think you're being unnecessarily pretentious about your instrument, in that you can eq and filter a stingray and something else a million different ways, and i bet you wont tell the different for a whole bunch of samples if they were made to sound similar, and also in that it's taking an elitist attitude and essentially saying 'nothing else can compare.'

[quote name='mcnach' post='1301478' date='Jul 12 2011, 07:31 PM']I had a Corvette $$, great bass, great many different sounds. But one thing it did not do was "Stingray"[/quote] It can have the pickup configuration of one, which is a damn sight more than most basses which dont have a specific mm pickup have.

Either buy both basses if you want both tones, or buy something that can do both. A variax would be a good place to start. And although it can't do P, the warwick corvette $$ can do just about any other bass (J, MM etc) you could want pickup config wise.