brensabre79

The setup is down to the store really, these basses have both travelled halfway around the world, something is gonna move! I personally think the VMJ is a bargain, even if you do what I did with mine and replace almost everything but the neck! The thing is, on the GL all of the hardware is top notch, and the amount of 'human time' in the build process is considerably higher - which means these are more consistent out of the box in terms of QC. On the VMJ the hardware is sufficient, but not great, and eventually you'll discover that adding a badass bridge (£40-70) and decent pickups (£70 minimum), and electronics (£20-£150 - depending on what you want t do), put some Gotoh machine heads on (the VMJ ones are weak) etc. etc. and you'll have a Squier that's almost as well built as a decent MIJ Geddy Lee, for a little less money, a lot more hassle - and the pickups will be in the wrong place (VMJ is 60s position, not 70s)... When you come to sell it or trade it, you'll have a Squier VMJ with some mods - you'll never get back what you put in. Wheras if you get the GL, its still a GL and you probably won't need to modify it much... My advice, get the shop to set up the GL properly and try them both again, pay close attention to the feel when tuning up, the volume of the pickups (tap th body with the bass plugged in and you'll see the difference in microphonics), hold the bass up and shake it a bit, does it feel solid? Then look for a secondhand GL

Pearl blocks and white binding look good on rosewood or maple. black blocks... never did undersand that one, it looks like plastic. also, black binding only works on a white body as far as i'm concerned... and even then its got to be the right bass. That Lakland is lovely, but it would have been so much better with pearl

Awesome job mate! It looks the bees knees! If my SWR doesn't sell soon I might follow suit!! Have you found that the sound has changed at all since you put the cover over the port?

logically speaking, yes thicker strings will keep their tension at lower pitch. But you may have to irreversibly customise your bass to accomodate. i.e. the nut and possibly the bridge will need to be filed to accomodate a thicker string. If this is not an option you could look at DR strings website. they do a set of standard gauge strings that are designed for tuning down. I can't remember what they are called though

I think it was Marine Epoxy, not Marine Varnish. The epoxy helps the 'mwah' apparently. I have not epoxied my fretless though, I use half round LaBella's on there but I don't sound like Jaco

FWIW, Jaco epoxied his fingerboard, having first removed the frets. If you want the Jaco tone (whats wrong with yours?) then that would be the way to go, also your roundwound strings won't eat away the rosewood board then. BUT you will probably devalue the bass if its not original. Even if you do a great job.

I think a healthy amount of nervousness is required as you approach any bass with a sheet of sandpaper. Its what stops you going "I'll do this in no time with an orbital sander" Keep it fine, even and not too much pressure you'll be right - the good thing about an oiled neck is you're not going to scratch the finish.

[quote name='Al Heeley' timestamp='1337860366' post='1666488'] Apologies for o/t, my extensive research shows sweat is at the normal skin pH which is 5.5 - 6.5, ie: very slightly acidic. Although diet can affect pungency of sweat (esp. onions, chillis, garlic) it has no discernible effect on pH. Incidentally if you wash your hands too much with soap which is on the alkaline side, ( normally 8 or 9) this interferes with the skins natual slight acid pH and leads to dry skin issues, but not rusty strings. [/quote] Interesting stuff Al, I must be on the lower side 5.5, and I never get dry skin at all. My strings don't rust, but they go dull fast even the DR coated ones and I can strip the nitro off a neck faster than a tin of nitromors! I must be the opposite to you Ou7shined as I leave fingerprints everywhere! No life of crime for me!!

Apparently she does a mean 12,000 mile service on a ford mondeo too, complete with pollen filter change! [quote name='silddx' timestamp='1337858671' post='1666436'] She's a MUSICIAN, not a MECHANIC. [/quote]

Sorry for the thread hijack pumpkinkin I think [url="http://www.acehardwaresuperstore.com/26796-all-purpose-cleaners/64865.html"]this[/url] is the stuff you're looking for

I'll second (or third) whats been said above. An honest chat up front might be unpleasant for five minutes but it gets everything out in the open. I play in 3 bands, one gigs every week, one every month the other every Preston Guild. The thing is, other band members in all bands have reasons why they cannot make a practice or do a gig on a particular day. Being in another band is just the same thing - its a commitment outside the band and that is all. If they really don't like it, and want to replace you immediately, then its probably for the best that you leave anyway. in my experience bands like that are all about the photo shoots and demo's and playing in sweaty toilets to 25 friends once every three months - the ones with a more professional attitude, the ones that are organised, are the ones that succeed. If one of the bands starts to take off and requires all of your commitment (i.e. a tour) for a period of time, then you will need to have a chat with all of them again - but there are plenty of deps around on here if you need some cover for a bit

[quote name='KiOgon' timestamp='1337850203' post='1666253'] Saw her on Jools & knew the name but not familiar with at all. To me her bass playing came across as 'doing the bare minimum to qualify'. Probably not a good introduction to her judging by her reputation, hope her performance on Friday show will be better. [/quote] For a Duck Dunn fan KiOgon, I thought you would understand more than most the benefits to playing only what is required and nothing more! I thought she was amazing - sure there are technically better bass players out there (and singers) but the expressiveness of both was really engaging for me. I'm sure all the jazz nazis will be out in force to tell me that this is watered down pap, but you know what I liked it, and so did the missus, which is a rarity in the extreme!!

I have no scientific research at all to back this up, but a guitar tech I know asked me this question when I spoke to him about my sticky neck issues. Apparently he was veggie for a while and his sweat increased in acidity, and he knows a few guitarists who are veggie all of whom have acidic sweat. I'd be interested if you can back this up with science though Al!

If you have acidic sweat (are you a vegetarian?) then you will get this with oil finish and beeswax if there is too much excess. I even get it on nitro laquer, after a hot gig it goes all sticky. After a long time with the same bass I have completely removed the laquer from the back of the neck now,its down to the wood and feels great. Maybe you shouldn't polish it so often and make sure you buff away at it for a good time when you do... Sounds like it might be polish bound and the very thing you're doing to try and remove the stickiness is making it stickier!

Same here, whats wrong with the Jazz? If you want a bit more thud you could get a Precision, or for some 'honk' a Stingray. Or maybe just stick with the Jazz and add a series switch for the pickups? Or set your amp up differently...?

There's a sticky at the top of this section of recommended amp tech's. If you want a specialist ENGL repairer you might be out of luck unless you go to the manufacturer. but I don't think they are any different to other makes in terms of operation so you would probably be OK with one of the recommended tech's from the sticky

[quote name='synaesthesia' timestamp='1337603181' post='1662516'] You want a set of Eventide pedals and a Voodoo Labs power supply too for £15? [/quote] Deal I was merely pointing out that it might not be so good as a pedalboard due to the fact that the lid will be in the way. Probably not easy to fit detatchable hinges either as its likely they are riveted on. Could be useful for something else though.

I should chip in here and say that although both use the same 12" drivers the Super12 is not simply the same as having two Midgets, the sound is different. Alex was at great pains to tell me that the way the two speakers 'couple' in the same cabinet on the Super 12 is what makes it, well... Super! It has the effect of altering the frequency response of the Eminence drivers and fills the little scoop in the low-mid, generating a flatter response than the Midget. This is probably what contributes to the Super12s reputation of being 'middy' I don't have any trouble getting really low synth bass frequencies out of mine at all, its just a really flat response so you can dial out what you don't like - instead of having to dial in what is missing

Not sure those hinges are the removable lid type either, so that will still be attached when its open

Ditto really good basses for upgrading. Necks are superb, hardware/tronics not so much - useable but not the best.

[quote name='Walker' timestamp='1337175963' post='1656668'] Absolutely - a great, simple and lightweight tool for a gigging bassist, probably not the first choice for a bedroom based tone-tweaking pedal guru perfectionist, but still bloody good fun. [/quote] Yep totally agree, for the [u]gigging bassist[/u] who often doesn't know what he or she will be required to do it is a multitude of quite useable effects in a very small box. I wouldn't even take it to the studio though, thats where you [u]do[/u] take the big box of pedals