Bigwan

You may have done this already, but change the strings and give it a setup and try again. I've had this before, where I was convinced a bass wasn't for me. A little bit of fiddling and hey presto! Admittedly it hasn't worked in every case...

[quote name='Sibob' timestamp='1452243675' post='2947890'] The Monarch shape has been built by Fodera since they started in 1983 Si [/quote] Yes, but it normally doesn't look as... bare as that...

My first thought was the body looked like a Yamaha RBX... not that there's anything wrong with a Yamaha RBX!

Guilty of all of those in my time... Except Deep Horizon. Haven't gone that far yet. Although Chilliwailer's 57 P bass nearly got me there!

If you're handy with a soldering iron (or know somebody who is!) you can get the Blueberry as a kit from Fuzz Dog Pedals. The RunOffGroove Ginger is always mentioned along with the Blueberry and VFE used to build them under license, but all the RunOffGroove stuff seems to have disappeared from their site recently... My drive of choice has been the Ashdown J-Lo for a LONG time now, but it's BIG, almost B3 size. Much more flexible than most people give it credit for. I use it in a similar way to how James Lomenzo himself demonstrates it on YouTube, but with a slightly lower frequency center (not a treble hound me!) and a little more gain. I've just received a VFE Triumvirate to see if it gets in the same ballpark, but saves a bit of space on my little board.

Seem to be a lot of electronic "experts" around all of a sudden. Every single component on Spencer's board could be a different value and at the range those pictures have been taken you couldn't tell with the naked eye. The joy of surface mount components is you usually need a magnifying glass to tell their value. Ask me how I know... You can be pretty sure based on the different layouts that the drive circuits are EXTREMELY UNLIKELY to be the same. I've taken the time to partially reverse engineer the original b3k pcb layout (from way back - it was posted for all to see on one of the DIY forums) and the drive circuit takes up VERY little real estate on the board. The rest is taken up with copious buffering and blending. The actual drive circuit is suspiciously similar to the few other CMOS circuits out there... Red Llama, Craig Anderton's tube sound fuzz... So who are we trying to kid here. I'd also point out that the market for boutique muff and tube screamer derivatives is HUGE. At least as big as the market for the originals! So even if the drive WAS the same, nobody is crucifying the 99% of boutique builders who are doing exactly the same thing. In my opinion Spencer has no case to answer, except in being naive enough to think that the visual similarity of the enclosure artwork wouldn't raise a few eyebrows.

[quote name='zawinul' timestamp='1452106900' post='2946530'] Thats a lot of notes, Ampeg 20 watt is cheaper!! [/quote] As far as I'm aware you can't pick up an almost new Ampeg second hand for £300 like you could have with an Ashdown here last week... Keep an eye on the classifieds!

Ashdown LB30 (or CTM30 as they are now) would be my choice. Output transformer derived DI so you could stick a dummy load on it and record silently if you wanted to.

[quote name='Guinness21' timestamp='1452021492' post='2945659'] What's not to love? It's now got the versatility of the b7k with the addition of the switches and extra mids controls, and is obviously a warm/vintage sounding pedal. [/quote] I've had b3k, b7k and vmt and wouldn't have any (or derivatives thereof) again. Maybe the eq of the vmtd would help dial out the fizzy harshness in the upper mids... or maybe not - doesn't on the b7k despite its apparent versatility, I tried.

[quote name='Guinness21' timestamp='1452011611' post='2945511'] Mark said there's a 4 week wait on the vmtd 2.0. I honestly think this pedal is going to become the benchmark for always-on/light drive sounds. [/quote] Maybe. Not everyone is a fan though...

Boiling strings, IMO, is a myth that just keeps propagating. I tried it in my younger days and it didn't work very well. Folks more experienced than I suggest that if anything it shortens the life of your strings. If you want to clean normal strings steep them in meths overnight (I coil them up as a set and put them in an old plastic haribo tub 3/4 filled with meths), dry and refit them. Not sure if this works for coated strings or not, but don't see why it wouldn't.

What a beautiful setup... Not a bit jealous!

... and now there are 2 of these in the for sale section the day after I find the clutch is slipping on the old conveyance... Bugger...

I'll not be rushing out to buy any of them I have to say. I suspect I'd feel the same as I have about all the Darkglass stuff I've owned... Meh...

[quote name='chickenjames' timestamp='1451739146' post='2942935'] How is the Sire likely to feel compared to my Ray? [/quote] Not much use to you here as mine's a 5 string and I've never played a 4 (often think of ordering one!), but the neck will be narrower at the nut and the fretboard radius will be tighter. I haven't seen depth measurements on the Sire 4 string and it's been quite a while since I (briefly!) owned a 'ray 4. Colour-wise I went with burst, mostly since it was all they had at the time, but think it might have been my choice if I had free rein as I'm not really a fan of black basses and already have a white bass in my USA P bass.

[quote name='chickenjames' timestamp='1451684014' post='2942522'] thanks guys. I'm very tempted by the Sire MM V7, seems almost too good to be true. Seems like the only way to get them in the UK is from Thomann, is that right? They all seem to be out of stock at the moment - should I be worried? Any comments on ash vs alder, maple vs RW? I'm thinking that I should go for alder & RW as I'm looking to be mellow. Any comments on how it's likely to be setup? I don't like buying without trying but I guess there's no choice here. Anyone tried putting flats on one? I have flats (d'Addario chromes) on my 'Ray and I guess I'd want the same on the Jazz. [/quote] "too good to be true" Exactly what I thought, but it's not! "Only available from ThomannThomann... - should I be worried?" They sell like hot cakes! Only reason to be worried is that you miss out on the next Thomann shipment. "Any comments on ash vs alder, maple vs RW? I'm thinking that I should go for alder & RW as I'm looking to be mellow" I went for rosewood/alder based on previous experience of the combination (and I'm not a fan of maple boards), but I would cautious using the term mellow - mine growls very nicely when I dig in a bit. "Any comments on how it's likely to be setup?" Very well in my opinion. I thought I'd have to RAISE the action or put a little more relief in the neck after my first 5 minutes with it, but it's been fine, although I'd be the first to admit that I'm not particularly sensitive to setup like some folk are. "I don't like buying without trying but I guess there's no choice here." Nobody does, but my thinking was that folks on here whose opinion I trust thought they were excellent, I'd heard one single setup complaint and one single complaint about the control layout and nothing else negative, it wasn't a particularly expensive bass and Thomann have an excellent returns policy so if I was the one unlucky person to get a Friday afternoon bass I could always send it back! "flats... " Not yet, but I have a set of Fender flats ready to put on it when the notion takes me! EDIT:sorry, quote doesn't work well on the mobile version of the site it would seem...

[quote name='Rumble' timestamp='1451595738' post='2941805'] I've been impressed by some of the reviews of the sire v7's on YouTube, but can anyone confirm if the B string is any good on the 5's? [/quote] I can, and it is...

Just the right level of relic! Very nice!

[quote name='Dom in Somerset' timestamp='1451592521' post='2941785'] Because of the reduced body it's easy for me to reach around to grab my flute (I have to do this mid song at times) nothing gets in the way. [/quote] Sorry, I nearly sprayed my whole kitchen with beer at that one...

I'd echo the Sire recommendation. It's the best money I've ever spent on a bass - and I've spent A LOT. Jazz-wise I've owned a Lakland Skyline Joe Osborne and a Fender Roadworn and, in my opinion, the Sire is more than a match for either of them, and neither of them were slouches! Mine is an Alder/Rosewood 5. I never use it active and when all the controls eventually start to bug me I'll find a passive control plate. I hadn't played one before ordering but have no regrets at all. I went with Alder from previous experience and because I'm not a huge fan of maple boards. I would say that the Alder/Rosewood combo can growl pretty nicely if required. Waiting patiently for a Sire P bass...

[quote name='Shockwave' timestamp='1451352965' post='2939846'] Digital Village in the UK sell them. [url="http://www.dv247.com/search/3039/0/ProductPrice/Ascending/-/1/"]http://www.dv247.com.../Ascending/-/1/[/url] J&D are the exact same basses as the Harley Benton ones, just without the Wilkinson hardware. [/quote] Different scale length (J&D 29", Harley Benton 30") would suggest different but then it wouldn't be the first time specs have been quoted ENTIRELY wrong...