Bigwan

I've always loved my ABMs and never had any trouble with mine, although I firmly believe that the early series are much more reliable than the newer ones. I still have 2 first series ABMs, but currently use the orange terror bass more. It has the same tone set flat as I try to get from my ABMs, but with a little more punch and a LOT more gain, which suits the stuff I normally play.

Only cons really are, as mentioned, you need a hum cancelling J to be hum free and you can't get the slightly in-between tones as you would from a jazz setup (neck p'up slightly rolled off or bridge p'up slightly rolled off). I'd go for a switch rather than 2 volumes myself. 2 P pickups interests me, and might blend better than P+J... I rather like James Lomenzo's custom shop Yamaha BB - 2 P pickups and a big old mudbucker at the neck. Sounds gnarly!

[quote name='BigBassBob' timestamp='1329781071' post='1547428'] Here's my newly completed rig: [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v155/BigBassBob/Snapbucket/70C6D8F5.jpg[/IMG] Small and f***in' loud! [/quote] Lovely!!!

I've liked every Sandberg I've ever played. My only issue is that the headstock can look a little cheap - hardly a biggy. I'm all full up as far as P, J and MM style basses go so I'll probably never own one though... :-(

[quote name='Al Heeley' timestamp='1329835433' post='1548143'] Thanks - I'm not a ferrari man, rather more second hand 3-series BMW really; I think all the electronic differences in method are lost on me for now. Can you suggest a relatively cheap (sub £50) entry-level compressor that is worth a play with, that might be ok for gigging? I don't want to spend £140 - £200 on s'thing that I'm not convinced works for me but £40 - £ 50 is worth a punt to dip my toe in, so to say. Is it false economy if all the cheap comps are really pants? Are there any half decent cheap models worth a go? Do you have to spend over £100 to get something decent? [/quote] *SHAMELESS PLUG MODE ON* I have a Barge Concepts RC-2 for sale at the minute that would be inside your budget - bongomania's compressor review site gives it a reasonable review (comparable to the EBS unit). *SHAMELESS PLUG MODE OFF* Having said that it might not be a huge difference from the dynacomp clone you're playing as it's based on the same circuit (a few extra features like an added decay control and switchable guitar/bass modes and good quality components throughout)...

Just bought a 3leaf PWNZOR from Mark. Arrived in a jiffy and was exactly as described! Deal with confidence!

[quote name='owen' timestamp='1329512247' post='1543799'] Sorry, that is not enough info. [/quote] http://www.putnamguitars.com/mods.htm You did ask (it's under the rack vt mod drop down options)...

I think I'm replaceable, the guitarist in my on-again, off-again metal band thinks not. It's a style thing. He's been looking for a replacement for me for a long time due to my family commitments. Loads of tryers, most acceptable to me, none even remotely close enough for him, even after I've coached a few of them through the tunes, and supplied them with bass-only mixes from the album...

There's been a guy in the states making a micro amp from the VT bass pedal and B&O 500 watt icepower module for a few years now - can't remember his name. He resides over on the other site. Mods all the character series pedals with added XLR and speaker defeat option. Surprised it's taken Tech21 so long to catch up to be honest! As already noted this would need to be pretty cheap to compete with the VT bass deluxe/peavey ipr combination. Watched a vid on youtube the other day comparing the Tech21 VT 300 watt head with an ampeg SVT to show that the VT had more clean headroom than the SVT... think perhaps they were missing the point somewhat...

If it were me I'd go one further and get a few nice blocks of hardwood, cut to the same size as the soapbars in the Epi and route out jazz pickup routes on the bottom so you've got some nice pickup covers - stain/dye/paint as necesary...

Speak to OBBM. He's the Status necked 'Ray 5 man round these parts!

I always thought they were SERIOUSLY overpriced snake oil. Then I tried 3 different ones. That assumption applied to 2 of them. I would have given my left nut for the 3rd one... £4500. It was hard getting out of the shop and keeping my credit card in my pocket. It seriously rocked my world...

If they just want the look I'd have got myself a warmoth body/neck and tricked it out to look like the real thing buut sound the way i wanted if it were me... Compress/EQ and use the Orange/Barefaced would be my choice, especially since it's just for personal monitoring. Only way I'd ever consider an SVT stack is if i didn't have to carry it myself! Must be some band to have you spending that sort of £ on gear!

Other options could be bass collection or westone...

[quote name='Sean' timestamp='1327652174' post='1514656'] Thanks for the offer. I had an ATK400 for a while and it sounded glorious but the neck was way too chunky for me :-( [/quote] Pity... I wonder how much a neck reshape would cost? Probably more than you would have spare. Yamaha is a good bet - one of the BBN, BBG or BB series. Or what about Aria Pro II? They're a good solid bass, and the 4 string necks are nice and slim.

I bought a well used/damaged but playable Ibanez ATK700 for £150 a couple of years back. I Intended to refinish it and keep it as my MM sound bas, but i haven't touched it more than twice - if it fits the bill you can have it at that money + postage...

[quote name='Johnston' timestamp='1327427904' post='1511087'] Bass bash my house at the weekend then [/quote] I'll be catching up on well needed sleep mate (9 week old in the house!), but an NI bass bash is long overdue! [quote name='waynepunkdude' timestamp='1327443687' post='1511465'] I personally think it's a fad but I've been proved wrong before. [/quote] Yes I expect we'll grow out of it, eh?

That's my point though - I've never played ANY bass where the strings feel more even across the fretboard.