Wolverinebass

Whilst Mark King is a divisive character in terms of his playing style, I don't think it could be argued he is amazingly good at what he does. However, I thought that if the captions on the front cover had been altered to a style befitting Cosmopolitan magazine it'd be hilarious: Mark King - "Why middle aged men want to be me."

[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1502618315' post='3352437'] I may be wrong but the Elf is going to be nothing like the old Trace stuff, can't really see the point of having a head that small, a class D with no graphic, how can it be? [/quote] Exactly. It's a triumph of marketing over common sense for every unit they sell. It'll be underpowered rubbish trading off the gimmick that it weighs less than a Higgs-Boson particle.

I find this stuff so funny. Considering that the advert is the closest thing to the amp that Mick and any other poor unfortunate soul who has ordered it will get to owning this travesty, maybe it's time that we wrote our own advertising slogans. "Trace Elliot Elf -the heavyweight amp for oompah loompahs." "Trace Elliot Elf - your wait has barely began."

I would imagine that most people don't have Trace Elliot stuff is because the Elf head date continues to be pushed back. Ha! However, on a serious note, I still have my old boxer 15 practice and which still works perfectly after 18 years.

Hartke haven't done anything decent for a decade. It's a tragedy that despite lots of people liking the LH series (I hate them) their best and is still the HA5500 and that is a 20 year old design. The kilo isn't great and unreliable if reports are to be believed and the TX600 is so underpowered as to be laughable. They seriously have to get their act together as the brand has went downhill.

Will be along. Have to figure out what to bring though. Certainly looking forward to meeting folk and seeing Andy Jr's work in the flesh. 01. Hamster - 02. Silverfoxnik - BC Rich Eagle, Squier P Bass, Ander Vanderend JB5, Eden Traveller WT400 amp & Genz 2x12 cab 03. Steve Browning - some Precisions, Boogie M-Pulse 600 and Boogie Subway 15 cabs, Mesa Walkabout 15. 04. obbm - 2 x Spector Short scales. 05. Pawel G - Squier JV Precision and maybe others 06. Stingray5 - MusicMan and Tune basses; Trace Elliot and/or Eden amplification; Boss GT-6B. 07. Markstuk - Dingwall Z3, Lakland BG 5, BF Big Twin, Thunderfunk TF750a. 08. Cetera - Spector NS2, Spector Euro, Hamer Impact, Wal fretless, one or two more to be decided, big Pedalboard (!), GK800RB, GenzBenz Neox 212T 09. Johnthebassist - '69 Jazz Bass, GenzBenz Shuttle 9, Barefaced S12T, gang of smelly pedals 10.Timmo 11. Barneyg42 12.Walman - FPPR Status S1 - well it wouldn't be a SEBB without Barney's old bass now mine, however this year for the first time it won't have a for sale sticker on it 13.Rumblefish- Reverend Rumblefish,Wal Bass,Mesa M600,Berg CN212. 14. Happy Jack } .........................} with a love that'll see you through 15. Bluejay........} 16. bassace - double bass, Felix Preamp, Puma 500 amp and Genzler 10-2 cab. 17. ChunkyMunky - Zon Sonus Custom 5, Yamaha BB425x, Genz Benz Shuttle 12.0 etc.. 18. MacDaddy 19. louisthebass 20. TrevorR - 2 Wals, an Aria SB700, a Markbass LMII and 2x10 plus some pedals... 21. jhk - yamaha TRB6P, MM stingray 5 fretless, GB Spitfire Fiver, Eden cabs plus Eden wt600 and EBS 22. Seer73 - 2 or 3 lefty basses + amp of some sort - TBD as having GAS issues at the minute 23 - Thestick - Wal , Ken smith , Jeff finch, Aguilar amp 24 - Chris_b 25 - Pete.Young - Yamaha BBNE2, Duesenberg Star, pimped Bass Collection SB465, LMII, EBS Neo 2x12 26 -Grangur - BF One10 and Warwicks Streamer SS1 4-string, Streamer LX 4 Fretless, Jazzman FNA 5 , Corvette 4, Corvette Bubinga 5 27. Captain Rumble - Vanderklay MNT212, Thunderfunk, Xotic jazz 28. Graham - Lakland DJ5, G&L SB2, EBS HD350, EBS Neo 2x12 29. Mangotango - Fernandes Gravity 5x, Dean Pace,TC Electronics BG250-112 30. Andyjr1515 - Kert's Camphor Single Cut, Pete's Piccolo Bass, Pete's EB-3 ish custom builds 31. Wolverinebass

Being quite serious here, people such as Wooten don't need this except for the endorsement money. He's incredibly technically gifted (regardless what you think of his stuff) and he doesn't need this nonsense to mute his strings. Quite frankly, after hearing Sibob play at a bass bash a few years ago, I wouldn't say he does either as I thought he had excellent chops. For me, as I quite often play 12 or 8 string basses, the stuff that this hairband is trying to stop is one of the things that is integral to the sound of them. If it helps people out, great, but I do think it has a slight whiff of snake oil about it. Marketing tripe to make you doubt your ability to mute a string with your left hand. At least, it could be argued that way. Some people would consider the noise "character." Others would say it's "rubbish." No opinion is exclusively right.

I never liked the older 4x10s. Especially the combos as there was no tweeter. However, the valve stuff kills. I even like the peavey era amps actually. All Trace have to do is put the classic pre-amp (or better yet the mp11 with valve Drive and compression) in a box with a 1000w class D engine. There, I've fixed your brand problems in one go. Plus if they went mp11, all the knobs and e settings would be midi controllable so you'd have ludicrous flexibility. Are you listening Trace Elliot?!! Stop with this Elf nonsense and give us some proper gear to drool over!! You know it's underpowered, so do we. Nobody is fooled.

Whilst this thread is kind of amusing in a car crash "how long before Mick asks for a refund whilst TE string him and ever other person along who's pre-ordered one" kind of way, it is intensely unamusing that after all this stress, hardship and chasing them to the gates of Hades for a delivery date, the amp (if it ever arrives) will probably be an underpowered matchbox gimmick only capable of holding it's own against a drummer with brushes. I can't see how a 200w class D amp will cut it in any loud situation at all. Were it 1000w I'd be saying it was genius, but not for 200w. I hope it doesn't go this way.

We shall indeed see. From the pictures of the chassis, I think that the crossover may prove to be fixed rather than variable. Certainly, the xlr outs appear to have been limited to one as you would expect. In truth, I can get the vast majority of this sound with my PSA 1.1 and a bit of delicate EQ. Let's be fair, there will be no midi or presets on this. What you're getting is a stompbox/preamp. An exceptional one and one at the moment without peer, but that's what it is if you choose to look at it uncharitably. A distortion pedal. Say those last 3 words next to "£450" and you'd imagine they might not sell many regardless as to how good it sounds. Which is a pity. I'd be much more interested in what functionality they've had to cut out to fit it in that box and how that changes the pedal from the amp. I guess then people would be able to draw a more accurate conclusion of where they felt the line of it being too expensive would lie.

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1500474956' post='3338097'] Well Chase Bliss have just released a delay pedal for £499..... ....man things are expensive. [/quote] £500 for a delay pedal with no presets or midi implementation?! Pfft. Jog on.

[quote name='Cuzzie' timestamp='1500414612' post='3337658'] I think it will be a £3-500 bracket. If it does produce that sound at a quarter or the dug amp price it's a winner [/quote] Yeah, that's the thing though isn't it? A quarter of the price here is actually more than £600 wheras in the US that'd be $400. Not that I think it'll be that much over here of course as I don't believe anyone would buy it at that price. To put that into context my PSA 1.1 was £500 in 2009 and that's got functionality and flexibility in spades. I consider it my favourite preamp of all time actually. I appreciate with the form being distilled down to what looks like the Bass Flyrig chassis, some functionality will inevitably be lost (more than likely the multiple XLRs if I were to guess), but I think once you push past £350 for a pedal things are getting quite difficult to justify. Even Darkglass haven't went past that marker yet. They will eventually of course, but I'd imagine that they'd need someone even more renowned for dirt than Jon Stockman to do that. Justin Chancellor maybe? However I digress. What I'd really like is presets. Even if it were just 3 like the programmable Sansamp. Do that, or preferably make it controllable by midi and that's the point I'd go to more than £4-500 for it as it'd be absolutely unbeatable and worth the price. I guess we can wait and see come January what the pricing structure might be.

[quote name='Cuzzie' timestamp='1500407034' post='3337585'] Well if you can't buy the amp How about this https://www.facebook.com/jon.willis.7906/posts/1896917300569338 [/quote] Yeah, I saw that. Sounds fantastic. I look forward to trying it or getting one when it comes out early next year. I'd be very interested in what the control layout is and if it's the same as the amp or not. If this pedal ends up being horrifically expensive then I'm probably much less interested. Not that I'm sure what's equivalent. Maybe the Darkglass Alpha Omega? That's about £300 or so. I guess we can wait and see. Sounds brilliant though.

[quote name='yorks5stringer' timestamp='1500203690' post='3336164'] Well it's good to know it really will fit in your back pocket: (warning: gratuitously stupid sexist content follows) [attachment=249175:elf_backpocket.jpg] [/quote] Yeah, you wonder which idiot in marketing thought that photo was a good idea. "That'll never look even remotely sexist will it?" asked the directors. Oh....

A modern take on it would be the now discontinued ESP Viper. Admittedly, the circuit is rubbish, but it does play quite well. The Warwick Jack Bruce is great apart from the 38mm nut which put me off. A friend has an epiphone EB0 and there is like no treble at all. The EB3 I played was roughly the same as well, but had a better neck. Depends what you like.

[quote name='naxos10' timestamp='1500107213' post='3335623'] Another lookey-likey would be the Chowny SWB-1 or the original from Stuart Whitley. Light weight and pretty versatile with passive or active versions being available. [/quote] I can't say I see much resemblance there. I always thought the shape of that was an Alembic rip off. Or "homage" if you will.

[quote name='thodrik' timestamp='1500057882' post='3335441'] Looks nice and if stops a few 'I need a Wal to have a bass sound like Tool' forum posts then I'm all for it. [/quote] Ahh, but maybe they want to sound like Paul D'Amour! However, on a serious note, I think it was about 6 months ago Chancellor had the pickups ripped out of his green mk3 wal and had these put in. It didn't sound anything special afterwards. Whilst he is often imitated and outright copied, he has never been surpassed in his own way. He might not be the most important or technically proficient in people's opinions or in comparison to other bass players, but his sonic adventurousness is what sets him apart in many ways. As a Wal owner myself, he is why I own one, but I've never sought to copy him at all. I'd be very surprised if he uses that Warwick bass on the next Tool album (if it ever comes out!).

Really classy looking. Result!

[quote name='Tech21NYC' timestamp='1499793902' post='3333674'] Kind of an overreaction and rude response. Anonymity seems to bring out the worst in people... The GED-2112 was designed to Geddy's specifications. It's set up for the way he uses it. There are workarounds through... The dUg can be ordered for use with different voltages. If you have a US version a qualified tech can set it up for use in a different country. [/quote] Well, having a bad day, so a bit more tetchy than normal. Apologies. Fair enough it's designed for Geddy. I think it sounds great. However, not everyone uses 2 cabs do they? Some people might still want that sound, but use a mono, single cab system. I just don't get why you'd leave it so you have to take it apart to change this when I assume it's not a big deal to put a button on the front or back to change the setting. Say for a gig in mono, but recording in stereo? I just prefer flexibility. Maybe that reads as more of a legitimate concern than what I posted.

That's pathetic. Internal jumpers? A switch, Tech21 you total idiots! Put a switch on the back! Did that really save so much r&d time when that got tossed off? I await the price difference from their importer screwing us, meaning it costs twice over here what it does in the US. Dug ultra bass in US $1600. UK? £2600. The Geddy will probably be the same.

[quote name='Shaggy' timestamp='1499501884' post='3331876'] Easy to go the DIY route with no woodworking skills - Warmoth (and probably others) do a very nice T-bird body in a range of woods with a Fender neck pocket you can directly bolt a Fender neck on, with choice of either T-bird or P/J pickup routes. See - http://basschat.co.uk/topic/173719-fenderwarmoth-fenderbird-price-drop-l500/page__p__1656844__hl__warmoth__fromsearch__1#entry1656844 - that one mine, now fitted with nickel '66 Thunderbucker p/ups, '60's Gibson type T-bird bridge and tailpipe and Epi T-bird neck, but about to be restored to a Fenderbird as I've a very nice flamed maple P bass neck for it Dead easy to do, and gives far more scope for personal preference - TBH none of the production Fenderbirds do much for me But hope you find a nice one! [/quote] Nice bass. Sadly, Warmoth don't do Thunderbird, explorer, sg or les paul bass bodies anymore. I believe Gibson hit them with a cease and desist about 3 years ago.

[quote name='D'AddarioUK' timestamp='1496655363' post='3312932'] Well we wouldn't expect D'Addario's to break unduly, no matter the gauge! We have a wider range of gauges and materials available than just about anyone else but as I'm sure you can appreciate we have to rationalise every string we make available in our catalogue given the significant cost in warehousing and stock it entails. Of course that's where guys like Neil at Newtone come in where they have the facility to build to very specific requirements in small numbers. [/quote] To be fair, they just felt like they might snap. They probably wouldn't have. I changed them immediately after that rehearsal. I appreciate your stuff a lot actually. You're the only company that makes a set for 12 string bass in the UK. Please don't stop making them as a bespoke set would be ludicrously expensive. Plus, your pro steels are evil and the string sound that has been in my head for years. I was glad to find them. Please don't stop making them either!!

[quote name='D'AddarioUK' timestamp='1496648536' post='3312858'] We come close with the EPS170M set (.045, .065, .080, .100) but not quite the 45-105 you'd like. [/quote] That's the problem. Everyone does them with an 80. As someone who likes a bit of chunk, the 85 just sounds better for longer. It just seems to make a difference after the first couple of plays. Plus, the tension of an 80 feels slightly wrong to me. I remember playing a rotosound medium scale set that was (I think) 95-35. Utterly anaemic and I was further put off by the fact I felt like I might snap them as they were so loose feeling. Just awful.

[quote name='Merton' timestamp='1496514937' post='3312053'] Newtone? (As in ask for a custom wound set?) Also, what about DR or do they only do the Nickel Sunbeams in medium scale? [/quote] Thanks. Just a bummer about Newtone being almost twice the price of the status strings. Still, worth a try. Have you used them before? DR don't do them. Neither do D'Addario. Much to my surprise actually.

One thing that's annoying is that they're not selling single ball medium scale sets. They're about the only thing I like for my Alembic. Now before someone chimes in with "get something else!" I challenge you to find a set of single ball, medium scale stainless Steel roundwounds with a 105, 85, 65, 45 gauge. That's right, they don't exist. I found short scales to be too short as I've got a 30.75 scale length and cutting long scales down affected the tone of the E and G strings due to the 2+2 headstock. Frustrating.