Wolverinebass

[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.

I finally got to play one of these a few weeks ago. It's just awful. Almost comedically crap. My friend returned it which is no surprise. This amp represents the decline that Hartke have been in for ten years. I never liked the LH series as well as the kilo as there was no "flat" setting. I like to sculpt my tone and you can't do that with them. They should have taken the pre-amp from the HA series and bang it in a 1000w class D power section. Job done. But no, they're just screwing everything up. This insanity makes Trace Elliot look well managed.

[quote name='T-Bay' timestamp='1495999525' post='3308048'] I have never seen a TE V8 for sale, but there weren't many to start with. [/quote] Kiwi sold his about 3 years ago. There was another one sold by Hiram as well not long after that. But, yeah. Rare.

That's funny. He lives about a 5 minute bus ride from my house. I'd always assumed that he lived in west London after coming to a few bashes and after I met him at the Gallery a year or so ago. After all, everyone seems to live in west London. Maybe one day a progressive metal band might look for a bass player even remotely near me....

On my last band's ep I did slap on a Hamer 12. It's much more difficult than most people think. For a start, the string spacing is quite narrow and people that have wider fingers would struggle to get their index finger under to pull without playing the next 3 strings. Action is crucial. I appreciate that everyone has different tastes, but if you want it as stupidly low as I do, you'll have to go the whole hog of fret stoning and possibly saddle filing. Mine plays like butter now thanks to Martin at the Gallery. I wished I had more of a chance to use it these days. I seem to be playing my Wal more. For all of you who are possibly gassing for one, I give you a few words of caution. You'll suck all the top end of the guitar signal if you use it properly. Once this is noticed, you've got problems. They'll love you for that. It's an immensely difficult instrument to record right. You really need a clean low end and distortion on top to get the best out of it. The sonic space it takes up is mind boggling. If you're going to use it it kind of has to be the centrepiece of the instrumentation as it takes over everything. If you're a precision with flats person, this probably isn't for you. I love mine. It just kills.

This is going to be harsh. I now have virtually no excuse except that they haven't given custom neck or nut widths a box to specify dimensions or profile. Better than warmoth definitely. Very evil and bank balance destroying.

[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1493582433' post='3289269'] Always question why a drummer wants to start a band. Good drummers are even rarer than good bass players. I'm always deeply suspicious of any drummer or bass player who is bandless but wants to play. [/quote] Maybe they've got young children. Maybe they want to perform their own material and have just started looking for people. Maybe they aren't interested in covers. Maybe they like specific types of music that are difficult to play and so the chances of finding people who are willing and able to commit is limited. Maybe their job has had awful hours until now. Just saying that there are always reasons that aren't just that the person in question is awful. On the other hand, my reply comes from someone who hasn't played a gig in 2 years. Be suspicious! Ha!

Am I the only person who watched Jon Stockman and thought it just sounds like a Warwick? It's certainly more of a mild setting than I tried the thing on at LBGS. This I think is a good thing for everyone really as it shows the almost ludicrous flexibility of it. The day Darkglass sell something with presets they'll have my money.

Lovely bass. Nice one. I'm just disappointed that this thread is not about Kia-Ora's deadly rival for soft drink supremacy in 1987.

If that configuration tool works like Warmoth, I'm so in there. For days. Weeks. Months. On the plus side, hopefully it'll clear up the "how much does this option cost?" nonsense that is the case now with prices a bit hidden from direct view.

[quote name='Bigwan' timestamp='1492757127' post='3282866'] John Stockman Goliath playthrough with Alpha/Omega: [url="http://youtu.be/nm7e9zN9eLc"]https://youtu.be/nm7e9zN9eLc[/url] MULTIPLE EDITS: HOW ON EARTH DO YOU EMBED A YOUTUBE CLIP!!! [/quote] Remove the s after HTTP.

[quote name='Kev' timestamp='1492336388' post='3279437'] MIDI presets, on a bass amp, seriously?? The most bizzare complaint ever? [/quote] It's not that bizarre. If you think this thing is flexible now, pile that on and it'd be unbeatable. No setting up for change of basses, just press one button and off you go. I really hope I'm not coming over as having a go at a great product, but if this had it I'd have one, no questions. Even if it cost £300 more. Because it doesn't, it suffers (or would do the way I'd use it) from what things like the Tech 21 Dug Pinnick amp would. Dirt is amazing, but the clean sound is less so. You couldn't swap the distortions mid song on the same engine so you'd be stuffed. Just a thought but not one that will keep anyone else up at night....

[quote name='Cuzzie' timestamp='1492249318' post='3278935'] The amp is rackable, there was a guy on TB who showed a solution, think it's 2U space. MIDI, I will give you that one, but I find it versatile enough with its stock sound and a couple of pedals out front adding stuff when I need [/quote] Not having read the thread on talkbass I have to ask do the words "warranty invalidation" hove into view at this point? It's just it sounds like a bodge with no official product. It's not like they're doing anything unusual here. Loads of amp manufacturers have jumped on the "small box" non rackable type amp. I just don't dig on it. The point I was making is if the thing had presets you wouldn't need a few pedals in front of it as you'd have 128 tones to play with. However, we shall see what comes out in the future.

[quote name='bjelkeman' timestamp='1492207681' post='3278752'] M900 being spongy is not something I have heard or experienced before. Rather the opposite. Maybe it was the bass. [/quote] Quite possibly. If I'd been playing my own bass through it I'd be able to say more clearly, but the low end of the clean channel had that sponge type Markbass feel to it. However, the dirts were just outrageous. Mental really how good they were. For me, I never run a bass sound entirely clean so I suppose I'm being unfair, but certainly I believe that darkglass have missed a trick in 2 ways. First, the amp isn't rackable and 2nd there are no presets controllable by midi. If it had both of those (even if it cost more) I'd have one.

I tried it at the London bass guitar show. I thought it was really good. I was playing a Maurusczyk Hellwood which was a really nice bass, but a bit "soft" for my tastes. I tried the microtubes amp as well on its own and in combo with the Alpha and Ultras. The gain was amazing, but I felt the clean was too spongy. Not using a bass I know well it could have been that, but I was unconvinced. Darkglass have their target market down now and quite frankly, they can charge anything and people will pay it. I'm not going to say their pedals or amps aren't worth the cash, but they are approaching market tolerance. I mean £90 for an amp bag?!! They said to me that it was memory foam. I said that for that price I'd want a mattress rather than a tiny bag. I still can't make up my mind if I was joking or not. However, the Alpha is a great pedal and a lot of people will love it regardless of the price.

That's crap. CD Baby are better. Only downside is that you get paid in dollars.

I'm still of the opinion that this is a total waste of time as its so gimmicky. Unless you're playing a jazz gig there is no way the elf and that cab will be enough. If they're going to roll out some much bigger amps then obviously I'm interested, but at the moment it looks like a gimmick to get people talking about them again which has worked to be fair. After all, who ever thought that TE would release an amp the size of a microchip which you needed a magnifying glass to change the dial settings? As a setup though, I think 200W is laughable in today's climate. Such a pity.

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1490680886' post='3266902'] Beautiful! And yes, being shipped with insanely low action seems to be the norm, for some reason! [/quote] Please stop it! I'm trying not to get one! However it sounds like Adrian's set up is much like mine (sub 1mm at the 12th fret), and this seems like something I can get on board with. Ironically, I can't get my Wal that low and I'm not shimming the neck on a bass like that!

[quote name='Woodinblack' timestamp='1490470723' post='3265402'] Finally got round to finishing mine - very happy with it. I could have had it done earlier but I went a bit overboard on the box! [IMG]http://i405.photobucket.com/albums/pp133/alienrat/Combined_zpsjurmb5sp.jpg[/IMG] [/quote] That looks great! Did you do the decal yourself?

[quote name='fretmeister' timestamp='1490517560' post='3265565'] Westside are well known for controlling prices. And they won't warranty repair non EU (soon to be non U.K.) bought items, they are non even keen on U.K. Items outside of the warranty period. And Mesa won't release schematics to help local techs do non-warranty repairs. [/quote] That's absolutely outrageous! What a bunch of tossers! Maybe they went to the same customer service school that educated most of the Rickenbacker and Gibson upper management..... If that's true, I'm never buying a Mesa product ever if they won't repair it out of warranty or if I bought it in the States to avoid them ripping me off.

This is depressing about the Mesa pricing. It seems to me that the formula which distributors apply is this: Take US pricing. Remove dollar sign from the front and replace with a pound sign. Add £200 to whatever the number was. Tech 21 are another example of this syndrome and why their stuff is a bit pricey over here rather in New York. Their distributor is screwing us and the shops have no option but to pass the cost on to us. The joys of middlemen 20%'ing tosspots.