BigRedX

Somewhere between £5k and £6k depending on the exact specification I go for.

That's exactly what I was talking about a few posts up. Not completely sure about the pickup position - my favourite sounds on the Burns Barracuda all use the middle pickup either on its own or in combination with the neck or bridge pickups - but if the measurements I have been given by Eastwood are correct the string spacing problems I have been having should be sorted. I've got just over 6 weeks to make a decision.

Looks fantastic! Considering what I will most likely end up paying for a Gus Bass VI that is relatively affordable. However the pickup positing is very "Baritone Guitar" rather than Bass VI, so I'd need to try one both from a string spacing and tone PoV. I've sent an email to Gretsch asking for the string spacing measurements at the nut and bridge and if they know of any UK Gretsch dealers that have one in stock so I could go and try it. If I get any information I'll post it here. In other news I have just had a somewhat coy reply to the message I sent to Shergold. Reading between the lines, there are probably basses coming at some point, but it doesn't appear as though there are any plans yet for Marathon 6-String Bass. Given the difference in appearances between the 70s and current Masquerader guitars, it might be that even if they were to do one, the Eastwood version could well be closer to the original!

I've contacted them through their web site. However the indications are that the Eastwood version will be available some time in March, and who knows when Shergold will have any bass guitars available? I'll wait and see what I hear back...

An update to this thread prompted by the other one on Bass VIs... After 18 months of using the Burns Barracuda and slowly becoming acclimatised to the narrow string spacing at the bridge, as I've been using it exclusively with one of my bands - Hurtsfall: However over the new year a post popped up on my Facebook news feed about a proposed Eastwood version of Peter Hook's Shergold Marathon 6-String Bass. I'm in two minds about this, I'm not a big fan of Eastwood's "parts bin" approach to making instruments as using standard guitar and bass hardware tends to lose the features that made the instruments interesting in the first place and they tend to end up with guitars and basses that are essentially one of the standard Gibson or Fender models but with a weirdly shaped body. However this bass looks on paper at least to be pretty good. I've been in touch with Eastwood and the important specs (for me) are: nut width 50mm string spacing at the nut 40.5mm E-E (which isn't as wide as I would like but with an overall width of 50mm probably alterable with a new nut), String Spacing at the bridge: 65.5mm which is very good. All I have to do is decide which colour to go for...

That's interesting. So the overall width between the low E and high E at the bridge is about 55mm? That's very much like the Squier, and IMO quite comfortable. My vibrato-equipped Barracuda is only 50mm E-E and it's definitely on the tight side for me. What pickups are on yours - they look like Tri-Sonics? Here's mine: As you can see it's quite different even though they are supposed to be the same instrument!

The reason that mixing driver sizes without a crossover is inadvisable is because of comb filtering and dispersion. What this means is that the sound will change depending on where you are standing. If the bass goes through the PA then it won't really matter since what the audience hears comes 99% from the PA, although if your rig is the only source of on-stage bass guitar, bear in mind that what your band-mates hear won't necessarily be the same as what you are hearing. If your rig also has to provide your audience with the sound of the bass guitar, then you could have more problems. Just because it sounds great from a few feet away on stage, doesn't mean it's going to sound great everywhere in the venue. In some places it could be a horrible boomy mess and in others thin and weedy. You may have to compromise your on-stage sound in order to get a decent bass sound for the majority of your audience.

@Pinball I take it from your description that your Burns Barracuda is the hard-tail version? If so could you measure the string spacing at the bridge? I have the latest version which has gone back to having the vibrato mechanism, and the bridge spacing is painfully tight, as it appears to use the standard Burns Rezo-Tube vibrato rather than one specifically designed for a Bass VI. It's a pity because the neck is by far the best for width of all the bass VIs I have tried. Overall it is better than the Squier which has IMO a narrow neck even by guitar standards let alone a Bass VI but far more sensible string spacing at the bridge which might look like a standard Jazzmaster/Jaguar bridge but is actually wider. I like the idea of the vibrato on these instruments, but the reality is that once you string them with LaBella or Axion bass VI strings, the increased tension, renders the mechanism inoperable. So it's a compromise between having a workable vibrato or a decent tension on the E and A strings to get a proper bass sound out of them.

IME DAWs that have their roots in MIDI sequencing (such as Logic, Cubase and Performer) tend to be much better at displaying and manipulating MIDI data. AFAIK Reaper has been designed first and foremost as multitrack audio recorder and the MIDI functions are unfortunately somewhat of an afterthought, so maybe it won't be as easy as it should be.

Warwick low B strings are made with tapered windings at the ball end for this very reason. There are other makes of string that use tapered windings. Also just because one type of string works on one bass doesn't mean it will work on others too. IME you have to find the right strings for each individual bass. Using with something that works elsewhere is a good starting point, but you should be prepared to try alternatives if it doesn't work out for you.

Even though it's only 30W I'd still be wary of using a power soak with a bass amp. I used to have a Marshall Power Brake that used on my 50W H&K guitar amp and with any extreme frequency (high or low) sounds even at low output volume on the amp, the protection fan would kick into action and the device would still generate some extreme heat. AFAICS most currently available power soaks rely simply on heatsinks for their cooling. Tread with caution.

But surely even the original was un-relic'd at some point in it's life, and as it gets more used there will be more wear. So this signature model is just a snapshot in time of the instrument it is based on.

As I said I don't know Reaper, but in Logic there is a page called Hyper Edit, where you could simply enable a Pitch Bend or Mod Wheel CC track and then draw in the MIDI data as a series of steps, with time along the x-axis and CC value on the y. Even if you find a device that allows you to get the data into Reaper, you'll probably need to go and edit what you have played in so it will be worth finding out how Reaper displays MIDI CC data and how to edit it.

I would have thought that your computer either has Bluetooth capabilities or it doesn't, it's a hardware facility after all (unless the version of Windows you are running is so old it predates Bluetooth, but then the hardware will probably be missing too).

Why don't you just add the pitch bend and modulation data in your DAW? I don't know how Reaper works but Logic has several graphical methods that allow you to "draw" the data over your performance and then go back and edit it (at a numerical level if necessary) later. I would imagine that all modern DAWs would allow you to do something similar.

TBH loss of the Sadowsky pre-amp isn't that big a deal. If the rest of your signal path is any good, then it has been my experience that they sound better with the pre-amp turned off.

Wasn't the Mustang originally designed to be a budget model?

Depending on what "standard" J-bass pre-amp you get, you might need to route the control cavity anyway. IME, Squier Jazz basses tend to have slightly thinner bodies than the Fender equivalents. It might only be a few millimetres difference but is enough for something like the East J-Retro pre-amp not to fit without very carefully deepening the control cavity (and hoping the router doesn't come out of the back of the bass!)

How many memory locations does it have? There's only a single digit numeric display but there's also an LED with "Bank" next to it. I did download the press kit file that promised images and a manual but the manual was sadly missing.

Just being realistic. I'd destroy that within a month of serious gigging.

Motorised faders on a pedal? That's not a recipe for disaster at all...

I have learned from experience that once I've taken a set of strings of a bass (or guitar) they are only ever any use for emergencies when I've broken a string and haven't got a replacement.

They all sounded like bass guitars and with the appropriate EQ and compression for each would work fine in the mix of other instruments.

Crimson Guitars in the UK do them too. But only in guitar sizes AFAICS.

Looks like a cross between an Explorer and a Red Special.