Dingus

I heard Dan Lakin say that when he dropped Chris off his silver Lakland Bob Glaub at a gig in Chicago he was shocked to hear Chris play it that night and sound exactly the same as he does when he plays his Rickenbacker despite it being a different style of bass .

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1360330852' post='1968729'] Yes, it keeps coming back to bite them in the arse. [/quote] Ouch!

[quote name='wally8' timestamp='1360330454' post='1968712'] Hi. Yeah I would like to but it only cost me 200 odd quid so don't wanna go mad as I have my fav mm and precision. Just wanted the option for a backup or for one or two songs detuned etc. Are there decent passive ones which will require little more than like for like swap without replacing pots etc? Cheers Ben [/quote] I'm not very knowledgeble about electrionics ( to put it mildly ) , but there are loads of sets that should be a fairly straightforward retrofit for you existing pickups . I don't think replacing the pots ect will be neccesary with the vast majority of sets . I take your point about not wanting to spend a lot on the pickups considering that it is a relatively inexpensive back - up bass . In light of that , have you thought about keeping an eye in the For Sale section here on Basschat for a used set of Jazz pickups that would be suitable ? They come up quite frequently due to folks chopping and changing , and you can often pick them up for a bargain price .

[quote name='wally8' timestamp='1360327022' post='1968635'] Im sure i tried the pickup height, will give it another blast. What would you recommend replacing the neck pu with if needed? Is it the standard usa jazz passive one? Would that be as straight forward as soldering like for like. Im capable of that. Thanks again matey [/quote] If you can afford it , replacing both pickups on your MIM Jazz with a better set may well considerably improve the overall sound of your bass . There are literally hundreds of different types of replacement Jazz pickups to choose from ( you will get plenty of suggestions on here as to which sort to go for ) and even some of the less expensive ones could be a lot better than the ones supplied with your MIM Jazz . If you are going to the trouble and expense of replacing one pickup , why not replace both and at least you are getting a substantial upgrade out of it ?

Very sorry to hear about your bass getting nicked . If you love Stingrays then use this as oppotunity to get an even better one than the one you had before . Hope you get the old one back in the meantime, though .

[quote name='aende' timestamp='1360326271' post='1968613'] Top tip: If clothing starts a stinkin' : sweat soaked or left in a corner for too long. Put whatever item of clothing on and wash in the shower with head an shoulders shampoo. A, you get to have a shower, be clean and have dandruff free hair. B, Head and Shoulders kills the bacteria that smell in sweaty clothing - nice clean unsmelly clothing! Works a treat in cycle kit that is perma sweaty.....and I don't have dandruff. **may stain certain materals though! [/quote] +1 on washing stuff in sinks with shampoo . I have done this in hotel rooms and it works a treat . Never used Head and Shoulders , but have found the freshness of Tea Tree shampoo works very well and gives excellent results . Another tip I would give is organising food . Feeding a group of hungry musicians can be expensive and time - consuming , so organising trips to the supermarket to get stuff to make sandwiches , snacks and drinks ect . every day for the van can save you a fortune at motorway services and save a lot of messing about in the long run . Nominate someone to be in charge of providing the food .

[quote name='Doddy' timestamp='1360289461' post='1968258'] The thing with using technology is that there will nearly always be a point where it sounds 'dated'.Be it synth sounds or Simmons drums or whatever. To me though,I've never really found it a problem-it's just where things were at the time,and many modern pieces of equipment still try to replicate these sounds. [/quote] I think Doddy has hit the nail on the head here . Zawinul was trying to make a statement to the jazz world by his adoption of what was at the time cutting edge music technology and his unapologetic use of modern sounds in Weather Report . He was trying to challenge the neo-conservatism of jazz musicians at the time , many of whom still dissapproved of the Fender Rhodes electric piano that had emerged in the 1960s and the electric bass guitar , let alone the even more radical departure of using synthesisers . Having Jaco feature so prominently within the sound of the band was a challenge to purists who thought that jazz should have a double bass to be authentic . Listening back to some of those records they do sound a bit dated , but as Doddy points out , what sounds most dated in the present is exactly what sounded most modern at the time .

[quote name='aende' timestamp='1360322407' post='1968509'] A multitool, cable ties and duck tape can fix almost anything! [/quote] [quote name='aende' timestamp='1360324511' post='1968563'] And shag like your life depends on it! These opportunities to flourish in new cities rarely appear.....! As a bass player, chicks will think that you are hung like a stallion, let them believe this..... [/quote] I strongly recommend that the duck tape , cable ties and multi tool are left out of any shagging antics unless you fancy a court case and some very negative publicity for the band . Led Zeppelin are still haunted by that mudshark incident .

[quote name='JapanAxe' timestamp='1360314775' post='1968359'] A shower and a pair of fresh under-crackers each day will help you feel good about yourself! [/quote] I bet when The Stones were throwing televisions out of hotel windows and Keith Richards was ODing and getting busted for smack on a regular basis no one was worrying about clean underpants . And people wonder why rock and roll isn't cool and dangerous anymore ...!

[quote name='JamesBass' timestamp='1360276239' post='1968112'] Jeans, don't have to be washed they are designed to take the wear of up to a few weeks non-washing! K [/quote] Don't believe that " change your underpants everyday " propganda either . That myth was started by washing powder manufacturers . With sensible use and a little bit of care a pair of pants can last almost as long as a pair of jeans without being washed . Even established touring bands with a major label behind them don't have the luxury of unlimited clean underpants on demand . I know this to be fact .

I always thought Andy Rourke was an excellent bass player - inventive with a great sound and a great feel . Very important to the sound of that band , too ; the bass was always way up in the mix on those Smiths records .

Travelling light - think disposable . Take cheap underwear with you and throw it away when it gets dirty and buy more cheap replacements from Primark ect . Keeping warm - get yourself some thermal stuff . My dad bought me a thermal t shirt , long sleeve thermal top and some thermal long johns for Xmas and I cannot believe how much difference they make when I wear them under my clothes when the weather is as bitterly cold as it has been recently . I hate the cold and I honestly cannot understand how I managed without these warm undergarments for so long . You can get them cheap online and they make all the difference between being freezoing and miserable and nice and warm .

I am pretty sure that they wont have had the same pickups , and it is ambiguous as to whether they do in fact have the same pickups now the the Geddy Lee is also made in Mexico .

[quote name='noelk27' timestamp='1360236925' post='1967072'] Yamaha TRB1004. But simply changing your choice of string - core design, gauge - could get you the result you're after. [/quote] +1 on this . Try a heavier gauge string with a hex core . I always found DR Lo Riders to be particulaly stiff feeling or one of the special dropped - tuning sets that DR offer nowadays , or a lower cost alternative to these would be some Picato roundwounds that also feel notably more tense than most other strings to me .

Jim , this video gives a pretty good idea of the difference in sound between a series and parallel wired Music Man pickup : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Dg0lcR5njo

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1360182119' post='1966388'] Johannesburg [/quote] Musty Gusset . Or if you have got a female singer ( or even a male one with a chaotic lifestyle ) you could have . ( insert name here' s _) Musty Gusset , you know , like Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow and such like .

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1360181541' post='1966373'] Now that's what I call commitment! [/quote] You never know , it could end up with us getting married after todays events in Parliament !

[quote name='Jimryan' timestamp='1360180815' post='1966352'] Yeah, aware of his gear/sounds through the ages. That note given, another option I suppose would be a rotary/blade switch with the parallel/series option? [/quote] Thart would be very useful . I have got a Musicman Reflex bass that you can switch between series and parallel and it makes it like having two different basses , so different do the two settings sound .

As Bass Tractor points out , Spinal is too obvious a reference to Spinal Tap , and bands with the word Groove in the name ( or even description ) make me cringe a bit as it makes me imagine yet another "groovy " muso rearrangement and reinterpretation such hoary old classics such as Superstition and all those other predictable song choices . Bands that really are groovy don't have to draw attention to the fact in the name . I have got some fantastic band names stored up in my head for the right occasion , and I am willing to give you one if that is what it takes to save you from being in a band called Spinal Groove . Just give me the word and a truly memorable band name is yours to keep , my friend . But definitely [i]no[/i] to Spinal Groove .

[quote name='Jimryan' timestamp='1360179017' post='1966294'] I get what you're saying there. The output balance I've got spot on now. So I'm happy where. As for modding a cheap bass, I'm not overly bothered with. The pre, neck and rewire would cost half of what a 2nd hand EBMM would. Was just weighing up what to do. I love the feel, weight and look of the bass, I'm happy with the current sound and options. Was mainly trying to get closer to a MM sound with the bridge pickup. The neck and pre are both "maybes" at this stage. [/quote] OK fine . That sounds like a good plan . I can't see why this wouldn't work . Those Basslines MM style pickups are fantastic , and especially if you wire it correctly and stick a preamp in there you should be right on for a classic MM style sound . For what it's worth , if you are a big fan of Fleas' sound , I expect you probably know this already , but are you aware that on a lot of those older records he is playing Wal , Spector and Alembic basses , rather than a Stingray ? Blood Sugar Sex Magic is mainly a Wal , I think Mothers Milk is mainly a Spector and One Hot Minute is an Alembic bass . For any approximation of the sound of those basses you are actually better off with your MM pickup in series , ironically enough .

[quote name='Jimryan' timestamp='1360177744' post='1966251'] Yeah, you guys are gonna hate me for this. I was told that by a local tech...an ernie ball stockist :-S Well, as a way to have multiple sounds in one bass, it's my P with a ceramic MM at the bridge. When I had it done I said I wanted the bucker wired like a stingray (it's only passive at the moment, that was left until I could afford a pre). It got wired series. It's a good bass, and I know I won't get a true stingray sound, but I reckon I could get bloody close. I'm thinking of adding the pre and hopefully a graphite neck (replacing my maple/maple one) this year. Was just doing my homework really. I suppose, in it a nutshell, I have a precision. It has a quarter pounder P (which for this discussion is irrelevant), and a ceramic MM basslines bucker at the bridge. I'm after both the P sounds (already achieved) and a decent stingray sound. Then eventually I'll add a pre and a graphite neck. Also worth noting, is when I had the pickup routed/installed, matey changed the stock squier pots for 250k CBS ones and I'm still not happy with the tone pot. Thoughts? In my eyes it's also a gorgeous bass which I can also upload pictures (yes, I'm still not tired of showing it off) to show you what I'm working with. [/quote] Right , I see a bit more what you are working with . O.k , first thing is that , ideally you would want to get some kind of balance between the output of the P and MM pickups . I am not an electronics buff by any means , so I couldn't really advise you about the value of the pots but I'm sure someone else will be able to help with that . Adding a pre and making the MM pickup parallel wired will certainly help get you much closer to a true Stingray sound . One word of caution would be that in my experience it can be a bit of a mistake to spend a lot of money modifying a relatively inexpensive bass in so much as you can ( or will ) end up with a cheap bass with lots of expensive bits on , rather than an overall better quality instrument that you could have got for the total amount of money spent on this one with the mods . Weigh up what you would be spending on a graphite neck , preamp , rewiring ect and then look what you could pick up a used EBMM Stingray or similar ( or even a Modulus ) for on Basschat and you might be surprised .

[quote name='Jimryan' timestamp='1360176154' post='1966212'] Ah-ha, I was once told that a stingray was series and a sterling was parallel? And on that alone I had my MM pickup wired series. I'll have to look into changing it now. Dingus - in light of my more recent thread, a good way to get the FB-4 tone at a much cheaper cost, re-wire my pickup, add the Aguilar pre and possibly (if I like them) graphite neck. Can't help it, love flea's modulus sound and this (although not exact) is a much more cost effective method leaving money for a much wanted holiday. [/quote] To the best of my knowledge , that is actually the wrong way round . The Stingray is parallel and the Sterling is series ( I know the Sterling 5 is definitely series wired ) . What bass are you thinking about modding here Jim , is it a Music Man Stingray ? If so the I would say that a stock wired Ebmm Stingray with a Status graphite neck will get you very close to Fleas' tone with his Modulus . I have played the Modulus quite a few times over the years and , regardless of whether it had a Bartolini , Lane Poor or Basslines pickup and regardless of what preamp was in any of them they all sounded the same to me , and that is that they all sound very much like a Musicman Stingray with a graphite neck ( which is basically what they are ) . Any decent Stingray with a graphite neck will let you get a very close approximation of Fleas ' sound with these Modulus basses . There is really no need to get the Aguilar pre if the bass has a decent preamp in to begin with .

[quote name='Jimryan' timestamp='1360175414' post='1966189'] Just curious. I know the pre and the graphite neck are BIG factors, but love he sound. If it's parallel I'll have my MM bucker changed from series. *stupid question time* What's the difference between series, parallel and out of phase? [/quote] Series sounds quite a bit louder and has more pronounced low mids and a less apparent treble , parallel is slightly quieter ( or less loud , depending on how you look at it ) and has a more scooped -out midrange and an apparently slightly more extended bass and treble response . The classic Musicman Stingray sound is very much the sound of a parallel wired humbucker . As for out of phase , I don't really know !

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1360175090' post='1966183'] Being Flea you would think parallel the same as a standard Ray with a single H? [/quote] +1 on this It sounds very much like a parrallel wired pickup [i]a la [/i]Musicman Stingray single H .

Well worth missing , in my humble opinion . Bon Jovi ? It's the rock and roll equivalent of eating at McDonalds I dream of a time when they have free rock concerts in Hyde Park again , like they did in the 1970s .