Greggo

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1389541740' post='2335267'] Quick degradation is probably the price you pay for getting that particular feel and sound. [/quote] Yeah I'd say it is. I don't use them all the time as I only have a few, but when I use them I love the feel and tone, but I have to use sparingly. They are superb for recording though, very consistent tone and saves having to use any form of compression.

I've mentioned before my love of wedgie plectrums, but one thing that bothers me is that, because they are rubber, they degrade quickly. I use flatwounds on now and they don't wear away as fast, but still shed. Does anyone know if putting anything on the plectrums could reduce this? I'm thinking maybe a bit of clear nail varnish on the tips or would this just reintroduce the 'click' that the rubber inherently eliminates?

[quote name='SimonEdward' timestamp='1389518214' post='2334907'] ..Very modest recording gear? take a peek at this 'studio p*rn' & join the club.. [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/212756-home-studio-porn/page__st__30"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/212756-home-studio-porn/page__st__30[/url] Having 'great' gear is fine. But, I realised - not long ago - it's really all about 'the idea' and being able to capture it.. quickly. [/quote] I guess mine is set up exactly for that! It's a zoom ps-04 palmtop studio which I plug either my bass into via a Zoom B2 pedal or guitar into through line out of amp or Behringer guitar v-amp! It's not even on a desk but on the floor in spare room so no luxury of a desk unfortunately! May put it all onto a pedal board! And I do all the clever bits in Reaper on a rubbish laptop that can't handle more than 8 tracks of audio without slowing down

[quote name='SimonEdward' timestamp='1389446478' post='2334227'] Thanks for sharing - Good thread this! When I started out (more than 20-years ago) it WAS the be-all-and-end-all to get in, or start a Band. The 80's had just about ended, and despite more and more rave/dance music coming to the foreground, it was still better, and always will be better, to be able to play instruments 'Live'. In my case, I realised pretty early on that I wasn't talented 'enough' to choose music as a professional full-time career and be a player/writer/producer, but nonetheless I still loved music, and formed a band with friends in my teens. We had a regular slot to play modern gospel music in Church, and then do covers of chart records at private parties.. learning by trial and quite a bit of error. There was no pressure, and it was a lot of fun.. for about 10-years. It was by now, the end of the 90's. I got to a point where I was getting fed up with having to compromise and do stuff that other people wanted to do, and as I had a settled career in logistics, and wasn't really growing as a musician, I made a choice to stop. Almost completely. I got married, moved away + had kids + moved a few more times etc The gear was in storage - being moved from place to place - but It wasn't until the summer of 2012 that I realised how much I missed music. By then, the whole landscape had changed. An on-line presence is essential now. I had looked around for other people to jam with, but almost everything was way too serious ("we've got management.. we're gonna be as big as Dire Straits" etc). Really?!?! Good luck with that. So, I joined Basschat over the summer of 2012, looking about for some advice, and once I'd done all the regular 'look at my gear' posts, that everyone does, I turned to the BC Recording forum. And that's what I've been doing since.. upgrading (from tape to hard-disk), listening, learning, writing, collaborating, recording, producing, blogging, promoting (!).. oh, and when there's time, do some playing. It's enjoyable and I'm getting more out of recording - than I ever did with gigging. Just saying.. [/quote] Excellent yup recording is great I absolutely love it. Because I own the (very modest) recording gear I am responsible for all the recording I do with people and just love the way a multi track recording comes together. And having a tangible product to listen to and enjoy knowing that you played on it (and in my case "produced") is very rewarding. Whereas gigging to me was always more of a job that paid peanuts than rewarding, but obviously mileages vary!

[quote name='AndyTravis' timestamp='1389384523' post='2333791'] I had a 64 relic custom shop jazz. Best bass I've ever owned, gutted it had to go. I've now got a Nate Mendel. Both were purchased on their merits as basses, not as 'pre worn' instruments. It doesn't bother me either way; it's not exactly a new idea - it shocks me that people get so bothered about it. My stingray classic is pristine, and will be staying that way. [/quote] How much wear is on the Nate Mendel precision? I like the look of them and from the pictures the relicing looks subtle. Am I right in thinking the controls knobs are 'aged'? I do like that particular look rather than shiny knobs! I don't mind subtle relicing on instruments but I personally would not want to buy a new instrument that looked like it was not looked after very well. However I have no issues with dings on guitars when I buy second hand, cause that's a sign they have been well played! Imagine if they did reliced cars brand new! A Ford focus with ripped seats, smokey interior, dings in the bodywork etc.. Is there a market?

Some interesting responses quite similar to what I do. I'm quite lucky in the the band I'm in is a couple of mates, so it is chilled out but rehearsals are so few and far between what with work / kids etc that I am just primarily a home noodler these days and practising chops etc. It just goes to show that being in a band isn't the be and end all to everyone that is playing an instrument, even one like the bass, which is one that is more often than not a more supporting instrument in a musical context. I like playing guitar at home but I definitely get more out of recording music with friends than gigging (which I've done a fair bit in the past and it eventually grated on me)

Just out of curiosity to all the non band bassists, how do you get your "bass" kicks? Do you like to record your own music, play along with songs, or just general noodle at home? I play in a band but is ever declining and we never really gig. To be honest I get more pleasure just jamming with a drum machine for 30 mins a night these days. I also really enjoy going round to my mates house and laying down a bassline to some riffs he may have and record a track. Just curious as to what anyone else does that may not be in a band or any longer in a band.

[quote name='geoffbyrne' timestamp='1388858840' post='2327016'] The SUBs are pretty decent -I'm about to buy a 5er myself. The preamp is overly hot, though. There's a thread on Talkbass about this with a partial fix from a senior MM empoyee, plus, later on, a hack for the pre-amp to reduce its gain - or buy a Retrovibe pre amp. G. [/quote] I've actually got the Retrovibe preamp in my vintage. Does a good job, was always the plan to put in a SUB if I got one. I'm probably just gonna see if can swap my Vintage 5er for a 4 banger version.

I'm trying not to persuade myself that I need two basses. I really don't these days

I'm glad I'm being talked around here, into not doing something silly! That SUB was all pretty and seducing me with its walnut finish, but I do love my Yammy and it does have some great tones at its disposal . Having changed to flats its just got even better for me. I guess I just like the idea of the ray tone but I suppose if I'm honest with myself whether it is the best sound for me/our style is a different question! The sound of other people playing is probably better than the sound I can make out of one!

Well I'm in a conundrum. I basically want to downsize my collection to just one bass, one electric guitar and one acoustic. I have two basses a Yamaha BB414 and a ray copy (vintage EST96). Ive already decided one or way another I want to shed the Vintage as it's 5 string and I don't really want a 5er anymore. I love my Yamaha BB414 especially now it's strung with flats but today I saw a bargain Indonesian SUB 4 in walnut for £160 and it was just lovely to play and I do like the whole Ray vibe. I think trading Vintage and Yamaha could yield at least 95 per cent of funds towards getting it. (I know if I sold both privately I could get more blah blah but I am a bit right here right now kind of person when it comes to my instruments) But wondering if in real world whether the Ray 4 would be the best bass for me as the one bass if I were to get it. Yammy after all is P/J but Ray 4 is single humbucker but with 2 band EQ. Anyone think I should go for it or just stick with the Yamaha? Anyone with both have a preference?

[quote name='JapanAxe' timestamp='1388179058' post='2319281'] Me neither. Got rounds on my Mustang and although I like the feel of flats I will probably stay with rounds for the best tonal range for that instrument. [/quote] Yeah I know what you mean. I put them on my 5er at first for which they were intended, but they worked much better on Yamaha BB414 because it seems to tame down the sound nicely from the pretty aggressive p pickup. The 5er is a mm style bass with a replica 'ray preamp and having recorded with all 4 combos of rounds / flats on both basses on one particular track, I can hear that the mm sings with rounds and yammy sings with flats

[quote name='visog' timestamp='1388168773' post='2319106'] Who buys flatwound bass strings as a Christmas present? It's a bit specific isn't it? Anywho, I'm skeptical... I come from the John Entwistle/Chris Squire school of 'clank' to get some sort of tonal definition in the mix. On the jazz side, Stanley's not averse to trebely super-wounds either. And Jaco used roundwounds. So 'boo' to this thread. [/quote] I was skeptical, but I was curious after having a brief go of them on a relatives bass and I liked them (said relative got me them) I'm not bothered who does and doesn't use them either - I'm not suddenly a rounds hater

I am still surprised at how much top end is available with these Fenders - i knew so little about flats before, but I'm guessing that must die off with use? It's not zingy in the same way a round is but just nice amount of treble which can be tamed nicely with the tone knob and the actual notes seem more pronounced. When we reherse in new year I guess I will see then for real if they work in band context, but if not no biggy as I've got another bass with rounds on, but I don't think I'm going to be disappointed!

For Xmas in received a set of Fender flats which I have put on my Yamaha BB414 (they were a 5 string set which I tried on my 5er ray copy which sounded great but I wanted to try on my main rehearsal bass as well which is a 4 banger) What can I say? Absolutely love the sound! These fenders are surprisingly bright (not a bad thing) but I love the way the notes are fat and clear and having layed down a bassline over a recording the tone is just perfect for what I want. I was surprised too, because I was half expecting that the tension would be higher and a bit more challenging to fret, but not at all. Also contrary to what I was expecting the tone isn't as dead sounding as I thought, they sound like nicely worn rounds but much much nicer feeling on the fingers. Wish I'd tried them sooner!

I never realised the USA musicman sub 5 is same shape as a 4 but with extra string (like a ray classic and in my opinion a better shape than the normal ray 5 er) . Every now and then this Ray gas flares up. Dammit!

I've got a 5'er version of one of these - really nice bass to play once set up, the necks are very comfortable. I pulled out the stock pre-amp and installed a stingray 2 band clone and it really sings now. Think mine is newer than this though, as mine has updated headstock shape. .

Ah nice one! Must admit I've downloaded an easy reference pocket guide but not properly looked through manual.

As above, I've recently bought one of these and really enjoying it (cheers Les!). At the moment I like using it as a preamp as can get a nice clean tones using on board eq. But distortion sounds are ok, but lacking any bottom end. Wondering whether there is a way on these units to blend the clean sound with the distortion to flesh it out a bit, like you can on bass overdrive pedals?

[quote name='bonnp' timestamp='1387139050' post='2308634'] thanks thats great info, i will look for a usa sub as quite a few of the others around and thanks foe the info on the sterling as was really confusing [/quote] There's two for sale in basschat world - check the for sale section. I would still love one, but just can't afford one until I can liquidate my assets so to speak. Making do with my ray copy with its replica preamp - still sounds really good though.

Part of me thinks I should keep it, but purely because it says Gibson on the front of the headstock and Made in USA on the back. But although it sounds great for what it does its not really me anymore so it's not getting used and I know I would love a CV tele. But at the end of the day guitars are just tools to get a job done and I've never been sentimental about guitars!

Thanks for replies, I didn't see the one on gumtree and I have been checking. To be fair there isn't really anything that needs sorting anymore, the guitar keeps in tune and but I guess resale value would be hit with something like that. The repair to thedamage can be seen:-

Hi all. I've been debating for a while on whether to sell a guitar I've got, a Gibson SG-X. Not much information exists on this model. I know it's USA made and was a limited run by Gibson for a year or two. It is the normal SG shape but in different solid finishes and sports just one humbucker in bridge position with coil tap available. It does have damage on the headstock where it was split and I glued it back together and a small metal plate screwed on for reinforcement. Does anybody have any idea what these may sell for? Was bought by my friend for £500 2nd hand in 2003 (but this model dates to 1999) but I got this guitar (in its damaged state) in a trade for a pickup. I find I don't tend to use as much anymore and I'm really gassing after a Squier CV Telecaster.

This GAS is still present,but I think the Squier CV is the way to go. Not played a V52 still but have read that a lot of people were not happy with the fret finishing on Vintages. (I have a Vintage bass that has a few nasty fret ends). I'm working on selling/trading a few guitars / basses to try get one, although market is pretty slow. I should pay the subs really and try flogging on here!

Thanks for responses. All it is, the pickups on my Yamaha BB414 are pretty hot and I'm trying to replicate a recording tone I used on a track years ago, but struggling a bit. The bass used was a p copy and I'm using the p pickup in my Yamaha. I appreciate that pickups are not going to sound the same, but didn't know if rolling off volume may replicate the more mellower output nature of that other bass. (not had chance to check myself first hand either)