JapanAxe

Some of these 'fun' basses actually have a useful gigging voice, so worth a try, especially if you can hear what it sounds like alongside other instruments,

[quote name='TRBboy' timestamp='1355823535' post='1903065'] +1 GREAT analogy! They are superb instruments! I always think that you need to think of the MM more like a j bridge pup on steroids; it sounds like a bridge pup but much fuller and without any of the weakness sometimes associated with a j pup. I used to find I could get a pretty close approximation of a ray with a little of the p blended in (although the real " sweet spot" for me was always just on the neck side of the centre indent). The passive tone control is a useful feature too IMHO. Not only does it give you even more flexibility, but if your battery dies, you've still got a perfectly usable bass! Anyway, congrats, she's a beaut! Cracking colour too! Pretty excited too because I had word from Sandberg yesterday that they shipped my new one on Friday, so it should be here by the end of the week! [/quote] I agree, the MM pickup makes up for the fatness that's lacking in the Jazz bridge pickup. I'm not in work today, so will be spending more time with the Cali!

[quote name='Ashwood1985' timestamp='1355627162' post='1900769'] I agree and would never do this myself. Although saying that aren't online retailers legally obliged to offer a 7 day return policy? Not sure but I thought so. If so then I it's a stinker there's a simple solution! [/quote] Yup, the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000, Reg 11(2) '... the cancellation period ends on the expiry of the period of [b]seven [i]working days[/i][/b] beginning with the day after the day on which the consumer receives the goods.' There's a bit more to it than that - you can read the full Regs [url="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2000/2334/pdfs/uksi_20002334_en.pdf"]here[/url] if you're so inclined. Useful links for online buying: [url="http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/index/getadvice/consumer_service.htm"]Citizens Advice help for consumers[/url] [url="http://actionfraud.org.uk/"]Action fraud (scams)[/url] [url="http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/advice/problemswithgoods-sum5.cfm"]Trading Standards - consumer information[/url]

[quote name='JapanAxe' timestamp='1355529217' post='1899763'] A dead thread - great, let's indulge in some necrothreadia! I am on the verge of a likely purchase (trip to Bass Direct occurring on Monday), and looking at all those tempting delights, I wonder: passive, active, or switchable? I have owned actives, but at present all my basses are passives. To my ear, they lack nothing. Here's my thinking: First, assume I have an active bass with 2-band EQ. I set the bass control on the amp to suit the stage/room. If I then cut bass on the instrument, it will be too thin; if I boost it, it will overpower the mids that I need to stay 'fat' as I play up the neck. I could use the treble control to boost/cut, but on a passive all I do is set sufficient treble on the amp so that the sound is as bright as I need it with the tone control full up, and sweet/warm/round when backed off. Therefore I don't need a 2-band active EQ on a bass guitar. So what about 3-band? TBH I have never felt the urge to tinker with the mids in the middle of a number, or even a set. Plus there is option anxiety - volume, tone, and P/U selection (unless on P) are quite enough to be thinking about, thank you. And don't even think about sweepable mids - loads of opportunities to screw up your tone! Switchable active/passive? See above! That's just my take on it. I'm not trying to convince anyone to abandon kit that they like, but if this saves someone from thinking they [i]must[/i] have an active, then my time here has not been wasted. A final thought on EQ: A bass player of my acquaintance has a 'half-smile' on the 12-band graphic on his amp, so that 15kHz is getting the maximum boost. I can't hear above 12kHz... [/quote] I take it all back! (Apart from the 15kHz thing.) Find out why [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/194520-nbd-sandberg-vm4-in-candy-apple-red/"]here[/url].

Took a trip up to Bass Direct today with my mate Darren (loves bass, hates frets). I also took my MIJ Squier Jazz for reference/comparison purposes. I had been GASing over a Sandberg TT4 in Creme/Torty, so that was the first bass I tried. However, it wasn't the last, as I shall now recount... [u]Sandberg TT4 in creme/Torty (passive)[/u] Liked: Colour/finish (I'm such a girl!), playability, build quality, even response, blend control. Didn't like: Although I 'got' this bass more as I played it, I actually preferred the gutsier sound of my Squier (although I should point out that it suffers from an uneven response across its range). [u]Mayones Jabba 4 (black IIRC)[/u] Didn't like: The feel of the neck, so it went straight back on the stand, end of. [u]Fender USA Jazz Deluxe in black, maple 'board[/u] Liked: Very light weight, slim neck, nice action. Didn't like: With the EQ flat, sounded no better than any cheap Jazz. No point in going further - active EQ is not turd polish. [u]Sandberg VM4 in candy apple red (active/passive)[/u] Liked: As TT4 above, plus the sounds. As a long-time Precision player, it was like coming home - but coming home after someone's kindly built you an extension and a 2-car garage, re-decorated the house, and filled your fridge with beer. The P pickup sounds very much as you would expect. Despite being nearer the bridge than on an actual MM, the M pickup does a very good imitation, especially when you boost the treble from the onboard preamp to give you that sizzle and zing. And with both pickups on and the treble backed off slightly, there is that fat sweet sound that I always hoped for from a Jazz but never got. Plus the bass control actually acts on the low mids, so it doesn't just lift the lowest notes, it also fattens fundamentals all the way up to the 12th fret on the G string. Finally, the passive mode gives you another flavour, as it were. Disliked: I'm somewhat inclined against active electronics, but this just [i]works[/i]. I hereby retract the comments I made [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/152043-active-vs-passive/page__view__findpost__p__1899763"]here[/url] [u]Fender USA Precision Deluxe 4 in blonde[/u] Liked: Nice played-in feel. Didn't like: EQ. Treble boost was tinny, mid control did bugger all. Superficially similar to the VM4, just nowhere near as good. [i][b]INTERMISSION 1[/b][/i] [i]At this point I feel the need to inspect the plumbing, and on my return Mark had pulled out a used...[/i] [u]Dingwall ABI 5 in honey amberburst (passive)[/u] This is a bass I would normally walk straight past, as (1) it has too many strings, (2) it looks too modern, and (3) fanned frets? - does not compute! However, I thought it couldn't hurt to have a go. Liked: Wow! I really 'got' this bass. Despite never having tried a 5-er before, I took straight to it, playing across the strings instead of up and down the neck. The string and note balance was superb, the sounds from the neodymium pickups via 4-way rotary were excellent, there was plenty of range on the passive EQ, and you barely notice the fanned frets whilst playing. Disliked: Way over my original budget (though nothing that the sale of some musical kit and spare internal organs wouldn't sort), and there would be a [i]bit[/i] of a learning curve... [b][i]INTERMISSION 2[/i][/b] [i]So now I have a dilemma - Sandberg VM4 or Dingwall ABI 5? One of them will be coming home with me. Darren and I retire to the cafe next door for steak sandwiches and coffee. I text Mrs Axe and she says 'Go with your heart' (what a woman!), but when we return I still haven't made up my mind.[/i] I played them both again, this time through a TC RH750, which is a bit closer to what I'm used to. In the end I plump for the Sandberg - it just makes more sense as part of my bass-playing future I guess. And here are the pics from the Bass Direct website: [attachment=125381:VM4Front.jpg][attachment=125382:VMTOP.jpg][attachment=125383:VM4Back.jpg][attachment=125384:VM4Head.jpg] Footnote: That Mark bloke can't half talk!

Thanks ikay. I did search the forum before posting but didn't find those threads.

I played in an indie covers band in which our first drummer invariably pushed the tempo the whole time. Also his understanding of anticipation (say, a quarter- half-beat 'push' into the next bar) was that this marked the start of the next bar, meaning some 4/4 bars ended up being 7/8 or 15/16. When I pointed out that this was wrong (we are talking US punk here, not King Crimson), his response was to claim that was just a technicality! He eventually improved to the point of just being 'stiff' in his playing feel. After 3 years of this, the guitarist and I managed to piss him off and he left. Hooray! It was a revelation to then play with a decent drummer...

The Royal Mail stands to do rather well out of Mr Pratt's book!

This is [b]NOT[/b] about brands, nor is it about roundwounds vs flatwound. My question is: What [b]gauge[/b] of string do you favour and [b]why[/b]? I'll start: Not long after I started playing bass, I needed to replace a set of strings, so I checked the ones on my bass and found them to be a 45-105 set. These seemed about average, so not seeing any reason to change, I got a replacement set, and have stuck with that gauge ever since. Now I can imagine that going lighter might make for an easier play, but in your experience (not just what you have heard), is this actually the case? And all other things being equal, does it affect the output? Or the tone, and if so how? How light do you have to go before the pitch is adversely affected by heavy pick/finger attack? Over to you, esteemed BCers... [size=2]PS - did I mention this is not about brands? Or the roundwound/flatwound debate?[/size]

There are two main ways to go with this:[list] [*]Loads of built-in effects → modelling amp with bells and whistles eg Line 6 Spider; [*]Valves → Harley Benton GA5, Laney LC15. [/list]

[quote name='Blademan_98' timestamp='1355535740' post='1899807'] My hand is now swollen and painful but it lasted the gig and the drive home [/quote] That's a bit worrying! Fretting hand or plucking hand? Is it ok now?

This bass line always made my fingers get knotted up (not to mention stick together!)

Like a dream come true - very cool. Kudos to you Bilbo

Provided the item was in stock (green 'coins' icon), I've never had to wait more than 5 working days.

[quote name='TRBboy' timestamp='1355571121' post='1900015'] Got to be one of the weirdest gigs ever last night...... It was a private party for a bunch of guys that have just finished a tour in Afghanistan. They basically completely ignored us! The guys were just hanging out chatting at the bar down the far end of the pub, whilst we were in effect playing to an empty room! There was no applause, no dancing, nothing. By the time we finished the first set, we were feeling pretty down, but the landlord said we were great, and the guy who booked us said we were awesome and that all the guys were really enjoying it, despite them not showing it! He said "we don't really do dancing or anything." [/quote] I did a couple of gigs on RAF bases. Mainly a young crowd. All they wanted to do was get ratted and (in some cases) eat each other's faces. Goes with their job I suppose.

[quote name='TRBboy' timestamp='1355572914' post='1900045'] Well the big one came and seems to work just fine in polyphonic mode, especially just as a quick check between songs. I'm a little surprised that it doesn't mute when you click it on though!? It just reduces the volume slightly, is this normal? [/quote] My full-size Polytune mutes fully, but you do get funny noises (breakthrough from the digital tuning gubbins) if you keep it in line whilst tuning, so mine is now in a true-bypass loop (with no return signal ).

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1355473327' post='1898718'] I'm a sparky and this is normally caused by what we call a floating earth, the most obvious causes would be either a lack of earth at the socket at the venue or a faulty ext lead/4 way adaptor etc. Obviously you can't check the venues sockets now so double check the leads and fwiw a proper pat test could reveal a fault that the multimeter can't as a proper pat tester or a insulation resistance tester 'megger' puts a high voltage through as it tests where a multimeter does not. The reason for the shock is because all the gear we use especially stuff with windings or moisture has a very small leakage to earth hence why we can't have rcd's set at 0mA (usually 30mA instead), if the venues socket was taking the leakage as it should everything works fine but if that earth is missing in the chain then that little bit of voltage goes down the mic's earth as everything is connected obviously, you are then the easiest path to earth. Now imagine if the lead entering your pa had a loose wire that suddenly came free of its terminal and landed on the metal casing inside straight to earth, the only earth is the next poor bugger who grabs a mic to see why the pa has gone quiet who gets the whole 230v until they either drop the mic or the fuse blows! Plug in testers that show 3 lights for live neutral and earth can be bought for a few quid at maplins, b&q or even ebay, a local sparky should be able to pat test your leads for a couple a quid per lead and a mug of coffee Did that make any sense? [/quote] Excellent explanation. I always plug into an RCD on gigs, and carry a ring-main tester to use if I have any concerns about the venue mains supply. Biggest worries are extension leads at outdoor/marquee jobs. Most common faults are no earth (which equals no protection from lethal faults), and live/neutral reversed (which may not be as bad as it sounds if all the band are on the same supply, but is not recommended!)

A dead thread - great, let's indulge in some necrothreadia! I am on the verge of a likely purchase (trip to Bass Direct occurring on Monday), and looking at all those tempting delights, I wonder: passive, active, or switchable? I have owned actives, but at present all my basses are passives. To my ear, they lack nothing. Here's my thinking: First, assume I have an active bass with 2-band EQ. I set the bass control on the amp to suit the stage/room. If I then cut bass on the instrument, it will be too thin; if I boost it, it will overpower the mids that I need to stay 'fat' as I play up the neck. I could use the treble control to boost/cut, but on a passive all I do is set sufficient treble on the amp so that the sound is as bright as I need it with the tone control full up, and sweet/warm/round when backed off. Therefore I don't need a 2-band active EQ on a bass guitar. So what about 3-band? TBH I have never felt the urge to tinker with the mids in the middle of a number, or even a set. Plus there is option anxiety - volume, tone, and P/U selection (unless on P) are quite enough to be thinking about, thank you. And don't even think about sweepable mids - loads of opportunities to screw up your tone! Switchable active/passive? See above! That's just my take on it. I'm not trying to convince anyone to abandon kit that they like, but if this saves someone from thinking they [i]must[/i] have an active, then my time here has not been wasted. A final thought on EQ: A bass player of my acquaintance has a 'half-smile' on the 12-band graphic on his amp, so that 15kHz is getting the maximum boost. I can't hear above 12kHz...

[quote name='mcgraham' timestamp='1355486361' post='1898985'] I don't think the public are stupid. [/quote] As a member of the public I strongly disagree with that remark!

This has happened to me too. I don't think it would be the 0.1V AC - too small to feel. I wonder whether it's a DC offset at the input of the PA or the bass amp?

I had an Ashdown speaker fail once. It hadn't blown. The braided conductor from the voice coil had come away from its connection to the solder tag. I guess the vibration had eventually stressed the solder joint. I re-made the solder joint and it was fine. Worth popping out the driver for a look!

I don't need this cable so I'll just move things along for everyone else.

[quote name='cheddatom' timestamp='1355388739' post='1897579'] let us know how you get on [/quote]...and where you got the push-fit terminals! EDIT: Here is the underside of my pedalboard on the first build. The Generator is hidden away under the Pedaltrain, along with all the 9V and audio wiring. [attachment=124974:IMAG0223.jpeg]

[quote name='lowdown' timestamp='1355340916' post='1897235'] That's what BJorn said to Benny. Of course Benny thought he was talking Swedish sh*te, and the rest is history. [/quote]

Check the [url="http://www.thegigrig.com/acatalog/CA_Generator.html"]GigRig right-angle power cable pack[/url]. These connectors also come supplied with the Distributor, which you can use with GigRig's own Generator or hook up to your chosen 9v PSU. On my guitar FX board, I use a Generator, two Distributors, loads of these right-angle 9-volt leads, Lava cables - oh, and two Loopy-2 bypass boxes as well. I have to admit this cost a shed-load of money, but it has been completely worth it in terms of sound, usefulness, reliability, and (with a Pedaltrain 2) a very tidy look. I feel obliged to declare that I do sort of know Dan from GigRig, at least to chat to, but I paid retail (or used) for my kit - even his famous customers pay AFAIK! EDIT: Just remembered, also check out [url="http://www.johnnyshredfreak.com/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=10&zenid=da5a04ede2c3b63a54965c06749f4f8f"]Johnny Shredfreak[/url]'s DC leads.