Lfalex v1.1

Tony Butler - Big Country. Has been mentioned periodically, but deserves another shout for the sheer quality and sympathetic nature of his writing/playing.

Are you down-tuning all the strings? For example; G, C, F#, C# for a four string? Warwick go to a 0.175 for their Taranis/Dark Lord basses, which go down to low F#..

Never done anything to any of mine.Playing is enough. Both of them are 14 years old now, and are well and truly played-in. No danger of splinters, methinks!

I was expecting Burberry. [i]That[/i] tweed was a relief!

I just can't cope with buttons. When are we having T-shirts made?

Consensus on DD Verni, then!! They don't [u]have[/u] to be Metal/Rock, though...

Like the Tele. Dunno if the big 'bucker is the right choice for the bridge, but I guess it lines up well against the EB3/EB0/Epiphones . Not sure what the Jag offers when compared to the er... Jag and the VMJag.

[i]Certain[/i] high-profile players get mentioned a fair deal on BC. [i]Certain[/i] famous players get mentioned a lot, too [i]Certain[/i] Very talented players are discussed frequently, and rightly so. This thread is for none of the above. Without searching, I can recall little or no mention of; Andrew Weiss (Ex-Rollins Band) DD Verni (Still going strong with Overkill) Greg Christian (Testament) The Eerie Von (Danzig) Please add your own unmentioned players...

Pick-up and Pre-amp mods are a must. I wouldn't aim directly for the 'Ray sound. A 3-band pre with a mid sweep and series/parallel/(?)single coil(?) switching would give you a lot of nice options without deviating too much from what you're looking for. Also, the bridge (depending on what yours is like!) tuners and nut if you're really going for it. I own a nice OLP MM3. Haven't got round to doing much with it. Certain German basses keep interfering...

[quote name='MacDaddy' timestamp='1317210408' post='1388057'] nail clippers. wet wipes. [/quote] And Coco Pops. A guy's gotta eat y'know. Otherwise, spot on!

Hohner did/do wooden copies, too. The bridges are Steinberger licensed. They're fine as a 4-string, but the 5 strings seem to lack the mass in the body to do a decent low "B". The proper Steinbergers weigh not much less than a P-bass and have a superb bottom end accordingly. I think they're great (although I don't own one) but bought the obvious UK-made alternative, a Status Streamline.

Ibanez basses are usually excellent for the money. On the downside, whilst the fit/finish is generally very good, the cost savings seem to be made in the pick-ups/electrics on the cheaper models. This isn't always immediately obvious in a shop enivironment, but once you get them home and start playing them alongside more expensive items in your collection, they disappoint a little. This is heightened by the fact that they usually feel really good and are easy to play- the tone doesn't always quite match. My SRX 700 fell foul of this. Well made, easy to play, looked nice etc. Just sounded crude, ultimately. And it shouldn't have. I couldn't be bothered to mod it by spending another £200-300 on swapping out the EQ and /or pick-ups and sold it on. Don't miss it, TBH. And they do love that SR body shape, don't they...

Looks a bit.... Simple for that much money

[quote name='Chris2112' timestamp='1316484030' post='1378711'] The LX is a 'lower end' Streamer but they are still great. The sound is top notch though I prefer them with a high gloss finish. Those are very pretty! I nearly bought a gloss blue LX once. I'd buy that bass over again if I found it now! [/quote] If you like the trans/stained finish, but want a "higher-gloss" look than the usual factory finish, nip down to Halfords and get some colour-matching T-cut or some similar. I wanted to try and get a few scratches out of a s/h Fortress I bought, and ended up with something rather unexpected... After about 2 hours and several old T-shirts, it went all shiny!! Actually, even my initial, limited, attempts to buff out some marks made it apparent that I'd have to do the whole bass to get it all to match again. Only two issues, though; i) It's kind of slippery under the hand! ii) I think it'll be a while before normal playing wear returns it to a more matte finish, so I'd regard any cutting as distinctly irreversible. (And sorry! I don't have any photos of it uploaded right now )

[quote name='chrismuzz' timestamp='1312585262' post='1329411'] Get a 6 even if you don't use the lower register, you can use the B string higher up the neck to save you having to switch fretting hand positions, and for a deeper sound. Alternatively, do the EADGC thing as it's a cool idea you will need to set the intonation and adjust the truss rod. A new nut may also be necessary Whatever you do, enjoy it! And may it bring you much inspiration [/quote] Use the B as a thumb-rest!!! If you choose a "high-fiver", Do consider tuning it DGCFBb (all down a tone (I think that's right)) That covers a [i]lot[/i] of contemporary music..

[quote name='ped' timestamp='1316451178' post='1378170'] I used to have three of the same, one 4, one 5, one fretless. It worked really well, but now I just have the 4. [/quote] That's not quite "the same", though is it! Granted, there's some duplication between the 4 and 5, but not between fretted/fretless... (Says the man with a Infinity 4, Fortress MM 5 and Streamer LX6...)

[quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1312494373' post='1327947'] Is that a weird tuning or just the left hand version of EADGC? [/quote] Work it out for yourself!

Series/Parallel switch on the Jazz. Try some other strings on it (thinking of DR FatBeams or similar) or even a pre-amp for the jazz? Ought to cover most of it without too much extra outlay.

Never got to see Cliff live. Jason was alright. Saw Rob playing with Suicidal Tendencies @ Clash of the Titans. Broke a string during "Send me your money". Hmmm.

[quote name='stringintheshade' post='1294378' date='Jul 6 2011, 09:47 AM']Exactly. I think it's called nostalgia. It's an invented 70s. Like Velvet Goldmine or any other number of stylised 70s representations. We know it wasn't really like that. Much grimmer, like those 1976 TOTP reruns on at the mo'. Every decade eventually gets reinvented by those who weren't there.[/quote] What? So we're all closet revisionist historians? It'd be nice if you could choose what neck/blocks/binding you had. I prefer anything but Rosewood. But that's because soooooo many basses have Rosewood 'boards. Yeah, it sounds well balanced, but lacks he compressed snarl of Maple.

Tim Commerford of Rage against the machine has at least 1 Jazz with a lefty neck. Don't know about tunings - At least drop "D" judging by "Evil Empire" He cites string tension as the reason. Apparently he (over)winds his own pick-ups, too.

[quote name='Chris2112' post='1369202' date='Sep 11 2011, 10:51 AM']Why not?[/quote] I'm beginning to think that single pick-up basses are better as fretted instruments. I could never dial in a tone I really liked. Maybe I shoulld've tried flats on ot rather than rounds. I got on fine with a MIM fretless jazz I tried once. Tinkered with the controls and got it to sing properly. The 'Ray 5 never did that, an the single-coil setting was utterly useless- it was a 1990- so no phantom coil in the pick-up, and that made it noise-prone. It also sounded too thin. Series was too much the other way, but was alright if you played up by the back of the neck. Parallel was best. I nearly bought a (fretted) Status neck for it, but it was too much hassle and quite expensive.

Smallest? Probably about half-a-dozen. Biggest? 2.5k People from other bands always used to watch one of the bands I was in rehearse

[quote name='Musicman20' post='1370550' date='Sep 12 2011, 03:23 PM']... Same with a car enthusiast....[/quote] I love an automotive analogy. I may not be the best driver in the world, but I can drive. It's nice to have a choice of cars to drive And in the real world, basses are (usually) cheaper to buy/maintain/mod/insure. They're easier to store and after 20 years of average use won't be a pile of useless rust!

[quote name='Musicman20' post='1368369' date='Sep 10 2011, 10:44 AM']I think the truss rod wheel is one of the best innovations on the EBMM basses.[/quote] Agreed. Sold my 'Ray5 fretless, bought a Warwick Fortress Masterman 5 (fretted) instead. It was a nice bass, but I don't really miss it. Not entirely sure that the 'Ray5 is a good bass to have as a fretless. I've liked all the Bongos I've played- Even the EQ. I wouldn't have an "H", and would probably prefer "H/H" to "H/S" I'm not normally bothered by aesthetics, but in the case of the Big Al, I'll make an exception. I'd get a Reflex (or whatever they're called) instead.