Lfalex v1.1

[quote name='Les Paul Lover' post='812706' date='Apr 20 2010, 04:17 PM']What you sayin' Bilbo? My lady's a effer??? Any advice at all? What do people think about g & l L2000? The various warwick offering?? Some ibanez perhaps (i'm getting really confused with their model denomiation)? Peavey?[/quote] S [i]If[/i] you can get a G&L (guessing it's a Tribute) for inside your budget, then that's well worth a look. For about £500 you are probably mainly looking at Corvettes. Unlikely that Streamers/Thumbs are going to crop up at that price point, even if the used Warwick market is a bit flat at the mo' Ibanez? I'll say it before someone else does.. Check out the SR500 or SR505. Easy to play, sound and feel good. Reasonable quality woods, hardware and electrics combine to make a good allrounder. If that's too Hifi, check out the mid priced SRXs and don't forget to try an ATK or two; A good 'un may well be a match for some Stingrays. Those were all Active instruments. If you want passive, have a look at Squier VM Jazzes or CV Jazzes. Both around £300 new. A good s/h Fender Highway 1 might be a good buy, too. Can't really comment on Peaveys... When buying, remember to apply what you've already learned when guitar buying! It's all about comfort, feel, tone, straight necks, well dressed frets and the ability to run a low action if desired without buzz... Good Luck.

It does do a bit on a Jazz. It makes it into a meatier-sounding jazz. Not (as some would have you believe) a Precision-a-like. Can't see the point on a P-bass, though!

[quote name='chris_b' post='812111' date='Apr 20 2010, 12:31 AM']If you're going to be "amped up" anyway then "playing an electric 'quietly'" is a reasonable option, unless the other guys want to splash out £700+ on a bass for you![/quote] It's what I used to do... Have you a fretless electric? That may be a viable alternative- they can sound quite nice in an acoustic setting.

[quote name='JPJ' post='810398' date='Apr 18 2010, 04:11 PM']The pot shafts may be long enough but if not, and depending on the type of knobs on the bass, just drill large holes in the scratchplate and let the knobs 'sit' into the plate. This works really well with the knurled metal style knobs, not so good with skirted or speed knobs. Also, attach the plate using double sided tape so that you can revert it to non-scratchplate without leaving loads of screwholes in the front.[/quote] I read the OP, and thought exactly this. Then read it as the second post! Gets my vote (naturally!)

The Miller is CIJ/MIJ. It comes with a BadAssII bridge The Truss rod adjusts from the headstock end The neck is secured with 3 bolts There's no passive tone control IIRC, the eq bypass isn't particularly well implemented, but there's some good stuff on discreet mods to the system out there on the web. Me? I tried one. It played well, but was too unrelentingly harsh for me, and you couldn't use the internal eq to remedy it. I bought an Ash-bodied 2004 MIA Jazz with a Rosewood board. Whilst I didn't A/B it and the Miller, the Jazz was comfortably better than the Stingrays and some of the Warwicks on offer. One tip if you DO get the Miller - Try some DR Marcus Miller FatBeams on it. I use them on other basses to good effect, and I've fitted some Sunbeams on the Jazz. Sounds Amazing now. So much clout- If you want it.

[quote name='BigRedX' post='808105' date='Apr 16 2010, 10:17 AM']Johnson, what you need is a [url="http://littleguitarworks.com/torzal-natural-twist/"]Torzal Twist[/url] not a fanned-fret bass....[/quote] Did anyone look at the prices! Ouch! Yes, I know they're unique, etc. etc. But still an expensive investment in an instrument you may not like which could be nigh on impossible to re-sell.

[quote name='crez5150' post='808560' date='Apr 16 2010, 04:10 PM']that was Reverb[/quote] Whereas the Bass Centre specialise in Delays, right? Ow! Who threw that!

Did it with my Trace H122SMX a good while ago. I turned the remains into a 2x10 as well- mainly so it fits in a small car better....

Not played a RW, but the last two H1 Precisions have been a bit good. One was better than an MIA in the shop at the time (though that might be QC syndrome again) The second was one of the survivors of my "cold day" at Bass Merchant a while back. It had been VERY cold the night before, and the humidity was very low. So much so that many of the basses were well "off colour" The best basses in there under those conditions? MM Bongo A Euro LX Spector All the Vigiers And the lonely H1 P in the corner. Limited to what a P does, but it did that well. I haven't played a naff H1 yet. A Jazz I tried was pretty darn good, too. Maybe I'm lucky! My only issue is the lack of a Maple fretboard...

[quote name='solo4652' post='805699' date='Apr 14 2010, 08:50 AM']...let's now say it doesn't have to be a Fender - with these features: 4 string Passive Wide neck - 42mm Switchable pup configuration to give tonal range from P-thump to J-twang Lakland? Sandberg? Musicman? G&L? Steve[/quote] Hmmm. It seems that broad(ish) necks are a bit out of vogue. However... Yamaha Attitude? MM Sterling HS (but not the neck, I fear!) (And they're active) Fender Roscoe Beck IV! Fender Urge I don't know much about Sandbergs or Laklands.

[quote name='Lord Sausage' post='796789' date='Apr 5 2010, 06:09 PM']just thought of one (possibly, depends on your definition of metal) lohn Myung, Dream Theater[/quote] Can we add D.D. Verni of Overkill to that. Wholly underrated IMO. Oh, and a vote for Ellefson, too.

My experience of being taught was not a positive one. The guy was utterly closed-minded. Sure, he could play, but could he teach? No. He hated my choice of instrument, and couldn't get on with the fact that I like everything from classical to death metal and back again. I was in a thrash band at the time, but was eager to learn new techniques etc. (think slap and so on) I had a good idea what I wanted to learn. He had a good idea what he wanted me to be taught. If I were generous, I'd say that there was a communication breakdown. 11 years later, I'm still pi**ed enough at him to post this.... I've considered re-visiting the idea, but I'm really concerned that [i]some[/i] teachers impose their own ideas and standards upon their pupils and would be happy to see little clones of themselves out there, and then shout loudly "Look what I made!" The very best teachers will help their pupils develop towards their own potential without imposing too much of themselves upon them. These points are not just relevant to bass playing of course! Trouble is, how do you spot a good teacher from a small ad?

[url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Class_A_amplifier#Class_A"]Wikipedia says....[/url] This link is a bit technical, but covers it fairly well. To generalise (very broadly) Valve amps are often Class A. Certainly the Hi Fi ones. Transistor devices can be made to run in Class A (by design), but do get quite warm Class D are them new-fangled dinky amps with BIG power outputs - used in both In-car applications and (often) small (1u) power amps. Have a read. It explains better than I can!

[quote name='BottomEndian' post='791622' date='Mar 31 2010, 10:20 AM']Gah, image. We're cursed by the fact that we play heavy stuff, but we're a couple of short-haired, bespectacled, quiet, slightly socially awkward guys without tattoos. Even though I'm sure it'd help us get gigs if we got tattooed to the hilt and grew our hair down to our navels (and I mean [i]sure[/i], because I've seen us get overlooked before in favour of the lairy, hairy metal guys)...[/quote] Which is ironic, as the last band I was in [i]were[/i] the aforementioned tattooed hairy guys. We were a folk band. (I kid you not!) So much for the stereotypes, then.

I'm nearly Rich's age. I've got one of the last pre-VW Skoda Felicias, and I own a Status, too. I wonder what this means?! I know! I'm not comfortable unless the bass in the boot is worth more than the car!!!

[quote name='geoffbassist' post='790741' date='Mar 30 2010, 04:06 PM']I don't get it. They ruin a basses balance and I doubt anyone can hear a difference in tone. I think they will date really quickly, remember 80's headless basses? :-)[/quote] Uh-oh! Technically the Status Streamline is a single-cut (of sorts). And it's dinky. And headless. And I own one! Fortunately it avoids the "stigma" associated with the 1980s by 2 decades or so... Dons *unfashionable* coat. Leaves.

The 4HS I tried at bass merchant was superb. I have some nice stuff (Status, Vigier, Warwick, Yamaha etc.) and I still think it was superb. They had some nice stuff there (Vigier, Spector, Sandberg, Overwater, Warwick, GMR etc.) and it measured up well. Played well. No ergonomic issues, sounded awesome. Looked... Like a Bongo. I'd like one. Canary Yellow w/ Black hardware and a black/yellow/ black scratchplate!!!

[quote name='Vibrating G String' post='788368' date='Mar 28 2010, 10:48 AM']I think you can get great basses for cheap. I have a Peavey and a Fernandes, both bought used for $250 each, that are much better than 2 of the very expensive brands mentioned in this thread judging by the ones I've personally owned. I'm of the school of thought that thinks "hand made" is synonymous with inconsistent. At the risk of being banned from the internet I'd suggest that the price of a bass tells you less about the quality and more about how cool it is. [/quote] I agree about the "coolness" part. Some manufacturers/luthiers are deemed "cool", and this allows them to charge premium prices (and have mega waiting times (Thinking Rickenbacker and Fodera!) The inconsistency factor exists, but is a double edged sword; If inconsistency means each one is well made but subtly different, then great. If it means some are well made and others less so, then that's not so good. As a corollary, try a relatively expensive instrument from a lesser (or un-) known maker. You certainly aren't paying for the name then! About 15 years ago, I tried a bass I'd never heard of before, and bought it. It was my first big budget instrument. I still have it, and it's STILL one of the finest I've played. Turns out that Vigiers are extremely good. But not quite in the "cool" league!!

Nice. But FAR too expensive, especially when you consider what else is out there for $3750 (or $4100 with a Brazilian R/W fretboard) That'd get you a Smith, a "cheap" Fodera, or an entire shop-full of second-hand goodness!

Almost. But not quiet. I'd certainly change the tuning. EADGCF, methinks. Or maybe DGCFBbEb to give the drop "D" option? Could they not have put the offset bridge coils into one soapbar housing? That'd have looked... [i]tidier[/i] Then, a longer "dummy" housing for the neck "J" would have given it a better visual balance. The features would stay the same, but it'd look neater.

Thumb on "E" when playing G,D or A. Move up to pick-up when playing E. However... I damp the string above the one I'm striking with my third finger so I can "follow through" into it... Odd. but it works. Only leaves index and middle to pluck / strike with, though.

Holy Crap! HOW much stock.. ..And what stock it is, too!

[quote name='Duarte' post='774509' date='Mar 14 2010, 06:25 PM']Or a Bongo? Heheheh[/quote] Indeed! Or a Bongo!

As a couple of cheaper alternatives, why not try an Ibanez ATK up against a 'Ray, and and one of the more expensive Ibanez SRXs instead of a G&L / Tribute. I own a 'Ray 5 and an SRX700. The last G&L I played was superb (an ASAT), but IIRC they don't have a blend pot, so that ruled it out. The last ATK I played was considerably better than the £400 price tag would have suggested...

The last CVJazz I played was really very good indeed. So is my VMJazz, which is gently trundling along the upgrade path as we speak... I'd go down the Squier route, with an eye on a few "modifications"!