Lfalex v1.1

Maybe try out a Fender MIA Precision Deluxe? Last one I played was really good, naff Fender EQ notwithstanding. True, it doesn't capture the MM aspect, but nor does the P/MM Sandberg really. The last Sandberg P/MM I played I expected the world of, and it really didn't deliver. It was really cold, though, and I don't think many instruments had a fair crack of the whip that day...

If you're heading to Status, best to phone and let them know you're coming. Then they'll be ready for you....

No one's mentioned Gail Ann Dorsey yet... Oooops! I think in just may have!

[quote name='YouMa' post='628927' date='Oct 17 2009, 06:44 PM']Good luck with your op.[/quote] Precisely! On a personal note, I'd have turned everything up (including the amp), leant it casually against a wall, left it buzzing/howling and walked out.

Now we may all be bassists together, but every so often I hear a bit of drumming that's so "on the button" that I can't help but go "WOW!" Here's a few from today's listening; The Flesh is Weak (Judy Tzuke) Going Back to My Roots (Odyssey) - Which in its unabridged form also contains a gorgeously squishy wah-infested w**k-free guitar solo Raining Blood (Slayer) - Yes, really. Dave Lombardo somehow imbues some sections with a degree of swing against the will of his bandmates!

I see that "Take 5" has already been mentioned, but I'll add "Unsquare Dance", also from Dave Brubeck. In 7/8 at a nice tempo. With spoons, too! Otherwise, check out Tool (Generally) as they love to mix it up a bit, in spite of the fact that I think that they're better when they stick to 4/4 (Stinkfist, for example) Is it me or do many odd signatures not flow as well as even ones? "Money" is a bit of an exception. Two others that spring to mind; "Golden Brown" by the Stranglers and "(I want to be) An American)" from West Side Story (? Musicals not a strong suit!), which are very strange! Did I really just cite Brubeck, Tool, The Stranglers and Bernstein/Sondheim in one post? [gets coat!]

For all those of you that gig a lot, there's one other related point to consider with lined/stuffed cabinets; Since the inception of the ban on smoking in public places, cabinets will no longer smell of 40,000 smoked cigarettes when you remove the drivers. Those were the days!

[quote name='niceguyhomer' post='627400' date='Oct 15 2009, 10:15 PM']Bob - wait until you try the DR Sunbeams on the Jazz tomorrow - they're brilliant.[/quote] I changed the original strings on my 04 MIA Jazz for Fender 7150 Nickels which were quite good in a mellow sort of way. For my second change, I went "upmarket" and bought DR Sunbeams and made sure it was all set up well. [socks blown off] The difference was unbelievable! The better compliance of round cores was a known factor, but the increased output from both the Nickel itself plus the fact that DR put more metal (allegedly!) in their strings was quite surprising[/pulls socks back on] In summary, though, you've no way of knowing what's happened to your strings on a bass before you collect/receive it. Best thing to do is swap in a good set that are a known quantity to you so you can get an idea what the bass is really like.

[quote name='bilbo230763' post='625823' date='Oct 14 2009, 11:11 AM']...If someone goes into The Gallery and buys a Sei off the wall, even if the bass was originally put together as a complete custom job, the 'new' owner is buying 'off the peg' i.e. taking a credible professional instrument 'as is' and making it work for him/her. If its handbuilt, fine. If its machine built, fine. Its all academic. The aspect of all of this that I am 'challenging' is the practice of individuals specifying the minutiae of a new build to their own exacting standards vs just getting a great instrument and spending some quality time with it in order to make it sing...[/quote] Right. So if someone plays a given instrument, no matter what it's origin / specification, and they like it (and buy it), then that's acceptable because it's a known quantity and they've played it. Is the issue at stake here "paying (lots) for the unknown"? That's the black and white interpretation. What of the shades of grey in between; Taking a stock instrument and modifying it to your preference (bridges, pick-ups, tuners, pre-amps) Ordering modified versions of standard instruments (I specified my Status without front-face fretboard dots and with series/parallel switching) Neither come with satisfaction guaranteed, yet many of us enagage in such practices, and do so because no standard instrument exists to cater for our needs. Some players may well understand (from experience) what modifications will bring the about changes in tone/playablity that would improve a given instrument to their taste. How does that differ dramatically from someone specifying those elements in a bespoke instrument?

I don't know if this applies to a 'Ray, but I know a lot of Active Basses (without passive bypasses) will either make no sound at all or an awful buzzing. Has the EQ been bypassed, I wonder? TBH, I probably wouldn't be able to tell either. Perhaps a visit to a knowledgeable tech will help. That or wait for one of the electronically gifted members to pop up here. They may ask for a detailed photo, though...

More than one way to skin a cat! Is it really the pick-ups? Could it be the EQ? Or could it be the strings? (Try a different brand? Try Nickels rather than steels?) I'm not suggesting that you're wrong, per se, but do consider the other variables that can contribute to the tone before you commit time, effort and money to changing something like pick-ups. If the EQ is the one I [i]think[/i] it is, it's plenty powerful/flexible enough to have the potential to EQ out your difficulties. Give it a go before you consign the Barts to the bin...

Excellent, informative post! Maybe they should do the necks, too to improve their tolerance to humidity changes!

[quote name='alexclaber' post='623118' date='Oct 11 2009, 02:29 PM']When you mix a bridge and neck pickup equally, the resulting tone is not an average of the two - i.e. adding the neck pickup doesn't simply add lows to the bridge pickup, and vice versa. What actually happens is a load of addition AND cancellation due to differing phase (like with the bigger aperture pickups). If you take a bass with a couple of jazz pickups, the most natural tone (i.e. similar to the acoustic tone) will be with just the neck pickup. The bridge pickup gives a more trebly, more high-midrangey and bottom-shy representation. But blend the two pickups equally and the resulting tone is more like the neck pickup sound but with some extra treble added (as you'd expect)* BUT ALSO a load of midrange cut out. Yes, two jazz pickups on full gives you a scooped tone! The further apart the pickups the bigger the midrange scoop, and the closer their midpoint is to the bridge, the higher in frequency that that scoop is centered. Have a close listen next time you have a two pickup bass plugged in and you'll see what I mean. As I said at the time, how and where you pluck has the most significant effect on your tone but if you're needing to punch through the mix yet you're running two similar pickups up full then you're removing a lot of critical midrange - so instead of twisting EQ, back off one of those pickups and reclaim some punch.[/quote] Which explains why I like the basses I do. The common factor in all of miy favourites is the close proximity of the pick-ups to each other (Vigier Passion, for example) None of my blend controls are centred! I usually favour a bit more bridge pick-up and EQ in a bit of bottom end. I wouldn't like to try and predict the permutations that differing styles of pick-up offer! (P/J, J/JJ, J/MM, P/MM etc)

No worries. Did it with my Fretless 'Ray5. Best thing I've done with it. Hope it goes well.

[quote name='rasher80' post='620548' date='Oct 8 2009, 01:53 PM']Andy Rourke is the main reason i'm a bass player, his ability astounds me. The band i'm in did a last-minute stand in at a gig in Manc and Andy was in the audience, my head totally went but i just about held it together. Surreal experience. I'd rate my top 5 Rourke basslines as (in no particular order) The Headmaster Ritual This Charming Man There Is A Light That Never Goes Out Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now You've Got Everything Now[/quote] There is a Light That Never Goes Out is awesome. I also like Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others and Bigmouth Strikes Again. All from "The Queen Is Dead", BTW.

Whilst I can't speak (particularly) for Poly vs. Nitro vs. Oiled, it seems to me that your choice of finish should be dictated by; 1) What looks attractive to you now 2) The way in which the finish will "mature" over time, and whether this will be desirable in your eyes. 3) If it affects the tone (a moot point!) or the playability of the finished instrument (this applies more to necks, though) There's a lot you can do to protect your bass. I never play with rings or watches on I never play wearing a belt (or braces!) I wear trousers without rivets OR a jumper/T shirt long enough to cover the rivets on my jeans... I clean my basses and hang them up or put them away after use. At gigs, I'll leave the bass in the case until the last minute, get it out, tune it up, play, and back in a case it goes. Excessive? Not particularly. As an analogy, how many of you try not to damage your car's finish when unlocking/using it. You (probably) wouldn't let your car get buckle rash! My greatest issue arises from hardware corrosion from my sweaty mitts...

[quote name='NickThomas' post='622587' date='Oct 10 2009, 06:43 PM']Looking forward to seeing the photo thread [/quote] Ditto! And big thanks to Silverfoxnik for arranging it. Excellent venue and good talks from jakesbass, AC and bassace. Well worth the 150 mile round trip! Might've given a couple of people Streamline GAS. Thanks too to HappyJack for a lengthy blast on the Prosebass...

My AH300smx ran for ages into no load during a recording session- I needed the DI out!! IIRC the mute cuts the signal from the Pre stage to the power and also the signal to the DI. The Tuner out will still work - so you can tune up silently. The rear "volume" controls are probably (again, from memory) for FX loop level. I'd have thought the other is for crossover frequency. The 600 is a stereo model, right?

[quote name='BassAgent' post='621653' date='Oct 9 2009, 02:27 PM']I want to restring my 35" 5-string bass with an E-A-D-G-C tuned set. Does the tension on the neck significantly change when I do this?[/quote] More than you might think, and, more importantly, not in the way you might expect! I'd string it up and see. Assuming you're currently running it BEADG, will you be keeping the same gauge E,A,D and G? If so, you need only really consider the effect of the "C" unless you have a neck with 2 truss rods. The C will have a higher tension than the B it "replaces". Naturally the neck will need the relief adjusting, and the action/intonation will need sorting, too.

[quote name='flatwound' post='620202' date='Oct 8 2009, 02:57 AM']Personally I like the natural wood look, but then I like Sunburst as well, although some look crap. Never liked Purple either until I bought a Tune....[/quote] Did you say PURPLE?

[quote name='Toasted' post='617478' date='Oct 5 2009, 02:42 PM']I don't see how that's a "benefit" over, say CNC.[/quote] I do. Dude with a spokeshave, chisels and sandpaper is cheaper than an expensive CNC router!!

Methinks you need something with single coil pick-ups. Maybe even passive? That's what I've done (more by luck than judgement) as I've gone along; Bought a wholly different type of instrument each time- albeit a good example of its kind - Active, Passive, all kinds of pick-up placement and coil switching (The L2000 has that angle pretty well covered!) Try them all, and try to appreciate each instrument's virtues.

[quote name='4000' post='616500' date='Oct 4 2009, 01:57 PM']I'v come to realise that this really is a much bigger factor than many people think. Change your brand of strings, change your sound. At least IME.[/quote] Absolutely. Swapped the original (Fender) Strings on my Jazz for Fender 7150 Nickels, which were superbly comfortable and had a suitably warm and smooth sound. At the last change, I moved over to DR Sunbeams, using the same gauge as the Fender (40-100) What a difference! The Jazz is now a monster (?!) Much higher output - sounds more like I've changed the pick-ups for overwound ones! Even better tension and playability, thanks to the round cores. Other string favourites include Elixir, DR Fatbeams and Elites (as a cheapo alternative)

[quote name='TheBlueFalcon' post='614333' date='Oct 1 2009, 10:50 PM']The problem I have at the moment is that I'm relatively inexperienced. After buying a so called "new" bass from a dealer and it turned out to be a "Friday afternoon bass", I have now been put off anything that has been out of the box, other than to be checked and set up. So, after that palaver, I'm not going to consider 2nd hand until I can safely and competently evaluate the condition for myself. I'm planning to go and look at some tomorrow. I can't play, so I can't try them for myself, so I already know that I am going to feel like a complete prat, but I have to hear some and get closer to a decision.[/quote] You may not be able to play, but you do have to [i]wear[/i] it, balance it, and make a "noise" with it. I'd assert that weight, balance and comfortable neck dimensions are most important. The tone could be phenomenal, but that's no good if the ergonomics are wrong. It's bad practice to play a bass that's uncomfortable.

What I'd fear most is the risk of this; [i]Good[/i] MIA MIJ CIJ MIM > [i]Friday afternoon[/i] CS. I'd like to think that the MB might be immune to this... ALWAYS. Try before you buy. (Unless it's dirt cheap)