Lfalex v1.1

When you get a new battery, change your strings, clean your frets/fretboard and give your pots a few wipes. Assuming there's nothing else amiss, it'll be as good as new!

[quote name='alexclaber' post='453418' date='Apr 3 2009, 03:16 PM']Cars wear out, basses don't. Alex[/quote] My thoughts entirely. Better still, some instruments do seem to improve with age. Cars most definitely don't! Every time I see a pimped motor on some 18 or 19" Wheels and ultra-low profile tyres, I just think of what a quality bass could be had for the same outlay. But different strokes for different folks, so if it's what they want to do, then fine. I can't see any of my basses being kerbed or on a scrap-heap any time soon, though!

[quote name='The Funk' post='453313' date='Apr 3 2009, 01:06 PM']Yes! Rule of thumb for me: bass should cost no more than 1/10 of the cost of car; car should cost no more than 1/10 of the cost of the house.[/quote] Average UK House price (apparently) is £205,372 That gives Mr Average a £20K car And (more importantly) a £2k bass budget... Needless to say that I've not managed to adhere to this school of thought!

If you think a fiver might suit you, I'd go straight for that. Personally, I find the transition from 4 to 5 and back again more comfortable than drop-tuning and retuning the same bass. That really can be confusing! Yamaha instruments are a sound buy, and before anyone else jumps in, Ibanez are also worthy of a look, too - Particularly something like the SR500. That'd fall into your budget.

If you have a cordless drill / screwdriver WITH A CLUTCH OR TORQUE LIMITING DEVICE, use that. Determine what setting corresponds to "hand tight", and use that for the final tightening. I'm a real pain for overtightening things, and at least it's consistent!

Thanks, guys! Noodling like mad- because it lets me!

[quote name='MacDaddy' post='451766' date='Apr 1 2009, 05:39 PM']Could you do a review of this, once you've got used to it and gigged it?[/quote] I will do just that, but do be aware that I'm not currently gigging (working nights has seen to that!) Having said that, I DO jam along to music a lot, so I'll have a reasonable idea of how it'd sit in a mix...

From the nature of your earlier posts, you've played it, right? And it sounds and feels good? £350? Sounds like a good price for an instrument that sounds and feels good, irrespective of what make it is and what you want it for! Ultimately the value judgement that everyone makes is; "Is the instrument in my hands worth the money that the vendor wants for it?" That's the principal criterion I use when purchasing. Naturally I bear in mind the intended use for said instrument, and whether or not it is "fit for purpose" in that context. If you get a bargain, then great, but perhaps that shouldn't be anyone's main motivation to buy- unless you intend to sell the bass on for a profit, of course! Not intending to be snotty or critical! I'm (desperately) trying to be objective!! If you like it, buy it! (works for me...)

Sorry it took so long... Only got it yesterday! Very good it is, too. My specs; Black Hardware No Front face dots (definitely no LEDs!) Independent Series/Parallel switching for each pick-up - gives lots of tonal options, and hot output on tap in series/series mode.

Ooops. Look what I collected yesterday (No. Not the rug!) That's me out of fashion again But given that the only viable alternative was a Steinberger.... I guess it's not [i]so[/i] bad

I like that... pity if it plays as badly as you say! And when I see Liberator, I think of WWII bombers (of which the Liberator was one). This in spite of being a Blake's 7 fan... OH No! Outed on the Porn forum!!!!

And yesterday's addition... A Status Streamline. An Amazing Instrument. I had custom pickups and Series/Parallel switching for both, which gives some good tonal options!

[quote name='wizbat' post='442137' date='Mar 23 2009, 12:39 AM']Just replace the sponge with springs mounted below the pickup base. job done![/quote] Warwicks are so equipped, but it's not to everyone's taste in terms of the way that the pickups push in and "ping" back up...

The Steinberger-orignated bridge/tuner system is also similar to that used on Statii (prior to the introduction of the Monorail-style bridge units), in that you slacken the tuners to drive the retainers out from beneath the unit cover, insert the ball-ends into the head(less) end, drop the other ends into the retainers and tighten the tuners (causing the retainers to retreat back under the cover again) Sounds complicated, but isn't. Takes all of 10 seconds. I've only got the licensed version on a Hohner B2A fiver. It's still an excellent design, though. Very solid, too. In spite of recent comments (CK, methinks!) about real men not playing headless basses, I really like the minimalist vibe that they offer, plus some of the other advantages (balance, overall weight, a seeming reduction in deadspots, the inability to knock them out of tune etc.)

If it's going to get like that, I may cancel my order!

He-he. Here comes Mr. Minimalist! [b]In[/b]: OLP MM3 ('cos I won it @ the bash!!) : MXR M-80 : I might have bought some strings : Oh yeah! My second Daughter !! [b]Out[/b]: Nothing. As usual. This year? I ordered the first Status of 2009. Kicked Rob and Dawn's door in on 06/01 and demanded a (modified) Streamline. I reckon that'll be it apart from a Korg Pandora and maybe some new headphones...

Without going all "Zen" about this (and I've nothing tuned below BEADGC or BEADG), it's all about contrast between low and high. Just slot the odd[i] low [/i]note into a song, just to remind everyone that they do exist, especially when they're expecting something an octave higher... Works a treat. That said, guitarists hate me, and even on a standard tuned IV, I've been dubbed "The frequency stealer" for charging [i]up[/i] the fretboard and getting too close to their range for comfort!

Bass Merchant... Colchester (Essex)

I only ever buy the instrument I played in the shop. That way, you get to inspect it & play it, so you know [i]exactly[/i] what you're getting. If there are cosmetic issues, haggle over them if it's a great player. Why try a bass, love it, then order one that may be potentially different, even if it's supposed to be identical? This is of added importance if the instrument comes from a manufacturer with wayward QC standards. The only exception to date is my Squier VMJ that my wife bought me for Xmas, and that's been modded.. I get the feeling that the Status I've ordered will be picture perfect, given Rob Green's amazing QC. In your case, the service you've received is way below par. Demand a refund and walk.

Didn't the Warwick Pro M Streamer and Fortress Masterman basses havw separate EQ for each half of the "twinjazz" pick-up? Played the S4 Arpege a couple of months ago. Without guidance/instruction/longer to mess around, I couldn't squeeze what I wanted from it. I could from the S3 Arpege, and I own an S3 Passion....

[quote name='1976fenderhead' post='421088' date='Feb 27 2009, 04:37 PM']Shame they don't list that on their website, hard to know which ones do it... EDIT: Managed to find through the manual for all basses on their website that nearly all of them are switchable in that way... The manual lists which are and which are not...[/quote] Indeed. Most do run in passive by pulling up the volume pot. I don't think any Musicmen run in passive (except the OLPs, some of which are ONLY passive...)

[quote name='Hamster' post='419771' date='Feb 26 2009, 01:23 AM']To show how ridiculous manufacturers (or sellers) claims are have a look at this PA / DJ amplifier: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1200W-POWER-NEW-DJ-PA-Amplifier-Nightline-Pro-400-black_W0QQitemZ300295065739QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_ConElec_SpeakersPASystems_RL?hash=item300295065739&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1701|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1200W-POWER-NEW-DJ-P...%3A1|240%3A1318[/url] PMPO-Power: 2 x 600 Watt and Music-Power: 2 x 200 Watt If you download the .pdf data sheet and zoom into the back panel you'll see it has a 1.5 amp fuse rating. Now my math is a bit crusty but assuming it's not an uber-efficient class D amplifier we're looking at around 55% efficiency, therefore: watts = current x voltage - 1.5A x 240 = 360 x 55% = 198watts. So, all of a sudden this 1200 watt PMPO amp can only produce 100 watts per channel - or am I missing something?[/quote] Nope. it's just a piece of creative [s]marketing[/s] [i]mathematics[/i]

Save up a little more and try to track down a Fender Marcus Miller (CIJ) Jazz. When the strings need replacing, Get thee some DR Fatbeams... Job Done, methinks...

I think the use of stiff (though not necessarily dense) materials, especially in the neck, is a contirbutory factor. Dare I suggest that string choice plays a part, too. (I'm thinking of DR strings in particular) Not so sure about the Humbucking pick-up question, though.

[quote name='qed' post='416942' date='Feb 22 2009, 09:10 PM']i've found that my specialist (expensive) bike cable cutters are mint for this kind of thing.[/quote] I use a pair of ELDI bike (brake) cable cutters. Anything that'll cleanly cut a 2.5mm braided steel cable will make (tidy) mincemeat of our humble strings.