Lfalex v1.1

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.

[quote name='lonestar' post='419821' date='Feb 26 2009, 08:39 AM']Are there enough of us for an Essex BassBash then?[/quote] Yes. Greets from another Essex type. Born in Maldon (once home of the mighty Trace Elliot) Gradually moving around the county, but still here. Welcome aboard!

An extended fingerboard or a ramp of some description

Through neck. Probably multi-laminated for stability. 5 String. Tenor Tuning - CGDAE Active. Ideally at least a 3band EQ. Better still, a sweepable Mid Freq or a Semi Parametric / filter-based pre. A really hard/ Durable fingerboard; Pau Ferro. Ebony. Phenolic. The Vigier Delta Metal. Pick-ups? That's harder. I love Precisions for the "simplicity" of their sound. I think that influenced my decision when I bought the SR5. I think single pick-ups convey the fretless character really well. Trouble is, you lose the flexibility of having 2 pick-ups, and that nasal "honk" from a bridge pick-up. The same conundrum applies to the choice of Humbucker or Single Coil, too! It really does boil down to your own taste.

I always thought that the dogma was: Distortion OD Compression EQ (Maybe) Octave Before the (pre)amp. Modulation FX in the loop: Phasers Chorus Delay Flanger I guess I'd stick a Wah or envelope filter at the front, too. Definitely a compressor last before the amp, methinks.

[quote name='Hamster' post='417628' date='Feb 23 2009, 05:42 PM']That's quite a unique use for a duck - does the drummer throw them bits of bread?[/quote] Let me guess, he uses grissini for sticks? My 4 (as a non FX user) Overdrive Chorus Flanger Delay Last two with a Tap Tempo function.

IIRC (and it was a while ago...) Aren't the Prolines Swamp Ash bodied with 5pc laminated Maple necks (Still a Wenge 'board) I really dont' know if they were NT or BO though. Going Googling... Edit - They're nearly all stained in the usual Warwick colours; Ocean Blue Emerald Green Honey Violin Tobacco Nirvana Black That Purple colour Some shade of red... Still editing - Predominantly with gold hardware, too. Definitely active, controls in the normal active corvette layout. Looks like they're all BO, too.

[quote name='The Burpster' post='415983' date='Feb 21 2009, 09:20 AM']2nd hand Highway 1.... Best VFM and bang for $[/quote] Oh yes... I've played H1s that have thrashed MIAs before. And Tokais that kicked the MIAs while they were down. Everyone else in the shop agreed, too...

[quote name='Golchen' post='414750' date='Feb 19 2009, 08:59 PM']I totally can't cope with single cut basses. They are just disturbing, like seeing your granny naked.[/quote] Except for the Status Streamline, of course... Assuming that it counts! I [i]think[/i] it does. Just.