Lfalex v1.1

Slap tone on my Epiphone Sixx Blackbird is pretty good. It was not, however, the first thing I tried..

I bought an Epiphone Blackbird as a half-joke/challenge because Cash Converters couldn't shift it and I got it cheap. This model has no volume or tone controls, just an on/off switch. Long story short, now it's restrung and fettled, it's just the thing for heavy rock, even with fingers rather than a plectrum. Downsides? Bloody capo won't fit the skinny neck (it's in D standard) Cases and bags are a pain I had to "engineer" a strap button solution to stop the neck dive Gibson 3-point bridges are wildly idiosyncratic. But can be made to work.

Total fail for me. 2 basses 1 cab 1 head 1 set of strings 1 wall hanger 4 tuners and a nut On the plus side, I found an old strap, so I don't need to buy another (I favour one specific strap per bass)

Not so, good sir. 3 of my basses are plastic!

I've an Ibanez with just the ATK triple coil in approximately the "Stingray" position. Mine has only 3 options, 2 of which would correspond to switch positions 2 and 4 in the diagram. The other option on mine is a variant on #2 with a passive filter that slightly cuts the lower treble region. The final option does a reasonable P bass approximation. I think that's what they were going for. The two coils in parallel gets close to the Ray sound. That ATK pickup is really rather good.

I don't think I can do it.

That's a tidy job. I like it.

Nice job. They look like Original Warwick fretwire. Where did you get it done?

Looks like it's either a Zephyr or a Grind BXP4. If there's even a difference between those models. Google gave me the same set of images for both searches...

I still can't find a drive/distortion that I like in a pedal. Everything pales next to the Ampeg SVP-PRO, but the footswitch controls only the mute and graphic EQ, not the drive. However, I may be tempted to buy a Boss LS2 and do it that way; Bypass (clean) Loop A (dirty, Ampeg pre) Or blend clean and dirty by just running a cable as loop B; A/B mix ---- Bypass

Headphones. In retrospect, using them for a while has taught me to deal with things like finger noise (on strings), muting, and playing consistently that aren't even that obvious through a head/cab.

Meanwhile, On Pistonheads... [/ Batman voiceover] "Why does everyone keep making comparisons between Cars and finely- tuned musical instruments?"

Wire it 180° out of phase? 🙃

Another vote for "Crime" from me, though "Crisis" and "Quietest Moments" are still very good. Check out also "Songs of the Century"; it's a compilation of Supertramp covers, performed by some interesting combinations of musicians. Crime of the Century is Rick Wakeman Tony Levin Billy Sherwood Scott Connor It's excessive (Wakeman!) but worthwhile, and there's no doubting the musicianship. Levin lands the first off-beat bass pulse (A) in the final ⅓ of the song in a far less ambiguous way than Dougie Thomson on the original...

£450 seems about right, depending upon exactly what you're asking them to do; If they're dismantling, keying the original finish, filling any imperfections, masking, spraying multiple coats, rubbing back, reapplying decals, lacquering, and reassembling/ setting up once dried.. That's a lot of labour. If you handed them a body bereft of hardware and a tuner-less neck with its truss rod slackened, I'd be tempted to negotiate a lower price. Similarly so if you're able to rebuild it post re-fin. Edit- Bongo is a great choice for "fancy" finishes. All those curves and bevels will catch the light nicely.

Thanks for that. Interesting read. I've still got 2 of those (Peavey and Ampeg) and had the Trace GP12 SMX as the front-end of a Trace head.

Even in spite of my recent iris malfunction in my left eye, no. I'm 20/20 in my right eye. And 20/15 in my left. Which is good, because I'm right- handed.

None of the above? I store them like rope. In half, in half again and tie them in a bow. Never had any cable failures, so I guess it's ok?

Some items definitely work better together. Heads and cabs (where the manufacturer makes both) are frequently voiced to sound complimentary. Similarly, I've an Ampeg preamp that definitely gives its best with Fenders and Stingrays. It's not so good with Warwicks, Ibanez etc. That may have been driven by what basses were available when it was designed/ prototyped, though.

Having recently purchased an S450, I must say I agree. Much less of a baked-in "house" sound than a Trace Elliot, for example. Partnered with a Schroeder 21012L, it's a very well- ordered sound with no obvious gremlins that need need to be EQ'd away. In fact, I'm working on trying to dirty it up a bit. Did a reasonable job via Multi FX with a compressor/ blendable drive / SVT amp sim (no cab). Reckon I'll end up digging out an external preamp or 2... I've an Ampeg SVP-PRO that'll do the job just nicely.

That the band gives a good representation of what we're capable of. That I play my part in this accordingly. Hopefully everything goes smoothly. The rest? That's out of my hands.

Thought that was TOO obvious, so was looking for something that wasn't there! 😭

How's it go? 1) Always use the correct tool for the job. 2) The correct tool for the job is ALWAYS a hammer. 3) ANY tool can be used as a hammer.

Presumably Tony Levin and Louis Johnson that Sterling's referencing there. Who's Leo, though?

50 years old. Own gear and transport, no big time ambitions. Would just like to make some (quality) noise. I'd favour originals, but if the right covers band came along... Who knows? Likes (though not necessarily influenced by) Xtc, The Smiths, Sabbath, RFTC, Danzig, Iggy Pop, Depeche Mode, The Police, Soundgarden. Anything with some energy. Not necessarily positive energy. Thanks. Alex.