Lfalex v1.1

Ricks look better when being worn than not. I find the inside edges of the Classic Status shape's horns too straight and angular. Not crazy about the Jaguar or Bronco or Mustang - The upper horns are too short looking. Not a fan of the Explorer shape either. Fairly sure I could find at least one Warwick to dislike - They always seem to have one stinker in production at any one time! Perhaps it's a corporate policy!

DR Fatbeams are super. And they have round cores. The compression winding technique that DR uses helps to add mass, but doesn't seem to increase stiffness for a given gauge. Apparently the .105 E string uses .108's worth of metal. Good tone, nice and compliant / responsive, plus they last and last...

[quote name='LukeFRC' post='361586' date='Dec 23 2008, 12:10 AM']would i be correct in assuming that if you are a selling a bass calling it a 'double jazz' is better than calling it a 'musicman style' or something as it doesnt reference another bass maker directly?[/quote] Not so much that, as the way the pick-up looks. The JJ/Twin J/Double J literally looks like (and sometimes is!) two jazz pick-ups bonded together, right down to the mounting lugs. The MM blueprint has the "2 at the top, one at the bottom" pattern for the lugs. Furthermore, the MM stereotype has exposed polepieces. 1 per string, and often has a hum-cancelling 3rd coil for when it's used in single coil mode (Sterling/Ray 5) The twin Jazz has either 2 small polepieces per string (Deluxe Precision) or blades (like the MECs in the Warwicks) The two major manufacturers who deviate from this are Bartolini, with blades in a MM housing, and Delano, who do a Hybrid with 8 poles on the rear coil and 4 big ones on the front. Again in a MMHB shaped housing.

I think I'd be wanting 8.5-9lbs in an ideal world. I like 'em heavy. But if they're going at £1k s/h, what the hell are they new? If it went as far as £1500, we're in Steinberger Territory. And £1500 buys a lot of bass elsewhere... even more so second hand!

I've used my Streamer LX VI at folky/acoustic gigs. And the Infinity SN4, too. The other bands mocked the 6. Before I played it. Then they sort of stopped. A good bass is a good bass, and you should be able to stretch it to fit your needs, irrespective of current fashions.

I quite liked the 12-String patch on the Variax... Ouch! Who threw that!

Do not be dissin' da Essex Massive. Erm. What I meant to say is; Born there. Frighten the Local music scene there. Still. Live there. Still. Own a bass made there. By a man who lives there. Own an Amp made there. Own cabinets made there. Someone in Essex please start making cables & FX... Enjoy yer Dean! (self appointed) Captain of the Essex Tarts... And typical. I ain't!

[quote name='lemmywinks' post='360703' date='Dec 22 2008, 09:23 AM']Exactly! We do party covers and most of the basslines are pretty awful. We were doing the same thing, learning the structure and chords then setting about it to make it sound half decent! We still do Sweet Home Alabama cos girls love it when they're drunk, but it would be unplayable without some tinkering and improvisation, such a dull song to play! I think the only songs where i play the exact line are Mr Brightside, all Chilis stuff and Fake Tales... by the Arctic Monkeys. A lot of the more modern stuff needs keeping as it's fresh in everyone's minds[/quote] And the modern stuff (generally) might be a smidge more memorable as us low-enders have gradually raised our profile over the years!

Alternatively, the headstock may prove to be a useful tool to keep a rowdy frontman in check... BIFF! Ow!

[quote name='lemmywinks' post='360435' date='Dec 21 2008, 07:50 PM']Reminds me when i was in Tesco and was struggling with the scanner on the self service checkout. Saw a Tesco employee sniggering at me so when i had scanned it i turned to her and said "See, i could do your job...... I just don't want to". Wiped the smirk off her face pretty sharpish![/quote] On the other hand... I work in a major food retailer. A customer came up to me, generally insulted me, and then said; "Where's Catfood?!" I replied "Just down the road from Lewisham" What you give is what you get. But there is no excuse for (unprovoked) bad service. Damn, I miss the Wapping Bass Centre. Awful drive. Stinky Parking. Stinkier Parking Wardens. But I'd have given my last £ to Alex, Nick, Grant and Chris. If you're out there guys.... Thanks, and I still own the Trace Stack, Vigier, Warwick LX6, Ray5 and God knows what else to this day. Good Purchases which have grown with me as I've progressed as a player. I still should've bought that Ken Smith VI! (Kicks self repeatedly for shopping with (then) girlfriend who can't see that £2750 is a bargain!) As for The internet killing the smaller guys, here's some gents that deserve to survive on the strength of their customer service and products; Robbie (RIM) Mike (Iceni/Zoot) Jon (Shuker) Rob (Status) Patrice (Vigier) Bernie (GB) Darren (BassMerchant) Seek them out!

Gassing BADLY for these at the mo' I live 45mins from Colchester, too! 1 question, though; The site says they're lighter than a normal bass. Does it affect the tone adversely? My Hohner B2A (V) is very light, and the fundamental output of the E and B strings just isn't there like it is on my Streamer LX6 (14lb!) Wouldn't want to splash that amount of cash and be disappointed with a lightweight tone. I've tried Steinbergers, and they're just fine ...

Great minds think alike, 'cept I did it on the cheap! No ashtrays, don't like them! Maple bodied, as it's a VMJ. It is wearing DR Fatbeams, though!

I have this; Evil. Super neck. (think Sterling, or more less tapered jazz) Virtually flat fretboard. Plays brilliantly. Wasn't made for me. It's the prototype! 18v electrics, East E-pro EQ, Seymour Duncan Pick-up, active/passive switching, Series/Parallel switching. All I'd change is the fretboard- for Ebony or Maple, although the Rosewood is a good example of what it should sound like. As for Mike, I can't speak highly enough of him. One of the nicest guys I've met. Nothing is too much trouble, and he'll talk bass for hours if you let him. He knows his stuff! Seek him out in his Witham Workshop.

[quote name='EssentialTension' post='360125' date='Dec 21 2008, 11:46 AM']Fender American Deluxe Precision has a double J humbucker in the bridge position too but without a coil tap.[/quote] I own a Warwick Infinity SN4 with a "JJ" or TwinJazz (as they're also known), and have tried a precision deluxe. I got results I liked with both. The JJ subtly thickens the sound that a single J would give, and it suits my taste perfectly. I'd love an Attitude-a-like with a the big HB at the neck for bottom end, the split "P" in the middle for the good old precision thump and growl, and a JJ at the bridge (tapped of course) for tight, smooth mid and treble. 3v 3t passive out to do it!!

[quote name='Golchen' post='355168' date='Dec 15 2008, 04:37 PM']I wouldn't reccommend a calendar. My wife is very fussy about calendars and what she will and won't hang up - and there's only ever one! At work, we get sent loads of calendars so most get binned. As far as getting rid of Calendars - they only have a short shelf-life. I'd say Dec to Feb max, after that people don't want to think about calendars and they won't be any use next year! At least a CD can be given out/sold all year around. If you are giving away something it needs novelty value eg something like beermats, or specially packed condoms! Something that will amuse people.[/quote] Which is why we did fridge magnets! Loads of people we gave them to still have them even though the band are long since gone!

[quote name='Huge Hands' post='348520' date='Dec 8 2008, 12:43 PM']I just tried the online time check. No wonder I gave up drumming [/quote] I couldn't even get it to work and give a result. Going back to coils and magnets. Which is a pity, as I've got an electronic drum kit coming for Christmas...

Looks like someone spilt some emulsion on a "ChromeTone", but somehow missed the hardware... Edit- Does anyone else think that the neck looks "odd" for a Warwick- It looks Maple, and that normally only shows up on Neck Thru instruments (which this doesn't seem to be due to the lack of the little ramp behind the fretboard. All Bolt ons and Set Necks have a short fretboard extension that cover the neck/body join and allows for the (common) curvature on Warwick bodies. This one seems to have gone missing!

Just to second Artisan and Essential Tension, I loved the Precision Deluxe I tried, but I didn't want one at the time... Twin Jazz pick-ups at the bridge sound wicked- ask all the Dolphin/Infinity/Vampyre owners out there.

If you want to fully explore stereo and bi-amp options, a s/h Trace will suit nicely. I can't think of any other pre that allows both. Might be worth scouring the Bay...

Three strings is the way to go. So intuitive. Super-wicked for slap; It's all just Root, 5, octave in one fistful- or any other three-string chord for that matter! Two is okay. I've got to like the purity of the concept, but I'd tune them a fifth apart, so E,B rather than E,A. barre "chords" ahoy! and it increases the range somewhat. (Thinks) D,A for drop tuning might be better... They don't say how many frets-worth of fretless fingerboard there is; Double octave? Theoretically you could play it right up to the pick-ups if the surface allows! Does it have a truss-rod? Didn't see...

Methinks it is the talking (properly vibrating) length of the string- From bridge saddle to nut. I think I see what you're getting at; The fix that some people use to improve "B" string tension by putting less turns around the machine head than usual? I think that works by reducing the perceived elasticity of the string. As you pull on the string when plucking (or strike when playing percussively) the string stretches. It is anchored at the bridge (by a ball-end) and at the machine heads by wrapping the string around. This is a less substantial anchor, as the turns around the post can stretch ever so slightly, softening the feel of the string when plucked/hit. Less turns around the machine head = less length of elastic string stretching under load. This helps to improve the string response. Now I think about it, it's part of the reason that double-ball-end string designs often sound/feel so good.

[quote name='alexclaber' post='354197' date='Dec 14 2008, 01:08 PM']f=fundamental frequency L=scale length T=tension m=mass per unit length f=(1/2L)SQRT(T/m) (2fL)^2=T/m m(2fL)^2=T So tension is directly proportional to mass per unit length and also directly proportional to the square of scale length (so longer scales are better at adding tension than heavier strings). Alex[/quote] Fine. But this notwithstanding, it's easier to change "m" on any given bass than it is to change "L"! "f", I presume, is dependent on the pitch to which the string is tuned, with the other values changing accordingly as a result. And... Titanium strings? Even Titanium [i]coated[/i] strings? Kiss your frets goodbye as they are devoured by your exceptionally hard new strings! The [i]other[/i] Alex.

I had an 1110 as my first gig-able amp. I paid £150 for it S/H. When I sold it, it cleaned it up, and P/xed it for a 1048h and a 122HSMX combo. I got twice as much as I paid for it. Wonderful amp, but big and oh so heavy!

Do you want to use the rig in stereo (with 2 cabs)? Can the power amp be bridged? either way, if you end up with only one output on the pre and 2 inputs on the power, you can overcome this with a "Y" splitter cable. Most pre amps have a 1/4" out (or two) plus a DI. Ideally, I guess you'd want to keep the DI free for the PA/Desk. I use/have used; A Trace head which uses the GP12 SMX for its front end. An Ampeg SVP-Pro. A Peavey MAX. Hartke VXL (floor unit) MXR M-80 (floor unit) I used the two rack units (Ampeg/Peavey) with a QSC power amp, but the Ampeg seems to be very vulnerable to vibration (acoustic feedback) from cabs etc. The QSC went belly-up outside warranty, effectively sending me back to the Trace. It really depends what features you're looking for, too. The Ampeg is wonderfully musical, has a phenomenal range of overdriven sounds (but they're not switchable!), but seems to lack a bit of bottom end. The Peavey gets it right with the A/B, A+B channel switching, but bins it all again with mediocre tone, an evil click when you switch channels, and NO SINGLE MASTER OUTPUT! Not only do you have to set the gain for each channel, you have to use each channel's volume control to level match the two to avoid big jumps in level when switching between them. If you want to reduce the overall level, you have to use both the volume controls to turn it down, thus upsetting the balance... Fine if you use a volume pedal, but annoying if you don't. The Traces (the ones I'm thinking of) are reliable, sound "clean" and aren't too hefty. They are a 2u box, have a plethora of connections at the back, plus a front panel like the flight deck of Concorde. That said, I've never found that the valve in the input stage makes [i]much [/i] difference. It's certaily never given me any drive, even with the gain cranked. In summary, I'd say the Trace from my experience. I can't comment on the other units you mention as I've not used them, but you might want to try a Line6 POD XT Pro (the bass one...)

Dr FatBeams are great. Expensive, yes, but excellent tone, feel and longevity. Elixirs ARE good and DO last, but only on some instruments! If you've got a woody sounding Warwick, they can sharpen it up nicely (if that's what you want). They're excellent on my Zebrano/Wenge/Ovangkol Warwick Infinity SN4. I don't like them on Wooden-necked instruments with Phenolic fretboards (Yamaha & Vigier) They seem fine on graphite/phenolic neck/ board combinations. Elites are okay as a stop-gap. Warwick Yellows are pretty okay as a budget nickel choice Warwick Reds, Ernie balls and Rotos can be quite rough, and all three seem to die quickly. EBs seem to sound wicked on Stingrays (I wonder why?) I expected a lot from Warwick EMPs, but they were not good for me. Dead out of the packet. In summary DR and Elixir are both very good, but be careful exactly how you use them for the very best results.