Lfalex v1.1

[quote name='OldGit' post='305848' date='Oct 13 2008, 10:48 PM']Ha ha I was thinking exactly that when I saw it ...[/quote] And me...

[quote name='budget bassist' post='299070' date='Oct 4 2008, 02:14 AM']Pau ferro FYI. Good to see you back by the way.[/quote] Yes, 'tis Pau Ferro ([i]iron wood[/i]) and +1 on Beedster's return. Welcome back.

Thanks for the extra information! It does look like a choice between the Nordstrand NJ5S and Delano JMCV 5FE if the darker hum-cancelling sound is what you want. Do you think you will ever use the active EQ? If the pick-ups are powerful enough, you could convert it to a passive instrument, and use the 4 holes for; Volume Blend Neck tone (passive) Bridge tone (passive) That might be good, and not so expensive! If not, you could consider replacing the EQ...

2 quick questions / assumptions; * Your LX5 has 2 Jazz-style pick-ups. Aren't they single coils? Are you suffering from noise issues at the moment? * It currently has MEC pick-ups AND electrics I own an LX6, and due to the fact that (in 1997) there weren't any Js long enough to cover 6 strings-worth of spacing, it came with Seymour Duncan Soapbars as standard, yet retained the MEC 2 band EQ. It sounds better than MEC equipped LXs as a result, but it's only half way there.. My main complaint would be the lack of obvious headroom in the EQ. As a secondary issue, I don't like the EQ frequency set points much either. If your LX5 is Maple bodied (weren't they all?) and Wenge necked, there's a killer tone in there somewhere, believe me! My 2pence; Yes, change the pick-ups. I love the aesthetic of the JMCV 5FE, but don't rule out the single coil JC 5AL. (The Nordy link won't work) Do have a look at EMG, Bartolini and DiMarzio. Older High-spec Warwicks came with Barts and EMGs in the past. EMGs may be a bit sterile, though. However, I'd be inclined to ditch the MEC EQ. They just sound too "squashed" in some applications. Warwicks have plenty of space in the control cavity for EQ upgrades. Maybe get a 3-band EQ with a sweepable mid frequency. Even better if you can get something with trim pots to adjust the Bass and Treble frequencies as well... Check out Aguilar, East, Sadowsky, Duncan, Bartolini and so on. See what options are available. MECs aren't all bad. The ones in my Infinity work really well with that bass and Elixir strings. There's some real synergy going on there. But string choice is another matter altogether. Have you tried Warwick Yellow Labels? They're Nickels and less Hifi sounding than Blacks or EMPs.

[quote name='Waldo' post='300696' date='Oct 6 2008, 06:01 PM']Whilst we're here, we might as well tackle the question of how long a peice of string is.[/quote] I think that you will find that it is twice the length from the middle to one end The other answer being somewhere between 30 and 36 inches (for the most part) Sarcasm aside, it is a good idea to spend as much as is necessary to achieve the tone and features that you desire/require, with the sole caveat being that you intend to keep the bass indefinitely. No bass is "too good" for any player. A good instrument will encourage you to play more, get better, and grow into it. No point splashing out and then moving it on at a huge loss. Furthermore, allow your "collection" to grow, and it's lovely when you come back to an instrument that you haven't played in a while only to discover that your technique or ability has moved on sufficiently for you to be able to wring even more out of it. That really is satisfying.

[quote name='Hamster' post='298771' date='Oct 3 2008, 05:32 PM']A big +1 on DR strings. Sunbeams, Fatbeams and Hi-Beams are all really supple and a pleasure to play with.[/quote] Have another +1 for the Fatsos. And why, might you ask, are certain DR strings featuring so much? My theory is that the Sunnys and Fatsos (definitely) and the Hi-beams (possibly) use [i]round[/i] cores, which are more compliant in every plane of motion than their more common Hex-cored counterparts. Not cheap, but they feel good, sound good, play fast and last well.

Mmmm. These seem familiar... (Naturally) I've tried 3 of these; Nick's Blue Arpege, Ped's Natural S2/Marleaux modded and Luke's S3 Passion V. All a bit too "bass Jedi" for my aesthetic taste. So a bit of the Dark Side to compensate. Sorry. No better pics! Edit- Owned from new since April 19th 1997. Made Jan 1996. Sat in the (Wapping) Bass Centre in between.

+1 on R4! Otherwise, I side with OTPJ in that I over-analyse music that I'm exposed to. There's a cure, though; Work out [i]why[/i] you don't like a given band or song (in strictly musical terms), then the process becomes a more positive one. At least you can rationalize your dislike of said music. This, unfortunately, cannot defend against radio stations which play the same choons all day (or in my case, night)

IIRC some old Fenders had a strap button on the back of headstock. If that won't cure neck dive, I don't know what will! (Provided you can find a strap l-o-n-g enough!)

Alternatively, there's this; [url="http://www.fender.com/products/search.php?partno=0194060764"]Crikey! A Fender?[/url] The last one I played was very good indeed, even in stock form. Okay, it's a JJ, not an MM at the tail, but that beefs up the output considerably and banishes the hum compared to a single J. Sounded really good, and I'm not a fan of Fender Pre amps...

[quote name='BigRedX' post='297732' date='Oct 2 2008, 04:49 PM']I played a couple of these at the LGS earlier this year. Pretty good. The pickup and pre-amp is very flexible - lots of sounds there. However I was less impressed with the very V-shaped neck. This is probably the only high-end bass I've played where the neck shape actually made a negative impact on my perception of the instrument. Price-wise I think it's about right for the quality of the bass - provided that you like the neck because according to Martin Sims at the time they would all be like that (maybe this will change later after some more use feedback?)...[/quote] As they're bolt-ons, other luthiers may be able to make necks with people's preferred profile... seems a shame though. Surely they can't be more Toblerone-like than my Ovation?

Just as the title says, an opportunity to blow your own trumpet... Then suck it all back in again. I'm thinking in terms of everything that being a bassist encompasses. It may even prompt people to consider strengths/weaknesses that they never knew they had (here's hoping!) I'll kick it off; [b][u]Good bits[/u][/b] I can learn by ear relatively swiftly. Robust enough to carry heavy kit. Never had a problem with instrument weight My technique can't be all bad. I don't get aches and pains from playing. Never found a bass neck profile that is difficult to play. Good endurance levels. Can play for hours. Can stay awake for extended periods. Good for the post-gig drive home. My timing's usually good. Drummers like me. Don't mind Fretless. Just have to practice it to get my ear back in Limitless patience in recording studios Punctual [b][u]Bad bits[/u][/b] Limited Theory. Can't read (music) Can't do slap (!) I don't [i]get[/i] Reggae (from a playing point of view) yet I quite like it as a musical genre. I can't follow some Odd meters. No worries with "Take Five" or "Unsquare Dance", but Tool-esque "Math-rock" leaves me looking for "1"... I like Non-concert pitch tunes for some reason, but can't be bothered to re-tune to 439 or whatever just for one track. Sweaty mits. Ruin strings, and the frets on my Yamaha are going greener than an old church roof! I don't use effects. Surely it must be robbing me of some variety at some point. My weakest finger on my fretting hand is my middle. All the stuff I play seems to avoid major scales, and it doesn't get as much use as 1,3&4 Tendency to buy slightly bizarre/ unusual (but good) instruments You get the gist! what are your strengths and weaknesses?

[quote name='Waldo' post='297577' date='Oct 2 2008, 02:07 PM']They really need to work on that website if they're serious about selling anything......it's f***ing terrible.[/quote] Fair comment, but I'd rather that (in the early days, at least) the company concentrated on the product before shelling out on a glossy 'site.

I like the look of these. Have a clicky around the various pages, but do check out the PDF of the pick-up switching! That should cover most basses (sic) And with that EQ, too... (though I firmly believe that [i]only[/i] the Vigier Nautilus was overkill on the flexibility front) Only downside is the prices... And I'd want to try before I bought, of course. I also liked the look of the carbon coated cedar neck - very Gus! What say the learned basschatters? [url="http://www.enfieldguitars.com"]Enfield Guitars[/url]

I currently own 2; A '97 Wenge-necked Streamer LX 6 An '02 Ovangkol-necked Infinity SN4 Both are good instruments. The Infinity was a (new) bargain, simply because the set-up was truly evil and everyone assumed it to be rubbish. I've not had any technical gremlins except for the barrel jack working loose, and that's a pretty quick fix. If I were expanding my bass line-up and the right Warwick came along at the right price, I wouldn't let any nay-sayers put me off. Now I think of it, that comment applies to all makes of bass! Right bass, right price? Like it? Buy it.

[quote name='lemmywinks' post='293185' date='Sep 26 2008, 11:52 PM']Anyone here use rounds with pau ferro?[/quote] Yep. A 1990 Musicman 'Ray V. It's got a Pau Ferro 'board, and I've always used rounds. Doesn't get played an awful lot, but the wear is quite acceptable. Still on the first board. How much is a re-board, and with what frequency would you need to do it? I'd guess at £200 every couple of years, max. I'd not deem that to be too excessive. As for string choice, if you do go for full-on rounds, Nickels are kinder to fretless 'boards, but you may find that coated strings help balance out the damage between string coating and fingerboard.

Blades for polepieces (at the neck) is a good idea to capture the string output better at extreme excursions. I still think they sometimes want for a bridge pick-up. I'd be interested to hear what the rosewood board sounds like vs. the maple vs. the phenolic on my BS Sig...

[quote name='Platypus' post='290998' date='Sep 24 2008, 04:37 PM']'New Year gas' will have a very different meaning this year for many, as the big utility price rises kick in.....[/quote] ...Which was precisely what I was thinking. Save for a rainy (read cold) day.

Some cuts of Zebrano can be quite dark. Zebrano (Zebra Wenge) is an excellent tonewood, the only downside is it is vey dense and often needs to be chambered to keep the overall body weight down. This isn't such an issue with tops and caps.

[quote name='Protium' post='288866' date='Sep 21 2008, 11:39 PM']They're some seriously fat strings [/quote] I'd say my bad, but if we actually used just one measuring system; Either imperial or metric, it'd make life easier. I tend to use metric for fine measurement and imperial for the bigger stuff, hence the error. If I'd converted the gauges to metric absolutely no one would've known what I was on about!

I have the lot! Fender, Westone, Ovation, Hohner, Ibanez all with standard, centred dots. Squier VMJ with blocks. Vigier, Warwicks with nothing but edge dots. Yamaha Attitude BS Sig with Offset fingerprint markers. Iceni Zoot with offset (small) dots. Musicman Stingray5 fretless (unlined) with edge dots only. TBH, it doesnt' bother me! All I do need is edge markers on fretless basses. I'd like to try a fretted bass with no markers just to see how much I rely on them/ miss them if they're not there. Maybe something at the 12th? The only real no-no for me (oddly) would be LEDs. I know some people like/need them, but they're not for me.

[quote name='Oscar South' post='287878' date='Sep 20 2008, 10:40 AM']I've toyed with this idea, I'd just go with CGDA cello tuning though.[/quote] I Went DAEB so I could have at least one string at or around it's normal pitch/position on the neck for reference, and to avoid gauge/tension issues. Oh, and to appeal to drop D crowd (conceptually, at least!) Not that I knew the Cello's tuning was CGDA!

Whilst wildly philosophising and rationalising last night at work, I ended up approaching the subject of the tunings of (orchestral) string section instruments. As far as I know, they're all tuned in fifths. Cellos certainly are. Basses are the only exception. They (as we all know!) are tuned in fourths, presumably because of the fingering issues that would occur on an instrument with a 41" scale. But most electric basses are not [i]that[/i] long. They range from short (around 30" - or 22" if you own an Ashbory) to around 35 or 36" (although there are longer) Cellos have roughly a 34" scale length. Like your average bass. So I thought; How about tuning a 4 string: (Low/Drop) D (.110) (Regular) A (.085) (up from D) E (0.50) (down from high C to) B (0.35) (I think that's right. Someone please confirm or correct. I didn't have any instruments or equipment to suss it out on) String gauges were a best guess, and it might take some alteration to get the tension feeling roughly right. But look at the range! on a 24-fretter, it's only 4 semitones (in relative terms) short of covering a concert-pitch tuned 6 string. Oh, and the chordal possibilities look good too Anyone done it? Anyone have any input or ideas? I reckon the nut might need replacing. Saddle travel maybe an issue for intonation Truss-rod might need adjustment to cope with the slightly "odd" tension in the strings. Thanks everyone! Alex

Following on from BOD2's post; Re; Alder (and Poplar. And possibly Sycamore) None of these are famed for their quality/differentiation in grain, nor for their natural colour. Sure, some bits will look nicer than others, but they're not even in the "A" league, let alone the "AAA" or better used in visually impressive instruments. All three have been used in well respected instruments- Alder is everywhere; Fender, Yamaha, Ibanez, Musicman and so on. Musicman have used Poplar under solid colours before. Burns Bisons (the Orignals) were Sycamore. With regard to thinner bodies, not only is there a grading scheme for appearance, but lighter cuts of a given wood tend to be a bit more expensive, too. Therefore, to keep costs down, cheaper bodies may use the heavier cuts. This has the knock-on effect of making the instrument heavier than might be desirable. The solution? Thinner bodies!!!

Most definitely not up for sale... I wish I'd bought the other Purple one I found a couple of weeks later!