Lfalex v1.1

There is merit in the idea that the electric bass guitar in its current form is [i]ergonomically challenged[/i] The original concept, be it the the '51 "P", the Rickenbacker "Frying pan" or any of an number of alternatives, remains the bastard offspring of the upright (orchestral) bass and the electric guitar. Whilst few of us would dispute Leo's contribution to the inception, evolution and continued evolution of the electric bass guitar, there's no guarantee that he was necessarily barking up the right tree, so to speak. Hats off to Ned Steinberger for a valliant attempt to address what he felt were the shortcomings of conventional instrument design. Unfortunately, that was driven more by a desire to produce a minimalist desgn than a truly ergonomically driven re-appraisal of bass or guitar design. That notwithstanding, the materials used coupled to the design did advance thinking about what a bass could be, and how it could be constucted. Similarly, the aforementioned Kubick Ex-Factor approach tried to address what Phil Kubicki felt to be shortcomings in bass design. He kept a headstock (of sorts) to facilitate the "extension" to "D" His design also permitted a broader choice of strings than the Steinberger design allowed (being initially limited to double ball-end strings), as the headstock anchored the ball-ends, and the bridge the "free" end. That is the logical conclusion of re-assessing the issues caused by mounting tuners on the headstock (excess weight in the wrong place, causing neck-dive) and of dealing with the Steinberger design's limitation of string choice. I haven't played a Torzal "Twist" design (yet) but I HAVE played Steinbergers, Kubickis, and Dingwalls (Novax fanned-fret designs) All have something different to offer, be it the compact nature of the Steinbergers, the Flexibility of the Kubickis or the optimised scale length/ tone of the Dingwall. To me, the primary issues centre around; Weight Balance Upper-fret access Comfortable plucking hand position. (I like the full length thumb-rest on the new design study and various ramps as fitted to some basses) How these are achieved are specific to each design. What I am glad of is the relative restlessness of the bass-playing community (compared to our guitar-playing brethren) when it comes to attaining the pinnacle of playablilty / tone. We'll try anything once, whether it's active electrics, new pick-up designs, material advances or new design trends/advances. Ultimately, this gives us, the consumer (or more importantly, player!) more choice to fit our needs. Long may it last!! Keep on inventing!!

Aren't the polepieces made of different materials. I don't know when the change took place, but there was a change from Alnico to Ceramic at some point.

Wouldn't want an Ovangkol-necked one. But I have a '97 Wenge-necked LX VI The neck is large but comfortable. Came with Duncans in as standard as I don't think MEC do anything wide enough to cover 6 strings. LX IVs seem to come as both PJ and JJ LX Vs come as JJ LX VIs all sport soapbars of varying types (Duncan/Bartolini seem common) [b]Good bits[/b]; Build quality's okay (they're German, after all. think mine was from Eggolsheim) Good choice of woods on the '97-'98 (Wenge neck, Wenge f.board, Maple body) Good basic tone. Quiet- in terms of electrical noise. All Warwicks I've played seem good in this respect Comfortable shape and acceptable balance even on a 6 [b]Not-so-good bits[/b]; Maple bodies are HEAVY (esp the sixers!) 4 string neck profile is a matter of taste (I prefer the flatter-backed 5 or 6 string) MEC pick-ups and EQ are a bit lack-lustre (IMO!) The SDs in mine make it better, but the EQ still seems crude. Might eventually change it! Looks not for everyone (although at 20-odd years old, the body's almost a modern classic!) As stated above, it's possible to get a better-spec Warwick at a good price on the used market. It's a buyer's market at the mo'

[quote name='bass_ferret' post='145784' date='Feb 23 2008, 11:23 PM']Dont you know an excuse for GAS when you see one. The preamp in the Jap MM is not the best and a few guys have souped it up with an EBS preamp or the proper Sadowsky fitted to Marcus own bass.[/quote] Don't East do one? I think it's available with or without the scratchplate attached (?)

[quote name='gary mac' post='145838' date='Feb 24 2008, 08:53 AM']Thanks for the replies chaps. Think I will have to try out another one then. Any recomendations for stockists around Herts/Essex?[/quote] Mine's a good 'un. Now wears a BadAss II and DR FatBeams plus a FatFinger. Changed the control knobs to black Schaller ones with "dents" in so I could see how they're set. Left it passive with original pick-ups in. Sounds great to me. Plays well, too. Mine came from GAK and was ok from the box. Essex / Herts? PMT (Southend/Romford) Allegro Music (Chelmsford / Colchester) The Chelmsford branch had one with a nice 2 piece body a few weeks back. Try phoning to see if they've got them in stock...

Just an aside, really, but maybe a helpful one (?) What strings are you using? I have a love/hate relationship with the Fender Marcus Miller Jazz. (Although I don't own one, I've come close several times!) Love the shape & Feel Hate the messy scratchplate and can't get on with the sound from the EQ. I love it when run passive, but there's no passive tone! So... I thought I'd have a go at pimping a Jazz on the cheap, and wanted to aim (loosely) for a take on the Miller tone. My wife bought me a Squier 70's VMJ, I added a BadAss II and some better (Schaller) control knobs, but left the electrics alone. Attached my customary FatFinger (well... I like them!) and was quite happy with it. It played well and sounded good. When the stock (cheapo steel roundwounds) strings died, I thought I'd have a bit of a little joke and fit some [b]DR Marcus Miller FatBeams[/b] Oh my. What a difference. I'm sure I don't need to extol the virtues of good quality strings, but these really did the trick! As with everyone's bass tones, there are a number of components; The player and their approach / technique The type and quality of their strings and how these respond to the player's input The way in which the strings are mounted to the body and the construction method/s and materials employed in the instrument's manufacture The type and quality of the instruments electrics and how these transcribe the motion of the strings into an electrical signal Subsequent modification of this signal by effects, amplification, cabinet choice, cables etc. I may have put "strings" further up that list than some may be comfortable with, but don't overlook their importance in determining your sound. For £30 or so, it's worth trying them on both your MM Jazz and/or your Thumb to see if you like what they have to offer in terms of playability and tone, then proceed from there! Sorry for the long post!!

I love these. And live too close to Colchester for comfort. Only one gripe... Must... Have... Black... Hardware!! (And I can live without the LED markers, too!)

I've an Ash bodied 2004 MIA S1. All Standard, using Fender 7150 40-100 Nickels. It's nice and mellow and feels like a comfort blanket. It's one of the best Jazzes I've ever played. I tried it as a stalking horse against a Variax I intended to purchase, and it all went a bit wrong... For a more modern take on the Jazz experience, I have a modded Squier 70's VMJ, with a BadAss II and DR Fatbeams on it. Totally different basses, and I've little prejudice over where they're built. Other Fender Flavours I'd favour; USA Precision Deluxe (but swap out the preamp) Roscoe Beck Signature (preferably a 4!) Highway 1 "P". Played some nice ones Japanese Aerodyne. Them nice translucent blue ones appeal.

My current faves are DR FatBeams. I Discovered them on a whim, and now fit them to most of my basses. They sound superb on both my Squier VMJ and Vigier alike. Cheap? Not really. (£25-30) Excellent tone and ease of fretting. Really good durability for a non-coated string. For the ultimate in longevity, head for Elixirs. Stay Zingy for donkey's yonks...

The Warwick $$ (Double-buck) configuration mentioned above is a good reference point. It has 2x MEC Open-poled "Musicman" style Humbuckers, which may be independently configured (by 2 3-way switches) as; Single Coil Parallel Series Other controls; Volume (probably passive on a pull-up pot if it follows Warwick convention) Pan Bass Treble Check out G&L basses, too. They use a similar, if less flexible system, and sound great. Have a look on Warwick.de's support pages under the $$ models. They'll likely have a PDF of the wiring diagram to download. +1 to what everyone else has said about the various sounds/ tones on offer.

[quote name='alexclaber' post='143692' date='Feb 20 2008, 02:04 PM']I'm not quite sure what's stranger - that thread or that I had just been wandering through wikipedia ending up here: [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paddy_Ashdown"]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paddy_Ashdown[/url] Having started here: [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shotgun"]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shotgun[/url] Alex P.S. I can't believe Americans go hunting with pump action shotguns, have they no manners?![/quote] Maybe Remington need to make a [i]Precision[/i] model. A bit more subtle (read accurate!)

[quote name='clauster' post='143178' date='Feb 19 2008, 04:36 PM']Weren't the Trace Elliot BLX range horn loaded?[/quote] Not exactly! They had two slotted ports in a baffle in front of the (single) 12"(?) Driver. More like a very short back-to-front transmission line enclosure...

(Rob Trujillo favours Fernandes (but they're "Custom Shop" jobs)) Mine? Marcus' 77 Fender Claypool's outrageous stripey Carl Thompson fretless VI But liking the idea of basses with tales to tell; Herbie's P Guy Pratts '64 Burgundy Mist Fender J with the EMGs in...

[quote name='Stewart' post='143450' date='Feb 19 2008, 10:59 PM']Definitely the next step...[/quote] Busted Core or Dodgy Windings! A swap is worth a try!

[quote name='David Nimrod' post='143536' date='Feb 20 2008, 09:14 AM']+1 to that... I think pickups should ideally be matched in output... How about the MM + J Sandbergs et al... that can't be good either?[/quote] Ah... They kind of get around that. Most such designs; Musicman H/S Warwick Infinity/Dolphin/Vampyre Equivalent Sandbergs et al Have the HB or TJ at the bridge and the single J in the mid or neck position, where the string excursion is greater. Greater string excursion = Greater perceived output level. This helps to fix the issue, particularly if the pole-pieces are "blades", which can detect/transcribe larger excursions than single / paired pole-pieces. MEC (Warwicks) and Bartolini use the said blades in their MM / TJ and [i]some[/i] J designs.

I actually do the "cocktail stick trick" to new basses when I fit Schaller compatible strap buttons to them. Saves a lot of aggro later on. And for the record, the buttons on my Vigier haven't moved in 11 years. Come on, Patrice, what's your secret? I've never even had to tighten them once!

The PJ, whilst a useful combination, can hum. How much is determined by the relative levels of each pick-up as determined by the volume controls. The exception to this is if the J is a "stacked" or "side-by-side" design, which actually makes it a closet humbucker anyway! (Then there's the Twin J from the Deluxe P, but that's a different design again!) I've always felt that the single coil aspect suffers relative to the split "P", which is possessed of a higher output, and is less subtle sounding. Anyone wanting to hear this writ large should check out another Fender hybrid (this time a guitar); The thinline or custom Telecaster. It has the Fender rip-off of a Gibson humbucker right up at the neck, and the slanted 6-pole single-coil mounted in the bridge plate itself. Can sound great, but I've watched mates at rehearsal wrestle with one all night to try to balance the volumes such that when you flick the selector switch, the levels stay the same (not an issue for the bass, though!)

Don't know what year exactly, but I reckon it IS 80's... A Westone Raider One. Lots of pointy Jackson/Washburn/BC Rich/Matsumoko output on here...

[quote name='dlloyd' post='143130' date='Feb 19 2008, 03:48 PM']*thinks long and hard*... Nope... Don't get it. Was somebody cruel to you over there?[/quote] Not me personally, but it's not without precedent... Besides, I have an all-original 1990 Stingray Fretless V as an insurance policy!

[quote name='Doc B' post='142881' date='Feb 19 2008, 08:39 AM']LOL - Thanks for posting that - It has an almost surreal quality on this side of the Atlantic. Nice one.[/quote] What's scary are the almost diametrically opposed viewpoints combined with useful comments about; Turkeys Fender Amps Remington Pump-action shotguns plus some good (and bad) logic and some off-the-wall US Humor (sic) That, and the fact that it's nearly all well-intentioned "advice"! Just be grateful it wasn't a similar question on the EB forum! Gotta love them, though!

[quote name='Rich' post='142936' date='Feb 19 2008, 10:32 AM']Good god, it does doesn't it? [attachment=5730:sheehan.jpg] Well... get thee to a luthier! It needn't be expensive.[/quote] Ha Ha. Love the photoshoppe! Knowing my preferences and tendencies, it WOULD be expensive!!

I like the chrome red finish. However, I share the concerns about pick-ups and the change to a rosewood (?) fretboard. Note also the lack of fretboard scallops in the upper registers. Looks like another cost-cutting measure. Still, if it sounds good / plays well and is good value, then fine! Besides, I should worry... It's a good instrument, but I'd love to build an Attitude-a-like that would fit my preferences; *Jazz neck width & profile (!) *Neck HB and split "P" as per the Attitude. *A tap-able Twin "J" at the bridge (an idea borrowed from the "PJ"s, Warwick Infinity and Fender Deluxe "P". *Passive electrics. *A slightly longer horn on a basically "P" body (probably Alder) to prevent the Attitude's slight tendency to dive. Don't know about controls or hardware, but it'd be able to approximate the sounds of quite a few instruments, plus give a few unique tones of its own...

[quote name='LukeFRC' post='140755' date='Feb 15 2008, 12:56 AM']meh if it sounds good ild play it.[/quote] Ditto! Especially if it plays well, too!