Lfalex v1.1

I hit the configurator for a Sacramento to specs I liked and ran up $2850 in the blink of an eye. Ok, I had; Chambered body, Zebrano top, vintage white rear body and an Ebony 'board But that's still very expensive..

I've tried that on bass finishes before.. with "interesting" results. I was attempting to cut out some deep scratches in a red-stained flamed maple Warwick. It vaguely worked, but in the process altered the flattish finish to what Warwick would call "high-gloss" Expect a VERY slippery finish when complete!

I like the look of these, but wish they'd gone for a shorter scale 32-35 (or thereabouts) which could really sweeten the high C /G strings. I don't care for the finish, but that could be changed. What bothers me is the bridge alignment issue (if it's not limited to your example) Then it's out with the electrics... That said, it's a good price, even at £299.

Filling pot holes? Don't ask your local council, they don't have the budget, and they'll take forever.

"The bassist's phone number" "Turn down" (vocals only through PA...)

Hand of Doom - Black Sabbath

I learned little from these. I already knew I was an chocolate starfish, but am not a psychopath. It seems I also don't have my finger on the pulse of mainstream contemporary music. But I knew that, too. And all this from "Hotel California" and "My Sharona"...

Can you get to Bass Direct? Or, in fact, any large/reputable bass retailer? If at all possible, I'd go and try everything within my budget with 5 strings on it, irrespective of whether I'd heard of the brand, liked the colour etc. It's worked well for me in the past. And sometimes even saved me money!

^ This ^ I'd saved enough for a Variax bass (back in the day) and was genuinely excited to try one. I had a lengthy noodle in music shop and made the mistake of grabbing some other instruments to compare it to; Stingray 2eq MIA Jazz S1 Streamer LX5 And quite apart from playability, they all sounded more immediate and less synthetic than the Variax. None more so than the Jazz, which I purchased instead!

I see what you're getting at, but for ease of manufacture/set-up, Hamer assume (or specify?) that the two octave-higher strings are of the same gauge. They should behave in a fairly similar manner as far as intonation is concerned. If the Fundamental string is twice the gauge of its two higher-pitched buddies, I reckon you'd get close enough. My issue with that approach is that in reality the intonation for each group of strings would probably end up being a compromise that sounded workable rather than correct intonation per se.

Down-strokes with a plectrum, I guess!

(I didn't buy it) That's quite a thing. More Tuner than the Pacific and more controls than a nuclear power station!

Another vote for an SMX of some sort. I really liked mine.

I'm sure the amp/cab are fine, but I found his technique and musical chops more interesting! And the bass. Looks like a Streamer, but what's with the rout under the tailpiece?

Keep the Badass... If the pickups are SD Baselines, I'd leave those in there, too. Am I right in thinking it's got a grease bucket tone pot? I'd leave that, too. So... Er... Wot Geek99 said! Maybe change the pickguard, though.

Theoretically, yes. If your bass is unmodified, then that is what should happen. Pull up the knob, and the EQ section is bypassed. Unless your bass has been modified.. The level shouldn't drop too much as you switch from "EQ on" to "EQ bypass". My Hohner B2AV has a trim pot to lower the output of the EQ stage to match its passive mode better, so no big volume jumps are evident when you switch. The tone just changes.

Yep. What you've said seems correct. Skipping to last question, Active pickups are so called because they have an active component (a small amp, often in the pickup housing) which raises the output of the pickup. Such a pickup frequently has fewer windings (coils) and possibly a weaker magnet assembly. The pickup will still work without the active part, but the output is lower. The benefit of less coils is (potentially) less noise. Weaker magnets mean less string drag for a given distance from the string, which can help improve sustain, especially if there's lots of magnet assemblies (HH stingray, for example).Finally, the pickup amp may well buffer or load the EQ stage in a way that improves its performance.

depends where you have the tone control, the cap will affect where and how the tone will roll off - but with it open it will have no effect. The resistance of the pots however have a massive effect on the loading of the pickups and therefore the tone. Pickup loading is more important that people seem to realise, even active basses- how the signal is treated before the pickup makes a difference - I like the cleverness of the stingray preamp where the pickup feeds at full volume into the preamp and the volume is after the preamp. From my understanding, that's the way it should be done. It'd improve signal/noise ratio in the (internal) EQ/preamp no end. As long as you don't clip the said preamp with too hot a pickup output it'll be just fine. The volume control (master) also ought to be the last in the signal chain before the power stage in a head or combo. I can't see why anyone would do otherwise.blockquote widget

Proper nice, that is.

I've gone for a broad spread, even after having to sell a good few to help fund a divorce and subsequent house move. NS CR5 upright electric with contemporary strings. Halfway between a fretless and upright in sound and feel. Vigier Passion 5 (series III) That's the through-neck option sorted. 2 pickup active with bypass. Warwick Infinity SN4. Set Neck covered. 2 pickup active with coil tap (HB and SC) Warwick Fortress Masterman 5. Big single pickup, split in two with an active EQ for each coil. Weird, but good. Ibanez EDB605 because everyone needs a plastic bodied bass with a 3band EQ 10 String Rosewood Chapman Stick. I still need to work out a way to tune the bass side in 4ths as I don't need the range that 5ths gives and most of the lines I play were written on instruments tuned in 4ths. Scattershot approach for me, but it's not as random as it looks!

A little knowledge is dangerous, but I'll share what I have in the hope that it helps. The pickups are original, and should be active. The passive MECs have a silver script on them. I thought all Thumbs had an 18v eq system that took two 9v batteries (for extra headroom). It was certainly the case in the 1997 NT Thumb I tried. Yours has only one battery holder, though. Could this be the reason for the potential modification as supposed in the previous post. Hope this helps a bit.

(Personally) If I were making an instrument that turned to low F#, it'd be a six or a seven, tuned F#, B, E, A, D, G, C (lose the high C for a six). But the sourcing and cost of the strings! Ouch. What gauge does one use for low F#? I find it slightly odd from a marketing point of view. I'm sure they're perfectly competent all-round instruments, but they seem to have "gone with the flow" around the emphasis on (prog)Rock/metal(core). On the face of it, that's fine, but there's the potential of alienating certain segments of the bass-playing community. Consider pointy Jacksons/Charvels and similar BC Rich basses. Great in a thrash band. Probably great for most music, but most players wouldn't consider one. If it's a larger chunk of the market they're after, then a demonstrable improvement upon (or at least credible alternative to) the Fender P, J and PJ is a good way to start. That's why I'm surprised at the Super P and Super J not having cheaper brethren. The most traditional offering, the super PJ4 (32-34.25 inch scale) might well be lovely, but bass direct have it listed at £3250.. Dingwall also now have competition from these headless Ibanez models. They may also have limited appeal, but Ibanez make a broad selection of other models.

On further viewing of the Dingwall site, it appears that only the Super P and Super J would fit my scale length preference. And they aren't cheap! I wonder why the "cheaper" models only come in 34-37 inch scale? And there seems to be a lot of emphasis around on their being a Hard Rock/Metal instrument, which I find odd.

Let's hope no-one brings up "Fenders", then.. That gets really confusing.

It is difficult to establish. The best sounding two low strings I have are on an NS CR5 EUB (42" scale and who knows what gauge- it's big) And the low C on my Chapman Stick (36" scale but smaller gauge than you'd think. It's a mix of design, materials/construction, string gauge and scale length. I'd hope that electronics and string choice (in terms of manufacturer, material and type) would make less of a difference.