TPJ

I have an Ibanez. It's strung with flats instead of those horrible bronze things. Good variety of tone with the flexible eq. Not loud acoustically but there's enough volume to play along with a quiet guitarist. Sounds lovely plugged in.

[quote name='Mr Bassman' timestamp='1329849860' post='1548539'] I'm going to take Neil's bass to my gig tonight (finger permitting) to see how it performs. [/quote] Just make sure you give it back

I used the Hurley last all last night at the open mic. This is a place that I regularly attend and we use the same PA (2 Bose L1 Compacts, one on each side of the stage) and settings which helps for the comparison. The bass went into an MXR80 preamp. I know this may sound like an odd choice but it's quite neutral and it also serves as a preamp for the other bass players on the night. Please keep in mind that these results are my experience with my bass and my style of playing. Other results will vary The Hurley did a good job, both the guitarist and percussionist thought it sounded good and the guitarist liked the way it sounded in the mix (he runs the PA). I was standing right next to the PA and we had no feedback at all at a moderate volume. The tone to me had more clarity than the FC but didn't have the girth I get from the FC on my bass. In those two recordings the Hurley is brighter with a little more booty but that didn't seem to translate to the live environment as much as I though it would. Also, some notes jumped out more than others with the Hurley, but it still more than covered the job. I'm a little picky and I have a sound in my head that I can get with the FC. I'm sure with some dicking around on the eq the Hurley could do the same. In comparison to a BassMax which was used on this bass for a year, the Hurley sounds more natural. The BassMax always sounded a bit "plasticy". I don't know if that's because it was used with synthetic strings or if it's just the nature of that pickup. The BM has more low end than the Hurley but that isn't always what you want when running a double bass through amplification. It almost seems to me like it has a smiley face profile to it. The Hurley seems flatter in response. It would be great to hear other views from you BM owners about this. It could just be the way it responded to my bass. The Hurley represents very good value. The tone is articulate and usable and IMO will easily cover most styles with out too much fuss. Personally, I'm sticking with the FC on this bass but am planning on installing the Hurley when my EUB gets a revamp in the summer. Now, I'd like to offer the Hurley on trial to anyone who wants to try it, like Alex's Compact that made the rounds. Hopefully you will be gigging and can get some road miles on it to help with comparisons to other pickups you may be using or have used. It would be helpful for others if we can figure out generally where this pickup fits in the spectrum. If there is enough interest, I'll start another thread to keep track of the pup.

[quote name='artisan' timestamp='1329692850' post='1546159'] thanks for the comments everyone,it is nice though isn't it. i don't really have the space for it in my little house but i just had to have one [/quote] [quote name='Lazy James' timestamp='1329739781' post='1546480'] Very nice bass! I need to make some space for a DB........ [/quote] All you really need is a spare corner

Nice one Neil, looks lovely. Congrats

So, this pup is now installed, not too much fuss but I had to file down the treble side slot for it to fit. The Hurley has noticeably less output than the Full Circle. I played with the tightness of the Hurley a bit but that just changed the tone and not output really. To me the FC is fuller and more even up and down the register, but darker than the Hurley. The Hurley has a nice treble ping to the attack and a bigger bottom, almost sounds more "open". I made a few no frills recordings, this is the bass into an Art tube MP preamp into my audio device on the laptop. These were wavs that I converted to mp3 for size. Probably best to use head phones or good speakers. The bass is a cheap hybrid with med-high action and Velvet Animas. Be gentle on my playing The Hurley [attachment=100257:fc-hurley-compare-hurley.mp3] The Full Circle [attachment=100256:fc-hurley-compare-fc.mp3] EDIT: I tried to attach these files as mp3. It saves them with a different extension for some reason. If you download it then change the extension to mp3 it will play. Not sure how else to upload these. I tried Sound Cloud but it buggared the sound of the file and introduced noise

Give Jan a bell at Chapell Allerton Strings (North Leeds so not too far from you), he's always busy but always helpful

[quote name='artisan' timestamp='1329485060' post='1543176'] many thanks for the info i really appreciate all help. you've got me a tad worried about the sound post now though,if it's not in place will it definitely rattle ? if i move the bass around there is no trace of anything moving about inside i hate to bugger up my new toy. cheers [/quote] Just have a peek through the F hole, you'll see it standing between the front and back. Can't remember if it's right or left side. Also, if you have a heavy book or two (or anything about that weight), place them on the top over the sound post when the bass is on it's back. The weight should help keep the post in place.

[quote name='BassInMyFace' timestamp='1329474732' post='1542922']...You will rue the day you opened this can of worms!![/quote] Let's just hope it aint wood worms

Buggar, too far. I just finished playing bluegrass with local guys here in Leeds for about 2 years. Great great fun!

I'll try to get it sorted this weekend and run it at an open mic on Monday night to see what it's like.

rockabillybob1 is your man , hopefully he'll post with advice

They seem to get decent reviews on the double bass forum. Because of that, I bought one to put on my EUB but haven't got around to it yet. Maybe I'll file down the DB bridge and install it there. I could then compare it to the Full Circle.

[quote name='basskit_case' timestamp='1329308753' post='1540333'] I guess the G4M strings will suffice initially or are they [u]that[/u] bad?[/quote] Well, you gets what you pays for with £18 strings Aren't the NS strings suitable for a half size bass? They seem to be cheaper than some main stream strings

Extremely well engineered and built. Dave left no stone unturned with these. I had a play at lower volume on one and the flexibility of that crossover really sets these cabs apart. There are a few owners here that will hopefully be along to tell you more about real life gigging with them

[quote name='daflewis' timestamp='1329153441' post='1537990'] Gosh - I'm surprised that the honeys are lighter than the Evah weichs - Though I've never played them, so what would I know! I have played the standard Evahs though - just couldn't quite get on with the whole "stretchiness" thing.... [/quote] That was on my bass Daf, and as you know all basses are different The Velvet Animas that are living on it now are very close to the Honey's in tension and again, less than the Evah weichs, but this is just IME on my bass.

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1329131075' post='1537430'] Me too, H. Although doing it in public occasionally would be nice. I had 5 gigs in January but I have one (my own trio) between 30th Jan and 15th April.... That's one gig in 76 days. Total sh*te. [/quote] It's quiet out there

[quote name='tiki613' timestamp='1328964146' post='1535330'] thank Daf actually , i use evah pirazzi weicht , the tension is good , the honey have same tension? [/quote] I think the Honey's are less tension tiki. I've had both on my bass and prefer the Honeys as the tone bloomed more on the bass and the tension was less. The string diameter is considerably bigger than the Evah's though and if you like digging into a string, the Honey's give you more to grab.

pm'd BIMF

Well, any kind of preamp will help but you're right, the BP100 can be "challenging". I've used several preamps to good effect. DHA DI EQ, Art Tube MP, MXR80 (this works really well with my bass for some reason). Where are you based?

[quote name='daflewis' timestamp='1328789111' post='1532596'] Hi Artisan, As the guys have said there's quite a choice from innovation... here's a quick run down: [b]Silver/Golden Slaps[/b] Pretty much covered by the guys, the lightest slap string that innovation do, with a polished round wound outer wrap giving that "fuzzy rope" feeling - (though i probably wouldn't have described it quite like that myself!) Some people mention that you get quite a lot of noise when shifting position. Though primarily a slap string they finger pizz well with a nice toppy click at the front end, but don't bow well and are very breathy and scratchy . Very popular with slap players. [b]Super Silvers[/b] Based on the same idea as the silver slaps, but with higher tension. [b]Psychobillys[/b] A string similar to the super silvers in tension, But thicker. If the round wound feel of the Silvers puts you off there are a range of black nylon wrapped strings - these generally have a darker sound and bow (slightly) better (i must admit that i love the ultra black as a jazz string!) [b]Rockabilly[/b] black nylon coated medium tension string originally designed to replace gut for slap playing, but actually bows and finger pizz quite well too. A darker sound than metal strings but with some sustain and a good gutty slap. Well suited to straight ahead jazz and rockabilly (of course!) [b]Ultra Backs[/b] A black nylon wound string with a bit more tension than the rockabillys. A real dark horse this one, has a lovely punch to the pizz and a good amount of growl and sustain; it also bows surprisingly well. Finally we have the metal wrapped strings.... probably not what you're looking for but I'll mention them anyway - [b]140H "Honeys"[/b] A fairly low tension, slightly thicker than average, metal wound string designed primarily for jazz, but that bows very well too though with quite a “breathy" sound. They have a gutty thump at the front end with some sustain but a softer sound and less growl than most metal wound strings. The windings are non-ferrous so these strings will not work with magnetic pickups. (piezos are fine) [b]140B "Braid"[/b] Slightly lower tension than the Honeys and more flexible; a metal wound string designed primarily for arco work, but they do pizz well (though with a bit less sustain than the honeys). They have a great gut like sound and speak very quickly under the bow. Hope that's of some use! any questions just ask! Cheers, Daf [/quote] Daf, I'd ask the mods to sticky this bit, it's really useful info