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I bought 2 sets of Peacock Blue DR strings last December & they look great when you first put em on & then after a week they look scabby. I have went thru both sets of strings & both G's snapped in no time (about 3 months max outta each) which is pretty pants as I usually only change my strings every 6-12 months. They did sound good when I first put em on but dulled after a few weeks. I'm back with uncle Ernie. Don't bother with the not so good doctor!

You could try DIing to a power amp and firing it thru a decent cab. You should be able to get good stuff for less than a grand. Was that said already but with different words?

I tried the 210 combo in sound control about 1/2 a year or so ago & liked it. Rocking Rooster was doing them & the ext cab really cheap & was tempted to get but ended up with the MB 210 combo (which is better in my opinion). But yes, the Roland is a very good combo albeit heavy.

Quite like the sound of that micro synth. Anyone know how it would compare to the Akai SB1 or the Moogerfooger Bass Murf? I would like a good synth pedal for use in a couple of the songs we do.

Hi all, I had the privilage of using an EH White finger compressor whilst recording a couple of weeeks ago & since been looking to get one but have since seen there's a black finger which has 2 valves. Has anyone tried one of these & are they any good? Also inerested to hear anything about the EH bass micro synth? Cheeers, G

Couldn't advise on pedals as I only have a Zoom thing that makes a good tuner. I'm gonna hit Denmark St next weekend & see if I can find something good (maybe try a Prunes & Custard or a MoogerFooger). For amps, well I have a Markbass CMD 102P which is their 2x10 combo which I bought without even trying MB stuff & verrrrrrry happy with it. I would give this a try as it will give you that clear treble heavy sound you seek as well as deep bass to enjoy. But get down to Denmark St or any decent music shop & try some stuff out. If weight isn't an issue, then try GK & Ampeg. Ashdown is a bit marmite but they look great (that's probably a marmite opinion also). I done some studio work with this last week & just DI'd straight out the back, lovely recording!

Like is said above, try putting a different source into the combo & also try a different lead between bass & amp. If you can get hold of another amp & cab then try running a cab from the combo without the speakers on the combo plugged in & vice versa if possible. Process of elimination.

Have you checked the light works?

I have the SR1000 which I bought way back in 1990 & at the time was looking at a Status bass, but after having a shot on the Ibby, that was me. Now has more chips than Mac D's, but sounds amazing & compared to a lot of quality basses that I have played, I wouldn't part with it. Will get a pic up later.

I had electrostatic type noise when I first got mine. Cleaned the pickups & shield plates & all was well. As Basszilla says, "try another bass" as it may be the problem.

I've got one of their "Not so good" basses, which I bought for my first bass. I might try & get it back & get some pics of it. I did annihilate it's paintwork & did my own on it when I was a teenager (20 odd years ago) & the neck is a bit of a plank as far as I recall. Sh!t, I'm gonna get this back with me (I still own it) & give it a review, it's got me reminiscing! G

I know I already let you know what I set mine at, but it's good to see what other folk set their amps at & try em out. Obviously it is gonna sound different with each bass & how the instrument is set. Here's my settings at present for all to see: mid-bass knob turned back very slightly from flat & the rest of the eq on flat and set the two filters to about 1 (if you count the dots 0-6) Input gain set at about 2 & master out set to whatever is needed, which has never been above 2 yet!

still can't help but recommend the markbass cmd 102p. I've had mine a few mumphs now & it still amazes me how something so small & light can make such a big sound. I was looking at the GK combos also & reacon you can't go wrong there either.

+1 for the baby blue. One of the nicest sounding, tastiest looking little combos out there. I had looked at this for myself but the 120 watts just wouldn't cut it in my rock band without PA support. Markbass combos are defo worth a look. Small, light & loud & sound brilliant too. I got the 210 but it isn't exactly small, but then it's about the same size as 1/2 a 1/2 stack! & it weighs in at 20 kgs

Keep looking. I got a zoom 708II off ebay for less than £30. No psu & needed the power & input sockets resoldered but psu's can be had for way less than a tenner.

I got my cover from amplifiercoversonline. They're on ebay. Fits my CMD102P like a glove, excellent service & guarantee and you can get yellow piping.

I had a scratchy noise from my pups when my left hand run slightly over the strings. I removed the pups & give them & their holsters a good clean as there was loads of dust & crumbled orange foam from an old gig bag, cleaned up the shielding plates & checked they was earthed ok, popped em back in & set em back up (takes a bit of patience & messing about at very low & very loud volumes for me) and that was the scratchy noise gone. Dusty pups appears to be the main cause of scratchy noise from what I've read on tinterweb. Hope this helps a bit.

To tell the truth, soldering is a piece of pish. There's also a very good Fender spare parts website, if you need the address for it I can get it from my G*it****t as he collects Fender junk (no offense intended). PM me if needs be & I'll get you it & put it on here. PS, buy a decent soldering iron & some decent solder, it will be worth it in the long run.

I have to agree with bass ferret. If you're not gonna get to try any I would lean towards the GK & SWR stuff. Ashdown stuff looks great but it is a case of love or loathe. Ampeg is pretty pants unless you're going for the higher end stuff & then it seems to be either you love it or it's just not quite there. Try & get a blast on as much stuff as you can, it will help you decide what sound you're after. I saw that Trace rig & it seems like a good deal & the 15" would come in handy later for gigs. I've used a few Trace rigs & the earlier ones are better than the new ones.

For the past 18 years it's been my Ibanez SR1000. Has a brilliant range of tones, a very nice neck & is easy to play. Can't say more than that. I'm planning on getting a 5 or 6 string in about a year, perhaps a custom build or something.

Anybody tried Bailey guitars in Fife? They do a "build your own guitar" course & they intrigue me as I am saving to get a custom bass built.

Before I got my Markbass combo I was looking at Ashdown stuff (amongst others) & hoped that it was what I was looking for as visually I think Ashdown looks the dangleys. I tried an Ashdown rig (ABM 500 head thru a 210 & 115) and unfortunately it just wasn't my sound. I seriously hoped that it would be as I could get this for less than my combo. I like the MB sound as it makes my bass sound just like my bass & if I want it to sound different then I can use the two filters or effects are there to do that, but I do realise that this isn't to everyone's taste & that Ashdown may suit different styles of playing just as some people prefer Metal & some Jazz. If you couldn't get serious lows from that MB rig tho, I think there may have been some trouble with one of the components as I have broken things with mine.

When I first started it was early U2 & Talking Heads songs that I learned most of the time (well it was early 80's!). But if you hear a bassline in a song you really like then try & learn it, I prefer melody over speed but do enjoy the odd bit of tapping & quick runs. Good luck with the build. You should pop some pics up of your progress.

[quote name='molan' post='228226' date='Jun 27 2008, 06:46 PM']I'd spotted the semi as well & quite like the looks: Kinda Rickyish in places. £235 for a 4 or 5 string - would love to know what they are like. As an owner of a Korean Lakland I'm certainly not going to assume that because it's Korean it's rubbish![/quote] Headstock looks very Ibanez. Nice looking bass tho. Bet in 5-10 years they may be 5X the price, if they make some rep that is.

Was just having a look at ebay & came across the Alden Jupiter Bass. It says: "Alden guitars are the result of a collaboration between UK guitar guru Alan Lester David Entwistle( ALDEN ) and one of Korea’s leading guitar companies." Here's the link to the one on ebay: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Alden-Jupiter-Bass-Spalted-Maple-Top-4-5-or-6-String_W0QQitemZ180257578808QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item180257578808&_trkparms=39%3A1%7C65%3A1&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Alden-Jupiter-Bass-S...id=p3286.c0.m14[/url] I especially like the line that says "If you are not only "cheap" looking, but also quality" Who's gonna go & buy one & give us a review?