4000

[quote name='ped' post='532017' date='Jul 3 2009, 08:54 PM']I think we have similar tastes bass wise Mike - of all the BCers basses I have played yours is up there as one of the best playing, IMO[/quote] +1 (it's the only BCers bass I have played but it certainly floats my boat. Awesome.)

[quote name='6stringbassist' post='490585' date='May 17 2009, 03:15 PM']I ordered my fretless 6 in October and paid £400 deposit. I asked Martin if I could pay off the balance during the wait time (12-14 months), but he said he'd rather have it all when the bass is finished.[/quote] I think he always prefer to wait 'til it's finished. Maybe there's less incentive to finish it otherwise.

[quote name='urb' post='489153' date='May 15 2009, 06:03 PM']I have Nordy Fatstacks on my Single cut Sei and wasn't dissapointed, and I've read good anecdotal reviews of the NSJ4 J pups by Nordy as well, those are going on my new Sei J bass... so I'll let you know if they sound any good, I know Mr Freak isn't really a fan but so far they've worked out just fine for me, and no "hype" was involved in my decision Mike[/quote] Mike's s/cut sounds awesome, one of the very best sounding basses I've ever played, so I can vouch for that!

[quote name='Clarky' post='531891' date='Jul 3 2009, 06:09 PM']I can't see that a string height of just 1mm would allow sufficient space for the string to vibrate freely - surely you could only get away with that if you played with very lightest of touches? Anyone hitting the string even medium-hard with a pick or digging in with their fingers would just end up with a buzzing, clacking mess[/quote] I think you answered your own question i.e. it works if you play with the lightest of touches, which many do. With a low action I can get the same effect as someone with higher action digging in but by playing lighter. Best of all worlds. Of course I may not get as big, fat and round tone as someone with high action, but that's not really what I'm after (for me the twang's the thang!), and as Eddie Van Halen says, why make it difficult for yourself? BTW, check out my comment re Flea; an extremely low action worked for him and he seems to dig in.

I have both and mainly use a pick.

[quote name='chris_b' post='531882' date='Jul 3 2009, 06:01 PM']Surely this is the difference between the guys who rock and the guys who twiddle?[/quote] Ah, but I try and do both... FWIW, I play with a pick most of the time (even more so now with nerve problems in my arms) but I play very, very lightly. I actually play lighter with a pick than many guitarists I know, so I have absolutely no need to have high action. As for digging in, I can do that, but it's all relative, and my basses are generally set up to accommodate that. Assuming the board/frets are optimum, everything depends on how you strike the strings; JPJ for instance hits the bass fairly hard so would need a higher action. Entwistle played very lightly and had an incredibly low action. Strangest is Flea, who seems to play fairly hard but used to have an action of 1mm. Go figure, as they say in the US.

[quote name='Prosebass' post='531508' date='Jul 3 2009, 11:21 AM']Nothing wrong with that Chris , I know a physicist and a jolly nice fellow he is too.... String height makes a big difference as to how hard you can "strike" the string and the harder you can strike it the more amplitude (movement) the string will have and the more you will notice the minor harmonics although that depends on where you are fretting the note and where your pick-ups are positioned also , so as you will appreciate there are a lot of variables. Action is very personal and depends totally on how you play and what you want a bass to do for [b][u]YOU[/u][/b] One thing to note though is that action at the 12th is meaningless if the bass is set-up wrong with regard to nut height / neck bow / bridge height. A correctly set-up bass in all these respects is essential, its no good changing one thing (ie saddle height) without redress to the nut and neck. And yes , the intonation is affected everytime you alter you action and again the amount is dependant on the other factors of the nut and neck bow. Indeed you may find that what a bass needs is the nut setting correctly and not the neck adjusting... Paul[/quote] +1

[quote name='Rich' post='531495' date='Jul 3 2009, 11:12 AM']If you spend £300 on a bass and it does everything you want and plays how you want it to, then it's worth every penny to you. If you spend £1500 on a bass and it does everything you want and plays how you want it to, then it's worth every penny to you. If you spend £3000 on a bass and it does everything you want and plays how you want it to, then it's worth every penny to you. etc.[/quote] +1000. Great post. BTW Alex, I've tried 36" scale several times, and I don't think it's for me. I tend to go the other way. Everything else sounds great though!

[quote name='Tait' post='531247' date='Jul 2 2009, 11:38 PM']i guess, but is it really worth it? don't we make music so that others can listen to it? whats the point in spending an extra £1500 when none of the listeners will notice the difference, really? i dont know, i understand your point, and its natural for a player to want to sound their best, even if no one else is going to notice, but i just don't see that its worth the silly prices some pay for a boutique bass, to sound that little bit better when no one other than the person playing it is going to tell the difference. especially as i see the point of making music to be solely to please the listeners, i see music as entertainment. but i know others see music as much more than that, and i guess it may be more important to them, but even then i think its difficult to imagine that i could ever spend that much on a bass.[/quote] Obviously we have a huge difference of perspective here, because ultimately I write and play for [i]my[/i] enjoyment first and foremost. If someone else likes it, fine, if not, fine. There is absolutely no pointing using someone else's opinion as a benchmark for what you want. It might be the entire audience thinks that the best bass sound in the world is Jamerson's when you think it's Mark King's, or vice versa. To be honest half the typical audience wouldn't care what it sounded like as long as they could either hear or feel it. Is that sufficient for you? My question here would be do you write music, or write your own parts? Do you aspire to your own tone or your own style? Are you striving for something creatively? In essence, is music about creativity to you? It is for me. Entertainment is a hopeful byproduct, but even if no-one else ever listened to my music, I'd still be writing and playing (and let's face it, that's often the case ). Moving back to the boutique question, and ignoring my personal favourite Ric for the moment, I've played several Shukers (a cross section of styles, from a JJ Sig to headless), although none that were built for me. The Seis I've owned have been far better basses for what I want. My £3.5k Alembic also blew them into the dust, [b]in my opinion[/b]. Which for me is all that counts. So yes, absolutely worth it for me. I wouldn't have paid £1500 for the Shukers I've played because they didn't work for me (although I'm sure John could build something that did), but I was happy paying over £3.5k for the Alembic. Of course YMMV. Also bear in mind that whereas £3k may seem a fortune to some, it isn't to others. Of course it also depends how much you want something....

They are if they're worth it to you (haven't we had this thread before?). Bear in mind spending the money doesn't mean you'll get the best bass ever, because the best bass ever (as with many things in life) may not be quite what you expected. If you have a very fixed idea of what works for you then you may get close to your ideal, certainly nearer than anything else out there, but by the same token because every instrument sounds different you still might not get quite what you were expecting however much you spend. I love boutique basses, have owned quite a few and played dozens, but my favourite sounding bass that I've ever played is still my '72 Ric, which cost me £490 in 1993. I've owned basses that have cost in excess of £3.5k, but that's still the one for me.

[quote name='silverfoxnik' post='530106' date='Jul 1 2009, 11:19 PM']+1 Most basses that I've played with really low action sound great in isolation but don't seem to have enough body in the tone to cut through in the way that I like to hear when I'm playing in a band setting.. Having said that, I think it totally depends on what music you're playing, what you like to hear when you're playing and also, the way that you play..I'm not sure there's a definitive 'right way' or 'wrong way' about it.[/quote] +1.

[quote name='GreeneKing' post='530969' date='Jul 2 2009, 07:23 PM']Actually thinking back, that's how Richard Bona writes music Thanks for the advice I'll get stuck in.[/quote] That's how I've always written music too. I hear it all in my head, more or less complete, and then it's just a matter of getting it all out, most of which involves a good deal of singing, although not necessarily a deal of good singing.

[quote name='jakesbass' post='530951' date='Jul 2 2009, 07:11 PM']Sing the bassline.[/quote] +1. For what it's worth, I've never looked at tab or chord charts in my life. Everything by ear for nearly 30 years; I sometimes think if I didn't have such a good ear I might actually knuckle down and work on my theory and reading.

[quote name='thedontcarebear' post='529985' date='Jul 1 2009, 09:24 PM']That is shoreline gold isn't it?[/quote] +1....

Just adjusted the neck of the Sei Melt (forgot I put slightly different gauge strings on the other night, 40-100 from 40-95); a gnats under 2mm at the 12th E to about 1.5mm at the 12th G. I think I'd need a fret dress to get to Ped's action. FWIW all of this depends on how hard you pluck, but also how hard you fret.....a fellow bassist once commented on how lightly I fret the strings, barely pressing the strings at all, and my plucking (except when I want it to be hard) is extremely light.

[quote name='Jase' post='529909' date='Jul 1 2009, 08:10 PM']A bit of clunk and clank, some buzz, bark and growl all add the the character of it's tone for me. Just my 2mm worth :ph34r:[/quote]

[quote name='Jase' post='528477' date='Jun 30 2009, 11:34 AM']I'm a low action type, no man rock set ups for me thank you very much! I can't be dealing with clambering over and around my strings and fretboard if I have a high action set up...gets a bit noisy though when a band wants to tune down to the dreaded semi-tone below. I love having girl action [/quote] Me too; both sorts! Sei Melt; 2mm at 12th across the board. Sei Flamboyant 5; 2mm B string going to just under 2mm on the G, both at the 12th. '72 Ric 4001; 2.5mm at the 12th E to just under 2 (call it 1&3/4) on the G. Bear in mind I consider the action on my Ric quite high. In fact I might see if I can get the Melt's action down a bit based on that....

[quote name='Mr.T' post='527993' date='Jun 29 2009, 06:44 PM']Definately don't want to sound like Mark King... Although I would like to have his talent (and possibly his bank balance?). I was always happy with my Trace 1153, which I used paired with a 2x10.[/quote] Oh BTW, our drummer picked the Compact up with his finger the other week. It weighs about half what an 1153 does, and is comfortably lighter than an Aggie.

Could indeed have some valves in the preamp. I know part of the front end was ss; quite possibly the graphic. Mine didn't sound as good for me as my Ashdown except with my 4001CS. For some reason that sounded much better through the Twin Valve (haven't got either now).

[quote name='Mr.T' post='527258' date='Jun 28 2009, 11:34 PM']A Compact is sounding promising... I like the desription of it being like a 'super loud Trace 1153'. Don't get me wrong I think the Aggie is a nice cab, and I nearly bought a second one, but it does lack clarity and top for what I need. I don't want to compromise, I am not very good at it![/quote] Exactly what I found. Compared to my old 1153 I found the Aggie lacked quite a bit of top and a good degree of articulation. It's fatter sounding with the eq the same, but I just always felt like it had socks and mittens on. The Compact is different altogether. Even our guitarist was impressed. As I say though, not perfect for everything; my UL502 wasn't fond of it, and if you want to be Mark King then I'd give it a wide berth. But if you like a big, clear driving sound I think it's a good choice.

I've been using and Ashdown ABM500 head for rock stuff for several years now, and it took me a long while to get used to it (had an ABM combo before that). With the right cabs it sounds monster. A friend had used Ashdown occasionally at gigs and was really down on it; I kept telling him it was better than he thought and he brought a couple of basses (70s P and Stingray) to one of my rehearsals; I was using my mate's combo. Within seconds of plugging in I had a tone that he was mightily impressed with. I wouldn't use it for everything (my Seis don't like it much) but for some stuff it's great. Kind of depends whether you're after Entwistle circa Live At Leeds or Marcus Miller though....

[quote name='stevie' post='525382' date='Jun 26 2009, 09:46 PM']It's only a fair shoot-out if you realize that the two types of cab offer different benefits. *All things being equal* (and I'm not referring to any brand here), a 15" will be louder and go lower. It's maximum output will also be greater. A 12" will be more compact and thus easier to transport. It will also have cleaner mids, a more extended high frequency response and a slightly better off axis response. Which is better will often depend on what you're looking for.[/quote] In the case of the GS112 (unless the response of the NT is different than a GS with the tweeter off) the GS certainly didn't have cleaner mids than the Compact (far more muddy IMO) and it had [i]less[/i] top end. Smaller though, so easier to transport in that sense, but it's 10 lbs heavier.

[quote name='NJE' post='524763' date='Jun 26 2009, 12:12 PM']WooHoo! I expect it to a bit like the A team van but with a sporty finish and some nice alloys, and maybe Bernie Goodfellow hanging out the side with some bling around his neck and a mohawk! (gone a bit too far i think, office work does that to a man) Many thanks.[/quote] What, "I pity the Fender...."????

I more or less directly replaced 2xGS112s with a Compact. I've only used it at one rehearsal so far (our guitarist separated his collarbone from his shoulder a while back and so has been unable to play), but for what I want (though possibly not everything) the Compact is far better. Much purer and more full range, tighter and bigger sounding. Not as scooped or twinky (I hate the Aguilar tweeters so always turned them off). Depends what you want though. I have a mate who swears by his GS112s; he bought them after he heard mine (and several appear to have followed him - wonder if I can claim some sort of fee?). The Aggies I always found to be muddled and congested in the mids without that much clarity (for what I want). The Compact is a bit more like a super tight, super loud Trace 1153.