Painy

[quote name='Geek99' timestamp='1476184816' post='3152009'] I've had one of those, Mr Painy. I would keep it and enjoy if you possibly can . A new bridge is cheap, and bear in mind that the jack sockets often go, but you can get a neutrik model at Maplin for about £5 [/quote] Funny enough I had to replace the jack socket shortly after I got it. As much as part of me would love to keep it (it really is an absolute tone monster) I just don't get on with the flat radius fingerboard anymore.

Really interesting thread that puts a lot into perspective. I've been feeling a bit concerned recently that I think I may have the start of arthritis in my hands but to hear what some of you guys deal with and still keep going.... My band just had it's 21st anniversary of our first gig this summer. Stopped counting at 1000 gigs about 5 years ago although that number is increasing at a slower rate these days with family commitments so down to around 20-30 gigs a year these days with 153 being our busiest year about 15 years ago. Right now we've got a few weeks off. Our last gig was 10th September and our next is 22nd October and it's driving me absolutely freaking nuts. I honestly found quitting smoking easier than this!

[quote name='TrevorR' timestamp='1476138055' post='3151761'] Oh and how about this one? [/quote] I think I need to go have a cold shower followed by a quiet lay down in a dark room! Fortunately I just can't afford one which makes resisting temptation easier.

I'd have to agree that it looks like a fairly standard far eastern eBay special. Carl Thompson basses tend to be very flamboyant and elaborate designs with intricately carved wood - this by comparison to his designs seems a bit plain to say the least.

I have an old German Warwick Corvette active 5 string which is basically just living in a case under the bed unplayed. I've kept it mainly for sentimental reasons till now but I'm thinking I'd rather have something that would get used so considering moving it on but it is in real need of some TLC to make it giggable. It's a bit scruffy looking from years of gigging but that's just cosmetic. The electronics work fine and the neck is okay but it desperately needs the frets dressing (lots of roundwound string wear) and the bridge has seized up solid so it can't be adjusted so I'm thinking just replace the bridge altogether (under £40 from Thomann, plus postage). With Corvettes not really fetching much these days I'm just unsure if I'll see a return on any investment I'd make or if I should just sell it as it is as a fixer-upper. Any thoughts?

My core tone stays pretty much the same the majority of the time. Some songs I'll add a little overdrive to warm things up a bit if I think it needs it or if the song calls for a particular effect I'll try to at least loosely approximate it. Generally though, even then I'll be aiming for my own version of the sound as I'm not really any good at sounding like anyone else anyway.

The only time I would use a pad on an amp would be if the amp is still clipping with the input gain all the way down. My compressor pedal however has a fixed threshold and is designed to give a lightly overdriven breakup at higher settings. I use the pad switch on that to stop it from getting too squashed and to keep it clean as it doesn't have an input level and it's too much faff trying to set the volume on my bass to the same level (other than just on full) everytime.

Pickup upgrade for my Squier VM P5 - Delano PMVC 5FE/M2. Empress Compressor. Squier Dimension Deluxe 5 string in Black/Black/Maple. A place of my own to spend as much time as I like tweaking my sound through my full rig, at volume and without my wife or anyone else complaining about the noise.

Hmm, might wait for a used one to come up then.

I just bought an MXR Bass DI+ so I really don't need one of these but I've just this moment decided that I really need one of these!

[quote name='FuNkShUi' timestamp='1475563943' post='3146875'] being french kissed by a horse is probably my favorite [/quote] Nothing quite like a quote out of context.....

A friend recently told me that he'd asked our (very good) lead guitarist what I was actually like as a bass player as he thought the band anyways sounded good but he didn't really know what to listen for as far as bass goes (basically a typical pub punter). I actually thought our guitarist's response was really quite complimentary. He said that I'm "a very natural player". I'll take that quite happily

Think I may have found the one - a Delano PMVC 5FE (with the big MM style chunky pole pieces). Would need a bit of routing to fit as it has equal sized shells (rather than 2 wide + 3 wide like my bass) but I don't mind that. I'll just have to have a word with a local luthier about the routing and start saving my pocket money.

[quote name='rhythmbug' timestamp='1475353093' post='3145362'] I recently got a Keeley Bassist Compressor. Small footprint on my pedal board, simple controls, transparent sound, gets the job done perfectly. Was tossing up this between an MXR, but I'm glad I got this because of its simplicity. Metering would've been handy, but whatever. I don't need lights to tell me how it sounds. [/quote] I have looked at the Keeley Bassist before and it's a really nice sounding compressor. To be fair though my current compressor sounds really good to me and does what I want it to do too, this is more about learning more about the different adjustable parameters and how they each affect the sound.

[quote name='fretmeister' timestamp='1475336214' post='3145174'] Compressor addiction is real though. You don't need a better one. You need more of them! [/quote] I actually quite fancy a little collection - although I'd probably need most of them to be in a significantly cheaper price range than the Empress to make up numbers! You're right, the addiction really is real though and compression has fast become my favorite 'effect'. I didn't bother with compression at all until about 18 months ago as my only previous experience of compression was the SMX in the old Trace head I had about 12 years ago and I had no idea at the the time what it was supposed to do or how to use it. Basically I couldn't really tell what it was doing until it was so squashed that I didn't like what it was doing so I just never bothered. Wouldn't be without it given the choice now though!

[quote name='Chiliwailer' timestamp='1475300517' post='3144820'] I went from the MXR to this, haven't looked back. And they are amazing on guitar too if you have one. http://www.ovnilab.com/reviews/empress.shtmle [/quote] Really like the look of the features on that and the switchable meter in particular looks brilliant! Might take a while to save my pennies though, not to mention that whilst googling it I also came across their ParaEQ pedal which looks amazing but is similarly quite expensive. GAS is such a cruel mistress!

[quote name='Trueno' timestamp='1475258532' post='3144563'] I hate black Fenders... unless they have a black scratchplate, which transforms them into things of beauty. Maple board is the icing on the cake. Lovely pair of basses. [/quote] +1 Been seriously gassing for a black/black/maple Dimension recently and this isn't helping!

[quote name='Skybone' timestamp='1475274173' post='3144731'] Geddy Lee? [/quote] Love that classic Hofner violin bass tone on Power Windows!

Yamaha RBX765a in trans green when I was 16. I'd been gigging with a pair of Korean Aria Magna series passive 4 stringers for about 18 months but really wanted to try a five string active. Picked up a Yamaha catalogue in a local music store, spotted the RBX in it and spent most of my evenings just staring at it and reading the 5 lines of descriptive text over and over. Saved up my gig money and bought it, loved it and not gigged anything with less than 5 strings since. Wish I still had it but eventually traded it against my Warwick corvette which I've now had for about 17 years.

[quote name='visog' timestamp='1475256210' post='3144530'] Christ that is unimaginative, derivative, horrid, horrid,horrid. Who designed this thing? Haven't heard or played it though so could be cool... *whispers but I doubt it* [/quote] To elicit that degree of emotion probably gives it too much credit!

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1475148610' post='3143419'] Here are some pics before you die of boredom: [/quote] I'm afraid I saw these pictures and then just continued to die of boredom. I am unfortunately therefore now writing this posthumously.

[quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1475242743' post='3144349'] Actually the Fender P5 pickup fits that description, and I've seen a few floating about used from owners that have switched them out for Nordstrand etc. If you see one for a good price, jump on it! [/quote] I've seen a couple come up on eBay for quite reasonable money before now but didn't know if they would be what I'm looking for. That could be worth a try too then thanks.

[quote name='fretmeister' timestamp='1475234555' post='3144239'] Nordstrand will make anything you like and the increased charge for a custom is pretty small. Might be worth emailing them. [/quote] Sounds like a good idea, I'll drop them an email them, thanks!

I absolutely love my Squier VM P5 bass to play and it sounds pretty good too me too (especially after KiOgon helped me out with a bit of a modification) but I'd like to see how good it could sound with a pickup upgrade. I'd like a really aggressive sounding pickup with loads of grindy upper high mids (rather than harsh treble) but still want a full, deep, rounded bottom end. I'm equally interested to hear people's suggestions based on their experience of 4 string pickups if there is a 5 string version available (Quarter Pounders for example). Any suggestions would be much appreciated as I really don't know where to start.

My mum was quite a naturally gifted pianist (as is my sister although she doesn't play anymore) with a beautiful singing voice. My dad is the real musical heavyweight in my family though. He plays trumpet, French horn, cornet, violin and cello all to a high standard (at least grade 8) but his main instruments are piano and organ. Unfortunately he was very pushy with my sister and I and he would give us each an hour long piano lesson every day whether we liked it or not. Bear in mind that for both of us this was from the age of 3 as he had visions of us being the next modern day Mozart! When my mum left my dad when I was 6 and my sister was 10, the relief and sense of freedom was unbelievable. It took me until I was 14 to take an interest in music for myself which is when I started playing bass. My sister was by far the more talented pianist of the 2 of us but to this day and won't touch a piano.