martthebass

I've found the MB carry case Velcro sticks nicely to my MB cabs stopping any walkabout. The padding in the case probably softens some vibration also?

I'm depping in a Glam Rock band at the minute and was expecting to use a Rick for the gigs.....after a couple rehearsals with my Sterling SUB USA it was a done deal. It's basically a 3 band Ray with the pup wired in series. The artex paint also seems to be indestructible, I'm sure the paint would be completely worn through on the back of my Rick with the Bay City Rollersesque braces by now......

[size=5][sup]Lovely, lovely build Andy[/sup][/size]

When I [had to] play in a classic rock band I used a Status Streamline more often than not......so I'm in the 'who gives a rats....' category.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1483536744' post='3207994'] The world moves on, why aren't we all at the ballroom on a sunday afternoon anymore? There will always be a few people that keep genres alive along with suitable venues in some cases but will there be bands full of fifty year old blokes playing Hey Joe forever in every town? Maybe,maybe not. [/quote] What saddens me is the number of 'young' bands that play a set full of Cream, Hendrix, Free and Bad Company........ BTW I'm a fifty something and can categorically state that I don't play Hey Joe in public you ageist git Pete ;-) The pub scene in my area has gravitated to Classic Rock acts, SKA tributes and Punk multiband nights. When I was doing Classic Rock I was on at least a gig per week. Now that I'm doing mainly 80s, I'm only doing 1 per month in the local area....

[quote name='Max Normal' timestamp='1483448372' post='3207162'] Nope, still can't see it. Am I being stupid or have they changed their site? [/quote] I checked yesterday and its still available - click on the Stingray and configure the bass

Is the problem on stage, FOH or both? I find my 4003 can lack balls for the on stage sound unless I'm in front of the cabs and the guitarist has problems picking me out in the onstage sound. Out front the sound is fine, sits nice in the mix. I usually go middle position with both pups full on in terms of tone and vol. I'd agree with above regarding the DI, on occasion I've used the MXR M80 with the Rick, it does give some useful punch if needed.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1483277004' post='3205809'] All night, which was naughty. [/quote] Left most of my gear at the venue and picked it up this morning.....very naughty.

Think they struggled with the UV cure paints. Anyone remember the 2010 Jetglo and midnight blue basses with the amazing falling off paint? Think I got lucky with my 2010 4003 midnight blue.....it still has all its paint.

I'd be inclined to go fully to 5s D. I've had this problem over the years, could never mix the use of 4 and 5s, I'd be playing along quite happily on a 5 then I'd have a brain dump and wonder where I was.... In the end I stuck with 4s as I only very occasionally need anything lower than an E and I'm happy to detune for the odd song. Also I love my current 4s and wouldn't want to change em.

I'm depping in a Glam Rock band for XMas Eve and NYE gigs this year. Quite a departure from my normal 80s covers band. Should be fun.

[quote name='lowregisterhead' timestamp='1481495785' post='3192752'] A very good point, and not one I had really considered. When I bought the bass, I just stuck on a set of my favourite make and gauge of strings - D'Addario EXL170-5 Nickels, 45/65/85/100/130. Status's own Hotwire string range doesn't even include Nickel strings, only steel. Perhaps I should try a set in a lighter gauge... [edit]... but I remember now trying some years ago when I had a headless and I didn't care for them, they felt rougher and much more 'grabby' than the D'Addarios. [/quote] Try a set of the Hot Wire 'Half Rounds'. I find the Hot Wire Rounds a bit aggressive and moved over to the halfs on my Streamline a few years back (40s - 100s). I find them a fair bit smoother but they still have plenty of top end. I've since put these on my MM with similar good results.

I've lost more friends through the years through working in bands than in any other walk of life. For some reason, musical 'rejection' can hurt more than most criticisms and grudges can last a long long time. In recent years, I've tried to be more pragmatic, take a moral high-ground and not rant (or only rant under my breath, to myself, once I've left the room)about it. I've found this usually works better and opportunities with guys you would have punched out can open up again on a professional level. This doesn't mean allowing yourself to be treat like a dishrag, so I'd leave, on as good a terms as possible and chalk it up to experience. If you can leave with some 'compensation' for your efforts all the better, if not, don't let it eat away at you, move on.....

If I were looking at the bass 'used' I wouldn't pay less for that than one without 'the beauty mark'. Unless the mark really offends your eyes I'd stop thinking about it.

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1481180706' post='3190238'] £25 might seem a bit expensive now, but weren't vynal albums about £14-20 back in the 70's and 80s? CDS were £14 when they first came out. It's only in recent times that prices dropped. It just seems expensive now as we've got used to low prices for recordings. [/quote] Can't remember paying more than about £6 for a single album just before I moved over to CDs in the mid/late 80s. I still love Vinyl but after the daft prices of new and ebay I decided to buy a nice Naim CD player and pick up vintage CDs (i.e. 80s stuff) off the bay for about £2-5 a pop. My equally nice Rega deck gets used but that's on my 400+ plus collection of vinyl I bought in the 70s and 80s.

[quote name='Dan Dare' timestamp='1480690470' post='3186465'] Above the 12th fret? It's a bass, for heaven's sake, man. Get a grip... [/quote] There are notes above the 12th?

From a sound point of view.....where I've been able to compare what is essentially the same bass in both neck types I can tell a difference. For example, I found the Warwick neck-thru Thumb Fretless to be softer (less attack) and have better sustain than the BO version. When it comes to basses that come in one type or the other though I don't think I could say the same. For example from a neck thru perspective my Rick 4003 is hardly the smoothest, most sustaining bass out there and neither is my Status Streamline. On this basis I'm inclined to believe that electronics and wood/graphite materials (in that order) make a bigger difference to the sound than whether it is NT or BO.

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1480601719' post='3185761'] Roughly 0.24 days. Happy to help. [/quote] Is a day 24 hours or 23 hours and 56 minutes though?

[quote name='hiram.k.hackenbacker' timestamp='1480408751' post='3184041'] I concur Mart. I still have that one and it's a beauty. Some say that the 30th is the best of the "modern" Stingray's; I'm sure some might disagree. Having said that, the Gilded White I just picked up is very close to the 30th in sound and feel. I now own more Stingray's than any other bass and I'm not quite sure how that happened. If you had asked me about 5-6 years ago, I was Fender through and through, flirting with other brands occasionally. I just don't play Fender in the Bowie band as it doesn't feel or sound like the right instrument in that context. [/quote] It is a peach H, still have slight pain sometimes over moving that one on but it was just too beautiful to gig and I was too precious about it. The 4003 that replaced it is still in the stable though so all ends well I guess. I'm back to 2 MMs (that's if you class the Sterling Sub USA as a proper MM - it certainly sounds the part) in the fleet after a bit of a swap out and ZERO Fenders.

Well, phase one of the transformation is complete, turning my ugly duckling Sub Sterling USA into a swan. The black lacquer on the neck had started to degrade, peeling and very sticky. Treatment with scotch rite pads etc only lasted a couple of gigs before the stickiness came back so something more drastic was in order. The back of the neck has been stripped back to bare wood and a vintage gloss tint applied. It was good to see a nice piec of maple under there. The back of the headstock has also been stripped, the serial sticker was carefully reapplied and all glossed over. The front of the headstock was left black, I'm not trying to pretend this bass is anything other than a sub, but the black was sprayed over with gloss. Phase two will commence next year, something to replace the 'artex' on the body to complete the transformation to swan.

I've had a few, but never a preeb. My first was a 1990 2eq, kept that for about 15 years, a very nice bass if a bit heavy. The nicest one For sound and playability was a 30th Anni. My current is a 2001 2eq which is very nice and has a highly figured neck. My conclusion is that there are good ones from all decades but you don't usually find a bad one.

[quote name='T-Bay' timestamp='1479659130' post='3178204'] Looking at the supplier you mentioned I can see why you would want to see the exact piece as there is so much variance. I haven't really thought about this before but do love that green birch burl finish. What sort of money are we talking about to do one? And how long does it take? I won't be able to afford it in the short term but would be interested once I have collected all the other bits I need. And you are close to me too (I grew up in Spondon and still visit my Mum yo there at least once a month). Feel free to pm me if you don't want to put figures on an open forum. [/quote] Same question from me Andy