Misdee

Wilton Felder's tone on this track was pretty typical of so many examples from that era , and as others have pointed out, it sounds magnificent in the track. The fact that Wilton is a great player helps a bit , too. I was listening to the isolated bass track of John McVie ( another great player) on Go Your Own Way from Rumours the other day and considering he played it on an Alembic, that sounds pretty "ponky" too ( I would say "plunky", but we'll agree to differ😄) It makes me smile when I think how fashionable these more muted retro tones have become again . What happened the the 1980's when modern was best and flatwounds were practically illegal ? The more" ponky " the better seems to be the zeitgeist of our time when it comes to bass nowadays. Its interesting to consider that it's twenty years since D'Angelo released Voodoo with Pino Palladino reinventing himself with a P Bass sporting flatwound strings to such great effect, and legions of would-be trendy and hip bass players have subsequently fallen over themselves to copy his inspired approach. How ironic! I love these vintage bass tones, and the instruments they were created with, but it would be nice to see a bit more creativity from some contemporary players. Its nice to be inspired and emulate, but I always feel that the players being emulated were more often than not inspiring because they were original and individual in some way, if that makes sense. Anyhow, if you can't beat them, join 'em, I'm off to play my 74 AVRI Jazz with TI flats this afternoon😄.

Totally get both your points, and the potential replacements all look like mouthwatering prospects. I am interested how this turns out as I am very into idiosyncratic passive pickups. Keep us posted.

The pickup is kind of the point of the Carbonita, otherwise it would be just another P Bass, as Im sure you are well aware. All the retro -fit alternatives Cuzzie mentions are superb choices, but so is the FideliTron that is already in it. You could be spending plenty of money making a sideways move. I was under the impression that Fender had copied the FilterTron for this bass, anyway

The 2024 has indeed got a pretty chunky neck but I still find it very playable. FWIW, I think they are fabulous basses and well worth the premium over the 10 Series made in Indonesia. Regarding the weight, the X basses are inherently heavier, usually around 9 1/2lbs for a 4 string, 9 3/4 for a 5 string. The non-X version is normally lighter by about half a lb or so.

My other thought is that it might be something to do with how the Focusrite interacts with the pedal. Maybe I need to add some EQ and/or compression at the interface stage to make it sound a bit more palatable.

Will do, thanks !

I usually have drive set at 11 o'clock, bass at 1 o'clock, blend at 3 o'clock, mid ( 1khz) at 12 o'clock or slightly boosted to 1 o'clock. Cheers I will give your settings a go.

Thanks so much for getting in touch, I am absolutely sure that the problem lies with me and how I am using the pedal. So, is it correct to think that the presence control is boost only i.e. all the way off is flat?

I recently replaced my trusty Korg Pandora PX4b with a Tech21 BDDI V2 in my home recording set up. Unfortunately, despite my best efforts with the EQ, the BDDI sounds very harsh and trebly. With the treble and presence controls set at 12 o'clock (ie flat) the sound is very, very toppy, so much that if I am doing a bit of slapping and popping the twang is fit to burst my eardrums! I am having to roll back the treble and presence to about 10 o'clock and also have to use my Diamond BC1 compressor to get an acceptable sound with my main bass, a USA Lakland PJ. I should also mention that I am recording onto my PC via a Foccusrite Solo 3rd Gen into Audacity. I have not downloaded any of the bundled software included with the Focusrite, but plan to do so as soon as I can work out how to. As I have mentioned before on these pages, to describe my tech skills as remedial would be overly kind. Any help or advice on taming the sound would be gratefully received.

To me, this is a bit of a disaster. Yet another iconic brand compromised by a mixture of ageing ownership and economics, with Spector and Ken Smith making similar arrangements to Sadowsky, and Pedulla gone completely. What is glaringly obvious is that with this licencing deal Warwick have made a massive play to get into the Fender-derived bass market, an area they were previously excluded from by their own designs. Warwick will now be in pole position to take over the brand entirely when Roger retires. I fear that in the fullness of time they will have no scruples about compromising quality and exploiting the brand name.

Totally agree that mainstream pop music has been going nowhere for a very long time. The exception would be rap-/hip-hop/grime etc. And yes, Oasis sounded nothing like the Beatles, more like Slade for the TFI Friday generation. They just thought that if they mentioned themselves in association with the Beatles repeatedly they would somehow appoint themselves as inheritors of the Beatles genius. The major difference being that Oasis were of very limited ability and even more limited intelligence. Testament to just how unaware they are of their shortcomings is just how enamoured the Gallaghers nowadays are of their own importance, offering their wisdom on a whole host of subjects. Brett Anderson once famously described Oasis as electricians with guitars, but I would take exception to that. No way could any of them learn a trade.

Thanks, cheers for that. Right, so I am going to get myself a Focusrite Scarlet-solo and an XLR cable. May I ask do you know if it will work OK with Windows 7? ( Yes I really am that far behind the times) Regarding the Helix, unfortunately it wasn't available yet when I was shopping for an upgrade on the Korg Pandora, so I bought the BDDI V2 as a good safe bet.

Absolutely stunning Vigier you Absolutely stunning. Crikey what a corker! That is an amazing find, may you get many years of pleasure playing this bass. I remember going to the Bass Centre at Wapping in the very early Nineties and playing a few Vigiers. They were just about the best basses in the shop, to my taste anyway. I would have bought one there and then but I found the pickups to be a bit microphonic under my plucking fingers, according to my recollection. May I ask what the string spacing is on these?

Thanks for the suggestion, but I tried the Zoom a while ago as it seemed the obvious replacement for the Korg, but to me it didn't sound anywhere near as good as the Pandora. Despite the extra tweakability of the Zoom, it always sounded harsh and synthetic by comparison.

Thank you so much for this information, it's exactly what I need! Can anyone recommend a fairly basic and easy-to-use interface with an XLR input? I presume I will also need a USB cable to connect the interface to my PC? ( please don't be afraid of causing offence by stating the obvious, I really do know nothing😄).

Hi there, I'm hoping some of you chaps out there can help me with a problem I'm currently wrestling with. I am not very knowledgeable about anything to do with computers ( to put it mildly! ) and I want to be able to record myself on my PC playing along to music. Up to last week, I had been using my trusty old Korg Pandora PX4D in a cobbled-together fashion to record myself into Audacity However, the Korg is now kaput after 10 years sterling service. I have a brand new Tech 21 BDDI V2 that i haven't got round to using yet despite buying it over two and a half years ago and I want to use it to do the same job the Korg did, but I have no idea how to go about it. I know I will need an audio interface of some kind, but I want to be able to record both my bass and the track I am playing along with into Audacity so that I hear both on playback. Is that possible using a fairly standard interface? Any advice on what I need to buy in terms of hardware and accessories such as cables very gratefully received. Cheers

So are chestnuts but they don't make a great fretless.

I'm genuinely surprised so many people are enamoured of this bass. Essentially you are paying three grand for a Stingray Special with a flame maple fretless fingerboard and no scratchplate. It's hard to see where the extra £800-ish has gone. Special Edition? Let's face it, EBMM put out more "Special Editions" than Status Quo have done farewell tours. The fingerboard doesn't look quite right on a fretless, and will not wear well over time, I fear.

If I am not mistaken, this bass used to belong to a session player called Dave Shields. He used to be co-owner of a bass shop in Mansfield called The Embassy. I am sure some other Basschatters will remember it too. This Wal was featured in an edition of Bassist magazine some time back in the 1990's.If not this bass, then it was an identical bass made from the same piece of mahogany. I distinctly remember the story about how the facing wood was sourced.

Mike bought my USA Lakland bass and was an absolute gentleman to deal with from start to finish. Polite, friendly and helpful with prompt payment and good communications throughout. A total pleasure to do business with. Thoroughly recommended.