dave_bass5

Order one of each from Thomanns and send back the one you like the least Or even better, keep them both

Same as most people here. Never broke a string and only ever take one bass. I do sometimes worry that something might go, but it never has so far. I expect this thread will now jinx us all ;-)

Im running W7 32bit and have been using AT3 for ages. Last night it suddenly gave me an error about it not finding the audio device. Now i cant get any input or output. Ive reinstalled my sound card (M-Audio 24/96) and every other audio program is working fine. Ive reinstalled AT3 twice now, ive cleaned the registry and deleted all the folders but still it refuses to play ball. It seems to know about the card as its showing the correct name in the Audio prefs, although the output device is greyed out (it is still showing the correct name though). This is driving me crazy, looks like its back to GR4 again. I had this happen once before but cant remember how i sorted it out.

I cant speak for the MIA's but when i changed the PG on my Lakland Duck Dunn i put a PG on that didnt have conductive tape on it and i got a load of buzzing and hum. The original one had the tape and worked fine so i got a small roll of tape from Maplins and all was well. This is where it needs to go.

Worlds Pinkest Sandberg maybe.

[quote name='paul h' post='1005343' date='Oct 29 2010, 03:39 PM']There's a lot to be said for buying cheap and modding. I personally have never spent much over £400 on a bass. I've tried but never gone through with it. I went into Musical Exchanges in Brum once with £1500. I tried a couple of Warwicks, a couple of Stingrays, a couple of US Fenders and even a Ric. I came out with a MIJ P for £250 which ended up as my main bass for years. I'm not saying the other basses were not better, just not £1250 better![/quote] I did a similar thing when looking for my first proper 5 string in the Bass Centre a few years ago. I had budgeted up to about £1500 and that was enough to get me almost any 5 string they had. I ended up buying a Lakland for £699. Same with my recent MIA disasters. 4 MIA jazz bass and ended up with my HW-one Jazz at a saving of £400, plus it felt and played better.

At the end of the day your right, upgrades are a personal thing and whats good for you might not be good for everyone but if i was to sell the bass i would include the original parts as well, more as an incentive for someone to buy, and they might be able to make a bit of money selling the parts off. At least this way you can ask for a bit more thna a stock bass. I did this with my old DJ5 that i had converted to a PJ. i never got my money back of course but i did sell it for more than the going price for a DJ5 at the time. If the upgrades appeal to someone they will pay a bit more for them IME. I would probably keep the Thumper anyway and put it in my next P.

[quote name='paul h' post='1005292' date='Oct 29 2010, 03:12 PM']I am actually quite excited. If the stage is big enough I will move around like a bugger! [/quote] Cool. I just play like a bugger ;-) Just make sure the transmitter is secured well enough, especially the battery cover. Ive had a few "incidents" in the past that resulted in the battery going flying across the stage. In my old band, years ago, all three of us up front had them and at one point there was only the drummer left on stage. none of us could see the others but we managed two whole songs before we were back on stage. And funny enough each of us had been to the bar during various parts of the song. It looked pretty funny us arriving back on stage, each with a pint in our hands. The drummer want too happy though.

[quote name='bassatnight' post='996308' date='Oct 21 2010, 07:54 PM']Following a recent clear out of my high end basses I have decided to pick up some cheap intsruments and upgrade them. In the last week I have purchased a Squier VM Jazz and a J&D Fretless 4 stringer. I have no idea who J&D are but having dome some research and watched a few You tube clips at £160 I thought I would have a go. I must admit I am having a great time setting them up and replacing the Bridges, The pups and adding new pick guards etc. I probably won't get my money back but am enjoying seeing how good I can make them. Next on my list a Squire Classic Vibe P! Might start documenting what I have done with a few pics. I think in these hard times with finances perhaps its the way to go! Anyone else doing this/done this? Cheers, Steve.[/quote] Exactly what im doing at the moment, and for the same reason. I realised that no matter how good the bass was, i would sell it at some point. and the time i was keeping basses were getting shorter and shorter. I was loosing too much money so im now using budget basses. Ok, i did try and get a MIA recently but that didnt work out, and i do have a HW-one Jazz that i love but my current bass is a CV P and i like it so much im spending money on it to get it just the way i want it. Ive just got a Wizard thumper to go in it, and im getting a Fender vintage bridge put on it next week. I cant think of anything else that needs changing (other than a full respray) Im not doing this with selling in mind, im doing this so i can have a bass as close as what i want, without breaking the bank. I want narrower string spacing, and more punch from the pup. If i do sell it (highly likely i guess) ive only spent £100 on it, and no matter what people say it will be a better bass and people will pay a tiny bit more for it IME.

[quote name='paul h' post='1005108' date='Oct 29 2010, 12:58 PM']Thanks but just got one in a trade with Fretmeister. I feel liberated! [/quote] Nice one. I cant imagine using a cable any more. I dont move around a lot but on small stages it's nice to not keep treading on your lead. Good for sound checks as well.

This is a AKG GB system for sale on here. I used one for around 5 years and it never let me down. fixed freq so you might run in to problems if your gigging with a DJ or another band that use the same freq but for the price its going for i would snap it up.

Ive had a Korg DT4 hanging gout the back of my amp for a couple of years now. Still no the same set of batteries although i only use it once each gig and then turn it off. [url="http://www.korg.com/product.aspx?&pd=277"]Korg DT4[/url] I like it for its rotating display. Its not true Strobe, but i find its easy to see from a distance and i don't have strain my eyes to see any small LED's or needles. I do mainly use my Ipod Touch with the Peterson istrobosoft tuner for tuning at home as its very accurate.

I also like using TAB. I know most are not 100% correct but if you dont have a good ear, or time to work something out they can be a big help. It certainly helps to work through the TAb along with the track itself so you can hear where its going wrong. Most TAB's are pretty basic but good enough to get you started.

Another vote for Wizards. Cheap and very, very good. I had a set of 74's in my CV Jazz and have just got a Thumper for my CV P. The 74's transformed my tone from a bit too mellow to something that had punch and growl by the bucket load. For the money you cant go wrong, and if you dont like them you can easily sell them on here. I had a set of Nordys in my Lakland DJ5 (a P and a J) and to be honest i didnt like them. Considering how much they cost i felt they sounded very bland to my ears. Then again, the bass sounded like that since the moment i got it with the Hansons in it so it might not have been the pups.

Well the coin landed on the Thumper so its been ordered. Im sure if it doesn't work out i can sell it on her so nothing to loose.

[quote name='BurritoBass' post='1000498' date='Oct 25 2010, 09:12 PM']I use Wizard & Seymour Duncan in my P-basses. I prefer the traditional 50s / 60s vibe so always opt for something around the Trad or Reissue title. These always seem to improve stock pups. If you want a bit more omph try Seymour Duncan's SPB3 or Wizards 8-4s. I suspect from what you say a traditional pup swap will be plenty good enough though[/quote] 84's are jazz pups ;-) Not wanting to hijack this thread, and im going to look rather silly, but can someone describe the vintage tone to me. Ive always associated it with warm and mellow but its not something ive ever really looked in to. I too am after a P pup (as some will already know) and will definitely be getting a Wizard this week, just need to decide which. Josh, from what ive read a Thumper would suit your style of music.

Cheers Neil. I had an email back from Andy (within hours, on sat, but missed it) and he actually suggested a Thumper, based on the type of tone/music i described. That doesn't make it any easier so i think ill flip a coin tomorrow and let fate decide.

Just wanted to add, the bend in the strings behind the saddle is ok. Its not going to be a issue. Also, dont forget the strings are all different thickness's so even if the strings are all in the same (centre) grooves it might still look odd. I find the best way to adjust the string spacing is to let your fingers dictate where they go, not your eyes. Im getting a vintage bridge put on my P as at the moment they are all equally spaced and it doesn't feel quite as comfortable as my HW-one that has a BAII in it.

They have been out for well over a year. I had the Ray34 a few months ago. I loved it but cant really tell how different it is to a real SR4. It certainly did the job for me and one day ill get a SB14 as i like the slimmer necks. There are a few threads about these basses so its best to do a search if you want more info. And loads of info on Talkbass.

Good luck with it. Im sure you wont need a back up. After my gig on Sat i had another bass player come over and started chatting about the great tone i had from "that lovely looking Fender". So many people turn their nose up at the mention of Squiers but none of them can tell the difference from the audience IME. Saying that, i did lie once when asked by a guitarist i got chatting to on a tube train. I had the CV Jazz in a gig bag and told him it was a Fender. Hmmm, maybe i am more of a snob than i thought lol.

[quote name='XPAULUSX' post='1001185' date='Oct 26 2010, 02:55 PM']I really really like mine, won't be ashamed to use it live at all, it feels and sounds great for the price.[/quote] Same here. Once ive got the bridge replaced it will be my main, and probably only, gigging bass. I did a neck swap last night with the CV Jazz neck so now i dont have any problems with the neckon the P so no reason not to use it all the time.

I quite fancy one of these for my 1212L cab but the postage cost is a bit high.

Michael, Ive got a few boxes my recent basses came in here at work, your welcome to one (or two) if you can pick them up.