dave_bass5

Ive never had Schaller break, nor have i read any other post like the one here. I'm not saying cant happen (as it obviously has) but its certainly not wide spread. Ive got a set thats probably 15 years old. Still going strong. I put some nail varnish (no, not mine) on the nut and that stops it from coming loose. I've not had a problem at the guitar end other than on one bass and that just needed a bit of drum stick splinter in it to secure it. I had some Dunlops but hated them. They worked fine but i had a nightmare with the screws, the heads seem very small and easily damaged, so went back to Schallers.

Im sure i read somewhere that a Ray35 is like a SR4 with an extra string, whereas a SR5 is more like a Sterling. Ive probably got it wrong though. Glad you like your Ray35. How does the neck feel compared to your old SR5?

I guess being a tube amp sim (of sorts) it has to have a bit of that tube compression.

It can be used without the OD/amp sim by turning the blend off i believe. This leaves you with just the mid sucking EQ. Ive not tried a real one yet (im looking for one) but my BDI21 does seem to compress a bit. I love it.

[quote name='JTUK' post='961852' date='Sep 20 2010, 09:17 AM']oh, I don't know..I can see quite a few bands and think what on earth is he/she doing there. That sound is awful etc etc .. but then maybe that is the sound they want or that is all they can get. but..it is only from my POV, and since I have a choice to stay or go, it isn't a problem. I am pretty sure that some don't put any thought into it at all but again, that is from where I am coming from. It just might not be the way I would do it. FWIW, no one round here has a great sound, that I have heard recently, IMO..maybe I am so far off the loop, I am the one who is wrong. [/quote] Thats the thing, its all down to personal tastes. And if you consider there could be 200+ people in the audience, each with their own idea of how the band should sound etc your on a hiding to nothing trying to please the crowd at the expense of pleasing yourself. As has already been said, i think a lot of the tone comes from how you play, not what you play. If i feel good about my tone and how well the bass feels then i produce better music. There are a few places we play where i end up with a pretty poor tone on stage, but good out front. I play badly on those gigs. Sometimes its the other way round though and while i might have a poor tone (to me) out front on stage its great and i play much better. But no one ever comes up to us and comments on a poor sound. They still seem to enjoy it no matter what. If i had a bass where i was struggling with i really wouldn't enjoy any of it.

Im with those who dont really care whether some one else thinks its right or not. Ive never had anyone comment that im using the wrong bass or wrong tone. Why would they unless they they think they are someone special and better than me. My band, my instrument, my tone like it or lump it. An di woyuld give any one esle the same. I can understand friends who have seen the band before commenting that a certain bass sounds better to them but again, thats their opinion. When i was doing the Wellah band i used various basses, including 5 strings (in fact i never had a P at the time). Again, no one ever commented on it. And these were die hard Jam/Paul weller fans. I think those who talk about other musicians in the audience noticing are reading too much in to that as well. So what, do we just play for one or two peopel who may or may not be critical, or to the other 100 peole who are up dancing, singing alone etc.

[quote name='JTUK' post='957955' date='Sep 16 2010, 07:27 AM']The point being..if you go to see a band and they are pretty straight ahead covers, what makes you GROAN, and think play something not every band and their dog plays here..? rant rant..!![/quote] Call me boring but when i see a covers band (and thats very rare) i actually look forward to hearing how they do the same songs as my band. But yes, i could do without hearing Mustang Sally, mainly as its one of those songs that has no direction and can go on for ages.

[quote name='Teddy_Hitch' post='961161' date='Sep 19 2010, 01:34 PM']I have the first highway 1 series before the 70's headstyling and badass bridge etc, so I guess the pick ups may have been updated as well! Think I'll have a little look for other pickups, was always tempted by basslines quater pounders but I don't want too much of a blink 182 sound![/quote] I had one of the first gen HW1's when they first came out. This was my first ever jazz and i loved it. I never bothered changing the pups on it. It was only this year that i sold it and now i have one of the newer ones. To my ears it sounds slightly different, not sure if thats actually the case though. I was going to get soem Dimarzios but as i had some wizards in my CV Jazz i thought i would give them a try. Im really glad i did. They are slightly darker, but have more punch than the stock pup. And they only cost £70 for the pair. Well worth looking in to IME.

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='960944' date='Sep 19 2010, 09:37 AM']Do I/we play a bass that 'feels' great but is maybe a 95% as good as the tone of a bass that doesn't feel as good OR do we go for the best sounding bass? I'm not asking anyone to make my mind up for me, I've already established in my head what I think and if anyone bothers to comment I'll give my verdict later but for now I wondered what others thought.[/quote] I think i do. Ive had 4 jazz basses since i started playing. I love the feel of them. The necks are the main reason but i like the contoured body shapes as well. But, i d tend to go off the tone after a while. I like the Jazz tone (especially the one i have at the moment) but i know ill still hanker for something better, probably a P. Each bass ive owned has had its merits but for me it always comes down to how the bass plays and feels first. And to be honest i dont now what my ideal tone would be anyway. My Rig is quite middy and that's not my idea tone and if im being really picky each song could do with a slightly different tone but thats not going to happen with just the one bass, so as long as i have a good tone with a bass that inspires me i dont think i could ask for too much more. I also find the venue can have an effect on my tone, to the point that one week i love what i have and the next it can sound to boomy, too toppy etc.

I tried to get a MIA pup at the beginning of this year. I gave up in the end and i was quoted 6-8 weeks delivery time by most retailers. Ive just swapped out the stock pups in my HW-one Jazz for a set of Wizards and what a difference. The tone was good to start with but these wizards have really thickened it up. So much so that my P bass GAS has gone for now. By the way, i was under the impression the HW1 and HW-one comes with USA pups, not MIM. I guess i could be wrong.

[quote name='kingofthestuntmen' post='958875' date='Sep 16 2010, 10:02 PM']I usually default to the Motown setting...[/quote] Same here. Maybe its Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs tone. Highly unlikely though.

Try WD music. I get all my PG's from them.

I think it sounds pretty good in DD5.1

[quote name='woodster' post='959109' date='Sep 17 2010, 08:40 AM']According to his website, Dave's playing a Dingwall six string Prima Artist.... [url="http://www.dingwallguitars.com/products/prima-artist/"]http://www.dingwallguitars.com/products/prima-artist/[/url][/quote] Wow, what a cool looking bass. Cheers.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' post='958341' date='Sep 16 2010, 02:16 PM']For reasons that would be too lengthy to explain, this is the bass riff that I want to learn above all others.[/quote] That was the version i learnt back in school. I had a bootleg album of thiers. I cant remember what it was called but it was on the sp**k label. It had Substitute, Stepping stone, road runner and a few other covers IIR, as well as songs off Never mind. I learnt all those classics from this album.

Im probably in the minority here, but IME to get a feel for a SR means not only tone, but how it plays, feels in the hand. I dont think a Sub or OLP ticks all those points. Certainly not for me going from a Sub to a Ray34 (and trying a couple of SR4's on the way). Ray34's go for about £300-£350 second hand. Im not arguing whats the better bass but i would say a Ray34 is closer in most respects to the real deal than anything else. :ph34r:

[quote name='martindupras' post='958218' date='Sep 16 2010, 12:36 PM']Thanks, that's really useful. I'll swing by a few more DIY stores this afternoon and see what I can find. I'm sure I can find something suitable, but thanks for the offer! - martin[/quote] No problem and good luck. It should be pretty easy to find something. Ive always done my own set ups but on my current bass (HW-one) i found i needed to take the PG off as i couldn't get a good grip in the nut with the Fender tool, so i needed to use the flat end of the Allen key anyway. This is the first time ive had to do this and it was because the nut was slightly stripped already (its brand new). No idea why or how this happened but i got Fender to send me a couple of spare TR nuts. It might be worth giving them a call as they might send you the correct tool if you ask nicely.

[quote name='yorks5stringer' post='958181' date='Sep 16 2010, 11:43 AM']That was Dave Swift of the Jools Holland Orchestra: hence my comment about the fanned frets.....![/quote] Cheers. I must admit i haven't heard of him, nor do i know anything about the Jools Holland Orchestra (or fanned frets if im being really hoesnt). At first i thought it was Crez :-) Nice tone and playing though, im going to check him out on line.

Yes, its a 3/16 fit. Current Fenders come with the tool ikay posted to, but you can also get allen key sets that have a normal flat end and a ball end at the other. I got a set frorm B&Q a couple of years ago. These do help as you can normally do the adjustment without taking the pick guard off, although i believe its possible to damage the PG a bit if your not careful, ive not found this....yet. If you cant get one your welcome to borrow my Fender one for a few weeks if it helps.

[quote name='toneknob' post='958126' date='Sep 16 2010, 10:50 AM']Record it on one of those new-fangled VCRs or similar. Watch it the next day. "Fast forward" through the bits you don't like. Think of the hours you'll save![/quote] Thats actually what i did. I fast forwarded through the crap but i didn't think just watching the intro and end credits made for good entertainment ;-)

Oh, it was Phil Coliins was it. I thought it was a Ross kemp standing in a hole. Who was his bass player? I liked the look of his 6 string bass.

[quote name='Chris2112' post='957596' date='Sep 15 2010, 07:47 PM']Who is Sting? And why is this crap old P bass for sale for £25,000? Not even Jaco's bass would get that![/quote] Stings that bloke that can go on and on and on for days......bit like my girlfriends gob lol.