dave_bass5

Another very happy customer. I orders some 84's but was worried they might sound too dark. Andy didnt get the email until after he had posted them so said try them, and if i didn't like them i could send them back and he would have a set of 74's waiting. I did like them so did send them back and he sent out a new set of 74's the day he received my 84's back, all without any extra cost, other than postage. Ive not heard of the "gaffer" though, is that a Gem pup?

Probably made by Behringer lol.

Thanks Michael. To be honest it took me a week to even notice it. Im not sure if tone was effected or not but i expected more for £960. The Black one has just gone back so hopefully the replacement bass (HW-one) will work out. And if it does, it leaves me wondering what i would have gained (other than a shiny finish and a maple neck) by spending £400 more on a MIA.

Just have a look on the studiospares website or google for it. Its call Auralex Platfoam. Its the same stuff they use under the Gramma pads i believe.

Yeah, i used to have two strips of Platfoam under my cab. This worked just as well as the pad IIR, although it was less stable. A long strip costs £12 from studio spares and can be cut down to just the right size for a 1212L. Well worth a try IME. Ive always hated raising my cab off the stage, it seems to loose most of the bottom end but these platforms and foam strips seem to keep the low end but help get rid of the boom.

Cheers guys. Actually i got it wrong and thats not a Blackburst they are advertising at that price so i dont think ill bother, as nice as it is.

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='934372' date='Aug 24 2010, 04:15 AM']Move the cab by a foot or a couple of feet away from nearby walls, or lift it onto a crate or something if you're on a hollow stage, stuff like that tends to solve boomy sound issues better than trying a different cab - ultimately if you're asking a different cab to produce the same sound in the same place you will encounter the same problems.[/quote] A lot of my gigs are on hollow, boomy stages (social clubs) and i got a Gramma pad a while ago.Its made a world of difference and my tone is a lot clearer without loosing the bottom end. Might be a cheaper option than changing the cab. Alex C posted a freq table a few years ago on here and it showed how to position your rig to eliminate various freqs. Ive found that very handy although its not always practical to go by on small stages.

If the shop im sending my MIA back to wants to just give me a refund im going to look in to the PM4. I wish i knew if that neck was jazz sized or not (and i know they do vary so its not that easy to tell).

Just a quick monday update. The MIA is going back and im giving up on them. Ive asked the shop to send me a Highway-one out instead (and a refund for the difference). Ive now had three MIA's from this shop and while its not their fault im now running out of colour options. Im happy to spend a lot less and take whatever i can but im going to want my exact choice for £960 and they dont have any more in stock. Its like ive gone around in a complete circle this year as i started out with my old HW1 as my only bass for a while, now ill be using the new one as my only gigging bass.

OMG, ive been after a Blackburst PM4 for ages. I think my cash is now tied in to a Highway one unfortunately :-(

[quote name='slazman' post='933603' date='Aug 23 2010, 01:18 PM']I will try this ... thanks for the tip[/quote] Yeah, worth a try. Its actually called a VPF, no idea why i put VCF (i used to play synth so mabe thats why) but im sure you know what im on about.

I must admit the one reason i got a SA450 was for the extra EQ options. I already had a 1210R cab and these do have quite a middy tone so i wanted something that would let me reduce it a bit. I did find that using the VPF seems to work really well at controlling the mids, plus it boosts the low end and, to my ears, makes the overall tone a bit deeper but smoother, with less boom.

We did a birthday gig in one of the high walkways over Tower bridge a couple of years ago. Nightmare get in as we had to wheel or carry all the gear on to the bridge as you cant park. Then up in a lift that doesn't have a call button so we had to keep phoning someone to bring the lift down. This was all going on while the caters were also fighting over the lift. It was so narrow up there (plus we had to leave a gap for the caterers) that we ended up putting the guitar combos on top of each other to form a column. Plus my rig was on its side with the PA desk and amp on it. There was also a DJ there but as you can see, there was no dance floor. Oh yeah, and the organisers had set up the food etc in a room on the opposite side of the bridge so we hardly got to see anyone all night. We've also done three gigs at the USAF exhibition dome/hanger at Duxford. Terrible acoustics.

I got the Gator one a couple of weeks ago. Its nice and well made but its not going to get used much as i prefer, and am used to, a more traditional gig bag. Good to store my spare bass in though.

Same here. Each time ive ordered from them ive had to call them and give my details over the phone. Bit of a pain but the service doesn't seem to suffer.

[quote name='slazman' post='932723' date='Aug 22 2010, 01:18 PM']but the cabinet does tend to boom a bit even at low volume.[/quote] Have you had a listen to your rig from out in the audience? I ask because i find the tone i have when standing in front of my 1212L isnt the same as the audience hear. At sound checks i tend to wander around the room (with a radio system and no PA support) and i find my tone is a bit smother and less boomy out front.

[quote name='stingrayfan' post='930715' date='Aug 20 2010, 11:08 AM']Asked the guy in the shop if he had a Sterling Sterling and he scratched his head. Ps - keeping the bass ;-)[/quote] Probably because its called a SB14 and not a sterling ;-) I agree it can be confusing but i feel its down to the customer to get the name right (no offence intended). Glad your keeping it, as others have said, if it plays well, sounds great etc then who cares what name it has on it. I lost money on mine but i never brought it to sell it so that was never a consideration at the time of purchase. I did think about maybe getting a SR4 after finding i liked my Ray34 so much but could never see where the extra cost would benefit me.

It might not be about new or old but this is something that always comes up in these threads I don't think I've ever read a suggestion to het a secondhand SBMM, surely that's then brings it in line price wise with a Sub. The argument for a secondhand SR4 is normally that it's only a couple of. Hundred pounds more than a SBMM but that's based on a new one and I think this is a bit of a one sided argument. My Ray34 had a nerdy MM4.2 in it and it was still less than some of these over inflated Sub prices.

I know there aren't that many secondhand ray34s around but why is the choice always down to a secondhand SR4 vs a new SBMM? why can't they both be secondhand? So you can get your money back by selling on a used SR4 but you can also do that with a used SBMM. I sold my SBMM on here for £380, that's half the price of a used SR4 and a lot better looking and in better condition than some of the SR4's I've seen going for £750+

[quote name='tino' post='928915' date='Aug 18 2010, 06:52 PM']Just take no notice of any answer given[/quote] That forum is the most closed minded forum ive ever been on. Probably more down to the rules and moderators than the members. You cant even mention other brands without getting a telling of. Having owned both a Sub and Ray34 i felt the Sub to be pretty poor. It might have a few of the same bits a SR4 does, but the body and finish are horrible IMO and even as a bass in its own right i dont think its that good. The Ray34s are good basses in their own right and much nicer to look at and to play, again, IME. I dont understand why people say get a Sub if you cant afford a SR4, yet the Ray34 looks closer, has a 3 band EQ like current SR4's feels closer to a standard SR4 than a Sub does (slab body), has a similar finish and a matching headstock like the higher end SR4's No offence meant to anyone but i feel a lot of the love for Subs is more because of where they were made and their history.

When I put a BAII on my highway 1 jazz it was because the original string saddles kept moving. I did notice an improvement in sustain but i also noticed a change in tone. It's was slight but noticable. My highway-one P came with one fitted so I've no idea how Much of a difference a standard fender bridge would make.

Cheers guys. The shop is picking it up on Monday. I'm still not sure what's going to happen but I expect I'll go for a refund as I know they don't have any more in stock and I don't want to hang about. Now then, while I like the MIA I'm pretty certain I'm not going to take another gamble on one, not unless I can try it first. I might see if the gallery has one at the right price but if not then I'm going to have a re think. I'm tempted to have a look for a lakland JO4 bit that's just an idea. I want to keep passive so haven't looked at Sadowsky, even though I know they are fantastic basses. I may even just go for a highway-one and save some money. More updates when I have them. I'm on holiday right now so that's why the bass can't go back until next week. Ian. I also feel that if the pickguard fits then maybe it's not the neck pup but the bridge pup that's out. Especially now ice seen how off it can be. When I get back I'm going to try and figure out exactly which one is out.

Cheers Frank. While I'm Realise the strings won't be exactly aligned over both pups im more worried that the pups just don't line up like they should. The neck pup should not be sitting higher than the bridge pup. I've had a email back from both the shop and fender and both are agreeing it's not right but i still don't know what's going to happen Fender are saying the routing on the back pup is not right so I think it wil get exchanges but it's been such a hassle I may just give up on fender now. I do miss my old DJ5. If only I wasn't playing 4 string now I might have tried to but it back. I agree. It's a fantastic bass.