scrumpymike

This is getting really interesting. At the moment I'm leaning towards P/JJ pups with 2-band active electronics incorporating single vol, pan, treble, bass, active/passive and single coil J-JJ switching. I've been offered a try of a bass with exactly that setup, so that will be the decider.

Thanks for the useful info everybody but still not clear: is it still worth having a pup selector switch if I go for an active bass?

[quote name='pierreganseman' timestamp='1482321509' post='3199506'] i suppose workload must be nuts... [/quote] I was only joking p-g

[quote name='Woodinblack' timestamp='1482322186' post='3199516'] we practiced on a test piece of wood first! [/quote] Good move!

Brilliant! I can imagine the relief when you saw that screw come out. Your mate must have nerves of steel - mind you, it's a bit different when it's not your own bass that you're drilling holes in.

Just deciding on a new bass and not sure which way to go with the electronics. Never owned an active but my preferred control layout on passive basses is 2 pups with 3-way selector switch plus 1 vol and 1 tone pot. With active electronics, do you get a pan knob that effectively does an even better job than a selector switch by allowing you to steplessly sweep across the complete tonal spectrum (assuming you have the volume up on both pups)? Also, as my amp head has 2 inputs - active and passive - could I gig with an active and a passive bass both plugged in at the same time to allow for a quick change-over between songs (obviously with the volume turned down on the one I'm not playing)?

[quote name='Sibob' timestamp='1482234984' post='3198641'] I simply mean for people who are going to email and then possibly have an issue if there's a little delay in reply etc . Si [/quote] E-mailed Adrian yesterday afternoon; a whole 18 hours later and STILL NO REPLY! And, even worse, no explanation of why there's been no reply!!

All goes to prove the importance of having an iconic body shape or two - although the SG shape is pretty iconic and Gibson don't shift many of those. Maybe it just proves the importance of being Fender...

My Ibanez ownership experiences have been limited - but all good: late '70s Musician; Mikro; TMB30. I think what shaped my positive feelings the brand was seeing The Spin Doctors (Mark White??) live - bloody AWESOME rhythm section! (Thanks for the tinnitus btw guys!)

I've learned that, as I get older, the physical limitations of my body are becoming the most important factor in choosing what basses and strings I can play ... but I'm still loving it

[quote name='Fisheth' timestamp='1482234004' post='3198629'] Good point Si. Namm delayed my bass slightly last year, wasn't that long. Just a couple of weeks. [/quote] Trouble is if they come back with full order books we could be waiting til summer

[quote name='Fisheth' timestamp='1482188985' post='3198400'] I may have sent another email... Oh dear. [/quote] Hope you realise that what you're doing constitutes a criminal offence: it's called 'aiding and abetting', possibly with a touch of 'incitement' thrown in. Keep up the good work mate - I'll be ordering another one myself as soon as I've decided on the spec

Try as much as you can and then buy the best comfort/sound compromise (medium 32" scale perhaps?) you can find within your budget. Make sure you include an Ibanez TMB30 s-s in your search (as long as you're happy owning a black bass).

"In a way it was quite good, in that its better to find out it is weak before it drops of the strap!" +1

[quote name='Woodinblack' timestamp='1481824086' post='3195502'] Aarrggh... went to put new strap locks on my elwood, turned the back screw one turn and half of the screw just broke off and is now stuck in the body! I must say they are rather feeble screws for the job. Now a bit buggered without a strap! [/quote] What a bummer - surely Adrian's not using cheap Chinese screws?!

[quote name='Fisheth' timestamp='1481812093' post='3195361'] It is a [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Delano PVC 4 FE/M2![/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Very nice pickup.[/font][/color] [/quote] Thanks - can't find that on Delano's website so I'm guessing it's the P[u]M[/u]VC etc.

[quote name='Fisheth' timestamp='1481810634' post='3195338'] So my bass came with a flying V gig bag. Lovely! Just had a quick play of it. The Delano pickup in my bass almost has a stingray type grind to it. It's rather pleasant! [/quote] I see from your couch shot that it's a Delano P pup - which model is it?

[quote name='burno70' timestamp='1481796815' post='3195162'] Yeah it has a gig bag included. Will be nice if its a short scale bag - do they even exist? Scrumpy MIke - it has the tobacco burst finish with the Musz. stock single coil pups. Fisheth - has it arrived? [/quote] Nice! I saw that one on Adrian's website.

[quote name='Woodinblack' timestamp='1481747038' post='3194870'] Where are you in somerset? Mine has the haeussel JJHB and P pickups in it and I love the sound of them, it is quite a range. I went for the P / Jh as I do cover band stuff so I wanted the flexibility. [/quote] PM sent.

Thanks for the really useful info, which kind of pushes me in the direction I was already leaning towards, namely P/M or P/JJ. Must say though that the twin switchable humbies are still in the frame - and the Sims interpretation of that theme looks amazing! I'm torn between two quite different spec's, both of which I really like: 'classic' - Vintage White with tort pick-guard, rosewood fingerboard, white pups and chrome hardware; and 'contemporary' - maple-capped transparent red burst with black guard, ebony board and black pups/hardware! At the moment I'm favouring the warmer 'classic' option, which wouldn't look right over-stuffed with black plastic pups. Already having a Cazpar though, I'm a bit tempted to go for the brighter look and sounds of the red burst. Especially as the chambered body I'm having (mainly to reduce weight) will probably warm the sound up a bit.

I'm spec'ing a new s-s J-style bass (Maruszczyk Elwood) and I need some advice on choice of pups. I don't want to go J/J because I need sounds that work ok across a variety of musical genres, namely pop, folk-rock, rock, soul and the odd bit of reggae (nothing I do calls up slap/pop percussive techniques or heavy metal sounds). But should I go P/J, M/J, P/M? Manufacturer-wise, customers can in theory spec anything they like but - unless there's an overwhelming reason not to - I'd like to spec Delano, Haeussel, Nordstrand or Aguilar, as they're the ones Adrian M seems to prefer for his standard/stock basses.

[quote name='burno70' timestamp='1481724594' post='3194569'] Ordered a stock short scale Elwood and just received the confirmation from Adrian, should have it by Friday - cannot wait! [/quote] Hey burno70, I'm just putting together my spec for a lightly customised s-s Elwood to keep my Cazpar company. When you say "standard", will that be a Maru single-coil JJ - and what finish have you gone for?

Will just bought an Ibanez bass from me - thoroughly recommended as a 'proper' basschatter!

[quote name='Fisheth' timestamp='1481482860' post='3192622'] How are you guys finding the actives? I'm stuck in the passive mindset and was wondering what you guys liked about Active pickups. [/quote] Bit of a mystery too, which I'm going to investigate so I can make a proper job of spec'ing my Elwood C. Thanks to woodinblack for getting me started (and also pierreganseman with a pm).