Naetharu

I'm going have to go against the grain here a bit and say that the three I have tried have all left me feeling rather underwhelmed. Nothing wrong with them as such but, at least in the ones I have played, I felt there were far better options for the money. The Arona I tried was the best of the lot, but even then the finish was a bit cheaply done (slightly rough frets, poorly done nut). I guess as with all factory made stuff it is a case of try before you buy. Chances are there are some really nice Cort basses out there but so far they've really failed to impress me.

To my ears it just sounds like a bit of chorus to thicken up the sound.

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1443818089' post='2878021'] Have a 'Google' on the subject of Music Ground and Richard Harrison; there's a wealth of 'interesting' reading matter. Personally, as a Hiwatt fan, I'd be looking at Hi-Tone, Reeves and Mywatt (in that order...), or trying to be lucky in unearthing a genuine '70s vintage one. Here's another source of info on Hiwatts, old, new and fake... [url="http://www.vintageamps.com/plexiboard/index.php"]Vintage Amps forum ...[/url] These are great amps; don't get 'conned' into buyng a 'duff' one. Hope this helps. [/quote] Very interesting and much appreciated! I had no idea that there was this issue with them - I'll be sure to be [i][b]very [/b][/i]careful.

Seriously bad luck there - though on the up I'm sure that the GK will be a great amp once you get a working model.

[quote name='Bigjas' timestamp='1443816197' post='2878002'] I've never heard a 200watt Hiwatt, it must shake the ground!!!! Jas [/quote] They do a 400-watt head too! - I quote: "Please note, because of the sheer grunt of this amp, it should only be used with two full range cabinets or an equivalent array[url="http://www.hiwatt.co.uk/products/custom/bass-range/p/hiwatt-400w-bass-head"]"http://www.hiwatt.co...-400w-bass-head[/url] And cheers for the heads up folks I'm really tempted with one - the weight is not so much of an issue to be honest and if the guitarists Hiwatt is anything to go by (added to the glowing reports on here) it sounds like it'll be well worth every penny. Interesting to know about the copies/issues with fake vintage ones too - cheers for that! I was thinking of just ordering a new one from Hiwatt directly but I may have a look around and see what there is in the way of vintage stuff too now.

Hi folks, I'm still looking for a new amp as I'm not too keen on the tone of my Ashdown in a band situation. One thing that is confusing me a little, however, is the difference between amps with Passive and amps with Active EQ options. Is the differecen the same as with pre-amps built into a bass - i.e. the former reduction only while the latter +/- or is there something more going on here? Further to this, is there a reason why passive EQs might be a good thing? I ask this as I have seen a few amps that advertise 'fully passive eq' as a key feature making me wonder why one might choose it over an active eq that, I presume, does the same thing only with a few more options. All the best James

[quote name='Rumple' timestamp='1443627797' post='2876411'] I'll be interested to hear your thoughts after you have used it in a band situation. [/quote] Well I had it out last night and I performed pretty well. I was running it into an Ampeg Portaflex 350 hooked up to a SVT 410 cab. Sound wise it offers lots of growl which works nicely for the style of music we play - though I'm not sure I would be quite so comfortable with it in a mellower situation. There is a very noticeable 'boom' when swapping between active and passive mode so its not really possible to use both in a single song unless you have a chance to mute at some point in order to make the switch. In terms of the pliability it certainly stood up to the test. We were practicing for just over three and half hours and the bass was comfortable to wear and use all that time. No shoulder ache or wrist problems at all which is great as I was a little unsure how easy a six-string would be to get to grips with. The low B string also seems pretty good. Despite a 34 inch scale it's surprisingly tight and offers a nice clear deep sound. All in all I'm pleased with the bass. The design is simple and there are a few rough edges but nothing that effects the playability of it. It's not the greatest looker but from a distance it looks nice enough for using on stage.

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1443624191' post='2876362'] Looks like a winner to me I had a prog and the only thing that really needed changing was the stock strings as they were awful.. What's the string spacing like? That's an area that tends to suffer with budget sixers. I think HB stuff is great and ridiculously good value for money, hopefully this is another example [/quote] I'm not sure what the actual spacing measurement is - its certainly closer than my 4-strings which are all 19mm. I know the nut is 51mm wide, and I would make an educated guess that it's around 17mm spacing bridge end - a bit tight for me to slap comfortably (not that I was planning on slap with this bass) but still pretty comfortable. I've never tried a 6-string before this morning so I dont have anything to compare it to directly.

Hi folks, After asking around here for some advice I decided to take the plunge and get myself a Harley Benton 6-string bass. It’s arrived today and I thought I would share some details with you. I’ll start by saying I am very pleased with the bass. It’s a neat yet simple design and it feels nicely made and well finished. I was expecting it to weigh quite a bit but actually it’s quite light – certainly a lot easier on the shoulders than my Harley Benton Jazz. The neck is very playable. Being a 6-string it’s clearly chunky, and the shape reminds me quite a bit of my Squire P-bass albeit even fatter. Despite the size, I find the neck pretty fast and there is no problem reaching the low B string. It came really well set up with a nice low action. The intonation needed seeing to but otherwise it was playable out of the box. The electronics are pretty nice too. It’s got a 2-band active EQ with a blend and volume. It also has the option of going passive when the volume pot is pulled out, in which case the treble control becomes a passive tone control. Sound wise it has quite a bit of growl to it. It almost reminds me of a Warwick in that respect. The active circuit is pretty hot and can easily bring on some distortion when the bass control is tweaked up even a little. However, it’s a nice sound and pretty flexible. I’d say the passive sound is the nicest – clean and rich and certainly much more impressive than a bass of this price has any right to sound. I’m off to band practice with it tonight so I’ll report my experience with it in the wild tomorrow, but until then it looks like Harley Benton have designed a really nice bass for just silly money here.

Fantastic bass and sounds great too!

Hi folks, I've recently been playing in a band with a guitarist who uses one of the Hiwatt valve heads and the sound just blew me away. Given how nice it is I'm seriously considering one of their DR201 heads for bass. The trouble seems to be that these amps are rare and I'm struggling to track one down that I might try out before laying down substancial cash. With that in mind I was wondering if anyone here has one and would be willing to let me have a little play with it sometime? Also, I would be very interested in hearing anyone's thoughts / experiences with Hiwatt vavle heads. All the best James

Just thought I would chuck a couple of other suggestions into the pot: (1) Bryan Adams: Run to You - a bit more interesting to play than Summer of 69 and it has a really neat bassline that is easy to get into the groove of: http://www.songsterr.com/a/wsa/bryan-adams-run-to-you-tab-s2430t0 (2) Echo and the Bunnymen: Killing Moon - total classic and the bassline is really good fun on this one. Also again a nice groove that is easy to fall into: http://www.songsterr.com/a/wsa/echo-and-the-bunnymen-killing-moon-tab-s33680t1 (3) Smash Mouth: All Star - everyone knows it and its about as cheery and upbeat as they get. The bassline is nice and simple but fun all the same: http://www.songsterr.com/a/wsa/smash-mouth-all-star-tab-s17302t0 (4) Goldfinger's Cover: 99 Red Balloons - Awesome track with some wondeful yet simple bass: http://www.songsterr.com/a/wsa/goldfinger-99-red-balloons-tab-s8514t0

After messing around with different set-ups for a while I've settled on the following: * La-Bella Black Nylon 'Perfectly Balanced' strings in 50 - 105 guage * Action around mid-level. Well above fretbuzz. I play mostly finger-style and I have a very light touch as quite a bit of what I play depends on very fast triplet runs so this set-up works a dream for me.

My only advice would be to order your new amp from a good online retailer like thomman. That way you have a thirty day return option which guve s you plenty of time to try it out and see how it works for you.

Now that pedal sounds great. I've been after a nice analog octave pedal for a while now. Add that fuzz in and I think I just found the number one item on this years Xmas list - time to start droping some heavy-handed hints

I have one of the newer Squire 'Vintage Modified' basses and it's a real cracker for the money. There is very little difference between the Squire basses and some of the cheaper MIM/MIA if you ask me. Perhaps the biggest difference I have noticed is that many of the Squire range are a little heavier perhaps due to less picky choosing of the woods. I'd certainly be more than happy to use a Squire as a serious gigging bass these days. As to other options out there, here are a few to consider: * The Ibanez SR range are very well made basses and the pricing is amazing on them. The necks are too skinny for my taste but lots of folks love them: [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/ibanez_sr305ipt.htm"]http://www.thomann.d...ez_sr305ipt.htm[/url] * Close to the top end of your budget is this Ibanez BTB from Classic and Cool - wonderful basses by all accounts and quite a bit more meaty than the SR range: [url="http://classicandcoolguitars.co.uk/basses/ibanezbtb5string.htm"]http://classicandcoo...zbtb5string.htm[/url] * Yammaha do the TRBX 5-string that is well within your budget and folks around here seem to have nothing but praise for them: [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/yamaha_trbx_305_car.htm"]http://www.thomann.d...rbx_305_car.htm[/url] * It's worth mentioning the Harley Benton range by Thomman too. They are very affortable ( >£100!) and I'd honestly say they are competative with Squire basses. If you manage to get one on the 'Deco Only' offers they are even cheaper. Depending on the model you can sometimes find them for as little as ~£30 plust P&P. The one weakness with these is that the Pick-Ups / Electronics are a bit tame but then at that price you could afford some pretty tastey new ones and still have change compared to the price of a new Squire: [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_mb_5_sb_deluxe_series_b_stock.htm"]http://www.thomann.d...ies_b_stock.htm[/url] [u]*[/u] Finally, at the other end of the spectrum there are the Maruszczyk basses. I play one myself and utterly love it as do quite a few other folks around here (check out threads by McNash and WaterOfTyne for some nice details on them as well as the 'official club' thread). They're a little more than your budget but Adrian does offer a few at discounted rates now and then if they've been used for trade-show demos etc. so it is well worth checking them out: [url="http://www.public-peace.de/index.php/bass-guitars/maruszczyk/elwood/5-string/386-elwood-5p-red-burst090091"]http://www.public-pe...red-burst090091[/url] Edit: added links to example basses

Cheers for the advice folks decided to bite the bullet and give the Harley Benton 6-String a crack. Just ordered it so should be with me some time next week.

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1443288087' post='2873622'] Some people have issues with muting on Sixers so a good idea to give one a good going over before commitng. [/quote] Aye, I think this is my biggest concern. Given that some of the stuff we play is the typically loud and fast riffs you find in metal/alt stuff muting could be tricky. I'm fine with a four-string but two more with a wider neck could be a whole other story. Saying that I've just been looking at the six-string Harley Benton progressive, which comes it at just over £100 so I think I might take a stab at it with that one and see how things go.

Hi folks, Right now all my basses are 4-stringers and I love them like that. However, due to my band needs I'm now in the market for a bass with a low B string. I'm torn however, as to whether to go with a 5-string bass or just jump in the deep end and grab a 6-string. I made a post a little while ago about good 6-string basses I could consider and got some great answers. However, I'm just a little cautious to seek a bit more advice before I part with my cash. Here are some salient points about my situation: * I'm looking for a bass that I will play for a few songs in a set. Most of my playing will still be with my 4-string bass. * Given the above, weight is not such an issue since I won't be using the bass for hours at a time standing up. * The kind of Metal/Alt/Prog we play often sees me playing quite high up the fret board - little licks and high melodic lines are common. * Equally, I tend to be needed to drop some deep bottom end in for some of the heavy riffs. These are often fast and finger-tanglers so I need to have comfortable access to the low-B. * I use quite a lot of open-string drone notes so any dampening will have to come from my hands rather than a nice srunchy etc. that some 6-string players use. With these points in mind, what are your thoughts? The idea of a 6-stringer tempts me as I quite fancy the added verticality for some of those quick little runs and the like. At the same time I am a little wary that the neck might be unweildy and make playing some of the speedy riffs a nightmare. Looking forward to your words of wisdom James

Just a shot in the dark here but could it be that the pick-ups are microphonic / there is a lack of shielding and you are getting interference of some kind? That can give some pretty nasty noise which will only be exacebated if you're using distortion/compression

Hi folks, Apologies for not being able to make it today in the end. Alas my neighbor across the road came home after a few too many drinks last night and crashed into my parked car. Looks like its going to be a write off and so I have no trasport for the time being. Hopefully I'll be able to make the next meetup. Anyhow, hope you are all having a great time today. All the best James

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1443271040' post='2873528'] ...and Maruszczyk make fantastically [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]well balanced basses that still weigh less than a bag of crisps, for a reasonable price. As you suggest, people just need to ask around and do their research.[/font][/color] [/quote] +1 to this. My Elwood weighs about the same as my Ibanez SR300 (which is to say very light indeed) and the balance is perfect. It just sits with no dive what-so-ever both on the lap and strap. A light bass that is well built and balanced really is a charm to play.

First, welcome to Basschat! No idea what the bass is but it looks fantastic. What is it that you don't like about the sound?

The one that's always stood out for me was Placebo's cover of Robert Palmer's "Johnny and Mary". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jc6D7DcVpU