Doctor J

It's their version of a JC120, so it's pretty swish if you want it to be, but the distortion channel is where it really shines. I have the 2x12 combo, the only reason I stopped gigging it was because it's about 40kg Lots of cheaper valve amps have a nasty, fizzy high end once you crank the gain up, as do many cheaper solid states, but this one has a really tasty crunch to it. Many is the sound engineer who ate humble pie once they heard it

A little off tangent but he should have a look for an Ampeg VH-140C head. It's solid state, but it's one of the finest distortion channels you'll ever encounter and would be well under budget while being louder than a jet engine if needs be. Of course, solid-state isn't in fashion these days, but if he sees one around he should let his ears decide. It's the kind of amp that shuts the mouths of valve snobs. Other than that, the 6505 is everywhere, it's a great sound but everyone is starting to sound the same. The Dark Terror sounds great but might not have the volume for a full on live Metal band, he should try to borrow one to see if it will cut it in terms of volume. Tone-wise they're rather nice.

If a Squier does the business for you then go for it. I found the gap in class between a Sadowsky and a Squier to go deeper than the pickups though.

[quote name='Jimmyp28' timestamp='1327500530' post='1512382'] Still though I have not heard one reason for why these high end basses cost a lot more and we are not talking just a few weeks of saving. I know people have a problem with how I feel about this (look at the last few pages ha ha) but the point was to hear how and why these prices can be justified and am still [b]thinking[/b] that they cant. Every post has said about there over heads are high or they are that the skill these luthiers have warrant this price, or have questioned my beliefs or ideas, but still no reason to explain to some degree rationally why there basses cost so much more. [/quote] You see, nobody can address this for you because you [b]think[/b] they're wildly overpriced, but don't have a clue what they actually cost to make. Until you find out what they cost, you have no idea what the retail price should be and, therefore, are making a claim which is entirely groundless.

[quote name='Jimmyp28' timestamp='1327495890' post='1512227'] but that depends on what you call a reasonable profit margin really [/quote] And you've already said you don't have a clue what the individual profit margin is, which is why your crusade is so baffling. Get some facts first, then this might make a bit more sense. I suspect Mr. Kipling of keeping thebest cakes for himself, but I can't prove it, so I let it lie.

Your Wal guy copied their filter preamp and 8 coil pickups for a grand?

[quote name='Jimmyp28' timestamp='1327492767' post='1512123'] I know we live in a very capitalistic society but surly there is a happy medium. Some way in which these very talented skilled artisans can get this to the general populus with out the need for for such high profit margins? [/quote]How do you know what kind of profit margins they're running? Could you get some kind of documentation to show exactly how much Wal, Fodera and Ken Smith make on each bass, or are you just speculating that even though the RRP is high that the cost of manufacture is substantially lower?

A little bit of everything, I think. With the band for the last few years I was playing Metal but now I'm just getting back into recording at home and just going with whatever sounds good (to me). I've got about thirty songs in various states of completion, all different kinds of styles of music and playing all the bass, drums & guitars myself. See sig for details.

Ethical? Each ply represents one of the orphans killed cutting down the trees by hand.

It's worth thinking about the kind of instrument you end up with when socialists are at the wheel too

I'd say there is more of an ethical issue behind buying cheap Chinese (or your low-cost labour hole of choice) made basses. How much do you think your average non-party sweat shop worker gets in a land of human-rights abuses? Do you ever play a low-priced Squier and wonder "how do they do this for so little money"? You should. There are reasons multi-nationals are swarming into China to have their goods produced and it isn't because their kung-fu skills and tasty curries. So I say this to you, brothers and sisters, support skilled labour working in a free (to an extent) society, boycott cheap basses and buy quality! Buy from those whose price is a fair return for the skills, labour and materials involved, not from vultures exploiting a forcibly lower waged and abused workforce. Say no to oppression! Huzzah for freedom!

It's funny, before their takeover they were famed for their QC, that was what the Skylines were reknowned for, how they justified their price for an "import" bass. Only [i]now[/i] their QC is good? OK To be honest, the pic you linked wouldn't worry me. You're never going to hear or notice that the pickup is slightly misaligned in any way other than if you look at it head on. Besides, have you seen how much money 70's Fenders go for these days? QC doesn't matter if it looks good For what it's worth, I used to have a Korean 55-02 and it was top notch, apart from the home-installed pre-amp upgrade, which the guy soldered in so the battery was always on (on drained out within a couple of weeks).

Ever stand in front of an 8x10 at full pelt? It's the guitar version of that

Mega! Top job by all involved, I really enjoyed that

[quote name='cheddatom' timestamp='1327059846' post='1505787'] I disagree! [/quote]Indeed. The rich hire the poor at a paltry rate to worry on their behalf.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1327058704' post='1505741'] And unless you live in a cave and exist outside the system, you're part of the problem. [/quote]And once the bear who lives there wakes up from hibernation, you won't be a part of the problem anymore.

[quote name='cheddatom' timestamp='1327058394' post='1505732'] I had a bit of a crisis of ethics recently. I can't reconcile my thoughts and opinions with my ignorant actions. I don't want to abandon the lifestyle I love, but I honestly feel like a sh*t person for carrying on regardless. EDIT: If you chose to be ethical about one aspect of your life, isn't that an insult to the areas you're ignoring? Buying ethically sourced coffee might feel a bit better, but by driving a car (or using public transport) you're hurting the envirovment, not to mention indirectly funding some pretty nasty middle eastern regimes. Just by paying tax I am paying for people to be killed in wars I think are ethically wrong. [/quote] I'm not sure it's possible for everything in this area to be black and white, that's it's actually possible to be ethically constistent in a first world country. The entire history of mankind is one nation screwing another. Are things better now that violent colonialism is (almost) a thing of the past or is the economic warfare of the modern era a greater evil? Short answer: try and to the right thing where possible and within reason.

[quote name='JimBobTTD' timestamp='1327036561' post='1505492'] We all buy things made in China. There is no avoiding unethical products nowadays, so I tend to let things like cobalt mining ethics slip by me. I am not proud of this. [/quote]This. We're happy to ignore the shameful human rights violations in China as long as our ipods, iphones, TV's and other household electronics, which play such a major role in everybody's daily lives, remain nice and cheap so why would we care about the trifling little items. And our Classic Vibe Squiers too. That quality for so little money, does anyone really care about the lives of the poor bastards who made it? Not at that price, eh?

Learning another instrument is hugely beneficial, I think. If you don't get on with it after a while it's not like you'll lose any money if you ever sell it on, so if you've got the cash then I say why not?

I couldn't find anyone selling a working original, so I ended up buying a pickup from Aaron Armstrong (son of Kent) who seems to be the only one making pickups that size. You may end up looking for a set of pickups, to be honest, Aaron's one didn't sound like the original and it and the remaining original didn't work as a pair. Maybe keep an eye on ebay and the likes for a while to see if an original shows up before commiting to a new pickup?

Yup http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Hardware,_parts/Electric_guitar:_Covers_plates/Humbucking_Pickup_Covers.html The point being you can get the humbucker you like the sound of and deal with the aesthetics afterwards.

I had a GFS before and it wasn't immune from squeal nor did it really sound as good as I wanted, I ended up replacing it with the Seymour Duncan JB I should have bought in the first place. I'd say keep an eye out for second hand deals here or on other forums. If you want a great all-round humbucker, the Seymour Duncan sh-4 can be bought with a cover. There are also hundreds of Gibson 490t owners out there looking to sell. You can buy a pickup cover seperately and apply it to most humbuckers if you really want the look.

Hi Neil, I can't help you with the tab but what I would suggest is spending the time training your ears to recognise notes. Excuse me while I transfer into old fart mode, but having auditioned players in their late teens and early twenties over the last few years, it became obvious that those who learned by tab struggled to jam, pick up riffs by ear or even tune their instrument without the aid of an electronic tuner. Some couldn't participate at all without having tab sheets in front of them. It's probably not what you want to hear but a bit of short-term pain at this point in your learning will be a lot of long-term gain in your favour. That you can already hear what you have is wrong is good and you should look at working on being able to isolate the bass track with your ears alone. If you think about it, there aren't that many notes and a little bit of graft figuring it out will do wonders for your listening skills. Good luck.

It really sounds like it's your neck pickup, dead coil as described above. I had exactly the same problem. If you're lucky one of the pickup wires has come loose from the switch. I'm surprised you didn't hear a loud pop noise when you tapped the pickup with a screwdriver. Your pickup is set up like this under the blank top If you tap on the neck pickup where the pole pieces are while it's in parallel mode (ie when you can hear a signal through your amp), you should notice one side makes a loud noise through the amp when you tap, the other much quieter. This should confirm a dead coil,

Excellent! Congrats!