Tokalo
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Everything posted by Tokalo
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In mint condition, barring Velcro on back. Big display; highly accurate; thin, but not a “mini” pedal. Can be battery-powered. Please add £4 uk postage.-
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Gary has just installed a passive/active volume control on my new MTD Kingston. At the same time, he straightened the neck on my Spector Coda - for free! Over the past few months he also did a setup on my stepson’s Ibanez SR1605 (“it’s never played as well”), and repaired a bridge on friend’s son’s classical 6 string (“he was so nice and helpful, and did a great job”). Highly recommended!
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Ordered a b-stock bass (MTD Kingston Z4) in December. I’d been watching it for months, just hoping I might get a Christmas bonus big enough. Bonuses were announced on 8 December, so at that point I knew I had enough. But when I checked it was still available, the price had increased by £100! I must have just been no more than a week late. I phoned on the off-chance that there was room for negotiation, but before I’d even finished my first sentence, Mark said I could have it for the earlier lower price. (He also delayed despatch so it would arrive on a day when my good lady was at the office!) In short: super service!
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Thanks for all the comments. I wasn’t particularly looking for an active bass: it was the neck and the weight (and looks!) I liked. Stock p/ups are MTD proprietary Bartolini soapbars, which seem to do a good job through headphones. I use the tube drive on the Digbeth pedal to thicken up the sound, and to adjust the eq according to the room etc. My amp is a TC BQ500, which I tend to keep flat so it’s really just a power amp. It seems to me that the role of electrics on a bass is to capture as much of the whole tone (ie note + harmonics + sub-harmonics) as possible. So as long as the onboard preamp doesn’t take away any of the signal from the pickups, it will be staying put (though I’ll be asking GaryMac to add and push/pull passive pot).
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I got myself a MTD Kingston Z4 with my Christmas bonus. All seems good (very good - really light, punchy p/ups, wonderful neck), although I can’t try it out at volume with a band for a couple more days. Reading around (on here and TB), there seems to be a consensus that the G&B preamp is a bit weak/thin. I’ve stretched my budget to buy the bass, and I’m not looking to spend more. It occurs to me that I have 3 preamps in my chain: 1 - on the bass; 2 - a Laney Digbeth on my pedalboard; 3 - the eq controls on the amp. So I’ve got plenty of options to thicken the sound and give it a bit of welly. Would I really see any benefit from swapping in a £170 - £210 preamp?
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slightly less than eye wateringly expensive coated strings?
Tokalo replied to skidder652003's topic in Accessories and Misc
Blacksmith nano-carbon coated (AOT). I’ve been using them for 10 months on my gigging based, and very happy. Normally available on Amazon for about £22. -
My 10-year old son was showing an interest in my basses, so I put an ad in the Wanted section for a small Jackson. Mick answered by offering to lend us his Squier mini p-bass. It’s the perfect size, and the lad was clearly comfortable. He’s played it every day, learning Living on a Prayer, Crazy Train, Back in Black etc. We’ve given Mick his bass back now (I believe he’s sharing it with someone else). My son is getting his own mini-bass for Christmas now. Mick is just the most generous and helpful guy. Not only by sharing a bass, but also selfless with his time and advice.
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My 10-yr old is currently borrowing @TheGreek’s black one to see if he wants to play bass. (He loves it!) As well as the ease of playing, and super light weight, I’ve got to say I was shocked how punchy the p/u is. So we’ve bought him one for Christmas. -
I put Ultralite lollipops on my PJ Mustang. Neck dive solved! (And I think they look less outsized /ugly too)
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Jonny D has a review out: https://youtu.be/005lrJFMyRc?feature=shared Looks like pre-order only on the Ashdown website at the mo. (8.2lb makes the PJ a bit tempting if I get a bonus this year!)
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Isn’t his workshop on the same farm site as the Three Brewers brewery? Could make for a rewarding trip.
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As we were leaving, one member of staff said “have you been upstairs and tried the concert grands?” Now, I’m not a particularly scruffy guy, but I’m sure I don’t give off the air of someone who can afford £150k for a joanna. It was a bit surreal that they were so encouraging. I also played the Nathan East, not realising what it was nor how much it cost. What a delicious experience! Up till then, the best bass I’ve played was my Sandberg Electra VS4. How do I get it out of my head now?!
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Yes, definitely not normal retail. A handy addition to my list of “Free Things to do in London”, though!
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I had to take my 10-year old out for several hours today, to allow my wife some study time. He plays trombone (grade 2), and is curious about other brass instruments. So I took him up to London to visit the Yamaha shop (it’s the only brass store open on a Sunday that we could get to). Knowing we wouldn’t be purchasing, I was a bit sheepish about asking if he could play their Bb/F trombone. But they were SO helpful and welcoming. Not only did he play the £1400 trombone, they positively encouraged him to try a French Horn and a Tenor Horn. This weekend, it seems they’ve been having an event, so they also offered him a free 30-minute music lesson. We went downstairs to the guitar section and he was taught a few chords and, erm, Smoke on the Water (he plays it on trombone in his band) Meanwhile, I had time to try out a couple of basses, including a 5-string that has made me reconsider whether I should only have 4s. And an upright electric which has confirmed that I definitely shouldn’t go there. All in all, a great experience!
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If it’s a job, doesn’t there need to a contract of employment, albeit that does not necessarily need to be in written format. For my gig next Saturday, I didn’t organise it, and I have no idea if I’m being paid, let alone how much. I’ve played 5 gigs so far this year, and because it’s for fun, the average I’ve received has been about £40. I can’t see this being covered by employment law, even if it’s only inferred.
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I put a Kent Armstrong pickup in my Electra VS4 because one band needed a more vintage tone for a couple of gigs. It does that brilliantly, especially with TI flats. And it still rocks with nickel rounds in my dad rock band (I play through a TC BQ500, which has a very clean, modern tone so the Sandberg p/u was a bit too bright). I also swapped out the pre-amp for a K10gon passive loom because the volume control was faulty. I couldn’t be happier!
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The two packs I’ve used have been fine; great, even. Long-lasting and easy-to-play in a hot, sweaty pub. At £22-ish a pack, I find they’re good value.
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G&L Tribute Kiloton Really versatile bass with a great range of awesome & powerful tones. Jazz neck (38mm / 1.5”); Same hot MFD pickup as in the USA basses; 3-way switch for parallel/single coil/series (series is aka “OMG” mode because it’s got so much wellie!); G&L hi-mass locking bridge (still has the grub screw); It’s got a custom pickguard; the white original will be included; Comfortable contoured body and lovely, smooth neck; Fitted with new DR Pure Blues strings (45-100); Weighs 4.3kg; It’s in really good condition with no dings or scratches, apart from a small chip in the lacquer (pictured). Specs: Body: Poplar Bolt-on neck: Maple Fingerboard: Rosewood Fretboard radius: 12" Scale: 864 mm (34") long scale Nut width 38.10 mm 21 Medium-jumbo nickel frets Pickup: 1 Leo Fender-designed G&L MFD Magentic Field Design Humbucker (made in USA) 1 Volume and 1 tone control 3-Way series/split/parallel mini-toggle Can post for £30, or happy to meet up within a reasonable distance. -
Oh, if you need some downsides… 1) it’s got a traditional jazz body - it weighs 9lbs, so it’s not as light as you’d expect from a Spector (but still not “heavy”); 2) the modern machine heads look a bit funny on a trad shaped bass; 3) er, that’s it. The tonepump jnr and EMG HZs sound great, although I replaced the preamp with a Glock 2-band because I wanted a balance control and a passive option. In passive, the pickups are fine: I see no need to “upgrade” them, even playing in a loud Dad Rock band - I easily hold my own.
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And that’s not even the nicest thing about it; the neck is to-die-for (in my opinion)!
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It’s 18mm (I got a black one earlier this year). It makes it easier to play, although a fussy person might say it makes the pickups look a little too wide!
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Awesome. (Though the thought of all that washing up is tempering my wonderment)
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They’re sold by Music & Piano Centre in Ireland via Amazon.
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Update after 8 months. I’ve had the strings on my main gigging bass (Spector Coda 4) all year: they’re still going strong and sounding/feeling great. I suppose I should compare them with Elixirs - but I tried some of those once and wasn’t particularly impressed; I certainly couldn’t see why they cost so much more. These Blacksmiths, on the other hand, definitely seem to be good value for money. I’ve just put another set on my second bass.
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I had a set that I used on a couple of basses for several months last year. I thought they were sticky, and kept cleaning them (alcohol, then washing-up liquid - in case it was caused by skin debris/grease etc). But they’re not properly “sticky” - if you slide up and down, they’re smooth like a flatwound should be. It’s when you lightly touch them that there’s some extra contact between your skin and the metal. I've come to the conclusion that the “sticky” feeling might be something to do with charged particles in the cobalt reacting to my body’s inherent magnetism. I don’t use them any longer.
