ezbass

Automatic - The Pointer Sisters

I use the volume control for swells and muting, otherwise wide open for minimised resistance. The tone control gets far more use.

You’re My Favourite Waste of Time - Marshall Crenshaw

I've played a Sadowsky, but not a Fodera. I'm also not a fan of gold hardware, therefore, if I had to pick one, it would be the Sad. Having said that, one of the few bass tones that have emanated from the TV that has really made me sit up to see what was being used, was a Fodera (Marc van Wageningen with Tower of Power on Later with Jools).

You Take Me Up - Thompson Twins

Chrome or black depending on finish.

Arthur Daley (‘E’s Alright) - The Firm

Works for me.

The Great 1974 Mining Disaster - Barclay James Harvest

Skating Away - Jethro Tull

I only discovered Artec pickups in the last year. I was blown away by the quality, especially coupled with the price. I can only imagine that their preamps will will just as stunning. Looking forward to your findings.

Slippery People - Talking Heads (used before, but I wanted to continue with the ‘eew!’ vibe)

Arc of a Diver - Steve Winwood

Stand & Deliver - Adam and the Ants

If You Go Away - Dusty Springfield

Ooh, a lipstick p/up in the bridge! Too much?

Copperhead Road - Steve Earle

Iron Man - Sabbath

Too... much... goodness... I need to lie down after so much funk and tone. Thanks for posting @ped, I’m going to be sharing this.

Over The Hills And Far Away - Led Zep

I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry - Hank Williams

Sweet Like Chocolate - Shanks & Bigfoot

Today, I had a good old play of the JMJ, using my pedalboard in front of my Yamaha headphone amp. All my long scale basses (passive) love my, always on, Sadowsky SBP2 pre amp, it sprinkles ‘fairy dust’ on the tone and just makes it, er... ‘more’. This feeds my octave and chorus boxes, then my VTDI for a little dirt (eq set to render a flat response against the character control) and then into my MXR compressor. However, the Mustang doesn’t react in the same way to the SBP2, it makes it too bottom heavy and detracts from the great, inherent tone; hmm. This got me thinking, what if I used the VTDI less as a dirt box and use it to make the Mustang more cutting by pushing the mid control (apparently centred @1khz) for a more, bridge centric, J like tone? Hello Mr Honky! Suddenly, the Mustang becomes more of an all rounder and my other basses start to get worried (don’t worry, guys, Daddy still loves you - today 😉). But the experimentation doesn’t stop there, what happens if I now use the SBP2 as well? Ah ha! The normal Mustang tone returns, but now accompanied by the previously mentioned ‘fairy dust’. Oh, happy day! Now, this is of course using a headphone amp and it might all be a different story through my Phil Jones rig (sadly in storage, 500 miles away) but given that setup’s pretty flat, uncoloured response, I think it’ll be the same. This means, that my idea of potentially adding a bridge p/up may well be moot. It really does seem that only having one pickup with, by comparison, limited tonal options (even compared to P basses), makes you think more and become more inventive. I’ve seen this phenomena with single pickup guitars (yeah, I said guitars, what of it? Oh, no! I’ve stirred up the natives, where’s my tin hat and hiding hole? 😂) and I think it’s a good thing. In short, I’m digging the Mustang even more now.

It really is a looker and as I love the sound from my VTDI, I’m sure it sounds great too. If I was looking to change my rig (I’m not, I’m not, I’m not!) one of these would surely be in the frame.