OutToPlayJazz

Well, ours is shaping up now. The pro ones are always a big job. We've done four 15 hour days to put it together & have done a lot of sitting around during two and a half days of technical rehearsals. Toyah Willcox is very nice & we're into the 'zone' now. Just need to get through the next five weeks now! I'll scan the programme as soon as I get a moment. Looking like the next step for our crew is a six month tour with Chicago. Watch this space...

Very nice, Clarky Satisfied for the time being, mate?

I've made this point before in another thread, but with the relative frequencies involved, the bass player always needs a lot of power to keep up with a relatively low powered guitar amplifier. I used to need to drive my 500w MarkBass quite hard to keep up with a guitarist using a Line 6 twin 150w! As a direct comparison, my Roland bass cube 100 copes with no problem against a 12 piece big band. Mainly because there are no screaming guitars involved. If you think about it, the lower range of the guitar crosses and intermingles with the bass frequencies. That's why you often think you can't hear yourself. That and of course the fact that guitarists are a bunch of noisemongering assholes!

Yes, that was the only complaint I had with the 50's P I played. Lovely bass, but very low on output, hence my thought of getting one and chucking a Thumper at it.

Talking of the trans white finish, someone's just posted their bass on TalkBass. Looks stunning! The neck especially is lovely. I hope they're all like this

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='675906' date='Dec 6 2009, 05:27 PM']Alternatively... Get the best of both worlds and mod the P bass with a J pup. [/quote] Another highly credible piece of lateral thinking from the North East contingent!

If it's just sounding too muddy, try some new strings on your Precision. Yes, perhaps the amp could do with an upgrade, but try taking your bass to a music store and plugging it into some amps. I find the traditional P sound very muddy as well. Perhaps because after having spent some years in noisy rock bands in the past, I've lost a little of the top end from my hearing, but I do prefer a more scooped sound personally. Lots of bottom and top together. So I'd say that step one is to get some nice zingy new strings on your 2008 P. Step two is to try it through some new amplification & step three is while you're there, try some Jazz basses as well & see if one of them gives you more of the sound you want compared to your P. Job done.

I've heard people say several times now that certain music doesn't "move" them. I suppose that as a professional musician, I don't see music as an emotional experience. I like to listen to music that technically and texturally interests and intrigues me. As a for instance, I can't listen to generic pop/rock music when in the car - It just bores me to death. I listen to Radio 4 in the car ninety-nine percent of the time when I can't be bothered to plug in the iPod.

Classic look Your Jazz has a telebass neck on it, doesn't it?

In addenum, all of the Line 6 XT models have that patch. It's just that the "live" model is the floor board type.

[quote name='Mog' post='675819' date='Dec 6 2009, 04:16 PM']Is there much of a neck dive issue with this model? I've seen them pretty cheap on Stagebeat's site. Never thought I'd see the day when a Fender was almost as cheap as a Squire![/quote] No, it seemed like a lovely balanced bass when I played one. I was thinking of buying the one I played in Grimsby (black/gold/maple) and putting a Wizard Thumper in it for some serious low end!

[quote name='BurritoBass' post='675784' date='Dec 6 2009, 03:34 PM']A couple of references to the 50s classic but worth remebering this is not a standard MIM bass. Expect to pay more & expect a similar jump in quality like what you get with a standard Squier & a VM Squier. I really rate them but not everyone likes the traditional feel[/quote] Quite true. The 50's model has the wider and thicker neck profile of old, but they are surprisingly comfortable.

There's a JE Live at Leeds sound patch on my Line 6 BassPod XT Live. May be a cheaper option than a new bass

Yes, I looked him up. Strangely, his bass has been stolen from the Tussauds collection figurine of him. Anything to confess?

The Classic 50's P is a really nice bass (with glossed maple neck/fingerboard & anodised gold scratch guard) & the new Standard series P's are pretty nice, but before you spend a lot of hard earned, try the Squier Classic Vibe 60's P in sonic blue. You may be surprised...

That's a seriously nice looking bass. Is it one of the Panther range? I've always had a thing for Sandbergs, but never had one yet... Edit: Just looked into them & realised it's a California J series MM model. Seriously nice bass.

Heh! I have to admit ignorance here and tell you that I don't know who Phil Lynott is! <--- Classical/Jazz musician!

That Lava Pearl Stingray 5 was a stunner. Have you still got that one?

I was thinking on the lines of a Precision with a rosewood board and a Wizard Thumper on board. Can't think of anything darker and boomier... Except...I had a Yamaha BB714BS for a short while. That was the deepest & darkest sounding bass I've ever heard! That mudbucker at the neck makes for an earth shattering bass frequency.

My piezo Stingray has the variable height polepieces, so I go for 3-4mm in the middle where the highest polepieces are under the D & A strings. Basically as close as you can get without the sound distorting. Before I got a chance to play with the setup on my two Rays, I always thought that they were seriously lacking in output. That was because all of the ones I played had the pickups screwed right down for some reason! Here's Rob Green's guide to pickup height... PICKUP HEIGHT : The distance from the pickup to the string makes a big difference. I normally set the bridge pickup to about 4-5mm and the neck pickup to about 6-7mm. This varies from model to model as some basses have pickups which have been made to take the extra string movement above the neck pickup into account. The closer the pickup is to the string the greater the output but this goes up exponentially so if you make the gap half as much the output can be up to ten times not just twice.

Nice looking bass. Not sure on the tie-fighter and the mirror, though! To each their own, though! As to your tort scratch guard comments, I'm not sure on that one. The P isn't exactly a modern bass, it's a relic of the 50's. Isn't it meant to look "classic"? Bet that Lollar sounds huge, though!

Okay, since we're talking fantasy Christmas here, I'd like... A Bentley Continental Flying Spur An Angelina Jolie And something for special occasions... Ah yes, A Rolls-Royce Phantom! As well as the aforementioned KingBass Mk-II. I am after all, a man of simple tastes.