chris_b

Videos like this are interesting. They show me how similar most basses are and with a little EQing how 90% of them will sound indistinguishable from each other. An Ed Freidland Precision bass comparison. . . . . . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoJUz1oajXo

I could have gigged with any of them, but I preferred the Jazz basses and definitely wouldn't have owned any of the humbuckers. I didn't see anything that would have knocked my current Sadowsky off the perch.

I accept Scott Devine has a few mannerisms which could annoy, but I think he's producing an excellent service for bassists around the world. I'm very happy he's created such a successful business.

The reason Wal preferred using a mahogany core was the tone. It's a wood with a nice resonance and forms a great tone.

There are some Ken Smith treads on Talk bass at at the moment. I played a few and lusted after them at the Bass Centre, in days gone by. I really like them but have accepted my preference is for the single coil pickup sound.

Nice curly cable. . . . . . . . matches my nail polish.

Since the 80's I've always said no to NYE gigs. But this year I was asked and said yes! It's a trio gig with vocals, guitar and bass. These are excellent players so I'm in for a good night.

The usual, get more gigs and network more.

Stick a lump of foam under the strings for extra thumpness. The more foam you use the duller and thumpier, and more vintage, your sound gets. Works with either rounds or flats. IMO when recording you can't use too much foam, but I usually remove it for gigs.

A guitarist I know played in Wandsworth Prison. The warders had to double check all the unpacked gear and then search the band, on the way in and out again.

Hi guys, best wishes for a happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year for you and your families. Here's to good gigs and good music throughout 2020.

Sounds like the Ypres Castle Inn in Rye. About 57 steep and uneven steps up to the pub.

My experience is 25 years playing a 4 string Fender Precision and, so far, 8 years playing a 5 string Mike Lull P bass. No mud in either of those basses. Your post was highlighting the split pickup in particular. It is a humbucker design which should operate the same on both 4 and 5 string basses. If there is a difference between recorded and live P basses, then that difference isn't the bass or its pickup design, it's the rig and the EQ used.

But P basses don't tend to be muddy down low. Mine have never sounded like that. There are no muddy P basses on any Soul, Motown or Wrecking Crew records or any of the other several thousand hit records where a P bass was played. It's the quality of the instrument, the rig you are using and how you EQ your sound that makes them muddy or not.

I've got Barefaced cabs and a great trolley so I can park anywhere. Load-ins don't bother me anymore. The rest of the band might not be so happy, though!

Me too. Depending on the tides the gangplank could be like climbing up and down a ladder whilst carrying carrying your gear!!

It will be good value if you focus on why you bought it. Forget any short-comings or dislikes, just learn how playing a 6 string bass works and the adjustments you have to make to your technique and open the door to a whole new area of playing . With that in mind I'm sure this will be a great bass for you. And even on a new bass, a good set up will make it play even better.

Excellent. Now for the next 30.

A 5 string bass is not a stepping stone to playing a 6. Play the bass that gets you the sound you want in a way that you feel is comfortable to play.

These days I use TI flats on my passive P bass and D'Addario NYXL rounds on my active jazz. IMO best of both worlds. I've used rounds on a P bass for most of my playing life. As long as you're getting the sound you want it doesn't matter how you do it..

I have a standard shape P pickup on my Lull PJ5. I usually have the J switched off because the sound doesn't need it. This is one of the best sounding P basses I've heard, but then Mike Lull apparently spent a lot of time, with Seymour Duncan, testing custom windings for these pickups, so the quality of the sound comes from having the time and desire to achieve a design goal that was out of the ordinary. Production line basses, as good as they can be, do not have this level of work put into them. IMO these days if a 5 string bass isn't cutting through the reason is probably the way the amp is being EQ'd.

A Fender Fat Finger might help. They sell it as a sustain device, but it also adds mass to the head and that can either lessen or remove dead spots. It might just move the dead spot up the neck to a less noticeable position. Before you spend any money, can you get hold of a G clamp? Clamp it to the head of the bass (ensure you protect the finish). If the G clamp sorts the dead spot then then so will the Fat Finger, but in a nicer package. If the G clamp doesn't work then neither will the Fat Finger.

Play where you are most comfortable. If your sound needs to be fattened up, change your EQ.

You're primarily a guitarist, so I'd work it out on guitar and get up to speed on your more familiar instrument. When you can do that I'd transfer the line to the bass. Then you are only trying to do 1 thing at a time.