henry norton

[quote name='leschirons' post='419660' date='Feb 25 2009, 11:02 PM']Classy, cheap slapper heaven.[/quote] That's all I've ever wanted from life........

Hmmmm, so what distinguishes these souped up Fender clones from all the others out there (including our very own, beloved Shuker of course)?

Does anyone here know anything about Lane Poor pickups or know of a good source of information? I only heard of them recently but apparently they were meant to be rather good. (The person 'Lane Poor' has apparently disappeared off the face of the earth, but the legend of his pickups still lives on). Any info will be gratefully received.

Jazz basses sans scratchplate look excellent (or do I mean excrement?)

Saw this on Ebay yesterday - I know it's not a 360 but it looks in really good nik. [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=150326938254&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=005"]Acoustic Rig[/url] Surely something of a collectors item these days.

[quote name='Boneless' post='411443' date='Feb 16 2009, 09:10 PM']But what is, really, the appeal of a short scale? I have never found a short scale with the right string tension, and the lower strings tend to sound muddy and without much clarity (the only exception maybe being the Danos, since they are so bright and jangly). I understand some may appreciate the punchiness of a short scale, but I don't really get it I'm not criticizing, but what do short scale enthusiasts actually like of short scales? (By the way, I have a medium scale and I hate it ).[/quote] It's not a simple answer (for me anyway). 34" scale is like Ford - you see it everywhere - it works but there's been reluctance to stray too far from this formula. Only recently are we seeing 5/6 string production basses with a longer scale and I think it's working the same way for shorter scales now. They are more comfortable to play, they can balance better and whilst they might not have exactly the same sound as a long scale bass, that doesn't mean it's a worse sound. You can play faster and stretch further and three or four inches and a pound off what you're carrying in the gig bag on the tube really can make all the difference. It's a confidence thing for players as well as makers - "will people take me seriously with this 'toy bass'?" BTW, if 34" scale is like the Ford of scale lengths then the Jaz bass must be the Ford Escort....

'Soft Maple' refers to certain species of Maple that don't happen to be as hard as 'Rock Maple', which is usually found on guitar necks etc. It will still give you brain damage if you were hit around the head with the aforementioned J bass. I had a Jazz just like the one in the picture (it was my first bass), but it sported a 'parana pine' body, which was quite a rarity for a cheapo copy at the time 'cos most cheapo copies were plywood bodied. Cost me fifty quid including a case. It looked well cool with the block inlays - like I'd actually paid big bucks for it. I had a Tokai lined fretless Jazz after that and a 62(?) Fender Japan J. They were all pretty good sounding but I never got on with the shape - they all seemed too big and I don't understand why so many people put up with them now when they can get just as varied a tone but with less bulk.

[quote name='neepheid' post='410885' date='Feb 16 2009, 12:18 PM']The last Rivoli to sell on eBay went for £900. Whether or not that means it'll be back up for sale due to non-payment remains to be seen.[/quote] Yeah, I just spotted that. Mental money, even for a minter, especially since last week an original EB-2 (effectively the same bass) got no bids for a starting price of 1000 Euros (less than £900), on Ebay France. Maybe the bidder got 1996 mixed up with 1969 and thought it was a US made original I stand by what I said earlier though - reproduction Rivoli (not at Ebay prices) or a DeArmond Starfire (and I have seen these on US Ebay for around the £400 mark. Much cooler looking than the short scale fenders and a better range of sounds IMHO.

For 500 quid you could buy a used DeArmond Starfire or an Epiphone Rivoli (the reissue) - both nicely made and if you're lucky you might have enough change for an upgrade or two. Steves Starfire went for not much more than your budget and it had two Darkstars. The nature of these basses means Fender type players buy them 'cos they're so different but find they don't have much need for them as a working bass and they tend to be cosseted at home. The other advantage is they won't lose value like a new bass will. Do it. Join the short scale revolution!!!!

[quote name='bass_ferret' post='409550' date='Feb 14 2009, 05:58 PM']Made in China though.[/quote] Always a bit of a disappointment to see that sticker but there again, I still like a pint of Guiness and that's probably not made in Ireland either!

[quote name='Gwilym' post='409674' date='Feb 14 2009, 09:07 PM']you can slap on any bass - so it boils down to what kind of tone you like. i would suggest just getting a decent bass for your money, and then worry about the technique[/quote] +1 on that. You can get a decent slap sound out of a precision if you spend a bit of time adjusting your tone controls and working on your technique. As for me I'd go for a Jazz or decent J clone. It's the bass slap was invented on (alledgedly) and for three hundred you could probably get a decent copy and have some change for better pickups, hardware or at the least new strings and a good set up.

[quote name='Sparky' post='405704' date='Feb 10 2009, 09:06 PM']one more thing - when talking pups - what do the terms 'hot' and 'stacked' mean? [/quote] Hot means the pickup's higher output, normally acheived with more windings or more powerful magnets. The more windings you have on a coil the louder it gets but at the cost of some high end. More powerful magnets (such as ceramics) are thought to have a harsher tone compared to 'old fashioned' magnets. Also, if your magnet is too powerful it will actually hold the strings back from vibrating, giving reduced output and some harsh overtones.Stacked means a humbucker but instead of being layed side by side like a traditional humbucker the two coils are stacked one on top of the other. This is meant to give the advantages of a clear, bright single coil sound but without the hum. They generally work OK but are more complicated (so probably more expensive) and don't have quite the brightness of true single coils. Now all you 'experts' can shoot me down in flames and tell me how wrong I am. I use a Schaller J in my bridge position and it has a very nice clear, sweet tone. They're not too pricey either.

Speaker lore used to say a 15 will have more bass (obviously) and also more treble (bizarrely, but due to the much larger cone distorting), whereas multiple 10s will add more mid-upper mid and punch (which could be down to the same mids). Nowadays cabinet porting and speaker design have moved on a bit and the boundaries are now less defined. I would say choose whatever setup suits your transport needs and storage options. Most modern amps/speaker cabs are pretty good and remember, if your sound is lacking in any particular areas you do have tone controls.

[quote name='EBS_freak' post='406486' date='Feb 11 2009, 04:45 PM']Every time I go for my Shuttle, I think to myself, "Bloody hell, it's so small I've lost it again..." Then I realise that I don't actually own one.[/quote] Yeah, I had a dream last week about owning an Alembic - I'm still looking around the house for it. If I ever find one I'll sell it and buy me a Shuttle. (Seems better value than the little Mark Bass amp, although the 1kw Ashdown LG looks good, but doesn't have the extra flexibility of the valve pre. Can you switch from valve to solid state pre with the Shuttle?)

[quote name='ARGH' post='407117' date='Feb 12 2009, 12:09 AM']Its the lines,not the tools that make the player.[/quote] Abso blummin lutely.

J' adore le basse sans le manche, c'est tres belle monsieur le générale. (apologies for the bad spelling). I think most higher end basses are versatile enough to cover most playing situations (with a decent amp/effects setup). Owning more than this seems a bit like collecting watches or motorcycles. You only really need one but you have more 'cos you like them and justify it by convincing yourself you 'need it' to cover all situations/sounds, (like my wife always seems to 'need' to buy more clothes). Mind you, I do run two Triumph Bonnevilles, so I can't really criticise........

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='404312' date='Feb 9 2009, 03:08 PM']I had a go on Ped's V-bass system the other weekend. Although it was still east to tell the difference between some sounds and the real thing, it probably wouldn't be noticed by the punters. The emulations also knocked the sounds from Line 6's Variax into a cocked hat. I wish I'd bought one a year or so ago, it would have saved me lugging three basses to gigs at one point.[/quote] That's exactly my point - how many basses does a player actually need, short of the fretted/fretless issues. Does anyone remember that weird bass from the late 70s/early 80s that had a knob to wind the frets down into the fingerboard, thus giving you a fretless/fretted option? I think I saw it on Tomorrows World....

Rumour has it that Trace copied the Acoustic circuits for its early products a-la Marshall copying Fender amps when they started out. I'm not sure if it's true but either way, used Acoustic rigs have always been quite expensive - probably as much to do with rarity value and Jaco Pastorius of course.

[quote name='EdwardHimself' post='403690' date='Feb 8 2009, 08:38 PM']You're pretty much right. I could plug a £100 bass into a £250 bass amp and you would have to be a bass player to, from hearing alone, be any the wiser- especially if it was a recording of a band. The thing is that playability is really the key in basses. Every bass feels different and maybe you haven't played a lot of basses but the differences between any number of expensive basses are by no means small. You might think the differences in feel and sound are small right now but go and have a play on a load of different basses and you'll see that they are not. But yes, it's all to do with the player's taste.[/quote] Well, acoustic basses asides, I started on Fender Jazz basses, then Jaydee, Musicman 4 & 5 strings a couple of custom basses and finally to my current Squier Precision with added J bridge Pup. All good basses, all played well and all with a versatility equal to the effort put into playing them. I've played these through Marshall, Peterson, a few different Trace rigs, an Alligator 2 by 8 inch combo, a GK 200MB and some high end EV cabinets. They all sounded good, some were louder than others and some were more portable but there wasn't that much in it, recording or live. I play my Precision through a Behringer bass V-Amp now and have quite alot of fun messing around with the amp and speaker models but I'm pretty sure I could get the same range of sounds with a good EQ on the bass or the amp.

Looks wicked mate, but is the bumper crop of pups there for pose value or 'cos you couldn't be arsed to tweak the tone control on your amp between songs?

Just thought I'd add to all the 'philosophical discussions' that have appeared on the forum lately. With the introduction of versatile on board preamps such as the ACG ('cos Alembic and Wal hadn't realised the benefits of parametric EQs during the 1970s ) along with digital amp and speaker modelling, surely with a reasonable quality bass, amp and full range speaker a player could reproduce almost any sound? It just shows the (relatively) small differences between the different ULSBs (universal long scale basses) are all about the players personal taste (or lack of) rather than what a listener really hears. I've lit the blue touch paper and will now retire to a safe distance....

I think the main difference is the chamfers - I had a 4 and 5 and the chamfers seemed to make a big difference in how they felt. Have you tried downloading some pictures from the MM website and tracing over them with thin paper? You can get some pretty accurate comparisons this way. If you don't like the Stingray 5 shape/chamfering then you could look for a SUB 5 which looks just like a standard MM4 but with the 4+1 headstock finished in black.

[quote name='ARGH' post='403173' date='Feb 8 2009, 05:07 AM']WHY have I had to rip out the P/U,change the nut,replace the jack,scratchplate etc etc to make the instrument tolerable (I didnt have a ton of money when I got it in 01...I traded 2 instruments and a wad of cash for it).[/quote] MY GOD, I SIMPLY CAN'T TOLERATE MY SCRATCHPLATE ANY LONGER!!!!! PLEEEEAAAASSSSEEEEE HELP ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[quote name='BigBeefChief' post='402778' date='Feb 7 2009, 02:21 PM']The 3 nicest basses I have ever played are Fenders. I don't want to look like a space man when I'm playing so I hate all this carbon fibre sh*t. I also refuse to put batteries in a bass guitar. Batteries are for TV remotes and my girlfriends rampant rabbit. I also don't want to sound like a guitar. Just a dull thump suits me. Quirky basses f*** me off. The people who play quirky basses often have quirky hair. And probably wear trainers with a suit, just to look quirky. Just because you've got no personality and your parents ignored you, don't try and make up for it with a silly quirky guitar. Spikey metal basses. What a load of sh*t. Everyone knows the mettallers at school were the geeks who played dungeons and dragons. Having said that, a lot of those goth birds take it up the arse, so maybe their on to something? Still, get a hair cut, take of your cape and get a f***ing job that doesn't involve breeding snakes or working in the IT department. I genuinely couldn't give a f*** what its says on the headstock of a bass, I just think Fender got it right. Other manufacturers (like those c**ts at Warwick) seem to think "how can we make a design different from a fender?" as opposed to "How can we design a great bass?". I played a Burns the other day. That was alright. Different but still comfy and doesn't make you look like a c***. Although I do look (and act) like a c*** naturally. Fender copies. Fair enough. Don't see the point though really. I know Vintange do some decent cheaper copies. Wouldn't get one of these expensive ones though. Most of them take batteries. f***ing hate batteries. I've stopped using pedals because of them.[/quote] Presumably the picture in your avatar was taken shortly after sharing the above views with the local goth and heavy metal communities. Laugh? You came back in stitches....

[quote name='LukeFRC' post='401589' date='Feb 5 2009, 11:30 PM']I just bought a squier and its the best bass ive ever played i am thinking. OK it is an early fender logoed JV P bass but still....[/quote] The early Japanese Squiers and Fenders were generally considered better in most ways than the equivalent American instruments at the time. My only bass at the moment is a modded JV Precision and yeah, it's a really nice bass (and it's had 25 years of patina and ageing to give it that vintage character - 20 of those years with me!).