cameltoe

Nice one, I'll check em out.

OK i've been generally using Fender 7250's for the last year or so, but recently went back to the D'addario XL nickels as my Fender's had started to feel dead. Turns out I hadn't realised how 'dead' the Fenders were, as the new strings now sound waaaaay too zingy for me! I was sure they had sent me stainless by mistake, but no, I had just let the old strings go completely flat. While the new strings now sound alive and fresh, and that's a good thing, I've realised how damn bright and zingy these D'addario's actually are. I had to raise my action a bit a couple of days after I put them on as the sudden increase in fret noise was getting on my nerves, even playing extra clean! I don't recall new strings ever sounding as clunky as this when going from the 7250's to new 7250's Some of the reason-I think- could be down to the fact that the D'addario's don't have any silk windings at the ends, which results in a lot of sustained 'laser-beam' type zing when open notes are played- but also on the whole I think they must be quite bright for nickels. Can anyone recommend a set of nickel roundwounds which have all the warmth and punch of fresh nickels, but without too much zingyness to them? Silk windings at the ends would help too. And while I'm here, I'd actually prefer low-tension strings, if anyone can recommend a set that will do everything I want! I've heard that lighter gauges=less tension, I've also heard that heavier gauges=less tension, and I've heard that it can be down to the way they're made as well- but I've also seen strings advertised as low tension before, so maybe they're out there.......

Yep, this old conundrum. I get fed up twiddling my EQ for what seems to be ages, thinking I've nailed it, then standing out front and realising I sould like crap. What follows then is 20 minutes of me walking to and from my amp, twisting everyone up in my leads as I go, trying in vain to guess what to adjust. I wish someone would do a remote control for a bass amp EQ! Can't be that hard, surely? Would allow me to stand way back and fiddle around whilst the band played, hence I could get it spot on! What really annoys me about this whole process, is that the gig venues seem to have more of a variation on the sound of my bass than any of the other instruments in the band. The others usually just need to toy with their level a bit, whilst I'm tearing my hair out trying to get 'that sound'. Carpet, no carpet, high ceilings, low ceilings, wood floor, slate floor, stage, how many people are in the audience..... the variables are huge.

You got the tab for this?

Welcome from St Austell- yep another one. We're taking over!

just spreading a bit of love for Nick. What can I say? Paid for a Hartke pedal on Monday afternoon, it arrived Tuesday morning well packaged, boxed with instructions. Can't recommend highly enough.

OK good man. So if I measure the beast up, can you recommend a couple options to me? Like I said before, I'm after strong but tight lows, good low mids for a bit of tone definition and to cut through a bit, keeping the high mids down and the treble fairly even. Kinda how I set up my EQ really! So armed with that info, and my combo measurements will you be able to recommend something or do you need more info?

I have a 200w combo made by a company called AC EURO..... yeah me neither! It kicks out a fairly decent sound, and is fairly punchy. I tend to use this over my Hartke vx3500 combo as most of the gigs we play are small-ish pubs, and unless I can get the Hartke up to a respectable volume, it doesn't seem to drive the speakers hard enough so it can end up a bit muddy. The AC Euro has a 1x15" speaker, that looks pretty 'aged' and possibly past retirement. The amp works fine and actually kicks out a nice tone, I would guess it's early 90's? And the only thing I can find out about AC Euro is that they may now be called Audio Concepts. I've been toying with having a gear-overhaul but since I'm due to be buying a house in a couple months I thought maybe a new speaker could freshen things up? I'd like the lows to be punchy and tight with good note definition, and nothing overly bright sounding. Can anyone recommend brands and where to buy? Cheers! p.s see below for measurements

[quote name='Sibob' post='783889' date='Mar 23 2010, 09:01 PM']Whats the point of trying a bass out and then buying it online?? There's a great probability that the one you buy online will be different enough for you not to be happy than the one you loved in the shop! Support your bricks and morter music shops and do yourself a favour by doing so Si[/quote] I'll happily support my local music shops, but the point that was being made- if you had read the whole thread- is that London is ridiculously overpriced. I'm always happy to pay a bit extra to get that extra service, but when you're talking several hundred pounds more, then it's not something I can actually afford to do, especially when these aren't my 'local' music shops. I've got my eye on a Classic 50's P bass- these can be had at £479. The Gallery wants £665. My local music shop can get these in at £499, and yes, that's where I'll be buying it.

It's not just singers, it's all kinds of musicians. Our singer just likes to ask for more monitor constantly, untill there's so much monitor he can't hear himself and all we can hear is him. Then he still asks for more monitor. We have a similar situation with our fiddle player. Never says Yes or No to gigs, just mysterious comments like 'it's all good'. He's cancelled gigs at short notice in the past for feeble reasons (and reasons that could have been avoided had he been more organised) and I reckon he never truly confirms gigs in case he needs to pull out again. With him it's just that he's henpecked by his Mrs, which means if she wants him to do something else, he has to do it. It would be a lot easier if he just told her when his gigs where so she could see when he was busy. As it is, he keeps us both in the dark and hopes the two never clash. Which they have and probably will again. He never used to help pack any gear away either, just grabbed his fiddle once the gig finished and buggered off. We had words about that though. The main problem is his playing. He's tone deaf, and pitches all over the place. Not good. We're looking to replace him though, so it's 'all good' for us. Seriously though, I reckon a lot of these problems are caused by the 'other half' and the musician not having the balls to stand up to them.

Bought that lovely Fret King Perception off Tom. Great guy, daily communication, very prompt replies. Bass arrived exactly when he said it would and was well packaged. Plays like a dream and is brand new, just as described. Wouldn't hesistate to do business again. Cheers!

Cracker! You have to watch Cracker! Brilliant. I'm not sure how many they made (sure someone on here will know) but they were feature-length TV mini-series with Robbie Coltrane (AKA Hagred off of Harry Potter) during the '90's. Anyway, welcome to BC.

I thought the Sterlings were made in the Far East whereas the Stingrays were USA built? Or is this so obvious it's been taken as a given?

Can anyone let me know if the neck profile is the same as on the 'Road Worn' series? and if there are any other differences (aside from appearance). My local music shop has a Fiesta Red road worn in stock, and if they're basically the same it means I can at least get a feel for the instrument and see if I like it.

[quote name='bass5' post='783577' date='Mar 23 2010, 03:41 PM']The Gallery in Camdem is the closest to central London, and still one of the best at the moment. However the Gallery is still a small shop and crammed with stuff, just not enough space for you to try something in peace and quiet. If you really want to have the uiltimate bass experience I would, from personal experience, recommend you to stretch out a bit more to the South East and go to Essex to visit Colechester where you will find another very nice [b]and most of all LARGE store [/b]with tons of gear in the Bass Merchant where Darren works, Darren is a member in this forum and will give you a discount just for being a member of Basschat. His store is really ample and is situated in a quiet industrial estate with [b]plenty of parking space[/b], whereas parking in Central London is near impossible. He stocks a variety of nice basses, MusicMan, Fender, Lakland, and other, has loads of excellent amps, Mark Bass, Aguilar, Genz-Benz and other, so you will be definately spoilt for choice. Hope to have been of help.[/quote] I'm unfortunately not going to be able to make it outside of London- I've got 2 days off from work and we're going to be staying one night in Camberley, with one night/one day in London. BUT- I'm not going to Denmark street after all these recommendations for The Gallery. It would have been preferable for me to find a load of stuff in just the one shop anyway, as the Mrs would soon get annoyed by being dragged from shop to shop. I'll hit the Gallery, and see what they have. If I find a bass I like that's a NEW model, you guys are right, I'll have to bear in mind that I can probably get one 'online' for alot less, and will probably walk away if the mark-up is too high, but 'down here' in Cornwall I don't have the oppurtunity to try anything other than Mexican's and Squiers, unless I want a bass ordered in specially. Hopefully going to London will give me the chance to try a few of the guitars that have been catching my eye lately and have a better idea of what I want. There's also the slim chance they might have something like a second hand Jap Precision that I fall in love with, in which case I'll be buying on the spot! Oh, and looks like the best idea for me is to sell the Mexican privately then! Keep an eye on the classifieds!

OK so I'm gonna be hitting Denmark Street for the first time in May, and if all goes to plan I'll be looking to either buy a bass outright, or trade my Mexican P in for something else. I'd like it if you guys can recommend me some good places to go? I'm pretty sure I want another Precision, and will have somewhere around the £600 mark to spend. I've had a look at the Classic series '50's Precision which I like the look of, but obviously if I can see and try as many in the flesh as possible then I can make a proper decision on what feels best for me. Doesn't have to be a new Precision- just the one that feels best to me and is in my price range. So a good range of new and used basses with an emphasis on Precision's would be good. Also, they have to let me try a few out. I need to be able to feel what's comfortable as I've not been playing all that long, plus I'm not going to buy a bass I can't try out first. I really, really don't want to go all the way to London to be patronised. I get that enough in Craig's music down here! I heard the Bass Cellar sucks.... I'll probably go in there though, just to see for myself how bad it is! Anywhere you guys can point me towards?

[quote name='BurritoBass' post='782237' date='Mar 21 2010, 11:07 PM']Happy to help. Both are awesome finishes - I wish I had that choice back in 1990. On the 50s they are a flatter neck profile to the standards. I like it but it may take a few minutes to adjust if you are used to a modern profile[/quote] Is it the same neck profile as the Road Worn series? I played a fiesta red Road Worn just the other day and it felt very comfortable. My local music shops are Fender dealers, but they don't often stock alot of gear, therefore I'd probably have to get them to order one in. Going to London in May though, so hopefully I'll get to try one out in Denmark st. [quote name='AndyTravis']Blonde is a winner with the covers. My wonderful lady bought me mine for my 24th... The one at the top, next to a Jap Squier and a Jap 62 reissue. Never let me down, and plays like a dream. Trav[/quote] That looks lovely. A bit whiter than it looks on the fender site but this makes the gold pickguard look awesome. The covers set it off beautiful. Hmmmm! Hopefully I can see both in the flesh!

[quote name='Telebass' post='781652' date='Mar 21 2010, 01:50 PM']...yes, the Road Worn is a reliced version of this bass.[/quote] Woah so literally £400 extra to have it dragged across the factory floor and pay a mexican to drill a couple random holes? I'll do it myself!

[quote name='BurritoBass' post='781814' date='Mar 21 2010, 05:17 PM']Go back 20yrs and the pre-runner from MIJ Fender was my first bass I still have it and still play it. I've said it before and I'll say it again, in my humble opinion the jump from MIM Standard to MIM Classic is as big a jump as Squier affinity to VM Series. They are that good. Mine was SERIOUSLY abused over the years as I owned it in the bad old days before I cared about looking after gear so the mods are because of mistreatment - this bass is great stock! The MIM Classics also seem pretty consistant from the bunch I've played[/quote] That's awesome. Great response and good to know. Helped me make up my mind anyway. The MIM Standard will be traded for a Classic! Now.....Honey Blonde or Fiesta Red??

[quote name='bass5' post='781635' date='Mar 21 2010, 01:27 PM']Yes she is gorgeous, I was tempted too, I was very peed off that it didn't feel or sound better than my Squier.[/quote] True that may be, but my local music shop sells the CV Squiers at £389 now, so they're hardly a budget line anymore. Kinda need to be good for that price. My mexican P was £379 last year. Fiesta red or Honey blonde are gorgeous. I wonder what the real differences are between this and the Road Worn? I played one the other day, for sale at £899. Is it just one like this thats been left in the rain and had a belt sander put over it?

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='781578' date='Mar 21 2010, 12:28 PM']I think this is the one. [url="http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/68234"]Classic 50's P[/url][/quote] Got there before me

[quote name='bass5' post='781575' date='Mar 21 2010, 12:22 PM']show us a link of the basses you are talking about, except the CV Precision '51, I know that one already, as I have said before I tried the Jap reissue 51 as in the pic below and a Sting one too (pic further down) and I still preferred the CV and money was not a problem. It was the quality of the CV that prevailed. [size=3][b]The Classic '51 Reissue (JAP) £639[/b][/size] [size=3][b]The Stink £619 [/b][/size] [/quote] This one [url="http://www.fender.com/uk/products/search.php?partno=0131702367"]http://www.fender.com/uk/products/search.p...rtno=0131702367[/url] GAK have them at £478 [url="http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/68234"]http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/68234[/url] Nice huh? Would this be a chunkier neck than the Standard P then?

I fancy trading in my Mexican P for another P, and as well as the CV series squiers, I've also just noticed these. They seem to retail around £480- £520 ish. They have a maple neck, which is awesome, and they have fiesta red! Are they similar to the road worn series? I can see they're alot cheaper but they're both made in mexico right? So what's the difference? Any words of wisdom towards me trading an '08 mexican standard for one of these would be appreciated.