EssentialTension

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1338914254' post='1681007'] It is indeed slightly yellow! I like it myself, but... YMMV, GLWTS, NASA, TUC, EIEIO, etc. [/quote] Perhaps I'll keep it in a paper bag.

I'm not familiar with that bass but if you're going passive you won't need a new pre-amp, in fact you won't need a pre-amp at all. I presume the pickups are MECs. If they are the passive ones then you wont need new pickups, if the pickups are the active ones than you'll need to replace them with passive pickups. You'll also need some passive vol/tone wiring and decide what to do with the spare holes from the old pre-amp controls.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1338913938' post='1680995'] I think they go for around £100-£110. It's also an active DI Box with true bypass and ground lift. The Level Boost gives you a clean volume increase with no overdrive or distortion. I'd get one like a shot - if I didn't already have a MB LM250... [/quote] However, it is slightly yellow and might need a respray.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1338913256' post='1680987'] Yes! I love those filters. And you don't need to own a Markbass amp to enjoy them... [/quote] When I had an LMII I always liked those filters but I didn't know you could get them in a pedal. I might have to give it a try.

[quote name='AttitudeCastle' timestamp='1338894791' post='1680608'] .. I personally place them in the same family, as I would a valved Trombone and a slide Trombone ... [/quote] But trombones come in various ranges: e.g. tenor, alto, bass. Being a [b][i][u]bass[/u][/i][/b] guitar is about the range of the instrument not the construction, it's the construction that makes it a guitar. Similarly, for trombones (or any other instrument) it's the construction that makes it a trombone (or whatever), it's the range that makes it bass or alto (or whatever). The wider the range of the instrument the less possible or sensible it is to call it 'bass' or 'alto' or whatever.

[quote name='thisnameistaken' timestamp='1338895172' post='1680626'] I think 9-string bass is one of those instruments that has as many players as it has listeners. [/quote] ... and roughly the same number of strings?

[quote name='bigbottomend' timestamp='1338904864' post='1680843'] ... I have been playing through a markbass F1 and 2x10" tho at jam gigs and it sounds horrible, flat and lifeless ... [/quote] [quote name='bigbottomend' timestamp='1338904864' post='1680843'] ... If you know how to set up your gear right you would never sound bad ... [/quote] ... and there you have it.

[quote name='martin8708' timestamp='1338896079' post='1680665'] I've been through this topic a few times now , and note the definite division of Pro-fridge users and those who condemn them as an extinct dinosaur ... [/quote] You're missing out those of us who are neither pro- nor anti- but vehemently deny that you really [i]must have[/i] an Ampeg (or whatever) and an 8x10 to sound any good. It was 'the bigger the better and it must be so and the rest of you are all wrong and jelaous and only have small penises unlike us with 8x10 penises' that was being denied. There's a place for a big rig but it's not at every gig. If I turned up at almost any of my gigs with an 8x10 I 'd be laughed at, and rightly so. I'd also sound sh*te.

[quote name='jezzaboy' timestamp='1338895117' post='1680622'] Has any pro other than Macca or guys in tribute bands ever been seen using one of these? [/quote] Robbie Shakespeare (of Sly and Robbie) and the bloke in the Fleet Foxes. Here's Robbie:

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1338893642' post='1680573'] Is it though? I think it all depends on how you string/tune it. IMO Dood's 7-string that goes from F# to C still counts, but most of these ERBs go all the way into guitar range (and beyond) rather than solely concentrating on the bass end of the musical spectrum. Rather than being called Extended Range Basses they should be "Full Range Stringed Instruments". They can be used for bass parts in the same way that a piano or a harp can, but in the hands of a suitably able player they are capable of much more. However I don't think that they count as bass guitars anymore. They are something different. [/quote] This is correct. 'Full Range String Instrument' would do but so would 'Extended Range Not Bass Anymore'.

[quote name='Mykesbass' timestamp='1338893141' post='1680554'] And made in China [/quote] So, just like all the Union flags and St George's crosses that were flying.

Agreed it's the wrong neck but classic and not my cup of tea.

[quote name='ChrisF' timestamp='1338811562' post='1679484'] I like ya thinking [/quote] Unfortunately, that's a full time job.

[quote name='Rockaction5' timestamp='1338620344' post='1677213'] yes, plus my own ceramic lipstick [/quote] Do you have any sound files for your Dark Star clones? Are you selling pickups?

It's to give the E string more space in which to vibrate.

[quote name='lettsguitars' timestamp='1338751700' post='1678897'] Scale length of the bass? [/quote] The SR505 is 34". I was assuming the KGB was also 34" (I'd never actually heard of them before), is it not 34"?

Sorry to be pedantic (again) but ... Tension is affected only by three things: (1) mass per unit length of the string, (2) the vibrating length of the string, (3) the pitch to which the string is tuned. So same make strings, same gauge, same scale length, same pitch means the tension must, by definition, remain the same. The 'feel' of the strings under the fingers is called elasticity or compliance and varies with the ways in which different makes of strings are put together (as the OP noted). Some people believe that elasticity or compliance also varies with: (1) length of the string between the string anchor and the saddle of the bridge, (2) length of the string between the tuning machine and the nut, (3) the break angle of the string at the bridge and/or the nut. Even if those latter three are true, it's very small IMO. However , it might explain why DBE strings 'feel' different i.e. are less compliant.

[quote name='CraigPlaysBass' timestamp='1338409734' post='1674271'] ... I feel like I'm learning loads! ... [/quote] I can't tell whether I'm learning loads or being led up the gardening path.

The best way is to keep moving it from one room to another so that no one notices that you have it.

I'm not familar with changing strings round like that - never heard of it and can't see why or how it would make sense - but then I don't slap.

You'll need a pickup of some kind (e.g. K&K Bassmaster) and a pre-amp of some kind (e.g. Fishman Platinum Pro-EQ) and the necessary leads to plug it all together and then into your amp.

[quote name='Jack' timestamp='1338655973' post='1677742'] Like ANY other speaker use your noggin and if something sounds horrible then turn it down or stop. [/quote] Agreed. I guess going through the PC and Guitar Rig will tend to keep things calmer but I'd be worrying that 'neat' bass would be too much for the hi-fi monitors. However, it's very possible I'm talking nonsense.

Survey completed.