noelk27

The El Toro is a fantastic bass. Much better than the L2000. Much more pronounced mid-range, and more focused top-end. Don't let the descriptor "Mini" fool you in any way. El Toro and Interceptor featured exactly the same pickups and electronics, but the Interceptor is as bad as the El Toro is good. The body is uncomfortable, and the whole thing is neck-heavy. Seriously, the only reasons to purchase one are you play in a Hair Metal tribute band or you're going to strip out the pickups and electronics to put into an L2000 carcass (the latter being the reason I bought and butchered one).

[quote name='Dave Vader' post='815167' date='Apr 22 2010, 03:43 PM']Does anyone out there know if it's true that these old knobs go for loads on ebay? You remember them, looked like gibson top hats, but with elastic bands round them?[/quote] Had three, and sold each for £15 - and that was around two years ago.

[quote name='the_skezz' post='810136' date='Apr 18 2010, 09:48 AM'][U]nfortunatelt, most of the gigs I seem to do are fifteen minute slots, and so there's never much time to warm up and let people see me/the rest of the band at their best ...[/quote] 15 minutes - that's all Queen had at Live Aid.

Scam. Without a shadow of a doubt. And Western Union, being cash only, should never be used for any purchase.

[quote name='Johnston' post='808074' date='Apr 16 2010, 09:05 AM']What exactly do you mean by conical touch board? Do you mean a compound radius fret board where the nut is maybe 9" radius and it gets flatter as it goes towards the bridge?[/quote] That description would fit. Conical was the descriptor employed by the designer when I first became aware of this feature, on a bass prototype built in '79.

[quote name='bassatnight' post='807251' date='Apr 15 2010, 02:49 PM']If anyone comes across a 900 or 600 give me a shout![/quote] Not a fan of the 800 then?

[quote name='Johnston' post='807763' date='Apr 15 2010, 09:35 PM']As you go further out towards the nut your wrists natural movement is to rotate. Playing with fanned frets makes this a bit more natural.[/quote] This strikes me as a fundamental misunderstanding of the concept underlying fanned fretting. In fact, if this where what someone wanted to achieve, they would be better advised to implement an asymmetrical neck design and/or a conical touchboard design. It is the very limitation of a touchboard which utilises frets to determine note which fanned designs target, that is imperfect tuning along the length and across the width of the touchboard. [quote name='Johnston' post='807763' date='Apr 15 2010, 09:35 PM']But I've read that its really because the longer low B sounds better than a 34" and the smaller length high strings carry more highs.[/quote] Designs featuring that stringing design - longer low/shorter high - are a hybrid, adopting partial concepts of fanned fret design and railed bridge design.

[quote name='solo4652' post='806167' date='Apr 14 2010, 02:52 PM']My G&L is a Tribute L2000. ... I find the G&L cuts through a band mix better and it gives me more tonal options at the flick of a switch. Also, I find the G&L neck marginally more comfy and less cramped ... I've not given any thought to radius because I don't know much about the subject. ... So, it may be that I simply use the G&L L2000 as No.1 bass, with the P as it's backup. Somehow seems a bit back-to-front - dunno why.[/quote] The factors that determine profile might be playing a larger part in your perceptions than you first realise. The L2000 has a 12" radius, 21mm thickness at the first fret, and a relatively flat fretboard, so although the neck is fairly wide at the nut - 44.5mm - it feels quite shallow in comparison to MusicMan and Fender designs. Not completely certain, but think a Fender Precision uses a 10" radius - measurements of 7.5, 9, 9.5, 10 and 12 inch are all common. If you find yourself getting along with the L2000, you might find joy taking a look at the older, discontinued G&L models - such as the first version of the SB, with the two J-style pickups, or the El Toro, which produces a sound with more mid-range than the L2000. There are also passive versions of the L1000 and L2000, from the early '80s, which have different tonal characters to the modern L2000. And given that CLF described the L2000 as the finest bass he ever designed, I don't know why you think it's back to front either.

[quote name='solo4652' post='805699' date='Apr 14 2010, 07:50 AM']I currently have a USA P-bass with 42mm nut. Rich, classic p-tone. But I find it a bit limiting and I'm favouring my G&L Tribute because of the pup-choice flexibility it gives. So, as a possible replacement for the P-bass, I'm after something - let's now say it doesn't have to be a Fender - with these features: 4 string Passive Wide neck - 42mm Switchable pup configuration to give tonal range from P-thump to J-twang Lakland? Sandberg? Musicman? G&L?[/quote] Interesting. Is the G&L the L2000? In which case you're playing a 44.5mm neck, making your desired 42mm not so wide by comparison. Have you given any thought to radius, as this could also play a significant part in any qualitative assessment. Within the G&L range, the SB (P/J) series comes closest to your requirements, but the standard model features a 38mm neck, although custom options are available.

Ditch the P/J and go P/P - and get an Elite II - '80s fabulousness!

40mm nut 18mm string spacing at bridge

UK RRP on 1000 RI and CB models has been under £1,600 for some time. RRP on a 1000CB has been £749 for over two-and-a-half years - a price first announced June 2008.

[quote name='Paul S' post='801131' date='Apr 9 2010, 05:24 PM']Thanks for that. Looks like La Bella standard flats are the way to go then - though out of stock at the moment.[/quote] Maybe not. If you're thinking about La Bella Deep Talkin' flats, these will certainly feel stiffer than your current TIs, but La Bella is what I'd reference as being a medium feel, where TI is a soft. If you want a stiffer string then D'addario Chromes are what you'd reference as stiff, and Dean Markley flats as very stiff.

Which Royal Mail service did you use?

[quote name='iconic' post='796914' date='Apr 5 2010, 07:33 PM']so they were a '70's fitment?[/quote] [quote name='iconic' post='795473' date='Apr 4 2010, 05:26 AM']I would have thought it difficult to slap with a neck pup cover...[/quote] When CLF devised the original Precision, in the 50s, he primarily had guitarists in mind, not double bassists. What he envisage was C&W guitarists being able to get more work by switching between guitar and bass, and playing the new Precision bass utilising finger-picking techniques, so the bridge/pickup covers could be used for resting the hand, but preventing hand position from interfering with the bridge or pickup components. When you take a look at the Broadcaster, Telecaster and Stratocaster, all feature bridge covers, to prevent the hand contacting any bridge component and affecting tuning or intonation. CLF's original Precision patent schematics show the covers in place, with the "thumb" rest placed below the G-string.

[quote name='Rich' post='796080' date='Apr 4 2010, 09:19 PM']I always lusted after the SB1000's twin pickup brother, the SBR150.[/quote] The SB-R150 - only in production for a little over one year, '83 into '84. There are some though - me included - who would argue that the MB-1E fitted in the R150 is bettered by the MB-V fitted in the SB-ELT. But if you're in search of SB perfection then you have to add the SB-LTD at the top of your APII list - an SB carcass fitted with Alembic AXY pickups and AE-1 circuit. Simply mind-blowing.

[quote name='Bloodaxe' post='791414' date='Mar 31 2010, 12:10 AM']If you ... have got accustomed to the "Fender Taper" (i.e. a narrow nut & a wide bridge), then you might not get on with them. The SB-1000 is the most sought after (possibly due to the John Taylor & Cliff Burton associations) ... SB-700: Passive, Through neck, single humbucker, series/parallel switch, Vol & Tone. SB-600: As per the 700, but with a set neck. Either a Coil tap, or possibly series/parallel switch. (I've never met one, so can't say) ...[/quote] Popular histories might have both Taylor and Burton labelled as SB1000 aficionados, but both were to be seen using examples of the 700 model, or its derivations, more often than the 1000. Another 700 player was Foxton, at the end his days with The Jam and at the start of his solo career. (Comparing Foxton’s sound from TV performances, such as The Tube, with other performances where he’s playing Fender and Rickenbacker makes an interesting study in tone.) The original SB models were the 1000 and the 800, both of which featured the same pickup and electronics, but differed in the 1000 being thru-neck and the 800 bolt-on. These two models comprised the range for less than one year, before the range was expanded, to comprise the 1000, 900, 700 and 600. It’s been said that the 900 was originally either medium or short scale. This is complete garbage. APII did make medium scale versions of models from the SB range at various times, and versions of the 1000 can be found in 32” scale lengths. String spacing on the SB range at the bridge was originally 16mm, with a 45mm nut width. When the SB-R models were conceived, the primary market targeted was the USA, and this explains why APII built these models with spacing at the bridge of 18mm and a 40mm nut width. Originally the 600 was a bolt-on design, until ’81, and featured the same pickup and electronics as the 700. As the 600 featured a three-piece maple neck, it was cheaper to produce than the neck-thru 700. Personally I think the 1000 is highly overrated, when compared to the 700, as the mode selector on the 1000 only adds a small amount of additional character to the sounds available from the 700. Certainly, from a design perspective, the SB is a superb instrument, constructed using top quality tone woods and electrical components, and with a consistently high build quality, but the feel and character isn’t to everyone’s tastes.

[quote name='Musky' post='788291' date='Mar 28 2010, 12:23 AM']Perhaps he only had a little left over. [/quote] Left or loft? With all those gnomes and bats to home, and all the bass bits his uncle Sam has left to him, here's hoping he's got a football-field sized one. American football, of course.

[quote name='Musky' post='788264' date='Mar 27 2010, 10:51 PM']Hmmm... The seller is based in Sherman Oaks. Is this the gnomes-in-the-attic guy again?[/quote] Don't know about any gnomes in the attic, but he's certainly got bats in the belfry. I’m no lexicographer, or mathematician for that matter, but most 'must' have a completely different definition in American English than it does in the Oxford English.