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RichT

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  1. RichT
    Never had one, but in every Youtube demo of a Sandberg I've seen they always have a very characteristic bright and modern 'metallic' top end to the sound. I think of it as sounding 'springy'. It's very distinctive, I always presumed that's just the inherent Sandberg style.
  2. RichT started following Hofner Violin Bass advice... , Does anyone else use different strings on their various basses? , Flats are off and 4 others
  3. RichT
    Definitely, different basses have different voices which need certain strings to get the best out of them. I don't mind that at all, it's just a pain that the only way to find out which strings suit which bass is random trial and error. Currently have Ernie Ball Cobalt flats on my EBMM ss Stingray, Ibanez EHB 1505, Hofner HCT Club and one Vox Starstream. Got Elixir nanoweb nickels on Ibanez SR500e and the other Vox Starstream. Thomastik Jazz flats on fretless Ibanez Portamento (only ones I'm not sure about yet). And Ernie Ball roundwound slinkys on my Maruszczyk ss Jake (P bass pickup). On my guitars though it's D'Addario XS all the way.
  4. RichT
    I say use whatever strings make you happy in the moment and not necessarily what internet forums think is right. Internet wisdom has told me several times that I must use flats on a P bass and rounds on a Stingray, but after much experimentation, I've found I like flats on my Ray and rounds on my P. And they're both short scale (which the internet says is only for children and people with small hands 😉)
  5. RichT
    I buy short scale strings when they're available, but to be honest I've never actually had a problem fitting long scale strings on my SS basses. Sometimes I'll cut them down (e.g. Elixirs, which have no silks), and sometimes I'll just wrap the full silk length around the tuning post. Nothing's broken on me (yet).
  6. RichT
    As far as these things go it's pretty straightforward 😊 - Knob closest to neck is Volume. - Centre stacked knobs are Treble cut/boost (upper) and Bass cut/boost (lower). - Stacked knobs closest to the bridge are Mid cut/boost (upper) and Mid Frequency sweep (lower). You can also pull up the Treble pot for an instant bright boost One of the great things about this preamp is that if 3 bands and sweepable mids all seems like a bit of an overcomplicated faff, then it can also essentially function just as a 2 band, simply by leaving the Mid boost pot on the centre detente. In this position, the effect on the mids is completely neutral so the Mid sweep knob has no effect on the sound, and you can then ignore the knobs closest to the bridge altogether if you wish.
  7. RichT
    I've got the same John East pre in my EBMM short scale. Hands down the most intuitive and just plain useful pre-amp of any bass I've ever played. Find your sweet spot with the mid sweep, and then just takes a touch of mid cut or boost to either pull the bass right back into the mix or push the poke right out forward front and centre. So instantly versatile! GLWTS!
  8. RichT
    Lola Young's album This Wasn't Meant For You Anyway. Spotify suggested her song Messy to me a few weeks ago and it was one of those rare moments where something new just grabs you instantly. Fantastic voice and I love the fact that lyrically and musically she consistently subverts my expectations. And her bassist plays an Anaconda, so at least 10 extra basschat points.
  9. RichT

    NHBBD

    RichT replied to Franticsmurf's topic in Bass Guitars

    The Ibanez SRH500F (or Aerium) has a very nicely designed contoured edge. Very specific sound though, being both piezo and fretless. They don't make the fretted version any more but someone was selling one very affordably on here recently.
  10. RichT
    *Everyone* should learn to play with a floating hand 😊 I had no choice but to learn when I got a piezo-only Ibanez SRH500F about 5 years ago and suddenly had no pickup to rest my thumb on. Turned out to be one of the best things to happen to my playing technique. Very freeing being able to completely change right hand position on the fly from note to note to get brighter/warmer tones even within the same phrase.
  11. RichT
    These days weight is an overriding factor in my bass choices. I know I'm ok up to 7.5lbs, but going much above that tends to completely screw my shoulder up. Current favourites are: (short scales) EBMM Stingray - 7.5lbs Vox Starstream A1H - 7lbs Maruszczyk Jake - 7.4lbs Hofner HCT Club - 6lbs (long scales) Ibanez EHB 1505 (5 string) - 7lbs Ibanez Portamento (4 string) - 7.5lbs I've also previously had and moved on: Hofner Ignition Club - 4.5lbs Gretsch G2220 - 7lbs Ibanez Aerium fretless - 6.5lbs On the one hand it's fantastic that there are plenty of light basses around if you look, but on the other I find it massively frustrating when some bass makers and online sellers really just can't be bothered to even try, or to understand that this can be absolutely crucial to someone's ability to play an instrument. I recently had a farcical discussion with a customer service rep from Gear4Music who insisted on quoting the weight of a Mustang as 8kg, because that was the official 'shipping weight' in the specs, wouldn't budge on it despite me gently explaining this would literally make it one of the heaviest basses ever made at more than 17lbs, before they admitted that they didn't have a scale in the warehouse to weigh them even if they wanted to. If the likes of Bass Direct, Peach Guitars and Sweetwater are capable of weighing everything, then the failure of Andertons, Gear4Music, PMT, GAK, Guitarguitar etc to do likewise is at the least pure laziness (or worse... I could go on far more of a rant about it, but I won't, I just never spend money with those places any more).
  12. RichT
    The Hofner Contemporary flats do feature a very dead E string. Anything between low E to at the least G on 3rd fret is completely indistinguishable to my ears and sounds almost like a bass drum. Lots of people swear by the LaBella Hofner sets. I've never tried their flats, but I have tried their white tapewounds which I liked and gave a lot more definition and growl in those low notes. The LaBella tapes are *very* loose and slinky though, I like that but I know many don't. I ended up putting a set of 40-95 gauge Ernie Ball Cobalt flats on my HCT Club. No they don't officially fit it, yes they are on my bass and sound great* 😁 *now I think about it, I had to use a .45 gauge G from an old set, as I couldn't get the .40 anywhere close to intonating correctly. It was likely just a dodgy string because I couldn't get it to intonate on two other bases either. The Hofner looks a bit of a Franken-job with different colour silks now but it sounds exactly like I want it to.
  13. RichT
    Agreed on build quality. The only issue I've ever had was a tendency for the bass to naturally hang a little more towards horizontal than I prefer due to the lightness of the body, however I sorted that by fitting some Res-o-lite tuners. I'll probably do the same with the new one at some point. Maybe not quite 2nd hand prices but the only place I've seen them for sale at anything like an affordable price is directly from Vox. They still currently have some A1H refurbs available via https://www.voxamps.co.uk/products/vsba-a1h-mbmb
  14. RichT
    I thought that every other post on marketplace was someone trying to sell a JMJ Mustang! 😂 But yes I'm keeping my shorties and playing s-s almost exclusively now. My 34" basses are feeling very sorry for themselves these days. I've just bought myself another Vox Starstream A1H! (directly from Vox, not from marketplace). I was strongly considering one of the new Sterling Stingrays with the roasted maple necks as a 'cheaper' s-s Stingray for taking to pubs and open mics, but they're £700 and at that level arguably overpriced. I noticed that Vox had some refurbished black Starstreams available for the same price. I reasoned if I'm going to spend £700 on a bass that sounds like a Stingray I may as well get something made in Japan with Aguilar electronics and Gotoh hardware. I love my red Starstream but it's almost irreplaceable now, I wouldn't want to risk taking it outside and damaging it. So I ordered a black one with the intention that if it gets knocked it won't bother me so much knowing my main red one is safe at home. This is the first time I've ever bought two of the same instrument. Surely that unlocks some kind of Basschat achievement? 😁
  15. RichT
    Not a 500/1, but I've had both the Ignition and HCT versions of the Hofner 500/2 Club bass. The HCT definitely feels, looks and plays like a bass worth twice the price of the Ignition. The tuners are smoother, the neck feels more refined and has binding (and a totally different neck joint), nicer piece of rosewood on the fingerboard, nut, tailpiece and pickguard are all visibly better quality parts, plus you get the German pickups. It's comparably much more of a premium feeling instrument. It's obviously a bit heavier, but still only about 6 lbs. I started with the Ignition, found it slightly wanting quality wise, so upgraded to the HCT. Haven't regretted that decision at all. I ended up giving away the Ignition to my then 10 year old nephew when he wanted to start playing. For him it made a great starter bass being short scale, very lightweight, and fitted with tapewounds so really easy on his fingers. Almost two years later he's still playing it and loves it. *edit - clarification
  16. RichT
    Would like to know about these too. I keep looking at the Toluca blue version with rosewood board to use as a backup for taking out to places I wouldn't take my USA EBMM. My main issue with the earlier Sterling version I tried a couple of years ago was the horrible cheap spongy quality in the movement of the knobs they'd put on there, but it occurred to me that as my USA version has a John East pre-amp installed, I might be able to fit all the original passive electronics into a Sterling instead, upgrade that aspect of it to USA standard and solve the problem. [edit] - I also remember, at least on the one I tried, a hard sharp corner from the neck onto the fretboard. No attempt to curve or roll the corner or anything. Maybe I just tried a dud? If they're making the effort to do roasted maple now, hopefully these new editions have a bit more attention paid to that area too.
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