Cat Burrito

I've got some Fender flats on my 1989 MIJ P-bass for a while and they sound great. Others rave about TI flats and La Bellas here but those Fender ones do the job for me.

I hate to break with tradition here but I was all ready to sing Fender Rumble's praises until I tried one. Not bad, just not great and I tried about 3 different ones. I'm a massive Fender fan and I love Fender amplication but the rumbles I tried were a bit lacklustre. I tried other budget combos of lesser known brands like Laney and they were better sounding. This was about 5yrs ago so maybe they've improved since?

I went to Dawson's in Reading today and played two white Fender Jazz basses, a MIM standard and the US standard. I appreciate this is just one example of each model but I was surprised with the results. The new USA's have a great rep but the new MIM standards clearly raised their game to match the price rise at the time. Both had similar feels & weights, both examples I tried were rosewood fretboards. Slightly different tonally with the MIM being slightly more growly on the example I played - which I prefered. The upshot for me was if I was in the market for a jazz (& I sort of am but can't really justify it) I'd go for the MIM. Also the MIMs can be modded to raise their game too but this one was good as stock. Part of my justification is that I already own 2 US P-basses and these are my main instruments but the MIM Jazz I tried today will be a great buy for someone

Does anyone else keep footwear in their case?! Put off by his feedback personally

[quote name='chris_b' post='810215' date='Apr 18 2010, 12:20 PM']We had a support band of "youngsters" last night and most of their set was "look at us" not "let's sound good"![/quote] I'm sure most of us would agree there's nothing wrong with a bit of the former as long as it's not coupled with the latter as it is here.

Out of interest I take it those holes on it for the ashtray covers come with the bass or were they added after purchase?

I think a lot of opinions (away from the thread) gear towards giving you the most options so people will say 300w etc. The reality is that people can & do get by with smaller setups and soundmen often mic you up in the larger venues anyway. I managed the whole of the 90s on a Peavey 130w 1x15 and I've recently gigged with an Ampeg 100w combo that sounded great in a fairly big room upstairs in a pub (the support band seemed to get a great sound too from it). I think you also need to consider how loud your band are too. If you have a loud drummer or the cliched guitarist who stands by his amp claiming he can't hear it whilst everybody else wipes the blood from their ears then I'd go louder but most bands you can get away with 100w. The question then really becomes do you want to just get away with stuff or do you want something in the bank when it comes to volume and tone? This may not apply if you are a quieter band though. Personally I'm always happy with a 100w set up but then most of what I do is acoustic based or mic'd up. My standard set up these days is a 135w tube or 200w solid state. Remember there is a difference in volume between solid state and tube (i.e. tube is louder than solid state)

Is it a band or a brand? One logo is plenty (the backdrop), two at an absolute push if you do the bass drum skin too. Back in 1994 I'd borrowed my mates bass and the band spray painted "my" case with the band name when I was in the toilet. At least it gave me the push to buy his gear!

Thanks Stinson, woody tone is what I want. This bass is strung with black nylons too so could be a cool combination

I contacted Simms about doing a P-bass and I think it was around £300 (Jan 10). I think if it's just a respray in one colour it's cheaper. Obviously 3 colour sunburst and decals etc rock up the prices a bit. It also depends on the condition of your bass

I hear nothing but good things about Wizard on these very pages so thought rather than Seymour Duncan I'd give Wizard a go. I like a traditional feel & have heard rave reports on the Area 51 & Stealth pups but wondered if anyone went for the trad pup? I want a 62 feel on my 2006 USA bass so I'll be ripping out that pointless (for a P) S1 switching etc. I phoned Wizard and spoke with the guy who seemed very cool but just wanted to know if we had any trad users here too. Cheers

For me it could only ever be Butterscotch & you can always pimp it up a bit

Good price in my opinion

Thanks for the heads up. I'll be getting one.

I tend to split 50/50 & hate any snobbery regarding how people play. Thankfully we don't get too much of it on this site these days

I'm in the same position as lozbass. I've known Marc for a couple of years and know he only deals in quality stuff. He's also a real stand up guy in real life too!

Just to add similar sentiments to most of the replies in mentioning my 1978 P-bass that plays like a dream.

MIJ P-bass through a second hand Peavey combo that cost £50 from the local paper. Still have the bass & gigged it as recently as last November although it is starting to resemble Trigger's broom these days!

change your strings, don't buy a pedal. Try a set of black nylons like Rotosound Trubass and you'll get fairly close to that DB sound on a budget

Fender through Ampeg, it's what I wanted 20yrs ago but couldn't afford. Timeless sound

We do a verse / chorus of different songs to cover instrument changes, make sure we do songs with b/vox and a harmonica song too [quote name='Pete Academy' post='802926' date='Apr 11 2010, 07:16 PM']I think my soundcheck is the shortest in the whole band. Is that good or bad? [/quote] I think bass is usually a quicker instrument to get a line check from. Drums & lead always take longer.

I think this is why bands advertise for "no time wasters". Sounds like the drummer didn't really feel like playing live - I had a similar thing with a singer a couple of years back, finally got to the stage of playing one gig and he wants a month off! I think you have just been a little unlucky. I don't buy into this originals vs covers band debate as there are plenty of uncommitted covers bands out there too. I'd suggest either forming your own band (with people who want to gig) or joining a gigging band who have just lost a bassist.Failing that get yourself down the local Open Mic as it's a great way to meet musicians who want to play live. Chin up & best of luck

I always pack spare leads & strings - I tend to avoid taking spare basses these days. I also pack capos & picks as my mandolin player always forgets stuff

That's unbelievable resale value yet again for a pickup that is not cheap new. I'm sure you'll love the tone.

[quote name='12stringbassist' post='801904' date='Apr 10 2010, 04:26 PM'][/quote] Great picture!