thodrik

I moved on my M6 because it was so loud and clean and I wanted something I could dial in a bit of preamp dirt at useable volumes like I could with the Walkabout. I ended up with the Mesa Big Block with is probably the dirtiest, most valvey hybrid head I have tried. The EQ on the Big Block is fairly agricultural compared to the Walkabout or the M6, as the Big Block only really does 'one sound' which is generally a mid heavy, gritty, grindy rock tone. Luckily that is the exact sound I am looking for. You can kind clean up the sound by backing off the gain but it just does not achieve that wide open clean sound of the M6. However, I already had an EBS Fafner which could do the same kinda tone as the M6 but had a more forgiving volume taper! Though back to the actual thread I would have bought the Orange AD200 several times over it had actually had a DI! I really like the Orange guitar amps as well and have been after one of the discontinued Thunderverb heads for a while.

I might do this but I have essentially migrated to Bias for my go to ‘laptop’ guitar sounds.

Surely if the bass player is capable of playing quickly enough to reach the 'gold' standard of BPM expected of professional bassists that is excitement enough?

Well if you are fan of movie soundtracks and don't play with a pick, then to be a respected professional you will need a Goldfinger capable of playing to 104 BPM... https://songbpm.com/@shirley-bassey/goldfinger

Gold by Spandau Ballet has a BPM of 143, so this is the correct answer in terms of finding the 'Gold' standard. https://getsongbpm.com/song/gold/mwMVME

After 40+ years, the 'good ones' will be the ones that were owned by people who generally looked after them and gave the basses a regular set up, rather than how many cosmetic dings the bass has. I think that the overdone 'relic jobs' of modern basses give some people unrealistic expectations of how much wear and tear you actually should expect to see on a 40 year old an instrument when the instrument hasn't been periodically attacked by a belt sander.

I know what you mean. There were great tones in the Pod for sure but you had to work for them rather than rely on the preset tones.I ditched the Pod once I got a Sansamp Bass Driver, not because it was better, but just because of how quick and easy to use it was!

That sounds like a brilliant set up. I think a Helix is in my future. However, I am still stuck in the 'old school' mentality at the minute and generally go weak at the knees when I see a 'bargain' Mesa, Orange, Trace or Ampeg rig on the BC Marketplace. In lockdown though my thinking has certainly changed and just from messing around with things like Bias FX and Amplitube I am really starting to realise just how far things have come since I bought the original Bass Pod in about 1999! The last time I was considering buying a Helix, I ended buying a used Mesa Big Block 750, matching 6x10 (essentially my dream set up 10-12 years ago) and a Mesa Rectoverb 50 1x12 guitar combo. The total cost for all of that gear was about £1700, so in terms of 'new RRP' cost comparison it was technically a complete bargain. However is a boutique 6x10 a bargain at any price in terms of practical considerations? The answer is 'no', though I still love that cabinet as it essentially filled my lifelong goal of owning one 'big' cabinet in my lifetime. In terms of practical use I am absolutely confident I would have got far more practical use out of a Helix and FRFR, as well as saving a load of floor space! The main benefit of buying the Mesa 6x10 is that I have started doing weights in order to be able to physically fit enough move the cab, which has resulted in me getting in much better physical shape, so there is that.

That is a really great practical set up and when you state it like that it also is a wise financial investment. I have probably spent upwards of £1500 on bass pedals alone over the last ten years, without even factoring in what I have spent on amps and cabs, so it really brings into the value for money of of the Helix FRFR route once you get your head around the concept.

I really like that finish. I really wanted that for the Arpege but when one in burgundy came up for sale I wasn't going to be choosy! Honestly, if the pickup system in the Arpege was converted to a comparatively 'simple' three band EQ shared for both pick ups I don't think I would particularly mind. It is the neck shape and general fit and finish that impresses me more than the electronics, even though the electronics are great.

Looks pretty legit to me. Price seems about right for a Precision which has been upgraded with non-original parts. If the bass hasn't been played much and has been well looked after, then it doesn't surprise me if it is in good condition. As said by Doctor J above, getting an exact date on Fenders from this era as S7, S8 and S9 serial numbers each span multiple years. I have an S9 Precision which could have been made at any time from late 1978 to around 1981. I have never bothered trying to get it dated exactly as it is not from a particularly valuable or collectible era so there is no point in trying to strip and trying to confirm whether the body and neck are dated from a particular year or whether the signatures or stamps can be identified. I'm not going to sell it so I have never bothered checking. If the bridge and pickups have already been switched out, I'm not sure there is much use in checking the pots or wiring. I would just be checking whether the pickups are delivering a sound you like and whether the bass needs a decent set up. My bass plays great and I don't want to risk that by taking it apart with the aim of authenticating it. If I was buying a pre CBS era bass I would maybe however want to check everything.

I think that there is good degree of overlap between the Arpege and the Passion. The three band EQ per pickup on the Arpege does give a bit of option paralysis at times. It has taken my ten years to figure out my preferred settings! I don't tend to use the Arpege as a traditional 'jazz bass' by running the pickup blend dead centre. It sounds great doing this, but in practice I prefer a more traditional 'Fendery' type bass for traditional J bass sounds (I have a Sadowsky for that). I use the pickup blend to slightly favour the rear pickup. I generally use the EQ system to add a bit of additional bass to the back pickup (but not the front pick to avoid too avoid a potential lack of definition), so that it sounds less like a single coil jazz pickup, but more like a big humbacker or dual JJ pickup you would find on a Warwick Thumb five string or a Stingray. In practice, I think I am actually trying to make the Arpege sound more like a Passion! A black, satin finished 5 string Passion is on my 'wishlist' for sure.

Amazing looking bass! I really like that finish a lot. I really want a Passion as it is the only Vigier bass model I am missing. In terms of the bridge, I was initially wary of the monorail bridge design on the Arpege compared to the solid hulk of metal on the Excess. However, in terms of functionality and sustain, the monorail bridge on the Arpege has been brilliant and I definitely wouldn’t change it.

I am temped to get one of those or the TC Electronic BQ500 as an emergency back up to my main amps for gigs. Previously my back up was a Trace Elliot SMX 300 amp that weighed more than my main amp! Also, I LOVE the feature list for the Gnome amps: 6 Switchable Pad: No 7 Switchable Low Cut: No 8 Integrated Effects Processor: No 9 Internal Effects: No 10 FX-Loop: No 11 Tuner: No 12 AUX Input: No ... 14 LINE IN: No 15 LINE OUT: No ... 18 Tuner out: No ... 22 Foot Switch Connection: No 23 Incl. Foot Switch: No None of the Gnome range have any of these features, so why even bother listing all the things the amp can't do?

Ah right. We are definitely on that. I just remembered that our vocalist did all of that before we pressed the album,. He is really good in that regard. I just turn up and play bass.

Yes, 666MrDoom is the main guy who shared our album too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jkcohmp8Unw We are up to 9k worth of streams in two weeks. I'm pretty sure the band are up on CDbaby but I would need to check. There is one Youtuber who run the Stoned Meadow of Doom page who was pretty much accused of monetising the work of artists by sharing albums but claiming he was helping bands via giving them the old 'exposure' explanation. Of course, he took a hit when accusations of bullying towards bands who didn't want to work with him came to light, along with him having various worldviews which would politely be called 'non-inclusive', which resulted in loads of albums being recalled from his page. I shall give your EP a listen later today and contribute about £0.00001 to your streaming revenue. Long form stoner/doom is pretty much my genre of choice!

Savage Garden being a pop band but Soundgarden being a much more aggressive alt-rock band always amused me. Queens of the Stone Age feature no female royalty or any cavemen. The Distillers never showed any inclination to making alcoholic drinks either.

My band are in the same boat. We released an album last month and it has been received fairly well in the stoner/doom circles which is great. This means that numerous different sites/blogs and fans have already posted the whole album to Youtube, which means that we get absolutely zilch for those plays. At least a couple of the larger blogs had the decency to ask if they could post the album and made sure to include a direct link to our bandcamp when posting the video. The process of sharing of the album has helped the band in terms of 'exposure' and our bandcamp physical and digital sales are more than they would have otherwise been if the sharing had not occurred in the first place. Essentially, the band have almost written off streaming revenue since we don't operate in a genre where that will ever be a significant revenue driver unless Lady Gaga changes style entirely and does an EP with Sleep. We are still relying on people who find the Youtube links to check out the bandcamp, maybe buy the physical album to listen to it in better quality, possibly buy a t shirt and maybe catch us at a gig sometime when it becomes possible. The revenue the band generates helps keep the band going but there is little to no individual income for any of the band members. Even if the band 'made it' within this genre it would not be particularly financially lucrative.

Seen CoC twice, first time with Clutch as chief support in about 2005. It was an awesome gig.

My band have made it into ‘The Doom Charts’ with our new album. One spot behind Cult of Luna so I will take that, though we are admittedly not very doomy. https://doomcharts.com/2021/03/01/doom-charts-february-2021/

Mesa Walkabout has been my main head for over ten years. Sounds great and brilliant overdrive tones, but if you are looking to maximise clean headroom it isn't the greatest. If you can find one used a Mesa M3 head would be a great head. EBS HD350 would be a good all round head and you can get them for a good price used and reliability wise they are pretty great. The Ashdown ABM300 would be a good bet, but the 500 would probably weigh about the same and by much louder. However if you already own an RM head it might just be too similar to you already have.

Nice. Cracking looking bass too!

Haha, my bad! Maybe this will be an option for Ultra-Broadneck Warwick made Sadowskys!

A 24 fret Sadowsky Metro would fit the OP's criteria of something that looks Fendery and has 19mm string spacing. There is a new 24 fret 'Warwick made' Sadowsky Metro on Bass Direct for slightly under £2k. If you have the cash though, there is all number of boutique J basses out there, Mike Lull, Overwater, etc At sub £1k level, I am pretty sure that the Sire M series have 19mm spacing, but may be wrong. They are cracking basses but not overtly Fendery looking.

I have tried any number of strings with this tuning over the past 7-8 years. The fact that the low C is dropped two whole tones from standard while the other strings are only dropped one whole tone means that getting a 'balanced' set of strings from a standard pack is pretty tricky. It might be better buying single strings. My advice would be to look at the tension ratings of your preferred strings in standard tuning and try to use a set that has a similar tension in drop C. There are string tension guides online which are worth looking at (D'addario's one is very good). Of course, tension isn't the only factor. Other factors such as compliance, the touch of the player, preferred string height, the fret work of the bass, the relief in the neck, all play a role, however I think that looking at tension is good at pointing you in the general direction and after that there is a bit of trial and error. Also, if the low C is just used for a low C (and not a D for D standard) you can probably use a much heavier low C string to get a tighter response. Brief reviews of the strings I have used on a Fender Precision and Sadowsky Metro are as follows: GHS 'Heavy' Boomers: 115-50: Good strings, decent even tension, didn't last that long but perfectly good strings. Rotosound 'singles' set 115-50. Decent tone, didn't last long and it had that Rotosound 'rough texture' thing going on which I like but some folk hate. DR DDT: 115-55: Good strings but frankly I didn't like them due to how unbalanced they were. The tension on the low C was alright, however the 75 and 55 gauges were really far too tight for being tuned to C and F. Great for Sabbath tuning (C sharp standard) but anything above that was too tight and anything below that and the strings went all flubby. Dunlop Heavy Core 115-55: pretty much exactly the same issues as the DR DDTs above. They have been discontinued I think. Custom Newtone set: 50-110: better than the DR DDT, though very expensive and not as good as the D'addario set below I can source for about half the price. D'addario EXL160BT: 120-50. These have generally been my first choice. Balanced(ish) tension so the higher strings do not feel like unmoveable steel cables and low string doesn't handle like a bit of Spaghetti. Cost effective too as they only cost around £20 or so. My current choice is a set of Elixirs I made up a set on Strings Direct: 50-130 (50-70-95-130). I found that the D'addarios only last a few rehearsals and gigs before going dead. The Elixirs have been installed for more than a year now and still sound fresh (well, the lack or rehearsals and gigs probably helps!). The 95 gauge for the G (A in standard) is pretty tight but Elixir don't make a 90 string and the 85 string isn't heavy enough for my own taste/ham-fisted touch.