thodrik

Interesting last couple of comments. I have been recording an album over the last 6 months that is very much in the Black Sabbath mould (mostly played in drop C). I started out thinking I would use my trusted old S9 Precision with the B3K through my Mesa Walkabout. I wasn't really happy with it as it just really didn't work with the voicing of the bass in my opinion. Plugged in my Sadowsky Metro Jazz bass (once I set it up for drop C) and it sounded so much better. It might be a Sadowsky v Fender and passive v active thing, but I do think that there is something to the argument that that the Darkglass B*K pedals work better through two pickup basses. To be honest, I only started using the B3K because my 'go-to' Aguilar Agro broke. Once I started tracking with the B3K, I have pretty much had to stick with the same set up.

I would pretty much agree. In terms of bass drive pedals the Darkglass are getting as ubiquitous as the old Boss ODB3-3 was about 10-12 years ago. I love metal and hard rock, but my brain and my ears get a bit tired of the combination of triggered drums, heavy distorted Darkglass bass and highly compressed, multiple tracks of BIAS FX guitar distortion that I tend to listen to on Youtube 'reviews' and demos. I do rate my Darkglass pedals, but I think that the best sounds on the B3K are actually when the drive is on very low settings with the 'grunt' switch engaged. I actually prefer it to the sound of my old Tech 21 Bass Driver. I frankly just don't like the higher gain settings of the B3K. I haven't really managed to find 'my' sound on the Alpha Omega yet. It might be that I am just not overly fussed on the drive tones of the Alpha or Omega sides, but I really need to spend more time with it.

I would actually approve of destructive actions such as these if the 'product' being destroyed was the remaining batch of 'Min-e'tune/G-Force' automatic tuners held in Gibson's inventory.

I like Darkglass products (I have three pedals, two of which I actually use), however I am a bit tired of the saminess of in which their product line launches and 'innovations' are staggered with almost military levels of precision: - Launch product A; then a few months later; - launch 'compact' version of product A; then wait a few months more; - launch 'ultra' version of product. I know why the releases of the tiered products are staggered as it does make business sense. I just find the whole process a bit like the constant launch of 'game changing' smart phones in which some technology and features seem to be intentionally held back for a later product launch. That in addition to the constant 'reviews' of the pedals by Darkglass fanboi's/endorsers just leaves me a bit cold towards the company as a whole. I really can't fault the products themselves though. Edit: the Duality is definitely my favourite pedal though.

Those amps are fantastic value, sound great and are really easy to use. I far prefer them to pretty much any other Hartke I have tried. Classic passive tone stack though, so if you are in the 'I must boost my mids' camp then you are out of luck.

I think I am in a similar position. I was 20 when the last album came out and since then I have discovered so many awesome bands. I cant really put myself back into the position of 13 years ago to obtain the same level of excitement when Tool were one of my favourite current bands. Going to see them now would nearly feel like a nostalgia trip, which isn’t really the case when I go to see Opeth, Mastodon or even bands like Clutch or Corrosion of Conformity who have on the go about as long, or even longer, than Tool. I missed the SECC gig later in 2006, mostly because I had already seen Mastodon and Tool already that year and didn’t want to take a chance on SECC sound quality (also I was a student with no money). Heard it was a cracking gig though.

Cautiously looking forward to it. I would like there to be a bit more variation to the songwriting than 70 minutes of open string drop D riffs in odd time signatures. I jest, should be great. Saw them at the Academy in Glasgow on the 10,000 Days tour in 2006. The venue was pretty small and they had a stripped back light show, so you could really just watch and listen to them play. It was a brilliant gig. Maynard was dressed in luminous orange suspenders and was wearing an oversized cowboy hat. Considering the gig was in the south side of Glasgow in the middle of summer he really didn't look out of place.

It depends on the asking price and the 'look' of the bass in my opinion. In my opinion, in terms of the NYC basses, the standard Fender finishes (natural finish, sunburst etc) tend to move more quickly on Bass Chat than some of the Sadowsky designs with custom figured wood tops. Some of this might be down to price (the figured top basses generally go for a higher asking price). You also have to factor in that the custom finishes have usually been custom made for a particular customer and not everybody is going to like a particular custom finish. In terms of shops, I haven't seen many used NYC basses hanging around for too long when marketed by Bass Direct or Guitar Guitar etc at an attractive price. The one I ended up buying from Bass Direct a few years ago must have been up on their web site for about 48 hours before I bought it.

I had a Squier Affinity Jazz as a back up bass for my Sadowsky for nearly 10 years. I never used it once at a gig. I think I played it for ten minutes in Guitar Guitar before I bought it. I don't I ever played it after that other than a 'does it still work?' two minute check about once a year. I maybe changed the strings once around 2012 In an ideal world, the backup bass should be pretty much indistinguishable from the main gigging bass. In practical terms though, I just want something that is inexpensive, passive (no risk of failing batteries), capable of having a half decent set up and something I didn't mind collecting the odd cosmetic 'ding' from being lugged about in a gig bag. Squier always wins for me as a back up bass (a new Affinity Squier five string jazz is about £220). The budget level Sterling by Musicman would also be in my consideration too but they are a bit more expensive.

I mean, the Phil Lynott bass is a snip at £11,699. The real value for money offer is the special EVH 1979 Bumblebee Tribute, which is a bargain at only £15,729. https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/product/190717346254008--evh-1979-bumblebee-tribute-replica-blackyellow I have always wondered what a band featuring Phil Lynott and Eddie Van Halen would have sounded like. Now (just as soon as myself and my brother find an elusive £27,428) we will be able to find out! What a time to be alive.

I would like to try one, but I really don’t need one. Much like I really didn’t need a fret wrap but I enjoyed the process of buying one to try it out to check that it wasn’t just a gimmick (I was impressed, but I don’t need it and I generally don’t use it). The theory behind a ramp intrigues me, particularly the ability to potentially ‘unlock’ a number of potential playing positions inbetween the two pickups on a Jazz bass. The only reason I have not tried a ramp is that I am too lazy to make one myself or instruct someone to make one on my behalf.

If a Fender master builder has gone to extreme lengths to built an exact replication of that original bass and undertook the research and buildwork entirely by himself then I can imagine that the hours spent on the bass would result in a much higher than normal price. Considering that the original bass was a standard P bass with a few modifications, then I would suspect that this bass is for the wealthy Thin Lizzy fan and collectors only. It isn't designed as a 'player's bass' so I'm not really going to get my knickers in a twist over the price. It is what it is. I mean, I love passive Precision basses (my main bass for twenty years is a passive S9 series) but in my opinion a good American Professional/American Original series bass will probably be just as good as a three grand Fender Custom shop passive Precision. In fact, since most of the Custom Shop basses seem to be designed with 7.5" radius, I would prefer the 9.5" radius on the Professional/American Vintage basses. An exact spec 1960s Fender Jazz or Precision is not really an aspiration for me though. If it was though then I would probably look at a custom shop in the £3000 range before considering paying £6,000+ for a mid/late Precision or Jazz.

If I was Gibson, instead of suing Mike Lull, I would be trying to hire him to get advice on how to build a better bass. I was thinking that either Gibson have never heard of Mike Lull, or they thought better of suing a company where the head has close connections to members of Pearl Jam.

Yes. Also there is no 67 gauge single equivalent so you can’t really get the same exact set. If D’Addario ever discontinued the 120-50 balanced tension then I will be very annoyed.

That makes two. Okay, someone call D'Addario and get them to make it happen!

That is actually good to know. Thanks!

Some folk would say 5-10 minutes. Myself, once I turn on my Trace V6 on I give it about 90 seconds or so before I hit standby. That is the case though if the amp is sitting in the same place and isn't being moved between use. If the amp has been in transit and I had just taken the amp from a very cold environment (from a car in the middle of December to a venue), I would probably let the amp sit for 5-10 minutes before I would even turn the amp on at all.

Okay, I will just say this. I love the D'addario Balanced Tension 120-50 set (pretty much the only set of production strings that work for me for D standard/drop C or the classic Black Sabbath tuning of C# standard). I must spend about a couple of hundred quid on strings a year. If Elixir or D'addario did an coated equivalent of that 120-50 then I would buy those. (Elixirs don't do singles of those gauges so it is not really an economical option).

I think that a Gibson Grabber would be popular. Far more versatile than the SG bass currently on the market (and I own an EB3 Also, a official licensed Korean/Japan made budget Rickenbacker 4001. Not going to happen though! A Trace Elliot GP12 SMX preamp with a class D power section would see a proper return to Trace Elliot’s roots, rather than a Peavey mini amp painted green.

Pretty much this. I would also add that the bridge design causes intonation problems and makes it really hard to properly set the action. Replacing it with a Babicz or a Hipshot makes a lot of difference. I have owned a 74 EB3 for nearly twenty years. It does THAT sound you love on Cream and Free albums but it only does that sound. If you desperately need or want that sound then get one. If you want a really versatile, light weight shorter scale bass then I would look elsewhere.

I find Amazon generally great when things go well but utterly horrible to deal with in event something goes wrong. For example: I ordered a CD, but I received the vinyl LP in error. I return the item via the Amazon returns system. I then go through the re-ordering process through the online box ticking via the Amazon interface system. I then need to send a 'wrong item description' online thingy which is then sent off but does nothing (because said online thing gets stuck in a processing vortex between Amazon and the seller/shop in question). I then re-order the correct item making clear that I am ordering the CD and not the LP (and taking screenshots to show that I am ordering the CD and not the vinyl). Click order. What happens next? Of course, the re-send me the vinyl and the process begins again. Had the issue happened with an independent shop, I could have just phoned the shop and said 'you sent me a vinyl when I just ordered a CD' and the matter would have be resolved in two seconds with a 'sorry about that. Can you maybe return the vinyl and we will post out the CD and refund you the postage costs of the vinyl?' exchange. For that reason, for any items of expense, I generally prefer ordering from a shop as if something goes wrong then I can contact the shop/seller directly rather than have to deal with the Amazon interface system. For the record, I am now just keeping the vinyl even though I don't own a record player.

A purr-fect pair of basses! Sorry... that was awful.

The one on the right is Lisa Ellis Hahn (Shop Manager) The one on the left is Chris Arena, who according to the Sadowsky site builds most of the Satin bass models. I just checked the Sadowsky site for the first time in ages (it looks so much better than before). There is now a 'staff' section: https://www.sadowsky.com/the-staff/

Congrats! I love that finish. A five string Sadowsky can cover pretty much anything. I love mine.

JJ's fitted in my Mesa Big Block and Single Rectifier. Sound better than the stock Mesas that were in there (though to be fair, I have no idea how long the said Mesas had been in those amps).