thodrik

[quote name='MoJo' timestamp='1482249340' post='3198865'] Sounds just the job [/quote] I would agree. Though I have had a Metro for about seven years now and have only started using the 'vintage tone control' knob this week!

[quote name='project_c' timestamp='1482056094' post='3197182'] Anyone else notice "Made in the USA" has been replaced with "Corona, CA"? I think the little USA flag sticker is also gone. It's a fairly big sign of the times I think, not just with California increasingly seeing itself as a separate entity from the rest of the USA, but also global attitudes towards the USA. Or maybe I'm reading too much into it. [/quote] I dunno, maybe Fender are trying to market their stuff as being more boutique. As in 'should I buy a Sadowsky NYC or Fender CA?. I like the headstock though, very uncluttered looking As an aside I quite like the new series. I think that they are overpriced though, as in I would probably just go the extra and get the American Elite which I think are among the nicest looking new Fenders I have seen. Everything is getting more expensive now though, so I guess that £1500 for an American made, passive Fender bass is about the going rate. I would have liked a nice red finish as option though.

I went to see them at Hampden, in full consciousness of their nickname for their live performances being 'The Red Hot or Cold Chili Peppers'. That night they were cold, probably in more ways than one!

Stick a Rusty Box pedal or other big overdrive pedal in your chain and keep your existing set up as it should cover big growling rock tones. Or sell it all and buy a Matamp.

[quote name='NancyJohnson' timestamp='1481974284' post='3196672'] I think for me the issue is purely down to the visual aesthetics. Longer scale, bigger body. I've got a JAXT4 which has a Thunderbird shaped body, albeit 20% bigger...you could easily(!) steal two or three inches at the bridge end, just by setting the bridge further back, which would only mean adding four to six inches to neck length. It's an interesting concept...sadly it would probably cost an arm and a leg. [/quote] With it being Mike Lull, absolutely! I wonder if Cort or Ibanez can build a cheap prototype...

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1481975251' post='3196683'] Interesting mark there. I wonder what the story is behind that? It looks like the path of a creature burying it's way through the wood. If makes me laugh when you get people making a fuss about the bass being, for example, 30 years old. They're totally blind to the fact that the tree nay have take 300 years to get to the point of being cut down. They then moan about a small mark they don't understand. Then you get others who only like it if it's covered in "sea foam green". What is sea foam anyway? Chemical pollution perhaps? Nice! [/quote] I have no idea. It does look like something had burrowed through the wood at some point. Someone at the Sadowsky Tokyo shop probably thought 'it might be ugly, but somebody will think it looks cool and buy it anyway.' I'm glad that they did! My personal favourite is when people pay extra to get an instrument 'reliced' to look like it has been marked to reflect years of use but suffers additional cosmetic damage from actually being used.

I don't see it as a blemish or a sign or poor workmanship. It is just wood grain and loads of instruments will have a similar pattern.I have seen top level Musicmans, Fenders and others with different types of grain markings on the wood. I have attached a picture of my Sadowsky Metro which has a strange 'M' shape scrawl in the wood. I think that it looks pretty cool and makes it easy to pick out in the event somebody attempts to nick it. Other folk might think that it looks ugly though but it doesn't bother me. One thing that does annoy me is a really poorly done bookmatched top on a really expensive guitar (i.e Gibson Les Pauls). [attachment=234174:IMG_0468.JPG]

Hmm, interesting. I would love to try something with that kind of scale length.

I have a Trace Elliot V6 which only has a 4ohm and 2ohm connection setting. This is pretty strange considering that the 4x12 and 2x15 cabs that Trace Elliot released for the amp all seem to be 8 ohm. Maybe in the 1990s people were just expected to buy a full stack...Anyway, I have used my Trace at low volumes with an 8 ohm cab, mainly to check that the amp actually worked. I certainly wouldn't use it for prolonged use with anything other than a 4 ohm or 2 ohm cab, which is why it is currently sitting unused until I buy another 4 ohm cab. The thought of having to replace the power tubes or transformer is enough to put me off. Valve amps are expensive to fix. There are also limits to the amount of clean headroom you will get. The SVT II should still be incredibly loud though, so I would take it back to your tech for them to check it over again.

I have a Sadowsky which is nice and a Vigier Arpege which is also very nice. I think that the best approach is to try a bunch of basses and buy the one you like the most. Recommendations from other players will only get you so far. A 10/10 bass for one bassist will be a 7/10 bass for another. For a passive 5 string I would have a look a Mike Lull if you like the Fender look. However I personally prefer having a nice preamp and EQ options if I am paying upwards of £2000 for a bass that isn't a vintage Fender. If you already have a 4 string Sandberg, I certainly wouldn't discount a 5 string Sandberg as it would be a great, well-rounded bass that would work for any number of styles.

[quote name='fretmeister' timestamp='1480632764' post='3186065'] West side Distribution have a demo room. Call them. [/quote] Bugger, wish I'd known that years ago. Always wanted to try a Big Block 750! I ended up buying a Walkabout blind, though I certainly don't regret that.

Utterly pointless but I imagine that would be a lot of fun to play through.

[quote name='Funky Dunky' timestamp='1480360025' post='3183721'] I don't find this at all, and I watch a lot of reviews. I find it maddening when a demo DOESN'T include a little bit of slap, actually, as I DO want to hear what the bass sounds like slapped. There are loads of videos out there which are all pick playing, and that bothers me just as much. Ed Friedland knows what he's doing - always shows off pick, fingers and slap in a demo. [/quote] I really like Ed's demos. Dan/Dood's reviews are generally really good as well for showing a mix of different approaches.

Nice! It reminds me of two of my favourite pointless Facebook sites: [url="https://www.facebook.com/CatsOnAmpsOfficial/"]https://www.facebook.com/CatsOnAmpsOfficial/[/url] [url="https://www.facebook.com/catsonsynthesizersinspace/"]https://www.facebook.com/catsonsynthesizersinspace/[/url]

I pretty much learned via time spent practising, occasionally watching Youtube videos of guys using techniques I didn't know and then trying to learn it myself. I enjoyed learning it and still practice slap and funk techniques as it is always fun to learn different approaches to bass. Predominantly I play low tuned metal/doom or alternative rock in bands, so it isn't a technique that I really need to use much in a band context, though its nice to know I can use it if I need to. I do find it annoying that every single bloody bass or amp demo online is dominated by slap bass playing. Maybe I want to to hear what it sounds like on fingerstyle, or played with a pick with a bit of overdrive?

I think Mark Gooday, who founded Ashdown, was a designer and engineer for Trace Elliot. He might have been the chief designer at Trace Elliot but I'm going from memory here can't be bothered doing a Google search to confirm this.

One of my favourite players (Scott Reeder) plays left handed with a right handed bass simply turned the other way round. I heard that Hendrix could play bass like this too. It can certainly be done but does it really matter? Like 'why do we always open the top of a tin of beans/soup etc rather than the bottom?' Surely we should just open the bottom of the can instead as it would save us the effort of turning the can upside down in order to empty the contents? Either way the content is going to be largely the same.

Four guitars. Guitarist uses two completely different tunings during a set and has a back up guitar for each tuning. Seems fairly sensible to me for a touring/regular gigging musician. By completely different I would mean standard tuning and C sharp Sabbath tuning. A half step down to me can be pulled off by most instruments used as a back up. Changing guitars just for the sake of it is s bit pointless though for me. I'm not really a fan of the 'this song needs a tele, the next one needs a strat and a few others need a Les Paul' approach. Too much time is spent switching guitars and not enough is spent actually playing.

I like the inbuilt compressor on my EBS Fafner. In pedal form though I have the Keeley Bassist. Brilliant pedal. I tried the Aguilar TLC a while back, it was really good as well.

Peavey still own Trace Elliot. They brought out a new line in about 2006, construction was moved to the US soon after that. Nothing has been announced since they launched their acoustic stuff about five years ago. There is the odd forum post from a supposed Peavey employee talking about new products being worked on, but nothing of substance. I'm pretty sure Peavey are paying no attention to the brand, as otherwise they would have proceeded with litigation against this guy's removal service, unless this is actually Peavey's idea of a relaunch! http://trace-elliot.co.uk

Wow, I think I go that as soon as it came out. Is it that rare? I think that it is in my attic, I used to use it as a cool mat for my laptop. Great book.

Just read the specs, nope it wouldn't!

I kinda want one of those cabs to pair with my Trace V6. My 30 watt Park by Marshall combo is probably sufficient for my needs at the moment though.

In Scotland, I can't think of any. I think Red Dog Music in Edinburgh had a couple a few years ago, but even then I think it was the Rockbass line not the full on German makes. Guitar Guitar get the odd second hand one. I think that the Gallery in London always have a few in stock.