thodrik

I would definitely like to try the 69er with my Trace Elliot V6. I've never been that intrigued by the smaller cabs (Compact/Midget) and had already own half-decent mid-sized cabs so the Super 12 etc have never been something I have felt the need to try as I never really budget for new cabs like budget for instruments and pedals. Barefaced definitely offer something different in the marketplace though and I personally think that some of the designs are really cool, even if not what I am looking for myself. Some of fanboy antics on the thread can be a bit annoying when the 'Barefaced' is given as an answer to every 'what cab should I get?' thread, but I suppose those recommendations are made by those who really believe in the product, so I really don't have any problem with it.

I played a Mark I. It was nice enough, not something I thought I had to have. Soon after that, the 'I need a Wal' feeling went away forever.

Because it would be rubbish.

Same here. In fact, I think that his playing on the new album is some of his best work.

[quote name='thebassist' timestamp='1386448618' post='2300353'] The Fodera Emperor I played today was awesome but after playing around with it for about 40 minutes I don't think it's going to work for me. I then played a couple of nice Overwaters that my mate had - they were superb but they're both 5 stringers and I'm after a 4 or a couple of 4s. I also played my friends American Standard Fender Jazz and Precision and loved them both. They were set up beautifully and obviously had those lovely classic vintage passive tones. Despite desperately wanting to jump in and buy some equipment I'm going to continue searching because none of those higher end basses really felt 'right' for me and I'm starting to lean more towards traditional basses right now. [/quote] Have a go of some of the high end 'super' Jazzes, should give you a blend of old and new: Sandberg, Sadowsky, Nordstrand, Mike Lull, Mayones and others. Although don't rule out a Fender if you find one that is right for you.

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1386432753' post='2300080'] If you get a decent Fender worked on by a good luthier and finished off properly in terms of the fretting and nut ect , it really can play as well as a boutique bass. [/quote] My 1978 Precision has been my benchmark for all my other basses and it has never (to my knowledge anyway) been modified in a major way. I don't think that a passive Fender has to worked on by a good luthier to play as good as as boutique passive bass, though it can't hurt. There are 'good' and 'bad' Fenders in every line and if you get a good one, in my opinion they are as good as any other passive bass. Active basses are different as I don't think Fender have ever nailed a preamp to match Sadowsky and the rest of the boutique guys, but that is just personal preference In pure playability terms though, I've passed up Warwicks, Wals, Spectors, Rickenbackers and loads of other high end/ 'boutique' 'vintage' instruments that just simply didn't feel as nice (to me) as the Fender I already owned. Only a Sadowsky and a Vigier came close enough to actually convince me to buy them. The Fender is still the number one bass though and it cost me about £400 in 1999!

I would happily buy a Fender over a 'boutique' bass if I found one that I really liked which played as well as a more expensive bass. The trick is actually finding the Fender that is 'the one' to you. If the OP finds a Fender, or any instrument at whatever price point that they really like, why not choose it over a more expensive custom job? The best advice is to go out and try as many basses as you can and see if what you like the best.

Old Trace Elliot or Ashdown ABM would do the job. In terms of 'modern' solid state stuff I do rate the Hartke LH500/1000 amps, the Aguilar SC500 and any one of bigger EBS heads (got a Fafner myself). Or you could go old school SWR or Gallien Krueger if you want something a bit more unusual/1980s influenced. Peavey Firebass is also a good shout. I also like the SVT Pro series amps, but not so keen on the SVT450. Basically just see what is available for the money you have set aside and get what you fancy.

G&L is hardly a radical departure from Musicman/Fender territory so I'm not sure you would get anything different other than another nice bass. Not keen on the Gibson EB bass ergonomically, the Fender Dimension looks like the same bass but better designed (to me anyway). Probably a decent bass. If you are looking for a 'cool' but 'different' Gibson bass, maybe also have a look for a Grabber or Ripper bass. Thunderbird. Very cool but generally very heavy and suffer from neck dive. Maybe look at the Mike Lull versions if you want to spend loads of money. Rickenbacker is an acquired taste. If you don't get on with them to be begin with why bother? All it will lead to is another 'I went to try this bass and didn't like it despite it being expensive' experience. Of those in the list I would get a Rick.

[url="http://vimeo.com/79092556"]http://vimeo.com/79092556[/url] Couldn't help but think of this thread when I watched this.

[quote name='action_panzer' timestamp='1385988045' post='2294302'] Of course you [i]can[/i], but I've rarely seen it done, Arch Enemy being the only band I can recall that drop their ricky to a low C, and they seem to keep the character of tone (until all the pointlessly heavy stuff bulldozes it anyway...) Here is why I ask - the 4003 is my dream bass, i love the sound, the look, how they play, and I will shortly have enough dosh to finally go out and get one. Yet everything I play at the moment is in a C tuning, and I remember from looking on TalkBass ages ago people saying Ricky's really don't like being dropped beyond a D. Opinions? It seems pointless to have my dream instrument to only practice and noodle on. P.S. silyl rickenbacker spelling is because I don't know if BC would be harrased by RIC to take the post down if I don't [/quote] Start listening to and watching stoner doom bands. A Rickenbacker bass tuned to C (or below) is semi-obligatory with a lot of those bands. Start with Sleep and Kyuss (Reeder era) and go from there. There is a Stoner/Doom thread on Talkbass and I bet that there is a bunch of guys who use Ricks. The guitarist in Arch Enemy has another band called Spiritual Beggars, and I'm pretty sure that the bass on all the early albums is on Rickenbacker as well.

USA Precision is a USA Precision. I would trade everything I own before I would part with mine.

Pretty sure that the Mark Hoppus sig was Jazz with Precision neck.

I'm fairly sure that the EBS amps all tend run off quite a lot of low frequencies as well. Their cabs do anyway.

I'm not one for comparing loudness of amps, all I can say is that I have tried an EBS 350 and it didn't feel any quieter than any of the other 300watt - 500 watt amps you find sitting on top of an Ampeg 8x10 in rehearsal studios (Ashdown, Aguilar, Hartke, Ampeg etc). With a smaller 8ohm cabs I tend to think the EBS amps sound a bit anaemic. I really don't see the point of comparing 'how loud is amp X?' questions though. I generally use a Walkabout as well and have never really struggled, even at the loudest gigs.

[quote name='Kiwi' timestamp='1383773280' post='2269043'] It's not just versatility, it's enormous versatility. At least thats what she said. [/quote] A Gibson EB3 has a 4 way pickup selector. As I have discovered, the fact that switches are there doesn't mean that they actually do anything! Still this could be a cool feature.

I really want to try one. I think that they look cool in a slightly ugly/design thrown together on a Friday afternoon way. Could be fun.

[quote name='Prime_BASS' timestamp='1382814843' post='2256948'] Played forever on EB super slinkies but never really liked them but when I started I didn't realise there was as much choice as there was. Played with Dr and I like the sound but the tensions per string were just too un-even for me and after a few too many sets with dead strings I gave up on them. Found the best string to be D'addario nickel wounds, when I got my Sandberg from Oli on here. Now I'm using the balanced tension sets as they are even more even and are still under £20 which I think is cheap for quality bass strings. been meaning to try a P-bass with a set on as I've hated all previous tries with other strings on. Coincidently the guitarist uses D'ardarrio too. [/quote] I use a 1970s Precision with the balanced tension 120-50 set. Really pleased with the results.

A few weeks ago I saw the EBS announcement of the release of the FuzzMo pedal. I am not quite as up date as usual on all gear releases, but I always keep an eye on EBS. I can honestly admit that I had not heard anything about this pedal until it was apparently released. Nothing appeared on the usual Namm etc conventions. No 'this is in development' announcement, no video demos, no ubiquitous endorsements from well-known players, just a 'this is out now' announcement. Although looking at the website they at least have some sound samples up now. Has anybody actually seen/used/heard this pedal? I was just wondering whether the absence of any fanfare is due to the pedal not being any good, which would be unusual for an EBS product.

I love my Walkabout, but not sure I would get one at current price levels. I got the 1x15 combo when it was in £1300 territory, now it seems to be £1500 just for the head! Prices have gone up for everything though over the years, so its not just a Mesa thing. The Walkabout is a very gritty head, it sounds more like a conventional valve amp (grit) than my all valve Trace V6. Most of this is down to headroom, or lackthereof. I am going to go out on a limb and state that I think that the new Prodigy and Strategy amps are pretty ugly cosmetically. They no doubt sound awesome however. I would probably still wait about for a 400+ or get a second hand Big Block.

Trace Elliot V6 has been pretty good for me. Only had it for 9 months but it survived a trip from the Netherlands okay.

D'addario half-rounds, I like D'addario strings but these were just not the right strings for me.

The 'inbetween' standard and low B tuning is where a properly set up bass in that tuning is as useful as a fiver set up in standard. Still the fiver gives you the flexibility to play all those songs without having to downtune whatsoever.I used a fiver for a while, but ended up just setting up a four string for downtuning. I found it easier to just tune to C# standard rather than having to transpose everything. I have enough basses to set up for different tunings when I need them. If i just needed a 'do it all' bass a fiver would probably be the sensible choice.

Its all relative and for most people 'overpriced' will just equate to a high end bass that they don't actually like.