thodrik

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1351963003' post='1857374'] . The Ampeg should be pretty mobile on its wheels. [/quote] Try getting it down a flight of stairs by yourself when your drummer and guitarist are 'busy'! Seriously, though, wheels make a huge difference.

[quote name='PlungerModerno' timestamp='1351960951' post='1857327'] Isn't the HLF a ported, scooped sounding cab? I've never played through one but I've heard descriptions saying it's not a typical SVT sound. I suspect the S12 will give you more flexibility both in transportation and tone - while the HLF will have a more traditional coloured effect - which may be perfect but may not, I really wouldn't know. [/quote] Yeah, the HLF is not really a half-sized version of the 8x10. Its a hugely deep, heavy ported cab. I'm not sure that it is scooped so much that it is really bottom heavy. It throws out loads of low end and I often have to do a bit of work to actually tame the sub frequencies. I think there are better, lighter cabs on the market, but Ampeg still has that element of cool, despite its limitations.

I have been constantly switching brands lately in order to find strings that work well for D standard tuning. Rotosound 50-110: decent, cheap, rough texture but after 14 years my fingers are immune to this GHS Heavy Boomers 50-115: Better fundamental than the Rotos (115 gauge may help), cheap, but didn't last that long before the 'zing' went (now) D'addario Prosteels 55-110: Really snappy sound, decent enough tension though a bit unbalanced. (next) DR DDT 55-115: the con already is the damn expense!

What I like generally depends on the neck shape rather than the length. So probably not.

[attachment=122034:Bass stack.jpg] When I got bored during the summer. I think that Mo Farah is in the background on the tv.

You won't damage the neck by downtuning one string down. You would maybe damage it if you started tuning up to G.

[quote name='Meddle' timestamp='1351022839' post='1846400'] I have the opposite problem. I like their basslines (that descending line on Blood and Thunder during the harmony guitar parts is amazing) but I don't like their use of acoustic guitars in the studio and I find their drummer overplays far too much. Sure he can credit some sort of jazz influence because his snare work is similar to Billy Cobham's coked out snare work, but I really wish he would play more of a definite rhythm and less of a jazz solo on every track. [/quote] I have a similar view. Troy is good player and fits his parts into the band really well. If he tried to play more than he does then there would be nothing really holding a lot of the songs together, since the drums and guitars are generally all over the place. The autotuned to hell Brann vocals on Crack the Skye and The Hunter put me off the band at times. I still like the band in general though.

Wow, I didn't know they were so expensive now. Its probably know broke into my top ten most valuable books. Edit: Yes, I am that much of a geek.

I had a Trace Elliot combo that went dead a year into warranty. The replacement is still going 12 years later. Sometimes things just happen, it doesn't necessarily mean that the amp itself is poorly designed or made.

Just play the Steinberger. I've played a multitude of toilet gigs over the years with good gear without any issues other than a few cosmetic dings. Just take care of your gear and have it insured.

I don't know anybody who has Genz Benz kit, but good luck with your search.

Mine barely works, its more of an on/off switch. Usually its 'on'.

I find the condescending tone of the 'look at these idiot kids looking for advice on playing music type X' on the 'other site' very annoying, as the people slamming the predominantly teenage questioners are usually the first to start threads along the lines of: 1. 'is a Sadowsky better than a Fodera when it comes to double thumb technique?' 2. 'which amp has the best 'flat tone?'. 3. 'How does [insert well known or semi-established session player's name] get his/her tone?' 4. 'Man, I have mega GAS for something I saw a picture of from NAMM!' Frankly, every instrument or amp should be able to play any kind of music. Its just that people often listen with their eyes or feel that a product has to be specifically designed/marketed with a particular type of music in mind before its use in certain genres is acceptable.

I wish that they had a 'relic' setting as well, which would allow for a bit of extra fun.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1349459419' post='1826684'] I agree... my next bass build will have both. If you are spending that sort of money, I'd spend the extra..and it is was too expensive, I'd look elsewhere [/quote] It might just be a tactic by Sadowsky to give people a reason to buy a Metro. Not sure it entirely works though. I'm not a binding fan (apart from on SGs and Les Pauls) though so its never been a big issue for me.

[quote name='phsycoandy' timestamp='1349383553' post='1825701'] Yup a bit like that perhaps lighter with more grain showing! how do i spec' that to Sadowsky? [/quote] Just send them a picture. Or look at their list of recently sold basses,([url="http://www.sadowsky.com/stock/nyc_b_rs.html"]http://www.sadowsky....k/nyc_b_rs.html[/url]) find one that has a finish you like and send them the details. They will have records for a lot of the instruments they have made, so finding the right finish shouldn't be a problem. Good luck with bass, it will be a cracker! Edited because my linking skills are atrocious...

I like all my basses but recognise their quirks/flaws. I wouldn't sell any of them....except the Squier.

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1349034246' post='1820975'] your basses enjoy that chair don't they? [/quote] I have a Sadowsky Metro and the same chair. Freaky...

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1347980658' post='1807595'] though there does seem to be a 30 year rule... about 30 years after they were made Fenders start to go up in value - when I started playing 10 years back late '60's fenders weren't desirable and you avoided the 70's at all cost.... now early, and even late 70's fenders are shooting up in cost to buy. Next stop the early 80's fullerton stuff?? [/quote] Pretty much. In 1998 my 1978 Precision cost me £380. I've seen basses from a similar era going for £1200 or even more. Its strange though as the basses themselves are no better than they were ten years ago. At the current rate, buying one of those 'Boner' Jazz basses could lead to a decent return in twenty years or so.

Forget about years, colours, finishes or even the level of cosmetic damage. Just play a few and buy the one that plays and sounds good and isn't priced at a ridiculous value. When it comes to pre CBS Fenders there is a lot of stories about good years and finishes, but that won't guarantee that an individual bass will actually be any good just because it belongs to a particular time period. My view is that there is no point in buying the most original, mint condition vintage instrument if you gain no real joy in playing it.

I don't mind it to be honest. I think that a lot of people are just trained to think that only Fender models are capable of looking 'aged', so the seeing a Warwick with the same process just looks 'off' or 'wrong'. I would just find it awkward to play any expensive new bass which is pre-aged. Would I be careful to make sure that it wouldn't get any ding, or would the fact that it was beaten up already actually be a good thing as I could play it without being worried about getting any cosmetic damage?

So a Precision with extra pickups and onboard eq sounds different from a passive one? Wow, I''m stunned Although I do prefer my Precisions to be passive (it saves me from 'needing' another one), I don't see why active Precisions should be viewed as unnecessary, while active Jazz basses are now pretty much the standard for all most Fender-based designs. I guess that we are so used to active jazzes that we sometimes forget that there is a pretty big difference between an active J bass with a three band EQ and high output pickups compared to the 'classic' passive Jazz bass. With the variety of pickups, bridges, woods and eq options available on modern designs, sometimes the only thing that 2 different 'Jazz' basses have in common is that they both look like Fenders. This also applies to Precision designs.

Publicity stunt and not a very good one. Of course it can be written in a positive by her supporters as a way of 'blurring the boundaries between fans and artists'. I think it is taking advantage of musicians and another case of preferring to spend money on marketing rather than the artistic process itself. Frankly, I find the 'help me, I'm a poor struggling artist' angle to be incredibly weak.

I use heavy GHS 115-50 that manages drop C alright. The 'use the bottom four strings of a five string set' is fine for C straight, but is a bit tight for drop C. DR DDTs 115-55 works fine but a pricey as hell, hence my use of the GHS, as would a custom set around 120-50 or so.

[quote name='dave_bass5' timestamp='1347059961' post='1796700'] I think the Sandbergs are nice instruments but dont like the look of the plain necks. I dont NEED the dots but i like them where they should be. The customs have blocks and they look much nicer IMO. [/quote] I have never found the lack of dots to be problem when playing. However in a jam practice situation when trying to show stuff to guitarists the lack of dots can sometimes be a pain, as there are lot more 'what fret/note are you on?' questions as compared to when the guitarist can see the dots. On Fender based instruments I do prefer the dots, though that might just be through convention.