thodrik

[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.

[quote name='fretmeister' timestamp='1347028413' post='1796209'] Really? They've had at least £5000 out of me over the years and they've been ace every time [/quote] I've never had a problem either. Everybody has horror stories these days, the key point is the how frequently the horror stories actually occur. Given the OP's previous luck with a previous Musicman order though, I would guess that whatever bass he ends up ordering, irrespective of the dealer he orders it through, could have any of the following issues: [list=1] [*]dodgy truss rod [*]substandard neck pocket with massive gap [*]Substandard finish or cracks, chips and dings on the finish [*]Completely different finish from the one ordered [*]Completely different model of bass from the one ordered [*]Substandard fretwork [*]Pick ups are totally misaligned [*]The EU disbands leading to massive tariffs for all cross border transactions, making the bass a lot more expensive. [*]Instrument is lost during the delivery process [*]Sandberg goes bankrupt as a consequence of point 8, so the bass is never actually made. [/list]

Good basses. When I was buying my Jazz bass I very nearly bought one of the 'hardcore aged' TM models. It really felt like a 'worn in' instrument and sounded great. I very nearly bought it but I ended up going with a Sadowsky Metro, which in the last 3 years has become a worn in instrument in its own right. Sandbergs I have tried a generally really solid instruments and if I was looking for an active Jazz or active P bass I would maybe favour it over the Fender equivalent, as I have never been that impressed by the own brand Fender active eq systems and the Sandberg eq system is very flexible and user friendly. The build quality is generally up there with a top line Musicman or Sadowsky Metro, though I have played a couple that had sharp fret edges or a bit of a gap between where the fret should come into contact with the neck. I doubt this is a common problem though as with most things I would try before I buy. If I was looking for a basic Precision bass though I would probably still stick with a Fender. When it comes to Precisions I really don't get tempted by active eq or additional pick up options. Its the simplicity of the design that I like.

[quote name='Wolverinebass' timestamp='1345889750' post='1782759'] I doubt very much if Chancellor would sound exactly the same playing a Precision through his rig. He'd still sound like himself, but just not exactly so in terms of sound. [/quote] Pretty much, it would sound different, but it would still work.

[quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1345838474' post='1782364'] i beg to differ.... this thread about a natural growl from a stock instrument.... i doubt you could get a proper growl from a P bass with any natural eq setting... through effects yes... [/quote] What is a 'natural eq setting'? Even the most basic of bass, middle and treble should be enough to get in the general ballpark of the type of sound you are going for? In the context of a thread discussing 'how does the bassist in Tool get his sound and how important is the Wal bass in achieving that sound?', I don't think that the natural non-Eq'd sound of the Wal is of fundamental importance. Essentially, I think Justin Chancellor would still sound like Justin Chancellor if he was using a Musicman, Spector, Sadowsky, Warwick, Fender Precision or any other four string bass tuned D A D G played through his set up.

[quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1345836225' post='1782338'] i didnt know you could bet a growl from a Wal..? the last one i played had a dull thump... [/quote] You can get pretty much any instrument to 'growl' with the right eq settings, although a Gibson EB3 on the 'extra mud' pickup selection is a bit of challenge.

Apparently Mr Chancellor's tone is so cloaked in different effects, eq and clean/dirty blends that it isn't really a natural example of the Wal bass sound. The tone is amixture of the bass, the player and the general recording and production process, which in Tool's case is pretty extensive. Any kind of dual humbucker or high output pickup bass could get you in the general ballpark. If you look at the basses used by Tool's contemporaries/soundalikes like Isis, Karnivool etc, you'll realise that Wal basses are not the only basses capable of such a sound. You could probably just use a passive Fender and stick it though a Sansamp and still achieve the desired sound.

I'm home up north for a while so I may be able to get a picture or two of my Excess, complete with accrued wear and tear over the last eight years.

[quote name='Lfalex v1.1' timestamp='1345716890' post='1780766'] I quite like it, but the clear scratchplate would have to go. [/quote] Same here, also the absence of any other options is a bit strange.

I can't really improve on what has been said. If you save and get one, Arpege, Passion or even the Excess, you will not regret it. iGuitar have a review of the two newer models. http://licklibrary.ceros.com/iguitarmag/slash-iguitar-slash-magazine-slash-2012-issue-1/issue11/page/1 It seems that the new Passions have a bass, middle treble while the Arpege's have bass, middle and treble for each pickup. I managed to get my Arpege series IV on here for a great price, so you can find them, just not as readily as Fenders.

I have the Aguilar. Its pretty good. It tracks down to B fairly comfortably but I have found it gets spotty around A. Aguilar pedals are poorly designed as the high edges make it difficult to use them with angled jack sockets. Still it is a good pedal otherwise.

Just keep playing bass. After you have mastered the basic technique, just jam around, mixing up your slap bass with regular fingerstyle. I found it easier to come up with with slap ideas once I stopped thinking about slap in isolation from everything else, but rather as an additional tool that I could use when writing basslines or improvising in general.

From side by side I have always been able to get a 'vintage' sound out of my Fafner mkI with a 1978/9 Precision. The Fafner II looks a bit daunting to use, but with the EQ shaping possibilities a 'vintage growl' should be eminently possible. Just turn the EQ filters off, that removes quite a lot of the 'modern' sound to the head, set the eq yourself and set the drive so that all of the signal is going through the drive valve, rather than just everything above 600Hz or so. In my opinion some amps sound great run 'flat' but the Fafner models are not these models, unless you have a very powerful onboard eq. In a side by side comparison I preferred both the Aguilar 751 and the EBS Fafner I to the Ampeg SVT Classic. The 751 v Fafner I was essentially a tie and neither really sounded much more 'vintage' than the other. I wouldn't really want to take a financial hit of getting rid of one to get the other. If 'looking vintage' was really important though, I would maybe take the Aquilar, the Fafner II has a bit of a space-ship look to it.

Double bass goes in corner. Basses are usually placed in on a stand, but sometimes left on the sofa or bed if I know I am just going to come back and play it as soon as I come back from work/shops etc. If I have gigs and/or rehearsals within a short space of time, the bass I am using stays in its gig bag, somewhere near the door. The hard cases are kept in a cupboard as I only use them when I am travelling longer distances. They take up too much space in the flat and are too heavy to carry to rehearsal if I walking to practice, which usually takes 45 minutes.

[quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1344705540' post='1768217'] Have you tried emailing Mesa? They might advise what commercially available drivers are similar. Let them know that the current ones aren't the stock drivers. [/quote] I'm pretty sure that Mesa will advise that the best speakers would be the own-brand Mesa speakers. Best bet might be to try the talkbass forum, as there are a lot more Mesa fans and players than here. Just do a very thorough search before starting a thread.