thodrik

Rotosound swing 66, 110-50. The shop down the road stocks them and they work okay for tuning down to D etc.

I like the look of the double humbucker model. I'm not sure I would really need/appreciate all the features though. Still, I wouldn't say no!

[quote name='TommyK' timestamp='1334692405' post='1619943'] No tis your choice anyroad...I just wondered why...open strings seems like a logical argument to me....carry on [/quote] Thanks!

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1334687830' post='1619851'] Not all 5-strings are active. Two of the 5-string basses I use regularly are passive. [/quote] I am aware of this. My five string is active with bass, middle and treble eq for each pickup. That was the 'bells and whistles' to which I was referring. Tommy K, in terms of tuning to C or on a five string, it would involve tuning the B string up C yes. In terms of why? Of course I could play everything in standard B-G five string tuning, its just that a lot of the music I play in that kind of tuning tends to rely on a lot of open strings. Having to constantly get down to the first fret/sixth fret etc is inconvenient, making fingering twice as difficult compared to just changing the tuning in the first place. Plus to my ear it doesn't sound as good anyway. In any event I just decided that the easiest way to get around the issue was just play a Precision with bigger strings, so my 5 string is still strung B-G anyway. Though I don't really see the any problems with tuning an instrument a certain way that is not standard tuning if you want to. Its hardly uncommon and has been going for years stemming from when groups used to tune to E flat rather than standard.

I like them, but find them to be overly prevalent in the types of music I really like (stoner, doom, classic rock), so I'm not sure I'd buy one. Still, the Rickenbacker being played through a cranked tube amp is something. I've played a couple of 4003s and thought that they had a nice clean sound as well and had lovely necks (though apparently these can vary a bit). I didn't find them to be a million miles away from my Vigier Excess in terms of overall feel and playability, though the sounds were fairly different!

I've found a five string to be a bit problematic when working with guitar tunings around C, C# and D standard unless I dedicate the bass to that tuning. For those kind of tunings I generally use my old P bass. I know that with the correct fingering I could play the 'correct' notes with a five string, but usually I've found that the music I play in these tunings tends to rely on a lot of open notes. Playing on a five string just doesn't really feel right, or even sound right to my ears. Also sometimes I just like playing a passive Fender without the extra bells and whistles of an active five string. Anything around standard tuning or needing low B or lower tends to be done on the five string, hence the reason I don't want to permanently have the 5 tuned to C etc.

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' timestamp='1334610855' post='1618640'] Definite theme of being exploded among the ones I've seen though. Think they were a bit tight on the filter caps or had supply issues, seem solid enough once it is all sorted though. The eating valves rep might also be down to maintenance issues, they don't seem to be doing anything that unusual. [/quote] I didn't know the exploding reputation, though I've never had experience with them for longer than an hour or two so not long enough to be familiar with faults etc. Long enough to turn me off the newer Ampeg SVT Classics though!

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' timestamp='1334596897' post='1618290'] Matamp are pretty much a different league to Sunn quality wise mind. Check link in sig, as I have a ton of amps that are suitable for these things, some of which can sell, but mostly to give you a general idea of what can work for the purpose. [/quote] Mmmmm Laney Klipp. Great amps.

I would probably get a Laney, Sound City, Hiwatt, maybe even a Marshall JCM 800 bass series type thing as they don't seem to be going for high prices second hand compared to Orange, Sunn, Trace Elliot V series or Matamp. Ideally I'd like a Matamp, but like Sunn and Orange their ubiquitous nature at stoner/doom gigs actually puts me off getting one a little bit. No doubt the amps are great (especially Matamp and Sunn) but you can pull off stoner/doom gigs without them, or even an all valve bass rig. The valve rig does make the experience more fun though!

[quote name='charic' timestamp='1334351589' post='1615183'] If there was ever a reason to get a second cab this is it! Put the two cabs ontop of each other and only use the top one! [/quote] This is actually what I have done in the past. Also I have found that additional cabs can be very effective as study desks and coffee tables when not gigging.

The fan on my newer (2009) Blackfaced Walkabout gives a fairly audible hum at low volumes. I've found that playing loudly gets rid of the problem though

I saw some bits when I got in late. ZZ Top and Johnny Winter are great. Cher and Gregg Allmann were not so much to my tastes.

In live situations, any time I thought I would save weight and just take a Sansamp/Pod to a gig, the venue would invariably have a poor monitor set up, leaving me unable to actually hear myself. The best way to solve this problem was of course to buy my own monitor and bring to gigs, giving me a consistency of sound. However that seemed pointless as I already owned a bass amp. With a portable bass combo I can at least go to a gig without any real monitoring problems on stage. So generally I will choose an amp for practical reasons before I even take the sound into account. Of course, at the gig, I've often had other bass players playing through Pods/Sansamps if they could use my amp 'as a monitor' as there are not enough monitors in the venue.

I've had a GP7SM amp for over ten years and it still works. I may be wrong but I think that the SMC range was introduced during the Gibson era and aren't really as sought after, probably even less so than the GP7SM range which I think is Kamen era and generally 'alright' without being as good as the earlier ranges. You could try the Series 6 stuff, which are often regarded as Trace's best efforts in terms of solid state amps. I always thought that the Boxer/Commando experiment into practice combos were more a reason for their death, but even then I think the demise of TE was a multi-faceted problem. It usually takes more than one bad amp to kill off a company, otherwise Ashdown would have gone under after the Superfly/Little Giant was introduced.

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1334304230' post='1613977'] To be fair, he's been doing this a while now and he never seems to get better at it. Compare this to the like of Genz etc's. efforts at trade shows.They make Ashdown look a bit silly. [/quote] Pretty much my view. I've seen that guy do a bunch of presentations, none of them very helpful or frankly any good. I'm sure he is a lovely fellow but surely Ashdown could find another role for him.

A good guitarist/bassist is a good guitarist irrespective of whether they are playing through vintage valve gear or digital models. Can you tell the difference? Depends on the person using the gear. Generally though I think its easier to tell a triggered digital drum kit than a digital guitar/bass rig. Being old fashioned in mindset I always prefer the sound of a properly miked rig/drum kit/non-autotuned vocals. Digital amps can sound great and are generally really flexible, but I always love the 'band in a room vibe' you get with miked up set up: the hum of the amps/end of song chatter between the band/general ambiance of the room picked up by microphones etc. I don't think digital amps or effects capture that, even if they capture the actual playing of the amp. As a result they can sometimes sound a bit clinical to my tastes. Though I appreciate that those looking for a really clean recording don't really care about those things anyway.

I like the general look and features, I just do not like the gold hardware on the bridge and headstock, but then the black EQ pots. All black or all chrome would look better in my opinion.

Merchant City Music in Glasgow usually stocks the Bass Terror 500 as well.

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1334188014' post='1612463'] Paul, you don't need another bass, you need to join a band. [/quote] Also, this!

Play a lot of basses until you find 'the one', or at least a company/luthier that you would be confident to build you it. Given you already have a few basses that could easily be 'the one' for somebody else, I would be wary of getting rid of them while your search is ongoing. It really depends on whether 'special' for you equates to a hefty pricetag, amazing build quality, great feature, or an instrument that you pick up that just feels like home. If you are lucky a bespoke custom bass will do that but it is never a guarantee. I love all my basses, but my 'one' is a beat up late 1970s Fender Precision. Its a vastly inferior bass in terms of build quality and features to my other basses, but it would be the last possession I'd sell.

In terms of gnarly cutting overdrive I prefer the EHX English Muff'n to the EBS, which I think comes with 12AY7 tubes. Still the EBS is a top notch pre-amp for giving warmth. On topic I'm not sure that changing to another 12ax7 valve will really drastically alter the tone of the of the pedal, though it also wouldn't exactly hurt either. I would say though that the Valvedrive has a strange/interesting 'flat' position, which is something like bass and treble at 0 with the mids on full. Maybe start from there and start raising the treble a bit while you raise the gain. That should give a tighter grittier sound with more emphasis on mids.

[quote name='RandomBass' timestamp='1334183529' post='1612406'] How much?? For that price you can get a Compact and a cover. Ok, the BF may not have a high frequency unit, but even so.... Of course you could also look at the Super 15, but I prefer the modular approach of two 15s. The BF alternatives are much lighter too. Cheers Geoff PS Looking at the recent threads on here, Alex doesn't need a marketing department - we do that for him lol [/quote] I know, its like the Sadowsky Talkbass equivalent at times. Edit: I have no idea how I quoted that twice!

I'll say it before someone else does. Check out Barefaced bass for lightweight 2x15' speaker cabinets. On the Fender front, no I haven't tried them but they do look really cool, though I tend to think that £500+ asking price is quite a high for a single 15 cab, so buying two is probably going to end up costing £1100 all in. For that you could afford a lot of other high end cabinet. Still I can't really say anything against the Fenders until I try one, its just worth keeping those things in mind. If the Fender is what you are really after then go for it. To match the amp you could even check out some of the newer Trace Elliot 15s, which are fairly light in comparison to the older lines and cheaper than the Fenders, while the Trace 2x15 is a good bit lighter than the Hartke model, though not exactly lightweight really. It would also match your amp if that was of any importance to you.

The EBS HD 350 (which has now been updated to the HD 360 I hear) + Proline/Neoline cabs and the Drome/Gorm stuff is very sparkly in the highs. Anything by Gallien Krueger or Aguilar is going to be good as well. Glockenklang could be worth a look if you are willing to make a big investment. Markbass is probably the best shout in terms of portability, although if I'm right in thinking you have an RH450, do you really need another lightweight portable bass head? Can it not do nice clean sounds if you dial back the 'tubetone'/spectracomp etc? Other than that you could decide to go 'old school' solid state and pick up an old Eden, Trace Elliot or SWR Redhead secondhand. Loud, reliable, very clean sounding and potentially cheaper, although decidedly lacking in lightweight gear street cred!

Simply too many to name!