thodrik

When a standard US Fender is going for around £1200 and the US Deluxe is going for £1500, the Metro prices don't look that bad. Prices for a lot of stuff has gone pretty sky high. Also the Metro basses are not 'budget' basses built in some massive Cort factory. The quality of construction and design of my Metro is as good as any bass I have tried, and I have tried a few. If folk want to dismiss it because it is an expensive bass that is made in Japan, then let them. Most people that have tried and did not like a Metro would probably not like an NYC either. They are pretty much the same bass. The Sadowskys look similar to Fenders but have a bit more of a clinical sound to them. Some people like it, some people don't. If you want something to sound exactly like a Fender, just get a Fender. Only thing I have against them is that the maple fingerboards on the Metros have a very plain look to them. Mind you I also see that in a lot of NYCs that are ordered without the overly fancy options, so I think it is just a Sadowsky trait rather than proof of it being a cheap bass. Sometimes There was a big thread here last year where everyone got their 'I love/hate Sadowsky' feelings out. I doubt anything has changed frankly and that this will go the same way.

From playing a bunch of really high end bass I have not really found one that played better than my old Precision. There was nothing that I could do technically on a Wal, Sadowsky, Sandberg, Warwick, Vigier, Lakland etc that I couldn't do on my Precision. I have however played many modern basses that naturally 'sounded' a lot better than my Precision, due to the onboard eq. That said, if I fiddled about with the eq on an amp or pre-amp long enough I am sure that I could get my Fender sounding as full as the others, but I would never get the full on modern 'zing' to it. A good player will get a good sound out of most basses. The benefit of the range of basses available is that it allows the bassist to find a bass that matches their exact specifications and tonal expectations. If this however leads you to a 1970s Fender Jazz bass, then get a 1970s Fender Jazz.

It depends on the amp, the bass, the room I'm in, the cab I am using, the state of my strings, effects pedals I am using and the type of music I am playing. On each of my amps the 'flat' settings produce entirely different sounds, so the whole thing turns into a 'how long is a piece of string?' debate. Sometimes you can get great sounds of amps that sound terrible (to me anyway) with everything in the twelve o'clock position or without any pre-shapes or eq settings (Ashdown/Trace Elliot). I think that the trick is spending time with the amp so you can work out what works and does not work for you. It is not a sin to alter the amp eq to get a sound you like, in fact that is what the knobs and sliders are generally there for. One of my amps sounds great with minimal eq boosts and without any pre-shapes, whereas the other requires some button pressing. I frankly don't care either way as they are totally different amps with different characteristics.

[quote name='51m0n' post='1227377' date='May 11 2011, 12:13 PM']When I was 21 I had the same attitude. One silly overconfident cockup later and I've been helping various osteopaths' pension plans for the better part of 20 years. Be careful out there all of you who like the heavy gear, a truly knackered back is for life, not just for christmas....[/quote] Ow! Sorry to hear that. I don't think any of my stuff is actually 'heavy'. I have never owned an all valve amp, 8x10 or one of those 4x10s that weigh about 100lbs. Mind you, I'm turning 25 next week so I'll have to be careful anyway! Most of the heavier gear really requires two people to lift it.

As a 24 year old male with no physical disabilities, I have never really been taken in by the argument that any piece of bass gear weighing over 12 lbs is just too heavy to be considered as a purchase. I think that lighter cabinets are awesome, you could barely move the old Trace Elliot cabinets. The new Trace Elliot cabinets are a lot lighter and still sound good. I'm not a techincal expert but I'm sure that a well designed lightweight 4x10 is capable of sounding as good as a heavier 4x10 cabinet. Of course this can depend on the design and construction of the cabinet itself. A bad cabinet is a bad cabinet regardless of weight. In terms of amps, the quality of sound is dependant on design and personal preference rather than weight. I am not overly keen on minature class D type amps, as I generally prefer the sound of my hybrid mosfet amps, but then again I prefer the sound of my own amps to an Ampeg SVT classic. Using the 'Bass Gear Weight Logic', then therefore should I declare that all mosfet amps are the best, or that simply that I really rate the EBS Fafner and Mesa Walkabout? Also is it really surprising that in a side by side comparison, a secondhand all valve Trace Elliot played through an Eden [u]4x10[/u] sounded 'bigger' than a brand new ultra-modern, compact and easily transportable [u]2x10[/u] Markbass combo? I have to go now and check to see if my five string bass has a bigger range than my four string Precision. :-)

I can't separate the top 4 I'm afraid! All of them are great but in different ways. Here is my list of ten, which actually includes everything I have owned/possessed. 1. Fender Precision 1978 1. Vigier Arpege V string (series 4) 1. Vigier Excess II 1. Sadowsky Metro MV4 5. My current double bass 6. Gibson EB3 1974 7. Westfield Precision bass 8. Squier Affinity Jazz 9. The double bass held together by a mixture of nails, superglue and formica. 10. The double bass that replaced number 9.

From what I have heard these are very nice basses but the fact that each bass has the same wear and tear kinda takes away from the uniqueness of each bass, so when you see more than one of the same model, it looks a bit strange. In principle I am not in favour of the relic effect, but after playing a reliced Sandberg I have to say that if it plays, feels and sounds like a great bass, then it is a great bass. As I tend to 'relic' instruments myself naturally over time, I'm not sure how a pre-worn bass would look after 8 years of gigging! I have no idea why Fender chose to stamp a massive 'Road Worn' stamp on the bodies though. Its probably just there to make sure that there is a demand for the 'Roadworn jazz without a scratchplate' that they have planned for NAMM 2014.

Must say that in the last few years of gigging I have not seen many Musicman's about, but I have seen a few Warwicks. In terms of amps I don't see much Trace Elliot about either, new or second hand stuff. Standard rigs I see are Fender jazz design being played through an Ashdown Mag or ABM head. If not that then its a P bass and a Hartke, or Laney RB stuff.

First gigging rig: Westfield Precision through the PA (1998) First 'proper' gigging rig, 1978 Fender Precision through Trace Elliot GP7 SM 300 1x15 combo (1999-2009) Current rig: Vigier Arpege five string, EBS Fafner through Trace Elliot 2x10 and 1x15/ Mesa Boogie Walkabout 1x15.

I agree on the Aguilar has a poor design in the sense that you can't really use angled jacks on the thing. Ideally you would have a blend as well as an EQ section. Mind you, the thing I like about it is that at low settings of grit it doen't really alter the tone too much, but adds just a bit of extra grit. Not a perfect pedal, but I still like it for gigging regularly due to the construction quality. Before I was using valve overdrives which were just too fragile for regular gigs.

Same here, only have the original Fafner, which does a very good clean to slightly overdriven sound. I would assume that the new one is the same preamp design with the addition of the overdrive. It looks a bit OTT for me personally, as I tend to just use an overdrive pedal if I need anything more, but that doesn't mean that I wouldn't buy it if I had the money!

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='1218803' date='May 3 2011, 04:40 PM'].....only to find the car wont start :-)[/quote] Hopefully I will never have a day like that though...

I usually bring an extra head with me just in case my main amp goes, or if another bassist doesn't bring any gear and I am feeling generous. Also I usually bring a Sansamp Bass Driver to a gig. I usually bring two speakers to a gig, so if one goes I can carry on with the other. In the event that both my amps die, both my speakers break and the Sansamp breaks down, I would probably just go through the PA, though given the previous events I am pretty sure that my bass would then break too. If my backup bass then broke, I think I would just probably call it a day and go home.

I think for me the choice of amps makes a bigger difference to the sound than the cabs. I have three heads and each has a pretty different sound when put through my two cabs. Usually soundguys/girls will just take a DI from the head anyway, so the cabs are just for monitoring/looks, so I feel I would always prefer a 'great amp/good cabinet' combination than a 'good amp/great cabiniet' one. Not something I really spent much time thinking about though to be honest. I bought my amps and cabinets about three years ago and will probably use them until they break down or I come into lots of money, which isn't likely to happen soon.

I would keep the older one. I have an SMX (Kamen era I think) myself and love it, but I think that it easier to find SMX amps second hand than the Mark IVs. So if you come into lots of money, it shouldn't be too hard to find another SMX amp. I don't see many of the Mark IV's around, so you could regret it if you sell it. Best of luck.

I have been playing bass since the age of 11 (1998) and double bass since 15. I started playing guitar a bit at the age of 16 after my brother went away to college, leaving his 1978 Strat at home. I couldn't really resist that. I have since bought my own guitar, a Fender US deluxe Toronado, which I consider to be a great guitar for bassists (thick sound, doesn't seem to suit virtuoso players). I will never be very good, but I am an okay rhythm player.

[quote name='dan670844' post='1215758' date='Apr 30 2011, 12:57 PM']Series 6 now you are talking! SMX compressor is great I still have mine that I bought in the 90's don't know how many gigs they have done, still going strong aside from a few jack plug replacements[/quote] I have an SMX that I picked up on Ebay for peanuts. The jack plug needs replacing and the power section has been replaced, but it sounds really great. I have tried a Series 6 amp once and it was really great, especially compared with my older SM300 combo, which although was good, was nothing in comparison.

On the ABMs I have found the best way to avoid the 'wool' is just to turn the bass knob down and not go over the top with the valve drive. Not my favourite amps, as finding the sweet spot takes a bit of work, but I can always get a decent sound out of them. The ABM 500s are also really really loud! I still prefer Trace Elliot amps hands down though and consider the Ashdown ABM amps to be a step backwards from the Series 6 or SMX range. That said some people hate Trace Elliot so it is horses for courses really. The Ashdown valve amps look pretty cool though! Also as a whole the ABM and Mag ranges are good value for money, for both amps and cabinets.

Probably the Sansamp, I don't use it live anymore but it is just a great bit of kit to have.

I have had the Sansamp Bass Driver for the last 3-4 years. Great peace of kit, especially with a passive Fender bass. Since I have moved on to active basses (Vigier/Sadowsky) I have not been using the Sansamp much as I don't need the extra character that the pedal adds (which is a mid cut). Still its the first thing I grab when recording, and I bring it to every gig regardless in case I just need it. I don't really like the overly distorted tones though, and the presence knob can make things sound a bit clanky, but otherwise I can't fault the thing. A great bit of kit. The lack of a DI on the VT bass has prevented me from really considering one seriously, but it has got great reviews. I suppose it depends on whether you need the DI that the Bass Driver has or whether you need the extra functions of the VT Bass deluxe.

I use the Aguilar Agro and think it is great. I use it at low settings for a slightly gritty sound in the style of a less scooped Sansamp Bass Driver. So its more of an 'always on' rather than 'off and on' pedal. At the higher settings you get a good overdrive, but it is not really a fuzz pedal I understand the 'it loses low end' argument, but I don't think it really does, its just that doesn't add any extra bass 'oomph' in the style of a wooly mammoth or Boss ODB3 or such. I would think using the Aguilar as a bit of grit and the XXL as a full on fuzz would work really well. Congratulations and good luck.

In terms of Ampeg I have always liked the 6x10 and the 410HLF as a single cab option. The 410HLF is a strange beast though and isn't for everybody. I use a 2x10 and a 1x15 Trace Elliot stack for most gigs. It works fine and I don't think I am really missing out on anything to be honest. If I was buying again I would probably get two of the same rather than mixing though, since I didn't know of the problems of mixing speaker sizes when I bought them. So two 1x15s would do it! More likely I would get a good 4x10 and gig with that.

From playing both these models I really preferred the 55 02 in terms of tone, just a lot more tones available for tweaking with the active pickups/preamp, which I always prefer on a five string bass. The JO5 I tried sounded a bit weak on the B string in comparison. For looks though it is the JO by far, as I am not a fan of the looks of the 55 02s, though they are great basses.

Off the top of my head the Tony Franklin signature and the American Deluxe P basses are both PJ style and they are Fenders. Also Sandberg will no doubt have a PJ model. Sadowsky do PJs as well. I would probably pick up a Sandberg, or look for a Fender second hand. Or buy a P bass and put another pickup in.

I might be wrong, but I am sure that AV 810 has been sitting in the Glasgow shop for a couple of years. I would guess that they just want rid of it.