thodrik

Fender 1978 P bass - £390 (a steal) Sadowsky Metro MV 4 - £1500 (not a steal!) Viger Excess - £1200 (think they are going for £2000 now, so thats okay) Gibson 1974 EB3 - £750 (I think that it is worth a bit more now, but nothing major) £3840 then, add in my guitar and its around £4400. Adding in my Double Bass as well puts it at around £8400! I don't want to start considering amps now.

I would have thought that any of the ampeg pro series would be able to pretty much nail the valve grit sound. I only have the bass driver DI, which is advertised as a DI, a pre-amp and a stompbox! It is a really good tool if you like the tone it gives you (some complain that it gives a very scooped sound). I personally think its more a preamp and DI than a stompbox as the speaker simulation drastically changes the character of the sound when you turn it on and off. For me its generally always on or not on at all. The bass driver is very good at clean, slighty gritty sounds but if you have a valve preamp already it might take away rather than add to your sound. I think it works best with solid state amps and as preamp for a passive basses. It really is a bit of an Ampeg emulator, so if you have an Ampeg already, I'm not sure it is that useful. I hear that the Vt bass is a lot better and less scooped sounding than the bass driver, but it doesn't have an xlr out so it isn't a DI box. I've not tried it yet so can't comment, but from what I've heard it is better than the bass driver at nailing the classic Ampeg grit. I would maybe suggest trying to set the gain on your amp a bit higher to drive your preamp tubes a bit, or try a dedicated overdrive pedal, perhaps one with a tube to get a more authentic tube overdrive. I hope that is some help.

I also have never have liked the guy from Kings of Leon or Kim Deal(as a bassist), personally and can't listen to either of them. I'm very much in the minority here I would guess though. A part of me wants to say Newsted for not saying "Hey, turn up me up in the mix!" during the recording/mixing stage of "...And Justice for all". But, that isn't really a talent question and he had just joined a band in a difficult time. He is a good player. I'm sure that there were a lot of really bad bassists that made albums during the nu-metal/nu-grunge era but I can't think of any off the top of my head.

Probably Kyuss - Un Sandpiper when I was about 16/17 I'd been playing for 4/5 years on the electric bass, originally playing lots a mixture of rock and blues Hendrix, SRV, Albert King, Buddy Guy, Sabbath, Led Zep. Then I got into Tool, Rage and Queens of the Stoneage. I was also playing a lot of classical double bass in orchestras and doing my grades and theory exams, so I was probably more into Vivaldi and Stravinsky than Sabbath at the time of discovering Kyuss. But when I heard Kyuss, I pretty much knew that this was the kind of music that I really knew that was for me. Loose, loud heavy, melodic with a prominent role for the bass. I also liked the improvisational nature of it, as most of the magic hadn't really been composed into it, but rather just happened. I did get into Jaco, Marcus Miller, Wooten and Mingus afterwards, but most of it doesn't speak to me in the same way, though they are all great muscians.

I know its a forum for the company, so you can expect a bit of brand loyalty, but it seems a bit over the top. Not good customer relations really. Still, they do make nice basses that are about as good as you get for mass production models. I would still take a Fender that works though. Score one for Sadowsky, Vigier, Status, Overwater et al.

I would say Pete Wentz. I would also say Danny from the Wildhearts, though that was live rather than on an album, and I believe it was mostly due to the heroin, rather than lack of talent. Must say I think Tal is a little bit overrated, but overrated and awful are pretty different, so she doesn't really belong in this thread. She is arguably a bit like Wentz, how they look makes a lot of people listen with their eyes, making them seem better than they actually are. Really though, I think that the guy from Complete wins hands down. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRnPE1u4ruM&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRnPE1u4ruM...feature=related[/url]

[quote name='MoonBassAlpha' post='918867' date='Aug 8 2010, 05:15 PM']This may have been asked somewhere before in the mists of time, but does anyone know exactly what the frequency and boosts/cuts the pre-shape acts at?[/quote] Its at around 55Hz and I believe around 2kHz where there is a boost, with a mid cut at around 400Hz. Some amps from around the Kamen/Gibson era have a 'pre-shape 2' which is some kind of mid boost or something, which I think was described as a more 'rock' oriented voicing. I'm not entirely sure what exactly it is, all I know is that it doesn't that great to my ears, not because I hate mids, but that the pre-shape makes everything sound 'boxy' not at all natural sounding. I always thought that the original Trace pre-shape is about the best non-distortion/valve based rock voicings there is.

I played a furry GP7 SM300 1x15 combo for 8 years, no problems beyond a burst speaker due to lending it to an idiot. I'm been using peavey-era cabs for the past couple of years. Great sound and a lot lighter than the older TE gear. The build quality isn't quite what it used to be, (the rubber feet have come loose a few times) but they are still sturdy enough for constant gigging, good speakers. I love Trace Elliot amps, very dialled in sound if you use the preset but great if you like it. I have a GP12 300SMX head that I bought for £250 quid last year that I have as back up to an EBS fafner. I use the Trace now and again and it delivers. Its pretty much as good as the EBS, but I just find that the character of my bass comes through more in the EBS. I have not tried the new range of amps, its just hard to justify paying £1000 quid for a new amp, when you can find an older model with a similar design for about a quarter of the price. My opinion would maybe change if I tried one, but I'm not in a hurry due already having amps that work alright.

I have been playing a metro jazz for around 8 months. Build quality is fantastic and it has what a consider to be one of the best preamps about. I don't think that it will ever match the feel of my 78 p 'bass or obtain a vintage vibe in terms of looks or sounds, but I know that the Sadowsky will hold its tuning during a gig and will always cut through a mix with a minimal amount of eq on the bass or the amp. It just 'works' for the lack of any other word, which is great for gigging or recording. I understand those that consider them to be a bit 'sterile', but I think that they are basses designed to be heard in the context of a band. I have found that mine just comes to life in a gig or rehearsal situation. I think that the price that they are at now is a bit much, but saying that I think they are superior in terms of pre amp than the Fender Deluxe basses. Though when I see a Sandberg jazz go for around a £1000, the metro series starts to look a bit overpriced. But only a Sadowsky sounds like a Sadowsky. However I find the finish on the maple fingerbourds on the metros and nycs (excluding birdseye etc) are just very plain and not very inspiring looking in my opinion. I still bought a maple fingerboard one because it plays so well.

I'm not a fan of the Beatles or Sir Paul's solo stuff. Its just not my thing and I think that the notion they influenced 'everybody' since is a bit of rubbish. Rock and pop music would have still existed, Buddy Guy, B.B King, Hendrix and Clapton would have still played guitar and I'm sure Pete Wentz would have still picked up the bass. Saying that Sir Paul is a very talented musician and a good solid bassist. Not really what I would call a virtuoso. I always thought of him as a bit of a guiarist that played bass, which he pretty much was. I think the idea that he was the first bassist to play more than root notes is really overstated. He was probably a bit more influenced by classical music than a lot of electric bassists at the time, which in combination with his technique and short scale basses/rickenbacker gave his playing a different flavour than others at the time. I can't say I like that flavour, but millions of others do!

Ummmm, I would still say just try a bunch of Fenders, either Mexican Standard, Roadworn, or US standard. If you play around 20 you will probably find at least one that you fall in love with. Even if you find a Mexi with a good neck and decent fretwork that plays great, you could spend the rest on new pickups and new bridge. I think that if you really want to get a 1960s sounding Fender Jazz that isn't a 1960s Fender Jazz you might be wanting an Alleva Coppolo, but I think that they are well over £2000. As for an off the shelf new bass, that isn't a custom shop job, but will not suffer from the same kind of QC issues that you often see in Fenders, I would go with a Sandberg. The Hardcore aged ones have vibration treatment that makes them apparently sound more like vintage basses. I nearly bought one at the turn of the year. I didn't know about the Lakland problems, that is a shame. I thought that they were all meant to pass through the US shop for final inspections, which would surely result in shoddy ones being picked up? I have only tried a Skyline P bass model, which seemed to be made alright, but had a strange neck profile that was really different to a Precision neck, and not in a way I liked. Still my vote would be to find a Fender that plays well and sounds good, and then give it a good set up and tweaking.

I'm a bassist, so yes! I can't get past vintage Fender P basses and Jazz basses. Then there are modern Sadowsky, Nordstrand, Aleva Coppolo and so many others. Going away from Fender shapes I love the Wal basses, Vigier and Fodera stuff. Special mention to the Warwick Jack Bruce model which I love. I do love the look of a classic style Fender Strat or Gibson Les Paul, but will take a bass over both. Normally I would say 'its subjective think of the bass x compared to guitar Y', but I play bass, so its bass for me.

I put monthly but it depends on how many gigs or recording I'm doing with a particular bass. Gigging all the time and they (Generally EB Hybrid 105-45, but sometimes Dunlop Nickels when I'm short of funds) do well to last more than a couple of weeks. It is all down to a matter of taste though, I used to never ever change strings, whether I was playing flatwounds or nickels. Now though, there is a point where I feel that a string goes beyond being 'worn in' and instead becomes 'dead'. I generally only change strings on a bass if its being used for gigs or recording though, for the sake of jamming at home or rehearsing I can put up with slightly worn in strings. I've retired my P-bass from gigs and strung it with flats which won't need to be changed anytime soon, so only the Vigier and the Sadowsky tend to have frequent string changes. I must say that Rotosounds Steels last forever but I can't really get on with the feel of them.

It depends on the bass and the amp and my ears. Generally I start with the amp flat, or at least what is considered flat for a particular amp, then work from that. I've found that I need to tweek the eq on the amp a fair if I'm using a passive Precision without any kind of additional pre amp. I understand that those with a Status, Wal or Fodera will not need to change settings as much (or at all) to get a great sound. I sometimes think its a bit of a badge of honour in these types of forums to claim that you always bypass or at least never touch the eq settings on your amp, but its still okay to go mad for any kind of eq/preamp pedal that comes on the market!

Its a nice overdrive but I almost prefer the clean tone. Good demo but it does leave me thinking it needs a clean blend as the character of the clean tone is lost when the pedal is turned on. It may have just been the settings though. I think I will have to try before I buy. The Vt bass deluxe, EBS Multidrive/Metaldrive and the Xotic BB bass preamp have got me thinking.

If I was going for an active jazz bass and had no budget restrictions, it would have to be a 'super jazz' like a Sadowsky or the like, because I have never been that impressed with Fender's attempts at active preamps. Saying that, for a passive bass again with no budget restrictions, I would go for the US standard, though probably a Precision rather than a jazz. Much as I love jazz basses, for the type of music I like I need a bit of a low end thud that I can't get from a passive jazz. Other than that my choices would depend on budget. I ended up buying the Affinity Squier Jazz a couple of years ago for a back up bass and I must say I am very pleased with how it plays and sounds.

I allow people to use my cabs all of the time. When working with bands that are serious about their gear or bands that have to travel a fair bit I feel that this is worth it as if another band does this for me in return in the future then great. I also no have a back up Trace Elliot head I bought second hand that I let people use if they just don't bring anything. I don't like having to provide an amp for anyone, but its better than letting people use my EBS head. I've found from experience that bassists are usually the most likely to be the guy in the band that has no gear! If I'm doing a gig when I'm using a combo I'll only let people use it if I know or trust them, or if there is a genuine backline share going on (like another band is bringing a guitar amp, drum kit etc). If a band contacts us on the day of the gig asking to use everything, we just say no.

[quote name='dood' post='859898' date='Jun 7 2010, 02:21 PM'][/quote] Nice! Personally I never got on with 4x10 XL series cabs when used by themselves, not so much for being bottom shy (they were not) so much that I found the punch of the cabinets to almost be excessive! This was regardless of the EQ settings (using the 3500 head). From other bass players I talk to though, I seem to be in the minority as they seem to love the aluminium speaker cones. Saying that, I think that concept of the hydrive stuff is really cool and a few guys I know have got rid of Ampeg cabs to get them is pretty telling in itself.

I've used the 6x10 a couple of times and I love it. I prefer the 6x10 to both the Ampeg 4x10hlf and the 8x10 fridge. Just a great cabinet capable of soom very low frequencies but still cuts through quite nicely. Obviously its best to try them both out to see which one you prefer with the Trace Elliot head. Personally I would be tempted to put a new set of speakers in the Peavey cab, but that is because I like the idea of a really loud 2x15 for huge deep bass. I'm not sure the Ampeg would be much more portable though, as from my experience both the 4x10 and the 6x10 are bloody heavy and a pain to move, even considering the casters that are on them. Anyway, I don't think you'd regret getting the ampeg though.

[quote name='Marvin' post='859083' date='Jun 6 2010, 05:45 PM']Saw it went on for 2 whole hours and couldn't be arsed to even start watching it. I fell asleep to some movie with Vin Diesel in it.[/quote] There was a Vin Diesel film on? I should have just watched that.

Pretty awful show with pretty rubbish experts and guests. My favourite moments: Jonathan Ross having no real idea on who Tony Iommi is. Copeland trying to argue that Sting was the best bassist because he had strong fingers Mark Ronson arguing that Jimmy Page basically invented hip hop and Hendrix didn't really come up with many memorable riffs. That it took Vic Reeves to mention that Jeff Beck belongs in the short list of best guitarist kinda sums up the show. Jonathan Ross almost seemed annoyed that Led Zep won best band rather than Queen or the Beatles. The show really said more about the presenters and guests rather than the people and bands nominated for any of the 'awards'.

I generally use hybrids but carry a spare amp with me to gigs when we are travelling. It not only helps as a spare but also as an amp that I let others use when other bassists turn up to a gig without one, which they usually do! If I'm doing a gig and I'm just taking a taxi, I will just take a combo. If anything happens the magical sansamp will come into play.

Ah huzzah, just thought that was a rack mounted preamp? Should be good.