Muzz

Our band leader will say to me "Oh, aren't you using the Stingray? I loved the sound you got from that on the album." I recorded 2 of the 11 album tracks with the Ray, the other 9 were the Fender P. I asked him which were his favourite bass sounds, the three he picked were all the P. 18 months later, he still fondly remembers the Stingray sound. Or not, as it happens...hearing with the eyes again...

I think everything I've got has been modded, from just a pickguard (Stingray) to complete Frankenbuilds (Fenderbird, Laklandbird, FrankenPs) - even my Dingwall's got a P-Tone pickup in the neck position. Different necks (Lakland and Mighty Mite), pickups (Wizards into a Fortress, Dingwalls into the Laklandbird), custom wiring (serial/parallel switching), refins, you name it. Can't think of a single mod which didn't improve either the looks, playability of the sound of any of them. Highlights, and parts which for me are pretty much essentials, are Hipshot Ultralights and Xtenders, and Schaller 3D bridges. Oh, and the serial/parallel wiring mod. Oh hang on, I put some EMGs in the Fenderbird a while ago, but to my ears they didn't sound as good as the originals, so I took them out again. That's all I can think of that I didn't like, apart from various makes and types and gauges of strings which worked to greater or lesser degrees - that's a good way, as has been mentioned, to change the sound and feel of a bass cheaply. It can get a bit addictive, reading back over that lot...Er.

Yep, my mate Napper uses exactly that rig with a loud 2-guitar classic rock band, and sounds good, too. I used a LMIII with my Schroeder 1515L for a while (and with a MB410 before that) and never had any headroom issues.

I'm not calling for any more info, and I'm sure there are grey areas on both sides of the fence - the truth, as always, will lie somewhere in between. The thing I'll take away from this is the supplier's aggressive and at times frankly ludicrous response on a public forum to a customer problem. That's factual, and not disputable, despite some apologia on here along the lines of 'he must have been having a bad day' or 'he always talks like that'.

All I'm going off is the aggressive, ranting response from the supplier himself, nothing else. No matter what's gone on and what hasn't (and there are three sides to every story), that was a shocker. Even if I was in the market for a posh Jazz (and I'm not), a display of customer services like that would put me off a supplier completely.

Had the Gotoh, the cheapo Gotoh copies, a Badass, and the winner for me by a mile is the Schaller 3D. Comfy if your hand rests on it, the spacing adjustment is really handy.

Drew at the Manchester Bass Lounge and Mark at Bass Direct are in my experience pretty much the definition of how it should be done. Not had first-hand experience of any of the others.

[quote name='Ticktock' timestamp='1376690220' post='2178200'] Hahahaha ! Ahem. *cough* [/quote] Errr, yeah.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1376590839' post='2176612'] I think clients can care VERY much about the look of things. To the point that it has been pointed out to us that the stage must be completely clear and the cable/power runs need to be black. Some hotels are VERY picky about that but they pay a premium and they get indulged...or you just don't get the dates. Can I be bothered about that..? no, but the money can be seductive [/quote] Yep, the look of things generally, and neat cable runs (never been pulled for colour, but often for potential trip hazards - even if very unlikely), but if you're using backline, as long as it isn't visibly scruffy, they couldn't care less if you're using Behringer or Bergantino.

[quote name='clauster' timestamp='1376577804' post='2176349'] That's your experience. Mine's been different. [/quote] I'm sorry, I thought with the 'I'd want' and 'the clients would be' in your original post that you weren't in this position, and you were solely in an originals band. If you've gigged in a function band and had comments passed by clients about the 'certain quality' of your kit, then I can only say that it's never, ever happened to me in years of experience. I'd be keen to hear where you'd had it from, if only so I'd be forewarned. I always have a wash, though. Actually, this is all a massive thread derail, so never mind...

[quote name='clauster' timestamp='1376564588' post='2176000'] A function band? Again, probably not. I'd want something a bit more elegant and sophisticated looking than my current rig. The clients would be expecting a professional appearance of a certain quality for their money. In that situation I'd happily trade that for the ease of movement of the rig as it wouldn't need to be moved so quickly or so far. [/quote] Sorry, but this is bollocks. The clients couldn't care less about particular rigs, much less bass rigs - how the band look is important, but not the make of kit. I've played many, many gigs with my Schroeder (invariably stood on end, so the nameplate is the wrong way, too - I'm such a rebel!) and never ever had any comment about the bass gear. And you're at least as likely to shift gear a distance around function/wedding centres than in and out of pubs and clubs. "The guests are all in reception by the lifts, so if you could load in through the back doors and use the stairs...we're on the third floor...can you be set up and soundchecked in half an hour? We'll need the room...thanks so much..."

Because he's proven himself to be the sort of supplier who will respond with aggression and veiled accusations of lies and fabrications by the buyer, rather than just deal with the problem. Not someone I'd want to spend £300 with, much less £3000.

I work with customers on a daily basis, and if I even considered accusing them of misrepresenting the facts or fabricating evidence before I'd addressed a problem properly, no matter how 'defensive' I might be feeling, I'd be invited to consider my position, and rightly so. I've learnt from the maker's response that I wouldn't trust him to provide correct customer service should there be any issues with one of his products if I bought it from him. I was genuinely hoping he'd say 'I've spoken to the OP and will be resolving the issue' and then further hope to see a resolution post from the OP in due course, but no. All largely academic in this particular instance, as I don't like Jazz clones, no matter how boutique, but the principle remains.

I have a Ryder with a Wizard Thumper pickup in...that's my retirement fund sorted then!

That's a shame for the rest of us, as they're great pickups, but retiring to the sea and sailing a boat round the country sounds like a great retirement plan.

I've got a laptop-enabled (eh?) rucksack for my Streamliner, cables, PSUs, etc. very handy. I think PC world may still do them.

We've been doing it for a few weeks, it's more about the groove on the day/night for me, and it depends on which drummer I'm playing with. Just the four chords looping round, so it's fun. Vid is waaaaay too busy for me, tho, as Chris says, some interesting fills.

If you can find a tubey pedal with a level-controlled DI Out, you could keep your LMII, too.

It's is a path I've been down: I had a LMIII, wanted a tubier sound, so tried a Sansamp BDDI in front of it, liked it, and wanted that tubier sound in one box, so I tried a lot of the smaller hybrid heads (including the LMTube and Rocker, neither of which I liked much - one ineffectual as MM20 says, the other too fizzy) then bought (in order) a TC RH450, an Ashdown Spyder, a Mesa M-Pulse, an SVT Pro-7, a PF500, a Walkabout and then a Streamliner. I've stuck on the Streamliner because it works for me, but I guess if I had to pick a second place it'd be the M-Pulse, tho that's a full-size head. Never tried a TTE, but I'd like to. Rather than bung the board up with stuff I've typed before, if you want any more detailed opinions, just PM me.

Congratulations, lovely name...and for God's sake don't get her a Rick*****ker, we'll never hear the end if it...