Muzz

Yep, I love early Rush, left them at Signals (came back after the 80s tho), and certainly wouldn't pay the sort of money we're talking about here to see it all done live. Maybe Rush should do some gigs specifically for the people who aren't 'out of touch' with Rush and have 'grown with the band'. Although it'd be a smaller tour, obviously. Perhaps they could put something out to that effect on the posters? Wouldn't want the wrong sort there, after all.

I work on 2mm being about right, maybe a bit less on the D/G, on all my basses. The Fortress is even lower, but that does have the most sublime neck...

Well, I have owned and gigged with an 8x10 (and the SVT to go with it), and while my 38lb Schroeder might not look the part in a wall-of-amps-nob-substitute kind of way, it produces a shedload of bass volume and presence for the gigs I play. I played on a pretty big stage at Fleetwoodstock (about 30ft x 30ft) last year, and had no trouble hearing what I was doing, but then the sound engineer was good. If I was playing even bigger stages a lot (or had the spare cash), I'd be phoning Alex for a Super Twelve or even a Super Fifteen, but there's nothing on God's earth which would make me want to buy an 8x10 again. Been there, done that, got the back to prove it...

That's lovely, just the thing for a Sunday morning.

[quote name='lettsguitars' timestamp='1336641439' post='1648686'] Tonewoods=bollocks. The idea that you can engineer a certain and definate tone in an electric guitar is rubbish. Obviously you can point it in the right direction and hope for the best but that's about it. I also do not want to start another tonewood debate cause it's all been said and done! The fact is that resonance and tone are two different things. Strings resonate. The idea is to enhance the resonance of the strings. Certain woods will resonate at different frequencies encouraging the strings to resonate at the same frequency. A well made bass with tight fitting neck and quality 'tonewoods' will sound 'better' than an instrument made of cheap wood with poorly fitted fixtures. Pickups,amp and more importantly technique have a bigger impact on tone than all the other variables. A one piece neck will resonate better than a laminated neck as a general rule, because there is no glue involved etc. You don't see too many acoustic instruments with laminated parts which says it all. [/quote] Can we make this a sticky please? Perhaps a site banner?

Are you mad? Giving the cash to the Mrs sets a dangerous precedent my friend, if word got about it could be the end of Basschat as we know it. You wouldn't want that on your conscience, would you? For the sake of future generations of Basschatters, buy the amp, quickly...

Yep, I used the Franken P/J, the Ray and the fretless Corvette on the album, whenever the engineer suggested it, on the basis that this is the guy's job, so he knows more about it than I do. Also, it's worth mentioning at this point that I was initially unhappy with some of the bass sounds as recorded (as I thought he'd messed with 'my sound'), but once the process was finished, I could hear the end result was what was needed for the track.

A couple of sheets of pyramid acoustic foam does the same thing for about a tenth of the price. Not great under very heavy or tall stacks, but under a single cab, it's very effective. And it packs down very small, too. The stand does a similar thing. For a tenner or so, it's worth a try...

I use a version of that stand, more like a deck chair, very small when folded, and it angles my 1515L when I need to. Because the cab ends up at 45 degrees or so, I use a folded sheet of that black bobbly mat they sell to stop things sliding off your dashboard. I got about half a square metre for a couple of quid, it gives some vibration relief and stops the amp moving. Very good indeed, I'll get some pics up shortly. Here's the stand: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Stand-Stagg-GAS-3-2-Monitor-Amplifier-Amp-Speaker-Floor-Stand-Folding-00693-/190673863031?pt=UK_MusicalInstr_Access_RL&hash=item2c650c4177 And here's a dearer version of the non-slip mat stuff: http://www.maplin.co.uk/multi-purpose-non-slip-mat-217606?c=froogle&u=217606&t=module

Tried one a while ago at PMT, just a gorgeous valve tone, would love one, but waaaay too rich for my wallet. The EQ section is, IIRC, the same as in the 550 Spyder, which is a bit more practical from a form-factor and price point.

I had one recently (not the maple-necked one but I'm sure it's close) and it was very light (maybe 8lbs tops?) and ergonomically one of the best-designed and therefore comfortable basses I've ever picked up. The Barts and 3-band give it a real spread of sounds, and IIRC, they come strung with Elixirs, too. I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

Have to say I didn't get on with the PF500 much either, and I sooooo wanted to like it, for lots of reasons. I'm smack in the old school/vintage/Ampeg/valvey demographic, too. Well, maybe not so much I didn't get on with it, more that it made me go "Meh". Tried it with a couple of basses and different cabs, too, just to be sure. Best with a P, but even then... I'd still recommend it as something to be tried in competition with the other smaller heads, though: as has been said, horses, courses, and all that...

I replaced the pups in my Fortress with a Wizard P/J set, but that was because I was after a particular sound (older-school than the MECs), and I got it.

So you've never covered a Queen song then? Just because a gay bloke had a hit singing it doesn't make it bad. Listen to the Gloria Jones original, grit your teeth and get on with it...

OK, I've read a few responses to threads recently where people were saying along the lines of "The rest of the band prefer me to play my Fender/MM/whatever", or "My bandmates prefer the sound of my ...". Now it might just be my lot in the originals band, but I can't recall any point in the last four years where anyone's expressed a preference, and I must have practiced and gigged with at least a dozen different basses. The nearest I got was in the studio, where the singer insisted on the Ray rather than the PJ for a couple of tracks, which was encouraging, but then he ruined it later by not being able to tell which was which on playback ("I like the Ray sound on this one" "That's the P/J" "Oh, right.") The other bands I play with are dep-based covers/function bands, and there's a pretty large pool of players, so understandably folk don't remember. The only thing my bandmates prefer is the Schroeder, because it's easy to lift. Is it just me?

Loved this last night, great, great voice, and a really good band, especially the drummer. Will be checking them out more extensively when I get a mo.

As far as tone goes... maple looks nicer to me. Birdseye or some flame, even better.