Muzz

[quote name='billyapple' timestamp='1327831725' post='1517233'] I've had the same on my Bitsa P which has a Badass II, the solution is to shim the neck, which raises the neck height. BOD2 gives a pretty comprehensive tutorial here.. [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/49897-how-to-shim-a-neck/page__hl__neck%20shim"]http://basschat.co.u...hl__neck%20shim[/url] It's pretty straight forward, and gave me excellent results [/quote] Yep, I'm an incurable upgrader, and I've had to shim the neck on a couple of basses when I've put different bridges on. Pretty straightforward as Billyapple says, and produces the results. The only tip I'd give is the first time you do it you won't believe how much difference a very very thin shim makes. My favourite is the Schaller 3D, because there's side-to-side adjustment to be had from one, but equally importantly, if you rest your hand on the bridge for any amount of time, they're the most comfortable I've found.

Yeah, normally I can't be doing with singlecuts, but this one...this one's niiiice. I'd never be able to wait 11 months, tho - I'd have some sort of seizure 3 months in...

I'd think a lack of info beforehand was a bit unusual - most musos I know are dying to ramble on about their band ideas, influences, plans, past history, etc, etc. Maybe it'll be different when you get there and get to chat face to face. The Precision is all you'll need, especially with that Acoustic rig. On the rehearsal time point, our originals band are having to go out round the pub circuit to generate some cash, so we're having to put 20 or so covers in. The first gig's next Friday, so the vocalist has sent round the list of covers this week, and we're having a 3-hour rehearsal on Sunday, which should do it. To be fair he and I play most of them in his other covers band, so two of us will be good to go, anyway...

Here we go again... I've got a Warwick Fortress and a FrankenP with the same pickups in - Wizard P/Js in pretty much the same position in relation to the bridge. One bass has a maple body, wenge neck and board, brass nut, brass frets, two part bridge. The other has an ash body, maple neck and board, schaller 3D bridge, composite nut. Compositionally, they couldn't be further apart in terms of wood names. They feel and play very differently, and, acoustically, sound different. Plug them in and they're 90% the same. Once the band kicks in they're indistinguishable. And yes, I was surprised about that myself. As an addendum to that, I've got a Fenderbird with an alder body and the same neck as the FrankenP. The pickups are Epi soapbars, in different places to the P/J ones in the FrankenP. Amplified, it sounds very different compared to the FrankenP - that'll be the alder versus the ash, then...

[quote name='waynepunkdude' timestamp='1328048842' post='1521082'] Not sure about any of this I can only judge with my ears and I find it dreary and depressing. [/quote] This.

Welcome to the low end world! I'd say a rough rule of thumb is 300w should be enough for the sort of gigs you're talking about, there's a lot of combos around second-hand for that sort of money, it depends on what sort of sound you're after, and how important size, weight and portability are to you - the heavier they are, the more likely you'll find a bargain, as a lot of us are looking after our backs these days! From personal experience, the best combo I've used around your budget is the Roland D-Bass stuff. Light for a combo, a very wide range of sounds, very well made and plenty loud enough. They both have tweeters, if bright is what you need. They're just not very fashionable, which makes them a serious bargain. The 2x10 or the 1x15 are both good, and can be expanded with the 115X powered extension speaker for 660W of righteous stackness.

On a much lower level of complexity, but with a similar unfamiliarity, I struggled with something as simple as Galway Girl (seemingly random root and fifths and inversions of the same) until I'd listened to it enough that it just 'clicked', as you say. I think there might be a Folk Bass Threshold

I was dubious until I tried one: I'm not a 5 player, so I'd presumed the main point would pass me by (and I suppose it actually does), and I'm not even into particularly modern-sounding basses but I had a good play of a 4-string ABZ at Bass Direct, and I'm a convert. A lovely bass, the build quality is spot on and the neck and fanned frets feel completely instinctive after a couple of minutes. I love the look, too. If I'd have had the money (or less self-control with the credit card), I'd have had it like a shot. If I can sell a couple of basses, I may well still do so.

Yep, still got mine, it's been gigged a few times, but it's now in the house because my lad (who's 6) persuaded me to let him have it as his bass 'to learn on', and he's not letting it out of his sight!

The Precision (with some bright rounds), have a play with the tube amp sounds from the Pod/Zoom (and the Genz) - I'd start with an SVT kinda thing and push the mids, add a good amount of drive and compress the cack out of it. Oh, and use a nice thick pick with some violence...

Yeah, I heard that, too...if it'd had been a new one I wouldn't have it for another year...

I've had a few boutique basses which I've subsequently moved on, some sooner, some later. I find that after the sting of spending the money has faded, you can fall out of love with them just as easily as a £200 bass. The only difference is the hit you'll take financially if you've bought new, or unwisely. I'm digging my bitsas these days, mostly because they do what I want them to, partly because they do this for so little money. Having said that, I do have a Shuker still, and it's very very nice. I wouldn't have paid what it cost new, though - I picked it up for a third of that.

My Shuker Horn is very very very nice, the build quality is up there with anything I've played, but I couldn't wait that amount of time for a bolt-on P/J build - I'd have gone to Warmoth for the bits, had my local luthier finish it off, and been playing it for more than a year! If I hadn't picked up a gorgeous Lakland birdseye neck recently which means I have to have the body custom-built, I 'd have done this already. I guess I'm just too impatient...

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1327159803' post='1507213'] ... high mass bridge (fitted one to same model and it brought the sound alive in a way I didn't expect it to) new pickups (wizard for value, nordstand if I had the money, EMG if I liked that kind of tone) and maybe tuners or nut if it needed one, prob not. [/quote] This, in spades. I'm a terminal fiddler these days, and that's what I'd do. Then there's different strings you can experiment with...

[quote name='LeftyBiskit' timestamp='1326843240' post='1502828'] The staff in the Manchester Branch are particularly helpful,(a pleasant chap by the name of Tony couldnt have been more helpful) I bought a Squier VMJ last year-got a good deal and with a price match they even took it into the guitar tech for a set up while i was there for a bit of tweaking to my taste. I've been in a few times since,sometimes just for a mooch or a purchase. [/quote] Tony's a great bloke, always helpful and cheerful, which, as has been said before, can't be easy to maintain in the face of the general public day, day out... The tech is Steve, and he's done some great work for me before now, and will again shortly...

Bobby Vega's yer boy for watch-and-learn stuff: a really lovely feel with a pick. Not sure about any tutorial stuff from him, tho. Doh! Vega cross-post!

The cabaret/pub/function band I dep for never rehearses, we just have an iPhone/iPad app which downloads the setlist from the band leader, and it's turn up and get it right first time - can be tricky when it's "perm any 30 from 75 in a week"! On the other hand, when the originals band need to put a cover together, we learn the notes beforehand, then we kick it around for maybe an hour in rehearsals until we like how we sound playing it. If we don't, it gets binned. Generally, a good song is a good song no matter what the genre - we knocked out a decent version of Mamma Mia recently, which went down well.

...and completely hideous. Amazing how opinions vary, isn't it?

Yep, it turned out the intonation on my first fretless was a mile off, I spent several months wondering why I sounded so bad. Now, of course, I've no excuse...

Naah, not sad here -I had hair down my back for 20 years, then moved on when I was ready. Luckily for me the late 80s and early to mid 90s were receptive to ponytails, so I could hold down a decent job as well as the hair for a good while. Glad I did it, tho. Comes to us all, one way or another, and there's nowt sadder than some bloke my age trying to hang on to his hair in the face of all the evidence to the contrary.