Muzz

Very nice - once you start Frankensteining, it's hard to stop, or even to be satisfied with an off-the-shelf bass again. Where did you get the MM body from? I got a MM maple Jazz neck delivered from the States (a guy on EBay) in about four days the other week for £75 inc postage.

I'd agree with trying the series switching. It's not the same, but it gets you closer, and in the "quick, reversible and cheap" stakes it's a clear winner. I've got one on my PJ, and while I don't use it much, it's a very useful switch to have. I'd put one on any two-pickup bass, tho I can't see the point on a single-pup P.

Yep, same here - HH VS head and a 2x15, cannot for the life of me remember what happened to them. I suspect a dodgy part-ex deal, possibly at Andy's in Denmark Street for an ancient Ampeg, but I've clearly blanked the traumatic experience from my memory...

[quote name='gerryc' post='1278528' date='Jun 22 2011, 01:56 PM']Couldn't agree more, I have an Sx fitted with Wizard thumpers and it's the dog dingly danglers.[/quote] Yep, SX FrankenP with Wizard Big P/J set and MM maple neck (in pic left). Fantastic - sold my US Ps on the strength of it.

'Falling toward'... you mean 'Rising to', surely? Yeah, those RWs play very nicely, but I just can't stand fake 'mojo'. It's all about the playability for me - they're such a simple beast that if I find one which sits well in the hand I'd go for it and worry about the other stuff later - pups and pots can be changed very easily.

[quote name='4StringFortress' post='1276939' date='Jun 21 2011, 12:32 PM']Yeh iv had a look at the Wizard Trads they seem pretty cool do you know what the Thumpers are like? and are they passive?[/quote] The Thumper is a great pickup - significantly higher output, but still passive, and still all P. I loves 'em - great value for money.

[quote name='ingenius' post='1276486' date='Jun 20 2011, 10:43 PM']that might be the one i bought from Muzz last year, its now Candy Apple red with a new custom neck,,,, always had the making of a great bass,,, the colour Blizzard Pearl, its a Marmite thing [/quote] Mine came from Scotland as I recall, great bass, but BP just didn't do it for me, either...takes all sorts I guess...

Nige is a good guy, I've known him for a long time. The 'Clutterbucking' (and he's got his own entry in urbandictionary.com to prove it) is just a stunt, and it is does impress the, erm, impressionable, and of course there's no such thing as bad publicity*. There's a lot more to his playing than this, tho - he's a very talented bassist. To stretch a footballing metaphor, if someone posted a link of Lionel Messi doing some keepy-uppy, it'd be an unwise move to conclude he's a crap footballer. I'd imagine just as keepy-uppy sells Nike and Adidas, pointless slap sells strings. On the other hand, that fantastic line mentioned earlier on the Bassday thread does apply: "Excuse me mate, but is that as hard to play as it is to listen to?" * Despite much of the content of this thread

[quote name='MikeBass' post='1267805' date='Jun 13 2011, 08:00 PM']oh, whilst I'm here! [attachment=82594:1963Pbass.jpg] it's a 1964 by serial number - has sept, nov or dec 63 stamped on neck - i forget. all original bar scratchplate, knobs and black finish - may have been green originally but was in a bad way when I got it so had it rebuilt/refinished by Brian Eastwood - lovely to play. light and super low frets/action.[/quote] Arrrrrrrrgggggghhhhh! My YOB Precision, and black, too. If it had a maple board, I'd have swooned like a big girl. Still just GAStastic, tho...

Yep, can concur with most of the above: I love my old Fortress (mainly for the neck - that wenge is fantastic), but also for the ergonomics - it sits just right. Shame about the looks. I've got a pair of Wizards to go in which should sort the sound out for what I'm after, that's it done. But the new stuff...in an idle and possibly GAS-instigating moment, I was browsing the Warwick site over the weekend, but I couldn't find anything I'd like to buy that didn't cost the earth. £5k+ for a factory-built, already-in-stock bass is just bananas. Even the bog-standard German stuff is comfortably into four figures new nowadays. I just can't see who would buy one new. No Warwick GAS for me, which is unusual given how much I like the two I've got (also got a fretless Corvette).

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='1268555' date='Jun 14 2011, 01:01 PM']I also suggest trying a Genz Benz Streamliner out. With a three tube pre amp this head is getting a lot of rave reviews for its tube tone.[/quote] Oooo, yeah - forgot that one...

I had a LMIII and the rear-ported 410, and the sound was very very full - I liked the cab a lot. It was stolen, and if it hadn't been, I'd probably have kept it, but as posted previously, I liked a BDDI in front of the LMIII to give it a bit more rock character. In search of a minimalist solution, I tried the LM Tube (too subtle for me) and the Rocker (0 = no fizz, 2-10 = fizz), as well as Shuttles and some other larger heads, but ended up with a TC RH450 instead. If you're considering the Tube or the Rocker, be sure and try out (if you possibly can) the Shuttles, the TC stuff and even the new Ampeg mini head before you part with your wonga. Not a bad head in that list there, but your ears may well surprise you and pick a favourite. On the MB cab front, I'd advise trying just one 410 (the HR is the smaller of the two) for volume, unless you really really want a full stack. Then buy two. And a big-ish car: they're not heavy, but they're still a 410, after all.

[quote name='kevin_lindsay' post='1266320' date='Jun 12 2011, 05:08 PM']Paul Turner (Jamiroquai) has all his basses set with high action - around 1/2" at the 12th fret. He has a monster tone whenever he plays. But, whenever I play his instruments up at "the dusty end" I find my fingers slipping under the strings due to the height if them!! Pino's basses are set with a medium action, not so low you can't dig in without thf bass rattling, and not high so it's s pig to play. I guess it's all down to personal preference, huh?[/quote] Sorry, I'm still getting over this one...HALF AN INCH? Anyway, while I like a low action for noodling about, I tend to thwack the strings a bit playing with the band, and like some other guys, I don't like much fret buzz, so my action's as low as I can get it without too much of that. I'd say a couple of mm at the 12th on the FrankenPs, and a bit more on the Ray, which is strung with Heavy Gauge at the mo. All my basses have Hipshots, which I accomodate with a bit more string height for the sudden tension drop. Having said that, my Fortress had a fret dress recently, and partly thanks to the JAN1, I've got the action on that down to approximately three-eighths of Bugger All, as my Grandad used to say...

I'd have liked to have heard a bit more space, say about five minutes at the end For some balance, I should at this point say I do like some of his Joni stuff. I'd open the curtains for that...well, maybe one Yeah Bremen, agree completely. Understatement. First time that word's been used in this discussion - a much underrated talent.

Yep, I'm on my second set of Wizards - first set went into my FrankenP/J, second set are for my Fortress (which should be interesting). Fantastic pickups. Can't help thinking a pair of 84s in my S1 Jazz might be very interesting indeed...

That version of I Shot The Sherriff sums up everything I can't stand about Jaco. 8 minutes(! ) of some of the most pointlessly self-indulgent wibbery* I've ever heard - fine for the rehearsal room where everyone can nod approvingly at each other**, but if they were playing in my garden, I'd close the curtains. * And I don't use that word lightly. Whatever it means... ** A bit like when the chickens used to come off stage in the Muppets...

I'd echo the thoughts about Schroeders or Barefaced being a good, light, one-cab solution. Never tried a Barefaced, tho if it wasn't for timing issues I'd have bought a Super12 last year untried (there's always Alex's returns policy as a backup), but I can tell you definitely that the 1515L sounds as big as your full Roland stack, because I had one previously (you've got my old 115X there). Pair it with a LMIII or TC Classic/RH450 (to taste) and you've got a great portable stack. The RH450 even has MP3 in/phones out for silent practice. The Schroeders do have 'a sound' - which I like - however if you want to come over and try mine, give me a shout. Because of the aforementioned timing debacle last year, I ordered mine from a place in Sweden (or was it Denmark? I forget), and it arrived in three days.

With a bit of judicious searching, £300 should get you a Roland D-Bass 115 combo. Terrific combos for the money, and, as they're not very trendy, a s/h bargain.

It's also the case that what sounds great as a tone played solo isn't neccessarily what the band needs. Mid-heavy tones, as has been said above, cut through a band mix, but can sound odd to the ear when played solo when practising. I'd also consider your rig, too.

Bought a pair of Wizard's from Chris - painless transaction all round. A gentleman and a scholar. Where's that thumbup emoticon gone?

Now[i] there's [/i] a plan...actually, I'm on it, although it's taking me forever to get my finger out - Ryder P-bass, MM neck, two Thumpers, Series pull-switch. Bam.

[quote name='solo4652' post='1253506' date='Jun 2 2011, 08:55 AM']I'm interested in the PF500 head. What would be a good, lightweight 210 cab to get the full 500W? Excuse my ignorance - I'm new to this seperate head + cab lark.[/quote] I'd recommend a Schroeder - they do a variety of 2 speaker cabs (2x10, 12&10, 2x12, 2x15) in 4 ohms and are very small, very loud and very light. They do have a 'character' though, so it might be best to try and hear one. Alternatively, I'd say Alex at Barefaced has something suitable...and he does a trial scheme, too... And now I'm gassing for one of these PF500s - even though my RH450 is fantastic. Gonna have to get down to PMT to get it out of my system. I hope.

[quote name='stevie' post='1255411' date='Jun 3 2011, 01:26 PM']Not really. As others have said, you just need a loud bridge pickup. Even the Musicman pickup is quieter than the P-Bass one when it's installed in the 'bridge' position. I found that wiring the MM in series makes for a more balanced pairing and IMO works better when the two pickups are used together.[/quote] I've just fitted a Wizard 'Big P/J' pair, (which is the Thumper and the 84 Jazz), and it's the first time I've ever considered soloing the bridge pickup. I didn't actually do it of course, but I considered it The output from these pickups is up there with my Ray, if that's any indication. I'm fitting a pair to my Fortress, as I was massively caught out the other week playing live when I swapped basses and I thought the Fortress was broken Oh, and I've got them wired with a pull-switch series option, for those moments when a mid/punch boost is the only way to go...