Muzz

I tried the Rocker, and found the tube drive was pretty digital - either on or off, it was 'on' from 2 on the dial, and stayed pretty much the same all the way round to 10. A bit too fizzy for me. Conversely, I thought the LM Tube was too subtle. I got a great Ampeg-alike sound from a LMIII and Sansamp BDDI, but then got a RH450 and sold both, because the RH450 does it all in one box. I'd love to try a Streamliner, although I've tried several GB Shuttles, and didn't like them enough to buy one. IMHO, YMMV, etc, etc. Volume-wise, it's fairly dependent on cabs, but I'd suggest most to of the small 500w heads would be plenty - after all, all you really have to do is keep up with the drummer, because once he starts going into the PA, so do you... Really, I'd suggest trying as many as you can, because everyone's ears are different. There's a few places around the UK where you can try most of the competing amps in one visit (Bass Direct being one I'm familiar with - I think Mark's got the Markbass, GB and TC heads all in at once) which is very useful for side-by-side comparisons. Take your own bass, and even your cab if it's a keeper. Depends where you're located, though. It's all fun.

[quote name='dougie' post='1192465' date='Apr 8 2011, 12:42 AM']IMO,if i ask £1k for a pair of my skidmarked y fronts thats my prerogative,wether anyone wants to pay that amount is theirs....isnt that the way selling/buying has always worked?,last thing i`d imagine is any mods/admins wanting to even get involved in anyones debates regarding cash sales.[/quote] Well, y'see, that's where it's a bit complicated on here, because as a community of sometimes heated (and therefore moderated) discussion on most things, I don't have the perogative to say on your post "Feck me, a grand for those y-fronts? Why? Are you the new Jaco?", which, if you were selling them in lots of other places (like a shop, for instance) I would.

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='1192659' date='Apr 8 2011, 10:21 AM']I've used the TC & Compact for a number of gigs, and it sounded nice. But... The Compact is a tight, punchy cab, and as you know has no tweeter. The TC is designed to emulate a sealed cab, with a low-pass filter and (IME) a very middy inherent tone. The Streamliner has a lot more going on in the lows and highs, and I think it would be a better match for the Compact.[/quote] That'd be why my RH450 sounds so good with my Schroeder 1515L, then. If I didn't know better, I could fool myself I'd planned it that way....

The more I pick up the three basses I keep coming back to (the FrankenP, the Ray and the Fortress), the more I think it's impossible for me to settle on a single bass which will do everything. They all have strengths and weaknesses which I think I should accept as part of their whole, rather than trying to resolve into one 'perfect' bass. The Ray looks fantastic (but I'm not in love with the sound or the feel), the FrankenP sounds and looks fantastic (but could feel better), and the Fortress feels fantastic, but could look and sound better. IMHO, etc. It's also possible I don't know what I want or what I'm doing, as well...

I'd incline to the position that as this place is set up differently (as a 'community') from EBay, then the usual 'caveat emptor', 'it's worth what it's worth to the seller' type of stuff, while obviously being the sensible fallback position, really doesn't sit too well - there are new people on here all the time, drawn by the friendly, informative, helpful and knowledgeable (not to mention the entertainingly opinionated) types, so the odd (and it really is the odd) stinger of an asking price benefits from the camouflage of the false sense of security which the site can promote. A lot of people on here are well up on current 'market prices', but that isn't everyone, and it'd be a shame to think someone on here might still get ripped off. A good example is with the (very, very occasional) blatant non-delivery/inaccurate description/faulty goods issues, which on here become a ten-page thread of outrage, and in some cases get to involve several people co-operating ot help the 'victim' - you wouldn't see (or indeed expect) that on Ebay, so I'd suggest the rules here are, and I'd hope wanted to be, different. Oh, and Rich, if I was you, I'd leave out the 'excellent' in describing your Wal and go with 'she's a 30 year old bass and has all the normal stuff you'd expect a 30 year old bass to have... a bit of lacquer crazing on the body, tiny bit of buckle rash, couple of minor dings, that sort of stuff.' You're not paying by the word, you know...

You mean Roland D-bass 115X Powered Extension Speaker, £175 Good buy for someone, though: these are great with the combo - makes a real 660w, 2x15 stack...

We've just completed our album at Gracieland in Rochdale. Great studio, fantastic kit (Rupert Neve 9098 desk, Neumann mics, shedloads of old school outboard gear, plus all the digital kit), plenty of room , a great atmosphere and very good rates. Couldn't recommend it highly enough. www.gracieland.co.uk

Om nom nom indeed, but I'd never use the thing - we play gigs in places where you couldn't turn round with that on - I'd have to walk in with it facing the way I wanted to play...

I still can't believe anyone can describe a TC head as "very low output" - was it plugged into 64 ohm speakers? Mine's louder than my LMIII, and that was loud. Louder than a loud thing, it doesn't get any louder than that...

Now then, here's a very similar situation to mine - I love the Fortress to play, and I'm even getting used to the looks (ish), but the sounds not where I am. My FrankenP/J has just had a pair of Wizards fitted, and it's just the sound I've wanted, so I'm wondering if Wizards in the Fortress will bring it nearer to what I'm after. I'm also looking at a wenge/ebony neck for the P, to get the Fortress feel, but I've a sinking feeling this might bugger up the sound. Oh, it's all so confusing...

You could pick up a s/h TC Classic around that ballpark £, and for rock tones, I'd rate the Classic/RH450 above the MB stuff. The Tubetone works really really well - even better to my ears than the actual tube in the Shuttle stuff. Ticks all the other boxes re. small, light and LOUD.

[quote name='bubinga5' post='1180088' date='Mar 28 2011, 09:30 PM']owned 11 at one point..why i dont know...i only own one bass now.. unless your a pro,or in more than one band, i really cant see the point of owning more than one good bass..[/quote] Unless you like them?

I've got a Kelly Dragonfly electric acoustic bass (which is a lovely instrument) I've used a few times for gigs, for the folkier numbers, but to be honest, there's very very little you can do with one that you can't do with an electric with appropriate EQ and adjustments to playing style. It looks the part, though, and the Fishman pre gives a decent set of EQ controls. Bronze roundwounds, not tried anything else.

[quote name='allighatt0r' post='1177113' date='Mar 26 2011, 12:16 PM']Well! Here she is! The (soon to be) Infamous Dark Ryder! [attachment=75783:photo__2_.JPG][attachment=75784:photo__1_.JPG][/quote] Well, that's helped me make my mind up for the colour scheme for my Ryder - out goes the white/pearl/whatever scratchplate, and in comes...black! Thanks for that.

Mentioned it on another thread, but I'm in the process of ordering a Wenge neck with an Ebony board from Warmoth for my P. If that doesn't fundamentally change the tone, nothing will. I shall report back, but don't hold your breath, I ain't ordered it yet...

At a guess, the market for high price (not a value judgement on this bass, simply 'a lot of money') basses is very slow at the moment, and the damage didn't help. Personally it's of no interest to me, and boutique stuff like this has a much smaller fanbase/market than the common-or-garden stuff, so I guess it's of even more restricted interest. If you're up for an equation, I'm guessing: (Specialist forum members) - (people who don't like damage, repaired or not) - (non-Ken Smith fans) - (those who haven't got £1500 in this financial climate) = nobody

[quote name='waynepunkdude' post='1173615' date='Mar 23 2011, 06:11 PM']The more I think about the more I'm thinking about a LM II with a Sansamp, how loud are they?[/quote] Pretty bloody loud. I play with a proper full-on rock drummer, and with a decent cab (I used a MB 410 and now a Schroeder 1515L) it'll drown him without troubling the higher numbers on the Master dial. Which is really all that's needed... In the interests of simplicity, I swapped my Sansamp and LMIII for a TC RH450, and it's even better for that old-school valvey Ampeg sound. And yes, I had an SVT and the 810 a while (OK, a long while) ago. Oh, and the TC's probably even louder than the LM. The Schroeder weighs just under 40lbs, and the TC about 9lbs.

Battleship Chains by The Georgia Satellites. Two chords, makes Quo sound like Weather Report...

Jim Dunlop Nylon 88s - tried zillions of others over 30-odd years, and they're the ones which work for me. I find them a nice compromise between feel and resistance. There's more to picking than a lot of people assume. I use the JD 73s on the occasions when I pick up a guitar.

[quote name='RhysP' post='1168230' date='Mar 19 2011, 01:49 PM']I did when I bought my first "proper" bass thirty years ago. I was a huge fan of Chris Squire & Geddy Lee so I bought a secondhand Rick 4001. Found out pretty quickly that hero worship is not a very good criteria for buying a bass......[/quote] This, except it was a brand new 4001 in, of course, Jetglo. Took me years to work out I actually hated the way it played, but it blew everyone away and I was very proud of it. Also I've always loved JJB and Phil Lynott, so black Precisions are just it for me, and have been ever since. Sort of. I bought an Aria ZZB (the half black/half white one, the only other one I've seen was being played by Rick Mayall in Bad News, which should have told me something ) in 84 not because of anyone in particular, but because of the whole AOR/West Coast Explorer thing. That was pile of crap, too, but I persevered for a while because of the looks. I've said this before, but I'm about as deep as a puddle... To return to the OP's question, I'd probably buy a Shuker JJB, but I'd have to play one first. Which isn't going to be easy. I'd also then more than likely end up putting a J in and a Serial switch, which would probably defeat the point...

I had a PJB-200 for a while, and it was a very very clean, clear amp, tho very underpowered. As has been said before, not a rock amp, nor for those who associate with loud drummers.

+1 to all of the above - sold my Overwater, Goodfellow, etc and, while they were undoubtedly fine instruments and a privilege to own, I don't miss them at all. I'm having miles more fun modding.

Well, I've got reasonably advanced plans to swap a maple neck and board out on my Franken-P for a Wenge/Ebony one, tho I've been assured it won't make a blind bit of difference tone-wise. We'll see.