Muzz

[quote name='ambient' timestamp='1495028806' post='3300622'] That's the point people are missing. [/quote] What's that clip got to do with the bass? Bright roundwounds, scooped tone...could have been playing that on any one of a zillion basses.

Possibly a step further than you might be thinking, but I found that the nickel covers and rings I got online would accommodate a lot of different soapbar-type pups: I've got Dingwalls under mine...

That's the one!

Gig with the Rawk band in a biker/music pub in Morecambe. Early days gigging with this lineup, but it worked well. We didn't have a zillion songs, but went down well, and have been invited back. The all-too-familiar hollow stage to contend with - the foam under my cab worked well, though the two guitards have JCM100s and 412s, and the bottom end from them was a bit much. Once I'd got them to dial it back in the low end it got better. No bass in the PA, the Super Twin meant the Walkabout could go very, very loud...300w goes a long way into a very efficient cab Oh, and one punter took exception to the Shukerbird's neck "It's not a proper Gibson any more". I pointed out that there isn't a molecule of it that's Gibson anyway, and we discussed precedents a la Entwistle and Wilkeson. Then I showed him the Dingwall, which had been sitting in its case, and he was pretty much speechless...

I recorded our album almost exclusively (two tracks were done on the Stingray I had at the time) on a bitsa P: Black SX body, Mighty Mite maple neck, Schaller 3D bridge, Hipshot Ultralights, Wizard Thumper. A great passive P, as good as any Fender I've owned. I'm all active now, but I've a hankering for another (light) passive P. I've got some bits kicking around, I might just see what I've got tonight...

Actually, on the New Strings bit, I never gig with new strings straight out of the pack, I'll always have played them in at home a little before I gig. As part of the stringing up process, I always pull them hard, archer/Billy Sheehan-style when they're up to tune, and then re-tune; that seems to settle them in.

Done, emailed. Fun.

My basses don't go out of tune under normal circumstances - I let them settle when I arrive and we're setting up PA, etc, then check them before soundcheck. I can't remember the last time I had to re-tune during a gig.

I got fired from a band in the late 80s...to be more accurate, it had kinda broken down - I was naffed off playing venues 150 miles away to three people (yup, that was a belter), they wanted their old bassist back. We had a big row about it in the rehearsal studios, one of those "F*ck you." "Yeah, well, f*ck you, too" sort of Spinal Tap/Bad News affairs, I stormed out...then had to come back in and ask for a lift getting my 810 (an old pre-handles, pre-wheels one) into the car...

Thought about this for my 50th a few years ago - mine would be 64, but as I'm a P-Bass kinda bloke and I only like maple boards, I'm never gonna find/afford one, so I gave up on the whole idea...

Any of the three will be fine with a Compact volume-wise (unless you need huuuuge output, like big big rooms/outdoors without PA support output), it's more a question of your tone goals. I've used a Streamliner and a TH500 with a Compact, and they're different beasts. The Stl is indeed big and warm and valvey, I cut the bottom end to about nine o'clock and had a great sound, the TH I didn't like so much tho many here do. I moved from the Stl to a Magellan, and find that's much more versatile for my needs in a function band. The fact that the Magellan's 800w is pretty academic: it's just got plenty of oomph (steering clear of the contentious 'heft' word here ) but as I said, all three will be fine. Best? Your call, tone-wise...

All very talented, but I struggled to hear anything that didn't sound like I was in a lift.

Super Twin. Light and manageable enough to take to any gig so I don't need a 'modular' rig any more, enough oooomph to intimidate JCM100/412 guitards, drown any drummer and demolish walls if necessary. Sounds fantastic with either Walkabout or Magellan. I'm done.

The WA is just the head - I run that with the BF cab, too. I use the WA with my other 'Rawk' band - one sound, one setting, lots of drive; I like the sound it makes, the mids are warm and 'there'. It's not as versatile as the Genzler, and although it's a good deal lighter and smaller than an 80lb monster, by the time you've got it cased it's a deal bigger... On the 'watts' thing, the WA puts out theoretically 300w into the 4 ohms of the BF Super Twin, yet the pairing can very very easily hang with two loud guitarists, both with JCM100 heads and 4x12s. Of course, I've played with both heads in both situations, and both combinations are plenty. The BF cabs (well, the ones I've played through) are VERY efficient, and convert every watt into plenty of volume.

Hey Al, I had a GK MBFusion 500 as a run of heads which has pretty much stopped with the Magellan - I liked the Fusion, but found it had pretty 'baked in' tone which was very GK, and a little too harsh for me. I've no doubt that with judicious EQing it could be tamed, but I try to find an amp which is close to my sound before I start having to EQ. I find the Magellan to be the most versatile head I've tried in a very long time, and the two channels make switching sounds very quick and easy. I use it primarily for my function band work, which requires a very wide range of sounds (or approximations thereof), and I have a BF cab (the Super Twin, but I've also run a Compact/Midget pair, and a BB2) through which it sounds grand. And yeah, for a head without a valve in the pre, it can sound more 'valvey' than others with 1,2 or 3 valves in there... Definitely worth trying... All IMHO, YMMV, etc, etc... Oh, and I wouldn't worry about watts with that combination: it'll be plenty loud...

As long as no-one's trying to sell something as something it isn't, I look at it as just dressing up their bass, very much like relicing. Not something that appeals to me, but hey.

I've had a lot of amps, and for my two pennorth, the newer Class D power stages have got better (I'm thinking the ones in the Mesa Subway, the Magellan, etc) than the earlier ones. It's a developing technology. As far as best of both worlds goes, there'll be compromises, inevitably. It all depends on how important these are to you. Interestingly, the Magellan doesn't have any valves at all, and still sounds very valvey. IMHO, YMMV, etc, etc.

My main gigging/function band fluctuates from four to three depending on availability and, frankly, what the gig pays. I don't use pedals, so I wouldn't know about all that hoohah, but I really like the energy of a three piece. The audience also seems to respond differently (more positively) to a three piece, especially when we go for different versions of songs they might not expect from a trio. I should add that the singer/guitard also plays keyboards, so we'll do some keyboard-based songs, too. We have a great drummer, though...you'll need a great drummer: that extra space shows up any deficiencies, especially, I've found, behind the kit.

Never liked rosewood (to look at), can't recall much I've had that had a rosewood board, so it's a big Meh from me, but even now I sense the EBay sellers warming up their keyboards by repeatedly typing ULTRA RARE ROSEWOOD NECK!!!!!

I can second Jon's custom necks - just before Xmas he built me one for my Fenderbird, around a very unusual existing neck pocket. It's a superb neck: there's some pictures of it on here somewhere...

With that many of them, they wouldn't make much each on a pub gig...

And I've been stinging about selling my Jetglo 4001 for £200 in the late 80s...I feel a bit better now...

I like that....even if it isn't actually a Fenderbird per se...yet... If you don't like the Epi ones, the routs will fit a lot of different pickups. I had EMGs in one of mine, and I've got Dingwalls in there at the mo... Again, if humbuckers aren't what you're after, you can get split coil P-types in that shape, too.

NOS?

Yep, I've had that with my own rig, especially on nights where you're just not happy with your sound, and you come home and start Googling rig options and GASsing. Then you have one of those nights, but someone else gets up with your rig and it sounds great, and you realise maybe it's more a case of perspective than rig...