Muzz

All this has got to be good news for domestic luthiers - now that boggo mass-produced CNC'd Fenders are into the price territory of the luthiers, people could choose a properly hand-made, perfectly-finished bass made to their own specification (within reason, at that money, but certainly within Fender limits) - the sorry fact being, though, that people will still buy the brand rather than the object...

Finally, I got my finger out and had Jon Shuker make me a new neck for the Fenderbird/Laklandbird/Thunderland/whatever I was calling it this week, as the Lakland neck had developed a twist to go with the backbow. This was a real shame, as that neck's got the most spectacular birdseye maple board I think I've ever seen - it really did look like marmalade. Anyhoo, no point looking good if you can't actually play the thing, and having to tweak the trussrod mid-set was getting to be a bit of a bind... Sooo, the whole thing went off to Jon, and last week I went down to pick it up. And it's very very good indeed. Just to recap, it was originally an Epi Thunderbird, but the only Epi bits left are the body (I like the colour) and the neck plate, the rest is pure Frankenhoohah: Hipshot Ultralights with a D-tuner, Hipshot Supertone bridge, Dingwall pickups (a P-Tone and a Dual Coil) under chrome covers with rings, and an East U-Retro. And now a Shuker J neck with a birdseye board and brass nut. It won't be to everyone's taste, I know, but it's exactly the look I wanted, it plays very very nicely indeed, and it's just what I wanted for my 'proper' rock band. It even balances properly... Oh, and I know the sheer uselessness of 22 frets on a bass like this: I'd say those are strong contenders for The Most Futile Top Five Frets Ever, right there... sorrynotsorry... And without further ado, here's the pics... [attachment=234381:shukerbird1.jpg] [attachment=234382:shukerbird2.jpg] [attachment=234383:shukerbird3.jpg] Oh, fer crying out loud...why does the pic uploader rotate them randomly? Ffs...

The Fusion will bark and grind in a rock band, I'd also second (or third, or fourth, or whatever) the Orange Terror and I'm having a lot of fun in my 'proper' rock band with a Walkabout - they work really well in that setting, and running at 2.67 into 3x112s, it's REALLY loud... :0) You don't need any real versatility, otherwise I'd be recommending the Magellan and its Drive Channel, but with all the other cool stuff it'll do, it's overkill for a straightforward rock band...

Dan's Bob on: my P40s are in a shell big enough for 5 strings, but they have the 4 string magnets. I haven't tried the X EMGs, but that'd be interesting as I'm using double-Ps...hmmm.

Yep, to the drummer. I play with several, and they're all different, as are the rooms. I have 3x112s, so it also depends on how many I've brought to the gig. Which depends on the room. And the drummer... It also depends on the amp - very few gain/masters are linear or comparable: one amp's ten o'clock is another's twelve... And your EQ - lotsa mids will make you sound more 'present'. Oh, and the sensitivity of the cab(s), too... FWIW, I did have a MB200, and felt it didn't have the cojones for what I needed.

I can't see anything on the EMG site which distinguishes them, and the instructions link from the 35PX takes you to the pdf for the 35P4X... I'd suggest an email to EMG - I found they were pretty good at responding: I have P40s in my Shuker, and I'm very happy with them as a P-type pickup.

We can go out as a three piece for smaller (usually pub) gigs. It's less money than the function work, but it's closer, and it's shorter hours. And I don't have to dress up Anywhere around £250 is usual, we'll go for less for the right gig, and some pubs are more. I take my gear (Dingwall, Shuker, Bergs, Mesa, etc) to all the gigs, regardless. If it's lairy, I stay closer, but as someone mentioned, I've had more mither at posh weddings than skanky pubs.

I can't even see my comfort zone from here... This is what it's all about

Saw him live at Knebworth, I've never seen an artist hold a crowd that big so effortlessly in the palm of his hand. It was as remarkable a performance as I've ever seen. He's definitely an icon, it all depends on your definition of 'icon' as to whether that's a good thing or a bad thing...an icon after all can be defined as the visual representation of something, not necessarily the thing itself.

Given that the OP's question doesn't presuppose EVERY gig's gonna be like that, I'd take the money. I've played crap gigs to lots of people, and good gigs to tumbleweed, as well - it kinda balances out, and I'm not gonna get all precious if the venue/crowd aren't all that, as long as the band is, and I'm enjoying playing the music with them.

Depends on the gig: Function band 'normal' gig: both the Shukers (Dual-P and Bigman) Function band 'long night' kinda thing: I'll take the Dingwall (7.5lbs...) and Bigman Shuker Rock band gig: Dingwall and Dual-P Shuker Acoustic/trio gig: Michael Kelly Dragonfly acoustic, possibly Dingwall, too Some of this is set to change when I get my Shukerbird...

OK, I'm using Berg AE112s too, and there's definitely plenty of everything you could need from them - I do use three sometimes, but only because I can - I have a Magellan 800 that'll run three 8 ohm cabs, and, as Dood has alluded to, I like the extra height of the third cab closer to my ears on tight stages. Again, if your RH is giving you the volume and tone you like from your Jazz, it should be able to do the same for your P with some adjustment. I could understand changing your amp if you weren't getting a tone you liked from it at all, but you are, so there's faffing to be done before spending, I think... If you're missing the zing, what are the strings you're using? There's a cheap way of possibly adding some in... The plugs I use are ACS with the 15db attenuators - definitely worth looking at if you're not using any: they simply drop the sound levels without muffling or colouring the sound. Take a little adjusting to, but your ears will thank you.

The loss of clarity later on in a gig is simply ear fatigue...do you use any attenuation - earplugs? I'd say keep the rig for now and play with your mids - the RH has, IIRC, adjustable/programmable EQ - don't forget that what might not sound a great tone solo'd, especially at home, can sit very differently in a band mix. Which Berg 12s do you have? some of them will respond to mids very well... If your rig has sounded good with one bass, there's every chance it can be made to sound good with another, it's an EQ thing...and the RH has EQ presets, so if you end up with two pretty different EQ settings for each bass, you can store and recall them on a button push. Ask your bandmates for a bit of leeway at a rehearsal so you can faff about in a band setting with your sound. Edit: Yep, Warwickhunt's correct - I'd remove the 'Class D' thing from the title...it'll save a lot of mostly-off-topic hoohah later Further edit: Dunno about the Quarter Pounders in direct comparison, but all the Wizards pups I've had have been verrrry high output...that could be a factor, too...how do you run your Jazz? Both pups full? Just one?

I'm currently having Jon Shuker make me a neck...he'd be my number one choice.

I can only say that in many years of playing in bands, at least 90% of the time it's been fantastic fun. Sure, I've had a few run-ins with the egocentric and the delusional (mostly at the same time, the same person), but as a few people have commented, nothing beats playing with people who stretch you musically - you get better soooo much faster than you would in isolation. I love playing live, I love entertaining people, and even the crap stuff can be turned round when it's a shared experience between the band. I play in a couple of bands of primarily old friends, and also in a band where there are mostly deps, and both experiences are hugely positive. Different strokes, and all that, but I've never had people pulling my playing apart, and as for drunks, well, they're drunks, and can be very funny - there's enough threads on here illustrating that

I'm running three Berg 112s with my Magellan, which is more than happy with a 2.67 ohm load. Three small, light boxes, I don't have to take them all to every gig, most importantly the three stack at a good height for me to hear very well on tight stages. Oh, and they sound very, very big indeed. Another plus is the sound stays fundamentally the same, it just gets bigger with more cabs. If you've ever added a second identical cab, you'll know what I mean. One to two is a big step, and so is two to three. The main thing for me, though, is the height: I've used some very powerful cabs, but some have been so small I felt the best of the sound was hitting my calves...three 12s is a little bit like an old-school stack...without the bulk and the weight.

Let's not forget the red fretless 8-string Hamer Explorer thing...I hope he collected his bet money for that one...

We use some samples in the first set, some are triggered by the singist, who plays keys in the first set, and some we play to a click (in the drummer's ears) because they're more complex. We play the second set with two guitars (Singist switches from keys to guitar) which is all live. There's two different skillsets involved, one is to keep it all exactly to the prearranged click/sequence, the other is more seat of the pants playing. It increases the range of songs we can provide as a (semi)professional outfit, which is a good thing. As for the OP, have a chat, see why they're using them...then decide...

ABZ4 - John East U-Retro. Fantastic.

Always on full: if I want the bass quieter, I play it quieter, tho I will adjust the balance, treble and mids per the song requirement. I could live with it as a switch...

Bar Fringe (nearly) opposite the Band On The Wall is one of my favourite Manchester pubs, and just round the corner on Oldham Street, Gullivers do quite a lot of gigs.