GarethFlatlands

Is that the one that sounds like The Police?

[quote name='mart' timestamp='1355905497' post='1904132'] I assume you mean you'd be placing the two J pickups right next to each other, like on this bass: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/194434-sold-warwick-streamer-pro-m-german-1998-sold/"]http://basschat.co.u...rman-1998-sold/[/url] If so, the answer would seem to be "yes". [/quote] I debated long and hard before selling that bass, why does no-one want to keep hold of it?

I'll agree to disagree about Warwicks, I've only played a handful but they've each had their own sound and played really well. As for Emperors new clothes, unless you go for really cheap rubbish these days just go for whatever suits you as a player. Personally, if you gave me a Fodera for free I'd sell it and use the profits to buy a nice UK built bass or 2 and still have enough left over for a holiday but I'm sure other people look at them with unbridled GAS. Having said all that, US made Fenders seem very expensive when cheaper alternatives are available.

There's also a good vid of [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Bakithi doing a few basslines on youtube including a higher register line for 'Call Me Al'. Just stick his name in and it's the first video, about 2:20 in.[/font][/color]

Very nice, I'm a fan of Andy's but that official guitar is crazy money. Your repro is looking beautiful, looking forward to seeing it finished.

[quote name='ead' timestamp='1355991248' post='1905290'] Please don't tell my wife. [/quote] Thanks for buying it, I was about to ruin myself financially for that bass.

[quote name='Ancient Mariner' timestamp='1355696713' post='1901596'] TBH the Epi VJ & similar aren't really practice amps, and if you crank one loud enough for overdrive it will be too loud for most households. [/quote] Fair point, I've never tried mine at home but those 5 watts are loud on a normal 2 by 12 cab. Depends on your cab and speaker choice but it's probably too much for home use. (Edit - mine was modded for high gain before I bought it so I couldn't really comment on volume anyway.)

And it's £150 cheaper

Thanks, I think I'd go for the Slim Phatty if I were looking at a synth module for the extra flexibility but this sounds huge and looks a lot easier to use.

[quote name='Ancient Mariner' timestamp='1355163694' post='1894889'] By all accounts the small Mustangs are very good, though I've never tried one myself. I'd recommend a Vox Pathfinder 15 if you can find one. All analogue, great tone and capable of a reasonable volume for when you move up a little. And they look much better than the majority of small amps. I found a faulty one and gutted it, building a single ended valve amp (6V6 to 6550 for 6W to 22W) and fitting a 10" speaker with a few tweaks to the cab. Voxy Baby was my main amp for several years. [/quote] Heard nothing but good things about the Pathfinder although I've never tried one myself. Try a Harley Benton GA5 if you're handy with a soldering iron, it's the same amp as the Epiphone Valve Junior (but cheaper) so can be modded pretty heavily. Minus points are that it needs a little modding initially due to issues with hum and noise.

[quote name='baskruit' timestamp='1355344667' post='1897292'] Instead of switching to CL cabs, this Monday I had the opportunity to buy an as-new Neo 112 for just over half the price of a new one. The picture sucks but there it is: My ultimate mini rig of doom. A Reidmar, Neoline 110 and Neoline 112. 27kg in total. I haven't been able to test it at home. It's just too loud. :-) [/quote] Looks very nice, bet it sounds massive when you get to crank it.

[quote name='mentalextra' timestamp='1354991317' post='1892772'] I got one off gumtree for £20 because the guy had "spun" a pot. Very underrated instruments, which makes them a bargain. I would be interested in a more upmarket Yamaha! [/quote] I've got a de-fretted RBX, great instrument for the prices you can get them for.

Sounds like I got a good deal, I found the old info on the SWR site and RRP for these was around $1k so you can't go wrong for £50. Of course it could have a load of issues and need a lot of servicing and repair but I know the guys who sold it reasonably well so it should be at least working. The EQ looks a bit more complex than I'm used to but I'm trying it out Wednesday night so we'll see if my simple brain can figure it out.

Aw, I don't usually like filters but the flexibility of this thing is really tempting me.

An Alesis rack gate/comp/limiter (£10!) and a Roland W30 (£50) were the only other good looking things for me, didn't see the Alesis until I'd got home and I'm away for the rest of the weekend so opportunity missed there. That seems to be the general opinion on the amp from what I've read, some people seem to use them as a DI or for studio work (why they had it I guess). Shame it doesn't have more power really but I'll try it at volume and see how it sounds. Quite looking forward to it!

A local studio is moving and getting rid of a lot of stock. In amongst the stuff I didn't want and stuff I did want but in no way needed there was an old SWR Studio 220 head for a bargain £50. I picked it up this morning and haven't had chance to try it out yet (no cab at home) but it looks pretty good for the price. Anyone owned one? I've only played through an SWR once, an old 750 watt head and 6 by 10 cab when I tried out for Oceansize </namedrop> and it was very nice from what I remember but you don't seem to see SWR stuff used much.

[quote name='Gareth Hughes' timestamp='1354661703' post='1888970'] For about £90 you can get a Carl Martin Classic Optical Compressor. I am seriously in love with mine - has a lovely big sound to it with the gain turned up and great, user friendly flexibility with the attack and compress knobs. I'm a fan of simple compressors for live use and this ticks the box. Had previously used a DBX 163A and a Joe Meek 3Q preamp. The Carl Martin is a happy medium there for me. Well worth the money. [/quote] GAK has them for £80 but then delivery is a fiver. I've never tried them but they were one of the recommended cheaper optical compressors on Ovnilabs along with the BYOC (if you want to spend several hours soldering and assembling). The Aguilar is praised on here if you can find one in the for sale section - edit - There's one on there but it's still £105 so out of your budget.

Possibly a daft question but are you controlling by some bass > midi control magic or just a regular midi controller?

Love my M5 on guitar, not so sure about bass. The chorus was a little muddy and neither the compressors or distortion were amazing. A few of the more extreme effects (the synthy ones) seem to have been very much voiced with guitar in mind too. I have to admit to not spending a huge amount of time with it on bass and will stand corrected if there are some amazing sounds that I've missed.

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/192721-vintage-brand-bass-restore/"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/192721-vintage-brand-bass-restore/[/url] Check out my repair thread! (Mouse mat foam if you can't be faffed reading.)

[quote name='Elvis Valentine' timestamp='1353424415' post='1874795'] The new Deftones album . Pretty freakin good, a lot more upbeat than Diamond Eyes. Perhaps understandably. [/quote] I didn't like Diamond Eyes that much but the new one is tons better. [quote name='Elvis Valentine' timestamp='1354121942' post='1882378'] The new Future of the Left album - the plot against common sense Its really good. Crazy lyrics. [/quote] Great album, it loses track a little towards the end but there's some moments of genius on there.

Well I took a lesson last week and I'm getting more consistent in actually making it sound musical. The main issue practising quietly in the flat as the mute adds too much resistance and I struggle with hitting the G with it in. Practising quietly is good practice though so it's getting about 20 minutes or so a day with the mute in and out. I'm enjoying the challenge at the moment and look forward to it!

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1353774845' post='1878381'] what brand coffee do you use for your rebuilds? [/quote] Cafedirect medium roast, made in a Sadovsky cafetiere. Bass re-strung, I had a bit of a noodle and it sounded a lot fuller already. I'm going to leave it overnight to adjust and then have a look at a setup tomorrow, maybe with some sound clips.

The next thing was the pickup height. The Kent Armstrongs sat a lot lower, (and I mean a hell of a lot lower) than the stock pickups for some reason. I've posted a pic in the past but lord knows where it's got to so here's another. Crumbs that's low. There are no strings on this one but you can just about see the bridge saddle and edge of the board to see the problem. Weedy quiet, tone central. I needed something to raise the pickup height, and this was something I wasn't prepared to skimp on. It was vintage, Fender only brand foam, woven from the belly button fluff of Leo himself. If you're going to use anything else, you may as well quit playing bass. With that in mind just skip over this picture.... 2 layers looked like it was going to do the job for each pickup. ('scuse the blurriness). A handy clothes label provided some string (with pre-tied end knot) to test the height when strung. Much better!