4 Strings

Good idea, thanks, just sent them an email. I'm sure there was someone else who supplied them though.

Hi, I remember someone on here was able to replace the foam mutes on their old MM bass. Can anyone remember this, or help with a source for these? I now they're not made from magic sponge or anything, but close to original would be great. I need 8. Many thanks

[quote name='charic' timestamp='1358344392' post='1937331'] Seems pretty abusive to me... [/quote] Oh, come on Charic, when someone is brave enough orders a guitar that looks like that (and you've go to really want it as I imagine it was a small fortune and took a while to make) they'll be wanting to draw attention to themselves and so also be brave enough to stand up to people's remarks of favour or otherwise. I doubt the owner would be offended, at least I wouldn't be if it was me, and I'm not brave enough to order a guitar like that - even if I could play it.

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1358342249' post='1937266'] Pat Martino - Live at Yoshi's [/quote] Thanks, got it on Spotify now

My lad sent me a text directing me to go buy a copy immediately he was so impressed. I haven't (what, actually BUY music?!) but intend to get a listen somewhere. I loved their last one, and on Jools.

[quote name='kerley' timestamp='1358339396' post='1937192'] And blindfold tests are what should be done first as you will then get the instrument that plays and feels the best to you. You may not be able to pick the difference between Fender or Squier but the Squier may be the one you choose blind. You then at least know that if you don't buy the Squier it is because of issues you have rather than issues the bass has... [/quote] Quite.

Squiers are considered 'great' (with a silent 'for the price, but its not a real Fender'). I honestly believe that the vast majority of us (everyone?) could not go into a music shop, blind folded, play a number of basses and, with any consistency beyond 'random' and chaos theories, pick the Squiers from the Fenders based on playing and sound. I know I couldn't. However, leave the headstocks on display and I only need to look to judge them 'cheap', 'nice', 'cheap', cheap', 'nice'. Mrs Bucket indeed. Resale value is going to affect the Fenders more. If you buy a Squier VM Precision for £250, it might lose £100, if you buy a Fender US Standard at £900, its going to lose the total value of the Squier as you walk out the shop.

Unfortunately you'll only really find out what its worth when you come to sell it. Now's not the most encouraging time to do that. Certainly it's snobbery but mostly, I think resale value (caused by snobbery). I'm guilty of it myself, whenever I've bought a Fender (not too often!) I've only looked at the US made basses, purely for worry of resale (plus a little for the satisfaction of having the 'real thing'). To find the 'best' bass, blindfold is the only way, the transfer on the end holds too strong an influence for an objective view otherwise.

Just bought a bass from Paul's friend in Germany, brokered by Paul from an ad on here. Paul couldn't have been more helpful, even offered to put me up in Berlin, tickets to see the show he's in and try the bass out for a weekend jolly and the bass wasn't even his to sell! (Nearly went too!) Bass is as described etc, he seems to have some nice friends in Berlin. Recommended

[quote name='kerley' timestamp='1358290939' post='1936684'] Fair enough, just an idea. Although voluntary work would also be good. Anyway, this came from the thought of having a "Made in the UK" Fender Precision or Jazz to the same build and standards as the USA model but half the price. Would the USA model still have an allure because it is US and that is where Fender originates from? I can sort of see why it would just as a Rolex needs to be made in Switzerland and a cheaper one (still official Rolex) made in China just wouldn't be the same for some reason. [/quote] Aren't people generally finding the Japanese Fenders more reliable and consistent than the US built basses? Still the US basses get better prices s/h.

[quote name='mbellishment' timestamp='1358025929' post='1932140'] "Do you not think our songs would sound better if you played a 4 string bass?" [/quote] Well?

Frustratingly I can't post photos, but here's a link to my suggestion: [url="http://guitarz.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/marlin-pb-26-bass-1960s-japanese.html"]http://guitarz.blogs...s-japanese.html[/url] My photo is of a green one. Search Google images for 'Kawai Concert Bass' and protect your eyes

I ordered some too, a year ago for my Midget and Compact, they had the dims already, both fit perfectly (even to the very slightly off-centred Midget handle) and have survived a year's use and abuse (Midget is out at least a couple of times a week loaded up with other gear) with the cover generally chucked anywhere when not on the cab. Both covers are without mark. Surprised Alex doesn't offer them as an optional extra.

[quote name='Paul S' timestamp='1357987082' post='1931321'] This pretty sums up how it is for me. All my amp/cab gas is cured. 95% was getting Barefaced cabs, the other 5% switching to a GenzBenz. [/quote] Yes, kind of for me, although I think its the power of the Streamliner which makes my BF cabs work so well so its possible another equally powerful amp may have done the trick. Those cabs work beautifully with a hefty bit of grunt going into them. Since changing the V1 valve to one of less gain and so swapping a lot of the distortion available for clean power I've been more than happy.

[quote name='garythebass' timestamp='1357933643' post='1930885'] Ooh, nice! Perhaps the Streamliner likes J-style pups? [/quote] It certainly enjoys an evening on straight Stingray juice!

in preparation for a recording, keyboard player states he's "going to choose the piano sounds when we get to the studio".

Try that again, please

I suppose people have been doing it to cars for years. Clearly the magic is in his clear thinking, after all, these so-called luthiers and, worst of all, factories, clearly have missed a few tricks in their production of millions of guitars over the decades. When you look at the factory tour videos and see how many processes and different people are involved to produce a guitar, and yet they don't know about nut heights yet, it is amazing. Only our hero has managed to spot that one. It won't be long before you see Musicman rotating the machine heads to a clearly more comfortable angle facing the player.

Hope so, I know shops have to move their stock and times are difficult at the moment, but their description really stinks. Bass looks lovely but you have to delve deeply into the pics with some previous knowledge to realise what it actually is.

Amazingly, someone (apparently) bought this mess; http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Kay-P-bass-thought-perhaps-1968-with-ebony-fingerboard-/190759708552?nma=true&si=POeFpyban8dy%2FojB0rz%2BRLsTK7s%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557 If he's actually selling them, albeit slowly (market is definitely slow at the moment) his project is working. Can't be making much on each but must be satisfying.

[quote name='hamfist' timestamp='1357810216' post='1928604'] ACG 4 string dual pickup passive - £785 (plus a few months wait time I suspect) MIA American Special Jazz, black, maple neck, current model - £696.55 via Thomann, free delivery of course, and available now. MIA American Standard Jazz, black, maple neck., current model. £1025.68, giving you the high mass bridge and custom shop pickups and a hard case (if you want to spend the extra on those things). and available now, of course. So really the price of Fenders if you shops wisely is not so excessive. [/quote] Buying at the cheapest possible supplier is not necessarily shopping wisely. To the OP, if he cannot tell the difference, is not fazed by headstock transfers, buy the cheap one, and if in his bass playing journey, he feels the need for a 'better' bass, have another look around. With the money saved buy lessons from the best teacher he can find, this will make much more of a difference than the subtleties between to virtually identical basses.

Just seems like they've thought of a variation that they haven't done yet. Maybe they'll do a boner version for next 'season'.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1357823090' post='1928940'] But saying that what we're really listening to is phrasing and note choice tends to re-enforce my point that players with a recognisable or signature tone mostly play with in a single genre. IME as soon as you start playing different kinds of music then (if you are listening properly to the other musicians) how and what you play change to fit each different style. Well I certainly do. Before my current band I don't think I'd ever played more than a handful of chromatic runs - now they are all over lots of our songs. Also the way I phrase my basslines is completely different because the styles of the songs I'm playing are different and each needs it's own individual approach. I would defy anyone to listen to the bass in the Terrortones and in my previous band and identify them as being the work the same bassist [/quote] I think this may be fair enough, to an extent. If it were possible to hear Jamerson or Jaco (to use the same examples as before) playing Metallica may not sound like we'd expect and so not be so easily recognisable. Metallica would sound different too. But most well known musicians (ie, those whom we'd recognise from their playing and/or tone) do play in a single genre, don't they?

Part of my lad's Creative Music Tech course he made a crashing saucepan lid sound like a piano, through audio manipulation, and play a complex piece. This isn't the point. 51mon said "I think we recognise note choice and phrasing as being of a certain player far more than timbre. By that regard a players playing is unigue, and nuances in these areas of playing are readily identifiable to seasoned listeners for them." (sorry, snipped again!) and is kind of along the lines of the point. The playing (the fingers) is way more important to the music, tone, sound etc than subtleties in bass construction, we can identify the players more easily that the gear, if we want to sound good we should be improving our playing not the perceived improvement of our gear, and yet the very broad 'we' appear to be more interested in improving gear.

[quote name='51m0n' timestamp='1357811753' post='1928639'] Bass tone is not equivalent to note choice or phrasing, the first is the timbre the second the performance Bass tone is very much to do with how the player strikes/plucks/thumps/pops/thumbs/[i]plays[/i] the string ...etc. [/quote] Not being disrespectful in the snip. If you distinguish too much between electronic tone and performance much is lost. If we were playing Rhodes pianos, where the metal bit is struck mechanically, then such a distinction is more possible (although even there, Donald Fagen, for example, is pretty distinctive). As the string is plucked by the player its very much an organic (sorry, can't think of a better word) type thing. This is related to phrasing etc which is why Jaco sounds like Jaco on virtually any bass, a fretless (where there is even more user influence) in particular. There is certainly a case for, specially session musicians, to be 'bass guitar operators' and to produce the tone, phrasing etc required by the producer for a certain song (Bob Babbit - was it in Standing in the Shadows? - said that the engineers often said the bass sounded good; he knew they didn't mean his playing.) But Bob's sound is easily identifiable from that of Jamerson in Motown recordings, both using a Precision with flats. I regularly play Babbit lines (eg Signed Sealed is in the sets of two bands in which I play) and it sounds like me, despite the same notes and a Precision with flats. It's easy to confuse these things together, because, I believe, they are related.