LawrenceH

[quote name='Prime_BASS' post='1315296' date='Jul 25 2011, 12:24 AM']I'm putting in the hours of practice[/quote] What/how are you practising? From my own somewhat painful experience inconsistency is down to poor technique and that's what you have to focus on in practice. I DON'T mean widdling away doing fast runs but looking closely at your hands and the way they move when you're playing a particular line. I learnt a lot simply from watching the right hand of good jazz players on youtube vids. Even on complex lines their hands stay in comfortable positions, and their movements are very economical. The more you flail around the less control you have, the more hit-or-miss it becomes. I have periodically gone back to specific exercises to iron out problems - I see this aspect of technique as an issue of biomechanics.

I had an SR500 for a long while (5-pc wenge/bubinga neck on mine), which I fitted with Nordstrand Big Singles to replace the Bart MK1s. I'd avoid the mahogany body ones as they are heavier and the tone seems quite dark, regardless of pickups. I could never get a particularly Fender-esque tone from it no matter which pickups were in there, though the EQ is versatile enough - the pickups just aren't in the right places. I tried what was probably an SR600 in a shop once and it was significantly lighter, that'd be the one I'd go for. But if I wanted proper precision/jazz sounds, I'd look elsewhere.

Pickups aren't the greatest but it'll play well enough and with a new set of strings will sound absolutely fine. My old one has been gigged a fair bit, always done the job.

[quote name='Marky L' post='1313772' date='Jul 23 2011, 01:15 PM']I wonder if I could work some of the scratches out of my fav sunglasses? This could be a great cure all!!![/quote] If the glasses are coated with a UV-reflective layer then this would be a bad idea... Regarding heavy hands, use good quality wet'n'dry (the Halfords stuff above 600 is crap) and be gentle. I've made the mistake of forcing it but you just need to let the paper do the work and be particularly mindful of edges or you will go through. However if the finish is flat enough from the gun (with minimal orange peel) then I can imagine cutting paste alone doing a decent job. I'm sure they only use paste on a lot of commercially sprayed guitars without working up through the grits.

Finger position is a big factor in comfort/playability - but IMO learning to change finger position and alter playing action to suit is making me a better player. Any bass of any make that'll set up well and balance nicely can give that feeling of 'rightness' IF the tone is something you don't have to work at. But if you're looking for something like the 'ray's growl from a P then you'll always have to work your fingers harder.

The 58s are about the most consistently feedback-resistant mics I've used as a sound guy and have a very predictable sound from one application to the next. They are loved by sound engineers and became a standard for their consistency as much as anything else. A lot of the other mics on the market are hypercardioids (EDIT: and supers but they're pretty similar) which is nice in some applications but just not as intuitive as a cardioid and they cause no end of problems when people don't understand the rear lobing characteristic. 58s sound good or at least acceptable for male rock vocals or spoken word in almost any situation. The situation where they often fail is female vocals through an average-to crap PA, or softer male voices. But this is true of a lot of dynamic vocal mics to an extent. I'd say if you're male and your voice suits a 58 then it's only really worth upgrading to a condenser/electret or something more exotic like a ribbon. The variants on the Shure Beta 87 are really excellent live mics. Just be prepared for a different set of problem feedback frequencies (not a significant issue when you understand how differently a condenser mic can be EQ'ed in a live context and still sound clear and natural). If your voice doesn't suit a 58 though then the world is your confusing oyster...Beyerdynamic TGX60 was always a favourite of mine, I don't know how to describe what it did to a voice other than saying it was like a sort of technicolor version with added glitter. They'd be almost as famous as the SM58 if they weren't fifty-odd quid more expensive.

[quote name='McBass' post='1294003' date='Jul 5 2011, 09:43 PM'][url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4XI6LXCsH8"]D'Angelo[/url][/quote] Overplaying anyone? I don't think so! LOVE the gaps on this track, the lack of notes on that whole album is awesome

[quote name='redstriper' post='1293760' date='Jul 5 2011, 07:08 PM']Don't know if this counts - fwd. to 7.15 for bass solo from the wonderful Robbie Gordon:[/quote] That sounds sweet, great link!

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='1292240' date='Jul 4 2011, 02:46 PM']Sustain is quite important to me because I use octavers a lot. As a consequence, dead spots really wind me up![/quote] Dead spots are a special case, they are a bit annoying!

[quote name='silddx' post='1292776' date='Jul 4 2011, 09:49 PM']I would then judge the majority of the respondents as unable to judge taste. The player CLEARLY has taste, certainly in this video.[/quote] There are two issues, first taste in music, and secondly whether the playing is tasteful within the context of a genre and the track. This guy is definitely fitting right in with the feel of the backing track so fair play, whether it's a style you like is a different matter. I'm on the fence for that one, but it's much better, more stylistically sympathetic playing than most slap tracks on youtube!

[quote name='Johngh' post='1290726' date='Jul 3 2011, 07:00 AM']Thanks for this. Having given it some thought, and as the replacement graphite neck ain't cheap, I'm maybe going to take the whole thing over to Jon Shuker and ask him to do it, he's not far away from where I live. Be major embarassment, and expensive if I do it and cock it up.[/quote] If the holes are already there in the neck, and in the right place, and you've got the right screws, then it will be a doddle and I honestly cant' see how you could mess it up even if trying. However, if you have to drill your own holes or you're not sure about the screw size then definitely take it over to Shuker!

I like a bass that's acoustically resonant, because I like the rich tone when amplified. But there is an unavoidable trade-off between resonance and sustain, as someone pointed out on here once (Ou7hined maybe?) you can't have both! Energy used to resonate the instrument comes from the string, which will therefore stop sustaining quicker. So for me there is a significant downside to basses which sustain for ages. I personally think that this is why modern basses with high-mass bridges, laminate necks and other things that add significant stiffness all sound quite 'same-y' to me especially when pickups are in similar places, but things like Fenders are more idiosyncratic.

[quote name='dc2009' post='1291550' date='Jul 3 2011, 10:23 PM']All of course IMO but: mindless - because I didn't think much of it sounded good together, or that the riffs/lines/runs/sections were particularly appealing/catchy/something I'd want to listen to again. The one guy was saying how he thought a three piece meant it didn't sound muddled and rubbish, I disagree no direction - because I didn't think it flowed particularly well either (and I don't just mean intro verse chorus bridge), and didn't really grow or swell or decline in any kind of atmospheric sense, was just there[/quote] I respectfully disagree with pretty much all of this - catchy, with an evolving groove that I could get heavily into, and follow on a journey. That Moog line is wicked in particular. I do think it's the kind of music that's best experienced live, I wouldn't be so interested in a studio recording, but that's no bad thing in my book. I also like the Jaguar bass, didn't realise he used those! Great link, thanks

I'd agree that a secondhand SGC Nanyo would be a good choice. They are very light indeed, and the small headstock with gotoh tuners means they balance nicely. Depending on the model they typically have a PJ or dual soapbar configuration so offer good tonal versatility.

[quote name='Johngh' post='1287668' date='Jun 30 2011, 01:26 PM']I've just bought a Marcus Miller Jazz body and I'm putting a Status Graphite neck on it. The body came with no neck plate or screws. I know it's 3 bolt neck, but the ones I've seen for sale all say tilt on the description. Is it just a case of screwing the new neck on with the new plate or is there something I'm missing. Excuse the numptyness of the question but I've never removed or changed the necks on my basses before. Thanks[/quote] Look up 'micro tilt adjustment' if you want to know about this - basically an alternative for neck shimming. But unless the neck is not angled properly when you make the attachment, then it's not something to worry about, just screw it on.

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='1288203' date='Jun 30 2011, 09:01 PM']Interesting ... sounds almost suspiciously easy. So I don't need to compensate for the relatively low output from a J pickup?[/quote] The S1 series wiring will be louder...but it won't sound quite like a P. It loses that hollow honk (you know the one, most evident when playing hard up on the G string!). If you just want a generic bassier sound then it's great, and will sit nicely under the rest of the band. But the harmonics can never be the same as what you get with a P pickup alone, you'd get closer with a solo J neck pickup and a good parametric EQ to compensate for the difference in pickup frequency response. S1 is a cheap, reversible mod though so worth a go.

If the OP is right about which frequencies are problematic, then they're a bit high to be typical reflex port-related phase shifts combining badly. It's probably just a volume thing. However, adding a filter will introduce its own phase shift - I just don't think it'll be that much of a problem in practice. Best solution is proper bi-amping with an active 2-way crossover. Next up, passive, but it'll be expensive to do properly.

IMV the jazz position is close enough to the P, if you work out where harmonic peaks and nulls will be for the first few frets it's not very different at all. So any difference is likely mostly due to the pickup itself. I'd look for split-coil pickups that let you choose to wire series and go from there. I don't know how close a DiMarzio Model J wired series gets? A more old-school voiced pickup with the same option might be better though. I'd take a pre-amp with split series-wired single J pickup over s1 switching though...that bridge pickup is too radically different.

Hi, I suggest using a high pass filter on the top cab would be better - you can then get away with setting it at the high end of the frequency range so keeping the cost/weight of large passive components down, also it will protect your top cab from overexcursion. In all probability it's not contributing much useful to the real lows anyway. By the way I would expect phase to be a non-issue, in rough'n'ready bass guitar terms, given that the frequencies we're talking about are a bit too high to be affected by correctly tuned reflex ports. It'll be an issue in the 40-150-ish region which you don't seem to find problematic anyway, but if you use an HPF then that issue will disappear as well.

Spacing the speakers further apart lowers the maximum frequency at which they will couple coherently, which is in theory a Bad Thing. But if it means you hear yourself better and as a result play better, that benefit will probably more than outweigh the costs.

I have Fender Vintage 75s in my Classic 70s. They've got tons of treble bite and mid-range grind. For the same reason they're not the bassiest pickups though, so it depends if you want proper 'vintage' clank or that overwound-type of heavy bass/low mids. For the former I've not heard better, they transformed a nice but slightly polite bass into a vicious growling monster. You have to order them from the States, but the price when I did that was suprisingly reasonable (under £100 all in). Btw if the pickups in your Jap bass are anything like the (supposedly US I think) ones in my Jap 75RI, then most things will be a very worthwhile upgrade - they really weren't up to much. The ones in my aerodyne or my dad's 80s Jap jazz are much better though.

Listen to Ou7shined and use a metal/multi-purpose bit. I've used wood drills and found it hard to avoid cracking lacquer! They rip it up.

Here's a link to the 'proper stuff'. I'm not sure about using duvets - I think the size of the individual fibres is supposed to determine their effectiveness. You could get lucky but when I tried some generic polyester wadding it did absolutely b****r all [url="http://cpc.farnell.com/1/1/31357-dampening-pads-mdm-3.html"]http://cpc.farnell.com/1/1/31357-dampening-pads-mdm-3.html[/url]

Just got a cheap j-type neck from John to practice defretting, well packed and not bad at all for £5 all in! Very kind, thanks a lot.

Carol Colman from Kid Creole and the Coconuts has some great mutant disco grooves going on - she's in many a DJ's secret stash!