LawrenceH

[quote name='guybrush threepwood' post='1170217' date='Mar 20 2011, 11:18 PM']Is the intonation issue, with which Grand Wazoo had such a massive dilemma, an inherent problem with basses that have a standard 34" scale length?[/quote] It isn't, at least not compared to a 'typical' fanned fret system. The intonation wrt fanned frets is something of a red herring, though I expect the build quality and set-up of the Dingwalls means they're better than a lot of other production basses. The issue with the bongo that GW cited is more likely to relate to set-up and/or build quality. Alterations to neck relief, action height and bridge string spacing will all affect how well a bass intonates for a given fret spacing pattern. If you go shorter scale, these factors become more critical and you have a smaller acceptable window of adjustments, but as long as you stay within it, no major issues.

[quote name='mrtcat' post='1170038' date='Mar 20 2011, 09:10 PM']+1 If you're wanting a cab for bass then you need a cab designed for bass. Guitar cabs are designed for guitars and not bass guitars. A BFM Jack 12 can be built on a budget and will give very impressive results. I always seem to prefer the end result when using eminence drivers over celestions but that's just me.[/quote] The Eminence drivers are probably cheaper for equivalent quality than the Celestions. However, today I've been playing with Celestion NTR10-2520Ds and they are very impressive to my ears, much smoother than the equivalent Eminence Deltalite IIs and very tight more controlled bass. I'd be tempted to go with Mr Foxon's suggestion though and if the internal dimensions are suitable, build one quarter of an SVT! If there are ports on the cab, you might be safest blocking them up with wood, get it airtight.

I think this thread is very confused due to certain features of the Dingwall basses v other basses being attributed to fanned frets. There may be improvements over particular instruments but it'll be because the Dingwall is just better built and/or set up. There is no inherent reason intonation is better on a fanned fret system v parallel fret. There is no inherent reason that a single string will sound any better/different on a fanned system v a string of equivalent scale length on a parallel fret guitar. I say this because I feel Sheldon's own post is a bit misleading there when he goes on at length about clarity. The fanned fret system WILL alter the tonal balance across the strings - for better or worse, depending on what you like (personally I like the slightly different character across the strings and feel it's an inherent part of the instrument). The fanned fret system will feel different to play. I think I said on a previous thread, the ergonomic aspect is what appeals to me far more significantly than any tonal change. I find the wrist position playing low down the neck tobe tiring and have often thought before I even saw the Dingwalls that an angle on it would help me, especially playing in F/F#. I'm not denying the Dingwalls sound great, I've not tried them only heard clips of one and it sounded like a very nice bass. But I've heard plenty of non-fanned fret basses that sound great as well and the ONLY meaningful direct comparison would be two otherwise identical instruments, one with fanned frets and one without.

[quote name='Slipperydick' post='1169300' date='Mar 20 2011, 10:58 AM']Other basses that I have with thicker frets its not a problem, so I guess its just down to my playing style, but after all these years its not about to change.[/quote] Are you sure it's the fret size per se? Only I have completely the opposite experience. I like that clankiness but my bass with small thin 'vintage' frets doesn't do it nearly as much as one with bigger, thicker frets. I had assumed it was more down to the fret profile than the actual size, with the one with a wider, shallower profile giving more clank than the ones where the contact point with string was very small. It might even be possible to get what you're after by re-profiling the existing frets to make them more rounded? I'd be interested to know other people's thoughts there because that clankiness is a bit of an elusive tonal goal for me.

there is only one rockschool good luck with the exam!

Those Rolands sound good - I've heard the old 30w version gigged for jazz and rather surprisingly it did the job, decent tone too.

[quote name='Bloodaxe' post='1165117' date='Mar 16 2011, 10:58 PM']I wavered a bit over the Tastefully option, but then I realised that I instantly kill any YouTube video that shows a bass player with their thumb set to 'stun'. So that must make me a hater.[/quote] But...but...Goddamn it LARRY GRAHAM, people!!

[quote name='bubinga5' post='1164812' date='Mar 16 2011, 07:08 PM']Couldnt agree more.. its great when you hear a tone you like but its much better to forge your own personality...[/quote] But what if one finds other people's personalities are a lot more interesting than one's own?

[quote name='BottomE' post='1164813' date='Mar 16 2011, 07:09 PM']Her current fav is Herbie Hancock...[/quote] Then she is a very clever girl

[quote name='JTUK' post='1164358' date='Mar 16 2011, 01:10 PM']The 12" has an open circuit..which does not please me, although at least this is likely a component failure and not me putting too much through it. So, need to source a Aguilar replacement or go for a Kappa pro 12A or Delta pro12A. The word is that the nearest production model is the Kappa pro 12A but it has a bigger (80oz)magnet.[/quote] Can you not get recone kits from Aguilar/Eminence? If it's a custom driver this might be the best way to make sure you get the same tone. The delta and kappa have quite different frequency response charts in the upper mids.

Oh yeah, meant to say sometimes it is actually easy to make yourself believe there is signal from a horn, because when you put your ear up close it acts a bit like a seashell. Hence my suggestion to double-check with full-range signal, from an ipod into the amp or summat similar

I'd check it again with full-range music playing through the amp rather than a bass - cymbals will soon show you if the horn is working or not. I'd also check the driver direct by unsoldering/unclipping any crossover and simply bunging a multimeter across the terminals set to measure dc resistance - should read somewhere around 5-7 ohms-ish. Probably easiest to access from the front of the cab and dropping the driver out, just don't put a screwdriver through the cone while doing it! Also be careful not to drop the driver when you take the screws out in case it yanks the cables off the back. I'd guess those drivers are reconeable if it turns out to have been burnt.

[quote name='Mornats' post='1162604' date='Mar 15 2011, 12:04 AM']* I'm not 100% sure whether this is an SB320 or another model. It's a fretless with gold hardware but the pickups and electronics were replaced by a previous owner and the knobs are black, not gold. It was sold as an SB320 and if it's anything different then it's a model from higher up in the range.[/quote] If it's got P/J configuration and a translucent finish, probably it's an SB320. If it has soapbars then it's a 330. I think clips like this are really useful, cheers - it'd be useful to hear each pickup in isolation too

Awesome! Now I just need someone like B&C to start producing a long-excursion 10" driver that can take 700-odd watts with a Fs of about 37Hz yet weighing only 2kg, and my 1x10 micro bicycle-friendly antidoom rig will be reality. Woahahahahaa

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='1160443' date='Mar 13 2011, 01:28 PM']+1 Although you can't steam out an end grain dink and superglue dries darker.[/quote] ...or lighter. Two spots filled on my MIJ 75 RI, one dried darker, the other lighter, than the surrounding wood. Why, I have no idea!

I've still not seen the basses but yesterday I had a look at one of their white teles that a (relatively) beginner guitarist friend bought after I tipped them off having seen this thread. Hope it's ok to post about it in the bass thread! The bad: - one of the pickups doesn't work, I was going to sort it but... - ferrules for through-stringing aren't quite perfectly aligned, though they're not terrible either and it's purely a cosmetic issue, at the back of the instrument which no-one sees anyway - it's at the heavier end of the spectrum, but still only a tele - bridge saddles are a bit cheap compared to The good: - It has a gorgeous, quartersawn maple neck! Just luck I'm sure but it's a beauty. The action is set comfortably medium with absolutely zero fret buzz too, it'll definitely come down but no need. Nice 'vintage' tint to it as well - Finish is great - Acoustic tone is decent - Thick bridge plate with flawless chrome - Good quality pots, soldering and capacitor - knobs feel nice and chunky and turn smoothly as well - My friend's name begins with R so it's a pretty sweet bonus! - Did I mention the quartersawn maple neck?! Overall, there is no way this one's getting sent back over the pickup issue. You definitely wouldn't get nicer wood on a MIM Fender, and whilst the hardware's not flash it's hardly terrible either. In fact it's so good my friend has decided that it's worth spending the extra to drop in some high-end pickups.

[quote name='Vibrating G String' post='1142984' date='Feb 27 2011, 02:05 AM']I think that mid boost is perceived as it does not add energy to a frequency range. But it's a real perception.[/quote] Why would it not act as claimed and introduce a resonance peak just before the cutoff? See this from audere for measured response and explanation: [url="http://www.audereaudio.com/HighZ.htm"]http://www.audereaudio.com/HighZ.htm[/url]

[quote name='Clarky' post='1161980' date='Mar 14 2011, 04:32 PM']The pro slap community (I am not anti-slap I hasten to add) will find it hard to describe that in the same terms as Freddie Washington or Steely Dan's peg, and might just see where I was coming from in the OP![/quote] I really can't see the point of that fast slap style in isolation - the whole thing with slap for me is about creating rhythmic/harmonic counterpoint, either against the drums, other instruments or within the line itself. You can't do that solo with just 16th and 32nd ghost notes and no tune pinning it down. For me, this is more like how it's done, not particularly complex, just funky as and listen to how the riff bounces between the clavi, bass and hammond - it's like a funk tumble-dryer:

Reading through the later posts on this made me think probably the problem is having any kind of gathering of bass players - it's inherently stupid (unless they're all solo musicians who happen to play bass) since conventional bass doesn't mean anything out of the context of a band!

[quote name='lozbass' post='1160387' date='Mar 13 2011, 12:28 PM']Hahaha - me too: brilliant! Condescending, patronising and ironic in equal measure![/quote] And also correct!

[quote name='karlfer' post='1159758' date='Mar 12 2011, 07:44 PM']I don't like slap because of the actual tinny sound.[/quote] It doesn't have to be tinny. Larry Graham's tone is meaty as a hog-roast!

[quote name='ikay' post='1158008' date='Mar 11 2011, 01:19 PM']Heheh, six of one and half a dozen of t'other Slackening the strings has the same effect as a little backward nudge but does it without applying any force which I prefer. In the end I guess it's down to what you feel more comfortable doing.[/quote] It's a bloody great lump of solid wood and metal! Unless there's a defective glue or welding joint then it'd be damn hard to damage any correctly designed neck with even the most cavalier truss adjustments, with the exception of forcing it when the rod is seized or beyond its range.

I'm with Pete, slagging off an entire technique is ridiculous - slap bass <b>in the right context</b> is effing awesome. For me that context is Old School Funk. I can't really see the point of it in metal or punk, where it adds nothing rhythmically, but then I can't really see the point in metal or punk full stop I was just listening to Pleasure earlier, that man Nate Phillips grooves! A whole hall of people slapping without context would do my head in though. Mind you, any room of people playing disparate unmusical parts loudly on any instrument would have that effect, the only saving grace of them all playing trad walking bass lines would be that you could talk over it still.

[quote name='muttley' post='1159364' date='Mar 12 2011, 02:54 PM']Looked at a few basses this morning. Was really taken by the [url="http://www.ibanez.com/BassGuitars/model-SR300"]Ibanez SR300[/url] but it maxes my budget so I'll have to see if they'll do a deal. What's the overall opinion of this bass? Reviews seem good. Slightly cheaper Ibanez GSR200 also very nice but the more expensive bass is certainly worth the small extra. Tried a Squire VM Jazz - did little for me. Nice neck, but heavier and the 70s styling puts me off (sorry, I remember it first time round). Anyway, I saw my soon-to-be teacher later and he said he wants to start me on fretless and will loan me a bass. Still, that gives me more time to look around.[/quote] The quality control isn't consistent enough on the Fender VMs to be worth recommending IMO unless you can try a few with an experienced teacher to pick a good one. The Ibanez are very easy to play and goodconsistent basses, but I find them a little dark-sounding compared to the Fenders. Alongside the Ibanez try out a couple of Yamahas from both the RBX and the BB range - they're similar in feel but may offer more tonal flexibility.

But there is also compliance/elasticity, which is different and can in theory be affected by other factors like string length including that beyond nut/bridge, and the break angle and friction at those points.