LawrenceH

[quote name='Johnston' post='868283' date='Jun 15 2010, 07:04 PM']And the only tell tail of what it is [attachment=52322:DSCF0192.JPG][/quote] Is THAT the star people are complaining about?! It's flipping tiny! Plus unless you play above your head a la crazy lead guitards no'one's ever gonna see it - seriously who is going to see that bass and even know it's a sig, unless you're a) a bass player and b ) a Mike Dirnt fan. I'd never even heard of him until this thread.

[quote name='SignsOfDelirium_bassist' post='867605' date='Jun 14 2010, 10:55 PM']Excellent...an yea, I'm sure I'd survive the extra weight...I wanted to put in the SD 1/4 pounder pups, cos every bass I've played with them in has growled like hell, but with a really nice clear tone, I love it. I was thinking about the CV, but I really REALLY want the bound&blocked neck, as horrible as it is, I actually want my bass to look as good as it sounds, an I think they look just brilliant! They both cost the same amount from what I've seen, so I'll go with the VMJ for now...I think the Gallery might have one in stock, in on their site, so I'm going give em a ring tomorrow to ask 'em then pop down to try it out...Might ask them about possibly selling my 5string through them (After I put it up here...first dibs for the basschatters!) Also, am I right in thinking that the maple body of the VMJ would give it more or a snappy attack? Because I'd like to get the sort of attack you get with a pick, but...using my fingers. Anyone know what size hipshot I'd need to buy to install in the VMJ? And if they come in black? and again, thanks for the advice![/quote] I much preferred the acoustic tone of the VMJ to the CV - dunno if it's what you're after, but for snappy attack a maple neck can't be bad - was hard to judge the snap from the pickups IMO because they are not very 'open' sounding. [Shameless rule-bending plug] What you want is to get a VMJ, enlarge the pickup holes and fit [topic="88344"]these[/topic] badboys in there! More snap than a Croatian winger's ankle [/shameless rule-bending plug]. In all seriousness, that would sound monstrous. If I wasn't averse to routing out guitar bodies I'd never let go of them.

[quote name='guybrush threepwood' post='867558' date='Jun 14 2010, 10:19 PM']I feel that there's more growl to be had from it - especially with the 70's bridge pup positioning. Also, it weighs a ton, as the body is maple. However, if you're used to extended range basses, it shouldn't be a problem for you![/quote] Actually on a similar thread someone helpfully measured their bass and confirmed the VMJ has the standard spacing. However I agree, acoustically it sounded very warm and like there was a lot you could do with it.

[quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' post='866668' date='Jun 14 2010, 12:44 AM']Absolutely swayed by the appearance. The only instance where a metal cone will sound different than a paper cone is when you hit them with a stick. There's no particular advantage or disadvantage to aluminum cones except as marketing tools.[/quote] Well I don't know if it's the aluminium or not but I'm pretty confident I could tell the difference between Hartke and quite a lot of other stuff, not foolproof of course, but the 10"s definitely have a distinctive voicing which to me is harsh and mid-heavy. With budget to mid-range hifis/monitors, if I hear one where I think the treble is harsh, it usually turns out to be a titanium tweeter. This isn't an issue with the higher end stuff so it's obviously not an inherent, unalterable quality of using metal! Perhaps with metal tweeters they cross over lower down and it's that that I'm disliking? I don't know and am drifting OT. But anyway, yes. Hartke. Don't like 'em.

This was me - woop woop! Didn't realise there was a BC thread going about it, as soon as I saw the listing on ebay I pulled the virtual trigger, didn't think twice. We'll have to see if it's any good or not, but unfortunately not for a bit as I live in Edinburgh - got family down there though who'll hold onto it for me. I also bought a rather funky looking black mexi classic 70s that was listed, thought it'd be cool to compare the sounds of different pickup positions. And now I have to sell things or I shall face ruin, sigh...

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='865987' date='Jun 13 2010, 02:38 PM']I keep thinking of patenting a design where you can slide the back J pickup around, between both positions. Wouldn't that be cool? [/quote] Yes! I also remember hearing a clip from a German company, of a bass they made that had twin jazz-style single coils at the bridge so you could switch between the two positions, hearing the sound of each in direct comparison which was very interesting. Incidentally I'm still pretty sure that the VMJ is 60s placement.

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='865920' date='Jun 13 2010, 01:36 PM']The CVJ is a 60's Jazz clone, so the rear pickup is closer to the mid pickup. The necks are glossed & the bridge is a high mass affair (a blockier version of the new Fender bridge.) They're also made in a new Chinese factory where the quality control seems to be second to none, whereas the VMJ's are made in the Korean Cort factory. All in all they're really nice & at that price, if you want to put in some really serious pickups, it's one of those basses that's definitely worth it. These are going to be a future classic.[/quote] How many different pickup positions are there then? I thought the VMJ was 'standard' rather than 70s, is 60s different again?! The VMJ I tried was heavy, and not amazingly well finished, but the acoustic tone was incredibly 'warm'. A lot of people seem to rate those Duncan Designed pickups , but to me they lacked bandwidth and sounded a bit cheap. If you could find one that was well finished and had as nice a sound as the one I tried, then with new pickups you'd be on to a real winner IMO. I do prefer the white/pearloid blocks & binding on a maple board though.

[quote name='TheRev' post='865041' date='Jun 12 2010, 11:36 AM']Looks like a late 90s SB301 or 401 The black plastic nut suggests a 301 or 401 - if the bass is active it's a 401. The SGC logo on the pickups was on the top edge in the original models but was moved to the bottom edge in the late 90s, just before the model range was overhauled. Dave[/quote] The SGC range is very confusing. I thought a lot of the entry-level active basses (that looked like this) were 310s, and passives 301s?

The tecamp head is not removable unless you modified the top plate and did a bit of rewiring. Far from impossible but not entirely trivial either. It's perfectly possible to get adequately bassy 10"s, but you sacrifice volume - hence 8x10"s have 8 of them! But enough is as good as a feast. Both tecamp combos are so light that it's the size of the 10" one that's more significant as an advantage over the 12, rather than the weight. Both are great. The 12" unit sounds better in the mid-range, I think because the crossover/mid unit matches the 12" driver better than the 10". That mid unit means the clarity is excellent

[quote name='Herbsley' post='861518' date='Jun 8 2010, 09:27 PM']Cheers Lawrence. Yeah I was really quite impressed with the SR500 for the price. If you consider getting shot in the next few weeks mebbe PM me first? H.[/quote] Will do - mine isn't exactly pristine though! That thin varnished finish wears very easily, and I used to help run a local jazz-funk jam night - do people wear diamond belts these days or something?! Still plays brilliantly though, so let me know if you're interested in one that's been 'road worn'! The good thing about mine is that it's a two piece body rather than the three-piece that seems more common on these now. Looking at pictures mine seems to be lighter and more 'woody' in colour too. Ibanez seem to have made minor variations on this bass over the years, I notice the pickup position shifting slightly between models although it doesn't seem to have much impact on tone (spacing between pups looks the same regardless).

Bought the qtron pedal mentioned above - was with me very rapidly after payment, well packaged too. Top stuff, cheers! Lawrence

I can't help with the wood choice as such I'm afraid, but I have the SR500 and it is a lovely feeling neck and amazingly stable - can leave it for weeks without it drifting tuning. The overall tone of the bass is very punchy, but it doesn't have much barking upper-mids (which is why I'm thinking of getting rid of it, as I've decided I prefer the jazz tone). The bass has served me really well though.