Conan

I just recently bought two on ebay. The brand was called "Gaucho". Lovely thick leather. Quite impressed!

[quote name='Ou7shined' timestamp='1342050485' post='1728928'] That's so true. How many pups have been lucky enough to have been auditioned through a transparent sounding rig... how many have been rejected because of the amp or cabs characteristics being more dominant? [/quote] True. And it's difficult to get a proper A/B comparison because by the time you take one set out of the bass and put the others in, you have forgotten what the first set were like! Recording helps I suppose, but it's not quite the same thing listening back to a recording... I've been thinking a lot about this pickup thing recently. I think that there are certainly some cheap and weak-sounding pickups - particularly in Squiers (non DD VMs that is) - but once you start paying thirty quid or so for replacements there is a pretty big improvement in tone and output. Paying ten times that amount though? Well I personally never would, but I just can't see how the difference would be that much more. I do think there is an element of snake oil being peddled here... Also - why are so many people impressed by the output of replacement pickups? Really quiet ones can be a problem with signal to noise ratios obviously, but do you really [b][i]need[/i][/b] all that output from so-called "hot" and "over-wound" pickups? Just turn the amp up a bit!

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1342080908' post='1729068'] I've always found it amusing that one of the most successful and famous bass players on the planet managed to get by with just about the cheapest bass available at the time, and stuck with it even though he could subsequently afford anything he wanted. [/quote] Who are we talking about?

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1342011474' post='1727977'] I've gone from massive strings and massive action to low action and thinner strings over the last 2-3 years. Some of that may have been learning to do better set ups on my bass mind:) [/quote] True. And fingers getting older too...

[quote name='Cosmo Valdemar' timestamp='1342010893' post='1727955'] Not if you are using the Rick-O-Sound feature, which essentially runs each pickup individually to separate amps. Ricks don't actually have separate outputs for each pickup, but rather a mono and stereo output. [/quote] Not sure I understand. This post seems contradictory... The stereo output essentially splits the signal, one from each pickup then? So if you put them both into one twin channel amp and then into two stacked cabs, would the mids still be scooped? I'm confusing myself now!

[quote name='wishface' timestamp='1341925939' post='1726281'] I thought it must be something like that, but I didn't see the left hand slap. I can't get any sound when I slap with my left hand. It's a move that doesn't feel right to me. [/quote] It certainly won't be a loud sound - and can vary from a click to a thump depending on how light (or otherwise!) your touch is. You don't want your action too low either... [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJutye9b7C4&feature=fvwrel&NR=1"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJutye9b7C4&feature=fvwrel&NR=1[/url]

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1342004851' post='1727753'] now I love this jazz sound- and I suspect that most of it is down to the player. but tonally what makes it up? there's a thinness to it, [/quote] Bear in mind that he has very light gauge strings on that particular bass - 30-90 to be precise. They will always give a "thinner" tone than heavier gauge strings...

What about Ricks when you have a separate output for each pickup? Do they still scoop the mids?

[quote name='tauzero' timestamp='1342001254' post='1727638'] Can anyone really tell the difference? [url="http://dubsaint.wordpress.com/2012/06/15/p-j-or-ray-whats-the-difference-anyway-part-2-take-the-sound-test"]http://dubsaint.word...-the-sound-test[/url] That should kick it all back off... [/quote] Bugger. My work PC won't let me use soundcloud...

Oddly enough, despite his ability with fingers and slap, most of my favourite Chilis tracks feature Flea playing with a pick!! Fortune faded and Parallel Universe for example... [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9mmnRO02xY"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9mmnRO02xY[/url] [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fPYyoY49Bc"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fPYyoY49Bc[/url]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1341998956' post='1727571']Nope, I'm very happy to be a P player. I want so much to like J basses and I keep trying 'em, but I just don't get on with 'em. [/quote] I'm exactly the opposite (again!). I love the "out of the box" P tone, but I find them limited because of the single pickup. I like to have a bit more versatility. A J can [i]nearly[/i] do a P, but a P can't do a J. If I was limited to only one of them, it would be a J every time. On the other hand, the limited nature of the P forces you to be more creative with playing styles and amp settings. So maybe that is good too?

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1341998956' post='1727571'] Very much so. Though I would say a P will naturally have a slight mid-scoop (YMMV) and a J more mids and less bottom end. [/quote] Weird! I would have said exactly the opposite

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1341992815' post='1727434'] ... in which case that would be the same for J players ... [/quote] Possibly true.... I love both. I see no reason to even compare them. They are different tools that can be used for different jobs or sometimes for the same job. It just comes across as a bit childish when we get the old "Js are for girls" sort of thing. Funny in Off Topic, a bit sad in this forum perhaps? Maybe I'm being over-sensitive as I sold my P and now have two Js...

[quote name='Cameronj279' timestamp='1341960576' post='1727239'] but for my liking he shows off a fair amount [/quote] He is a rock star FFS!! Great player. Great guy. Totally weird - but in a good way. Oh, and I like Mark King too!

[quote name='norvegicusbass' timestamp='1341991661' post='1727406'] My above reply looked a bit sparse and lacklustre [/quote] A bit like my playing! Congratulations! Bass players belong in bands. Have fun!

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1341941575' post='1726694'] it's hard to explain in words. They seemed "polite". They were not horrible, but they sounded "polite". I bought a Seymour Duncan SMB4A after that one, and it was like day and night, nice "thump", lots of body, nice midrange without being overpowering... [/quote] I know exactly what you mean by "polite". Funny though, the GFS P pickup I put in my Squier Affinity P was anything but polite!! Maybe there is an inconsistency across their range. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as it would be dull if all their pickups sounded similar.

It's all about the pickups and the neck! Squier pickups are pretty mediocre. Better on the VMs though... But the necks on some Squiers can be very good indeed. It's a bit of a lottery though and you would need to try before commiting to one IMO. That said, the neck on my GL jazz is incredible. I have big, strong hands and I thought I might get cramps or have my fingers tying themselves in knots around such a slim neck - nothing of the sort!! Best wooden neck I have ever played.

Sounds like a lot of P players trying to justify their choices here....

[quote name='Twigman' timestamp='1341988363' post='1727362'] The P is fat and in your face. The J is thin and weedy [/quote] Er..... no. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUrH4NrqIjw&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUrH4NrqIjw&feature=related[/url] [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmTOAUEZRBo"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmTOAUEZRBo[/url]

[quote name='wishface' timestamp='1341854176' post='1725177'] I have never been able to figure out how they get to be so quick. [/quote] Lots of practice! And, as you say, a relaxed wrist certainly helps. Slap doesn't have to be limited to simply root/octave slaps, pops and hammer-ons. You can play any line by slapping it. In fact that's a good way to practice speed and add to your repertoire. Marcus Miller is great at this... [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qji84EgLEio"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qji84EgLEio[/url]

Sounds like you have a very particular and specific style in mind... which makes it much harder to give you advice! Listen to lots of slap players. Find the ones you like. Listen hard to what they are doing and if possible watch them live or on video. Try to do what they do. This method has always worked for me - but it does take time.

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1341913824' post='1725933'] I'm sure Alex would be able to help. [/quote] This. ^

[quote name='bertbass' timestamp='1341911613' post='1725878'] Baredfaced 69er. [/quote] Or an old Vintage if you can find anyone daft enough to sell you theirs.

[quote name='1970' timestamp='1341914247' post='1725938'] How much more volume do you think I would get? From the range of 'not much' to 'a veritable shedload'? [/quote] Is it purely "volume" you want? As I say, I've never heard of a compact struggling for volume. But where is it positioned? If it is on the floor and you are a tall chap, maybe you are not hearing it properly? Your audience could be getting deafened! From the BF site: "[i]Valve amps are nothing like solidstate amps. Getting maximum power out of them relies on matching the output transformer tap's impedance with the cab's impedance as closely as possible. However, a 4 ohm or 8 ohm cab is actually only nominally 4 or 8 ohm. The actual impedance varies hugely across the frequency range. The more this varies from the nominal impedance, the harder a time your valve amp has producing its full power. It may even shorten the life of the power valves[/i]."