ARGH

[quote name='Wil' post='86054' date='Nov 9 2007, 05:02 PM']+1. Congrats on the bass, looks good! How is it tuned/whats the range?[/quote] F sharp to A sharp...with sub E being possible via the Hipshot.... Its weight,is about 11.5-12 lbs...My Fender P is more ungainly that the 9,in fact the 9s headstock is smaller,it balences quite well.. 2 days in,and i plugged it in to my full stack (Tech21).......the room rumbled. Its going to take a few months to get up to scratch on this,it IS a different...superior...instrument to play,and as and when I feel competant upon it,you will see and hear the results!

Its intonates very well actually. Obviously if I change string guages we will have to redo the bridge,but as there aint THAT many string makers with the balls to make 18s,15..or viceversa 150s,165s +....etc,Im quite happy! Stats Forgive me Jim if I am wrong,but this is what I remember! Woods used:- Body:Tulipwood.......thats solid Tulipwood NOT a top or veneer Neck:Walnut,Sycamore...Thruneck...with a Mahogany back Fingerboard:Purpleheart....3 Octaves of it..YES 3 OCTAVES Headstock:Walnut with Ebony top Tulipwood pickup cover,Tulipwood/Ebony bridge/string retainer (Brass strip to hold the ballends) Ebony nut. Gotoh Machineheads,Hipshot Detuner at F sharp machinehead...SUB E folks..f***ing low!!!),9v 2bnd eq...thats going to be upgraded to a 3 bnd Bartolini as and when it appears in the UK,I wanted the instrument ASAP because of an audition. Coil split (Push/pull volume pot) Humbucker/Single coil selection. Conklin Snakeskin strings (Steel roundwounds) .150-.015 (see how I go..I might go heavier in given time)

Wooo Hoo..... Come now...spill the beanz!

The back

the front

[quote name='OldGit' post='86061' date='Nov 9 2007, 05:10 PM']Absolutely! Good stuff Argh, Can we avoid all the "that's not a bass" stuff this time?[/quote] THANKS OG!!! Now lets get you a 7 string...... Do you want the stats? All the geeky sh*t we know and love?

[quote name='BigRedX' post='85729' date='Nov 8 2007, 11:32 PM']So... who's the maker?[/quote] Mr JIM FLEETING

oooh that bottom one is dishy!! Bill Conklin is SOOOO good at what he does!

[quote name='HarryPotter' post='85678' date='Nov 8 2007, 09:40 PM']I thought it looks rather more suitable as a makeshift aircraft carrier, tell me, does it float?[/quote] HMS ARGH!!! Terror of the Subharmonic seas!!!

Ooohhh thats nice! the UVA (thumbs up!)

[quote name='HarryPotter' post='85663' date='Nov 8 2007, 08:58 PM']That has to be one of the coolest looking ironing boards ever. [/quote] We dare not put SIMs in,I dont want to be confused with Leeds/Bradford airport!

20mins in...BIG...light...loud... THUNDER!!!!!

Pro shots in a few days..but for now!!!!

HEY ANDY, YOUR LOT ARE FROM ROTHWELL....NO TUNERS??? JUST BLOODY NICK ONE! ITS NOT AS IF YOU AINT CAPABLE!!! seriously just stick it beside the basscab....its out of harms way then!

it takes a few hundred to get a good one,and it wasnt perfect per se,just nice...really nice!

[quote name='metalmaniac' post='83437' date='Nov 4 2007, 11:06 AM']Ah I love gigs like that. Nice one matee.[/quote] Dude if I could bottle it....man...

[quote name='bass_ferret' post='83484' date='Nov 4 2007, 01:00 PM']Unless you are The Beatles making Sgt Peppers or The Beach Boys doing Pet Sounds.[/quote] And your record company has a buttload of cash...i.e someone else,with a blank chequebook is paying. that sort of 60s/70s carteblanche dosent seem to happen anymore,which is a shame.

Still awake....

JUST gigged in York...they loved us,fed us,bought our drinks,and paid over the usual rate,and booked us for more...several more. afterwards,it was the MOST genuine audience reaction Ive ever had,no just pissed up "you were great" ,it was said with heart..and a handshake,and a pat on the back. We were not super great,but functional,my achievement tonight,was that I did my 1st whole/entire gig on a 5 string,(and am now under direct orders to use it always from bandmembers) so thats a mountain climbed (my 1st fretted 5,bought 3 days ago!!). I floated back down the A64/A1 in sheer bliss.....Thankyou God,they dont come often,but when they do......!

[quote name='andy67' post='83298' date='Nov 3 2007, 08:54 PM']Argh - 100% behind you on all of that ranting!!! A recording studio is not the place to be creative nor experimental, time is money! all your hard work as a band should be done and completed in the practice room and finalised in the studio! Wasted some amounts of money in studios because of creative experimental vocalists and guitarists! I see it every day in my place of work - young students coming in telling me of software and effects they use at home to make up demos...all shallow with no real depth...however thats why I do what I do......[/quote] Sorry ,didnt think it was ranting,just common a sense soapbox moment..... been there..wasted time...done that...never again.

[quote name='Shaggy' post='82701' date='Nov 2 2007, 11:31 AM']Gotta say I find this discussion about recording (I won’t say “argument”), really interesting, worth a thread in its own right. From my limited experience of studio recording – which I dislike intensely – I find that whatever bass sound you try and create the engineer just whops the bass EQ setting up and it’s lost. I hadn’t really thought about active vs passive in a recording setting but I guess its true – the last time we recorded I took my active MM, but the slight earth hum that I can’t be arsed to suss out and usually mask with a bit of noise gate was highly audible when recording. So the engineer lent me his passive Wal Pro-bass – lurvely! – which to me sounded woolly, but in the mix was absolutely spot on. I’ll take the Precision next time! I think the gist of the thread is that if you find a P-bass playable then it’s a hell of sound to have in your arsenal, although versatile it’s not (in standard form). Also should have said before that upgrading the stock pick-ups (to wizards, SD’s etc) makes such a difference – same sound but with hi-fi definition and clarity.[/quote] To be versatile is a live nessessity,instrument wise...thats why I bang on about kids learning to use 5s and 6s as early as possible,because if you can play them you get more work available,you will be asked if you have them and thats fact,period,end of. Bands are different,your sound is a group thing,when you back someone you have to do something else,be it on an open mic,soft acoustic gig,or..well..whatever. But studios are a world away,and its sound we are dealing with not what you use...SOUND. You cant argue with something that works,Hey I dont like Rickys in weight or sound really,but if it worked,I'd close my eyes and play it as if my life depended upon it,because thats what is needed,be it a dano....upright,fretless (shudder).....9 string. I always remember the Kings X recordings,Doug Pinnick uses 12 string Hamers onstage,and EVERYONE thought thats what they heard on record,it wasnt ,it was a knackard 57 P-bass through a SansAmp. I still think on odd days of putting a J p/u in the bridge,but my guitarist keeps banging on at me about 'vintage' value..well its 11 years old now..... Ive modded my P,and its only let down is it dosent have a B string,and is VERY heavy!

[quote name='cheddatom' post='82706' date='Nov 2 2007, 11:38 AM']I just don't think that this idea of a precision=time saved is a fact. Maybe a precision+an engineer who always works with them/loves them will save time, and maybe most engineers love precisions, but that doesn't make it a fact. I've never been under pressure for time during a mix though, so I really should shut up![/quote] it isnt fact,its just interpretation,but the mainstay Ive found is that engineers know settings,they know how X (read: A Fender..or and EB3 or a Ricky) will need to be eqd through the board to fit a track,and that speed is time and money saved doing other things (like VOCAL BLOODY RETAKES!!!). Unfamilier equipment can add time,and budget,who really wants the potential of a difficult task in a day job,plus the player having the guilt that he took AGES! Because if it eats into guitarplayers solo overdubs,you aint going to hear the last of it. People like Comfort zones,Ive looked at your myspace..and you use a 6 string and a buttload of effects..now if I said "sorry fella but you cant use them and you have to play this..(Hands are Tom a 72 blonde Jazz)" It would be sh*t wouldnt it. Because you NEED those FX,You NEED that 6 string,because thats part of YOUR bands sound,to hand you a Fender..remove the pedals and say "Tough sh*t kid.." would just be wrong,criminal even,but thats just for one situation...one band. Im not saying its crap,but the engineer has probably never heard your band play or perform,and he's probably seen a million others wander in with 'This years latest" piece of technowhat,that probably sounds great in a bedroom,but is utter arse in the studio...and Muso REALLY wants to use it on a record..hense you got Yodaface. But its just one situation and you paid the money to the guy to get that on tape because thats what you needed. But bands are one offs,idiosyncratic,individual things....,and if an engineer can get a little ease on the session then thats one less thing for him to worry about. We aint talking New York or Memphis (if it aint a Fender go home attitude)...Even in the New Heavy Metal thang going on theres a constant (Lamb of God,Killswitch etc etc) and its SanAmps...they all use them to record. Thats the familier territory there. Im Glad you had the time to actually experiment with sounds,I rarely have that luxury,in mates studios..I get told.."we need this..and bring your SansAmp"..and X+songwriter,spend mins nitpicking the Basspart till they agree. Live its a different fix,I have to be Duck Dunn,Dee Dee Ramone,Herbie Flowers,and The Ox plus more in one hour onstage,Pubs functions etc..I need gear that wont breakdown,isnt delicate,fits most if not all situations,and can be set up and repaired and parts replaced quickly...we are talking versatility and the Fender seems to have that most,be it on classic R'n'B or Hardcore punk,plus point being no battery to die on the wedding gig (ever been there..60 miles from home.....for got the spare Bass..No 9 volts to hand..thats fun). Heres a spin on the point..... Geddy Lee,used Wals and Steinys in the 80s/90s,debatably the BEST active recording Bass's on the planet,silent,phat ,juicey...yummy...tonally wonderful,and very maliable for an engineer. And then he switches to a ratty passive 70s Jazz? go figure.....

[quote name='cheddatom' post='82681' date='Nov 2 2007, 10:41 AM']P.P.S I know i'm comming accross as an arrogrant young student type, sorry! I do genuinley have a lot of respect for people who know a lot more in the way of recording than me, and i'm sure that you're one of them.[/quote] Dude no probs,I just go on what I get told to do,and by what works..and by the bitchiness and bitterness of Engineering staff and lecturers and experience's Ive come across in the years. Ive always preferred to play live,its just the biggest thing or rather the most constant,has been time and its consequenses with cost. It wasnt a pop at you personally,Im not that evil.

Ahh..the Yoda look...kinda like that real ale drinker look

[quote name='SJA' post='82668' date='Nov 2 2007, 10:05 AM']another thought- when playing solo, a precision can sound ratty and crude when strung with steel roundwounds, but great in the mix in a rock context, with heavy guitars. IMO Colin Hodgkinson's solo bass playing would sound a lot better with a bass with a bridge pickup too rather than his single-pickup precision. I've seen pics of him using a stingray- never heard him use it, but i'd bet his chordal playing would sound better on it. whereas more sophisticated active basses can sound great solo, but those nuances are lost in the mix with guitars and drums. Dave Ellefson (Megadeth) says that he uses the active precision deluxe live, but a passive 70's p in the studio as he's found active basses disappear in the mix.[/quote] Im gonna be really patronizing here. But I geuinely think its because alot of 'engineers'..the newbies...sitting in front of their screens,from college,uni etc...that cant mic up for toffee and wouldnt know how to...they even dont want to learn full stop The Cubase generation,just plug ANYTHING into a Basspod and then adjust on the screen. Of course it sounds great,but its 0 and 1s you are listening to,not a Bass. I had a music college lecturer from Bradford,40odd years from making tea at the BBC to building studios..you get my drift, in my shop a year back,and he'd just quit teaching because,basically,he got fed up that kids want to bypass the basics,and just plug things into boxes,go wild with the eqs and wonder why its just mush....you can get a great guitar sound..wow..now record a brass band,see..you aint that good yet. I come from the era of splicing tape (probably the last generation to be that way) and mics,a good DI and everyone in the room together playing (bar the drummer...and the singer..locked in their booths either end of the room. Analogue..you HAD to make it work,it took time,and the results are there for the ages. Kids cant mic and just use triggers....so the Roland or whatevers being used,dies on a gig..what now??? In a bedroom,anything can be assessed and adjusted,rewound and replayed,rerecorded until perfection,a good engineer can record anything and make it sound great,but live its a different kettle of fish. I know times moved on,and the worlds a faster place now,but basics are basics,and If the source you record,takes ages or expensive time to get down or eq,you aint getting called back,same with gear onstage,I dont want to take 10 mins with an engineer getting my Bass to sound right,when I can just put on my P bass and its there in a blink,and he can move onto the drums (back to mic technique..)..of which we go back to the triggers thing. Im not dissing other basses,why on earth would I have the want for a 9 string,active fretless's..a status homemade hybridthingy thats jazzy and flashy as f***,etcetc....Leo got it very right,there is time to move on,and the P or J has been surpassed,by such instruments as the Lakland,but they are decendents,if not in look then in sound,and they SOUND the same,just clearer....better?...is it?..then why do we still have passive instruments?... because ,however crude they sound,and lets be honest,a great basstone on record sounds a tad rank isolated,..it in the mix a passive sounds right and can be made to 'sit' and be recorded quickly.