Josh

Thiiis:

Just carried out a hefty deal with this fine man, for both his cherished MM Sterling and his Warwick Streamer Jazzman, and to be Frank, it went completely without a hitch, brilliant communications throughout and would happily deal with for a third time without even thinking about hesitating! Thanks Lee, the Warwick is really proving it's worth!

[quote name='EdwardHimself' post='573564' date='Aug 18 2009, 10:25 PM']Dunno if that's entirely true. Whenever you record a drum kit for a "metal" sound at least you basically have to take the recording and scoop the mids to make it sound better.[/quote] It really depends on the mixing, a nice chunky recording will always have some mids there, I've sat up way into the early hours mixing his drum parts so it's engraved into my mind.

[quote name='dood' post='573471' date='Aug 18 2009, 08:58 PM']I actually like that description. cool![/quote] But the last time I checked most Drummers like the mids as a whole.

A low action, with a seriously low tuning and odd technique.

[quote name='Bay Splayer' post='571842' date='Aug 17 2009, 05:51 PM']MB1. dont listen to him....i`m the real MB1. [/quote] MB1. No! I'm the real MB1 and so's my wife.

I can't recall ever seeing him post something that isn't either a joke or innuendo or a riddle.

I've probably done it wrong but hey... Squier VMJ - D'Addario Prosteels 40-95 3rd = 0.4mm 12th = 0.7mm 17th = 1mm Low. Ken Smith - DR Sunbeams 45-100 3rd = 0.5mm 12th = 0.8mm 17th = 1.1mm Low. Both are tuned down a full step also. *Thanks Protium .

Justin from Saosin is the king of Bitch tossing: Think how heavy a proper Gibson Les Paul is aswell.

[quote name='ped' post='568800' date='Aug 14 2009, 11:17 AM']Sting[/quote] If I had a monocle I'd be sending you a repair bill.

[quote name='robocorpse' post='566394' date='Aug 11 2009, 11:27 PM']Seriously, if this thread wasn't 5 pages long, I would have thought it was a late april fool. Theres no telling Josh, he needs to work out exactly what he needs from a bass, then STICK TO IT. Josh: Buying all the gear in the world aint gonna improve your technique, or get you the ultimate bass, you have already played your ultimate bass or something close to it, and have set yourself impossibly high benchmarks which you are very unlikely to match by throwing money at new instruments, even if you break even on the deals. I totally agree with the earlier post about you getting yourself a £100 beater with a crap action and forcing yourself to play it every day. You will really appreciate your gear then, and not make comments like "[i]I think maybe all I need is just one high end Jazz and that should be it. Not necessarily boutique but still rather sought after[/i]". I nearly lost my cuppa when I read that. Despite what you keep saying, I can't help thinking that having "envy-basses" seems to be more important to you than a playable one. Am I wrong? PS: Buy a good 4001 and have done with it [/quote] Yes, you are wrong. I'd have to be pretty naive to think buying all the boutique basses I come across will improve my technique to no end, admittedly jumping from mid range basses to boutique drove me to improve my technique and playing to justify having such a bass, and I can happily say that it has. I'm well aware that the "Ultimate Bass" is a myth, even if I did stumble across a bass that ticks all of my boxes, I would still manage to find a flaw somewhere. I'm just looking for a bass Im not fighting with to enjoy playing it. Yes I've come very close but obviously not close enough, so that's why Im still looking, I'm sorry if that's such a problem. I also apologise if it's such a sin to want something different looking to everything else, it's not my inention to get a bass that will have the punters gawping, if I wanted that Id simply getyself a Status and flick on the LED's and that would be another notch on my bed post. I like boutique basses, sue me. Also, Im very appreciative of the gear I have, I know some would kill for a Smith or any other of the boutique Ive had, Im very lucky and grateful, I saved the money from work to get my first boutique bass over a year ago and have gradually been moving through the brands quite steadily. Only the most spoilt of bassist would not appreciate the effort and beauty of what they take for granted. Just because I can't get on with the Smith does not mean that I don't appreciate the skill and time put into making such a brilliant bass. I don't need a £100 piece of crap to remind me of that. Me having a preference over a Jazz bass makes you laugh? You telling me to get a Rickenbacker makes me laugh just as much.

[quote]hi Josh, not sure why you are tuning a step down to compensate? I would have thought that tuning a step up to increase tension, if anything, would compensate for having "stupidly" low action?[/quote] It loosens the tension by a fair bit and to my ear, on every bass I've done it on, it also adds some growl to the tone. [quote]I like low action, and I dig in, and like medium to light strings - and given the scenario you describe, would expect a little bit more that just minor string buzz - even if the bass had a perfect set up.[/quote] I like a low action and I dig in a lot (Any person on here who has seen me play can confirm this and how low my actions really are) as well. And yes your right, I get more than a subtle buzz, it makes it sound like I'm popping the notes as opposed to a normal pluck. I've become very use to this set up, it is both an integral part of my tone and my playing in general. [quote]Perhaps you have answered your own question by stating that it's stupidly low - maybe just raise it a little, it doesn't take much to make a considerable difference. How much time are you leaving the bass to settle, after adjusting the truss rod etc?[/quote] No, it was too low, as in every single note was choking, it was unplayable. I have raised it considerably higher and brought it back down again to try and find a happy medium and I haven't. I like to be able to get that click when you dig across the fretboard, not just the lower part of the neck as it is with the Smith. The lower end plays perfectly, the 12 fret onwards on each string is where the problem lies. It's still too high that I'm over exerting far too much energy, I'll no doubt run the risk of doing myself a mischief just trying to put up with it. I've left it for a good few hours each time, from following the Gary Willis guide of which I'm very familiar with, no joy whatsoever. I've picked it up today for the first time in 3 days, hoping it may have finally settled and I still can't enjoy it. [quote]I don't blame you for being distrustful of some luthiers, but if you do find a reputable one, then paying for the bass to have a decent set up is not going to devalue it.[/quote] I've been scanning classifieds and searching for the last few days and all that's shown up are the 2 which I want to avoid. [quote]It's a shame you don't get on with it, it looks like a sweet bass to me. Just as well I didn't trade my MTD with you, it doesn't sound like you'd have been happy with it either![/quote] That's a little dismissive, the MTD's I've had have never really needed much tampering with other than adjusting the saddles, I could only guess yours would've been the same.

[quote name='kevbass' post='563713' date='Aug 8 2009, 08:07 PM']My advice Josh is to just persevere with what you have, the grass isnt always greener on the other side and you might find yourself just going round in circles as far as this issue goes, hope this helped.[/quote] I really can't persevere with the Smith, I probably won't play it until it's sold or traded, I know this bass is not for me.

[quote name='4000' post='563669' date='Aug 8 2009, 07:23 PM']I don't really understand why you wouldn't even want to try a pro set-up unless you really aren't that keen on the bass in other ways. If you like everything else about the bass surely it's got to be worth it. It sounds to me (and I may be wrong) like you're talking yourself out of it so you can move onto the next big thing (I've been there!). FWIW, I'm sure you could probably get the action really low on a Sad, but I know for a fact that Roger himself doesn't recommend what I think you (or I) would call really low action.[/quote] I think I am talking myself out of it, I'm pretty sure the basses I've almost settled on have been Jazz basses and one of them was a Sadowsky. And as I've mentioned before, I got the exact action and playability I'm use to simply by dropping the tuning down by a full step and the slightest adjustment on the bridge and then I didn't touch a thing until Barrie wanted it back.

Whilst replenishing the whole of the Booze aisle last night, I was constantly mauling this over and have been taking in what's been said. And to honest, in regards to taking it out for a set up, I can't really see what else can be done beyond a fret stoning or a neck shim, which won't make much difference if (as CK has pointed out) the bass designed in such a way. There is no physical problem with the bass, the problem is (and which I accept) that my expectations were far too high and my fussiness has gotten the better of me this time around. But, I now know that I'm always going to be more inclined to side with Jazz basses so I would not be sad to move this bass on for a Sadowsky.

[quote name='LukeFRC' post='563240' date='Aug 8 2009, 12:57 AM']I enjoyed the Schwartz film. The thing I don't get about the bass though is if your action is so low how do the stings physically vibrate. I'm intrigued, I always figured the advantage of lower action was being able to play with less strength but this is played off against a lack of tone, like how do you get the difference in tone of different ways of hitting the strings?[/quote] I don't have a dead flat action, that would be ridiculous. There is enough height for the fundamental note to wring out clearly. I think I may have to get a few photos of both basses action to be precise in my description.

[quote]I'm not. What I inferred was that if he is happy with his Squier, stay with it and stop randomly buying gear until he physically picks one up and is happy enough to confidently buy it.[/quote] I don't just get another bass at random, I get one when I can afford one or when I want to try something new. And unfortunatley I don't live any where near any boutique bass stores at all so trying said basses is a much harder task. [quote]I am probably one the main "appreciators" of boutique instruments, but I also understand that they sometimes require the player to adapt to them rather than the other way around.[/quote] I think some would argue that some of the price tags they carry, it should be the bass that adapts to the player. [quote]But I also know that if I found a bass, as Josh has with his Squier, that satisfies his demands - why bother spending money (and consistently losing it) on basses just because he might feel he needs a posh brand? It doesn't make any difference to anyones ability as a bass player.[/quote] The Squier is far from perfect, in fact it has 2 tones to it's name and the tone knob is awful, it ruins the tone if it's even nudged. Luckily, I'm constantly trading basses so I rarely loose out on much money at all. I don't feel I need a posh brand, I just prefer those brands. I'm not a brand snob and I would happily play an unamed bass if it tickled my fancy. [quote]Having a great instrument/gear doesn't make you a good musician. Too many people are on the search for the "holy grail" of basses. They don't exist. It's all down to the player and his fingers and musical skill.[/quote] No one ever said it did, some people may act like that but they themselves know they can't back it up.