Thaibass Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 (edited) I'd be demo-ing a 12 before buying Playing without a pick on an 8 is difficult enough but striking upwards to hit the bass gauge and then 2 other strings - hmmm you would need to be a pick player with gorilla grip just to play slower stuff. Anything with Rn'R might send you to see the Karpal Tunnel doctor before you ever earn enough money to re-string it! I have owned several 8's over the years and currently have a Schecter Riot8. It is a 34" scale with 18v active electronics. I believe is the best sounding and most playable 8 I have owned. Hag 32" were the pioneers but the world has moved on. Thier re-release scheduled for last year does not seem to have eventuated as yet??? I can thoroughly recommend checking out a Schecter for price and playability Edited January 17, 2018 by Thaibass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolverinebass Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 2 minutes ago, Thaibass said: I'd be demo-ing a 12 before buying Playing without a pick on an 8 is difficult enough but striking upwards to hit the bass gauge and then 2 other strings - hmmm you would need to be a pick player with gorilla grip just to play slower stuff. Anything with Rn'R might send you to see the Karpal Tunnel doctor before you ever earn enough money to re-string it! I have owned several 8's over the years and currently have a Schecter Riot8. It is a 34" scale with 18v active electronics. I believe is the best sounding and most playable 8 I have owned. Hag 32" were the pioneers but the world has moved on. Thier re-release scheduled for last year does not seem to have eventuated as yet??? I can thoroughly recommend checking out a Schecter for price and playability Not necessarily. Most people play downstrokes only on a 12. In actuality I play fingerstyle on mine. As for string sets, D'Addario make a set which cost about £30. Not bad really. As for Hagstrom, their 8 string is pants. It's a 4 saddle bridge and doesn't stay in tune above about the 7th fret. Yes, I've played one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jus Lukin Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 (edited) - Edited February 25, 2022 by Jus Lukin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpondonBassed Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 21 minutes ago, Jus Lukin said: Indeed. Usually a pair, but any number of strings grouped to be played together is a course. Usually a unison or octave, but can be tuned to any other interval too. All very cool, although I don't have any myself. Actually, that's not true, I have a mandolin stashed away somewhere but not a bass! A coarse tuning could be a four string tuned at C, U, N... well, you get the picture! *EDIT* Damn, FCAF would have been the smarter swear-tuning to come up with... That's okay. I have made a note to delay laughing at the quip by roughly the time it took you to change your mind... Heeheehee. Are zithers tuned in courses too? I got a headache before I could get it around the different tunings. It says you can have one to fifty strings on a zither. Try fingering that bugger with a couple of shorts down you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuzzie Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 now I am laughing at fingering a bugger....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpondonBassed Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 YW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krispn Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 Try fingering that bugger with a couple of shorts down you. Sounds like my mate back in the student days at The Limelight in Belfast on a Tuesday night 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuzzie Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 "my mate........" Of course it was...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jus Lukin Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 (edited) - Edited February 25, 2022 by Jus Lukin 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 (edited) Not sure how a couple (I guess = a pair?) of shorts would work down him? I'm finding it a bugger to finger that out... Edited January 17, 2018 by Al Krow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodinblack Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 On 16/01/2018 at 19:11, Wolverinebass said: The Spector is an 8 saddle bridge as I've played one. Was it any good? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolverinebass Posted January 18, 2018 Share Posted January 18, 2018 8 hours ago, Woodinblack said: Was it any good? Yeah, actually. It's not bad. I didn't like it the first time I played one, but after a second sitting I realised my view was based on cosmetic things I didn't like. Structurally it's fine. Things I don't like about it are quite possibly not an issue to anyone else, but here goes. It has a satin neck. The pickups aren't great. It has that horrible Spector Tonepump circuit. I like master volume and blend not dual volumes. All of this stuff can be changed, but it takes the bass past the £1k territory to do it. The neck profile is good. Probably marginally slimmer than the esp. It's not heavy either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted January 18, 2018 Share Posted January 18, 2018 1 hour ago, Wolverinebass said: Yeah, actually. It's not bad. I didn't like it the first time I played one, but after a second sitting I realised my view was based on cosmetic things I didn't like. Structurally it's fine. Things I don't like about it are quite possibly not an issue to anyone else, but here goes. It has a satin neck. The pickups aren't great. It has that horrible Spector Tonepump circuit. I like master volume and blend not dual volumes. All of this stuff can be changed, but it takes the bass past the £1k territory to do it. The neck profile is good. Probably marginally slimmer than the esp. It's not heavy either. That all makes sense. This is, after all, a 'budget' Spector and not one of their Euro and similar criticisms of the Warwick Rockbass range (pups are meh and pots very underpowered). Decent pups, for me anyway, are a key part of any bass - so the things you've identified as minuses would put me off too. Any thoughts on the Schecter Stiletto 8? That is already nearly £1k but sometimes (certainly not always!) it's a case of 'you pays your money'... I know I probably worry about neck warping due to string tension perhaps more than others (I guess having seen it on a Fender 5er that's passed through my hands and on other folks high end basses on this forum), but it seems to me that the neck through design that Schecter are providing not only looks great but should provide additional strength and resistance against warping? I'm presuming that the total string tension on an 8 (and indeed 12) is going to be higher than on a 4 or 5 string bass, so this should also be a factor to consider in the mix? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodinblack Posted January 18, 2018 Share Posted January 18, 2018 2 hours ago, Wolverinebass said: It has a satin neck. The pickups aren't great. It has that horrible Spector Tonepump circuit. I like master volume and blend not dual volumes. All of this stuff can be changed, but it takes the bass past the £1k territory to do it. The neck profile is good. Probably marginally slimmer than the esp. It's not heavy either. Hmm, that sounds pretty good to me. I don’t mind satin, the looks, well, not great but I have a Gibson eb5! I don’t like vol / vol but a 2 band artec preamp is £21 and I am a fan of those. Pickups, that sounds like the real downside but maybe not so bad. maybe I might go for one of those Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted January 18, 2018 Share Posted January 18, 2018 1 hour ago, Woodinblack said: I have a Gibson eb5! ... for now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12stringbassist Posted January 18, 2018 Share Posted January 18, 2018 Adding chorus to an 8 string bass will not give you a 12 string bass sound. It will sound like a 'confused' 8-string bass, with the output signal rather messed up. I have a Dean Rhapsody 8-string bass and can attest that it is one of the best basses for all over intonation of its type. My two Hamer 12er's are also excellent for intonation (both are different scales). The sound is 'bigger than the 8-string, especially if you do not tune totally precisely. They are both active. They sound pretty thunderous through my Hartke rig. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuzzie Posted January 18, 2018 Share Posted January 18, 2018 @12stringbassist how about photos of you on the telly with it as well?! nice set up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12stringbassist Posted January 18, 2018 Share Posted January 18, 2018 Ha! Your wish, etc, etc.. From GIRLFRIENDS on ITV last night. If you watch it on catch up, the bass I played on the actual live recording of the song was a Ric 4003W 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuzzie Posted January 18, 2018 Share Posted January 18, 2018 I suppose if they said do something in the background like tune your bass, they could have recited the complete works or George R Martin going through all those strings! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodinblack Posted January 18, 2018 Share Posted January 18, 2018 1 hour ago, 12stringbassist said: I have a Dean Rhapsody 8-string bass and can attest that it is one of the best basses for all over intonation of its type. There was a Dean Rhapsody 12 on ebay that went yesterday (I suspected someone on here was bidding on it). But I really don't get on with the looks of it. The Hamers look nice but too much for me, so the spector is still winning should I decide to get one of those. Just that 8 seems a bit of a compromise Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jus Lukin Posted January 18, 2018 Share Posted January 18, 2018 (edited) - Edited February 25, 2022 by Jus Lukin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12stringbassist Posted January 20, 2018 Share Posted January 20, 2018 On 1/18/2018 at 14:45, Woodinblack said: There was a Dean Rhapsody 12 on ebay that went yesterday (I suspected someone on here was bidding on it). But I really don't get on with the looks of it. The Hamers look nice but too much for me, so the spector is still winning should I decide to get one of those. Just that 8 seems a bit of a compromise My mate has a Dean R12. Looks aside (and I didn't mind it), it was really VERY playable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolverinebass Posted January 20, 2018 Share Posted January 20, 2018 47 minutes ago, 12stringbassist said: My mate has a Dean R12. Looks aside (and I didn't mind it), it was really VERY playable. Funnily enough, I played a Dean Rhapsody 12 and hated it. Didn't like the neck and the pre-amp and pickups are a bit lifeless. Didn't like the 8 string version either. I preferred the Dean Edge though I'd be swapping the pickups and circuit out right away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted January 21, 2018 Share Posted January 21, 2018 3 hours ago, Wolverinebass said: Funnily enough, I played a Dean Rhapsody 12 and hated it. Didn't like the neck and the pre-amp and pickups are a bit lifeless. Didn't like the 8 string version either. I preferred the Dean Edge though I'd be swapping the pickups and circuit out right away. So in order of preference, what are / have been your favourite 8 string basses? I find myself disconcertingly tempted to get one later this year (when I've managed to move on some existing kit)! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodinblack Posted January 21, 2018 Share Posted January 21, 2018 8 hours ago, Al Krow said: I find myself disconcertingly tempted to get one later this year (when I've managed to move on some existing kit)! Seems I felt myself disconcertingly tempted to put some money down on a spector classic 8 this weekend Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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