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Paging @Phil Starr. You seem to have a good understanding of cones and horns and the boxes they are mounted in... Andrew (above) is search for his holy grail. Failing that... he'll settle for a good reproduction of Andy Fraser's tone

Hi folks. I just wanted to show an idea I developed and turned into a product having had some issues with guitar stands damaging my basses. Id love to be able to get it to market and I’d also love to hear some feedback from you guys ..

The Steinberg L2 will always be the bass I wanted most but never got. It's a beautiful object. Some people used to complain the sound lacked the warmth of wood. It was supposed to! These basses had a tone all of their own and it's unique. I love it. I too remember when these basses first came out. In 1982 the UK retail was £999, and Sound wave in Essex were the sole importer. That's about £3500 in today's money. At that time I was lucky if I could muster £9.99, so it was just a dream in those days, but I passed on buying one in the late '80's and the early '90's when I easily could have, and then before you know it thirty years has passed, Steinberger are long gone and it's all ancient history. Regrets? I've had a few.

I’ve had three Mustangs this year. I still have the 2023 American Performer in ‘Aubergine’ which I’ve almost sold a couple of times, but secretly I’m glad it’s still around. It’s strung with cut down Elixir 40-95’s (Fender put 40-100 on as standard) and plays & sounds phenomenal. I also had one of the Vintera II’s in “Competition Burgundy” for a while, which was a fine bass, but I didn’t like it as much as the American Performer. It came with Labella Flats which sounded very dull and had far too much tension, so I changed them for a set of Thomastik Jazz Flats I had. Better, but still don’t particularly like flat wound strings. (Don’t shoot me!) = And for about five minutes I had one of the Player series Cherry Burst P&J’s. This was the biggest disappointment. Yes, it sounded huge, but it sounded like any given P&J full sized Precision. Not at all like a Mustang. There was none of that short scale delicacy to the sound.

Welcome Andrew.

Quite a bit, but more like a fretted guitar with very small frets, a bit disturbing at first, but after a few minutes you'll notice it's, in fact, very easy to play.

Just fitted a celluloid pick guard on my p bass. Here’s a before and after photo

I have two piezos on the AliKat, but a Schaller 411 on the Alcoa, and the BSX Allegro uses a multi-sensor piezo bridge system coupled with active circuit Bartolini electronics so it's piezo Paul, but not as we know it.

Are you sure you read what @andyhaines was looking for?

To really, really, really ruin the band's name: Ye

That's an interesting thing, good luck. I very nearly bought an SR500 that was in a similar condition and going for about 80 quid, but chickened out at the last minute. I think one of the eras of this bass (I think the mid-to-late 2000s) had a weird matt brown finish that looked like stain, but was actually some sort of extremely thin and fragile lacquer. I think this probably is one of those basses that someone tried to fix. It almost always wore away around where people's hands/picks touched, and as you say, once the protective finish was gone the wood itself wasn't very resilient. The one I was looking at had a 1-cm deep gouge, like a valley leading down to the pickups. Nice basses though, despite all that.

Preamp on the board rather than on the bass itself, but yes. Can't help but notice that most of the 'extra' response seems to be below 40Hz ...

I have used Guyker tuners a few times before and I really rate their stuff. If they bring out a 1/2 lightweight tuner that would be amazing. It’s difficult to get a wide selection of tuners that fit an 18mm hole without some sort of bushing or them being jazz bass type. I have also heard people have used nylon bearings to good effect.

I think this game could be more fun if another rule were added.

Whim! Whom!

Ruth

Sick Sick Sex - Avulsed.

Hi everyone. My name is Andrew and I have been playing bass for 56 years, when career allowed. At last after retiring I have formed my dream band which is a tribute to FREE and BAD COMPANY, although to me it's really all about FREE. I own a 1973 Gibson EB3 and play through an Orange Terror 500w amp with valve pre-amp, into a lightweight Bareface 1 x 12" (maybe 700w) cab + a Lightweight Orange 1 x12" 400w cab. For years I have been focussed on getting those punchy, overdriven but precise notes that Andy Fraser produced with Free. I have the right guitar, although maybe 6 years newer, and I play through the bridge pickup and use my fingers close to the bridge, so I have got close to his style. What alludes is the tone. I can get pretty close but never clean enough and I wondered if anyone has a view about gear, especially speaker cabs. At our local studio I use their huge Roland 4 x 10" combo and with everything set flat this gives the right sound, but at 73 years old I am past lugging big gear and I only use light weight now. Does anyone think using 10" speakers, like the Roland, would add more clarity?

😍😍😍

Well, ive had the GP-5 for a couple of days, and my thoughts are these. It’s small, really small, and heavy (in a good way). It feels and looks a lot more expensive. Sound wise, the amps are more open, i can live with these. I dont think the FX are much to write home about, certainly as far as the ones I’d want to use. They sound nice, but are very basic. The whole point of me getting a multi FX was to see if i can get a Phaser with a volume or level control. This doesn't even have a mix control in its phaser. This means im no better off pairing it with my MB3 than i am with the Blood moon phaser i have, which sounds much better than either of these pedals. The GP-5 is quite simple to operate, but it takes some forethought. I found it easier to use than the 60B+, but it’s not as versatile. I have a Chocolate plus coming, but i don’t think I’ll have an immediate need for it. It seems that i cant turn on and off individual blocks in the GP-5, which is exactly what i want to do. Like a mini pedalboard. The 60B+ is going back, and at this point i expect the GP-5 will, as its quite a distraction and i cant use it as i want, but as it cost so little im also inclined to keep it and see how i get on. Just a quick shot showing the two and how much of a size difference there is.