All Activity

I've had some of them too, big box Cali (I actually sold that to Scott) and some 3 leaf stuff (proton and wonderlove). I have no need for a pre/DI. I'd like to try the MXR at some stage though experience with the FI and C4 tells me I wouldn't actually use it.

I did web searches when I had the idea to see if I could find anyone else trying it - no results at all! This is what happens when I'm left unsupervised! I've done it on DTF and on the Low Tension ones. After they are still not as easy as others but it's a welcome improvement and as you say, they sound DEEEEEEEEP. Duck Dunn is still my favourite player and nothing else comes close when I want that sound.

Floppy B is usually a string choice problem rather than a bass problem. Crap sounding B is often a mix of both. I've always been confused with gauge choices in sets. The makers seem to be obsessed with tension and gauge tradition rather than considering the feel. So many sets have really tight feeling D and G strings but the BEA can feel very floppy. Tension and flexibility are not the same thing. When I was playing 5 strings a lot I would always get a 4 string set and then pick the right B for that bass. I often found the D'addario Prosteel 130 or 135 to be the best option irrespective of what the other strings were. Sometimes a tapered string and sometimes a normal one. Then the flexibility / playing feel of the B was a lot closer to the rest. I think I mostly had 40-60-80-100-130 and 40-60-80-105-135 depending on the bass. String maker tradition of going up 0.020 out of habit makes no sense at all. End up with a .125 B just because the E was .105 and the B flaps around like the Inflatable Tube Man!

Welcome to God's clean Earth No, seriously I can see your thinking. I love the sound of flats for recording, but at the end of the day, 90% of my time is playing live and playing live with flats is like having all your sound sucked into a deep sonic chasm. It's really down to how you comfortably hear your sound. We did a little duo showreel at the weekend and I always think I play too bright, but out front it sounds perfect and audible. I often compare it to when I play in the live tribute show against a digital piano, two Epiphone Acoustics, a Fender Strat and a drum kit, complete with up to four of them singing! It doesn't matter how lovely my sound is. It's always going to get buried under that lot from my perspective, but it always sounds great out front, which is what matters at the end of the day. https://share.icloud.com/photos/081OjVPHb5n-EFwwDAyqaPvew

Well there's a novelty, never come across that before!

Update to this, the thumb rests (one to my measurement and one to what Tim felt it should be) arrived just now, no customs charges or any extra which I was very pleased about. Now just got to wait until I'm home from work to see which one fits!

I've not heard of anyone doing this before! One of the reasons I like the Labellas is for how smooth they feel. I've had a few sets of Thomastiks too, which have a wider gap and feel less smooth, but I don't like the sound of them as much. The LaBellas are just DEEP. I'm going to fit the rounds to the mellowest of my P basses, it really is a very mellow sounding bass, so I'm hoping they will still work for me. We'll see very soon! Rob

Does it have to be a Fender? Their 5 strings are generally nothing great and don't offer the full 19mm bridge string spacing you're after. I happen to own a variation that offers that spacing however,the Player Plus Jazz V. I would think about Laklands as suggested by @chris_b but you're after a Jazz so that would mean a Darryl Jones 5 or a 55-60. Fenders are hit and miss so try before buying is the best option if you're able to. This is all in my experience.

I feel seen… 😳 Having said that I finally managed to get my hands on the MXR a couple of weeks ago and am totally blown away by it. It’s going to get a thorough rinsing on gigs. So easy to dial in and those presets sounds amazing right out the box. Have been chasing those sounds for years. Really couldn’t be happier with it.

Don't forget, in a double blind test you could be getting the placebo cake.

I find La Bella's sticky in the heat too. It's one of the reasons I mostly use EB Group flats and let them get really old - and using the handcream trick to age them fast. They are nowhere near as grabby. I did experiment with some La Bellas in a different way. I think the super smoothness is the problem. There's nowhere for the sweat to go. Other flats with a bit of a gap between the windings don't really suffer from the problem. So I used some Wet and Dry paper to slightly rough up the string along the entire speaking length and it actually worked and made them noticeably less grabby when the hands are sweaty. No tone change that I can detect. Just go slow to start - you can always sand a bit more but you can't put any metal back. I think I used 1500 grit. Don't do it on the bass of course - the tiny, mostly invisible shavings will stick to your pickups forever.

At one point I was in a couple of bands, very different, both of which I enjoyed, but one was quite busy and it was very difficult to find slots for gigs with the other band, so I told the other band I felt I couldn't commit properly to it and I didn't want to let them down, so I was leaving. All very amicable.

I have a 6 year old set of D'Addario NYXL's on my Sadowsky Jazz. They have just enough top end to help the definition and the rest is a nice warm thump.

Unless you are stuck on a Fender, I'd suggest checking out a good used Lakland Skyline. The 55-02's are a lot of bass for the money and have legendary B strings.

2 basses with flats, 2 with rounds and an EUB which only can have flats. How do I choose? What ever the fancy takes me 🤣

I have 2 of the very P5s that @synthaside mentions, both mine are/were Sherwood Green too! I am in the middle of modding one for the 2nd time (with a different colour), so the measurements are fairly fresh in my head. It has one of the widest necks and nuts out there, so not sure if all Fender 5s are guaranteed 19mm? Although not a Fender/Squier product, the Sire 5 string V7 I have is 18mm and won't appear to fit wider spacing on the neck. I think string choice could also factor your experience - I have found different strings give different results, I have always assumed due to tension? In summary though, I have played some more high end basses and the B string does feel tighter and less flubby and loose on them than my Squiers - but I mainly want mine to rumble the floorboards when I hit the lowest notes, so it doesn't bother me too much. I just love the cricket bat necks! Not enough to buy another one at that price in the link though!

I've had excellent cables from custom-lynx on Ebay. kenable_ltd on Ebay also do a wide range of cables at assorted quality levels - I've always gone for the higher quality ones and not been disappointed, and it's where I get my phono and 3.5mm jack leads. I also make my own (Van Damme cable and Neutrik/Rean connectors).

I moved in 2015 from Genz Benz to TC Electronic with an RH750 in a 2x10 enclosure and a pair of the oblong tubular 12" cabs. I have to say, it's never put a foot wrong and it's been toured all over Europe. It has an exceptionally clean sound and it continues to be my favorite amp ten years later. Nowadays I mainly use one of the MarkBass tilting 2x10 combos, due to the much lighter weight, but I have to admit the sound isn't a patch on the TC.

Little wing - Hendrix

I'd prefer a loop or ideally a recording at a clean instrument level covering a few styles. Probably should be a p or j. Music isn't a good test, as FRFR cabs will probably sound best for that, but not a good indicator of what flatters an instrument. Also, much difference in taste.

'Wedding' is Latin for 'stick a zero on the end'. All contractors and services for weddings charge high amounts, and it's because it makes people insane and you charge extra to deal with the hassle. For example, our wedding last weekend we were booked to turn up at 6, play the first dance at 8 and then do an hour, catering provided between 9-10, then second set till 11 and nice easy load out for venue close at midnight. What actually happened is we turned up at 6 and the speeches were still going, then after rushing to get set up for 7.30 the couple decided they were taking 'golden hour' photos; first dance got pushed back twice, ended up happening at 9 and they had sent the wrong tune through so we had to busk the one they wanted, then instead of two 60 minutes plus a dinner break things were running so late that we had to play through to be done at 11.30 and rush the gear out. Afterwards they sent a message to the agent that they had a good time but complained that we played for too long instead of breaking the sets up. What can you do. 🤷‍♂️

To be honest I don't think bass amps have moved on THAT much since the RH450/750. Same with the later Genz Benz amps. Just new models by various companies with some refinements. We have probably peaked with a good class D powerful amp combined with a great cab. That or modelling with a high end powered cab.