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Probably a bit more practical though: the classic warning sign

I can see this thread going on for ages...

Just before Xmas I bought a set of Hipshots for my MIM Precision. The bass itself is great, but the tuners weren`t so, and as I`m going to be using this bass on a few overseas gigs this year (I ain`t flying with my US basses) wanted the tuners to be as good as I could get them. Reviews read, Hipshot HB7s ordered as a direct fit on MIMs. Except they weren`t, all screw-holes lined up ok, but the supplied ferrules/bushes were too small, and the Hipshot tuning pegs rattled in the Fender ones. So I e-mailed Hipshot asking where I could purchase a set of these, and they said just send us your address and we`ll put a set out to you, no charge. Received them today, fit like a glove. Quality customer service imo, so a big thumbs up to them. And have to say, the tuners are a real quality bit of kit, much smoother than the stock Fender ones.

That's not the words, it happened to me in Venezuela where a friend invited me to dinner with his family and at the table I asked his youngest sister if I could have a spoon and suddenly a deafening silence and after receiving what seem like an eternity of stares I asked if I said something wrong...

I was close, I said '92!

Lana Del Ray is just awful, I don't understand how that rubbish exists. Not a legal viewpoint. The melody of the song, the inflection in the vocals, the misery, it's a "tribute" to Creep undoubtedly. I would rather Radiohead issued a complete cease and desist against her career.

I guess for 99% of gigs you won't be sustaining notes on the bass guitar for very long, so fair enough. Personally I like to play some weird stinky poo and sustain is often essential

Update. A full refund has been issued with no comment. I should receive in 6 days. So a happyish ending :-)

+1 To the OP - In my experience a bass that sustains well usually sounds better than average on the rest of the notes. Sustain is essential to have but that doesn't mean that you have to use it on every note, but if you need it and the bass can't sustain then it's not a good instrument.

Problem solved on the Line 6 forum. Go to command centre and select one of the 'lightning bolts' at the top. Then just enter all the midi details that correspond with the channel and patch of the Strymon, save and job done. Each time I solve a problem like this I marvel at how good the Helix is. Probably the best designed piece of kit I have ever used.

For me its a great tool for dynamics. Letting it ring sounds great, but also adds to a sudden stop of silence. You may not notice if if you had decent basses. I had a usa precision which had loads of sustain, then i moved to a cheapo jazz copy and the difference was amazingly bad! The sustain couldnt even last a bar never mind any longer.

Great question. I think it’s just another tool for us to use depending on the music your producing. I find it really useful in a lot of the Fretless stuff I play. It lends itself to using sustain as the very nature of Fretless is the ambiguity of the note. The “left hand wobble” it has its place

I listened to them this morning and have to agree. But then again supposedly Radiohead were sued for ripping off 'All I Need Is The Air That I Breathe' by The Hollies, so they haven't really got a leg to stand on!

As said a long way up the thread - why would you not value sustain? Ok my first (and still favourite) bass has exceptional sustain, and so I most naturally play that way - but I can play a controlled staccato by damping when it's wanted, or let a note ring for two or even three bars when that sounds right. I can play an open string and let it ring as a drone while I develop the line on the other strings. I can hold a single root note for each bar through a frenetic lead guitar solo so I'm just anchoring it and not distracting from it. I can run a slow gentle bassline through a blues or folk ballad and keep in that groove. When I play my son's super new MIA Fender P I just feel frustrated, the notes die so quickly that I don't have the range of expressive options I'm used to. Fair enough if you're just playing punchy rock'n'roll, but much beyond that, sustain opens up so many musical options, how could you not want it? All imho of course :-)

Agreed. Bit like drum mics - any drum mics will do (within reason) - it just depends how much you want to faff with working the sound to the desired results. Other mics may get you there directly/quicker.

Faded jeans and 'leather' patches... patches needed due to unfeasibly large testes!

As promised... 150x150px

Yes but when they turn spoon into vagina there's no winning.

But only partly, right?

I'd be more more worried about the person that has never heard of The Cult...

I've never been hugely fussed - except I know I don't like Rotosounds. They have a really corse finish that puts shivers up my spine. Not in a good way!! I've been using SIT strings for a while and get on well with those. They're a bit tricky to get in the UK though.

Still more than a pint costs, and I know which I'd rather have!

No need - I’ve had confirmation from someone in the FB group that their preamp is the same as mine. Glad it’s all ’stock’ spec!

A Rickenbacker for a fiver isn't too bad imo.

I have. It cost me a whole fiver, and frankly, I was done.

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Put together this video yesterday, quite new to recording so excuse the EQ! but I think it represents the tone of this bass quite well

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A little more progress

A valid point... but for me it's flexibility. I can use my FRFRs as FoH speakers. I can use them for backline. They are light. They are portable - certainly compared to the typical bass cabs out there that put out similar SPL... The important thing to remember that a FRFR does not automatically equate to a PA speaker. There are plenty of manufacturers that are doing FRFR cabs that look like guitar cabs. The problem is, not many of these are capable of delivering high SPL for bass... that simply wasn't their target market as the uptake of FRFR by bass players is a minute proportion of the market. The fact that a lot of modern PA speakers can handle a lot of bass makes them an idea candidate for use with bass. So yes, the cabinets of a lot of PA speakers, certainly the ABS cases, enable them to be pole mounted or placed on the floor so they can be used on their side as a wedge - and as you say, be used like a tilt back combo. The thing is, that tilt-back combo has a prebaked sound to it. The case for FRFR is that a modeller is placed before it, so that FRFR can reproduce the sound of the model without, unlike your generic tilt back combo, colouring the sound itself. OK, yes, we could use anything we wanted if we just needed "a sound" for monitoring purposes... but it would actually be nice to have the versatility to be able model different amps and actually like - no, love - what we hear coming out of the cab next to us on stage. Over time, our tastes may change, the gig may change... but a modeller with the FRFR solution caters for this perfectly. No prebaked cab sounds means we can get what we want on stage as well as out front. You may call it obsessive extremes - maybe it is - but a lot of people are clocking onto the fact that a decent modeller and FRFR opens up a whole world of flexibility. For me, the ultimate bonus is that I can take a modeller to a gig and a set of inears... so I use the FRFR aspect of the PA itself and I don't even need to take a cab onstage. It sounds a lot better out front too... as there is no bleed coming from the bass on the stage... Some people may call the whole thing overkill and say, meh, too much for a pub gig - but in reality, the benefits from quiet stages and loud PAs will realise the greatest improvement in a pub... where the stages are small and the venues are generally not built for music. So, if you were to get say a Helix LT - circa 690 quid... and a beefy FRFR speaker, say a 735... (oh look a bargain at Andertons) £580 for the Mk2... thats a ridiculous rig for £1270. When you compare what an average traditional rig costs.. say a Little Mark 800 circa 550 and Mark Bass NY122 circa 560 - £1110... I'd say that the £160 difference is a small price to pay for the flexibility of all those different amp models... and the comprehensive fx that is also available to you... and if you are also a guitarist... it will also cover all guitar rig needs (all amps, all pedals). Does it make a little more sense now?

Or if you are 'down with da kids'... skonnz?

Sure is, but I'd prefer you to view in person before disclosing its whereabouts.

I'm glad I am not the only one to feel like that. Going around and around a genre that didn't even originate here is a bit stale in my humble-bumblings too. Trouble is... the 12BB is like the common denominator in the wide world of western styled music. It's obligatory to know it if you want a half-decent tool kit to bring to the jam. It's easy though, right? That has been said of so many seemingly simple things in life. More often than not, the simple things are harder to get away with with style and confidence whilst not making yourself look like a tourist.

show off

Everybody here started knowing nothing - only you can decide how far you want to go - the more people you play with the more you're likely to learn (as long as you don't get stuck in that 12 bar blues scene). Good luck and...

Nice playing, the EMGs compliment the Ibanez well and the amp sounds great. If it is good enough for Victor Wooten

Nice, how was this bass set up when you received it?

Not again, please.

The TC Electronics MojoMojo at lower gain does a great vintage mid rich drive sound that will give you a similar vintage driven bass tone (without the wobble) and can also be picked up for less than £50 new. Might be worth a look if you don't fancy lugging about a monster all valve amp. I hadn't thought of a Leslie speaker, but now it's been mentioned it's so obvious