Leaderboard

I'm lucky enough to own a 1978 Pro ii, built out of Matsomoku factory. Its a dream to play. loads of mojo. Pups upgraded years ago to Dimazio pickups. Loads of punch and tone. Not sure of its value? but a keeper none the less.

Picked up one of these babies today and it's absolutely sweet !

I bought one about a week ago. A 2009 Musicman Stingray. 3 band EQ, single pickup. Candy red, rosewood fretboard I've only really had Fenders before, so I can only describe it relative to those... Build quality is great. Components seem excellent quality, and the fit and finish is great. If you've played fenders before, you'll find the neck is very much like a Precision. It's quite heavy, but not too heavy. Nice and solid. Sounds nice acoustically. The G string was a bit quieter than the others. I'm convinced it's because the pickup polepiece doesn't line up properly with the G string. This is apparently a common issue with Stingrays. I fixed it by raising the pickup at the treble side, and managed to get the string volumes balanced enough to where it isn't an issue. You'd think in an otherwise very well designed bass they would have fixed this years ago. But no. Apparently the new ones DO have the polepieces in the right place... but 2 grand's a lot to pay imo for that My takeaway from the G string polepiece issue is that it's pretty sensitive to how you have your pickup height set - so be aware of that Re the sound and having a single pickup. The most noticable thing is that the kinds of warm, vocal mids you might get from a precision are totally absent. And the second thing is that the low end is deep and tight. I heard the preamp has a high pass filter, and it sounds like it. There's loads of thick, punchy bass, but it somehow has a tightness to it. As if it rolls off quickly below 40hz. My main bass is/was a precision, and I use an SVT. So my go-to sound is that classic grindy rock tone (with a plectrum) with the SVT deep switch in, and a bit of mid scoop. Loads of low end, but it's more of a fat and woolly low end, and those precisiony, expressive mids. You can't get anything close to that with the Stingray. With a plectrum, you get LOADS of zingy top end, and that tight bass, with no real Fendery mids no matter what you do. It's very scooped, even when you goose the mids on the EQ For a punk or rock gig I would leave the Stingray at home and take the Precision, unless it was something modern like RATM or RHCP etc For a pop/funk/disco type gigs, the Stingray would be perfect. It seems to have been primarily intended for fingerstyle players. The frequencies that the pickup and preamp accentuate are ideal for a nice tight, modern fingerstyle sound. Lovely for fingerstyle The 3 band EQ is interesting. I tend to leave everything centered. Sounds best to me that way. The treble and bass tend to either let you take far too much off, or add far too much on. The middle isn't really a traditional mid frequency knob like on a fender amp, it's more like a knob that lets you make the sound go from fairly scooped to very scooped... whatever you do, there isn't much mids I heard someone say (and I agree) that a fender jazz (both pickups on) is more scooped than a precision, with deeper lows and higher mids. And that the Stingray is even more scooped - deeper lows and has even higher frequency mids. I think that's a good way of putting it. If there's a path from P to J, then the Stingray is the next step along I think no matter what you do it'll sound like a Stingray. But I think it has enough to make it a fantastic bass in the right context. It's certainly not a swiss army knife, and almost certainly the wrong bass for certain things I really do like mine. Got it off eBay for £900, and I'm glad I got it. Not sure I'd buy a new one for the prices they're asking now

My SB1000. Iconic, in my opinion. Nothing comes close

Any excuse to pop a picture of this 1981 SBR-150

I've had a small windfall - about the size of a new tip-top-notch bass as it happens - and I'm having serious GAS for a Stingray Classic 4 string. I buy a new bass about once a decade so it's a BIG decision for me and I need to know how many of you guys (possibly the greatest bass playing experts on the interweb so I trust you) rate this bass? How's the quality of build and is having a single humbucker a limitation? Has anyone bought one recently and are you pleased with it? Obviously I'm looking for encouragement but if there are any serious worries I'd probably rather know!

Hi my name is Alex and I have Dirt Pedal Adddiction Syndrome. I also have a great affection for envelope filters. I can't afford to buy new ones so mainly build DIY. So many pedals! I've been questing for the ultimate fuzz plus envelope filter tone. Bass - US G&L L-2000 made in 2000AD! In the UK, London, playing in a 90's rave band.

Funnily enough I’ve had basses built by both Martin at Sei and Jon at Shuker and both were fantastic experiences. If I had to choose though, Jon was the more approachable and much more open to working with me on my design and build. Both very high quality builders though & all fantastic basses. Proof of the pudding is I now own 2 Shuker Jazz basses (both shown on the Shuker web page you’ve linked to) and no Sei Jazz basses.

Hi guys, just wanted everyone who has replied to my original post to know; the transaction with Alex went absolutely seamlessly, despite my reservations. It was just such a different way of doing things. And a way in which I am totally unfamiliar, being from the UK lol!! It seems that this way of doing things is so normal in some EU countries other than UK, and I had no bed to worry. Thanks Alex, so glad you are so pleased with your purchase, wish you all the best. Timmynumbers 👍

OR... for £1169 you could buy very nearly thirteen used Trace Elliot combos and keep one at each venue. Saves carrying 'em.

Pure class, this. Lovely bass

I had a TH350 and it never wanted for more beans. Where will it all end? 'Markbass announce 2kW RMS @ 4ohms amp the size of a credit card - earplugs included'.

i ve asked my wife and she said defo fingering !

Started to knock the sharp corners off to match the vibe of the original carve. The light is starting to go but made a decent start with spokeshave and cabinet scrapers:

Which Mac?? Gary Mac!!

With regards to active/passive controls, a while ago I came to the realisation that what I'd really want is a passive tone control coupled to an active mids control with adjustable frequency centre, something like the John East module which covers 100Hz - 1000Hz (or 200Hz - 2000Hz, as it's got a switch for both ranges). I don't need a bass control, really. Treble? A passive control is sweeter, for my taste. What I want is to control what happens in the middle, and with a wide range like that, I can get punchy low mids, or hollow tones, or beautiful deep bass tones... For me the on-board EQ on active basses is merely to fine tune my sound and make some small adjustments for specific songs, but the basic sound comes from the amplifier's EQ. The small adjustments I want are all in the mid range or something that a passive treble cut is better suited for.

I can't help but to get a little giddy with excitement over Jon's headless basses! I think you are quite right to say you have your own template! I think your two have the most identifiable outline in the range surely!? (Don't change it for the next one, ok?)

and mine...

A luthier friend of mine has asked me to collaborate with him to design a bass but based on the styling and design principles of his existing guitars. His builds exclusively use UK grown woods and aim to be as organic as possible both in construction and tone so, for example, the pickup is direct wired to the output and everything (bar the frets, electronics, tuners and straplocks) is handmade by him. I'd appreciate your thoughts on how these guitars might translate into bass form (or indeed any suggestions as to what might need to be changed to make it work). Link to the photo gallery on his website here:- https://www.halflightguitars.com/ Thanks.

Im literally dribbling looking at some John's J basses. Wondering wether to sell the Sei to get one. This is GAS in its purest form. The grass is always greener. But WOW http://shukerguitars.co.uk/j-bass/

I have a Vigier passion III for punk/metal so a Stingray for funk/pop sounds about right. Thanks for taking the time to give a great overview - much appreciated

One of the things Jon did for me & continued through to the JJB series was chamber the body to lighten the weight of my bass 😁

The obvious musical one is playing Fat Bottomed Girls on what seems to be the Sheer Heart Attack tour. Most of the factual ones seem covered by that video clip above. I always understood that Freddie was friends with Smile long before he joined, and I had heard that he had even worked with Roger Taylor on his clothes stall in Kensington market before he was ever in the band. Also, I thought that FM re-joining the band, agreeing to do Live Aid and being diagnosed with AIDS in the space of one week was pushing it a bit. This is not to mention tracking down his future partner and introducing him to his parents (whilst coming out in the process) on the way to Wembley Stadium! The story I heard was that Freddie didn’t want to do Live Aid as he wanted a break after being out on tour, but was persuaded by the size of the potential worldwide audience he could reach with one show…

Same as that, Reggaebass......... I've got an 1977 jazz and it is a stunning bass

I suspect he'll be unhappy with that ... oh, I think he's saying something to the referee ... and now there's some sort of disturbance amongst the fans ... they're all in the centre circle and there's a bit of pushing ... well this is something that nobody likes to see ... and as the Stukas dive in to bomb the last pockets of resistance ...

Man that looks hawt @Andyjr1515!

There's a really good documentary on the BBC iPlayer about the recording of the News Of The World album and subsequent US tour. Freddie Mercury has shorter hair than he did at the time of Bohemian Rhapsody but still not as short as his later "clone" look.

The Indonesian 10 series basses are not as similar as you might assume. The hardware and pickups are essentially an Indonesian-made copy of the Japanese-made parts on the 20 series basses. They are not, as most people presume, the same as on Japanese-made basses. The wood used on the Indonesian basses is also completely different from that used on the Japanese models. The seasoning process for the wood used on the Japanese basses is carefully controlled. The wood for the Indonesian basses is not as well prepared. More importantly, the fit and finish of the Japanese basses is far superior. Don't get me wrong, the 10 series basses are fantastic in their own right and worth far more than they cost, in my view. But I honestly think that the 20 series basses are something really special and worth the extra cost if you are a fan.

A Yamaha logo on the headstock!?? 😂😂🤣

What are these funny lbs things? If only Barefaced could make it 15Kgs... ( I will get my coat).

That's the problem really. I made myself a 7lb Jazz bass, now it's really difficult to consider anything heavier.

I've always done the same to be fair. On a few occasions the FOH said the bass sounded good as it was and no need for PA support and that was with a Markbass rig. Dave

PLECTERING!

+1, and where low frequency response goes it doesn't matter very much. This charts three speakers, one loaded with a ten, one a twelve, one a fifteen: If you were to believe the size matters crowd you'd have to think that the red line is a fifteen, the blue line a twelve, and the green line a ten. You'd be 33% correct. The blue line is a twelve, but the red line is a ten, the green line a fifteen.

I’d sound better playing it strings facing my body

Looks like a reverse body to me.

The One10s sound anything but thin, in my experience

what was discussed ahead of the "jam"? Were you expecting it to lead to something, like forming a band and lining up gigs, or was it just to hang out, play a bit and see what happens? Probably doesn't help that "jam" means different things to different people. For me it's always meant going off script, seeing what you can come up with, just playing for the fun of it and not to worry if anything comes of it or not. Currently playing with a death metal band and having to intensely learn their songs ahead of a couple of gigs. Last week we had a reggae jam and last night a 20 minute bluesy hard rock jam, neither of which will come to anything more than that time in the studio, but worked great for a bit of light relief and getting to know the other musicians. Then back to work on playing their actual songs - wouldn't have mattered if I was amazing or awful in the jams themselves, they meant nothing tangible. But I know others who think of anything other than playing gigs as "a jam" - there are no auditions, only jams, even if you are sticking to a rigid set list. The "sorry, not for us" sounds a bit like dumping you before you could dump them, when they know it hasn't gone well. I wouldn't read too much into it. Seen way too many average guitarists reach for the extended guitar solo at every chance, usually when they have a vastly over-inflated opinion of themselves

For upright basses, the string height is usually measured at the end of the fingerboard - it varies a lot, but typical values are around 10mm for the E string down to maybe 6-7mm for the G string.

Hey Nancy, I apologize for my fellow yank calling you "fancy pants". In your case should it have been "Nancy pants"?

In full agreement with Jez on this. I've really enjoyed every Bash I've attended and was so inspired by the SE Bash that we organised The Herts Bash off the back of it. Organising a Bash is a lot of work, hiring a venue, arranging speakers, Raffle prizes, arranging Teas/ Coffees/etc and food/cake (normally courtesy of our partners). To arrange the Herts Bash generally cost me personally over £100 and every penny raised went to our charity of choice. Raffle prizes are usually worth more than the cost of the tickets and everybody wins at least once. As Jez says, the level of ability varies from beginners to exceptional, novice to experienced. This means that you can share knowledge - either helping less experienced players or picking up tips. The seminar subject matter vary from knowledge bas(s)ed to just a bit of fun. We have had some great speakers - just look back at previous threads. The cost of these events - generally £10 - is incredible value. Where else can you spend a day checking out gear and talking bass without fear of ridicule? With these events happening only a couple of times a year, you really should take advantage of them when they're on...

^^ The cake is the most important thing of all, by the way.. 😁

Ooh is this a "post a photo of your SB-1000" thread?

Tone foam is tricky stuff. If you can't get pre-CBS foam then modern foam that has employed wax-based products gives the best results. Be sure never to wash it though!