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New medium scale bass in what is essentially a P bass configuration with passive electronics and a split coil pickup. Like all Alan's work it's a cracker!

Listened to the Detroit mix of the What's Going On album today and lost the whole day to it! The Detroit mix is the original mix, and not the mix found on the released album (which was done in LA a month or so after the Detroit mix). Anyway, Inner City Blues. I've always 'heard' the (Bob Babbitt) bass line in my head as being much simpler/straightforward than it actually is, but listening to it on headphones today there's a ton of stuff going on that I'd not heard/appreciated before. It's such a lovely line; perfect for the song and beautifully played... so, maybe a daft question, but... is there more than one bass on the track?! I know there are vocal comps through the album (initially coming about by accident where the two engineers - Kenneth Sands and Steve Smith - mixed a comp of two vocal takes, which Gaye loved) so is the bass line a similar experiment/outcome? Whatever it is, it's a masterful performance by a wonderful musician? Help a curious pair of ears out here, folks!

and the mothership was out. P-bass and flats to accompany it.

Two lumps of wood, a pickup, bbot and some tuners, just like like any other P bass to me.

Agree with all the comments on this thread that it's probably more about strings and technique than core bass tone, but an Ovation Magnum is just fabulous for reggae / ska - I've never played another bass with such naturally massive low end whilst retaining complete clarity / articulation. Currently using La Bella 750T White tapewounds on my fretless Magnum 1.

@Ricky 4000 I can highly recommend one of these for reggae, I picked it up during the week for a sensible price, it was already fitted with halfrounds , and has a really low action , it’s my first real go at a 5 string, and the low B drops a serious Bassline 🙂

Editing on the pedal only gets you so far. Basically you turn the parameter switch to whichever parameter you want to adjust (cutoff, resonance, etc.). The “data” digit (right-most digit in the display) will show a 5 which corresponds to the stored preset value in the editor (eg a cutoff of 45). Then you turn the encoder dial to adjust either positively or negatively from there. The dot in the display flashes to indicate a change has been made. If you wish to save the change, you need to press the encoder dial. The dot then stops blinking. Repeat for other parameters. It needs to be noted that adjustments on the pedal are always relative to the value of the stored preset as created in the editor. That is, a value of 9 on the pedal isn’t the same for each preset, rather it is a ratio of the original parameter value from the preset as created in the editor. I can’t remember the ratios off the top of my head. Further to this, if the preset created in the editor had a resonance of 0, this would be the value corresponding to 5 on the pedal and dialling in 1, 2, 3 or 4 on the pedal would have no effect whatsoever as resonance can’t go below zero. (Changing to values above 5 on the pedal would have an effect.) The stuff about editing on the pedal is most likely in the quick start guide which isn’t repeated in the bigger manual. Editing on the PC is where the real magic happens as you have complete control over all the oscillator levels, waveshapes and tons of other goodies. You really must hook this thing up and download some other user patches and create your own to get the best out of this pedal.

Finally got myself an NS2! Too bad it is blue, but I can live with that until I find my ultimate NS2X...

I'm feeling immensely fortunate. After some toing and froing with the seller (all very good natured) I've snagged this bass. Built by Marko Ursin, a Finnish Luthier, it was a custom build in 2009 for the original owner, who I've just bought it from. I'd never really imagined having a single cut, but this was just so nice. I'm still getting used to the Aguilar OBP3 / Bartolini G6 combo, but it's such a responsive bass. I'd felt fortunate owning my Fame / Mayones 6 string, but this is every bit as special. Given it's A Finnish bass, crafted by a gent by the name of Ursin, it might gain an appropriate headstock logo. Finnish national animal is the bear and Ursin, must be derived from Ursine, for bear.

I suppose it depends on how much you think wood affects tone once you're plugged in. Personally I think pickup placement and pickup type affect plugged in tone far more than what wood the instrument is made of or what shape the body is.

I just keep watching videos of the pedal and think 'that sounds pretty flipping nice'. I swear by my sansamp and I guess that's the same principle here with just a different flavour pre amp modulation. The only other thing that gives me 'the fear' is that computers sometimes go wrong and what happens if everything suddenly gets wiped before a gig?

Seeing as I would never watch that I wouldn't know, but which MJ does she look like?

Don't they call it 'southern rock'?

I had one of these briefly and while I’ll agree there are many many options if you already have an interface you know and like using (I already do), you have a couple of pedals which you use and enjoy (I already do) and you aren’t likely to be needing your bass to recreate a multitude of amps and cab with a host of I/O options or might not be for you. If you’re a tech geek and love shiny new things with loads of the latest cool tech and don’t mind spending £400+ for the two or three effects you’re realistically going to use then then you’re in trouble 😀 A good suggestion already mentioned is to download the Helix Native software and play about with the effects and amps and if it feesikw value for money to have the Stomp you’ll at least have road tested the actual effects - the hardware is a delight to use but you might find like I did that my limited use of pedals makes the whole package redundant even if it is cool as!

I have a suggestion, but you probably wouldn't like it. 😨 Maybe we should make it a sticky/FAQ, thus ensuring no one will read it. 😩

Nice looking bass. I love the way that the picture sequence looks a bit like a striptease, saving the full reveal to the last shots. Does it sound p-bassey? It strikes me as a nice idea having a traditional sound with modern looks.

I would say at some level we're all influenced by McCartney whether we know it or not, whether we accept it or not.The chain is always going to lead back to McCartney in my opinion. In the States most of us weren't thinking about the electric bass guitar until we saw McCartney in 1964. As a matter of fact we didn't know what an electric bass guitar was. Blue

I've only just bought my first ever instrument, an epiphone toby deluxe iv. Owned it about 6 weeks. Just starting to pick things up off YouTube and stuff. The song I've now learned (not perfect yet) is White Stripes - 7 Nation Army.

Hiya Carl Everyone does things their own way: I've been playing for 25 years this year: first few years playing along to CDs & cassettes (pre-internet), then playing in a gigging band for 10 years - learning scales, chords, modes & about playinh live & locking in with a drummer. For the past few years I've played for myself at home with a quick {unsuccessful) foray with a new band. Wherever you're up to, as long as you find it rewarding, its the right way of doing it. Good luck!

My rehousing project addresses this issue.

Hope there’s not a hole in that logic...

this is my one and only fretless, meeting its maker for the first time in 25 years; Series 2 Progress Elite 1989

So buzzing for tomorrow night, big Mod night gig in Strathclyde Uni Union in Glasgow, with everything raised being donated to the Glasgow Childrens Hospital Charity... FoC, we've managed to secure £18k worth of PA and sound man for the night, via a guitarist mate I know from years back, who is doing the sound, the same guy who does TRNSMT and another guy who has done the sound for Metallica on their last European tour...its all just a bit mental the way it's worked out... Best part, we are a tribute band to The Who, and we are playing the very same stage The Who played just a month shy, almost to the day 50 years ago...! Soooooo excited...

Up here it's Dr Ner.

Country Rock? 😎

When it comes to GFR, the first 5 studio/1 live albums are the biggest treat. Terry Knight's productions pushed the bass centre stage, and all of those records are so essential (well, except 'Survival'), and so bass-driven. Here's a bit for you - although it needs be through a system, not a laptop or PC for the full bass experience -

Good for you. Youtube can be a great resource for everyone, from beginners to players with much experience. I wish it had been around when I first started 30-odd years ago. Enjoy!

Digging this review. Do you think the sound is perhaps from the tailored pickups for the bass, the mitre neck joint or perhaps a combination of a few things? Both fantastic basses

Theres quite a bit , Fearful 15-6-1 + 15 sub GB shuttlemax 9.2 Trace AH250 GB 12 cab Status kingbass, blackbeauty 3 ibanez basses Jim.

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Absolutely fine. Tried it several times yesterday to make sure but not issues at all. This particular bass is wearing relatively lightweight D'Addario nickels in 45/60/80/105 flavours as opposed to the headless Border Reiver, also 32" scale. that has the D'Addario EXL160BT set on. Guages for the 160BTs are 50/67/90/120. Looking at the bass is think black tapewounds might look pretty cool too!

A busker in Crawley doing a pretty good Wonderwall......actually he's just segued into Boulevard Of Broken Dreams by Green Day, that works quite well - might steal it for our band 😁

Siouxsie Sioux and Steven Severin?

Had an email yesterday from Andy @ Wing Instruments. They’re just putting the finishing touches on my Wing. Things got somewhat delayed, partly due to NAMM amongst other things. I decided to take the plunge and order the UDG MIDI Controller case I posted about above - it arrived today and is fantastic. Obviously I just have the empty case and no Wingbass yet but the guys who designed the case really thought it through. Very high quality. I’ll post pics once the Wing arrives! EDIT: Just realised I’m actually hijacking @Grantd‘s thread so I’ll start a new one when the time comes

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It was Muskie.

I think I’ll be hanging onto them to be honest - Plus they’re still in the cabs at the moment, and the Beta 12s are still in their boxes! I bought the strap handles I used, along with the bulk of the rest of the hardware, from Blue Aran. They have a metal strip inside the rubber outer so they’ll take plenty of weight. After you’ve used them they won’t go back completely flat, but that’s probably not an issue. T-nuts definitely though. Here’s one of mine before I put the grilles on...