Fat Rich

Or maybe a bass with more growl, or more top end clarity? Some people favour a scooped sound which sometimes loses the warmth and sounds more hifi, but a lot of it is how the bass sits in the mix of the song I guess.

[quote name='Machines' timestamp='1325764674' post='1487188'] I think a subforum that just caters for members here would be preferable to opening the gates to all (personal, not official opinion). I play guitar myself too and wouldn't mind reading through a few threads where I know the content will not be "who is better slash or hendrix LOL !!11" [/quote] Only problem with that is if it becomes really popular and attracts a lot of guitarists to join Basschat, who then start asking a lot of novice questions in the bass sections or start taking the micky out of us like they do in real life It's probably a small risk but I'd prefer not to change the feel and vibe of Basschat as on the whole it's pretty excellent. A UK based sister site Guitarchat would be a great, hopefully it would have a similar vibe but I suspect it would be a little different because most guitarists have different personalities to most bass players.... not better or worse but just different. Although us bass players are better aren't we? I reckon Guitarchat would get a quite a few of us Basschat members initially and have the same vibe, it'd be interesting to what it changes into when "real" guitarists start joining.

This is a great website for learning guitar, might give you some ideas about how to structure your lessons: [url="http://www.justinguitar.com/en/AA-000-LessonIndex.php"]http://www.justinguitar.com/en/AA-000-LessonIndex.php[/url]

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1325686473' post='1486068'] What are the actual supposed differences though? Surely all the (standard) fender pups are made in the same place by the same machines and shipped out where needed. Similarly, wouldn't the bodies and necks all be carved out by CNC machines working to idential programming? ......... [/quote] I've found that US / Mex pickguards are a slightly different size to Japanese ones, similarly I've heard that the neck joint dimensions are slightly different although I've never done a neck swap to find out. I think I heard somewhere that Tokai were making Fender clones with their own name on but were doing such a good job Fender did a deal with them for their cheaper instruments, maybe they'd only roughly copied the dimensions. I think later on some were built by Fernandes and they were good instruments too. Maybe some Japanese Fender expert will chip in with some more details on who built what.

I don't care which country my Fenders are built in, all I'm interested in is tone, build quality and playability. However I've a Precision and 3 Jazz basses and they're all MIJ, that's just the way it's worked out. In my fairly limited experience: I've played some good American Fenders and I've been told the quality is better now, but mostly I've been disappointed with the sound of them. However I've got a Highway One Strat and I really like it. I've played a couple of Mexican Jazzes but the build quality seems to be extremely variable although they often sound and feel good, one of them you could get a 50p into the gap around the neck pocket The Japanese ones seem to be well built and sound great, they're a fairly safe bet and pretty good value for money. But recently I've been most impressed with Squiers, good basses for not much money. Much better than they used to be.

Bass Clef and KSignatures for learning to read music and finding the notes on the fretboard Polytune from TC is a great tuner, it was free when it first came out, not sure how much it is now... there may be better value tuners available

Have you checked they've not dumped it in your front garden somewhere? Or maybe with a neighbour? It's also possible that they're tracking system is a bit optimistic. Some bright spark at a courier company thought it would be a good idea to put a parcel in a wheely bin so it wouldn't get wet..... lucky it wasn't bin day. Hope you can get it sorted out

You sure I can't tempt you? [IMG]http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/xx159/richardmatthews_photos/forum%20stuff/AllGraphite.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/xx159/richardmatthews_photos/forum%20stuff/Both.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/xx159/richardmatthews_photos/forum%20stuff/S2.jpg[/IMG] Headed or headless they're great basses, ultimately it's personal preference.

Mine are all headed for 3 reasons: I don't like headless basses but I do like the shape of the Status headstock Headed Status basses as standard are longer scale (34 3/4") which gives a tighter low B on a 5 or 6 string. But you can specify 34" scale length on a headed S2 if you wish, but not the longer scale on the headless as double ball end strings only come in 34" scale length as far as I know. Not all string manufacturers make double ball end strings although I'm told the string clamp system works well on most headless basses There's little difference in sound and playability, both headed and headless basses balance well and both stay in tune pretty much always.

I only ever had to do a solo once, and it was for my first ever gig and I hadn't been playing long. So I lifted the bass solo pretty much note for note from Pieces of a Dream's "Pop Rock" on the basis that it was pretty obscure at the time. I can't even find it on the internet now so I think I probably got away with it.

Fresh strings are a big help, stiffer strings like flatwounds are more difficult. The graphite necks on my Status basses produce astonishingly clear harmonics even on old strings, really alive. As you probably know you'll hear harmonics a lot clear through the bridge rather than the neck pickup.

I use Status Groundwounds on my phenolic boarded bass as they have plenty of oomph but with a bit of top end zing. Kind of a scooped sound that works well on the graphite neck. I use D'Addario groundwounds on my rosewood fingerboard bass as they seem to be the brightest sounding and have a pretty well defined mid end, they let the tone of the bass through better. I've also used Rotosound Solo bass, they seem to have a higher tension I think because they're rolled to take the roundness off the wrap rather than ground, therefore have more stiffness and more mass than other strings of the same gauge. I personally don't like them much, they go very dead very quickly in my experience. They're also not so smooth under the fingers as flats or groundwound strings although I actually prefer that, makes sliding easier.

For future reference you can use radiator bleeding keys on drums and vice versa as they are basically the same animal

My maple fingerboard, oiled finish Stingray neck always seems to need tweaking, I wouldn't say it's ever unplayable but it definitely moves more than any other bass I've owned. The Fenders move a little, an adjustment in Spring and again in Autumn generally. My Status necks never move, maybe you should get a graphite neck for your 'Ray... a bargain at £300!

[quote name='marleaux62' timestamp='1323362292' post='1462522'] [attachment=94859:127.JPG] My Babies on the Sofa [attachment=94860:129.JPG] [/quote] Wow, some nice matching book matching matching up going on there! Very nice.

How does the Dean sound when it's unplugged? If it's still lacking something it might not benefit from better electrics and you may be wasting your time... In the past I've always enjoyed the modding process but often ended up bored with the result pretty quickly. Which results in never ending modding looking for exactly what I'm after. I now make sure any bass I buy sounds and feels right and only do a bit of fine tuning to make it perfect for me. As for whether you should get another bass, only you can decide if you'll get enough enjoyment out of it to justify the costs.

[quote name='munkonthehill' timestamp='1323592070' post='1464706'] but why a relic, In all his videos he doesnt use one...so why have a custom one? [/quote] I definitely remember seeing him playing a relic Sandberg on some of his vids, I guess that's his favourite.

[quote name='Lfalex v1.1' timestamp='1323436766' post='1463370'] Tilbury has points of interest, like, er................................................... Tilbury fort? [/quote] Like Athletes Fort but itchier.

[quote name='silddx' timestamp='1323355182' post='1462398'] You see, I really would find that completely unacceptable in an instrument of that price, and having to void the warranty by making good a design fault would piss me off to the point of suicide. [/quote] Yup, peeed off is an understatement. It went back to the shop I bought it from but they didn't know what to do. Tried to sell it but no one wanted bass with only 3 strings working. It was lucky someone on Basschat posted a free fix that takes 10 minutes otherwise I'd have had to put another pickup in, voiding the warranty anyway. It was someone with "funk" in their username, many thanks whoever it was because the bass is great now.

Like a number of people here I had problems with the output of the G on my Stingray. There's a fix for it on here somewhere but I can't find it.... basically strings off, carefully remove pickup cover, remove springs under coils, lay coils in rout in bass body, carefully press pole pieces for A and D strings until they're level with E and G pole pieces (they'll find the right level if they're on a flat surface), springs back in, cover back on, strings back on..... problem solved. I'm now happy with all my basses.

Hmmm, a hollow bodied fretless Jazz might sound amazing..... hope we can get hold of them over here sometime soon.

[quote name='daz' timestamp='1323279784' post='1461571'] Yes there was a big fuss a while back when people claimed that WD40 had silicone in it and was responsible for ruining finishes in car spray shops. (As anyone who takes any silicone based sprays into some high end spray shops gets instant dismissal. So deadly are the fine silicone dropletts to paint finishes) WD40 would not say what was [i]in[/i] their product, but they did state under oath or by affidavit, that Silicone was [i]not[/i] an ingredient. I have heard that some sort of fish oil goes into it though. ? [/quote] Are you sure you're not confusing it with Worcester Sauce?

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1323184421' post='1460252'] composite? as in graphite - I've got a Status and the instructions say clean it with WD40 I seem to recall?! [/quote] I think the earlier phenolic fingerboards on some Status basses went a bit grey and polishing with WD40 made them nice and black and shiny again. Personally I agree with James Jamerson that "the dirt keeps the funk"

Was in there a couple of weeks ago, have they finished redecorating? Seemed very helpful although like many shops with overheads their prices can be a bit high.

[quote name='Bo0tsy' timestamp='1322739827' post='1455075'] ............... Lefties are not cack-handed, just multi-talented [/quote] Yup, since left handed people tend to be more ambidextrous it's the right handed people that need to up their game.