skej21

[quote name='SteveK' timestamp='1422583428' post='2674405'] As far as I'm concerned, an on/off switch would be just as useful on a P bass... or an active bass, come to that! [/quote] I always put my Korg Pitchblack tuner in the signal chain and use it as an 'on/off' button... and obviously it's intended purpose too!

[quote name='jonnythenotes' timestamp='1422486106' post='2673414'] Made a special trip from my home town of Lichfield a few weeks ago to the fabled Denmark Street in London. Within an hour I had been into every shop, and was only to glad to leave the place behind. I think I expected an awe inspiring range of shops, full of the latest musical goodies, being second to none in the UK. What I found was a handful of shops on a back street, some of which felt as if they were ready to collapse at any moment. I was hoping to find something different, but it seemed each shop was 'playing it safe' sticking to the usual Fenders, Gibsons, Marshall etc. It felt like a case of monkey see, monkey, do as each shop stuck with the same ole' safe route that worked for all the other shops doing the same thing. I was trying to find some Sandberg, Yamaha BB and Mike Lull stuff to look at, and at the time, not one of the shops had any of these in stock,and it's not as if they are a rare commodity. Am I being cynical, or is it just because it's London that I expected far more. I live fairly close to Bass Direct in Warwick, and that is a place that really does impress...it's how it should be done. I know Mark Stickley pretty well, and could spend a day in his place, compared to the 60 mins I was on Denmark street. Completely underwhelming... Next time I fancy seeing something different and impressive, perhaps a train to Manchester might be money better spent.... And then there is always the 40 minute spin to Bass direct again.. [/quote] London being overhyped by those who need to justify why they pay so much to live in a smog filled city in their shoebox houses?! Never! In all seriousness, I'm with you on this. I'm a huge Fender fan boy and a longer term player/buyer but I'd still rather go to somewhere like Bassgear or Bass Direct as they offer great service and ranges of stock that really exemplify the great quality gear that's available to bass players. The problem is that Denmark street stores also have to have space in their shop for beginners and those people want to buy stuff from brands they recognise and at a more reasonable price!

As long as there's money in our joint account for holidays, general outings and enough to cover bills, we both spend our remaining income on what we want to. I have noticed however, that showing a complete disinterest in ANYTHING other than bass goodies when she starts asking what i'd like for birthdays, christmas, wedding anniversaries etc has resulted in lots of bass goodies coming my way at those times :-)

[quote name='Hector' timestamp='1422204081' post='2669808'] Man let me know it gets on with the high C - I've been planning to do that myself when I get the cash! [/quote] Plays like an absolute dream :-)

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1422217749' post='2670031'] You can't see it, but here's my S112 in action last night... It sounds awesome. So round, warm and growly. Lots of clarity even without a tweeter. Love it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-ZiHE3Ldfg [/quote] I'm with you on this! One S112 without a tweeter and a jazz bass is just perfect for function playing. Enough clarity to hear all the character of the instruments tone but without the harshness at the top and the warmth and growl really cut through. Best cab I've ever had, hands down :-)

[quote name='Truckstop' timestamp='1422207295' post='2669850'] £16 a month?! Where from? And what's the final amount? Cheers Alex [/quote] The shop I work at offers 0% interest on instruments over £500 but it finishes next week (hence making the decision to apply for the finance today!). You pay 25% deposit on acceptance as an initial deposit and then the remaining amount over 24 months. I paid £126 today and then 24 payments of £15.70 which is £503 in total. Bargain really :-)

[quote name='Krysbass' timestamp='1422194731' post='2669677'] Here’s an update on my review: First; a few words about the weight…. Curiously, Ibanez don’t list the weights of their basses on their website, so for the record; the SR600 tips the scales at a very lean 3.4kg (7.49 lbs). That’s significantly lighter than most basses and contributes to the overall playing comfort. Since this SR600 has been my main bass for home practice, band rehearsals and gigs for over 4 years, here’s how it has fared…. Firstly, battery-life is excellent. I have yet to have a battery fail, so I just replace it every 12 months or so, regardless. The concern I expressed in my original review about the thinness of the body wood around the control pots has so far proved to be groundless – everything has been fine here. However, there were a couple of minor problems during the 4th year of ownership….. The nylon sealing-washer on one of the tuning heads split and fell off. I couldn’t find a suitable replacement washer anywhere, but could have bought a set of identical, unbranded tuning heads for just £15. In the end, seeing that Ibanez fit Gotoh tuning heads to the SR Prestige and Premium basses, I decided to pay a bit more and upgrade to a set of Gotoh tuning heads – these were a perfect fit, requiring no modification to the headstock. The only other problem was that the nut fell off during a string change – so I glued it back on! On the subject of strings; I wasn’t impressed with the Elixir coated nickel strings originally fitted, as the coating quickly and visibly peeled off and looked awful, although this didn’t seem to affect the tone. Since then I’ve used Elixir stainless steel strings, which have a great tone and don’t seem to suffer from the very obvious peeling problem. The set currently on the bass has been there for over 2 years and counting. All things considered, I’m still delighted with this bass and have absolute faith in it. For me, it isn’t so exotically priced or rare that it would be difficult to replace at short notice if anything terminal happened to it. This means I’m not afraid to take it out of the house! The natural body finish does a good job of hiding the inevitable minor dings, so it still looks fantastic (IMHO), it’s extremely comfortable to play, stays in tune and offers a wide range of tones. [/quote] Just bought the SR605 myself and this is great news for the longevity of this bass! I will have totally changed mine within a few months. Upgraded pickups, preamp and tuners and pitting a ramp too I suspect. It'll be a nice little project though :-)

[quote name='TRBboy' timestamp='1421662240' post='2663615'] That does sound like a good deal! I've been keeping an eye out for a used one, but they don't seem to appear very often. Maybe because they're good? [/quote] Bit the bullet and bought it today. £16 a month at 0% interest, which is nothing really. I'm going to restring it over the next few days. Really happy with it so far though :-)

Wow... and people say Fender can't think of anything new!

[quote name='police squad' timestamp='1421998198' post='2667475'] does an octave below mean the same as a bass though? [/quote] Yeah. So it basically straddles the octave of a bass in the bottom 4 strings and the octave above for the B & E (which is the octave below a guitars normal tuning). Edit: already beaten to it!

The D'Addario website suggests the same tuning as a guitar (EADGBE) but I assume tuned to the octave between guitar and bass tuning due to the string tensions (an octave above standard bass tuning/an octave below standard guitar tuning - as guitar and bass are usually tuned two octaves apart). http://www.daddario.com/DADMobileProductDetail.Page?ActiveID=3757&productid=427

[quote name='thebrig' timestamp='1421961461' post='2667255'] I am thinking of getting a Gibson Thunderbird because I think will be well suited to the new band I am in, we play mainly southern rock which includes many Skynyrd songs as you would expect. But on researching the Thunderbird, I find that it gets a lot of negative reviews, particularly here on Basschat. So can you BCer's who play, or have played one, answer a few questions I have please? [b]1. How bad is the neck dive?[/b] [b]2. I've read that because of the neck strap button being on the back of the bass, it tends to lean away from the body,[/b] [b] can this be cured by hooking the strap at the bottom over the front of the body, so as to pull the bass back towards the body?[/b] [b]3. Is it as one-dimensional sound wise, as many people say?[/b] [b]4. Is it a very long stretch to the lower frets?[/b] [b]5. What is the nut width?[/b] Thanks [/quote] You might also want to check the price of the current 2015 Gibson thunderbird. It's gone up quite considerably since last year; 2014 model was £1199 and the 2015 model is £1899. Might want to grab a 2014 while they're still around if you're serious!

Congrats... Another 'no' and 'no' from me :-)

[quote name='Moos3h' timestamp='1421771744' post='2664817'] Is that really true? I find it hard to believe given the volumes they shift....? Not calling you a fibber, just wondering how that's really achieved in practise. [/quote] Yup. Visited the factory and have seen Mr Eggle's workshop myself :-) he's a busy man, that's for sure! Barnes and Mullins are a fantastic distributor and they know a great product when they see it!

Faith every time. All solid woods and most importantly, EVERY Faith guitar has its last QC check done by luthier Patrick Eggle himself. The guy who designed the guitar and provided the training to the guys who constructs them is also the last person to check the guitar before it goes off to the store/customer. If he isn't happy that it represents his name to the best standard, it doesn't go. That's the kind of company I would want to buy my guitar from!

[quote name='TRBboy' timestamp='1421613347' post='2663333'] I know it's an old thread, but really tempted by one again, and I found this video on YouTube I just had to share: [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaK7elkqb1w"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaK7elkqb1w[/url] GREAT playing, GREAT tone, and a GREAT bassface! [/quote] So weird but this is next on my list and I found that video today too! Love the idea of fitting it with some Aguilar DCB pickups, stringing it E-C and getting an ebony ramp fitted! My local store are doing 24 month 0% finance over £500 too, so might bite the bullet before it ends on 8th of February! This is a really great bass for the money. I've played one extensively and need to get one to call my own now :-)

[quote name='Drax' timestamp='1421518658' post='2662232'] IMO there's a difference between a 'stock' bass and something unique. Assuming insurance, a £4k Fodera is replaceable with a near identical model, but a £4k vintage XYZ, could have a neck shape / tone / feel that was irreplaceable. Still wouldn't be digging the garden with it, just less paranoid locking it in the boot. [/quote] Surely a 'stock' bass is less likely to be replaceable? If you own a 2002 Fender US Standard, you can't replace it with the EXACT same model as it's not in production anymore. You'd have to get the 2012 US Standard instead which will have a large number of differences, such as neck profile, pickups, colours etc. If you bought a custom bass, you could ask them to make you something MUCH closer to your original one and are quite likely to remember working on the original for reference. If I had a bass and needed to replace it, I'd understand it wasn't going to be exactly the same but I'd want the same love, attention and detail to go in to it and you'd get that if you went back to a custom bass builder like Fodera IMO.

[quote name='Prime_BASS' timestamp='1421517698' post='2662209'] Some people have no taste, and more money than sense. [/quote] That doesn't make it a bad business model to exploit that though ;-)

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1421510090' post='2662117'] Well there's the answer as to why some guitar companies use the PLEK machine for their factory set-ups - it might not be better but it's quicker, simply a question of economics. [/quote] Yup :-) that's certainly how it comes across when the guys at G&L are discussing it's advantages.

So the sandblasted blue strat in my local store spent 3 days between arrival and sale... Fender haven't got a clue! ;-)

[quote name='Drax' timestamp='1421258611' post='2659087'] Proabably sounds better than a Rickenbacker [/quote] I dunno. I always thought Rickenbackers sounded EXACTLY like the back end of a scooter!

Thought I had my fuzz needs sorted but this just popped up... I love my other aguilar pedals and I have a feeling this is going to end up on my pedalboard. Damn you NAMM!! Every year i get suckered by your shiny new toys! http://instagram.com/p/x7reSyJFQP/

Just sold some strings to Dan. Nice guy and quick payer. Asked me to upgrade pair age to make it easier for him and offered to cover the costs. A true gent and a credit to this forum. Don't hesitate in dealing with Dan :-)

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1421432132' post='2661229'] That must be a problem with the Chandlers machine. Charlie was always very keen on the Plek. I believe he had the first one, when at Kew, and developed and beta tested it. Lakland and Lull Plek all their basses. If those guys were getting variable results then they wouldn't be using the Plek process. Having said that, the guys at the Gallery did a very good job when they leveled the frets and setup my bass the old fashioned way last year. [/quote] G&L also Plek all of their USA instruments too. The Plek machine must be doing something right. Apparently it only takes 20 minutes to scan the existing neck and do the work. Good luck finding someone who can do a job that accurately and quickly without wanting any money!!