mcnach

I got one of these yesterday, the MP-2 as on the OP, not the newer 'PRO' version. I'm going to dep for a Bruce Springsteen tribute band in a few weeks and got 25 songs to learn, and I'm going to be away for some of this period so I figured one of these units would be quite handy to practice while on the move. I only had about 30min play with it last night, but so far I'm pretty impressed. It sounds ok, much better than I expected, to be honest. I haven't even checked the app yet, one of the presets did a more than passable job (even if it had to much reverb for my liking) with my Ray35. For my purposes, I'd be ok if I couldn't tweak it further... but it turns I can, so it looks good. Just ordered a little extension cable as I don't like it sticking out of my bass that way and I'll just have it in my pocket I think. Oh, and a little inline volume thingy since I was at it and they're cheap, just in case. It really should have a volume control on the unit itself. I think the new version has that (plus USB-C rather than micro) but at £55-60, the MP-2 looks just, well, mighty.

Binkies

It must have been! Sound guy was a bit overwhelmed but he managed ok although he took a very long time setting up, he wasn't expecting a 7 piece band with horns and multiple vocals. Stressful night for him! But there was no heated discussion that I could see. They were 5, we are 7, but when I arrived (9.15) it was just them and 3 of us and a lot of equipment, and it was all pretty friendly: it was all out of our hands and we let the venue take care of it. Did it look ugly before I arrived? There was no sign of bad feelings when I arrived.

Not the best, but not the worst. Local gig. We arrive to find there's two bands assigned to the same slot of 2x 45' sets. It's a music venue in town where the kit and backline are provided, so it's easy to set up. Manager says how about we play one set each, full pay. Ok, we went first, soon after 10pm. I was home at 11.30. Not what I had in mind but no complaints.

I didn't see you mention this BEFORE they were announced

It takes practice to get used to muting an additional string, that's all. It is frustrating because it feels like a step back, but you'll soon figure it out. I don't know how long it took me to be 'ok', but it was not as long as I feared. At the same time I'm not as good as I'd like, but part of the reason is these days I barely slap. However, what I noticed since I started playing primarily 5 strings: While slapping, my right hand moves a lot less. When I first started slapping I'd swing my forearm wildly. As I got better, the movements become more economical. With the 5 string I tend to mute the B string a bit with my palm, and in that position there is not a lot of movement, just the wrist. The other thing is that if I'm hitting the E string, I've started to wrap my left thumb over the edge of the fingerboard, and gently touching the B string, muting it. That way if I touch the B string while hitting the E, I still just get the E string ringing. These things just sort of... happened. Just like I never really set out with a plan to mute unused stings on a 4-string bass... I just played the thing and subconsciously found ways to play more cleanly. This is the same. It doesn't take very long! Just stick with it. In my case, after having owned 5-string basses on and off but never bonding with any, last year I found one that felt right. It sounded good, felt good... and I started using it regularly. Then I decided to use the 5-string exclusively at home. When practicing songs that we play live and live I still used a 4-string, I'd play them as if the B didn't exist. Eventually, after not that long, it all started to feel comfortable, and now I prefer 5 strings, but I swap around and I play 4/5 string basses with equal comfort. I think I just had to push myself a bit at first, but once you reach a certain level of confidence you're well on your way and number of strings is not an issue (well, until I try a 6er )

They seem to come and go. They'll probably appear again soon. There was this other one on ebay that I bookmarked. Twice the price 'though. Out of stock too, but I was watching this one atthe time and again it'd come back frequently. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/141332233688?var=440457232180

I was strictly a bedroom guitarist back then so I had no issues. Great guitar and surprisingly light for a Les Paul. Wish I had it now but it fell during "hard times mk 1" and only kept a Stratocaster from those days.

A while back I wanted a white Stingray pickup cover and could not find one anywhere. I ended up finding a full pickup with white cover for around £10 on Aliexpress. I just took the cover from it. Just an idea.

I bought from them a few times in the 90s, before I moved to Scotland. They were always great. I once went there with the intention of trying an Epiphone Les Paul. They had just released a green one I really liked, so I called first to see if they had some. They had two. When I arrived they ushered me upstairs where I was left to do my thing with a couple of guitars and a very tasty Fender DeVille amplifier... It never mattered if you wanted something cheap or expensive. Glad to hear they're still good.

First I'd check whether I need to tune down too. Sometimes you do but other times you don't. Last night I was playing a 4-string for a couple of songs that I originally wrote on a 5-string and did use a few lower notes... I just played those bits differently on the 4-string and still sounded good.

The more I look it the more I like it!

Yup, this one, and the tuners on that one don't chew themselves, it seems.

It seems it's only the black tuners, and only on the purple sparkle ones. It probably depends on which factory was making what at the time. The blue sparkle that came out at the same time, with chrome hardware, doesn't appear to have problems. I was hesitant to keep it, because with the tuners it becomes quite an overpriced bass. I could have bought a very nice condition USA Stingray5 and have a wad of extra cash in my pocket... but I'm happy with my decision now. Yeah, I paid over the odds, but it's a good bass and I just love that finish

I'm starting to think that your playing style didn't have much to do with your rejection.

Easy: by listening to what's been played and contribute to the whole song making it sound good, and being a team player. The busiest guys I know are good, but not necessarily the most proficient technically, however they're personable and dependable. You don't need to be the best technical player from the whole lot of bassists available, you just need to fit best with what they're doing, musically and as a person. Don't take it to heart if you get rejected, just move on and keep looking for that project that fits also what YOU want to be doing.

But if you're showing off in a manner that doesn't fit the band, then you're not showing them you can be better. This applies to most things, not just playing bass in a band.

Oh, you're Tommy Lee???

Depends entirely on the music. Do you want to play music or do you want to show off your skills? Just before the pandemic we tried to set a new band with a few members from an existing one and we needed a guitarist. The guy who could shred and tap and all that was not the guy that impressed us. The guy who impressed us was the guy who listened and played what was appropriate for the song. It turns out he can shred with the best, but he knows when to and when not to.

It looks better in person It's a shame the hardware is utter crap. The tuner gears chew themselves, and when others reported that to SBMM they just get sent another set of tuners made of cheese, so I ordered a set of hipshots because otherwise is a pretty nice bass (if heavy).

It might be a good idea to try to get those selling groups on Facebook to display a prominent note about what a bad idea it is to pay using Paypal F&F, since that appears to be this guy's main way to get money. A link to these threads would also be great but I see why some may be reluctant to get involved (he said, she said...). However a warning to not use F&F is non-accusatorial and soft, yet effective if people pay attention.

The shop told me it was a computer... is that why it's taking so long to upload??? Right, I'm calling them right now

Typing it as we 'speak'... can't you hear that noise? It's the sound I make while furiously pressing keys on my keyboard.