randymussel

Yes that has puzzled me too as Laney is one of the brands that has consistently been producing bass gear for as long as I can remember (30 years or so), while other names come and go and fall in and out of fashion. They must have been doing something right to still be here.

Apologies for the long post but a little story in recognition of a good gear experience. TLDR: Faulty Speaker replaced, excellent customer service in doing so, one very satisfied customer!: So a few months ago I bought my first 'real' rig. Up till this year I've been using various combos as I've never had the need or ambition for more but I've got a new itch to join a band so I thought I'd get myself a capable head & cab. After much research & consideration I plump for the Laney Nexus SLS head, with the R210 cab (might do a separate NAD post on this if anyone's interested, or even if not). Pleased as punch with this combination, looks great, all the bells and whistles, loads of power, lightweight and doesn't break the budget. Until... Farting noises. Not from me for a change, but coming from the amp while I'm playing. Like most of us when something appears to be wrong with an expensive purchase, I try to ignore it. Convince myself it isn't there. It's not that bad. Isn't it? Yes it is quite bad. I can't ignore it. It is definitely not supposed to sound like that. That is not the sound of a preamp tube, or the tweeter. It sounds like my signal is being fed through a very quiet fuzz pedal alongside my clean signal. But I don't have a fuzz pedal, and if I did, what would be the point of playing one quietly? So I try to eliminate the possible sources of the noise: effects pedals, leads, speaker cables etc. I narrow it down to the cab, or the amp. My first instinct is to contact the retailer, but both items were bought online from foreign based retailers (because apparently its cheaper to ship Laney gear to mainland Europe and back to a UK consumer than to buy from a UK dealer - who knew). So returning would be tricky. So to avoid the tricky conversation with a non-English speaking retailer I contact Laney. I don't know about anyone else but I have had distinctly mixed results contacting companies through websites so I wasn't expecting much from the technical query contact form on their website. But I described the problem and my attempts so far to identify and solve it, not hoping for much, but who knows, its worth a try. Anyway, I receive a reply within a day, asking further questions and suggesting other ways to investigate. A series of messages follows, checking one thing then another, and we locate the fuzz in one of the speakers. Via email I confirm that I'd bought the cab this year, and before I knew it a replacement speaker was on its way. Received within 1 more day, fitted to the cab, and problem solved from inital contact to satisfied customer in less than a week, and without a penny spent. So I am very grateful to Laney, who although I am a mostly bedroom bass playing nobody they didn't have to keep happy, and although they of course should rectify build faults in their products, they have got one very happy customer who took a gamble on their gear and has now become a fan of the company. Much appreciation for excellent service (especially Pete in the Service Department) and a further glow because its a British company who I think are making some genuinely innovative and standout products, both for guitar and bass.

I've not played the head, but I have the 210 cab. Seems reasonably capable although I don't have much to compare it to. I think both the Laney 410 and the 115 will stack with the 210 (not the Nexus ones, Laney's cheaper ones), or you can buy another 210 (only £201 at Muziker) to make a vertical 410.

I'd second the alternative suggestion - black. Both Pearl and Tort plates look best imo where their textures are the most eye-catching features, so ideally against block colours or natural finishes rather than sunburst. For me tort on sunburst has too much going on. keep it black for a modern aggressive look. I appreciate I'm in the minority but I've always been a "no sauce at all" type fella.

Love Like Blood - Killing Joke

In my experience it works perfectly well, if anything the signal needs to be attenuated a bit (but that might just be my sh!tty headphones).

[quote name='GrammeFriday' timestamp='1470731517' post='3107909'] Amen to all of that - I also have a Sandberg VM5 strung with D'Addario EXL 1655s, and the B string is superb. Out of interest, what was the Cort you used to have? I have a Cort A6 and the B string on that is even better than the Sandberg - in fact, it is the best B string I've ever had on any of the basses I have owned, including a USA MTD, even though it is only a 34 scale and not a 35. (My theory is that it is because the A6 has a neck-through rather than a bolt-on construction, but maybe I just got lucky with this one.) [/quote] My Cort was a C5H, so same shape but a different beast to the A5/6 I believe. Bolt-on, 34" scale. Modern-sounding and versatile but I didn't fall in love with it - I bought it for a particular band that ended a couple of years ago.

[quote name='dood' timestamp='1470686352' post='3107697'] Choose a decent sounding 5 string, then up the gauge of the B string. Am I the only person who thought this? - Or, if it is STILL a problem them get someone like Newtone to custom make higher tension strings? D'Addario offer some truly awesome tension/gauge resources and I would highly recommend checking those out. D'Addario also offer a wide range of off the shelf strings that can be interchanged to meet your needs of..err... un-floppiness. To put it in to context, I have a 34" scale bass that is tuned down to F# below B. Yup, if you think a B is floppy then try a bad set up at that tuning lol. So, the instrument is a premium custom. The way to get that note sounding AND tension? I use a 183 gauge custom wound string. Another tone down for an octave below a four string, a 190 at the ready. [/quote] That does make sense, and I did wonder about the gauge of the strings I tried - I find most basses are strung a bit light for me off the shelf. But I can't even imagine what a low F# sounds like - literally - in a live situation. I guess its as much a [i]feeling[/i] as a hearing , and that it asks even more questions about the adequacy of your amp & cab as well as your bass.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1470679383' post='3107615'] Unfortunately IME there are no cheap and good 5-string basses. There's more to making a good 5-string than simply widening the neck and pickups and adding an extra bridge saddle and machine head, which is all the cheaper end of the market does. Even if they are currently out of your price range, go to a specialist bass shop such as Bass Direct, Bass Gear or The Gallery and try some around the £2k mark. Then you'll see why you've been unsatisfied with the budget end of the market. [/quote] I like this suggestion, as it appeals to my high level of quality tolerance and discernment of well-made instruments, and doesn't require me to change my plucking technique! I hadn't begun to appreciate the level of difference in engineering until this weekend, as I hadn't before played very many instruments even in the £500+ price range. However it also means I may have to stick with 4-strings as until (and if) I am ever in a position to require a pro-level instrument I probably won't be spending £2k on a bass.

[quote name='HazBeen' timestamp='1470677883' post='3107595'] Don't take this the wrong way as I am not intending to judge or attack, but you are clearly playing too hard. Sure a 34" scale will be a little floppier than 35" and above and a higher string gauge .130 or even .135 will be a little less floppy than a .125 B but all pretty marginal differences tension wise. Maybe put a light gauge set on your 4 for a while and when you are used to the lower tension try a 5 again? You just adjust like you would with increased string spacing, action, scale etc on a 4. [/quote] I'll take this in the right spirit! I have thought about this myself - I did once use someone else's bass at a venue after they had sound-checked, and the increase in volume when I began playing was noticeable to me, to the other player, and to the sound man. Perhaps its a legacy of growing up playing along with Flea - I love the sounds you can get from the instrument by digging in. I could probably do with refining my technique a bit though.