Rayman

[quote name='GreeneKing' post='141260' date='Feb 15 2008, 06:23 PM']Brilliant

I sold mine ages ago and wish that I hadn't[/quote]

Ditto. I'm very tempted to buy another one, I miss mine a lot.

Done, good luck.

No I wouldn't say I'd noticed it being neck heavy, but then I used to have a Thunderbird, so maybe I just don't notice it anymore!!

I've been using my TL at home through the CD-BT1 via headphones, and it's great for that, I love the tone, so maybe I'll just use it for that and use the 'ray and the jazz live. I'm reluctant to spend money on it, but I have a MM eq on offer to me, and that's a possibility when I've got some cash. A used replacement pup is a good idea too, as long as it fits, as I'm not over impressed with the build quality of the one on the bass, but it sounds ok, we'll see.

I can understand that, the spacing at the nut is less than a stingray, but my fingers aren't exactly nimble either, and so far it feels fine to me.

Amp wise I'm using a little Roland DB500 combo, monster sound for a little amp, and I've used it for the past 3 years now. No I haven't had the pickguard off, but I did have a glance under the pickup to see if I could raise it a bit with some more foam. It seems tidy enough, if a little basic in quality. I guess the pots will be the same. I'm not really very tech orientated, and would leave pot replacements to my tech. However, I'm not sure how much I want to spend on the thing by way of upgrades.

I'm in Stockport Pete if your ever around, you're most welcome.

I think you're right Matt, one of the problems I'd heard about these before I got this one was how noisy they were, and how sheilding should be the first job.

Here's a quick review of my first impressions of the bass, in a kind of Harmony Central style way.

Build Quality:

Only a few issues, the lugs that hold the bridge screws in place aren't flush to the body of the wood, resulting in a small gap under the bridge at one corner. The nut looks like my 6 year old daughter cut and fitted it, shocking. The pickup is held up with foam, which as usual has been screwed down low, squashing the foam and meaning that if you want the pickup closer to the strings, you can't do it. The screws come up, but the pup stays put, so new foam or springs is required. Generally everything fits together pretty well, pickguard, neck pocket etc all sit together well, and the tuners seem smooth, and keep the bass in tune pretty well. The finish is a nice flame veneer, but there are quite a few flaws in the veneer itself, not the laquer though, that's fine. The control knobs are fairly straight, but jesus! What a racket from the treble pot, the loudest hiss you ever heard, and unuseable in a gig situation it was that bad. I ended up rolling the treble right back to kill some hiss. That leads me on to;

Sound:

The sound is not at all what I expected. What I expected was a fairly thin, tinny sound, with loads of mid but lacking bottom end. What I got was the pole opposite. This thing has loads of bottom end rumble, as much thump I'd say as my Stingray can offer and maybe more. What it's lacking in is top end, not at all what I expected. The awful hiss from the treble pot means that you can't have the pot beyond flat without creating a terrible white noise. Now this hiss doesn't happen as much when I play at home through my Tascam CD-BT1, but live through the amp it does. Having been in contact with Mr Levin himself, he tells me that one of the models he recently tried had the pots wired up wrong, so maybe this is the case with mine, I don't know.
Through the Tascam, The tone is really nice, fat but punchy enough, with the bass and mid boosts flat, and the treble rolled up to full, but as I say, you can't do that live because of the racket from the treble pot. The low B is tight and punchy though, very nice.
So this thing has a nice warm thump, very powerful sounding, but still with a punchy click, nice for playing jazz/hip hop/rock, which is what I wanted, however there is a noticeable lack of clear top end, whether that's down to the EQ or the pup I don't know, but the general tone choices seem limited at this time.


Overall opinion:

Well the reviews on www.harmony-central.com sum the bass up well. It's generally a great bass for the cash. Very nice to play, very comfortable, I played it all through a couple of rehearsals no problem at all. In fact, I switched to the jazz for a song, but thought "where's my bottom end gone?" So I switched back.
The tone is really nice, fat, punchy, BIG sounding, but lacking top end for me.
The general fit and finish is good for a bass at this price, but definately needs tweaking here and there, and in a couple of cases, ie the nut and treble pot, they need replacing. The neck was nice, straight out of the box, but needed a twist or two on the truss rod to bring the action down a bit.
THIS IS NOT A STINGRAY. As long as you accept that this is a bass in it's own right, shaped like a 'ray, then you'll be happy. It's comfortable, sounds nice, and is worth having in your arsenal if you want an entry level 5er. I'm very pleased with it.

[quote name='Marky L' post='122193' date='Jan 17 2008, 02:20 PM']Do it.
[/quote]

This pic takes me back, ah those were the days:

If I was still a BB collector I'd have jumped on this one, good man Peter.

[quote name='David Nimrod' post='122065' date='Jan 17 2008, 11:36 AM']A CIJ Geddy Lee Jazz - perfect for what you want I reckon.[/quote]

Yeah I'd go along with that, although the guy from Opeth?? I think uses a Marcus Miller jazz. I had a Marcus, and I [i]bitterly[/i] regret selling it, and may well get one again in the future, but as a back up to the Thunderbird I was using in metal band it was hopeless. I couldn't coax enough bottom from it although there's no reason why that would be, it should be capable, but I couldn't do it. If I switched from the TB to the MM mid set, the band all looked at me wondering where the bottom end had gone.

Gorgeous bass the MM, and I'll definately have another, but for metal, I'd be thinking Geddy or Aerodyne.

Or one of these:

[url="http://www.musicpascher.com/boutique/images/FENDER/BASS/0130095306_M.jpg"]http://www.musicpascher.com/boutique/image...130095306_M.jpg[/url]

Frank Bello sig

Yeah, I just learned to live with the dive, it really didn't bother me at all after a while.

All this talk of TBs, it's making me want another one!!

Mine came online from imuso.co.uk a couple of years back. They were a limited run, but I still see them about.

Here you go:

[url="http://www.imuso.co.uk/ProductDetail.asp?StockCode=EG00702"]http://www.imuso.co.uk/ProductDetail.asp?StockCode=EG00702[/url]

Also, FWIW, when I went to see UFO in '06, Pete Way was using an Epiphone. If it's good enough for him..............

[quote name='nash' post='120871' date='Jan 15 2008, 03:47 PM']still got the ray. i want that back when you're done.[/quote]

Ha ha, you'll have to prize it from my cold dead hands sir , The ray and the jazz are permanent fixtures here now.

[quote name='Old Horse Murphy' post='119573' date='Jan 13 2008, 04:28 PM']My Black Stingray has been with me for about 2 years and I'll never get rid of it.[/quote]

Ditto. My black ray and Sunburst jazz are for keeps. I've been through quite a few basses over the years, but these two are as close to "the ones" I've come. Still wish I'd got my Marcus Miller and my Lakland JO, if I'd managed to keep them too, I reckon I'd be GAS free.

Awesome gear Joe, perfect setup there.

It's the same one I've had for ages Al, the same one I brought down to the last bash we went to. Since you last saw it in the flesh, it's had Villex pickups put into it, an aged tort plate put on it, and a bit of "accelerated ageing" by myself, involving dragging it around the driveway and adding a few "worn" areas with a hammer and some 180 grit sandpaper!! Actually, I'm rather pleased with the ageing job. There's a couple of dings I wish I hadn't put on it, but I think it looks pretty good. It's only the body I've done though, the neck is still unmarked and will stay so. I love this bass, and I guess it's the one I use the most.

Here's an updated pic of my current crop.



L - R back; OLP Tony Levin, MM Stingray, Fender Jazz. Front; Marcus Miller Jazz and an Ibanez K5.

I used a white Epiphone Thunderbird all last year in a metal band.

All I can tell you is, it was a nicer playing, nicer sounding, better looking bass than any Gibsons I had tried.

Close up, the build quality on the Epi was a little shakey in places, but only cosmetically. The Gibsons I tried also had finish issues by the way, especially around the neck joint.

The Epi fretboard was dark and smooth, almost like ebony, and the sound was just awesome, big bottom end with loads of punch too, very Steve Harris sounding to me. Not a lot of top end, but that's TBs for you.

If I was in the market for a TB right now, I would go straight for another white Epi. If you [i]have[/i] to have the word "Gibson" on the headstock, fair enough, fork out the cash, but IMO, the Epiphone Thunderbird is a superb bass at a fraction of the cost of the "real thing".

Yes, so I see, is it one of the ones you had before Al?

I still haven't had chance to see NGE since the last time a year or two ago, I'm going to make the effort in the new year. Back then Al still had those lovely bongos, top basses they were.

Spectacliar collection mate, and the Nordy loaded Sterling has returned from it's holiday al Alans' place too, nice. The Glaub is just superb too.

[quote name='niceguyhomer' post='100888' date='Dec 7 2007, 01:51 PM']Hi Peter,

The Sterling
The Lakland DJ and;
A Mexican P - which I've just prised out of my tutor's mitts. Lovely player, great build quality and it's getting a Wizard Thumper for Xmas [/quote]

Ahh, remember the MIM P I had Alan, the one Mikeh bought from me? Best Precision I ever played, cracking bass, wish I still had that one.

??

Defensive? I'm not being defensive, I've just disagreed with you, wihch is my opinion, which is what he asked for. If it's a nice bass, then it was worth the money he paid, in [i]MY[/i] opinion.

Well, if it makes you feel any better, IMO, the Korean Squiers were great. I have a Korean strat, which to be honest knocks any of the US made ones I've had into a cocked hat. Beautiful neck, and a great player, it's just a pity I'm crap at playing it.

There's a load of utter nonsense spoken about the origins of equipment, and Fenders/Squiers are no different. There seems to be a belief that if it's a JV, or a Silver series, or a blah blah blah, then it's going to be a better instrument for it. Cobblers.

Your Squier looks lovely, how does it play? Nice? does it sound good? If it ticks those boxes then it was worth the cash, enjoy it.

Also, the pickups aren't bad anyway, you're better off upgrading the pre-amp to improve the tone, like I may do with my OLP Tony Levin 5.

Metronomes?

I agree with Jeff, [i]feel[/i] the music in your heart, lock in with the drums, [i]feel[/i] the groove, and just enjoy playing music.

F*** metronomes.