acidbass

I love the look of that white one but would be instantly removing the stack knobs, so probably not quite for me!

It seems I'm not the only one guilty of this having read your latest post. Let's agree to disagree and leave it at that

I'm not sure there is an accurate figure for such a thing to be disputed, how would this even be available? I don't think it can be argued that the Fender bass and more particularly the P Bass is the most recorded bass in history. I haven't noticed this myself, fair enough bass guitar isn't always used in modern music in place of synth but other than that I can't agree. If anything, the way bass is mixed and processed by engineers nowadays can be much better. What do you mean by fundamental? My reply that you quoted was in relation to the bass 'cutting through' which to me is not really what I want my bass to do at all, nor do many band leaders or engineers in my experience. To me, a fundamental instrument forms the base of the music and allows the rest of the instruments to build around it. I think so yeah, there's just something magical about the P Bass (and to an extent the J Bass) as it can sound unremarkable on it's own, but sit perfectly in the mix. It's not an accident that engineers prefer it. A bit like the SM58 vocal mic, it's easy to work with and sounds good in the majority of settings. Apologies for the tangent

Ah great, another amp with no heft!

I think that's the appeal of the P bass in general and why you hear it on 90% of recordings on the radio! It just blends so well.

I know the Cioks DC7 has a USB out. Could power your clock and the rest of your board too!

Decent pickup alignment! The Acidbass hallmark of a well made bass

Yeah that photo is not the worst example, but I have seen Stingrays where the string is barely in line with the pole piece at all, maybe only fractions of a millimetre. Seems strange to me that a variable that could be fixed so simply by manufacturers is often wildly different, even on basses of the same model (see Fender Geddy Lee!)

For me, the change is the way the string vibrates. If it's positioned directly over an exposed pole piece, there is surely a certain amount of magnetic pull, whereas if it's off centre (or in the case of J and P basses, not over a pole piece at all), the pull will be less. I'm no engineer, but this could certainly affect sustain or tone.

I do believe things like this make a difference sonically, but aesthetics are a major consideration also for me when buying a bass.

Seems this only extends to the 4 string Specials and not the 5's, disappointingly.

Why can't they change the string spacing on the pickup pole pieces, if this has been an issue since the 70s? Seems the design can be improved upon.

Yeah I get that there are fixes but it's the sort of design flaw that shouldn't exist in the first place! It's putting me off buying one of those new Ashdown/Lakin basses big time!

Dodgy alignment puts me right off. By that I mean the way the pickups and inlays are aligned with the strings. You mostly see poor examples of the latter, even on handmade basses costing thousands, whereas conversely the instruments at the cheaper end of the spectrum often have it nailed. I just couldn't bring myself to buy an instrument where the strings don't pass through the middle of the pole pieces on J or P pickups. To me, it's a sign of either bad design or bad manufacturing. Why would I want an instrument that's any less than perfect? Really grinds my gears.

You might recoup some of it for sure but the exposure would be worth it. Vulfpeck haven't yet peaked commercially - this next album could be the one with a hit single.

Yet another interesting marketing vehicle. I hope it isn't bought and used to convey some political message.

None as yet. I use Helix into IEMs live, I will almost certainly invest in an FRFR when gigging resumes proper, definitely going to go for one of the Yamaha/JBL/QSC cabs 2 way cabs with a 15" driver for nice lows.

I'd happily gig with just the Helix and an FRFR, in fact I am considering selling my Aguilar DB751 and matching 4x10 cab!

I'd like to see a comparison video where a bridge, pickups, frets, a nut, tuners and strings are mounted on a work bench and things like sustain and waveform are measured. These to me are the only variables which make a difference to my mind from a physics perspective (apart from the way it is played of course)

Agreed. Steve Howe etc are done. Rabin and Pomeroy are so much better.

Yeah I use it to clean up my tone, my speakers don't need to work as hard and having it at the start of my signal chain really tightens up overdrive and octave down effects

Yeah I'm a 4 string player! Even without the lowest fundamental, your ears have a way of filling out the missing frequencies by utilising the other harmonics of that note (80hz) etc. I'm using a Class D head and two 10" cabs which beforehand I could never get enough headroom out of. Now I have it in spades!

Yeah the Global EQ - is there a Global HPF? I used the Global EQ to cut the lows but the slope was too gradual for me. Cutting everything below 50hz sharply sounds amazing particularly for smaller speakers.