acidbass

So after a lot of hearing about DR and how great their strings are, I finally decided to take the plunge and buy a set for my main Jazz bass (a Bravewood body, Wizard p/ups and a Fender Geddy Lee neck). I'm normally an Elixir user and have been for the past five or six years - they're always consistently good in my experience and last ages! However, I like to try different strings now and again to see what I might be missing out on! The set of DR's I bought was the Marcus Miller Signature Fatbeams (45-105). I'm not primarily a slap player, but like to dabble now and again, and have heard very good things about the tone of this set when played fingerstyle, which is my main method. I play primarily pop and rock bass parts, although I also play country, blues, soul and folk from time to time, so I'll get a chance to check out these strings in a variety of contexts. Strung up my bass with them before last night's gig, and my initial impressions were that they are very punchy. The bottom end on the E string is very tight and focused, with the D and G giving a very bright and consistent twang with good fundamentals too. They are certainly rougher to the touch than the nanoweb-coated Elixirs, however I find that this actually improves my grip on the string and will make for more precise playing in time. Fingerstyle, they have good definition, but actually sound VERY similar to the Elixirs that I had on previously. I'm not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing, as I had the Elixirs on my bass for around 3 months and they were veteran of probably 70-80 gigs during that time, and yet they still retained their quality. It remains to be seen whether or not the DR strings last anywhere near as long as the Elixirs, but only time will tell that. The one slight difference between Elixirs and these strings is that for the same gauge, they seem to have a slightly higher tension than their 45-105 Elixir counterparts, however they are definitely more flexible and therefore slapping and popping requires a little less effort in my experience. The slap sound of these bad boys is absolutely immense! Really tight, clear and focused - I can see exactly why they're Marcus' string of choice. If you are a slap player, definitely consider a set of these, although perhaps a lighter gauge might be [i]slightly[/i] better for slap bass. So far, so good, although I have yet to be convinced that these strings are better than my normal Elixirs. I think they are perhaps too close in sound to my regular set, and given that I have had nothing but good experiences with Elixirs (particular with lifespan), I can't see myself changing string brand just yet. Anyone else use these babies? Danny

Just a wee update on this - strung it with LaBella 760FL flats today and it just sings! A great combination!

I know a guy from around here who uses one of these regularly at gigs - sounds great! I'm a huge fan of Squier basses at the moment - top notch stuff for the price.

I'm getting my new Squier Classic Vibe Jazz ready for gigging this weekend - at a total cost (including new strings and a few mods) of around £300, and it's a beauty!

Zon? And for E mine would definitely have to be Encore - that rubbish brand that everyone bought when starting out in the early 2000's!

Just to confirm - I've bought a set of Straploks, a lovely Harvest leather strap and a set of LaBella 760FL flatwounds to spruce this bad boy up! Next up - a new passive circuit consisting of CTS and Switchcraft, a set of Wizard 64's and copper tape to shield the cavity

[quote name='Johnston' post='1336872' date='Aug 11 2011, 07:12 PM']£29 thats not bad. Last couple of places I tried were looking £40 and £45 .[/quote] Aye we normally get the sharp end of the stick over here alright! It said on the website 'free UK shipping' and when he said it would be £29 for delivery, I pointed out that Northern Ireland was part of the UK and he agreed. I know a lot of couriers who don't charge extra for shipping to NI, but some do unfortunately.

[quote name='Hobbayne' post='1336638' date='Aug 11 2011, 04:28 PM']How much did you pay for it? - if you dont mind me asking?? [/quote] £199 and that included postage to Northern Ireland, although I had to do a bit of negotiating to avoid the normal £29 'outside of Mainland' charge!

Hello all, As some of you might know, I played the Squier Classic Vibe Jazz Bass last week in a local music shop and was so impressed with the quality that I bought one used from Coda Music in Stevenage. The guys at Coda (Jamal and Ryan in particular) were very helpful and the bass was shipped to me immediately after payment. I received the bass today and, well - WOW! [attachment=86774:DSC01899.JPG] I wish Squier basses were this good when I started playing bass, it would have made things so much easier! The fit and finish is great, although it will get a setup once a new set of Elixirs arrives - the strings on it are actually the original ones supplied with the bass from new, and there's literally no marks or scratches anywhere on the bass. I bought it with the intention of modding, but to be honest it sounds exactly as I need it to right now, so the only modification I'll be making in the short term will be to add a set of Straploks. Maybe in the near future I'll throw a set of Wizards in there and maybe a new circuit, but right now the pickups sound great as they are. Dead impressed with this, and a steal at under £200. Danny

[quote name='Doddy' post='1335950' date='Aug 11 2011, 12:41 AM']I once did a session where I had to play a supplied Ric with flatwounds. I'm not a huge fan of Ric's usually,but in this case it was horrible. I suppose it wasn't helped that it was tuned BEAD and it was insisted that it had the neck pickup solo'ed and the bridge mutes on.... and played with a pick.[/quote] That sounds awful! The things we do for bread and butter eh?

[quote name='4-string-thing' post='1335205' date='Aug 10 2011, 03:48 PM']Adams probably too busy spending his pay cheque from headlining at Glastonbury....[/quote] I'd hazard a guess that he's probably spent it on more basses so he can change mid-song to something else which looks totally different but sounds identical!

Korg Pitchblack here! Great tuner, 9V battery lasts ages.

[quote name='Westie9' post='1330982' date='Aug 7 2011, 03:17 PM']Do you find the 12 loud enough for you? Also, I'll be standing right on top of mine, do you get an even balance?[/quote] I used it onstage with a five-piece band, and also in an orchestra pit, and found it consistently good across the board. Mine has a loose input jack at the moment though and so it's not being used right now, but once I get it repaired I fully expect it to deliver as it always does! I'd recommend a cover for it though if you do go for one, especially if you have pets - my cat made absolute mincemeat of the carpet covering

Hartke Kickback 12 is a great amp, but I recall some PA engineers using a seperate DI with mine as apparently the onboard one was a little noisy.

I haven't heard 64's in the flesh but they're modelled on the pickups from that era, and so are probably the most mellow sounding of the Wizard offerings.

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='1327009' date='Aug 4 2011, 02:20 PM']Ive got Wizards in mine and they make a nice improvement IMO. I had 84's but now have 74's and the bass sounds nice and warm, round and punches through the mix very nicely.[/quote] I guess they're somewhere between 84's and 64's? To be honest, the 84's are a little bit too aggressive at times for some of the stuff I play. How do the 74's compare in your experience Dave?

[quote name='Moos3h' post='1326801' date='Aug 4 2011, 12:40 PM']I played that one in Coda VERY nice matey, very nice. I'd recommend some new strings on it though - the ones they (all) come with didn't do much for me at all and had intonation problems, probably just old.[/quote] Cool! I'm thinking a set of Status Half Rounds (45-105) to give it a nice thud - my workhorse Jazz Bass has a combination of DR Sunbeams with Wizard 84's (sparkle city!) so it should be a good alternative. To be honest, the stock pickups sounded great to my ears so I don't think I'll be swapping them out (yet!)

[quote name='Lozz196' post='1325904' date='Aug 3 2011, 05:20 PM']If you really want one Danny, this one is 2nd hand at Coda Music for £199. [url="http://www.coda-music.com/product_info.php?cPath=170&products_id=10566&oscsid=cd6cc79b6ed5f9bf069a660535b7fe26"]http://www.coda-music.com/product_info.php...69a660535b7fe26[/url] Am sure they`d ship to you.[/quote] Just been in touch with them today and they've agreed to ship it to me tomorrow!

Just played one of these babies today in my local music store and what a bass for the money! Really great, solid feel to it and the notes sustained for ages - a really well made piece of bass! I'm currently trying to justify buying one in the next while as I think these will become a very sought after bass. They had it on display for £349 but I'd say I could have bargained and had it for less. Anyone own one or had experience of them? Danny

For anyone into Michael Janisch - a friend of mine got him over to record the bass on his album recently, it's sort of a cross between Jazz and Folk so well worth checking out if you're into that style! [url="http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/john-leighton/id418377064"]John Leighton on iTunes[/url]

[quote name='Bankai' post='1315442' date='Jul 25 2011, 09:47 AM']I echo this thought. But use any microphone in combination with a DI.[/quote] +1. I'd recommend sending a clean signal to the FOH using a DI box, and combining it with your mic'ed signal to represent the effected signal. That way, you won't suffer any loss of low end and the sound engineer will be happy.

[quote name='Bankai' post='1315442' date='Jul 25 2011, 09:47 AM']I echo this thought. But use any microphone in combination with a DI.[/quote] +1. I'd recommend sending a clean signal to the FOH using a DI box, and combining it with your mic'ed signal to represent the effected signal. That way, you won't suffer any loss of low end and the sound engineer will be happy.

Hmm...I remember a similar thread on here a while back about Peggy's basses with Tull - can't seem to remember the name of the brand but maybe worth a search? Great tone and player!

I'm using a Sennheiser E something or other at the moment in my band, but we recently played using another band's gear and I sang through an SM58 - BIG improvement, it didn't pick up any bleed from the drums and I could hear my vocals clean as a whistle! I'd say this is the reason why it's the ultimate 'go to' microphone. If you need to change, however, a good mic that hasn't been mentioned yet is the Audix OM5/OM6. Great sounding and very reasonable price-wise.

+ for Status Half Rounds!