Jakester

Actually, it's unlikely that this would ever stand up as a retailer cannot exclude a consumer's statutory rights which includes a requirement that the goods are of satisfactory quality. So if you did turn up in pieces through no-fault of your own, you would be able to bring a claim against the retailer. Of course, I am sure they would do their best to assist before that was ever necessary.

I've done a fair bit of recording over the years as a drummer, and when the recording tech starts saying things like "oh, we prefer our kit" or "try our snare" it tends to mean they don't know how to record anything that isn't their house gear, so alarm bells start ringing. The tech/prodcer's job is to capture your sound, not change it. If they can't record your sound, and you're paying them, I'd be a bit worried. Over the years I've stood firm over my sound, which is open, well tuned drums, instead of thick, over damped heads. Similarly the bassist in my old band said "that's my sound" and the tech had to capture it. A little eq tweak is fine, but changing instruments, unless you want to, is not.

Following on from Jose's thread about modding his G&L, I recently picked up a Warwick Streamer STD 5-string. I've played it for a couple of months but now I'm finding it could do with some more 'oomph'. The standard pickups are known to be quite weak and they're apparently a non-standard fitting, so finding a replacement can be tricky. I've owned a few active basses in the past so my first though turns to fitting a preamp. My last bass before this one had a J-Retro fitted, so I'm considering going with either a U-Retro or one of the new Uni-Pre's. The bass as standard is three-knob VVT, with a top-mounted jack. I could go with a Uni-Pre 3-knob and basically drop that straight in without drilling (if I leave the active/passive toggle switch in the cavity), but I could go with the 4-knob version which includes a passive tone control and push/pull toggle for active. This would mean I'd have to drill out the body (most likely on the underside) to fit a new jack. Now, my woodworking skills are limited at best, but I reckon I could make a half-decent fist of it, and if not I'm sure I could find someone that can. Knowing the bass isn't particularly well thought of so unlikely to increase in value any time soon, is there any thing to prevent me going with the 4-knob and getting the drill out?

If I'd have known thats' what you'd do to it, I've never have let it go! Nah, seriously I think it's all about getting the instrument to confirm to what you want, rather than you to what it can do. TBH the neck put me off it, and knowing I couldn't have got another neck I chose to get something that would work. Similarly I have a tendency to put pre-amps in most basses i've owned, and about to do another! Nice work!

I've had three 5'ers over the years and each time I got rid because I just couldn't get on with it. A recent cull meant I was down to one bass and I decided to make that one a 5'er, reasoning that if that's my only bass, I'd have to learn to play it. A few months in and I think I've just about got the hang of it - I'm not a great bassist anyway, so I was starting from a pretty low point anyway (badum tish) but I've found if I don't think about it, it's easier than if I consciously think "right, now I'm going down to Eb". So, rambling aside, try locking your 4 string away for a month or so.

[quote]d[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]ecent players can emulate covers accurately to a certain extent using technique and effects (and playing the bloody arrangement properly), but trying to make the drums in particular sound like thirty different drummers playing in thirty different studios on thirty different songs in an hour and a half is a bit of a tall order really.[/font][/color][/quote] Agreed - we do our best, and you can to some extent change sound by technique etc but unless you're using a leccy kit (which brings all its own attendant problems) the basic sound is the basic sound. [quote][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]You just can't get the staff.. [/font][/color] [/quote] [quote][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]do you want a job!? ha ha![/font][/color] [/quote] If you're Bath/Bristol way, happy to audition, but I have loads of work and I'm not as good as I say I am

I"m a drummer first (boo!) and a bassist second. I'm a pretty experienced drummer (hiss!) and a terrible bass player - I've done lots of function bands etc, and had the pleasure of auditioning countless times for innumerable projects that never made it past the rehearsal room. A lot older and a bit wiser, I think a lot of time it comes down to mismatched expectations. For example, I find a lot of bands auditioning for drummers are looking to replace someone, and so when you turn up you're immediately at a disadvantage because you don't play like their previous guy. A classic is "Bob/Jim/Dave didn't play it like that, he played it different. Why can't you do that?" without ever explaining what Bob/Jim/Dave played! Another mismatch is in expectations for how close to the record you want the tunes played. I take the view unless told that it has to exact (for, for example a tribute band), then a reasonable approximation (i.e. the same groove, the same main fills but perhaps not every single ghost note or flam) will suffice, but then I've often had people say "that's not how it is on the record!". To which I've replied "yes, and neither are the mariarchi horns and bassoon solo you've put in, but you don't complain about that!" More seriously, people are happy to pick up the drummer for omissions but will themselves skip a tricky melodic part or solo. Everyone expects the drummer to just play like the record, without sometimes realising that the rest of the musicians aren't doing that. Finally, I often get told what I'm playing doesn't sound like it does on the record. It's taken me a while, but I've finally realised what people are getting at - they take the whole drums and percussion track as 'the drums' and when you're not playing the drum part, tambourine 16ths and conga part all together they get the hump, not to mention your drums sounding different live to a close miked, gated and compressed studio kit... OP, not saying for one second this is the problem you're facing, but from behind the kit the experiences can be just as frustrating!

Cheers all - I went back and have pulled the trigger - £350 plus some Squier bits I had hanging around (which I was only going to have sell anyway). Possibly a touch on the rich side, but I'm happy enough. It's a 5'er 2 pup passive - not noticeably quiet to me. Very pleased though - it has exactly the 'burpiness' I was looking for - a mid-heavy, quite 80's-fusion-esque sound, and when I played it through my envelope filter it was evil. I hadn't noticed the neck being especially thick - the main reason I was attracted to it was because the neck felt really playable to me, and an hour's noodling has confirmed this. Though it must be said it was strung E-C, rather than B-G, so that made it quite a lot easier to play! I stuck a set of 125-45s on and it still feels easy enough to play - I've had a couple of other 5'ers, USA and Tribby G&L 2500s and this seems much easier. Some v quick phone pics (apologies for laundry basket encroachment):

Hmm, possibly overpriced then, particularly in light of the fact it's not cosmetically perfect. *puts negotiating pants on*

I think around £475ish.

Just sold my Fender MIJ Jazz to Mike, and he was a pleasure to deal with. Hope you manage to wrest it from your dad's grasp!

Indeed, though the money part may prove the most problematic!

Thanks Kev, so possibly worth a punt at the right price then. It's a bit battered - a biggish ding on the body and no strap locks/buttons a all so possible scope for negotiation!

Afternoon, all. I have happened across what claims to be a Warwick Streamer STD on my travels. Two MEC humbuckers, VVT passive controls, jack on the front, single-piece bridge - it all seems to tally with what I've been able to find on Google, here and the Warwick site. However, the body appears (to my admittedly untrained eye) to be bubinga. It's that dark reddish brown colour that everyone imagines when you say Thumb or Corvette. Now, it could be a stain, but I can't find details of the colours that were offered on the STD range - any ideas? From my limited researches, the interweb suggests that the Streamer STD is better than a Rockbass, but not as good a Proline. Is this a fair assessment? I had a couple of minutes hands-on with it and it played beatifully, so would quite like to take my interest further, but would like a bit more knowledge before I commit myself!