ahpook

i strung up the sabre with the D'Addarios today and 1st impressions are that it's a vast improvement. i'm going to reserve judgement until they've bedded in, but blimey - what a change 1

experimenting with layering distortions for a bass + shoegaze guitar sound

[quote name='AndyTravis' timestamp='1347920028' post='1806796'] Girls And Boys - Blur (or is it Boys And Girls?) Really decent bassline either way. [/quote] plus the one

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1347919474' post='1806784'] If you really want to eliminate strings from the equation, I'd put Newtone Diamonds on it..and keep to the same gauge within 2 thou or so which they make. I think you can get them from Stringbusters or Strings Direct, I can't recall who handles them, but I go direct anyway. I am on my fifth set and they are the best string out of the pack I've tried..and since I changed basses these last few years, I've tried most. Having said that..if you know and like pro steels, then no problem, they are decent when I tried them [/quote] thanks for the tip - might be a bit priccy for me at the moment, but if the skinkys don't help then i'll be onto newtone.

[quote name='johnthebassist' timestamp='1347913074' post='1806649'] No worries! I use super slinkys: 45, 65, 80, 100. They're not the cheapest (or the most expensive), but they're nickelwound and they'll sound great on your Sabre I usually buy mine from Stringbusters. Alternatively, you could try D'Addario Nickelplated Roundwounds - the custom light gauge is 40 - 100. they're a bit cheaper than EB's too I hope the change of strings sorts the problem out for you! Just so you know, my lugs of my Sabre's neck pickup sit 2-3mm above the scratchplate. Does yours have the original exposed polepiece type or the 80's flat pickups? [/quote] excellent - i'll get onto stringbusters and order some of the D'Addarios now - i use their guitar and VI strings and have been impressed so far...spesh if they're cheaper ! my sabre's a 1979/80 (neck's one year, body the other), so it's the staggered exposed polepieces. really do appreciate your suggestions, top stuff.

closest i can think of is a mark hoppus sig, but unlike a pacer.... no stripes and no MM

[quote name='johnthebassist' timestamp='1347907478' post='1806522'] Hey there. I play a '79 Sabre and strung it up with a set of (exposed core) La Bella Super Steps recently - exactly the same problem. As soon as I threw on a set of the usual Slinky's it was back to normal again. The only other probable causes I can think of for your string woes would be either your neck pickup is set too high (the magnets in the older exposed pole-piece models like mine are mega-strong and notorious for pulling on the strings) or that square of metal you installed at the bridge is shifting around and losing resonance. I hope you get it sorted ok - they're suck killer basses, a real secret-weapon. Have you gigged it much? [/quote] well, i'm not glad you've had the same problem...but thank god i'm not missing something obvious !! the tone of the E-string was the same with the little plate in, but i'll pop it out now and see if there's any change. i'm almost certain it's not a magnet issue - i've had the neck pickup down so low the mounting lugs are well below the scratchplate and the problem's still there. so...think a set of slinkys would be in order ? what would you recomment for a 40-60-80-100 guy ? thanks for the help

[quote name='tommorichards' timestamp='1347903283' post='1806452'] what about your fretting hand? Does the string go dead on any other basses? [/quote] nope - not at all.

[quote name='tommorichards' timestamp='1347895358' post='1806287'] Shot in the dark here but could it be that you ar playing the e string most with your fingers and you have some sort of detrimental acid that oozes out destroying the string sound? [/quote] i'm usually on a plectrum when playing the sabre, and i've never had this problem with any other basses...but thanks for the idea. i'm looking for anything at the mo.

[quote name='spinynorman' timestamp='1347889218' post='1806165'] So, if I want to create a shape to sell as a Rackenbicker, how much does it have to deviate from the original spec to avoid infringing the trademark? Is that why all the effort goes into taking individual sales off eBay, when there doesn't seem to have been as much effort to stop the production at source? [/quote] how close ? i think that would up to their lawyers to decide. i suppose the rykeinbarquah body shape could be protected by both a trademark and copyright as it's so distinctive...

so i suppose this points to either my string winding technique...? the sabre's strung with ~2 1/2 turns of the string on the tuning head, same as all my basses... hmmmm

[quote name='steve-bbb' timestamp='1347891157' post='1806199'] [media]http://youtu.be/5Da9sc6YDBo[/media] [/quote] slice of pure fried genius there. it's brilliant how the bassline sounds like pealing bells....bells to welcome the mayor of simpleton. but back to the OP - there certainly was a lot of funk in andy rourke's playing.

send it back if you're not happy. don't let this spoil that 'new bass moment'

if MGM trademarked their lion's roar then assuming you could say 'this' sound is unmstakably ampeg and could provide a decent case then you could trademark it, but not copyright it.

ok folks - thanks for the troubleshooting tips, they're rfeally appreciated. E-string on a different bass - sounds pretty much the same A-string from the same bass - zingtastic you can hear the e-string's sounding different to the others pretty much by the time you're tuned to pitch, and then by a day or so later it's more washing line than roundwound. lighter guage ? i'm on 100-40's as it is.

i've decided it's time to sort out why the E-string on my sabre goes dead so quickly. for instance - at the start of this fettling i restrung with status hotwires (although this issue turns up with all the strings i've tried), and within a day the E-string's dead compared with the rest of the set (which sound great - zingy and fresh). so, to be systematic i've... i) removed the bridge, cleaned the off the ~30-year gunk underneath and made sure eveything mates nicely. ii) taken the bridge apart and cleaned it. iii) cut a small square of steel to put underneath the E-string saddle screws as the bridge is a little chewed where the screws touch the bridge. iv) restrung and pressed the string well down over the bridge to get a good break angle. v) ensured the strings aren't twisted. vi) lowered both pickups almost as far as they'll go to make sure the monster magnets aren't messing with the strings and [i]still[/i] the E sounds thuddy and lifeless. i did check out the nut as well, but it looks fine - no cracks, but as the string sounds dead on fretted notes too... i really am scratching my head about this, so any ideas would be welcome.

it was a nice rack tho. really tied the room together.

ok, ok...so i only just checked the link i posted /waves hands around quickly, points out of window/ [i]look, the goodyear blimp[/i] [size=1]link fixed[/size]

[quote name='MarkBassChat' timestamp='1347434680' post='1800638'] I you get any parallel looper pedal (e.g. like this one: [url="http://www.amptone.com/bossls2.htm"]http://www.amptone.com/bossls2.htm[/url] ) , you will be able to do it without any mod and furthermore it will work with any effect. Mark [/quote] this is true unless the pedal inverts the phase of the signal - then parallel mixing won't be possible without a phase inversion option on the blender unit, there's a list of pedals [i]somewhere[/i] on the internet that say which do and don't invert phase (a lot of modulation effects do), but i'm about to head out and can't find it...sorry

[quote name='mart' timestamp='1347370966' post='1799879'] looks more like a rack to me. [/quote] boom, and furthermore...tish

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1345659932' post='1780215'] [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hx2lza1Rb0U[/media] [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dT6awGkbSfM[/media] [/quote] i take my hat off to you mr. bilbo...excellent post. can we set up the forum somehow whereby if any argument about plectrum vs fingerstyle breaks out, those two vids pop up ?