fretmeister

Anyone got one? I'm quite tempted to get one.

Nice vid. Rush are one of those bands that do nothing for me, and yet I do like hearing Geddy play isolated, or just with the drums! Nice looking bass though!

[quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1430587214' post='2762923'] Good job no one here is playing in an orchestra. The conductor is - by design - usually a half-beat or a beat ahead of the orchestra, while some instruments (bowed basses) open their note even a little bit ahead of the other players to allow for their instrument's attack. In any case, playing ahead of or behind the beat is a legitimate and widely recognised musical practice. [/quote] Best me to it. Had a top orchestra rehearsal this morning when the subject came up (again) for the over enthusiastic 'bone players!

I usually get my hard to find pickups from Best Bass Gear in the USA http://www.bestbassgear.com/seymour-duncan-3band-musicman-onboard.htm Fast cheap shipping and even with VAT and import it's usually a little cheaper.

[quote name='Rumple' timestamp='1430402121' post='2761057'] Me neither, I'm after a SD Antiquity 2 pickup for my Precision and it's more than double the price of buying one from the US on Ebay, even after paying VAT and import duty it would be a darn sight cheaper from America, it doesn't make sense! [/quote] Distributor costs. Same reason why Mesa amps are mentally price over here.

It's not far off Mrs F's birthday. I'm going to get her one.

http://www.sunfrogshirts.com/Magical-BASSIST-wife-Ladies.html?9495

[quote name='throwoff' timestamp='1430258266' post='2759677'] Acoustics are a different kettle of fish completely. The instrument is designed to self amplify and as such the wood construction alters the tone. On electrics it really doesn't. I am sure somebody did your test a few years back where they stuck a Pre CBS set of Fender pups in a guitar and on a plank of wood and found no audible difference in the spectrum. [/quote] So to clarify your position - the wood makes a difference, but the pickups are not very efficient at allowing that difference through to the amp. I fully agree that a pickup change can be one of the most dramatic changes in tone. Round strings to flats is another. But that doesn't mean wood differences aren't there, it's just that the differences are of a smaller magnitude. Those differences are even less noticeable (even pickups and strings) if an amp has such a powerful overbearing voice, like an SVT at full tilt. If anything that is a failure of the pickup system - failing to fully realise the tonal quality of a particular wood choice.

I like that. How much does it weigh?

[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1430228726' post='2759193'] I've got an old Wilson guitar with the 'zero fret' and I've always thought "what a good idea" no more fannying around cutting the nut to exactley the right depth, I've often wondered why it's not more widely used. [/quote] Both my Marleaux and my Sandberg have Zero frets. It's a brilliant idea. And at re-fret time it's only 1 more fret.

[quote name='throwoff' timestamp='1430230498' post='2759223'] Again, I think almost all of it is in your mind. I think pickups can vary massively in the way they are wound, as well as the wiring, pots and so on. [/quote] Be dead easy to test. Get two (or even better, 3 or 4) 99% identical instruments, say alder body and ash and then run the signal into a 'scope. Ideally with a mechanical device picking the strings for uniformity. Use the exact same set of pickups and compare the 'scope trace. Then for control do the same with a contact mic attached to the bodies - not using the pickups. Do that with plucking the strings and with an impact / tuning fork test. If there is a difference on the 'scope then there is a difference. Whether that difference is actually enough to be detected by the human ear will also be answered by the 'scope readings. While you do that I'll nip into Sheehans lovely acoustic emporium and play a Taylor made of mahogany and then one made out of spruce and be completely not surprised by the obvious tonal difference.

[quote name='alembic1989' timestamp='1430226284' post='2759160'] Hmmm an interesting point of view. Makes me wonder why we bother with high grade ( or otherwise) instruments when (according to you) all we need to do is (for example) get some Fodera pick ups and loom...stick them in a cheap plywood 70s Jap body...and hey presto we'll have the Fodera tone. Are you sure my friend :-) [/quote] +1 I've had a pair of otherwise identical instruments with some wood differences and there was a clear difference. I doubt an audience would notice, but I did

It's an ugly thing and weighs too much.

Gigrig Genrator, distributor and isolators. http://www.thegigrig.com/acatalog/PowerPathDiagram.html#SID=24 Not cheap, but you'll only buy it once.

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1429691448' post='2753896'] As someone who works part time in a bass shop I get to hear a lot of people trying things out. There's no real uniformity at all. Some people play recognisable stuff, some noodle around and some play very short sections all over the board listening for uniformity of tone and clarity etc. Very few people slap these days and hardly anyone plays with a pick. For a while we heard There's Nothing Like This by Omar a lot but that seems to have subsided now. It's interesting to watch serious pro players. They often have warm up riffs that they use before going on stage and they'll play these when trying a new bass. We have one regular pro customer who always plays acoustically first and then maybe just a few notes down on first three frets, across all 4/5 strings to see how they compare and then that's it. There's certainly no judgement of whether anyone is a 'good' or 'bad' player. The four of us in the shop are all of various standards of technical ability but never think of ourselves as being 'better' than someone. As has often been said here on BC, there's no real definition of what makes a good player. [/quote] When I came down to get my Demeter I played the double bass part from "The Dambusters March" For some reason it was the first thing that popped into my head. That Sadowsky was very easy to play.

This interests me greatly! I love my VT-Bass-DI pedal.

Basin Street Blues Hysteria Aimless noodle in E minor.

Bergantino HD cab. Awesome things.

Bass direct have a used Streamer Stage II at the mo. And it's black!

[quote name='Mattmit' timestamp='1429219453' post='2749489'] My California VS is really light, I didn't know they were known to be heavy. [/quote] My TM5 was 10lb before I put Hi[shot ultralites on it and lost 1/2 pound. I got am email from Gregor about the new ones - 4 strings are expected to be under 4kg from now on - that's about 8.8lb

I like them a lot. Hopefully the weight will come down too.

[quote name='maldy' timestamp='1429015153' post='2747022'] Just had a reply from them that was very detailed and helpful. Maybe they have just been busy and I've been too eager! [/quote] I imagine like a lot of EU guys they are gearing up for the massive Musikmesse show that starts tomorrow.