TRBboy

[quote name='Green Alsatian' post='1250399' date='May 30 2011, 03:39 PM']As others have mentioned, although not 24-fret, the [b]Peavey Zodiac BXP[/b] is a great bass for the money. I had a sunburst/maple and the neck was thin, but a bit chunkier (but not uncomfortable chunky) from front-to-back. Glossy vintage tint to the neck/fingerboard, so it looked as lovely as it played. The stock pickups are really good too - the J-pickup is actually a split-coil and is therefore hum-cancelling. As I picked up the bass cheap, I tried a few different sets of pickups - an EMG PJ-X (there's room for the battery) which I later swapped for a set of DiMarzios (Model P/J), as they were more to my taste and found the J pickup to be lacking in the EMG set, when soloed. I've owned a [b]MIM Fender Precision Bass Special Deluxe[/b], with the three-band preamp and it's a very versatile bass and not too expensive. I liked boosting the bass a little, a touch of mid and dropping the treble a hair and having the pickup blend P-heavy, with just a little of the J in there for clarity. On the cheap front, I've had a [b]Yamaha BB414[/b], which really surprised and impressed me with its sound and quality The P-pickup was suitably burly and the J was nice and burpy - great basses! I had the five-string version, the BB415 at one point and it was just as good, with a great-sounding B. I would like to pick up one of the newer BB424s at some point. The only other PJ I've owned was a SGC Nanyo Bass Collection which had a great pearly off-white colour to it. Two band preamp and a nice thin neck. Wish I still had this one as it was really smooth-sounding![/quote] Thanks for your suggestions. I've done the BB414 but didnt end up getting on with it, the Fender is a good idea but not enough frets, and I like the idea of a Bass Collection, but there don't seem to be many floating about. Apart from that, I find myself still eyeing up the Zodiac........ I wish Ibanez would make an RG series bass! Although cheesy (which I like), it would probably be my ultimate rock bass. Bright yelllow, black scratchplate, pointy headstock, and fitted out with Dimarzio P/Js. Something like this but a bass; [url="http://www.sixstringzone.com/products-reviews/ibanez/RG550-20/rg550-yellow.jpg"]http://www.sixstringzone.com/products-revi...g550-yellow.jpg[/url] Love it!!!

I excitedly picked up an Eggle Milan at a guitar show at the NEC a fair few years ago (possibly Music Live?), and then quickly put it back down feeling quite disappointed........ I guess I generally go for slim necks, and to me the neck on this Eggle felt like the fat end of a baseball bat! It was beautifully made, and I appreciate that this might have been made to a customer's specs, but I didn't even bother having a noodle 'cause it felt soooo mahoosive. I've had the oportunity to have a rip on a few Eggle guitars over the years, and they're very nice.

They are truly awesome for the money. I picked mine up towards the end of last year in VGC off Gumtree for £70! I've had various Yamaha's, and for me this RBX hits the spot better than my BB414 did. IMHO the pickups were the real weak point on the BB; I fitted an Aguilar preamp but there was still something missing from the core tone, but there's no way of replacing the pickups without chopping it about. This RBX270 on the other hand, with the Dimarzio's and decent pots, etc. = SWWEEEEET!!!

[quote name='xgsjx' post='1250178' date='May 30 2011, 12:40 PM']Ibanez Soundear should tick all your boxes. P/J (or soapbars, depending on model), 24 frets, slim neck, great sound, rock image. I have an SR1000 (not for sale, so not a plug) which I've had since new from 1990 & has been my main bass since then & you can pick up 2nd hand ibbys for a decent price.[/quote] An Ibanez would definitely tick all the boxes if I could find an older one with p/j pickups that looked ok. All the new versions for quite a long time have had soapbars instead.

[quote name='Prime_BASS' post='1249997' date='May 30 2011, 10:38 AM']Fender power jazz special, if you get one in good nick. P body with a jazz profile neck. Passive tone, but there is an active bass-treble cut circuit that allows for a wider range of possible sounds. MIJ aswell and built like tanks.[/quote] Just seen the white one you were selling earlier this year - something like that would be perfect, especially white with black hardware!

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='1250047' date='May 30 2011, 11:09 AM']What's your budget?[/quote] As little as possible as always! Id be selling my US Jazz to buy something else, so I guess around the £500 mark would be good, give or take a bit. Would love a Dingwall GW, but there's no way I could ever afford one. Not quite "Rock" enough for me anyway I think the pickup spacing cant be far off Fender spacing to be honest. I know a lot of people probably hate them, but a Charvel San Dimas bass would be awesome looks-wise, but Ive no idea what they play like.

Are the BB424s any better than the 414s? I had a 414, and despite it being a great bass, I was never truly happy with the natural response or sound of the ir. I put an Aguilar OBP2 preamp in it, but there was still something missing. Because the pickups are an unusual shape, you can't replace them easily without faffing around chopping wood out. I would really quite like an 80's style rock bass (jackson sorta style, pointy headstock etc) but there don't seem to be any decent used ones about, or anything similar new with the right pickup config. I did see the Peavey Zodiac; does anyone have any experience of these?

I'm REALLY loving my modded RBX270, despite it effectively being my cheap knockabout/backup. As a result, I quite fancy getting a better quality P/J bass, but can't really find anything I like. It needs to have a slim neck and 24 frets (or at least 21). Any suggestions?

In my opinion you really can't get better than the Dimarzio's. I was so impressed with the model p/j in my RBX, I've since upgraded the pups on my jazz bass to Dimarzio Ultra Jazz. I've tried quite a few different pickups over the years, and I much prefer these to anything else I've owned or tried. They really are great VFM.

Welcome to the brotherhood of 'berg! Glad you're enjoying it, it looks awesome. They seem to be growing in popularity at the moment; perhaps someone should start a "show us your Sandbergs" type of thread.............

When the music store I used to work in started stocking Dean, I was quite disappointed that even the more expensive models felt cheap and poorly put together. IMO, Yamaha are pretty much unbeatable for VFM and quality.

I've just put Dimarzio Ultra Jazz pickups in mine and they're awesome! VERY powerful and punchy, yet clear and defined. Because they're split hum-canceling I'm finding the neck pickup soloed to be much more usable than I did before. I had SD Quarter Pounders in previously, but I didn't find them to be that meuch different to the stock US pickups I replaced. They were ok though.

Does anyone know what my MarkBass rig would be worth? It's in very good condition, and is always kept covered when not in use so not even dusty. I do like the look of the TC BG-500 combo's, but it depends what I could get for my MarkBass as to whether it would be worth doing or not. The Fender Rumble 350 looks good for the money too, but it might feel like too much of a step down from the MarkBass. Anyone tried one?

I'm usually both pups 100%, tone about 40 - 50%, although in my current rock covers band I do tend to play with the settings a bit more to try and get closer to the record. Until I recently installed Dimarzio Ultra Jazz pups, I'd never really found the neck pup much use on its own.

Does anyone have any opinions about the TC combo's? Particulary the BG500.

[quote name='algmusic' post='1213272' date='Apr 27 2011, 10:37 PM']+1.. always win over GK in my eyes.. er ears :-) Maybe you should look at keeping the amp and changing cabs.. maybe barefaced???[/quote] Well it's a combo, so not really an option unfortunately.

Does anyone have suggestions for any other possible contenders?

[quote name='martthebass' post='1213148' date='Apr 27 2011, 09:10 PM']I'm interested what the CMD102P is like, considering letting my LM250 and 115HR go to get one.........sorry for the hijack.[/quote] It is an awesome amp! I think it stands up pretty well on its own, although if you're playing rock/metal in a reasonable sized club, you'll probably want an extension cab. I use mine on its own for rehearsals and I never get much above half volume (and we're pretty loud!) But I always get the 15" out for gigs. Depends what sort of music you play, and what sort of size venues, but it is the most compact but capable combo I've come across yet!

[quote name='chris_b' post='1213178' date='Apr 27 2011, 09:27 PM']You've got 4 basses and one rig!! You can see where I'm going with this....?[/quote] .....should I have 4 amps? ;-) Yeah I see where you're heading. I can't sell my Jazz cos it's my go-to, and we've too much history together, the Sandberg is just awesome, and the RBX just isn't worth selling cos I wouldn't get much for it (and I love it!) I have considered selling my TRB as I don't use it at the moment, but I'm hoping for some gigs with the local soul choir this year, and I'll probably need a 5er.

Just having a look again at the MB series, and I wonder if I could get away with using just the MB212 on its own? I've never had 12's in a bass rig so I don't know if they'll give me enough depth, or whether I'll miss the 15".

I have a need to free up some cash at the moment, but I don't really have any basses that are surplus to requirements so I'm eyeing up my MarkBass rig. It is perfect for me, although perhaps a little overkill as I rarely do anything more than pub gigs (and the occasional function) these days. I would want a similar sort of set up but cheaper, although it does depend what I could get for the MarkBass and how much the new rig would cost as to whether it's worth doing or not. Does anyone know what it would be worth? I've got the CMD102P combo and Traveller 115 cab. I like the mix of 10's and a 15", and I would want a silmilar amount of power. The new setup would also need to be lightweight - that is after all why I sold my Trace stack and bought a MarkBass rig! I was looking at the GK MB210 and 115MBE/400 cab online today - looks pretty good for the money - any opinions? I should just add that I am a rock player for the most part, and I like a powerful, gutsy sound but with plenty of definition. Your pearls of wisdom are, as always, greatly appreciated.

[quote name='Musicman20' post='1208508' date='Apr 22 2011, 05:51 PM']No tone on the G&L?![/quote] Yeah, that's what put me off buying one a while back....... can't understand why you wouldn't have one! Although it's my cheapest bass, my RBX270 (fitted with Dimarzio Model P/J) absolutely nails any sound I want in the rock covers band I'm in at the moment. None of my other basses give me such a variety of usable rock sounds, active preamp or not.

In my days as a carpenter, I found that fine sawdust mixed with normal PVA-style wood glue to make a sort of putty, makes an excellent filler with much better bonding properties than regular filler.

[quote name='chrismuzz' post='1206671' date='Apr 21 2011, 03:19 AM']Have you ever tried using fast fret? If you put it on before playing it coats the string in a fine protective layer to prevent as much dirt and sweat from getting in the windings. As an added bonus you cna also use it to clean your strings to get back a little extra brightness.. and it lubricates them a little so they don't feel as rough to the touch, or as it says on the pot 'Lets you play faster'. It's only about £6 for a pot and it'll make many sets of strings last a lot longer. Well worth a try [/quote] +1 I've had a pot of Fast Fret for about 5 years now and it's still fine!!! It will help to keep your strings clean and fresh, but usually IME when you're getting a recurring problem like this, there's something else afoot. For instance, I had a similar problem a while back and eventually traced it to the nut. As the slots had worn over the years, and the string was no longer a snug fit, it was killing the vibration of the strings and not transferring it cleanly, resulting in decidedly dull sounding strings.

All responses courtesy of The Sandberg Appreciation Society!