TRBboy

[quote name='longtimefred' post='1197178' date='Apr 12 2011, 07:03 PM']Lol I love it that my bass buddies are excited for me, everyone else just thinks I'm nuts! Yeah I had sandberg GAS and had to buy one straight away! I know I will want another but it's a lot of pennies![/quote] Ha ha! That's why I was glad to discover Basschat, so that I could geek-out about gear without boring the missus! I'm half considering selling my jazz to fund another Sandberg, but I'm emotionally attached to it 'cause we've been through a lot together, even though it's by no means my favourite any more...... another dilemma!

Wooooooohoooooooo!!! Awesome mate, can't wait to see it! I was gonna ask what the specs are, but I guess you'll want to save that for the big reveal. Just realised that it's gonna give me major GAS, and I'll probably be trying to figure out which of my basses I could do without to fund another Sandberg!

This thread sucks. I REALLY wish I still had my TRB1004 now!

M[quote name='parker_muse' post='1194100' date='Apr 9 2011, 09:59 PM']When you think of great basses - its always the classics that come to mind. Fenders, Gibsons, G+L, Musicman etc etc. Yet Yamaha have been around for 30 years and always seem the 'geeky brother' of the bass world. I'd never really sat down and had a go on a yammy until a few weeks ago, and i've now played a BB424 and a TRB1004. Both basses were beautiful, sounded smooth (piano tone, so even compared to Fenders i've played) and moreover built like tanks. I've never sat down with something that felt that 'solid'. Now i have major GAS for tom's TRB 1004 on here. What do Yamaha have to do to break into the top tier of bassy conciousness?[/quote] I sold Tom the TRB and I miss it badly! I don't regret buying my Sandberg, I just wish I hadn't had to sell the Yammy to get it. They are awesome, awesome basses and versatile too. Worked just as well for metal gigs as it did for playing at panto! I used to find the 35" scale nice, especially for drop tuning, because the strings still retained a nice amount of tension. Let me know if you buy it, I want to know where it is for when I can afford to buy it back! I've always been a massive Yamaha fan, and have owned quite a few. The quality of components and construction, even on the cheapest models is always perfect, and they are well thought out. I think that a lot of people, subconciously or not, want to feel that their new purchase has boosted their status, and therefore their ego. At the end of the day, if you're buying a bass for the name or the looks, you're buying it for the wrong reasons IMO. For me, feel is most important, followed by sound, and if it looks nice that's a bonus.

I do believe that 73jazz said it on my 'Jazz bass dilemma!' thread recently. [quote name='73Jazz' post='1187703' date='Apr 4 2011, 01:06 PM']Maybe you should adjust the height of the pickups, in my oppinion the most underrated thing to do in a setup. You possibly have chosen the same height than with your pickups before, due to more output they have now more mids. experiment with it, if you screw the pickups more into the body, they get more bass[/quote] I do pretty well disagree with this statement. I always try to have the pickups as high as possible without the strings hitting them, no matter how hard I dig in, and without the magnets inhibiting the free vibration of the strings. I don't think that the pickup height affects the tone whatsoever.

[quote name='chipmunk_jr' post='1193320' date='Apr 8 2011, 09:25 PM']I just bought one of these for £40 today, And I am well happy with it. thx.[/quote] Awesome, what a bargain! Are you planning to mod it? What colour did you get?

I have to admit, although I'm not really much of a P-bass guy, I played one of the '50s Precisions last year and thought it was by far the nicest Fender I had played for years. If my memory serves me correctly, the neck felt pretty slim for a P. I agree that you still seem to get a bit of variation with Fenders, so it's best to find one you like and buy it.

When I was considering a custom spec Sandberg a coulpe of months ago, I spoke to Bass Direct and they were very helpful. They contacted Sandberg (probably through Synergy) and found out what the deal was and gave me quotes and stuff. I believe that Bcer Longtimefred is awaiting delivery of a custom Cali PM which he ordered direct from Sandberg, so it may be worth talking to him.

[quote name='AttitudeCastle' post='1192671' date='Apr 8 2011, 10:29 AM']Anyone else remember when Fender Mex Precisions were around £350 ??[/quote] Yep, or even cheaper! I bought my MIA standard Jazz Bass in 98(?) for about £570 BRAND NEW!!! (Although that was quite cheap, I think RRP was about (£800).

I don't know where you are but apparently PMT in Birmingham usually have quite good stocks of them. I think Bass Merchant in Colchester have some, and Electro Music in Doncaster have a black Cali PM ( ) in stock at the moment (I think that's where my Sandberg was originally purchased).

I agree that the Thumb is Warwick through and through. I used to have a Thumb 5 BO, and it sounded incredible and was beautifully built. The only downsides for me were that it wasn't that great to play sat down, it was a little neck heavy, and the single worst thing for me was that first fret felt like it was at full arms length away. This meant that I often found that playing at the lower end of the neck felt slightly uncomfortable. It's unlikely I would, but if I ever buy another Warwick, I think it would more than likely be a Streamer.

Having owned both, I'd say that the Dimarzio's are more agressive and trebly than the SD's, IMHO.

Took my jazz to band practice last night, for the first outing at full volume since changing the pickups, nut, strings and giving it a good setup. I plugged it in, and...... SWEET JESUS!!! I nearly blew the rhythm guitarist through the wall of the studio! Those pickups have so much output! I have never owned or played a passive bass that sounds like that. SOOO much power, growl, clarity with a very even string to string volume and response, and zero noise. Interestingly though, I could turn the input gain up just as much if not more than I could before without it clipping. I have NEVER used the neck pickup soloed on my jazz until now. Because of the split coil humbucking design, I can get almost a p-bass sound with the neck pickup soloed and the tone rolled back a bit. I have also never been able to hear higher notes as clear and loud as I can now. I can play anywhere on the fretboard and it really cuts through the mix, even in a rock band with two guitarists! I would highly recommend these pickups. They still sound like a passive bass, but more modern and "hi-fi" if you like. They are definitley not for traditionalists, nor for the faint hearted, but if you are a balls-out rocker, or just like a punchy, modern sound, these are well worth trying. I've now got Dimarzios in both my passive basses and can't imagine ever using anything else in a passive bass.

I got some Dimarzio Model P/J recently and they are awesome! They are the most defined, powerful and quiet passive pickups I've heard.

Yamaha RBX270. Versatility of p/j config, well built, comfortable, easy to play, lots of potential for mods. I bought one in VGC end of last year for £70 and hot-rodded it and it sounds and feels awesome. Way better than a squier or even a MIM IMHO. Have a look: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=121667&hl=best+%A3200+bass"]basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=121667&hl=best+%A3200+bass[/url]

Awesome, just awesome. Obviously it's all subjective but I tried a California PM and IN in a store last year and was blown away! I decided that next time I was able to buy a new decent bass, it was gonna be a Sandberg. That's what led me to buy my Basic 4 recently. Try one and i'll be very surprised if you don't like it!

Man, that is some crazy s*@t! I would love to have the money to just think "you know what, F%#k it, I'm gonna buy a crazy bass just for the hell of it!" They are all stunning and have totally blown my mind!!!

Worth also considering the Wilkinson bridge with brass saddles. Been very impressed with the one on my RBX and they're only about £14!

Is the general opinion that stainless steel is brighter and lasts longer?

[quote name='lowregisterhead' post='1188467' date='Apr 4 2011, 10:47 PM']D'Addario XLs. Not the cheapest, but you really can't go wrong. Ernie Ball Slinkys are remarkably similar too...[/quote] I've used D'addario's probably more than anything and they've always been good, but I've just had a bit of a duff set. I suppose whatever brand you use there's always gonna be the possibility of a dodgy set. It is the first time I can remember having a bad set of D'addarios in the last 16 years! Have you ever used the Prosteels? It looks like they're brighter but I've never tried them.

Just wondered if anyone had any suggestions for a good, bright set of roundwounds that last well (and don't cost too much!)? Your thoughts would be much appreciated.

Ok, slightly embarrasing, but it seems like the strings were playing a big part in all this. I think the combination of a slightly dodgy set of D'addario's and the taper issue were causing the problem. I dug out a set of GHS Boomers and they made a huge difference. I've just been playing for a while, and those Dimarzio's are awesome! They're absolutely perfect for me, they kinda sound like my favourite aspects of active and passive rolled into one. Loads of guts, clarity and response with zero noise. I know people have mentioned before about some Fenders not being that well put together in terms of neck/pickup/bridge alignment, and I've noticed that my bridge is a little squiffy and the bridge pickup is off-center (toward the control plate). You'd think they'd be able to get it right by now! Just a bit annoying because I can't get the strings to line up directly between the pole pieces on the bridge pickup. Anyway, thanks for all the help.