TRBboy

+1 try as many basses as you can. Definitely worth trying a Sandberg California TT of TM if you can get your hands on one!

Great bassline, one of my very favourite Christmas tunes!

[quote name='fretmeister' timestamp='1356470133' post='1910446'] It's lovely! What's the neck profile like? [/quote] It's mainly the necks that originally sold the Basic series to me. Hard to explain in words, but they're fairly slender front-to-back but very comfortable. The profile is kind of a shallow "D" at the nut end, and then flattens out down the centre line as you get further up. The fretboard is fairly flat (feels like quite a large radius), but not too much IMHO. The other thing I like about them is the weight and balance. I haven't weighed this one, but my other KT5 weighs in at just over 7.5lb on my (crap) bathroom scales, which I think is pretty light for a 5er, and a good pound or so lighter than an equivalent California model. I know they're not everyone's cup of tea, but they just feel perfect in my hands, and sound great too! Easy and comfortable to play with a massive range of tones. Not that I want anything crazy looking, but the fact they don't look like a fender is a plus point in my book.

Well, definitely don't seem to be getting on with the Sandberg strings, they seem to feel incredibly elastic, and sound pretty dull for stainless roundwounds (particularly noticeable on the E and B strings. Think I'll stick a set of Rotos on tonight. Not terribly impressed that the battery in it was dead too, but I guess these are pretty minor things in the grand scheme of things: a small hassle for such a supremely awesome bass!

Personally, I think I'd rather just have separate instruments unless you absolutely HAVE to play both during the same song(s). The whole concept just seems heavy and awkward to me.

[quote name='yepmop' timestamp='1356466065' post='1910406'] Dimarzio Ultra Jazz Pups, Bass culture T-Shirt and a Haynes Fender Bass manual - well happy Now lounging on the sofa completely bloated after stuffing my face with Xmas dinner washed down with some wine. [/quote] Great pups! I put some in my old USA Jazz, and they were awesome! Much better than the SD Quarter Pounders I had in there previously IMHO. I'm also stuffed and a bit drunk, just contemplating re-stringing my bass and attempting to figure out how to use the Zoom!

Wife got me a very nice Minotaur strap, mum n dad got me a Zoom B9.1ut - no idea where to start with it! Haven't had a multi fx since my Zoom 506 about 15 years ago!

Metallic red Sandberg Basic 5 with white pearloid pickguard, white pup cover, maple board and black hardware. Ho ho ho!

Well, it was pretty much all planned since I decided that the Sandberg Basic Ken Taylor 5 is THE bass for me, and that I was exclusively going to play 5ers: Out: Sandberg Basic 4 natural (sold to fund custom KT5) Sandberg Basic 4 greenburst (sold to fund custom KT5) Modded Yamaha RBX270 black (sold to fund backup 5er) EHX mini Q-Tron In: Yamaha BB605 (unbelievably good for the money!) Custom spec Sandberg Basic Ken Taylor 5 Virgin White Highgloss, black hardware, ebony board. TC Electronic Polytune Incoming for Christmas (if I've been a good boy!): Minotaur deluxe bass strap Zoom B9.1ut Only got the new Sandberg on Friday, but it's awesome! Can't wait to gig it on 29th!

[quote name='walbassist' timestamp='1356217811' post='1908184'] I have mixed feelings about the Sandberg strings too. At first I thought they were really nice, but then I started to think they were too loose. No matter either way now as I've put flats on mine. I didn't get a chance to shoot the video in the end, but will do so over Christmas. I have a Q3HD too and will use mine as well, they are very good little units! [/quote] Yeah that's kind of how I feel about them too. I usually use stainless steel roundwounds anyway, but these just feel a bit soft and floppy. Still not quite sure what I'm doing with the Q3HD! I haven't got the handy share software to work yet, and when I tried to record something in decent quality, it was too much for my laptop to handle!

Thanks for putting that pic up for me walbassist, and thanks for all the comments guys, I'm really really pleased with it! Just wish I could get a decent go with it, bloody Christmas stuff getting in the way! I always wondered if it was just luck of the draw that my black one is so light, but this one feels just as light if not lighter! I thought it was worth paying a little extra for the ebony board, to keep the two-tone colour scheme tidy. It's perfectly finished and looks and feels great. Not 100% sure about the Sandberg strings at the moment, but we'll see. We now have a zoom Q3HD in the house, so I may try to do a video review if I ever get time! Did you manage to do yours today walbassist?

Well, after a six month wait for it to be built, my new Basic Ken Taylor 5 has arrived! Haven't spent much time with it yet, and just got back from work Christmas doo, but first impressions very very good. The ebony board is exactly as I hoped it would be. I know it won't be to everyone's taste, but it's perfect for me! Having trouble uploading the photos, but I've put them on the Facebook page: http://m.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151195889861045&id=594761044&set=o.278029458876065&refid=17&ref=stream I'll try to go into more detail tomorrow.

[quote name='walbassist' timestamp='1356049076' post='1906347'] Yay! I, meanwhile, have the day off, so will be shooting a review of my VT5 for Youtube...... [/quote] Ooh, I'll look forward to that!

Fingers crossed, my new baby should be arriving tomorrow!

Don't know whether it qualifies, but we do Oliver's Army, and I was pleasantly surprised by the bassline! Well written IMHO and perfect for the song. http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uVwrrkt22Ag

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1356024896' post='1905973'] That would be the releif your talking about surely? general rule of thumb appears to be from the top edge of the 12th fret to the underside of the strings I'd say. As for releif I go for press down on the first fret (or capo) then hold down at the 13th fret, I like to be able to just get a tuneful note by pressing down on the string between the two fretted areas, some folk can drive a bus under or often reffered technically as 'the bow and arrow' setup [/quote] Yeah sorry, I meant "....and then measure the height at the 12th fret." At the end of the day, as others have said, it's just whatever works for you innit I'm sure some people would hate my bass and the way it's setup, and some would love it!

[quote name='Jon B' timestamp='1356011884' post='1905674'] take the action down until you get buzz,... then up a bit,... done [/quote] +1 How are people measuring their action by the way? Aren't you supposed to measure it with 1st fret and (something like) 20th fret fretted?

Well, I basically like to have my bass as easy to play as possible these days, to save any unnecessary strain on my hands. I've switched to a lighter gauge string this year, and I set my action as low as possible without getting any significant fret buzz.

D'oh! Just realised it's not muting because it's in my effects loop, not at the front end!

+1 GREAT analogy! They are superb instruments! I always think that you need to think of the MM more like a j bridge pup on steroids; it sounds like a bridge pup but much fuller and without any of the weakness sometimes associated with a j pup. I used to find I could get a pretty close approximation of a ray with a little of the p blended in (although the real " sweet spot" for me was always just on the neck side of the centre indent). The passive tone control is a useful feature too IMHO. Not only does it give you even more flexibility, but if your battery dies, you've still got a perfectly usable bass! Anyway, congrats, she's a beaut! Cracking colour too! Pretty excited too because I had word from Sandberg yesterday that they shipped my new one on Friday, so it should be here by the end of the week!

[quote name='bartelby' timestamp='1355576576' post='1900091'] mine mutes fully [/quote] Oh..... Maybe I'll be sending this one back too then!

Well the big one came and seems to work just fine in polyphonic mode, especially just as a quick check between songs. I'm a little surprised that it doesn't mute when you click it on though!? It just reduces the volume slightly, is this normal?

Got to be one of the weirdest gigs ever last night...... It was a private party for a bunch of guys that have just finished a tour in Afghanistan. They basically completely ignored us! The guys were just hanging out chatting at the bar down the far end of the pub, whilst we were in effect playing to an empty room! There was no applause, no dancing, nothing. By the time we finished the first set, we were feeling pretty down, but the landlord said we were great, and the guy who booked us said we were awesome and that all the guys were really enjoying it, despite them not showing it! He said "we don't really do dancing or anything." Strange gig, completely emotionless, but a gig nevertheless. We've got a gig at a pub in Hereford tonight which should be a bit more lively, we took the roof off the place last time, glasses smashing, people leaping about, falling off barstools, etc, etc.

Thanks for all your opinions guys, but I've gone off-piste a little. Father Christmas will hopefully be leaving a Minotaur bass strap under the tree! (Thanks for the tip- off Discreet!) http://minotaur.gr/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=28&products_id=52

I bought a GTX bass limiter from Dangleberry music on amazon or eBay, after reading on here that the guts are identical to the Boss LMB-3. It only cost about £38 or something but it's great! Just take into account what Ovnilabs says about the LMB-3 and keep the enhance knob turned right down.