Green Alsatian

[quote name='Cygnus x-1' timestamp='1361230259' post='1983347'] Do the £48 a set one's come in any off the shelf basses and are these about the best you'll get for fifty quid a pair for a Vintage (brand) jazz? EDIT: Squier classic vibe jazz pair are about £40, do hese compare to the premium wilkinsons? [/quote] I don't think they do - I had a Wilkinson-equipped Vintage fretted Jazz a couple of years ago and that had the cheaper versions of the pickups. The 'Icon' fretless Jazz, which I would have expected to have the alnico pickups didn't either. This is odd, as the two V4 P-basses (including the more recent vintage white/maple model) I've had both had the alnico pickups. I haven't played a Classic Vibe sadly, so I couldn't say how they stack up to the £48 Wilkinsons. I have had a Vintage Modified Squier P-bass and felt that the Vintage (branded) P-bass sounded the more 'traditional' in terms of P-bass tone, if that helps.

As a side-note, the first Vintage V4 P copy I had featured the Wilkinson alnico pickup and being the tinkerer, I put in a Seymour Duncan SPB-1 in there, along with some CTS 250k pots. Through the gear I had at the time - an Ashdown Perfect 10 and a Hughes & Kettner Bass Master, there wasn't a great deal of difference between the two pickups with flats, so I sold the SD and kept the Wilkinson in there. That's not to say the SD isn't a great P-bass pickup (it is), but at half the price, I'd go with the Wilkinson if I was replacing a weak/faulty pickup.

There are two levels of Wilkinson P and J pickups - the cheaper of the two (£15 for a P and £20 for a J-set) are steel pole pieces with ceramic magnets underneath the pickup. These come as stock on the Vintage 'Jaco' fretless J bass. The more expensive ones (£25 for a P and £48 for a J-set) have alnico pole pieces and these are much nicer-sounding with more output - I put a set in the Vintage and it really did make a difference to the sound. The Vintage stratocaster I had featured the staggered-pole alnico pickups and they sounded really nice, even when compared to the 2009 MIM Strat I had at the time. I believe they are wound to Fender vintage specs. I'd definitely give the alnico models a thumbs-up.

[quote name='GarethFlatlands' timestamp='1361026501' post='1979987'] Green Alsation - I wasn't a fan of the first song, the vocals kind of put me off and it sounded like it was going for a psychadelia thing but the production wasn't there to back it up. Good bassline though. I enjoyed the second one a lot, imagining it with the bass removed it would be much less interesting to listen to. Shame that version doesn't have vocals really. If you have a version with them on I'd like to hear it. [/quote] Thanks Gareth. A lot of the earlier recordings we made ('Apology' included) were only ever really rough idea demos and we never got around to any proper recordings, sadly. The US/Canadian side were via an old Fostex 4-track tape recorder, converted to .wav and emailed to me to add my bits via Goldwave. None of us knew anything of EQ or any production techniques other than dubbing over parts. I can't even make out my basslines on some of the recordings - probably for the best! The irony of the second one is that the only recorded version I know of with lyrics (when we played my brother's wedding) has no bass, as I'd dropped onto keys. We're pretty much a 'twice a year' band now, with the other fellows having families and other commitments, so I don't know if we'll ever get around to recording again but it's fun when we reunite.

An excellent thread - I've been watching the 'new replies added' going up while I was typing this! (Looks at clock) Will have to return to it! [b]Steve-Soar[/b] - I love the tone you have on Breathing Underwater, really gritty. I'd have killed for that sort of sound when I started playing. The 10cc connection's ace! [b]Bobbass[/b] - that's quite similar to some of the drop-D tuning songs my jam-buddy would come up with. We were always trying to out-do each other in the odd-timings/chord changes, but this generally resulted in my Jazz with light-guage strings sounding like a clanky floppy mess. [b]GarethFlatlands[/b] - you said it yourself, your bass is absolutely locked with the drummer in 'The Cell'. A nice growl to the tone too, adding weight to the song. [b]Lozz[/b] - classic P tone! Dolly Dynamite reminded me a little of the New York Dolls (Personality Crisis - one of my fave tunes of theirs) and the second one is pure Sir Horace Gentleman. Excellent stuff, sir. [b]Xgsjx[/b] - that's a cracking bubbly line in Stars & Guitars. I really like the fast runs in 'My Old Friends'. [b]Risingson[/b] - less is definitely more in this case and the bassline suits the mood of the song perfectly. I love the sound of bass and synth bass doubled up. [b]4-Strings[/b] - that's a very catchy tune and your bassline is spot-on for it. Definitely Motown-ish. [b]Nige[/b] - very tasteful line in 'You Always Did', I like the space you leave in it. A suitably 'tubby' tone too. 'You Can't Touch me Now' is bloody great! The fast runs you did in Part III are fabulous, especially the section immediately afterwards in Part IV! On the subject of playing in general, I've watched your Yes covers with the bitsa Electra bass - hat well and truly doffed.

[quote name='xilddx' timestamp='1360967076' post='1979339'] I'll be perfectly honest and say I don't like the first, but because the general timing is out between the instruments and it made it hard for me to listen to, but the vibe is nice and I like the dreamy whimsical nature of the vocal. But the second is really nice! Bang in time, nice bass tone, and you support the chords really nicely, you make the minor key fifth sound lush [/quote] Thanks for listening Nige - very much appreciated. Aye, the first one's the only recording I could find of that tune (one of the few with the three of us 'together', despite being in three different countries) and I'm out of time with my mate on guitar in quite a few places, where I'd try to anticipate his timing. We used to joke about not using a drum machine, as it would only show us up. Groove Agent did just that! Very kind comments on 'Stranger', sir - means a lot as I've never really received compliments on my playing/lines. I'm content to play and if nobody notices, I've done my bit. (which is easy when the other two thirds of the band are the main attraction!) Andy.

I have a few recorded instances where I've listened back and thought 'that's not bad' to myself - a lot of my more recent lines exist only on stage, when the band reunites to play again. I couldn't decide between these two. This first one is from 6 years ago with my old jamming band - I'd go around to my mate's house and we'd jam out new tunes whilst having a sip or two. A lot were snippets recorded 'live' on a Minidisc, which we'd set running during said sessions. My mate moved to the US 10 years ago, so he'd send me bits of tunes to bass up, with a third mate who moved to Canada on vocals. As I liked the tune, I was wary of spoiling it with an intrusive line, so it's little more than root notes with a run that I tried and liked. The bass is my old bitsa P-bass with TI flats that I'd had on it for a year with a spot of chorus from the Zoom 506II Bass into the Hartke A35 I had at the time. [url="http://snd.sc/Xa9jfQ"]http://snd.sc/Xa9jfQ[/url] The second one is from 8 years ago and my current band (we've been on and off for 10 years now). It's one of the songs from our 'Mk III' lineup from 2005 which I rejoined the band on keyboards. I'm the original bass player with the band and have been in the Mk I, Mk III and Mk V lineups. (Mk V is the reunion of Mk I and has remained for the last 5 years) We decided to try to record some of our stuff 3 years ago and I recorded a 'pace' track with a drum machine (our drummer is a cheap Yamaha Portasound keyboard!) and it dawned on me that I'd never actually played bass on it and set about writing a line from scratch. The line below came out pretty much in one piece and after smoothing it out a bit, I went with it. Again, it's nothing special - octaves and fills. For a bit of fun, I decided to fill out the pace track with an old 70s electronic piano (a EuroTec - same model Dave Greenfield used in the Stranglers around 1981-83), a Crumar Bit One analogue polysynth and a spot of organ with a patch I created on a Yamaha SY-77. Waffling aside, the bass is a cheap Ibanez GSR-205 5-string I had at the time going into a Fender Rumble 60 with the line out going into a Zoom R16 digital recorder. I really enjoy playing this one as it's a cracking tune that my bandmates wrote - it's about a disillusioned super hero. Well, when it has the vocals in it, it is! [url="http://snd.sc/YwcFqv"]http://snd.sc/YwcFqv[/url]

"Deputy Pwime Minister, what is your wesponse to this weport?" There aren't too many current affairs programmes that have got me interested in a band - great song and fun to play along with. I love the drums on [i]that[/i] bit.

I'd like to own a squadron of tanks.

Conversely, it was Zawinul's use of analogue synthesisers (his two Arp 2600s, 'Eins' and 'Zwei', Oberheim Eight-Voice and Sequential Circuits Prophet 5 to name but a few) that caught my ear and attracted me to Weather Report. Of course one man's cheese is another's vital component of a sandwich and I found his use of synths more interesting (to me) than Jaco's playing.

Thanks. I've often thought it would be a nice touch if reissues of vintage instruments came with flats. The '62 American Vintage Reissue Jazz that I bought in 1998 came with rounds and the first thing I did with it was to pop a set of flats on it.

Does anybody know when instrument companies stopped supplying basses with flatwounds fitted as standard? I remember a thread about flats on Talkbass a couple of years ago and think somebody mentioned that it was the early 70s for Rickenbacker and Fender. I like them both - I often wish I had two of a given instrument to have rounds on one and flats on the other.

I'd give these a thumbs-up too. I owned the black/maple version - spotted it for £120 on ebay and gave it a try. Solid construction and all the hardware did what it was supposed to. The relic job on it was a matte finish and didn't look just look like someone took a sander to it (ie. didn't look too 'forced' as some relic jobs do).Whatever they did to the back of the neck, it was comfortable in the hand - a worn satin feel. I liked the headstock shape too - quite sleek. Soundwise, I had no complaints or thoughts of tinkering with it as it sounded good stock - the pickups had enough output and both sounded as you'd expect when soloed. Sadly, it was a toss-up between keeping it and the Peavey Zodiac I had at the time, which I'd popped DiMarzios in, so I let the ESP go instead. I don't think you'll regret buying one - I'd compare its quality to the Squier Vintage Modified series Amber P-bass I had, only you don't have to worry about it being knocked about.

Sounds like the 'Friday Afternoon' bass! I remember the early T-Bird Pro V basses being plagued with problems and taking my first one (natural) back due to very low output on the B-string (an early batch had 4-string pickups in the 5-string models). The second one I had was better, but the electronics were pretty noisy. I believe these teething problems were resolved and the current ones are much better, including the strap button being placed behind the neck to alleviate neck dive, unlike mine, which was on the top of the body. Back to my Classic IV - aside from the high stock action (I simply lowered the bridge), I haven't had any quality issues with mine. What I thought was a blemish in the finish was just a thin line of dust where the wings are attached and this cleaned off with a damp cotton wool bud. The fingerboard on mine is also dark - could well be stained but I can see the grain on mine. I haven't had any residue coming off though - I remember a cheap fretless I owned (might have been a Stagg) in which my fingers were black after playing a little. The finish throughout is high quality and even, with the exception of the the control cavity lip - there was a white residue which I wiped away prior to the 'guts shot' below. This is something I've seen on other basses in this price range and I've come to expect imperfections such as this. It's just a pity that the colour of the rim on the headstock wasn't lighter, for better contrast with the black raised section - a missed opportunity. I'm still very pleased with it - very comfortable to play, pleasant neck and I think it sounds excellent with the Gibson pickups. Here are some pics of mine: [url="http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/560/epithunderbird001.jpg/"][/url] [url="http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/10/epithunderbird002.jpg/"][/url] [url="http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/46/epithunderbird003.jpg/"][/url] [url="http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/845/epithunderbird004.jpg/"][/url] [url="http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/33/epithunderbird005.jpg/"][/url] [url="http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/248/epithunderbird006.jpg/"][/url] [url="http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/547/epithunderbird007.jpg/"][/url]

This is more like it: http://www.fender.com/en-GB/basses/precision-bass/1951-relic-precision-bass-melon-candy/ Also available in aged Lake Placid Blue and Candy Tangerine

A great pity we never got to hear his third solo album that he spoke of in his final interview.

These are made in Indonesia. Mine arrived today - I bought the last one online from RichTone Music for £349. My only Thunderbird experience to date has been with the Epiphone Thunderbird Pro V, which I had two years ago and I wanted to love it, but just couldn't get on with it for the following reasons: - the newer bridge design wouldn't fit certain gauge B strings. Perhaps this was rectified on later models. - I had to send the first one back due to the 'four-string pickups' problem they had with earlier models. - the electronics were quite noisy and I wasn't satisfied with sound after a month or so and a couple of gigs with it. - severe neck dive (although they did move the straplocks eventually), although I did the forearm resting trick to negate it. - the neck didn't seem uncomfortable for a fiver and I have big hands - didn't like the string spacing. Anyway, waffling aside, I loved the shape and the finish on it was excellent so when I read up on these newer neck-through models with Gibson USA pickups, I thought I'd try again. I'm glad I did! Out of the box, there was a minor flaw in the finish where the wing joins the central raised bit. I'm not bothered about things like this if the bass plays and sounds good, so I set about changing the stock strings for a set of Fender Nickel rounds (100-40). The action was a little high, so I lowered the bridge a little and it was spot-on for me. Intonation at the 12th fret sorted too with just a little tweak of the saddles on the D and G strings. I put on a strap and was relieved to find no neck dive, something that the Pro-V was plagued with. My initial thoughts then (and I'm always wary of the 'honeymoon' period with a new toy!) - apart from the slight blemish, the sunburst on this is very rich and I like the thin walnut stripes that run the length of the mahogany body. I believe this is something that the Gibson models have. - All hardware feels solid, the tuners and knobs (more authentic Thunderbird style) operate smoothly. I know many don't like the 3-point bridge, but I don't mind them if I'm able to set my action and intonation to taste, which I've been able to do on this Thunderbird, and on the Epiphone EB-0 I had some time ago. - the neck is very comfortable indeed and I've got the action quite low on it. Quite narrow and Jazz-like at the nut but perhaps a little chunkier in depth, which sits in the hand nicely. I don't know if the lower cutaway has changed from the Pro-V, but access doesn't seem as bad on the higher frets. Probably because this is a four-string and this a narrower neck. - I haven't weighed the bass yet, but it feels a touch lighter than my Yamaha BB414. - The pickups are very good indeed - no noise whatsoever. I was sort of expecting boomy and a bit murky, but there's a definite clarity in there, even on the neck pickup when soloed. They're quite a hot output and both pickups give you the traditional clanky Thunderbird sound, especially if you dig in with fingers or a pick. This is the sound I've come to associate with them, from the demos I've watched on YouTube. The neck pickup is suitably burly and deep sounding - rather different from a P-bass, less middy. The bridge pickup is great for staccato finger funk and when bringing in a bit of neck pickup, it thickens it up a tad. Rolling off the tone, mellows out the clank very nicely and I've already found the 'reggae' sound with the neck pickup favoured and the tone rolled off a bit. I imagine this would also sound pretty great with flats on it, but I've already got that covered with the black tapewound D'Addarios on my Yamaha BB414. In summary, I think it's well worth the £350 asking price. At £150 more than the standard model, I feel that the narrower neck, neck-through design with its attractive mahogany/walnut stripes and Gibson pickups make it worth it (especially as some folk tended to change the pickups in the standard model). Although the Thunderbird's looks say 'rock', I feel you could use this for anything, as I've ran through most of my band's tunes (a variety of styles) with it this evening and it's covered them all well. Approved for action! I'll add some pictures, when I've taken some, but if anyone has any questions about the bass, I'll be happy to answer them!

Arse - I have Donny Osmond's 'Young Love'. Sod it - at least Thin Lizzy's 'Vagabonds of the Western World' came out that month. http://www.everyhit.com/dates/

Played at a mate of a bandmate's cafe/bar tonight - all plugged into the PA, setting up the sound ourselves (they provide the PA and mics, you do the rest yourself) - guitar (through Zoom 506II), our keys/drums (an old Yamaha Portasound with just an earphone output) and my bass (a white Yamaha BB414 with D'Addario black tapewounds) all in. Took a bit of tinkering to eliminate distortion on the antiquated PA gear with everything running, but we got away with it. Not that many in there - probably 30 but we still got everyone laughing and dancing, given we're a part-time comedy band writing our own stuff and don't gig that frequently these days. The vibe was like an old Christmas episode of Top of the Pops - fun! We even got a tenner each, and the promise of some free grub next week! Sometimes, you win!

I always politely decline, even if the offer is really low, and comment along the lines of "If you don't ask, you don't get". If I'm not open to offers for an item, then I'll state in the auction description that I won't reply to offers. I do always respond to "What's the lowest you'll accept?" with "What's the most you'll spend?".

Loctite 242 is ideal for this - it doesn't lock it up so tight as to be immovable, but certainly stops the grub screws from working loose.

I kept a list of mine. In recent years, I bought/sold a lot, just to try as many different basses as I could get my hands on. Kay Precision copy (1989) Marlin Slammer Precision copy (1990) - this was the first bass I modded, adding a J at the bridge, then a second J at the neck and then moved the two Js and wired as a bridge humbucker. 1982 Rickenbacker 4001 (1992) Fender American Reissue '62 Jazz (1998) Tobias Toby Pro 5 (2000) Hohner Rockwood LXB100B (2003) - given to me by a friend who was moving to America. I gave it to my brother and later rescued it and modded and defretted it. Fender MIM P-Bass Special Active (2004) Ibanez GWB35 Gary Willis Signature Fretless (2005) Yamaha BB414 (2005) Fender MIM 5-string Jazz (2006) Mighty Mite P-bass build (2006) - my first ever build. This was later further modded with an MM pickup at the bridge. Ibanez SRX390 (2006) Harley Benton Beatbass (2007) Ibanez STB GT5 5-string (2009) Mighty Mite Jazz Bass build (2009) - my second build. Spare parts Jazz bass with single mudbucker at neck (2009) - made from cheap parts for a laugh. Washburn Taurus T-15 (2009) Hohner 'The Jack' headless (2009) Yamaha RB765A (2009) Vintage EST-96 Stingray copy (2010) - I put in a Seymour Duncan pickup and preamp in this one. Epiphone Pro-5 Thunderbird 5-string (2010) Aria Pro II AVB40 Avante (2010) Burns Bison (2010) Ibanez SR205 (2010) Fender MIM Classic 50s Precision Bass (2010) Peavey Zodiac BXP (2010) - I put a set of EMG PJX in this one. Warwick Rockbass Streamer Fretless (2010) Yamaha BB415 5-string (2010) Epiphone EB-0 (2010) Vester Stage Jazz copy (2010) Ibanez ATK-300 (2011) Washburn XS-5 Axxess 5-string (2011) Vintage EJM96 Jazz Bass (2011) Aria Pro II Laser Classic (2011) - I had to replace the pickup selector on this one. Traben Neo Limited 5-string (2011) G&L L2000 Tribute (2011) Hofner Ignition Violin Bass (2011) Cort GB334A (2011) Ibanez SR300 DXF Fretless (2011) Peavey Millennium BXP 5 (2011) - I modded this with an MM pickup between the two J-pickups. CMI 'Electric Bass' Precision copy (2011) Vintage V4 Precision copy (2011) Squier Vintage Modified Amber Precision Bass (2011) Sterling by Musicman Ray35 (2011) Fender Modern Player Telecaster Bass (2011) Yamaha BB424 (2012) ESP LTD Vintage 204 (2012) Westone Thunder 1-A (2012) Westone Spectrum GT (2012) Vester Clipper (2012) - Warwick Thumb copy. Ibanez BTB-200 (2012) Vintage V1005 Spalted Maple (2012) [size=4][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]SX Custom Handmade Vintage Series Precision Bass (2012)[/font][/size] Aria Pro II The Cat (2012) - I refretted this one. Yamaha RBX270 (2012) - a 'buy it now' for £50! Spector Performer 4 DLX (2012) Vintage V4MVW (2012) Sterling By MusicMan SUB 4 (2012) Ibanez SR300MCA (2012) [b]Vintage VJ96MRJP Fretless Jazz (2012) - awaiting a new neck for this, as the original is twisted a little.[/b] [b]Overwater by Tanglewood Classic J (2012) - successfully carried out its first gig last Saturday.[/b]

I had the PJX set in my Peavey Zodiac BXP and the last thing I would have called them was 'sterile'. I was running them on just 9v (it recommended 18v for extra headroom in the instructions) as I didn't have room for two batteries and didn't want to cut into the body but even then, they were a massive improvement over the stock passive pickups with a naturally higher output. They were consistent in volume across the strings, significant low-end without being boomy and the highs were crystal clear. Absolutely zero noise from them - it was as if the bass wasn't even plugged in! One thing I noticed, and I think this was due to just using 9v, was that the J pickup was overpowered by the P when both were on full, but it was still a great sound. Here's a sample of them from the bass track (it's a one-take warts and all recording) I recorded with them - P on full volume and the J on half: [url="http://soundcloud.com/andrew-john-durney/com-bass"]http://soundcloud.com/andrew-john-durney/com-bass[/url] If I wasn't happy with the pickups in my passive Overwater/Tanglewood Classic-J, I'd probably put a set in there.

I received one of these free with an order a couple of years ago - they're boss!

Watch these Gaia videos - they're in Japanese but have English subtitles. In them, Ujie, the presenter runs through each section and control, explaining what they do to give a basic knowledge of 'subtractive' synthesis (so called, because you remove aspects of the sound by filter/volume control). [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWlDHrxy0Ds"]www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWlDHrxy0Ds[/url] [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y811CjKMRh8"]www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y811CjKMRh8[/url] [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24-FQvnSZTE"]www.youtube.com/watch?v=24-FQvnSZTE[/url] You could then apply this to creating bass sounds - all you need to think about are how the shape of the sound goes (all controlled by the filter and amplifier envelope section): - do you want the bass to start at full volume, or fade in, like a bowed string? - do you want the bass to play continuously at a set volume, when holding a key, or decay like a plucked string? - do you want the bass to stop as soon as you let go of the key, or decay, like a plucked string? A lot of people think you need multiple oscillators (which produce the 'voice') for a great bass sound, but in reality, if you have one good oscillator, you can do very good synth bass sounds. I had a Yamaha CS-5, which had one oscillator and I was able to wring decent bass sounds from it (you only need one bass string to play one note!). However, it's more fun and interesting to use multiple oscillators - here are some options: - use two oscillators set to the same pitch and then detune them slightly. Try using the same waveforms for both oscillators and then try different waveforms to see what you prefer. - use two oscillators, one or more octaves apart. Try using the same waveforms for both oscillators and then try different waveforms to see what you prefer. - use three oscillators set to the same pitch and then detune one oscillator down slightly and detune one of them up slightly. - use three oscillators with each one at a different octave. Experiment with the different waveforms to see what you prefer. - use three oscillators with two oscillators at the same pitch/octave and then detune them very slightly. Add in a third oscillator one or two octaves below. Sine and Triangle waveforms make for excellent sub-oscillators which are more 'felt' than heard.