Green Alsatian

[quote name='Mornats' timestamp='1382784890' post='2256503'] The only thing I'm not 100% happy with is that the pickups don't give that single coil zing - obviously because they're humbuckers! So I'm losing a little high end zing and cut-through I think. Or I may just need to get used to it Great variation in sounds when you move the pickup pan even slightly off the centre spot. The centre spot gives a nice scooped sound - perfectly balanced in my opinion. I suspect your will be the same.[/quote] I know what you mean as I've traditionally favoured single coils myself (same with guitars). That said, I do like the thicker sound you get with a humbucker - always useful to have at hand. One of the first thing I do with blended controls is to look for the sweet spot when you roll the control slightly towards the neck or bridge and hear the sound start to change. I like the bridge slightly favoured with the treble rolled back a little and a touch of bass boost. [quote name='RandomBass' timestamp='1382801774' post='2256732'] Looks rather nice, doesn't it? How are you finding that 5 way EQ selector switch - does it have noticeably different presets that are usuable?[/quote] It does indeed - I'm finding the extended contouring particularly comfortable for playing near the neck. The 5 positions on the switch are indeed noticeably different: Solo - quite a heavy boost in the lower-mid frequencies, significantly more overall output. Finger - as mentioned above, I tend to boost a little and cut treble when playing finger (ie. almost all of the time!) so I think this is why this setting stood out initially. I still prefer this one out of the five. Flat - no boost/cut except for what you do with the Bass and Treble controls. The best setting for exploring these two controls. Pick - favours the higher frequencies, which allows you to cut through a bit more. I find this works just as well for finger style. Slap - no surprises here, bass & treble boosted and mids cut. I'm pathetic at slap, but it's a really thick sound for finger/pick. The Bass & Treble controls still function with each of the settings, allowing you to tailor your sound further. Even with these two controls set flat, you've got five instantly usable sounds to be getting on with.

Picato Flatwounds - I thought I'd give 'em a go and while they feel nice - really smooth, pleasant compliance, they just sound lifeless and dull. I'll go back to the TI flats. Incidentally, has anyone ever tried the TI roundwounds? If so, what are your thoughts on them? Just read Dingus' reply regarding Elites Stadium Series - they were my go-to string in the 90s. I'd use medium guage on the Rick and extra-light on the Jazz. I found that in recent years that they didn't seem to last or sound as pleasant as I remember them.

The way I see it, is Dairy Milks are in a purple metallic wrapper, so yes, purple is good. I'd have gug with my Pink Westfield without hesitation, so Purple's a no-brainer.

Thanks for the replies, gents. After further noodling tonight, it's definitely a comfortable instrument. Back of the neck is a satin finish, like the BB424X I had at the start of last year. As I have an affinity for wide-necked P-basses, this feels quite homely. It's only a little wider than the BB300 I had - that had a proper baseball bat of a neck. I like the new body shape, preferring it to my old RBX basses - one of the things I liked on my RBX775 was the contour on the top, so I'm glad to see that stayed. I also like the fact that they went with the TRB-style headstock (the TRB5 being one of the basses I severely GASsed over in the mid-late 90s). Naturally the bass is more RBX than TRB. Here's a shot of its innards - a rather tidy job with conductive paint shielding and an aluminium-backed cavity cover.

[quote name='uncle psychosis' timestamp='1382692998' post='2255423'] If thats in good nick thats a hell of a bargain. [/quote] I should cocoa! [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/220671-nbd-yamaha-trbx305-pewter/"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/220671-nbd-yamaha-trbx305-pewter/[/url]

Hello folks, I do believe this the first thread I've started in Bass Guitars - bit rusty at the old thread starting malarkey! Further to my posting in the '5 String under £300 recommendation' thread, I took the plunge on Wednesday night, parted with £259 (free shipping) to why.buy.new on eBay and my TRBX305 in Pewter arrived today. It arrived very well packaged (double boxed, with thick brown paper scrunched for protection). The Yamaha box has had previous shipping labels removed and taped back up, as per the description. Inside the box - you could tell it's been taken out of the foam sheeting and carefully put back in. To the bass then - unmarked and unplayed. The protective film in place on the cavity cover, the plastic control label sheet is still on there and the battery hadn't yet been installed. It was still sealed, along with the wrench/instruction baggie. B-stock in this instance means it's been taken out the package, presumably for inspection and then put back in and taped up. £259? Steal. I thought they had a couple, but they must have been sold, but they still have the TRBX304 in Candy Apple Red for £209 and the more expensive TRBX504 in Translucent White for £349. [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/B-Stock-Yamaha-TRBX304-4-String-Electric-Bass-Guitar-Candy-Apple-Red-TRBX-304-/190939798981?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item2c74e61dc5"]http://www.ebay.co.u...=item2c74e61dc5[/url] [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/B-Stock-Yamaha-TRBX504-4-String-Electric-Bass-Guitar-Translucent-White-TRBX-504-/190939688336?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item2c74e46d90"]http://www.ebay.co.u...=item2c74e46d90[/url] As for the bass, I never 'review' anything until a couple of weeks to let the novelty/honeymoon period die down, so I'll post more detailed thoughts at a later date. Some initial thoughts for now: - tuned up, plugged in. Seems pretty well set up out of the box, although I'll check the measurements/intonation tomorrow. - I won't say I'm surprised at the quality, because I've owned enough Yamaha instruments to know that you're pretty much guaranteed quality that exceeds the price bracket. I'm not a Yamaha fanboy, just an observation on each Yammie I've owned. - Feels a bit lighter than the RBX765A and RBX775 I used to own. - The neck feels like a vintage-sized P-bass with a nut width of 43mm. It's not too thick in depth - comfortable, but certainly thicker than a 5-string Ibanez SR-series neck (I've owned an SR305 and an GSR205). 17mm string spacing is comfortable and not too cramped near the nut. - Preamp seems good - bass not too boomy at full boost and the treble isn't too brittle when fully boosted. Sounds good with the controls set flat. - The 5-way 'style' switch provides a handy bunch of presets - again, sounds good flat, but I've taken a shine to the 'Finger' setting in my initial noodlings. - The YGD Pickups have a nice output and are well-placed for the expected 'P-like' and 'J-like' when soloed or favoured with the blend control. They sound a bit clearer than the aforementioned 765/775, but sound memory isn't a reliable judge. - The low B seems pretty spot-on and is evenly matched with the other strings. Doesn't sound boomy and isn't floppy or buzzy. It feels like the Sterling Ray35 I used to have, and that was probably one the better low Bs I've played. (caveat - I haven't played a 5-string over £600) - The strings appear to be D'Addarios and are a 130-45 set. Good, because I don't need to change 'em! - On the subject of change, there isn't anything I feel compelled to modify on it. Rules observed:

A great song and a fun video. I think I've said it in the past, but Kit's voice is quite spectacular. It's a bonus that she has a great bunch of musicians backing her up. Next video, though - I want to see [i]two[/i] Nige's in there as compensation. As a side note, was that an Aerodyne Strat in there? Tasty!

How about a B-Stock Yamaha TRBX-305 in Pewter for £259? I've dealt with these folks in the past and had no issues. [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/190939741074?ru=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fsch%2Fi.html%3F_sacat%3D0%26_from%3DR40%26_nkw%3D190939741074%26_rdc%3D1"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/190939741074?ru=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fsch%2Fi.html%3F_sacat%3D0%26_from%3DR40%26_nkw%3D190939741074%26_rdc%3D1[/url] [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFUP4zJ6l3I"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFUP4zJ6l3I[/url]

I've dealt with both Richtone and GAK and would recommend both of them.

Ah bollocks, there was me thinking that if I kept my beard, I'd get a free Starcaster. Life's so unfair.

Pretty much what I thought - not much clean play, but what's in there sounds pleasant enough. Have another video, as compensation: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJMgaNEfaxo"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJMgaNEfaxo[/url]

Here's a demo of the new model: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6qtQCC1w9c"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6qtQCC1w9c[/url]

£1623 (P) and £1678 (J) at Andertons: [url="http://www.andertons.co.uk/electric-basses/pid30962/cid682/fender-vintage-hot-rod-60s-precision-bass-rosewood-fingerboard.asp"]http://www.andertons.co.uk/electric-basses/pid30962/cid682/fender-vintage-hot-rod-60s-precision-bass-rosewood-fingerboard.asp[/url] [url="http://www.andertons.co.uk/electric-basses/pid30965/cid682/fender-vintage-hot-rod-70s-jazz-bass-rosewood-fingerboard-3.asp"]http://www.andertons.co.uk/electric-basses/pid30965/cid682/fender-vintage-hot-rod-70s-jazz-bass-rosewood-fingerboard-3.asp[/url]

MDP's nut-jobs always remind me of this:

Hello folks, I bought Stuart's Vintage Tony Butler Signature bass and it was a pleasure dealing with him, so deal with him in complete confidence. - Stuart kept me informed at every stage of the deal. - The bass was shipped very quickly and packaged well. - He even threw in a padded gigbag for free. - The bass arrived safely and is exactly as described. Thanks again, Stewart!

Here's how it might look, without the badge - someone else has done a Newcaste P: [url="http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1034887"]http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1034887[/url]

I try to look like I'm enjoying myself, even on occasions when I'm not. I also look at the crowd and bandmates rather than my feet or the headstock of the bass. Not looking at what I was playing was a tricky habit to break on my initial gigs, but practice and muscle memory sorted this out over time. Sadly, none of the stages I've played on ever afforded us much room, so my mate would take it into the crowd. Was always great seeing him working the crowd - a mixture of WTF from them and then he'd win 'em over.

That was completely and utterly great! I love the music in 40s/50s cartoons and it's only when watching the orchestra play it, do you get a clearer picture of how complicated it is. Absolute respect to the composer.

Ace - hope you get on well with it. I've been feeling strong urges to get hold of another Little Phatty or the newer Sub Phatty. Anyway, there's a posting from Amos (one of Moog's employees and a very nice chap) on the Moog forums about the editor. You could always sign up and fire off any questions you have. [url="http://forum.moogmusic.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=14486&start=15"]http://forum.moogmusic.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=14486&start=15[/url]

I owned a 1982 Rick 4001 for ten years (1992-2002) and found it to be just as versatile as every other two-pickup bass I've owned. It didn't do the burpy bridge-pickup soloed sound, but the Fender US '62 AVRI Jazz that I had from 1998 didn't do the plummy neck pickup sound.

I had the flat black/maple 2013 model for a short period, certainly long enough to get acquainted before spending too much on hol and having to get shut. + more tonal options due to the coil-tapped pickups. Mixing a single coil with a double coil was quite useful and led to some nice sounds. + the pickups are decent - similar design to those on the Roscoe Beck. +quality hardware, fit & finish. + nice slim neck, finished in gloss (my preference). - I didn't particularly like the satin finish - would have preferred gloss. - the split on the pickup coils should have been the two inner, rather than the two outer coils, to allow the 'standard' Jazz sound. With both outer coils, the neck coil is further towards the neck and the bridge coil is nearer the bridge - a 5" distance between them was an interesting nasal sound, but not as nice as it would have been with the two inner coils. That said, it's something different from the norm.

Looks legit to me - I owned a 4-string version and that's what it said on the back of the headstock. Mine was passive, so the controls were 2 x Volume and 2 x Tone.

There's a T1 on eBay at the moment: [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MOOG-TAURUS-1-BASS-PEDALS-/231050460166?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Pro_Audio_Synthesisers_CV&hash=item35cbae3c06"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MOOG-TAURUS-1-BASS-PEDALS-/231050460166?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Pro_Audio_Synthesisers_CV&hash=item35cbae3c06[/url] With regards to the Taurus 2 - I believe that one was based on the Rogue, which isn't a bad mono in its own right (a friend had one) but it could not deliver the sheer BWUUUUUUUHHHHH of the T1. There was a company in Caerphilly in the late 90s who bought the lapsed Moog name and reissued the Minimoog (this was before Bob Moog returned to synth production and released the Voyager) with MIDI and switchable PWM. I ordered one in 1998 and it almost became vaporware, until it turned up six months later, after a string of difficulties in production. Anyway, for their next product, they planned to reissue the Taurus 1, which, based on the job they did with the Mini, would have been excellent. I had a preorder with them until they went bust a couple of months later in 1999. A great pity.

You might have trouble getting hold of one as they were a limited run (of 1000, if I recall), unfortunately. A very viable alternative would be to control a Moog Minitaur (which is based on the Taurus 3 ciruitry) with something like the Roland PK-6. It's not as neat a setup as the standalone Taurus 3, of course and both would set you back a hair over a grand (although a lot less than the T3, which was $1999 through Moog). [url="http://www.soundsliveshop.com/p/Moog_Minitaur_Analog_Bass_Synthesizer/MOOG-MINITAUR"]http://www.soundsliv...r/MOOG-MINITAUR[/url] [url="http://www.soundsliveshop.com/p/Roland_PK-6_Dynamic_MIDI_Pedal_Controller_/ROL-PK6"]http://www.soundsliv...roller_/ROL-PK6[/url]