Davebassics

Documenting this for historical reasons ... suspect it's getting a helix shaped overhaul next year ....

It's a real shame the HX Effects doesn't have amp/cab sims. Would be perfect otherwise. I was reading some grievances on the line6 forum about users who max out the DSP before hitting the maximum number of blocks. That would be annoying. I'm torn between incorporating a stomp into my pedal board or replacing the entire thing with an LT. How do LT users find it without the scribble strips?

Well I know what is going on my birthday list! Questions: does the send/return to outboard pedals warrant the use of 0/1/2 blocks on the stomp? (Mono) Are the input and output blocks mandatory? Could you use the right return to feed the headphones and use it as a headphone amp for mono IEMs? I have a fancy cable that sends a IEM feed from a headphone amp on my pedal board up to my bass to I can have a wierd IEM.

Interesting ... but no other control? I am a sucker for tweaking. Watched some awfully biased sales pitched on YouTube over Christmas. I just don't get what they are achieving with this range. Gold plated PCBs? Has anyone ever had an issue with copper in the past 70 years?

No mention of dimarzio area Ps which are dimarzios option for the vintage clean, clear, thumping P tone. I love am. They "sing" in the higher registers of the instrument.

Gunna have to check these JMJs out. Are the neck dimensions (other than length) comparable to a P, or J? I do have a minor DIY build ambition for next year. Wonder if mustang parts are easy to come by?

Glad to know it's not just me who is a MB enthusiast who also feels the need to run something in front of it because it is lacking in flavour! Maybe I should start looking elsewhere. Looking forward to your opinions on the LMVintage if/when you get a chance to have a go! When did they start shipping? surprised not to have seen some basschat discussion yet!

I'd be interested in hearing your comparison of the tone between your JMJ and your P. I've had short scales on my mind for a while. Played one of those new mustang with the P/J pickups in a a shop but it didn't blow me away. I could see myself getting comfortable with the size though!

How new is the little mark vintage line? Has anyone had a chance to try them? Looks to be two variants, the Little Mark Vintage: http://www.markbass.it/product-detail/little-mark-vintage/ and the Little Mark Vintage D2 http://www.markbass.it/product-detail/little-mark-vintage-d2/ The D2 appears to have a more flexible EQ where as the normal Vintage has a limiter which is interesting ... both of those things are major plus's for me, shame they are not in the same unit. I am a long time Mark bass user, I had a Little Mark II for years before swapping it for a Little Mark III because of the more flexible Line output. Despite my contentment, I recently got a hold of a Sansamp pedal (The SVT one) and rather that using the LMIII's Vintage speaker emulator, I am using the Sansamp pedal to round my tone and give me a subtle bit of emulated tube drive. I play quite a diverse range of music. It is mainly soul, motown, blues at the moment but I also have some side hustles in the rock and pop world. Mark Bass heads have always worked for me because I find them to be so flat and clean when all of the knobs are dialed centre but there is a good deal of versatility in the tone controls. I'd love to get rid of the Sansamp pedal and have the tone shaping in the amp head but the Sansamp has so much more character than what the LMIII can give me. .... its all very fine margins, I admit, I probably couldn't tell a difference in the mix at a gig. I am not sure why I am so loyal to Mark Bass, there are so many alternatives on the market these days. Would be really interested to hear some first hand reports. Youtube is great but its difficult to really understand how much of what you are hearing is the amp. For info, my cabs are 2 x Bergantino AE112

Will give you 150 quid for it

I have been considering piano lessons to help me learn to read and generally improve my theory. This is with the aim of breaking through the walls that are stopping me from becoming a jazz bassist. Learning piano in my mind gives me a clean slate to learn from the beginning and hopefully be able to transfer those skills back to the bass. I too taught myself at a young age by tabs. It's really limited me as my mind does not approach the bass in a way which I can improvise or play melodically. I see the bass as a paint by numbers instrument. I've came a long way and I am slowly picking up theory and reading (I'm only a hobbyist). If I could start again, I would definitley have opted for lessons and reading .... providing i could inforce it on my 13 year old self!

I have a Reggie Hamilton P/J which came a DiMarzio Model P pickup and a Fender Noiseless J. Didn't really dig either and I was getting some scooped upper mids when blending them together. I swapped the Noiseless for a Model J so have a matching set which solved that problem. Only thing is, I'm just not happy with the Model P/J pups. I'll try and keep the adjectives simple: They sound dull, muffled and fat. With a plectrum they sound sharp and they cut really nicely (The plectrum reintroduces some attack in the top end). I used to have a Jazz with Area Js in and I loved them. Bright, open, crisp. Could really dig in with my fingerstyle playing. So I am going to get an Area J Bridge pickup. That's a no brainer for me. What I am having problems with is a P to go with it. DiMarzio fo a Area P (DP250) and a Area P/J set (DP251) but nowhere on this side of the pond seems to stock them. I could look at importing but I'd like to look down different avenues first. Ideally, I'd like to stick with a matched pair of pickups to try and avoid any phasing issues. A few points of discussion: Has anyone been in this situation before, what did you do? Given the tonal characteristics of the Area Js, can any one recommend an equivalent PJ set from a different manufacturer? Ideally in the same price range As a side note, I'm also going to have the P pickup route moved 2cm towards the bridge. This is the P bass sweet spot on a Jazz body. Got a pickguard from warmoth so just need some routing done on the body.