Mastodon2
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SOLD Hey guys, I'm selling off my Darkglass Alpha Omega 900. This was bought new last summer and had only had light use at home. I'm selling because I just don't need it. As you'd expect for something which has seen little use, it's in excellent condition. The key points for the amp are as follows: * 900 watts power output * Alpha Omega distortion circuit * Built-in compressor based on the Darkglass Hyperluminal compressor * Headphone input * Built-in cabinet simulator for playing direct to a mixing desk or recording * 6 band EQ * Footswitch for the distortion This amp is a great, even if you never use the famous Darkglass overdrive or distortion, which I rarely ever did. There are "Bite" and "Growl" switches that function as filters to tweak your sound. The distortion circuit has an overall gain knob, to go from mild drive to raging distortion. The Alpha / Omega knob allows you to blend between two distortion sounds. Alpha is a tight, modern distortion sound and Omega is a fat, raw distortion, like you'd hear on an early 90s death metal record. I'd guess 90% of players use it exclusively on the Alpha setting because that is the sound that's in fashion. The footswtich is included which allows you to activate or deactivate distortion with a tap of the foot. The compressor is probably my favourite thing about this amp, it's one knob, roll it off to deactivate it, roll it up to tighten the squeeze. It has a really nice musical edge to it, even on the max setting it's not a harsh, crushing compression. I think of it as a "sound better" knob as it just makes everything sound nicer. The amp has built-in cab simulation, which changes the sound output when you're going direct to a mixing desk or recording. You can plug in via micro USB and modify these cab sims too, though I never did so the head will ship with the factory default sims. To be honest, I'm not a distortion guy and mostly used the amp clean. It sounds super punchy but not harsh or too bright. The 6 band EQ sliders give you a lot of tone shaping control. You're welcome to come and try the amp out at my house, I'm located in Bedlington about 30 minutes from Newcastle Central Station. Alternatively, I can ship the bass in the original box. If this is an option you're interested in, we can work out a shipping cost. It's a class D head so it's not big and it weighs less than 3kg. I can potentially deliver or meet to do a handover in person if its within a reasonable radius of where I live. I can take payment in cash if we handover in person, or alternatively bank transfer or PayPal are options. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to get in touch and I'll reply as quickly as I can. Thanks for looking! Dave -
They're not really better or worse, as long as you play with decent technique and have relaxed hands. If you like to let your thumb creep round the back of the neck or have tense hands, you might mind the longer stretches on the lower strings uncomfortable. The best thing to do would be to try one really. However, if you're thinking of buying one because it may potentially alleviate some issues you've been experiencing, then I'd suggest that addressing your technique would be a better plan. If your technique is causing you issues, they will probably follow you to any bass you play.
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They certainly won't ever replace traditional traditional single-scale instruments, bass players as a community are generally deeply rooted in nostalgia and conservatism. Guitarists are the same, to be fair. You can show them something with only positives and no negatives from an engineering perspective and they still won't adopt the idea if it strays too far from their accepted ideas or what they feel comfortable with. This is why things like headless instruments never really caught on in a big way. Bass guitar design is still based extremely heavily around Leo Fender's designs from more than half a century ago. Guitar is the same, though Gibson's designs have a bigger bearing there than they do in the bass guitar sphere. These iconic brands have become so intrinsically linked to the music scenes where they are popular, it's very difficult to see how any radical new idea could ever become accepted in the mainstream.
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Good morning Dutchwife, the bass is 4.4kg - it's solid maple so it would never be a featherweight, but the overall short dimensions and small body (compared to something traditional like a Fender) mean that it balances nicely when worn on a strap and is quite comfortable. My main bass is a Warwick Thumb and ergonomically, the Pedulla is a much more comfortable instrument. The controls are volume, pickup pan and tone. It's an active circuit, but with traditional style controls. The active circuit acts as a buffer to provide headroom for a clean, clear tone. -
SOLD - Pending Handover For sale here is my Sandberg Thinline Custom. This is a great bass, but I'm selling as I want to buy some more electric guitar stuff and I feel guilty about having stuff sat in cases not getting used. It's a 5 string fretless. The body is chambered, so it's light and really sings, it has a lot of "mwah". Specs are as follows: 34" scale Mahogany body Flamed maple top Maple neck Rosewood fretboard Delano X-Tender pickup 3 Band EQ The bass is strung with flats. The fretboard is in great condition, having only ever been strung with flats and having had little play time. I simply play fretted more and as such, the Sandberg doesn't come out much and it deserves to be owned by someone who will give it the use it deserves. The bass was sold as a B stock when I bought it, as it has a chip on the rear of the body that was filled with a small abalone plug by Sandberg before it left their factory. You can see it in the photo of the rear of the bass. The bass will come with the Sandberg gig bag. You are welcome to come and try the bass in person, I'm based in Bedlington, Northumberland, about 25 minutes north of Newcastle. I can ship the bass by courier at the buyer's expense. If I go down this route, the bag will be heavily packaged for protection and I will only ship with full insurance, for full protection for both of us. The price is £1400 but I'm open to offers. Not looking for trades at the moment. Thanks for looking, if you have any questions please give me a shout. Dave-
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Hello, The string spacing is 17.5mm. Thanks, Dave
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SOLD PENDING HANDOVER Hey guys. For sale here is my 1989 Pedulla MVP5. Built by the now-retired Mike Pedulla, this is an absolute corker of an instrument. I'm selling as it just doesn't get enough play time as I use my Warwick Thumb for 95% of everything I do now and I want some new toys, it's a shame to leave this sitting it's case, so it's time to move it on. Specs: Made in 1989 in Massachusetts, USA 5 string 34" scale Neck thru Maple body and neck Flamed maple top and back Schaller tuners Bartolini P and J pickups Ebony fretboard Cherryburst finish Brass nut 17.5mm string spacing at the bridge Overall, the bass is in great condition for something built in 1989. It has some player marks; there is a chip on the side of the body, a patch on the back that wore through and was refinished by a previous owner and the lacquer on the side of the fretboard is chipped a little around the 12-15th frets on the low B side of the fretboard - pics included. The playability and tone are superb, as you'd expect from someone as renowned as Mike Pedulla. Deep and rich, great for the Jaco sound if you solo the bridge, the P pickup sounds really fat and rich on it's own and the pair in combo is fantastic - I generally run it with both pickups on equal, it sounds great. The pickups are a special set that were made for Pedulla basses. There had been some discussion as to whether Mike might let Bill Bartolini market them after Mike retired, but it never materialised, so that is another thing that is special and unique to these basses. With Mike now retiring, there won't be any new Pedullas born into the world. I am extremely grateful to have owned one and ticked it off my bucket list, I had wanted one since I was 17 years old and saw someone playing one in a band at a hotel I worked at. They really do look, feel and sound amazing. The bass will ship in the original Pedulla hard shell case. The truss rod tool and the original truss rod instructions from Mike Pedulla are included in the case. You are welcome to come and try the bass out in person if you like, I'm in Bedlington, Northumberland, about 25 minutes north of Newcastle upon Tyne. I can meet within some range of Newcastle if we agree on the arrangements. For the sale, I can do cash if the bass is collected in person. Bank transfer and PayPal are options too, but with PayPal, there are of course additional PayPal fees to consider. I can ship UK or EU, shipping will be at the buyer's expense and of course, I will only ship insured, for the protection of me and the next owner of this fine bass. I'm more than happy to provide additional pictures or answer questions about the bass, so please give me a shout if you wish. Cheers, Dave
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Lobster discovers Fender / Gretsch are telling porkies about spec
Mastodon2 replied to fretmeister's topic in Bass Guitars
Perhaps there is just most interest in the topic than in his other videos? I like his channel but I'm never going to bother watching him unbox something or review some generic FSO basses. On the other hand, learning about this deception that Fender have pulled on their customers is something I'd be interested in learning about. I've been following the Talkbass thread since the beginning and his findings are corroborated by other owners. Is it a deliberate fraud, overstating the spec to help sell the bass, or is it an error? The marketing materials could have been made from outdated design documents, there could have been internal miscommunication, maybe it's an mundane as the guy who wrote the spec list for the website looking at it an assuming it's a humbucker because of the size and shape. Either way, it's still a topic that deserves some attention, even if no one will ever be compensated in any form. -
I'd like to go back to 2002 and get an original Ibanez K5. Impossible, I know. I'd also like the padauk to stay that nice orange colour, which is also impossible as it turns darker brown as it ages. I'm not a big Korn fan, I like a few songs from their early years, but the K5 in the 2002 Ibanez catalogue was a dream bass for me. A shame that even if I could buy a mint condition one now, it wouldn't be the vibrant orange of the instrument in my dreams.
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I still own my first bass. It receives more play time than anything else I own, despite everything I've bought since.
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Of the Wal, Stingray or Thumb, the Thumb is, to me, unquestionably the most aggressive. It does it without needing a super hot signal too: the aggressive tone is inherent to the construction, mainly the woods and pickup position, rather than simply being a really high gain signal as a result of the electronics. I also have a Spector Euro LX, the second I've owned and even with the Tonepump on 50%, its noticeably louder than my Thumb and requires an adjustment to the input gain on my amp to suit. On the other hand, I can swap from my Thumb to my Ken Smith, Pedulla, Sandberg etc and not have any significant difference to the volume. Some basses sound aggressive because of the electronics but I don't believe that to be the case for Thumbs. At least, its not the biggest part of the picture. It's worth noting too that not all Thumbs are equal. The 5 strings sound more aggressive than the 4s and 6s to me. The 4s, in most cases, have two J bars, one in the mid and one by bridge and only the one by the bridge is slanted. The 5s and 6s have both of their pickups slanted and very close to the bridge. The 5s however have J bars and the 6s have soapbars. I think that makes the 5s just growl that bit more.
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I saw this announcement over the weekend. It does seem a shame, any good UK-based craftsmen shutting down production, for whatever reason, is a big shame a loss to us here on these isles. As with other posters, I always felt like the Super Quads were the least attractive part of the package. I much preferred the look of the old Enfield basses where Martin was making what was effectively a single giant ramp cut from the top wood, with the pickup pole pieces exposed on the ramp. That's purely an aesthetic consideration, of course, but I wasn't such a fan of the giant black square looks of the Super Quads. I was also never totally blown away by the sound, but did love many other things about the basses so had considered asking whether they might have been open to building a bass with other pickups of my choice. Alas, it looks like that custom build will never come to be. To be fair, I have been lusting more and more for a Sei bass and if I were to commission a custom build, it would likely be from them or an ACG as I love their modern styling and sounds. Perhaps however, I lack the patience for a custom build, as every time I want a bass I end up buying one quite quickly. If I placed an order for a bass with 6, 12 or 18 month waiting time, I'd probably want something different by the time it was delivered. Still, good luck to Martin. He obviously knows what pays the bills and offers the best balance of stress, workload and income. There comes a point in all of our lives where we may want to consider paring back our responsibilities, freeing our time and if we're lucky, not losing out substantially on income, or even possibly increasing our income. I wish Martin all the best with the pickup and LED business, I'm sure he won't be short of work.
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No, that is a modified Fender Jeff used to use. Chris2112 will probably correct me if I'm wrong, but it's a Fender P body with a J neck and Bartolini pickups, though the neck wasn't wired up if I recall. It was stolen, Jeff can't remember where or when, but must have been some point in the mid 80s. The pickups were what Jeff and Bill Bartolini used to make the pickups for the Dean basses and the Rithimics, as IIRC, Bill still had the design documents for the pickups that were I'm Jeff's old Fender. As to the OP's question, yes the Rithimic is a great bass. Cort don't have the brand power to charge big bucks, so they can build a nice bass with great hardware and it doesn't cost the earth. If you like Jeff's sound, you'll probably like the Rithimic.
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Indeed. I still have the original Dimarzio Willpower P pickup, I might put that back in one day or try the new Dimarzio Relentless pickup and swap the bridge pickup for a Dimarzio Super J.
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NBD - Unexpected Ken Smith BSR 4WT purchase
Mastodon2 replied to hiram.k.hackenbacker's topic in Bass Guitars
Welcome to the club. Ken Smith basses are amongst the best money can buy.- 22 replies
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Yes you are correct, I don't often use the woofer or the dual output feature, I mostly run it as a P/J blend on a single output.
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Interesting. Soften the Glare uploaded a new music video on Thursday which is basically just Ryan goofing around in his garage in front of a green screen, he is using a Thumb there. The move to Fodera is an unusual one and certainly not one I saw coming, I guess he had been keeping these Foderas a secret until the reunion shows. Very hard to tell what the sound is like as the show footage is so bad, but I'd be surprised if it had the growl of a Thumb, however the double slanted J bars will get a good sound regardless, in my opinion it is the best pickup combo / placement going. Also, I'm in agreement with Chris above, Chad's voice is blown out, he loses his place in the second verse, doesn't keep the mic close to his face when he is singing and sounds out of breath. Should have worked on his cardio to combat the last point, but when your voice is done, it's done so there's nothing to be done there.
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My main bass is a golden age Ken Smith, so no, I've never played anything in a shop that holds a candle to it. There's only one or two shops in the UK that stock stuff on a similar level and I've never visited them in person and I doubt they'd have any of my "holy grail" level basses which could compete with my Smith.
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In that case I stand corrected but you'll have to forgive me for having no faith in Bass Direct, their adverts have so many mistakes in them.
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See also "The bass has been cleaned and set up with low action". I bought a used bass from them which had roundwounds on it that were so old they were probably fitted when the bass was new in 1989 and low action that still had enough clearance to drive a double decker under. 30 seconds with the tools fixed it, but it shouldn't have left the shop like that.
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There is one that is on there, or at least was last night, that is incorrectly listed. It's a black Euro 4 that had the hardware swapped out for gold items, it has been incorrectly listed as an Ian Hill model. It was on sale in the classifieds here for a while. I must admit, my finger did flicker over the PM button the sale thread, but decided against it. After I move house later this year I'm going to sell a few basses and fill the empty slots in the roster with limited edition Warwicks and perhaps a Warwick Streamer of some description.
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Glad you got the bridge sorted @Al Krow, the bridge is the only thing that I find to be unimpressive on my Euro, it's perfectly machined etc, but I think it's a bit of a duff design for adjusting the intonation. Not that it's a job you do often, but it's so much easier to make fine adjustments on a Warwick bridge, for example.
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I have always felt that when someone is playing a melody or taking a solo and they play a bum note, if they hit a sharp note they sound over-excited and if they hit a flat note they sound really unenthusiastic and unmotivated. It has always amused me.
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I saw this video on YouTube the other day. In all my years, I've never owned or played a bass that had a delay from playing a note to producing the sound. It sounds like Rudy has found a solution to a problem I didn't even know I had!
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The chain is broken, the bass is now lost to light. Sigh. Oh well, if anyone does have a Thumb Dirty Blonde, or any other limited edition Thumbs, get in touch, I might start collecting them. I'm in the market for a Dolphin Pro I too. I should probably make a proper wanted thread.
