skhatru

Hi, Not posted for a while, and never undertaken anything like this in 30 yrs playing, but need to. Obtained a Tobias Toby Pro 5 string bass. From what I can find out its a Gibson made Korean era bass. Mahogany coloured neck thru?? Nice bass. Nice construction and action. Trouble is, sound and output were low, band, and intermittent. Capacitor or something on the board has gone. So, from reading about it, A few people have upgraded to EMG or Bartolini pups and preamp. Personally, I would rather go EMG as I am hopoeless at soldering, but, do I need to buy 2 soapbar pups? Why do they not sell them as a pair, or do they? Do I need to purchase a preamp separately, or would this be included? Like I say, I am total newbie at this, but would like to take on this project, as I reckon when done would make a nice backup bass to my Overwater Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Dougie

Thx guys

Had one many years ago. Loved it. Always thought it was pretty heavy, but you got used to it. With mine there was a big differential when flicking the actives on. I remember playing a local club with it, flicking the switch to put the actives on, and popped (siezed) one of my 15" speakers. Traded it in for my first Jaydee Supernatural. Really good bass though. Dougie

Hi all, I finally took the plunge and got me a p bass. As a backup bass really, but add a bit of variation to my sounds also. It's a squier vintage modified. White, black pickguard. Previous owner has changed the stock bridge for a Gotoh bridge, and put Fender pup covers on the stock pups. Action is really nice, and have to say, and all round nice bass. Quite a substantial bang for ma buck. Before I bought it, my idea was to replace the stock pups with "quarterpounders". My question is, is that my best option? If not, what are my options? All advice taken on board, and thx for takin time to help a p bass newbie Cheers Dougie

Hi, Not gigged for about 10 years. Last gig was when function band dissolved. Sold my Peavey rig, which was getting on my nerves humphing it around anyway, and got a Bass POD. Was involved in a recording project for years. so it was ideal forme. Upgraded recently to a Bass POD XT Live, and got myself a band I really like. The band gig a fair bit however. Some venues provide a backline for bass, and some don't. Some (most) have facility for DI into the front of house desk and some dont. Here's my problem. Do I invest in an amp (ampeg, GK, Hartke etc) or get a slave and a couple of speakers???? I really don't want to be lugging around a big rig, or heavy combo, hence the POD, and mucking around with effects send/return (which I know heehaw about) to avoid colouring my sound, as I have a lovely GK sound I like, so, is it practical to get a 500w slave and a couple of full range speakers?? POD XT Live when goin into line equipment wants one output from "amp model" (processed) and one from DI (unprocessed) so slave has 2 inputs, 1 to each? Cheaper than a big rig too. Practical? Impractical? I honestly don't know, hence throwing it open for advice, pointers, constructive and other types of criticism lol. Thx Dougie

Hi, Found myself a new band that gigs and records after many years of recording. Loving it, but, couple of minor issues, and thought I would seek some advice before delving into anything. Own 2 Bass PODS. An original "bean"/"kidney" POD and an XT Live Pro. Basses I have are a Yamaha BB605 and a Spector Q5 Pro. Used the Yam and the bean POD for years and overall very happy, as I have a sound I like. Cn't quite re-create it with the XT Live, but none the less close. Spector is relatively new to me, so, not mucked around enough to form an opinion. So, the questions. 1. I was toying with the idea of replacing the stock pickups on the Yamaha. They "appear" on teh face of it to be standard J type pickups, and the controls are Volume, Pickup Balance, Bass, Treble, and switch on to get an active Mid-Sweep. Will it a)be possible to just replace these pickups with new ones not Yamaha, and if so, which ones???? EMG? DiMarzio, Seymour Duncans?? I want a beefy powerful yet not overly bassy sound, but, I am an aggressive finger player, and too much treble or mid tends to accuntuate the clicking sound of string on finger. Personally I don't like too much of that, and hate using a pick, so any advice here would be most welcome. 2. Normally, I would just DI right into the house sound system, but, now need a monitoring system. Was thinking of a slave amp and a REALLY compact cab with a 15" and a tweeter capable of handling 250W say. Any ideas? I lie the Gallien Kreuger amp model sound I have, and don't want to colour it, hence slave amp, but, all slaves I see nowadays are stereo and rack mountable. Could always get th 500W that would give me 250W through one speaker, and it is really for monitoring purposes only. Do not want to be lugging around ampeg or peavey or gallien kreuger rigs, hence the PODs. Any help/advice here is really really welcome Thanks folks Dougie

Hi, First off, as newbie to the forum, let me introduce myself. I'm Dougie, 46 years young, from Motherwell, Scotland, and been playing bass for 32 years. My first bass was a Columbus copy of a 70's Fender Jazz, 3 tone sunburst with red pickguard. Lovely to look at, not so nice to play eventually, but, for a beginner, I loved it. Over the years I have owned just about everything, EXCEPT a Precision bass. In fact, no Fenders at all!! I have had Washburns, Peaveys, Rickenbackers, Jaydees, numerous Yamahas, Westones, Spectors, Warwicks, Ibanez's, to name a few. The 2 basses I have now, the Yamaha has been with me for about 8-10 years now. Love it. The Spector is new (for me) but it's a keeper too. However........ I don't know really, what it is about P-Basses that put me off. I remember playing one in a rehearsal studio years ago, and to me, at that time, it just sounded like somebody farfting through the Trace Elliot rig I was using. Put me off for years. Recently however, the more I look at them, the more I like them. I play in a heavy rock outfit (recording only for the moment, maybe taking it live) and I just feel a P Bass should and could have something to offer me, apart from the aesthetic porn aspect. I know you can get a good one or a bad one. My Yamaha BB605 for example. I'm sure they threw away the mould after making this one. I'm geeky to the extent, that when I hear a track, I like to try and guess what bass is being used (anybody else? lol), and usually, it's easy to recognise a P bass, but invariably that's because it's the "stock" sound I don't really like. Then again, you get tracks where the bass is pounding away, gorgeous sound, plenty bottom end thump, nice clarity, and low and behold, it's a P bass. My dilemma is this. Should I add a P Bass to my basses? If so, which one? I don't want to pay big bucks for a Fender American P Bass, but should I perhaps get a Squier, with a view to modding the pups with a set of quarter pounders say? Leave alone? Should I go for a good second hand Fender P Bass like the one advertised on the list in the last week? Help guys and gals. Oh, I should add, I play 5 string these days, and I would like a 4 string P Bass, so the P bass neck profile isn't an issue. Just looking for good sound general advice from people with P bass experience/knowledge who can point me in the right direction or not. Was looking at a Schecter Diamond P Bass (has an added MM type pup in bridge position. Was nursing a semi droolin at that). Thoughts/comments please. Cheers Dougie

Hi, For the last 8 years or so, I have been using a Yamaha BB605 (Nathan East body shape) and I have found it to be a very versatile bass. It's not heavy at all (part of the reason I have kept it so long and got rid of other more expensive basses). It has 2 jazz pickups, a master volume control, pickup blend control. bass boost/cut control, and treble boost/cut control. It also has an active mid sweep, which is turned on by flicking a switch. I use it for rock, pop, and funk (slap) and it handles everything. Tone controls provide wide variety of sounds. There is a BB604 version, but Yamaha sadly don't make these basses anymore, so, here or ebay would be your best chance. IMHO of course, Yamaha basses are really superb value for money. Affordable for a newbie, and quality enough for a more experienced user. Sure, there are far more expensive basses out there, and there are some of those blow the Yamaha away, but for the most part, Yamaha bass guitars will stand the test of time, and provide you everything you need, for not a lot of money. PLENTY bang for your buck. Warwick Rockbass are good value too, I just dont like the look of Warwick basses, and I had a "posh" Warwick that I really couldn't live with, so don't listen to me on these lol. Squire, CV, again excellent value, but you're not a Fender man, so, kinda rules them out. You could pick up a brand new Yamaha RBX 270J for £200? It's a passive bass, with both precision and Jazz type pickups. Lightweight. Good quality, and nice range of sounds. At the end of the day, the sound advice is, try before you buy. Research what you like. Check out the company websites, look at the specification, and don't feel pushed in any one direction. Even by me lol ;-) It's your money, so you get what you like and what you want, to make you hte individual bass player you will be. There are so many good basses out there. As Clint Eastwood said "Opinions are like a**holes, everybody has one" Dougie

Hi, First Bass: Columbus 70's Fender Jazz copy (lovely looking 3 tone sunburst, horrible to play) Go To Bass: My trusty Yamaha BB605 My Bass: Jaydee Roadie II Active (tonight at least, changes like the Scottish weather I have to endure ) Dougie

Hi, I have been playing my very reliable and versatile Yamaha BB605 now for about 8 years or so. A good few basses have come and gone in that time, and this one has remained. Been on the lookout for a RBX JM2 for a number of years now, and I have managed to locate one. Has anybody onlist had one? Still got one? What do you think of it, and realistically, what are they worth these days? I had an RBX 765(i think) with same body style as JM2, but did a straight swap for the BB605 I still have, as I didn't like the pickups on it, but this has a MM style humbucker, with the same IMO lovely body shape and headstock. Opinions please guys and gals. Cheers Dougie

Hi, Thanks again guys for the help. I mailed PJ at spector and he got back to me. Here was I thinking I had a Spector Performer 5 string bass, with mods, and it turns out I have got myself a Q5Pro. Ok, it's a bit older (kinda knew that as soon as I saw it), but, in the end, it's probably a better all round bass than the Performer. I also know what the dip switches do, so, thanks again guys. Cheers Dougie

Thanks. I have mailed spector. I'm sure they'll clear it up. Cheers Dougie

Hi all, I hope I am in the correct forum. New here, so apologies if I am not in the correct forum. I have recently taken posession of a Spector Performer 5 string bass guitar. After adjusting the "mile high" action, and tweaking thed truss rod, it is now just how I would like, well almost, and is an extremely playable, and IMO, nice bass. For an entry level bass, of any make, this is well worth the pittance I paid for it. On inspection of the electronics however, I came across something that has got me a little bemused. In fact, the more I look online, the more confused I get. I am "assuming" this is the "tonepump" preamp thingy that comes in a lot of Spector basses. However, on their website (spectorbass.com) it says that the "Performer" bass has EMG SSD pickups. The pickups on this bass are EMG Hz pickups???? Also, and the main point of my post, attached to one of the pots inside the back cavity, is a small black cube, that appears to have 2 small white (dip?????) switches?? One is in the "down" position and one is in the "up" position. I don't know if these little switches have a centre detent position or not, as I have not touched them. Somebody told me they can be used to "adjust" the default tonal output of the bass, by varying the positions of these 2 switches. Can anybody here shed any light on why the bass "appears" to have HZ instead of SSD pickups and what these 2 switches on the black block are, and what their function is? float your climb Dougie