Ed_S

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1334764134' post='1620876'] Any I've tried (Takamine G series, Ibanez AEB, crappy £50 ebay thing) are drowned out by a single acoustic guitar and in practice need to be amplified to be used in any ensemble musical context. So you need to amp it anyway, which apart from the attendant risks of feedback means that [b]apart from aesthetics you really are no better off than using an electric bass[/b]. [/quote] Exactly my experience. Add a Westfield cheapo and a Fender Kingman to the list of similarly afflicted, btw. If you must have one, do yourself a favour and get one with a standard size and shape sound hole so that you can buy a feedback eliminator (more like 'reducer' in reality) to bung in there.

[quote name='drewk_ie' timestamp='1334732850' post='1620272'] Hi Ed_S I have a steinberger spirit XT2, that I'm just about to put up for sale, bought it with the intention of having a bass at work to play during lunch hour, but that has yet to happen... The bass is immaculate with gig bag and only 12 weeks old, so still under warranty... Could have it shipped to you for £270 if you were interested? Cheers Andrew [/quote] Hi Andrew, Sincere thanks for the offer, but unfortunately the current price of a brand new one with full warranty in my name is lower than £270, so I'd only be interested in anything second hand which offered a substantial saving on best price when new (£240 give or take a pound at present). Thanks again, but I'll have to decline! Cheers, Ed

Yeah, my USA Deluxe P (or at very least its tragic preamp) had shielding issues which I'd not really noticed in setup and testing but came thundering to light in the recording studio thanks to a fluorescent strip light in the booth. I recently ripped out the preamp and replaced it with a Glockenklang 2-band and it seems ok now, but to be fair I've not subjected it to any serious interference to test it yet. I've seen it written that the cavity shielding on the deluxe bodies is painted on and then lacquered over, so that screw that seems to be going into nothing more exciting than the wood is actually your link into the cavity shielding.. dunno how true that is, but it would stand to reason. If it still has issues when I test it properly, I might get the body refinished and conventionally shielded because the quality of the finish is total dross for a £1400 bass, but the neck is great and I've paid too much for it already so might as well go the whole distance given its potential 2nd hand value.

[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1334479738' post='1616559'] The older players have got their 'experimenting' and 'quest for that killer tone' thing out of their systems and have settled down to concentrate on actually playing. We've probably all been there at some point. [/quote] 'tis true! Though that said, even when you've settled on the right bit of kit, you still have to spend a few years going through all the different permutations of colours, finishes, electronics and hardware! It's a tough life... ...especially when you discover that B/W/RW suits you, and the config that really nails the 'authentic' tone you were after is best described as 'stock'.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1334419894' post='1616022'] I really [i]want [/i]to like J basses, but the result of long trial and experimentation has always led me back to the simplicity of a P bass. [/quote] You're quite noble to have gone as far as the experimentation phase! I managed to shun Js on the basis of aesthetics alone for 15 years, but my dislike was/is fairly specific; J pickups. The J body shape never set my world alight (though I don't mind it as such) and the differences in neck dimensions don't bother me, but I think J pickups just look weedy and unappealing. I thought I'd get away with keeping my cash, but then Fender brought out the Blacktop...

For me it's the absolute simplicity - four strings, one pickup, no preamp or battery, timeless body shape, timeless sound, absolutely nothing to argue with and very little to go wrong; I just open the taps and play, with nothing but the music to concern me. Nice place to be

Given that you can get a multitude of after-market pickups, preamps and different strings to change the sound of most 'classic' basses into something more akin to various others before you even get to the amp / modeller, I'd have thought that these days it was a subtle mix of overall aesthetic appeal and preferred neck dimensions that sold a P to one guy and a J to another (and both to many others). That quote in the OP might have held true 'back in the day' (I don't know - I wasn't there) but I can't agree with it in the current climate.

Another happy G30 user here. Mine's sort-of-rack-mount in that a couple of Velcro tabs secure it to otherwise useless space in the back of my rack; I've never had any issues with it being out of line-of-sight, alongside a load of metal and power cables and with both guitarists using G30s too. I actively prefer the 30 over the 50 or 90 because you can use 'proper' cables with it.

As a fan of heavy rock and metal, I like the visual impact of a full backline and, knowing how difficult it can sometimes be, respect the effort put into making it all fit, work together and sound good. I guess I even respect the way people deal on the spot with real equipment suffering real problems. Digital modelling just doesn't have the same draw for me; I find it quite impersonal. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it can't sound good (I have an X3 Pro and know there are some good sounds in there) and in a recording studio that's all that matters, but in a live context I'd go a long way to keep my backline and that of my guitarists, faults and all. [quote name='cheddatom' timestamp='1334142012' post='1611412'] I need a bass rig, otherwise i'll have no fun [/quote] ..a universal truth if ever I heard one!

Cheers, Paul - looks like a good deal for somebody but even at £200, that goes £100 beyond my "I'm willing to take a punt on 2nd hand" value I'll stand to the extra £50 and buy a new one with a warranty!

[quote name='Paul S' timestamp='1333796495' post='1606554'] they sound immense - somehow just exactly like a P. bass. [/quote] Now *that* is more like what I was after hearing!

We're 'only' an unpaid originals band comprised of people with decent day-jobs who are in it for the buzz, but we still aim to be as professional as possible so I devised what I thought was a fair audition process (dunno what you guys think?!), based entirely on how I'd expect to be treated myself. Because we rehearse weekly anyway, we advertise it as a two shot deal where the first meeting is to get to know us a bit, listen to us play through some stuff as we are and then jam through a few really easy covers with no real pressure. The second meeting is much more serious, fully mic'd up and recorded (to aid cold, hard, objective decision-making after the fact) with the easy covers from the first week which we expect to be perfect by this point and one original for which as much tab / guitar-pro, recorded material (with and without the audition part missing) etc. as we've got are duly provided, but only one week is given to learn and we don't expect miracles (bit of a pressure test). We've had people turn up on the first week who obviously can't do it and still given them the second week as advertised, and in the case of one unsuccessful singer I actually went to the trouble of pro-tools-polishing what little he could do with the easy covers in that recorded second week to give him "something to show other bands" (his request, certainly not my idea). That and we always say we'll let people know something by a certain day, and we do, even if it's just to say "you're still in the running but we need more time to listen and decide". Seems to have kept people happy thus far...

Cheers for the heads-up! Sadly not for me - only after a 4, still too expensive, and any damage at all is a no-no - but thanks nonetheless!

Cheers for the thumbs-ups, guys! RR - I'm sure the Hohner is nice, but it costs just a bit more than I'd want to spend on a real 'emergency' bass; I genuinely don't like the look of them so can say with certainty it wouldn't get played unless completely necessary. I reckon £300 is my limit for that sort of utilitarian purchase. Kev - That's really interesting about the neck being further away in playing position.. I guess without having given it a lot of though, I'd assumed that it would be closer in, what with being so compact! But yeah, I'd spend a bit of time getting used to playing it and finding out what was available in terms of suitable sounds; even an ugly and inappropriate bass that's familiar and belongs to you has to be better than desperately trying to cadge one from somebody else! I guess it's just down to the finances now... see what gives when next month's pay hits

I've been considering the idea of buying a Steinberger XT-2 for a while now, as despite being openly 'not my thing' in an aesthetic sense, they seem to have a lot going for them: Relatively cheap Gig bag incuded Physically small Normal 34" scale Relatively light Supposedly tough Sounds to me like the perfect backup bass that you hope you'll never even take out of the bag! Indeed I've never needed a backup bass to date, but I know the day will come when something goes awry (it has to, surely, even with a Precision) so aim to be prepared and usually carry one. The XT-2 looks like a very convenient way of limping to the end of such a gig, especially for somebody who's taken public transport to get there in the first place! The only downside I can see (apart from the visual aspect of being a 6'4 / 300lb metal-head playing a 38" / 7.5lb boat paddle!) is the extra tenner for a set of strings... I've thus far been unable to try one for myself, and will probably end up buying online rather than sporting train fare to go and buy in person should I decide to go ahead, so I wondered if anybody had any thoughts on my reasoning, or can think of anything I should know about before making my decision? Cheers

DK2L? If so, gotta have saved yourself £400 on new... nicely done!

[quote name='Icarus_147' timestamp='1333167612' post='1598325'] Update! So it wasn't as good as I hoped. Frets were a bit sharp, but that could be dealt with. Sound was a bit dubious around the higher notes too. And it was far, far too light. Like, could have picked it up with one finger light. It was actually a weird sensation picking it up for the first time. That said, the sound wasn't awful, it did have a lot of bottom end, and now that I've seen it in the flesh I think it's even prettier. I'll just have to ask Fender Custom Shop nicely to make me one that isn't built out of polystyrene when I'm rich. I (sadly) won't be investing in this though. ): [/quote] Just as an intermediary step between Squier and Fender Custom Shop, maybe see if you can have a play on a MIM Fender Blacktop Jazz. It's certainly different for different's sake as it has a jazz neck, body and control layout, but two precision pickups, the benefits of which being a fairly standard 'grown-up' Precision tone at the neck, mixable with a quite balls-out, edgy tone at the bridge; it's good for metal You could fairly easily get a red (or maybe chrome/mirrored would look better in this case?) guard made for it if you preferred it, but I very much doubt you'd want to change the pickups, the rest of the hardware is perfectly solid, the fretwork is good and it's the right weight! I've only had mine a week and although I admit that I bought it completely on a whim and never expected to like it in the first place, am already very impressed with it. Yeah, it's substantially more expensive than the PW you were looking at, but sometimes you just have to put that bit more in to get out what you want. Oh, and if you [i]really[/i] want a Duncan Designed P pickup to ransack the capabilities of a different purchase, drop me a PM and you can have the one that came out of my Squier VM P... just promise me that when you take it back out a couple of days later you'll sport the couple of quid to launch it over the side of the Shields ferry.

I wasn't a member of BC so didn't know it at the time, but I saw Thom(Bassmonkey) playing with the James Warner Prophecies at the Fishpond in Matlock Bath. Was a really good gig, even though the support band were a bit 'rough and ready', let's say.

100% the simple engraved version. [quote name='Sheldon Dingwall' timestamp='1332802517' post='1593482'] The problem is that the engraving is too subtle. From a distance it disappears. [/quote] ...and I personally reckon it looks much nicer for it!

[quote name='bluejay' timestamp='1332779879' post='1593020'] Yes, thank you Panther, you're correct... I had "DST" unticked. But incidentally, shouldn't it actually be "BST"? What does DST stand for (excuse my ignorance)? [/quote] [quote name='charic' timestamp='1332786481' post='1593127'] Domestic Stilton Trout [/quote] ...or Daylight Saving Time, which BST is an example of

I bought a Fender Kingman to do acoustic rock gigs with. Very nice, but as soon as you've put a feedback destroyer in the soundhole and put it in the mix it might as well be a Precision, so I made the decision that henceforth it [i]will[/i] be a Precision. Sold it last Friday and won't be missing it.

[quote name='Johnston' timestamp='1332708606' post='1592035'] I just wish they had the protos head stock. Not a fan of the plastic plate TBH. [/quote] Completely agree! Likewise, the string tree would rapidly find itself changed for something a little more classic if I owned one. [quote name='discreet' timestamp='1332709995' post='1592061'] Standard options include Vintage White with Black/White/Black pickguard... [/quote] That'd do me! ...or possibly the other way round

I've got a Surveyor 415, which is basically the same as the current Surveyor 5 but a couple of years older. It's a nicely built and finished bass, but it's as subtle as a forging press, and I can't get it to be happy with anything other than super-low action on an absolutely straight neck. Basically it's a metal machine, but coming from ESP, loaded with EMG pickups and preamp, I don't find that at all surprising. Would I recommend it? Difficult to say, really.. if you know what you're getting and that's all you'll ever want then I'm sure you'd be happy, but those wanting an all-rounder might quite rapidly find that whilst it sells versatility with the P / MM (split to J) + 3 band EQ setup, and those tones are all present (and, for what it's worth, quite accurate) the bass itself precludes their use in a vast number of settings. I tried to use it for an acoustic rock project a couple of weeks ago, and it was about as appropriate as singing your kids to sleep through a loudhailer.

If I were you, I'd split my money about £250-350 for a s/h mini head / £250 for a new or s/h 12" 8ohm cab. I have my mini-rig sat right next to me now consisting of a Markbass Little Mark II and an Eden EX112 which you could easily pick up for the sort of money you want to spend and is very compact, yet plenty capable for anything from home practise to small pub gigs. Buy or borrow another cab and that'll take you to bigger-gig level. Added advantage over a combo (possible exception being combos that you can take the 'head' out of) being that you could just take your mini head if you know there's going to be a cab to borrow where you're going. If you managed to score really lucky, you might be able to make your initial cab a s/h Barefaced Midget, which would take you a good deal further before needing to add anything more. Other suggestions are available, YMMV etc.

Yup.. if I was ever going to own one, it'd most likely be either a red, black or white one of those!