A.G.E.N.T.E.

The really like the icon. It looks a bit like my protec contego. 

To be honest with all the stuff I carry on my bag plus a heavy pedalboard hanging on one shoulder, I doubt i noticed those extra 2kg. 

Just adding that sound drops might also be caused by corrosion building up inside the pedals jack sockets. Connecting and disconnecting a few times might be enough to remove them. 

Keep the fiesta red as it is and get a new bass.😊

Whatever suits you best. There's no rule for using compression, only guidelines. My preference goes to the preamp/eq after compression because it allows me to tweak with more control. 

Great compressor, I find it very versatile. I guess the name is the major reason for it being overlooked. It was the firs pedal I brought and still have it. I admit I tried to sell it a couple of times but gave up the next day. 

Having owned and mooved  several better ranked compressors, the LMB-3 is still here. 

The only downside I find is the (subtle) eq it adds. 

I guess the "neck dive" is more noticeable on the 5 string version as neck has higher mass and I remember reading someone's opinion about the neck through having better balance.

Speaking of neck dive,my impression is that if you let it rest, the thumb tends to get paralel to the ground instead of the headstock pointing towards it. 

Strings are new but there might be a possibility that the string core slipped during the installation causing a dead string. That's why some manufactures suggest crimp before cut. 

I'm a thumb Bolton 5 owner and there are some pros and cons. I got mine because there are nothing like it sound wise and that was what I wanted and never looked back. 

Ergony was the only thing that could have made me change my mind but since I'm a 1,90m tall the distance of the first fret is doable so the only real issue was the balance. The way I solved this was using a wide strap and adding some counterweight attached right next to the rear strap lock. This adds ofc some weigh but solved my problem. 

I'd rather have a bass with an awesome sound and deal with ergonomic issues than have an amazingly balanced bass wose sound doesn't suits my needs. 

These days I rarely look for stuff on reverb. Everything is so crazy overpriced that I don't even bother looking. 

Back on topic... Basically a early rockbass with a std bridge but ovangkol neck. 300/400£ would be a fair price I guess. 

Only fuzziness, not cutting the sound? I would start by lowering a bit the neck pickup. It might be to close to the string creating some distortion. 

Or maybe there's to much gain and you're clipping the signal on your sound card. 

Another noise gate ... This time aimed at the bass players market. 

Great pedal! I have one at the end of my signal chain right after compression. The DI is very good. I compared it to a few DI pedals I have at home, and it was clearly de best one even better than the DI on my markbass LM Tube 800.

I also think it can be fixed but for the money... Remove the fretboard, replace the truss rod, glue the fretboard again, repairing the crak on the neck, make sure everything is perfectly leveled ...Might not be the best solution. Anyway, ask your local luthier. 

A couple of years ago I found that the bridge of my Ibanez gwb35 was bent, enabling me to do a proper setup. Mailed Ibanez and all the dealers I could find. When finally one replyed , the price was outrageous for a std bridge with 16,5mm spacing. That made me start to search for another brand as replacement  and hipshot ended the quest with a kickass bridge. Works like a charm and looks badass too. 

Owning a  Markbass LM Tube 800 paired with a MB new york 122, I can only say good things sound wise. I play with a very loud drummer And a guitar player that insists to use a mesa boogie valve powerd stereo rig, meaning 4 x12“ on each side. I can tell you that the previous rig I used was a full stack 1x15“ +4x10" powerd by a 500 warwick amp... Felt short.

This Markbass rig has 1/3 of the sise and weight and has much more power and clarity. 

Before getting this I was leaning towards a Frfr... But the lack of easy access do eq and volume control put me of. 

I usually buy hipshot gear from this store in Spain. http://egilegorbasses.com/egilegorbassesshop/en/others/60-kickass.html#/finish-chrome/type-i/string_number-5

On 13/12/2022 at 21:51, mcnach said:

 

My story is a little similar but with different outcome.

I've tried 5-string basses on and off over the years. Didn't gel with any. The MB-5 was cheap enough and I like the Stingray type of sound... but I never like 5-string basses, do I? I hesitated and my girlfriend bought it for me.

I loved it.

It was well balanced, reasonably light, and I loved that neck. Of course, it had to sound good, and it did. I considered putting a preamp in there to make it more like a 5-string version of my main bass... but I enjoyed the passive controls. So much, that I just kept playing it and I finally 'clicked' with the 5-string and now I am "ambidextrous" 😝 

 

The MB-5 led to a couple more Harley Benton 5-stringers, a JJ and a PJ (JJ55OP and JP55OP), and more recently a Ray35, so I get the versatility of the preamp for when I want that stuff, and the MB-5 for others. 

 

Aaanyway, I sound like grandpa and his stories... To answer the OP, I've kept mine stock. I'm not shy when it comes to mod instruments, most of my guitars aren't stock. But sometimes an instrument just fills a niche as it is and I don't want to change a thing. The MB-5 is one of them. The one thing I'm tempted to change is the bridge. Not that there's anything too wrong with the existing one, I just would like a slightly wider spacing and the fingerboard is wide enough to allow that... but I'm not in a hurry.

 

Oh, I lied! It's not stock... I didn't like he tortoise-shell effect type pickguard and had a matt black one made:

 

 

Looks really nice! What's the string spacing at the bridge? 

A couple of months ago I asked my local luthier to remove the scratches of an ebonol fretboard of my Ibanez gwb35. Don't ask me how he did it but it came out pretty well. I was a bit skeptical because I thought it would get even worse from sanding. 

I think the issue here is the angle. Even with carpet I would not use my cab vertically otherwise my amp would easily fall. It seems this stand was made for combos or for placing cabs in monitor position. 

I got another solution instead. Wife's iPad cover 😜

I can confirm the tube is soldered. I took a look to see if there was any identifiable problem. 

 Update: I dont think the issue is the tube. At least  it`s not going microphonic as i gave it some  light touches with no influence on the noise.

1 minute ago, Bunion said:

I’m not overly familiar with these amps but I believe they have a tube and a solid state side, have you tried cutting out the tube side and just running on solid state, then the other, is it just one side causing the problem? 
if it’s the tube side causing the problem it could be the tube breaking down but try taking it out and reseating it. 
Does the sound have a hollow echo, if so the tube has gone microphonic. 

Yes, I tried that too. Both the solid state and the valve side sound the same. 

Dear fellas, last night at rehearsal, playing with may little mark tube 800 and a MB new york 212 I noticed some weird noises coming of the speakers and the they kept moving even with no sound being fed. It sounded like wind or some fire burning.. Fortunately there wasn't any smoke involved. I disconnected the bass, changed speaker cable, power cable, restarted the amp.. Nothing worked. As I have another amp and set of speakers at the studio, I found out that the issue was the amp, as this issue was still happening with the other speakers. My description might be a little vague, but, does anyone have any idea what might be causing this. 

I forgot to mention that this noises still happen wen amp is muted. 

I'll try to post some video later. 

Thanks in advance. 

8 minutes ago, jimfist said:

 

If you really want to get familiar with the breadth and depth of compressor-dom, then I'd personally lay out the cash of the new Atlas compressor.

It has pretty much everything you'd want in a pedal comp, with many different types of comp represented and lots of parameters to tweak.

And because of this, I'd spend a good, long time digesting what it can do. Again, if you really, really want to dig in, spend the time to learn.

I crossed that bridge long ago, but if I hadn't and were in your shoes today, this is what I'd do.

 

 

Never tried it, and not questioning if it's good or bad... But is it just me or the selling arguments are based on how well they "tuned" the presets for bass? If you have a good compressor you'll have the hability to find out your own settings according to your instrument, your playing style and what you need it to do. 

I have a set of Aguilars DCB G4 on my Japanese Ibanez and I love them. 

8 minutes ago, ossyrocks said:

Based on decades of buying gear, I’m not one to skimp on it, as it always ends up being a false economy. I’d rather buy a good one now and get to know how to use it properly. The Cali76 seems to be getting a few notable mentions, so maybe that’s what I’ll get.

 

I am playing a vintage ‘73 Precision through a Mark Bass rig, so I need to do them justice.

 

Thanks for all the input so far, it’s really useful.

 

Rob

You can't go wrong with the Cali