sixdegrees

I spotted a key word that may have an unpleasant affect on your tone. "Ashdown". Since I moved from Ashdown to Ampeg all my basses sound great, and all have their own character shining through. Edit - I've just noticed that you're using a 1x15 Ashdown extention cab. These are great for muddying up the tone. And very little else.

Are these the ones that Alex C alluded to in his recent BGM? And +1 for the link request!

The argument about 8 ohm cabs does my head in. Surely if you went for a 4 ohm cab in the first place, and got full power from the head, you would be less likely to want to add an extra cab to get more volume/presence? And the 4 ohm option would be kinder to the head in the long run.

Sod the ethics/profit margin argument, I love the question at the bottom of the page from a prospective buyer!

[quote name='watchman' timestamp='1301838728' post='1186765'] I tend to use a 6x10" for pub gigs, and small ones at that. I like the sound. What can I say? It is entirely possible that I'm out of my mind, of course, but it's feeling good. [/quote] I use a front-ported 610 too for all gigs. Far easier to tilt and roll, and it's one less trip to the car compared with multiple cabs. I previously used a 1x15 and 2x10 (both 8 ohm) with the idea of only having to take one to rehearsals or smaller gigs. In practice it never happened. I'd go for a 4 ohm 4x10 and keep it simple.

[quote name='Jacqueslemac' timestamp='1332262285' post='1585761'] Hmm, why can't they make one that feels like a roadworn model, but looks like a new one? I want my basses to reflect my use of them, not to pretend I've bought an old bass from someone who couldn't be @rsed to look after it. [/quote] +1 The roadworn series are practically double the price of the Standard MIMs. So why not make an intermediately priced series using the better parts (as on a Roadworn), but on a 'clean' looking bass?

There's no accounting for taste. And after reading this thread it seems to be a rare commodity.

I have this problem too. I used springs, cut to length, and threaded them onto the screws - big improvement. But then I found that the pickup had been screwed in at a slanted angle, so now need to do some filling and drilling. But the short answer is that the screws helped massively. The pickup height is now self-adjusting.

Ampeg SVT7 into Markbass 106 HF. Never been happier, or less inclined to tweak. Totally GAS free.

Anyone else checked out the very favourable review in BGM? This bass is now on my hit list. Especially as it's 200 quid cheaper than a MIM Precision (if you shop around). Hardware and pickups seem to be decent, and probably better than stock MIM Fender. I love the black and maple combo. Anyone who claims it's not original should try buying a black/maple P bass for under 250 quid.

There's not right or wrong answer here. I try to be as faithful to the original as possible. If a bass player is plodding away on 8th root notes, when the original has a walking line, then they deserve a slap. They're robbing the song of its groove. But there are occasions where I'll double a guitar riff to thicken the sound, or the guitarist will decide to extend the solo so I'll throw in some fills/change octaves to keep it interesting. This thread will run and run...

I've tried to avoid using compression since switching from Ashdown to Ampeg. I found that the Ashdown needed taming somewhat in the low-end, so compression was useful (and spared me glaring looks from the drummer). But now I prefer the natural sound of the Ampeg, and don't feel the need to control the dynamics quite as drastically as I was previously. So now my Trace Elliot SMX Dual Compressor is up for sale. It's a great bit of kit but I just don't want to go back to over complicating my rig after minimising it!

A bass that looks like that hasn't been looked after. In really good nick it would be worth up to 250 quid, but only because it has 'Japan' written on it. People seem to think that these are JV mk2s. They're not. They're Far East Squiers with a few extra words on the headstock to make you think otherwise.

I would've bitten the guys arm off for this if it had been closer to me. I think the logos changed last year as part of the 60th anniversary of the Precision (along with an engraved neckplate).

yes please! How much, or would you like a donation forwarded?

Just to echo what's already been said on here - the quality varies an unbelievable amount. Just before Christmas I tried a MIM Precision Standard (black/maple) and fell in love with it. I saved up, went back, and it had been sold. So I asked for another to be ordered in. The second bass (identical to the first) was a shoddy piece of workmanship in comparison. I was the first person to touch the bass since it left the factory, as I un-boxed and unwrapped it. There was a scratch near the bridge which looked like a screwdriver had slipped. The bridge screw nearest the scratch was way off centre and not counter-sunk properly. And there were three dark filler/sap lines over an inch long on the fret board. To be fair, it sounded and played great straight out of the box and seemed to have more bite than a MIA Special that I tried. But I was put off by the minor QC faults that I wouldn't expect on a mid-priced bass. Maybe I'll save up some more and get a Yank...

Another update. After a dozen or so gigs with the SVT7 I couldn't be happier. On Friday we played a gig in a large pub. About 300 people in there, carpeted floor, high stage, high ceiling, plenty of room to move away from the cab and find the sweet spot - tonal heaven! Saturday was slightly different. 100 people in a large room - well back from the performance area. No stage, tiled floor throughout, lots of mirrors and windows. After the first couple of songs I found myself digging into the strings too much while lacking low end punch. I turned to the amp and moved the bass knob from 12 o'clock to 1 o'clock - problem solved! I had all the warmth and punch that the room acoustics were robbing me of, and left the amp alone for the rest of the three hour set! It now puzzles me that my old rig would've needed constant tweaking throughout the night, yet this one does exactly what it's supposed to. The SVT7 works with me, and never against me. Right, I'm off to buy me a Fender P to go with it...

I thought that both the Wizard Thumper and the SBP3 were high output with a bit of scoop? They were both on my shortlist but I was worried about 'de-Fendering' the sound of the bass and losing the qualities that cut through the mix.

Hi all. I'm looking to upgrade the pickup on my MIM Precision. I don't want to go down the SD QP route as I like a Precision to sound like a Precision - plenty of mids. But I'm looking at getting something with plenty of punch and output. Any recommendations from experience?