BigRedX

[quote name='bass_ferret' post='53025' date='Aug 30 2007, 10:17 PM']Interesting and esoteric selection there bud - that Lightwave looks like fun.[/quote]

Ta. I like weird instruments. The Lightwave is something I've been after for quite some time. I think this one is quite an early model as there are some design issues. The neck is quite the most flexible of any of my basses, and needs adjusting every time I try different strings. However at the moment I've settled on TI Jazz Flats which give it a massively bassy but defined sound while still being kind the the (uncoated maple?) fingerboard. Also while there's plenty of string height adjustment on the saddles (even if you do have to remove the string to do it) the optical sensors don't have the same amount of travel, so in order to get this set up how I like it I've had to shim the neck. In fact it's taken me about 2 months to get this bass to its (for me) optimal playing condition, but now it's there it's certainly worth it. The optical pickups really do show up every nuance of your right hand technique which can be both a blessing and incredibly frustrating. In the long run it's making my plucking style far more controlled and even. Definitely a bass that rewards thought and effort in your playing.


[quote name='ARGH' post='53028' date='Aug 30 2007, 10:26 PM']I have 3,I really like them.

2 are converted from fretted.[/quote]

There's some fine looking basses. The third appears to be an Ibanez, but what are the first two? I particularly like the way the top wood is carved away to reveal the main body wood on the lower horn on the first.


In fact there are several other basses already in this thread that I think are quite outstanding. I've made covetous comments about Ped's Vigier before, and hopefully someday I'll find one of my own. Also I'd love a Wal, although the way the prices are going now, I'd need to think twice and definitely play a few times before I could decide whether or not to part with my cash...

Well as a result of this thread, I've just ordered one to go in my Pedulla Buzz. Would it be OK to add my review to this thread?

[quote name='lwtait' post='52684' date='Aug 30 2007, 11:11 AM']chrome[/quote]

Ha Ha...

Unfortunately you're too late I sent my order off this morning to Alan, and I'll be getting both black and gold so I can decide when I see them in place. Expect more pics in a week or so...

Someone say fretless?

Here are my current favourites...

Yet another opportunity to post a pic of my Gus G3 fretless which now has it's [url="http://www.gusguitars.com/product.php?model_id=15"]own page on the Gus site[/url]


Pedulla Buzz about to be upgraded with an ACG filter pre-amp


Lightwave Sabre A (I've also got a fretted neck for this although I can't see myself ever fitting it)


And finally Squier VMJ Fretless modded with a J-Retro and Badass II. This is now somewhat surplus to requirements and may soon be up for sale.


From never having played a fretless 2 years ago I've gone to this; and these days one of these basses gets used on most of the songs I play.

Absolutely stunning!

Is that the filter pre-amp? Will you be posting some sound clips?

So many questions....

+1 for Thomastik Jazz Flats. They're may favourites although the low tension may require a truss rod adjustment.

I've tried Rotosound flat - horrible like fence wire rather than a bass string - and D'addarios which were better but IMO none of their strings for the bass are as good as their guitar strings.

[quote name='Cantdosleepy' post='52173' date='Aug 29 2007, 09:45 AM']Has anyone ever covered Love Will Tear Us Apart and had it not sound horrible?[/quote]

Personally I think both the versions by [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nouvelle-Vague-Vol-1/dp/B00018D3JQ/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/202-5615454-1361456?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1188396170&sr=8-1"]Nouvelle Vague[/url] and [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Melody-Mountain-Susanna/dp/B000GUJYVU/ref=sr_1_1/202-5615454-1361456?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1188396218&sr=1-1"]Susanna And The Magical Orchestra[/url] are pretty good.

YMMV

Ta...

Except that's what I thought I'd done.

But when I posted no poll appeared. Maybe next time...

Many thanks for the pics and info. I had a look at the Pentabuzz on your site and listened to the sound clips - very nice!

I really like my Buzz to play and the sound unplugged is pretty much what I'm after, it just doesn't seem to be quite getting through the electronics, and amplified the D and G strings don't have quite the "authority" to E and A do. I'm going to try the East/ACG pre-amp first and see how I get on. However feel free to PM me with a price you're looking for for the Pickups because I might go for those too!

Ta CK,

Can you tell me a bit more about your Alembic Activator Pickups? I had a look on the Alembic site but there wasn't much info and they only seemed to be available with a pre-amp and as a JJ set and what looked like a pair of Soap-bars. Obviously I need a P-J set...

Would it be possible to add a Make A Poll Tutorial to the how to add images to your posts one?

I don't know if you've seen my Black or Gold thread in Bass Guitars, but I had intended to add a poll to the thread and thought I'd done everything right, given it a title made some options, but when I posted the message it didn't appear....

Ta

Given that there's unlikely to be a covers band playing music I'd listen to out of choice, I'd have to say I'd rather listen to a not so good originals band.

[b]1. Is a light bass cabinet important to you?[/b]
Yes (but not at the expense of tone)

[b]2. Would you be interested in a smaller designed cabinet for maximum portability?[/b]
Yes - but again so long as it doesn't compromise the sound

[b]3. What is the weight of your current rig now?[/b]
Approximately 85kg - 2 speaker cabs, pre-amp, power amp and rack case.

[b]4. Have you ever had portability issues with this cabinet before?[/b]
Sometimes in venues with lots of stairs.

[b]5. Would a Neo speaker make the amplifier more appealing?[/b]
Yes, but see answers to 1 & 2.

[b]6. Would you want casters on the amplifier for added portability?[/b]
Yes provided that the cab didn't stand on them all the time. Sometimes it can be benficial to decouple the cab from the stage/floor and sometimes not. Removable casters are guaranteed to get lost at a gig and a tilt-back design doesn't allow the decoupling effect should you need it. Maybe a design that allows you to stand the cab on it's side while still looking like it was the right way up?

[b]7. Would you want the input to be in the back?[/b]
Not always. Some of the venues I play have restricted stage room and getting around the back can be difficult. On my last rig all the connectors except for the speaker one were brought to a patch bay on the front of the rack so I didn't have to hunt around the back to find the right one. Maybe a design which puts the connecters in the recessed carrying handles as well as on the back?

[b]8. Would you want the Ohm rating to be 4?[/b]
Yes.

[b]9. Would you want the power rating to be over 200 watts?[/b]
Definely.

[b]10. Is a metal grille cover attractive on an amplifier?[/b]
Depends on the overall design and so lond as it is functional as well (protects the speakers) and desn't rattle or induce any other unwanted audio artifacts.

That has got to be the most frustrating luthier web site ever!

Stupid over-use of Flash with the designer just showing off the latest pointless effect they've mastered. I'm sure there are some really nice basses there but I couldn't be bothered to sit through the s l o w transitions from one screen to the next to get to them.

I f someone can give me a URL for an HTML version of the site I'll have another look. (I couldn't see one)

Thanks for posting a full pic of the bass. Now I can see the headstock as well the body shape makes more sense. While this sort of works for a guitar, I think that the ammount of modification needed to make this work as a bass with the longer scale length is going to be too much and it will always be too much of a compromise between what is practical and playable and what matches the look of the guitar version.

I'm somewhat perplexed by the need for the bass to share some of the design/looks of the guitar. The model you've shown here has nothing in common looks-wise with the other two guitars shown on their web site, and I still think that if the bass does need to follow one of the guitars for looks then the Atom Ray/Atum Re would be a fair more stylish starting point. However since they've been able to come up with three very different-looking guitars they shouldn't be any reason why they could design a similarly unique bass.

Whatever does got decided in the end I too would be interested in try out whatever bass they do come up with. I would also be interested to hear more about the design ideas they have if that isn't giving too much away for an instrument that is still only at the design stage.

I remember that. They were one of the many web pages I looked at when I was searching for interesting bass manufacturers/luthiers. I seem to remember that they won't do lined fretless either. On the whole I tend to agree with their no gold hardware policy, but I've got used to the look of the gold on the Buzz.

That Digwall is tasty...

and the Traben.

If you're planning to use your Mac for recording other than just as an ideas notepad and you think you might ever be recording more than two tracks at once, then I'd recommend going for an interface that connects via FireWire rather than USB. Macs work much better with FW interfaces once you beyond 2 track/stereo I/O. USB puts extra overheads on the processor and while modern computers have plenty of power these days audio recording and manipulation is one of those things where your Mac can never be too powerful!

As for software Garageband may well do everything you need, but if you grow out of it have a look at either Logic or Performer and pick the one you find suits your way of working. I can't really recommend ProTools unless you're going for a serious system (see my earlier comments), but if you do think you'll eventually end up with an HD system then one of the lower priced versions can be a good entry point.

Thanks for all the replies.

I may well see if I can get it with both black and gold knobs and then see which looks best when actually fitted to the bass as the different style of knob compared with the current ones will have an outcome on the "look".

BTW there was supposed to a poll to go with this thread but despite selecting poll options and filling them in, it doesn't seem to have materialised. What did I do wrong?

It used to be that when you bought ProTools you were buying into a standardised software/hardware system where all the component parts were made by the same company and were designed to work together. The computer was pretty much reduced to displaying what the system was doing and allowing you to interact with the hardware, while the custom hardware took over all the complex duties of turning your audio in zeros and ones, storing on the hard disk(s) and manipulating them in real time. However this method was by neccessity expensive.

Now there's a variety of different versions of ProTools and a choice of "compatible" hardware from manufacturers who are not Digidesign. While this puts the platform within the reach of those without big recording studio type budgets, it does add in a whole load of extra variables that can make the system less than ideal.

IMO if you're using ProTools HD with maybe Appogee or better DACs and using it to replace the traditional multitrack recorder and studio outboard equipment, then it can't be beaten. The way the software allows you to manipulate multitrack audio is just brilliant, and yes this is the main selling point of ProTools, but its the way that the software matches the HD (and previously the ProTools 24) hardware that makes the system so special. However if your method of working/composition also relies of a lot of the recording and manipulation of MIDI data then one of the other DAW sytems maybe more suitable for you.

Wow that looks even better in the latest photo! (is that even possible??)

I think that would be the colour to go for for s fretless with the Delta Metal board.

I bought this Pedulla Buzz

from eubassix ealier this year and while it plays beautifully, after hearing the sound clips on daflewis' ACG/East pre-amp review I think that a pre-amp upgrade make this bass really sing.

So what do you think - black or gold knobs when I order it?
Normally I'm pretty sure about my taste in things, but this time I really can't make up my mind. On the whole I don't really like gold hardware, but on this bass it definitely works, and I'm wondering should I go all gold to match the bridge, machine heads and strap buttons, or stay black as knobs currently are?

I've been using Macs for making/recording music since the OS7 days, and consequently I have a large number of pre-OSX plugins that all need upgrading for OSX. Last time I looked the cost of upgrading to OSX was in exxcess of £6K. I know Logic under OS9 inside out, so I'll carry on with this setup until the Mac dies and then go for it...

1.25GHz G4 running Logic 4.8 under OS9. Recording using a MOTU 2408, beeing fed from either TC Finalizer for single/channel stereo recording or Tascam TMD 8000 Mixer for multi-track recording.

One day when I'll be upgrading to OSX but it'll be a while before my bass GAS is overcome by my recording GAS.

*Drool....*

That's absolutely gorgeous!

And thanks for mentioning the Vigier Forum - I'll be checking that regularly for anyone selling off a fretless