dannybuoy

Like Yamaha, they have a bit of a brand problem due to the fact there is a common perception that they are primarily for beginners; they are some of the lowest price and best value options going for beginners, except they don't have the heritage / cool factor of Squier or Epiphone. When people progress they tend to steer away from the brands they or their friends started out on and aspire to owning more prestige brands. Whilst there are some more fancy / expensive models available, they are mostly rather dull, or there isn't much obvious difference between the cheap and expensive models. e.g. the Yamaha BB424 for £250 or the BB2024 which looks the same for £2500!

The Planet Waves Classic Series ones get good reviews and are serving me very well for around a tenner, they have proved more reliable than the custom Van Damme / Neutrik ones I got made up (not by OBBM I might add) with no detectable difference in tone. They have a lifetime warranty too.

Glockenklang. Sandberg use them, however my particular Sandberg Basic does not have a passive tone control in bypass!

I think the prices are fair for a boutique maker... If you're producing limited volumes of something that takes a lot of R&D and build effort, you can't make a comfortable living out of it if you price match the mass-produced stuff. I don't think too many will be building these due to their complexity though, so it shouldn't make too big a dent in Doug's pocket!

Low action, low tension strings (Dunlop Super Brights are perfect), play close to the neck, and strike hard towards the bass so that the strings hit the frets. Then learn to do it with your thumb and throw the occasional pop in!

This is what you need: https://www.andertons.co.uk/p/FWONKBETA/filter-pedals/mr-black-fwonkbeta-envelope-filter-pedal Mr Black had a 2-for-1 deal the other day too but I think that has now passed unforunately!

Anyone built one of these? [url="http://schalltechnik04.de/en/kits"]http://schalltechnik04.de/en/kits[/url] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=270QcjGTHrI

Sounds a bit Darkglass-ish. A B3K or Vintage, or it's brethren the Pike Vulcan would get you there. They all have a clean blend and the drive sound is open and guitar-like rather than fat and wooly like some drive pedals get.

For a £1500 bass with a transparent finish, I would expect them to choose a bit of wood that looked good and save any like this for the solid colours.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRiBrWY3NB4

[quote name='thegummy' timestamp='1481752226' post='3194933'] It's because they've already opened the box as a quality check inspection. It's exactly the same bass from the same batch but you get 15 quid off because it's been opened. [/quote] Surprised they would knock money off for that reason - some do this as routine and even give them a setup before they leave the shop. It's too new to be a customer return or old shop demo model though, so I believe them!

[quote name='Luulox' timestamp='1482080240' post='3197455'] Just clicked on a link to photos and yet again had the fake 'your device is infected' pop up. It is extremely annoying and it only happens on bass chat. This seems to be a long standing problem that is not getting resolved. I am using opera browser. [/quote] I think that's probably an issue with Photobucket rather then BC. I've had similar pop ups from that site when trying to view photos that people link to on here.

Does S Club Party by S Club 7 count?

If the Status strings are hard to get hold of, GHS Brite Flats are very similar (and also hard to find last time I tried!).

If you like the VT Bass sound but want it in an amp, get the VT500! My vote goes to the Orange Terror Bass. Very different to the VT, nowhere near as much clank but it has very thick growly low mids.

Try Status Hotwire half-rounds. Just as smooth as flats but with more growl, great for fretless. I just tried to look them up on their site, you might have to call them... They are mentioned as being for sale but I cannot seem to find where to click to buy a set!

10 years ago the Barber LTD and LTD SR were the Talkbass favourite for low gain overdrive - since then they hardly get a mention, such is the fickleness of fashion! Never tried one myself.

[quote name='lee650' timestamp='1481741072' post='3194787'] I liked the 3leaf pwnzor and Effectrode pc2a too, the former is hard to find and the latter is quite expensive though [/quote] I also really rate the Effectrode and think Lee is a fool for trading it for my Diamond!

Yup, just because the tab says to play in a certain place, I know that I can add or subtract 5 frets and play on the next string up or down, and do so instantly. Being able to convert notes from a staff to a position on the fretboard with the same efficiency that I was able to achieve on day 1 with tab takes years of practice, for which I don't have the time. Of course if I was a professional musician where I was required to sight read music I hadn't heard before, it's a no-brainer - notation all the way.

If you're ordering new you can specify the SLO Special which is essentially a Stingray with a Sterling neck. This would be my choice - admittedly I've not played one to compare, but I have checked out a ton of demos and always found the Sterlings lacking tonally compared to the 'Ray.

Here we go again with the anti-tab brigade! Of course notation is more descriptive but there's a lot of extra layers to process. If someone just wants to learn a song then tab is the easiest way for many. Regarding that video, everything he said regarding the way the brain can recognise patterns and shapes with standard notation applies equally to tab. It's just that he obviously hasn't spent long enough looking at tab for it to sink in that way. The brain can speed read information when it is presented in a form it is used to seeing. When it comes to getting a feel for the music, I'd rather just grasp that by listening to the recording than try to hear it with my eyes.

Standard Phase 90 for me. I found the Small Stone too dark, tried a few digital ones that I didn't like, and most other boutique models are clones of the script Phase 90 that sounds too subtle for my liking.

A few of the Motown/Jamerson books out there are musical notation only, so check Amazon reviews first if it has to be tab!

[quote name='ead' timestamp='1481116216' post='3189801'] I used to have an RBX270 fretless, pretty decent bass, kept it and gigged it for 5 years. [/quote] So did I, it was my first bass and it's a keeper!