Pinball

Thanks for answering. When I'm excited about a bass normally tap into the expertise in BC with a search or a post to get an idea of what others think and maybe tips on settings, which strings they like on them. This time I got zilch! I may as well be up front that I have tried and failed to get on with several Jazzers. I love G&L's and have had several of the L series and a wonderful SB2. The L's were too liveley and never worked in my band-the rest of the band didn't rate them at all. What have worked best are Stingrays and more recently a passive Dimension bass. I'm naturally drawn to precisions and considered my SB2 my "best bass" but as I have exclusiveley use 5 strings for several years I recently sold it. If only they made an SB5!!! So having sold my Stingray and SB2 I was lookling for an alternative sound to my Dimension Standard 5 for recording and to play live. The MJ5 will do that. The bridge in particular has a similar sound to the SB and the neck pickup gives warmth and low down thump in a very natural way. There is also plenty of aggression in reserve if needed. I guess you are right dub_junkie, lots of competition even within the G&L brand, in addition to the two mentioned there is also the M2500 and the Kiloton 5. I had seen and looked into the L5500 and also the L5000 too. They both look like nice basses. Just pointing out that the MJ5 is very different from the JB-5 and has unique pickups. The tone and sound is exceptional especially for someone like me who plays with a pick. Check out bass whiperer when he starts dialing in the lows and uses the pick. That is my sound that is Thanks for the replies.

I'm very happy with a G&L MJ-5 that I bought this week from the BC adds and it got me thinking. A great bass and one of the most musical that I have owned. It has great balance is etremely light weight (3.52KG). Both pickups sound great solo or when combined, silent electrics, the EQ is great, can dial in decent, P and J tones that I like. Bass wisperer likes MJ's too, here's him talking about the MJ-4. To my ears the tone is exceptional and smooth and powerful so I don't get why do MJ-5's hardly appear in any searches on here? Didn't they sell them in the UK, maybe people don't like em or is it that didn't people buy them? Maybe all three! opinions?

Actual video now added see below. I'm singing in the vid but play the bass on the recording. I hope that you like it.

Here is my latest and there is more in the pipeline. If you like it please subscibe. Enjoy!

They look cool, I never knew they existed.

Emily Sings is the first of several planned singles and videos from the experimental new album “Blue and Hazy”, which is scheduled for release late in 2020. I hope you enjoy it. Recording took longer than I expected due to a number of errr challenges. There is only vocals, acoustic and bass guitars on this track but without drums the guitar and bass are also the rhythm section and had to be spot on to get the sound I wanted. I envisaged using double bass but in practice that didn’t have enough sustain and notes faded out too quickly. Pete suggested trying his Ibanez SRH fretless bass. This sorted the tone and sustain but it lacked high end and bite. Additional bass was added with a Eastwood Sidejack Vi, a 6 string bass that was played over the top in tic-tac style with a pick. The guitar signal was split into two and recorded as both an acoustic and effect signal. These were then blended back together for a tighter sound. That also allowed sume subtle fading in and out of the reverb. I used a favourite Taylor (mahogany) guitar, with a Strymon Big Sky reverb pedal. It generates all of the choral, background swells and is also used on the solos. Vocals were tweaked by Charlie Lintern in the studio. Some lines were changed later and I found that my voice had changed slightly, as I’d had corona virus. A permanent change I’m told, not that it sounds better or worse, just slightly different. Recording Credits: Eddie Mole: Guitars, vocals and bass Peter Brownbridge: fretless bass Sound Engineer: Charlie Lintern Recorded at 13 sound studios at Weston super Mare

"Tic-tac bass" is a method of playing, in which a muted baritone guitar doubles the part played by the bass guitar or double bass. The method is commonly used in country music" Emily Sings is experimental and new for me and I ended up revisiting an old bass technique. I needed to as with sparse playing and no percussion it does the job of the rhythm section well. It's a fretless with a bass Vi picking out the beat. There is similar treatment in the other tracks. Doing your own thing and being able to experiment is fantastic. I hope that you like it.

That is what I thought but I have to say that I'm hooked and would have no problems using my Vi where I don't need a low B I find I'm not a fan of the Fender, Squire Vi's and I find them thin sounding. However I just don't like the sound I get from them but....I'm using a Burns Barracuda and Sidejack Vi on recordings and love them both. Both are E-E and 30" scale. They sound great recorded and like you say open up a whole new world of creativity. I use them in the following ways: 1. As a regular 4 string bass and play all my usual bass lines on the lower 4 strings without having to alter how I play 2. I finger pick with it like a regular guitar, provided I focus on playing up the neck and avoid the open A and E string is sounds great. Note: If I incude the deep notes it gets muddy 3. Chords, especially when focussed on the high 4 strings and higher on the neck-either to add rythm, to give a fuller sound or as a feature iin it's s own right. 4. Fot tic-tac bass to add treble and presence to either fretless or double bass. I am playing it more and more as it is so much fun. I'll put some samples up when the recordings are released. Bass Vi is a great instrument in it's own right.

I I think that this pickuard upgrade, made by the previous owner to my Eastman sidejack Vi lifts it into one of the most beautiful basses around catogory. It also has a pickup upgrade and sounds wickedly good. 😍😍

Hi, any more positive experiences of this company? I can't find many reviews that compare with other companies on line

Across all of the strings it measure 53mm, so there is a difference. A couple of mm can make a big difference in terms of feel. I prefer a wider necked acoustic guitars with a nut of 44mm plus and stuggle to finger pick cleanly with anything less. I love playing these. I play with a pick and finger pick it haha. The sidejack mush be around the same dimensions as they both feel the same to me.

According to my trusty steel ruler the strings are about 11MM. The Burns has a MIK sticker on it. It is very well made IMHO. I'll put some pictures below. I'm going to have to sell one of these at some point but am enjoying them at the moment. I definately have a place for a Vi both live and in recordings. When playing them I imagine that I like the Sidejack more but then when I listen to them recorded I can't hear the difference. Both have that cool growl that you get with baritones. Note: I'm not sure why the camera flash picked up the "panel like" finish on the front of the Burns as it doesn't look like that in real life.

Hi, just thought I would chip in here. I'm using my Vi alternatives all the time at the moment. I am lucky enougjn to have two. The Sidejack sounds and plays really well. It has grea build quality. This one has a custom pickuard and upgraded pickups so is not origonal. I recently heard a Sidejack baritone usd live so would be confident that they are good instruments. I also have a Barracuda, that I like very much in every respect. The electronics are stock. I have had a Fender Vi in the past and really didn't get on with it so sent it back for a refund. I am happy with both of these. I have them tuned like a guitar E to E. I can pick out chords on the higher strings and play the lover 4 strings like a standard 4 string. They souond great as both and take on a life and style of their own when palm muted. They always get noticed when I play them out. . I am recoding at the moment and can confirm that they are bot are great sounding instruments and very versitile. I can't understand why they aren't more popular. Out of the two I prefer to play the Burns live, as the balence suits me better and I don't need the trem.

Cheers I really like the outfit so have put both my Orange and GB outfits on Gumtree and will be happy to keep whichever I am left with. If it is the Orange I'll keep both of the cabs

Thanks!

OK sorry if this is a stupid question but I'm a tad confused. I have only ever owned two gigging amps/cab sets, both of which were a well matched cab and head. My current (bought after advice from this forum) is a GB 600w/4ohm Streamliner & NXT 212T 4ohm cab. I have always been happy with it and have looked after it. It has plenty of life left and is in great condition I recently obtained another kit. An Orange Terror 500 (can be set to either 4 or 8 ohm) head and ultra compact SP212 and SP210 cabs, both are 600w 8ohm. It sounds lovely has only ever had home use and has ever been pushed. Yesterday tried them both out after rehearsal and wow they were so different but both sounded great so I'm trying to decide which to keep. Very different beasts. The GB was comparatively clean sounding and transparent, while the Orange stuff was a bristling rock monster. However I could get some sweet middle ground from both, thanks to an effective "clean switch" on the Orange and by upping the gain on the GB. My question is how to get the best from the Orange with: 1. both cabs and 2. One cab. Is it just best to keep the Terror running on 8ohms with either 1 or both cabs or is there a place to use 4ohm? Any advice would be appreciated as I don't want to do any damage and want to try out all of the options next time.