Jean-Luc Pickguard

[quote]Presley was known for strumming his guitar brutally hard during live shows. To combat this, his road crew brought multiple sets of strings to all gigs.[/quote] I wonder if anyone has ever though of bringing spare strings to their gigs

If something that did a similar job to the VLE & VPF controls on MarkBass head could be built into a passive fx pedal or a stacked pot to replace the tone pot on a bass that would be cool.

My first played/owned was a black "Yamato" Jazz copy which was £75 from Soho Soundhouse (when it was in Soho Square). A couple of years later I worked all Summer in Bejams to get a Cherry Sunburst Fender Precision which I still have. I made the yamato fretless and sold it to a mate.

[quote name='tauzero' post='94965' date='Nov 27 2007, 10:48 AM']Incidentally, the PW one looks as if it has that dreadful spring arrangement on the sleeve which I avoid like the plague as it makes such a noisy and unreliable connection.[/quote] Dreadful? Not in my experience, in fact just the opposite. Whilst I have experienced a noisy and unreliable connection on one of my basses, this was due to using a cable with standard plugs and was caused by the socket. Using a Planet Waves cable in the same socket actually cured the issue. The bass that sufferered from this problem was a '71 musicmaster that had the socket replaced with a cheapie one before I got it. The socket's contact was very thin and had lost its springiness and the jack seemed loose in when plugged in with a normal cable. Replacing the socket with a switchcraft cured the problem. I always use planet waves cables as do the guitarists I play with. None of us has ever had any problems with them.

[quote name='ped' post='94864' date='Nov 26 2007, 11:41 PM']I will be checking one of these out soon: [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/rockcase_chest_case_3multibassalucase.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/gb/rockcase_chest_ca...bassalucase.htm[/url][/quote] It looks like the kind of flightcase an undertaker would use

mmm hotdogs

If it fits in the fireplace it might keep you warm for a few hours

It sounds like you want a precision - In my experience a badass helps sustain, but evens out the attack so its less punchy than a standard fender style bridge. I think a wizard thumper - an overwound precision-style pickup may give you the sound you want.

[quote name='King Tut' post='93774' date='Nov 24 2007, 02:56 PM']feel a bit rooted to the spot - I like to move about if I can[/quote] You could try one of these, tike Tony Levin: [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/ns_design_strap_system.htm"]NS Bass Strap System[/url] I though about getting one when I first bought my CR5M, or maybe the [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/ns_design_eps.htm"]endpin stand[/url], but I got used to the standard tripod and I think I'll stick with it.

If its a clean break a tiny dot of superglue *may* fix it back in place with no ill effects

[quote name='MB1' post='93745' date='Nov 24 2007, 01:10 PM']MB1. Eldorado was quite possibly the worst soap the BBC have ever produced [/quote] I wouldn't be able to tell a good soap from a bad one - are there any good ones? Aren't they all hastily written and badly acted tripe with trite plotlines to push the right buttons for the great unwashed with the single intention to get ratings? Soaps aside, the eldorado straps do look like a good deal I quite like a Durango one. Did you get stung by customs + vat?

[quote name='Hamster' post='93425' date='Nov 23 2007, 05:23 PM']I haven't done an A/B comparison with the 250 head but I think they are just a lower powered version of the Mk2? Hamster[/quote] Apart from less power from the 250 I couldn't detect any difference in the sound or features of them. Both Amps have the VPF & VLE controls which sound like a gimmick until you actually use them - they make it simple to get great tones without having to fiddle with the eq much (if at all)

[quote name='theosd' post='93544' date='Nov 23 2007, 09:33 PM']Sounds like muddy sh*te on the youtube videos I watched of her demonstrating it. I much prefer the Rick tone. Proof that it works in a duo is in the band Death From Above 1969. Good stuff that.[/quote] *cough* surely 1979?

Is that new or secondhand? - just checked its the New one in Austria isn't it? The Bass Centre is doing them for £299 new, which is a good price so if you're happy to buy from Austria it is a good price. Its exactly the same as the LittleMarkII(as far as I can tell from trying both), but with reduced power. I went for the LMII as my Schroeder cab can cope with up to 800W, but I would have been happy to use the 250 if I still had my old Ashdown MAG cabs

I'm afraid I am certain its not going to be a fender or of fender quality. I'd be inclined to agree with WOT - you should get out of the deal before its too late. If something looks too good to be true it probably is. The knobs aren't the type used on fenders. Fenders aren't made in China, but the fact that the seller says he bought two suggests that it came off a production line there. There's too many question marks: the block markers/Precision neck thing, the Geddy/Precision thing, the dodgy (even from a distance) logo, the fibre case, what end and type is the truss rod adjuster? - I can't really tell from the crappy pics, but I don't see a half-moon cut out from the pickguard end and I don't see either a bullet or darker surround at the headstock end which could suggest squier-type construction. Its probably worth no more than about £100-£150ish

To go back to Linus27's original question of "What's a good bass for my wife" I would think that any of the ones posted would be great from a practical point of view, however the best bass will be the one that has something about it that makes you want to pick it up when you enter the room. This is why my daughter loves her daisyrock heartbreaker and '71 musicmaster and has been after a violetburst pearloid-top daisy rock elite (as shown in pics earlier in the thread) since she first saw it. As its such a personal thing I'd take her shopping for basses & show her pics of the basses and different colours available to see what floats her boat on aesthetics. If the bass was meant to be a surprise, losing that element of surprise should hopefully be outweighed by getting an instrument that she can't resist picking up & playing several times a day as opposed to one that is just a good an instrument but sits on its stand unplayed.

I love the sound & feel of LaBellas on short scale fender musicmaster basses, but the G wasn't long enough on both sets I bought with different guages so I have had to use a G from an old 34" set which is a bit naff The lighter set are on a daisy rock heartbreaker (2/2 headstock so they fit) which has a wonderful old-school precision tone with them.

Just realised I had a bit of a brainfart when I posted my first reply - Of course the riveted ones were used on the earliest 50s & 60s basses and were phased out in the mid 60s, so they wouldn't be on any 70s basses - I'll go back up & edit that post if I can.

[quote name='Beedster' post='93248' date='Nov 23 2007, 11:35 AM']When you say 'ricets' in relation to the reverse tuners, are you refering to the fact that these need a slight modification to the back of the headstock to be accomodated (i.e., a shallow cresent shaped route under each tuner)? Cheers Chris[/quote] No, what I meant was that the elephant ear bit of each tuner is held onto the shaft by a rivet which makes the reverse ones easy to spot from a distance (also the "ear" isn't quite as big on those so the shaft appears a bit longer).

I've just downloaded the trail and put in a couple of o5b songs. It works better than I expected it to - its amazing its able to work at all, but on my quick test it only gave a very rough approximation and there's a lot that needs to be corrected by ear. The bass tracking missed a lot of notes out and quite a few extra guitar chords crept in. If it was a freebie I'd be impressed, but I wouldn't spend any money on it.