White Cloud

After 30 years of Rotos I was sceptical of Elixirs until I bought a new Ibanez sr1205 that came with them fitted as standard. That was several months & gigs ago - and they still sound fresh. They aint cheap...but I wont be going to back to my "2 gig then dead" Rotos! Elixir are twice the price but last four times as long & sound/feel great. Its a simple choice.

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1294314475' post='1079669'] All Fender prices have rocketed! [/quote] Very true. I would only ever buy used..this is where the real deals are to be had.

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1357312974' post='1920814'] I'm surprised at your surprise! To those of us with no training or experience in woodwork, maple just kind of "looks and feels" harder. Maybe it's because of the closer grain, or maybe the colour has an influence? I dunno. But I'd always assumed that maple was the harder of the two woods! [/quote] Not only is Rosewood harder...it is also much more expensive to buy in its raw form.

Well done Andy, it is beautiful! As a fledgling maker I would love to see the build process if you would be happy to share

[quote name='bassman344' timestamp='1357411330' post='1922367'] If a person had an old cheap 4 string bass that they didnt mind got wrecked and they wanted to try to defret it. What tools would they need and how would they do it ? I remember reading about Jaco Pastorius defretting a J and creating the bass of doom but is it as simple as it sounded ???? [/quote] The answer is no its not as simple as it sounds. To correctly defret a bass properly you have to know what you are doing or you will reap misery upon your bass! The good news is there are loads of good videos on Youtube that talk you through the correct procedure. Jaco Pastorius was infamously flippant with many of his claims and was not averse to exageration and the like when describing his antics. I believe he later claimed that he actually bought the bass of doom with the frets already ripped out (badly) - before fixing it up by filling the fret board and coating it in yachting epoxy.

Good luck with this. Dave Pegg is a wonderful bassist!

The name of the person playing the bass is much more important than the name on the headstock!

[quote name='Chris Horton' timestamp='1357335999' post='1921416'] No worries My pleasure I would defiantly recomend trying before you buy and having a play for your self if the chance arises. I see that you are in scotland but If your ever down this way you are welcome to try the basses out. I forgot to add yesterday .......... Before I bought the Sadowsky ,I was a bit worried because all Sadowsky basses (apart from the Will Lee model) only have a treble & bass controll. No mid range adjust. But since owning the bass i now feel that this is actually a big part of what creates the sweet Sadowsky tone (apart from the the incredible workmanship) and it is not a weakness at all. When Playing the bass live It just sits in the mix beautifully. [/quote] Thank you Chris, you are too kind! I understand exactly what you mean regarding the Sadowsky pre - for years I used the Sadowsky outboard version (exactly the same as those fitted to Rogers basses I am led to believe) when gigging with my Lakland Darryl Jones bass...and it was just so....right! The lack of a mid control was never an issue for me either.

[quote name='Chris Horton' timestamp='1357253512' post='1920047'] Well I have been playing both these bass guitars this evening comparing tones. First off, the sadowsky is much lighter as the body is chambered. I would say that the core tone of the Sadowsky is throaty and creamy sounding a bit like an active jazz. The Sadowsky is super easy to play with every single string and every single note on the neck sounding even and equal. The B string is the best sounding that I have heard , tight and focused. The tone controls do vary the tone a little but the core Sadowsky remains (that's not a bad thing) You just plug the Sadowsky straight into an amp and your set The MTD is a much more tonally versatile bass. It naturally has a very mid range tone with great clarity. The MTD can do it all ........super zingey hi-fi treble to low end fat dub to an old skool P bass tone to incredible mid range punch.......anything you want to throw at it really. The MTD is very responsive to your personal playing style. How you are feeling comes out in your tone. You can dramatically change your bass tone with your fingers , it's a wicked bass The downside is that you can spend a lot of time trying to find"your tone" but when you do it is well worth the fiddling. I hope that helps a little. [/quote] That helps a lot!! Thanks so much Chris for taking the time out of your day to compare and contrast between these beauties for me. Very much appreciated. In fact I would say that your description has me now convinced that the Sadowsky is the bass for me after all and not the MTD lol. Great stuff

Ahem, at the risk of being a bit controversial I still maintain that the best Fender jazz basses I have owned or played have been Laklands. If you catch my drift!

[quote name='chrismuzz' timestamp='1357303785' post='1920611'] In most cases a new pickup will be a lot cheaper, a lot tidier looking, and in nearly all cases will make the most dramatic tonal difference... Well, that or a fresh set of strings which will cost even less! [/quote] A lot of very interesting opinions and experiences being shared & expressed here. The problem with pickup replacement is that it is labour intensive and expensive (unless you do it yourself)...and may spoil the sound if you buy the wrong one in experimentation. Strings? I used to love Rotosound strings for many years, a fresh set fitted to a Fender or Rick bass being especially sublime - but this is probably the most cost intensive way to sound good. I liked the brightness & I found that after 2 gigs they were dull and after 3 they were spent...too costly for me. Yes, the Badass looks great, was cleverly marketed (even the name of the damn thing is so cool)...but are they pricing themselves out of the market now - or does high price add to the desirability/placebo???

Hi folks. As a relative newbie here please forgive me if this subject has previously been debated. On virtually every Fender bass I have ever owned since the early 80's I have installed a Leo Quan Badass bridge, believing it to significantly improve the overall dynamic response & tone of the instrument. Over the years however this has become an increasingly expensive mod. I believe now you are now looking on average at about £100 for one of these "bad boys" - almost a 1/4 of the price of a whole mex precision in some dealers! I recently decided to buck my trend and after much deliberation fitted a Gotoh 201 bridge on a cheap Yamaha Attitude (P style bass)...with great success. For a princely fee of £30 I reckon the Gotoh made every bit as much of an improvement as the Badass. Slightly less "brightness" (to my ear) but every bit as good in every other respect. My question is this...has my historical faith in the Badass as the ultimate replacement bridge simply been a kind of placebo affect? And is the Badass therefore really worth the value of 3 Gotoh 201's???? Bearing in mind the possability of a placebo its also got me wondering....is the badass even an improvement on stock pressed metal Fender bridges????

[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1357230724' post='1919482'] I had the same problem a while back and it stumped both me and Charic - turns out that it just takes time for the database to upload and remember the new image - took a couple of hours for me IIRC. [/quote] This would be the ideal, and easy fix for me...I dont do IT troubleshooting. Takes me all my time to figure out how to operate my chorus pedal lol!

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1357224208' post='1919338'] [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/193219-cant-upload-pics-any-more/page__view__findpost__p__1885168"]Have a look at this post for more information[/url] [/quote] Thanks for your help. Much appreciated!

Hi fellow bass chatters. I seem to be having difficulty changing my profile picture here at the forum, tried to upload several new pics without any success, and have lost my original pic in the process too As something of a technophobe I am stuck. I hate not having a profile pic. Dont remember there being any difficulty when setting up my account here originally. Can anyone point out where I am going wrong & why pics just wont upload?

Thanks for sharing Chris. You have a beautiful collection there. They are all utterly gorgeous...but the MTD is the one that really floats my boat. You are lucky to have such a nice group of instruments. How does the MTD compare to your stunning Sadowsky?

I have used Parcelforce many times without any problems whatsoever...but have heard others complain about them. I would NEVER use Parcel2go ever again after they messed me about in a big way last summer when shipping to a fellow bass chatter. Utterly useless!

Great demo's thanks for sharing. Beautiful sounding basses one and all!

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1357137779' post='1917933'] I spent 15 minutes with one of the Charcoal Frost Pz above during my lunch today. It’s safe to say I won’t be going ahead. Heavy, lots of swirling in the paint and a few minor scratches, a tiny crack in the paint near the neck joint, and a pretty ugly piece of wood for the neck itself. I also found it very uncomfortable to play. That is probably a setup issue though. The neck joint was good quality, and the pickup placement/string alignment was perfect. As it should be. I’m not sold on the new pups yet....but again I was probably too quiet on the amp to hear what it has to offer. I’m also confused as to what they coat the back of the neck with now. It doesn’t seem as easy to play as my 2009 version of the same bass. It seems to stick a little. Hmm. It just seemed very dry, but unlike the dryness of a Musicman neck, it wasn’t smooth and fast. I sometimes feel like the P and J I currently have are the cream of the crop. I’ve played loads of shoddy American Standards since. I’m probably spoilt by Musicman’s QC and attention to detail as well. Finding another P has been a long journey that still hasn’t ended. Its worth bearing in mind that as of Jan 2013, the Charcoal Frost Metallic and Candy Cola have been discontinued, so shortly all stock will go down to around £899 in the stores, (for a 2012 Fender....I presume the 2011’s will be even cheaper soon). Oh, and the new colours are.....de dahhhh! Mystic Red and Mystic Blue. Take a look on fender.co.uk. AWFUL. They look like the low end Squier colours. C’mon Fender, bring back the pastels! [/quote] Agree. Finding the right Fender can be a lengthy process. The good ones are worth the hassle though. Also agree about the pastels....bring em back! Guitarguitar however seem to be going that extra mile at the mo...buy now pay 2014 etc. Hats off to them for making instrument acquirement easier to poor plebs like me.

[quote name='Zenitram' timestamp='1357140515' post='1917986'] All basses sound pretty much the same, don't they? [/quote] To most non bassists...yes! Dont forget there are also still many out there who consider bassists to be second class musicians. This is not quite as prevelant as it used to be. When I started playing there was almost a stigma about taking up the bass..."Your only a bass player because you couldnt cut it on guitar!" This is still the case with many of the uneducated and ignorant. Surely others on the forum can relate???

[quote name='ZenBasses' timestamp='1357087941' post='1917466'] My GB has a lovely ebony Fingerboards and I was just exploring the possibilities of Phenolic.. The ethics surrounding ebony make me stir away. I have always loved the look of Pau Ferro.. Maybe this is probably the perfect option. Maple fboards are the obvious option.. But something a bit differ would be preferable The GB is super bright and attacky I am wanting a more rounded and Warmer sound So u guess that rules out composite straight off.. Hmmm Pau Ferro..... I likey [/quote] To be honest if you want a more rounded and warmer sound composites are not the way to go. In my experience the type of response that you seem to be seeking will be best served by Rosewood. It took me over 30yrs of experimenting with everything from Maple, Rosewood, composites...even Pau Ferro and Cocobolo before finally coming to the realisation that Rosewood is the fingerboard material that gives me what I like best. One thing that always surprises me is the misconception amongst loads of bassists that Maple is harder than Rosewood. It is much brighter...but certainly not as hard.

Every bass is merely a variation on a theme. Its subjective really - the P & J basses cropping up all the time in this thread is totally understandable...but after some consideration I think the Stingray 5 is the bass that ticks all the boxes. This bass can be used in virtually every musical circumstance with great success.

[quote name='Chris Horton' timestamp='1357078620' post='1917331'] I have a funny love / hate relationship with these beasts. I have owned 4 different Stingray 5 bass guitars so far. I am currently going through a quiet spell with regards to regular gigging. We have 2 kids and they are currently of an age that necessitates me to take a step back from regular gigging. It has got me thinking ........ I spend a lot of time playing/practicing bass at home playing along to CD's etc. I sold my Stingray 5's as I did not like the tone of the bass when I was noodling solo at home etc. But , when I have played these bass guitars in a live band situation I have loved the tone and alway had great feedback from band members as the Stingray tone just seam to fit "in the pocket" with the rest of the band. I have been a berk ! I need another Stingray 5 and I really regret selling my 2005 buttercream stingray 5 with maple neck !! Please help , Am I right ?? Have I been a berk ?? Please Help me see the light !! [/quote] I think you are being hard on yourself. Its all part of lifes rich tapestry. Every member of this forum probably can relate to the "post bass sale" regret feelings that you are currently going through. I also think I understand where you are coming from regarding the home rehearsal vs full volume band practise scenario...its a whole different dynamic. I have been there! I have only ever owned a 4 string Stingray back in the 80's - it recorded beautifully and every engineer seemed to adore it. The 5 string version appears to me to be a bit of an industry benchmark. I love the look of them but have been told they are typically heavy...not good for my ruined back. Bottom line?...buy another when you can afford it!