Musky

I usually just record them but if I have to write something down I just write the chords to jog my memory. If I can't remember it from that it wasn't good enough anyway!

[quote name='elephantgrey' timestamp='1362576031' post='2001512'] yes, of about $36. edit: well whatever 20% of the value is in sterling [/quote] A bit more than that I'm afraid. VAT applies to the shipping charges as well, so at the current discounted price of $209 that works out at £213 plus the courier handling charges of £8-15 (depending on who handles it). You might be only saving £1 and looking at covering the shipping charges should anything go wrong. For those thinking of marking down the price, £15 pound is the threshold at which customs charges apply. I'm not sure that even the dimmest of Customs guys is going to think that it costs less than £15 and should it go missing en route you'll have an equally low insurance value. Edit: I'm not saying you can't sometimes get away with paying no fees, it's just there are definite downsides to this - like the confiscation of the item.

That's an MIM isn't it??? Edit: A quick google reveals it has the same logo as an MIM but the serial number seems to have disappeared. I wonder how an MIJ serial has appeared?

[quote name='Paul S' timestamp='1365157924' post='2036005'] I tried various pups in my MIJ P-Bass - original stocks weren't bad, as it happens, but I tried Seymour Duncan SPB-1, SPB-2, SPB-3, Wizard Thumper and Wizard Trad. Wizard Trad gave me the sound I had in my head. I had one of Ki0gon's wiring looms which, with the screw terminals, made the whole trials process quite easy - now got a P-Retro, which is amazing. Strangely, perhaps, the most vintage, old school, woody toned P-Bass sounding pups I've had actually came on a Squier Silver Series P. Bass I bought recently. The tone is quite special and it is one of the few basses I have owned that I am fairly happy to keep it as it came out of the case. [/quote] The Silver Series Ps do have very nice pickups. Came as quite a surprise when I first plugged in as well.

It might be worth asking one of the mods to move this to Off Topic - it'll get far more attention there. Gimp and /or Inkscape are probably worth getting hold of. They are both well featured design programmes for photo editing and vector graphics respectively - they're both free, but you may well find the learning curve steep if you've no experience whatsoever. The simplest answer might be to use MS Word or Paint to get you started. To be honest they are both pretty rubbish, but if you need something in a hurry they'll get you started. As they others have said, the key to good design is learning the basic principles and hopefully having an eye for what looks good. Without that you'll never get great design, but you may come up with something that is good enough. Good luck!

[quote name='Paul S' timestamp='1365075969' post='2034868'] I have recently bought a Fender Musicmaster and would say the output is a bit weak but tonally quite nice. I have also recently borrowed a Behringer BDI 21 pedal and am fairly blown away by how much this has beefed up the sound of this, and other, basses. But particularly this one - seems a very good match for some reason. [/quote] The original Fender Musicmasters were quite known for their weedy output and the rails pickup change was a common cure for it. The Squiers had a much beefier output though, so I'm not sure that a similar size pickup would make such a difference (although the Wizard replacement sounds interesting ). I've got to agree with Paul - if it's extra grit you're after getting a pedal might be a better route.

A bit off topic, but didn't Fender change the specs slightly when they changed from Highway One to Highway 1? Anyone know what the changes were? I know the badass got a look in a some point, and there was a change in logo (and maybe headstock shape?) but were there any other differences - do know they were both nitro though. Google is terribly helpful even of you put 'Highway One' and 'Highway 1' in quotation marks and people seem to use the term interchangeably anyway.

[quote name='the hand of john curley' timestamp='1364975765' post='2033407'] I'm going to ask him to take a look at one of MDP's ads and re word it !!!! [/quote] You should ask MDP to take a look at his ad and reword his 'gluthiered' efforts!

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1364812947' post='2031077'] They do have a choice - they choose to maintain (or increase) profit margins instead of taking a slight hit on margins in order to generate better profits through increased sales. They can't keep increasing the price faster than the average person's means. That is not sustainable. [/quote] Sure, but there's two things going on here - the retailers margins and the manufacturers. Fender seem to be positioning the US instruments at even more of a premium, as their prices have increased way above rates of general inflation. That's largely controllable by them, so if they've increased their prices they must be calculating that it will benefit their bottom line (even if it means pushing potential customers to cheaper lines or different brands altogether). Retailers on the other hand find themselves between a rock and a hard place. The market is very competitive and most of the large online operations are competing on price. If the cost to them rises they've little leeway on already tight margins. There are plenty of others on here who are in a better position to talk about the retail environment at the moment, but I doubt the picture is very rosy for them at the moment.

Basswood is quite a light wood, so perhaps a bass made from that? The Precision Lyte does what it suggests - basswood downsized body, smaller headstock and sell for decent prices. Nice basses as well. I'm not sure how much the Nanyo Bass Collections weigh, but they're another small bass that provided the inspiration for the Lyte (well, strictly speaking it was the Bass Maniac, but it was the Bass Collection that everyone was buying). Edit: And there's the answer!

I don't know about the colour options, but the Am Standards have high mass bridges and though stringing.

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1364811242' post='2031046'] Companies in general had better watch out, the more they increase prices (further pushing up inflation) while the disparity between inflation and salary increases continues, the less people will be able to afford the goods offered for sale. I'm no economist, so excuse my simplistic view of the situation but it seems like a slippery slope to me. [/quote] They probably don't have a great deal of choice if they want to continue selling imported instruments. The pound isn't doing too well against other currencies at the moment! Having said that I think I saw a passing mention that Fender were about to put their prices up.

It might be possible to pick up a Highway One/1 body from ebay - they had very thin finishes which were intended to wear quickly. It'd probably mean importing from the States though, where far more basses seem to get parted out.

You might have your work cut out to play like Zender or Norm. However if your taste extends to Stax and Motown type stuff then that could be a better proposition to start out with.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1364732809' post='2030074'] It's derived from the word "Lute" that should give you a clue. [/quote] Well I'll be... You're quite right! http://www.howjsay.com/index.php?word=luthier

[quote name='Paul S' timestamp='1364718231' post='2029879'] I have an ongoing disagreement with my sister as to how you pronounce this - any offers? [/quote] Loo-thier.

[quote name='The Hat' timestamp='1364681470' post='2029699'] Very very funny indeed, thats deffo me at the moment ! Maybe i should put an add out, crap bass player wanting to play in a band [/quote] Actually someone put a similar ad in the classifieds recently - it got a very decent response! You'd be surprised how many people are in the same position as yourself.

There's nothing stopping you from joining a band right now. It's just a matter of finding other people at a similar level to yourself.

[quote name='karlfer' timestamp='1364656460' post='2029302'] That is amazing. Judging by the photos I (briefly) saw on the first Gumtree ad, your bass has a gap in the binding behind the bridge. Ricks have that but I have not seen as faker with that. [/quote] Quite a few 'fakers had the gap in the binding, including Matsumoku made basses which also had twin truss rods.

I think Kirky is right about this, in that they've never had the kind of low points that both Gibson and Fender have had. Some older models do command a premium, such as the RM1999, but nothing like the prices that Pre CBS Fenders fetch.

What's MusicRadar like?

Doh! It would help if I read your first post properly!

[quote name='3below' timestamp='1364416932' post='2026284'] Many interesting opinions above. I personally can not justify £3K upwards for a bass. 80% or 90% of the sound would do most of the time. In due course DSP will capture the Wal sound (and many others) to the degree that most of us will not be able to tell. The pedal should cost about £40, reproduces all the major basses (inc Mr Hall's famous bass), fretless, fretted and the big bonus DB tone. Bring it on ASAP. [/quote] Hmmm... Not that easy methinks. You can simulate the sound of a particular amp, and it'll sound like your bass being played through whatever amp is being modeled. In this case you're trying to model the sound of a particular bass whilst ignoring the sound the bass is actually making. It'd have to involve analysing the sound being produced and reinforcing or substracting frequencies to a degree that would replicate the bass that is being modeled. All without any latency and without flattening individual variations due to technique. Doubtless it'll happen one day though.

The power handling of the 210 is going to stay at 350w no matter whether it's wired in series or parallel. Edit: Actually I can't see how an 8 ohm 210 can be wired for 4 ohms, so the guy who modded his cab has got his maths a bit askew.

Yeah, they're really good like that in there, and it reminds me of the old Bass Centre in Wapping (only sadly without the same levels of stock). It's the only shop in Denmark St that's a pleasure to walk into.