6v6

Korg Pitchblack Chromatic tuner

Boss LMB-3 Compressor

That's all I use, although if funds allowed I'd have some sort of drive and a nicer compressor (although the LMB-3 is very good for a cheap pedal)

As others have said, it really depends on what you want to accomplish. If you want something unique and/or specific, and are prepared to put enough time and money in to the project to get the desired outcome, a project can be a fun and satisfying thing.

But if the objective is cost, then IMO it's definitely not worth it, you're much, much better off getting one of the many great new or used cheap instruments available now.

bracing added, baffle captive nuts fitted - I'm not sure if this is enough bracing?

So, apologies for the lack of updates on this - earlier in the year we had some unexpected family medical stuff happen, and this project kinda got shelved (well left in the shed!) as a result.

Thankfully all much better now, so *finally* I'm back to making some progress on this. (Yes all those who said it would be easier and quicker to buy a used cab, you were very right! )

So the baffle and grille is now cut using an improvised circle cutter jig:

[quote name='charic' timestamp='1378197932' post='2196789']
If you like the ampeg sound then only ampeg will do IMHO

I don't know what they go for but secondhand mesa walkabout or similar?
[/quote]

If weight is the issue then these aren't all that light - something like a MarkBass CMD112 will be much lighter.

Gah. I finally gave in and bought a new precision, then three awesome ones turn up here in as many days, typical!

GLWTS!

Some slightly less-obvious suggestions:

Raising Sand - Burn it up, Alchemy or Dirty Weekend
The Raging Honkies - Mary Lou
Cry Of Love - Highway Jones or Pretty as you please
Rival Sons - Pocketful of stones
Nazareth - Hair of the dog
Turbowolf - Ancient Snake
The Temperance Movement - Ain't no telling
Rose Tattoo - Rock 'n roll outlaw

[quote name='muddyman1' timestamp='1378068442' post='2195539']
SH - Southampton - nearer than Wigan but not where I live.

Considering all these posts has led me to ask myself whether a Fender is truely the answer for an upgrade on my faithful Stingray and enough bass to make the picture complete ... I originally thought that a vintage or deluxe Fender would be the route to take and I'm a man of traditional intent at heart so it was logical - until reading all the posts which have planted seeds of alternatives in my thoughts. More time is clearly needed!
[/quote]

As others have noted, the only way to find out is to go and play some.

I also live near Southampton, and recently went to Nevada, near Portsmouth - they've got a pretty good range of Fender (and non-Fender) basses, including US standard, deluxe and vintage-reissues, the Nate Mendel sig, the MIM classic reissues, and a wide range of the cheaper mexican Fenders.

The main thing to figure out is what width of neck you're happy with - I went there thinking I wanted either a 5 string precision or one of the vintage reissues, but I couldn't get on with the wide neck of either and ended up with a 2012 4 string US standard instead. As others have noted, the recent US Fenders are really good, just have to find out which one works for you!

I agree with most of the comments so far:

- Lead vocal too low, needs slightly more level, and possibly more compression & eq to make it more punchy and up-front
- The backing vocals sound a bit *too* forward to me, and drown out the lead line
- guitars do sound a bit muddy to me, but I tend not to record or play very drive-heavy stuff like this
- bass needs some eq to bring it out of the mix a bit more
- the overheads are too low, I'd cut most of the lows and low-mids out , pan them and bring them much higher to make the drums sound more 3-d, especially the cymbals
- the sub-bass effect IMHO is unnecessary and kinda distracting, even on good headphones it sounds muddy and a bit odd.
- the strings are a bit to forward for my taste, makes it sounds a bit "movie soundtrack" ish

All of those are really just nitpicks though, overall I like the track, the playing and recording/mixing overall sounds very well done, nice job!

Jazz neck on a P body?

Alternatively if you can live without the vibe, I've got an Ibanez SR500 and have recently got a US Standard precision - I'm actually really surprised how close the SR on the neck pickup with the bass boosted gets to the P tone, and the neck is really thin and comfortable.

[quote name='dave_bass5' timestamp='1377629101' post='2189683']
I expect I'll get the Gallery to do the work, it's a bit beyond me, but I'd lie to go in with a firm idea of what I'm after.
[/quote]

Have you considered just selling the CV and getting a Squier VM PJ?

[url="http://www.fender.com/squier/series/vintage-modified/vintage-modified-precision-bass-pj-rosewood-fingerboard-3-color-sunburst/"]http://www.fender.com/squier/series/vintage-modified/vintage-modified-precision-bass-pj-rosewood-fingerboard-3-color-sunburst/[/url]

I'm guessing it will work out cheaper if you're planning to have a luthier do the work, and you can try one before parting with any money so you can get a very firm idea of what the end result will be like

[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1377602908' post='2189198']
Again true, but in the case of injury, it does help demonstrate that you take safety seriously and have taken reasonable steps to ensure public safety.
[/quote]

More to the point, a condition of the venues insurance is probably that they only allow pat tested equipment to be used, so it demonstrates *they* have taken reasonable steps to avoid injury by demanding tested equipment.

The situation is pretty crazy though since the test stickers are widely available so it's easily circumvented by those who wish to do so. Note I'm not condoning this - it actually makes a lot of sense to get your kit (especially tube amps) tested for safety periodically, considering they contain very lethal voltages, and spend most of their lives getting shaken to bits by bass frequencies..

[quote name='aLxbass' timestamp='1377374317' post='2186919']
ill add one of my cabs in on next rehearsal see how it goes. we are not gigging at the moment we are prepping towards it, hence his new amp. so i havnt yet tested my two hydrives to their full in a gig situation as i havent had them that long
[/quote]

Seriously, consider the venues you will be playing - if you think you need a 1000w amp and an 8x10 for pub/club gigs, you really, really don't. Bigger venues you'll be going through the PA, so you still don't need a rig that big IMHO.

Sounds to me like your guitarist should've bought a smaller amp

+1 for the LMB-3, I've used one for years and it does the job for not much cash. If the Beringher clone is made out of plastic, I'd say get a used Boss instead.

Have you refinished lots of basses before?

If not I'd definitely start with something cheaper than a 3.5k custom shop one..

[url="http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Fender_reggie_Hamilton_CS.html"]http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Fender_reggie_Hamilton_CS.html[/url]

Personally I think you're mad, but it's your bass so go for it!

Have you considered some of the peelable paints you can get for cars? Not sure how/if they'll work over nitro, but in theory they'd allow you to test the new look without ruining the existing finish, stuff like this:

[url="http://www.alsacorp.com/paint_wrap/paint_wrap.html"]http://www.alsacorp.com/paint_wrap/paint_wrap.html[/url]

I know you said you've bought a body, but if you know you want to refinish it, wouldn't it make more sense to just buy an unfinished body, e.g MightyMite, or one of those kits from Thomman?

They guy in question (assuming it's who I think it is..) is well known for very long "waiting lists" for instruments.

I guess some folks see that as making the instruments (and repairs?!?!) more exclusive, personally I see it as a sign of an ineffectively run business (if someone can't deliver a product in less than a *year* they don't get my money, simples! )

I played one of his basses a while back. Looked nice, but nothing special IMHO.

Glad you're making progress with the new luthier!

Awesome suggestions so far, thanks for all the responses!

I'd considered a Stingray (it's *the* 5 string right?) but from sound clips I'm not totally sure the single-bridge humbucker would get me where I want tone wise, but the HS version sounds like it's definitely worth trying (if I can find one vaguely around my budget..). They look cool too

I didn't even realize Squier made a 5 string precision, so that sounds like a great way to test the water without spending a lot, I'll try to locate a local shop with one and investigate..

I probably should've mentioned that I have tried a 5er before (borrowed a friends Ibanez SR premium 5er, forget the model), but at that time mostly saw the B string as a finger rest!

I did also use a MIM 4-string standard P for a while, again borrowed, and I always loved the sound, build quality and playability were only OK tho IMHO.

The Yamaha BB is also a good shout, IIRC there was one for sale on here cheap a few weeks back, wish I'd bought it but I was off on holiday at the time.

Hi all,

So I've got a bass purchase conundrum, would appreciate any input:

I've been playing an Ibanez SR500 for a while now, in a couple of bands, and although they aren't that popular around here, it works well - low action, thin easy to play neck, light.

However I only ever use the neck pickup soloed, cut the treble, boost the bass, trying to get that round, vintage, p-bass type sound. I put TI flats on it to get closer to that sound, which helped a lot.

I only play fingerstyle, never with a pick, and definitely never any of that slapping malarkey. Bands are blues/rock/rock-n-roll/country/folk type stuff - i.e pretty retro mostly, so from an aesthetic point of view, the SR does look kinda too modern (not the primary concern however..!)

So I think I need a precision - all the bassists I've seen live where I love the tone play them, and I've loved the tone of all those I've triied in shops (mostly the Fender MIM range, which all sound nice but many of them played terribly in comparison to my SR due to super-high action)

I've had a couple of failed attempts trying to buy a used Skyline Lakland Bob Glaub, after which I gave up and decided to keep saving for a while, so I've now got funds to look at slightly more expensive options (up to around ~1k, probably used)

Right, I'll get to the point.. One of the bands tends to change keys of songs a lot, so a 5er would allow me to play across the neck more, and avoid e.g flying up and down the neck to work around a song that's suddenly shifted between E and F due to front-man-capo-antics between rehearsal and gig.

I've heard people say "don't buy a 5 string precision, it's not the same", but is that really true? Gettting a 5 string precision or Bob Glaub would appear to solve both the key-change and precision-tone issues I have, but in what way are they "not the same"?

The plan-B is to get a good 4-string precision and trade the SR500 for an SR505 or maybe a 5 string Jazz.

Any words of wisdom out there from those who've trodden a similar path?

[quote name='ashevans09' timestamp='1376950690' post='2181545']
A quick question then, if this is the preamp is this a faulty one or are they just designed to do that? If that's the case I reckon I'll need to move it on . I'm not a light player - particularly when I'm mid set.
[/quote]

As mentioned above IMHO there is a fault, no audio electronics designer would intentionally design a preamp to do this. What they *might* do is use components which shut down below a particular voltage (e.g many op-amps), so definitely make sure your battery is new (and something decent, e.g Duracell or similar), and that there isn't any corrosion on the battery clips, the clips are tight, or other bad connection (kinked/broken wires etc)

Does it do it on both pickups when each is soloed? If so then you've removed bad pickup wiring as the cause.

Can you provoke any crackling or cutting out when turning the volume up and down?

Can you provoke anything by wiggling the lead in the jack?

[quote name='andy67' timestamp='1376944126' post='2181404']
Says in Mark Bass signature its an sr705, mighty nice bass. I have an SR605 and have to say its awesome.
[/quote]

Aha, thanks, didn't spot that!

Yeah, the SR's are great and really underrated IMO - I've got an SR500 and considering moving to a 5er

Interested also!

Obviously it's an SR, but what model is this?

[quote name='artisan' timestamp='1376928810' post='2181043']
Err yes really.
I think i know the difference between clipping & momentary silence.
On my basses there was no other fault just the pre cutting when i dug in like a maniac.
[/quote]

Weird! T[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]otal preamp design fail it is then! [/font][/color]

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Btw, I wasn't implying that you didn't know the difference between clipping and cutting out, merely that a properly designed, non-faulty preamp should always clip on saturation, not cut out, IME/IMO.[/font][/color]

[quote name='artisan' timestamp='1376920047' post='2180845']
this sounds very likley to me as i have owned two basses that did exacty this.
Two basses with Bartolini pre amps & a Zon Sounus
[/quote]

Really??? I've never heard of any audio preamp working like this - surely if the pickup overloads the input it just distorts a bit?

This is called "clipping", where the output of the preamp saturates due to reaching the limitations of the power supply rails or other circuit limitations - e.g every mixer I've ever used has an LED "clip" indicator, which tells you to turn down the input gain a bit. Imagine what live shows would sound like if the entire channel cut out every time the sound engineer let a channel clip momentarily?!

Completely cutting out sounds like a fault or a total preamp design fail IMHO.

I'd try replacing the battery, then wiggling the cable in the jack, and if that doesn't work consider taking the backplate of and gently prodding the wires to provoke the cutting out, it could be an intermittent internal cable, or a dry solder joint on the preamp PCB.