Greggo

OK. Is fret buzz the symptom of neck adjustment or is it the tension in general?

Thanks. I'm not particularly experienced with truss rod adjustment so hoping minimal intervention will be required!

Hi,

I've bought a 5 string Vintage EST96A bass and thinking of changing strings. The factory fit are 45 - 130 but I'd like to fit ernie ball super slinkies which are 40 - 125. Am I fine to just change and adjust action accordingly or is it best to adjust neck also?

I have seen YouTube videos of a French guy who has one and he has fitted alnico sd bass lines (smb5a?) pickup in it and it does sound pretty good, still with original pre amp too. I love the bass but i think a pup upgrade would persuade it to have a better tone for sure.

Nice! Is the hardware as stock? (I.e Wilkinson pup/preamp?)

I'm a bit of an equipment hoarder so more likely to keep so maybe the upgrade (at least the pickup) is something Ill probably do. I think either way the bass sounds great for the money (although bit gutted in hindsight seeing that same bass could have been bought for even cheaper!

Because I got the bass so cheap ( needs must due to first baby arriving very recently!) Im definitely thinking of a pickup swap first and maybe a pre-amp swap later down the line. Reading reviews of the bass online a few people arent keen on the stock pre-amp on this bass and I get where there are coming from. The bass control is perhaps too bassy to be useful so anything past halfway is pretty boomy. Also, the treble doesnt add a great deal, it seems only the mid control seems to do the best job of cutting/boosting.

I got a convincing Rage Against The Machine (first album) bass tone using the bass totally cut and the treble up full and mids just less than halfway, and if I have all the controls set to cut, it has a nice recording tone for mellow tones and still cuts through nicely.

I see their are two types of SD Basslines pickups (alnico and ceramic). Am I right in thinking the Alnico are meant to have a more vintage sound whereas the ceramic are more modern sounding?

Hi,

I recently bought a Vintage EST96 musicman bass. I wasnt necessarily looking for a Musicman copy but I wanted a new inexpensive bass to replace as my main bass, the other instrument being a 90's Yamaha RBX series (5 string)

I went in to a music shop and saw this gorgeous "honey burst" Vintage EST96 5 string bass for a mere £220 and played it for a good while. It was one of two 5 string basses (Im so used to 5 string didnt want to go for a 4) the other being a Squier precision which was slightly more expensive at around £300.

Since I got the bass I've become obsessed with the bass its based on , the Musicman Stingray and listening to clips of it on youtube and loving the sound.



For £220 the bass is gorgeous though and it plays really nicely, far better than my Yamaha. Im not going to kid myself into thinking a £200 bass is going to sound like the £1500 bass its based, but has anyone any experiences in using this bass and what did you think? How closely does it emulate the stingray sound? From what I have read, it may be worth installing a replacement pickup in , Musicman basslines or Nordstrand?

Haha thanks Karlfer! Yup, Im suffering some pretty bad GAS already as a result of browsing the forum ...my wish list is pretty high already haha! Whats the band scene like around Wigan (i,e for joining a band, getting gigs etc)

Hi all,

Only joined today, but I've read a lot of the posts on this site and it looks like a good place to set up camp, learn new things and chat to folks about bass.

Ive been in various bands on and off for the past 12 years as both a bass player and a guitarist, but in band situations I much prefer being the bassist and am currently bassist/backing vox in a four piece indie/rock band.

Following a recent desire to actually invest in my instrument (well as much as I can finds allowing) I am wanting to take my playing more seriously and learn new things and fine tune my techniques, tones etc

Basses owned are a 5 string Vintage EST96AF Musicman copy bass (pic attached) and a 1991 Yamaha RBX5. In the rehersal rooms where we play I use an all valve Ashdown combo, with a Behringer Bass Distortion.

I have written alot of my own material too over the years, some of which has been done with the different bands I have been in.

Looking forward to using the forum!