Lfalex v1.1

[quote name='dc2009' post='1307350' date='Jul 18 2011, 12:46 AM']That Tokai Talbo looks sweet as a nut - did they make any, and can you find any nowadays?[/quote] They can be had. At a price. Someone on here has one, but I can't recall who. Not exactly common, though. [useless snippet] "Talbo" is a contraction of [b]T[/b]okai [b]AL[/b]uminium [b]BO[/b]dy [/useless snippet] They did guitars, too. Prime_Bass - A Status neck for a 'Ray would be less than £500, inclusive of VAT and inclusive of drilling the headstock for/fitting tuners and attaching the neck/setting up. The necks alone used to be about £300, but may have increased in price. Someone (not the someone with the Talbo!) has an OLP MM3 with a Status neck on it that was supposed to be very good indeed...

[quote name='Johnston' post='1306969' date='Jul 17 2011, 07:26 PM']Don't put that vinyl sticky backed plastic on anything.[/quote] Not even a scratchplate? And, more generally speaking, Perspex basses I recall; Wesleys in varying shades. Ampeg Dan Armstrong Sandberg Plasma- is that the aforementioned model?

I currently own; Status Streamline - All Carbon Fibre. Vigier Passion s3 - Alder/Maple and a healthy dose of Carbon fibre (with no truss rod) Other basses inc a Fender with Graphite reinforced neck and all-wood basses. I have also owned a Luthite-bodied Ibanez EDB600. I've also played a Cutlass and a Peavey G-Bass (with a Moses neck IIRC) Without boring you with the all the details, it's fair to say that the determining factors in the sound of a bass could be summarised as follows. These are in a [i]vague[/i] order of importance, as many will find them to be in a slightly different order!!! Player/Technique Strings and string condition Pick-ups Electrics [b]Construction materials[/b] Construction method Hardware Notice I've got materials well down the list. Carbon fibre is used in Bass manufacture for the same reasons as it is used in Aerospace/Motorsport etc. It's light, strong, rigid, resistant to heat,cold and humidity and can be (certainly in woven form) manufactured in a function-specific manner. It's best musical attributes of evenness of tone and lack of deadspots are less important than its practical benefits of stability, rigidity and light weight. Don't get me wrong, it's all good, but it's not the be-all and end-all. The Status is a great bass, but not just because it's Carbon Fibre. The Vigier is phenomenal (and I've never seen, heard or played a duff one) but not just because it's got carbon fibre in the neck. The Fender is a nice bass, but as far as I can tell, the carbon fibre is just keeping the neck where the truss rod tells it to be. The Vigier and Streamline are a difficult pair- there are no conventional equivalents. Status don't make a wooden Streamline as a basis for comparison. Same for the Vigier. There's no "regular" model. The Peavey I played was a m*nger. End of. Sonically drab and the neck profile wasn't very nice- and I don't often bother that much with neck profiles. Not so the Cutlass. That was like a Stingray (which it is) on Steroids. It was an Ash-bodied 2EQ with an original Cutlass Neck. It just made it that bit "better". Like a Modulus Flea, in fact. So carbon fibre can help. The best basis for comparison would be a before/after test of the same bass that's had it's original neck replaced with a carbon fibre one (Status do them for Jazz, Precision, Stingray4 and 5) Down sides? It can sound cold and clinical. Not as warm as wood. This is not aided by the fact that nearly all Carbon necks have phenolic/phenowood/ebanol fretboards attached. Wood (Ebony!) would be amazing, but as the two materials expand at different rates and respond so differently to humidity, it's not a happy marriage. Last of all, the Ibanez EDB600. It wasn't alone, either. There's an EDA,EDB and EDC variant (all no longer produced) They had luthite bodies (some Corts still do) Wooden necks, though. The two EDBs I've played (owned one, but it broke ) They're very good. Really even, smooth sound, but with a real depth of tone to it. Definitely at it's best with good strings, DRs in this case. Don't expect miracles from the synthetic/composite materials. They're generally very neutral and even sounding, and above all, consistent.

Kahler 2400 Bridge! Don't see many of those around! Nice bass!

Good question! And permit me to direct you to this gem; [url="http://www.liutaiomottola.com/myth/perception.htm"]http://www.liutaiomottola.com/myth/perception.htm[/url] Makes for good reading about "tension/compliance". Others here have posted it before, and the consensus seems to be that it's accurate enough.

I have three. All German. All excellent. 1 was bought new and is a good bass. I was bought new and was £540 less than list at the same time that The Bass Centre (II) had it up for £990 [i]above[/i] list price. Don't ask me how that works! The final one was purchased secondhand on here and is superb, as someone else has spent 14years playing it in for me! Second hand. All the way. There are some super basses to be had at crazy prices due their being grossly unfashionable at the moment.

I'd endorse this; And immediately repel at least half the population.

If you ever see me on stage with a laptop or PC, it'll be in a pose similar to the Classic Paul Simonon/ Clash "bass-wrecking" shot. Except I'll be swinging a bass at it and not the floor.....

The principal trick with the FatFinger is to prevent it from fouling tuner (and de-tuner) mechanisms.. If you experiment with brass weights, then the world is your oyster. Ideally, the closer to the body of the bass, the better, if only to stave off neck-dive. Not round-cored, but Status Hotwires are available in 30-90. They may even be able to accomodate 25-85, as they make up their sets from single strings. They do a good few variants, too - Rounds, Flats, Half-rounds, Single and Double-ball ended in most "regular" gauges (ending in 0 or 5!) They're not top expensive, either.

[quote name='jonannlou' post='1300817' date='Jul 12 2011, 11:42 AM']Never seen one of those before!! - £30 odd quid? Gits! Is this a common flaw of basses with small headstocks? My Status 1000 never had a head and didn't do this, or my series 1.... Does it genuinely work? Any thoughts on the string tension anyone? All this makes my bass sounds like its knackered, but its a great little player!![/quote] I have two. Yes, they work, but can be unpredictable. One is permanently fixed to my Fortress MasterMan V, where it just "focusses" the tone. The other floats from bass to bass. It makes my Yamaha Attitude into the sonic equivalent of a Bunker-Buster bomb, but robs it of a degree of resonance- It's just all out armour-piercing! It ruins my Warwick Infinity. Kills it dead. Try before you buy if at all possible. Works a treat for some basses, not for others. Billy Sheehan likes such devices, but he uses a small G-Clamp on the headstock. They certainly aren't £30, but may be a bit of trial and error to get the weight right. Final thought- Got a string tree on the bass? Thru-neck? Probably not. Try attaching (carpet tape?) a small piece of brass to the back of your headstock. Try different weights. Find a weight/location that does the trick, drill it and screw it onto the headstock. Washburn used to do it on some of their instruments. Do be aware that there's a bass and guitar version of the FatFinger (different masses) As for string tension, try round cored strings. They are more compliant for a given tension, and feel softer under the hand. I favour DRs- Either FatBeams (for steels) or SunBeams (for Nickels) All a bit "suck-it-and-see", but there's nothing to be lost by [b]fully reversible, semi-permanent[/b] experimentation. (Except time and effort, I suppose!) Hope this helps. Alex.

[quote name='cytania' post='1300604' date='Jul 12 2011, 08:12 AM']Thanks Graham, the audience has danced like billy-o every time we've played it.[/quote] If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

[quote name='blackmn90' post='1301267' date='Jul 12 2011, 04:41 PM']he has a rat upon his upper lip.......[/quote] Which by virtue of his own logic, he should shave off as it is a pale [i]imitation[/i] of my 'tache. Jeff can be a bit of Silly Billy sometimes. If you're a bassist Just let your playing do the talking please.

I wouldn't accept an endorsement from anyone except DR strings. i) No-one is going to tell me what gear I can and can't use for the next [i]X[/i] years. If I want to play ii) They are the one of the few products I've encountered that I really have faith in. Never had a duff string etc. And they make a good range of products for a variety of uses. Good as some of my basses are, none are perfect all-rounders.. Endorsements of products by artists doesn't influence my gear choices. That's down to product performance. "Signature" items (primarily basses) are a different proposition, however, and seem to force people into four groups; "I want one- I Love artist so-and-so" fanboys/girls "I wouldn't touch it with a barge-pole because so-and-so plays it" detractors "It's a necessary evil- I'm in a xxxxxxxx tribute band, and we need to look and sound like them" "That's actually a well-thought-out instrument with some useful plusses IMO, and I don't care about the associations" There are some good signature instruments out there, the development of which has been influenced by the player in question, to positive effect. I'd include- Fender Roscoe Beck Fender Urge Ibanez Gary Willis Fretless Fender Marcus Miller Jazz Yamaha Attitude Modulus Flea Bass [u]Status[/u] Buzzard Dingwall Leland Sklar These are just examples, but they offer a different take on what may be a familliar instrument. There are loads of others, but I'd not include Fender Geddy Lee Jazz Fender Steve Harris Precision Chris Squire Rickenbacker Sure, they're [i]nice[/i] basses, but not different enough from their parent instrument to be worth buying one because X endorses it alone. Sure, if it's a good bass and you like it, then that's fine, but the endorsement doesn't really add anything.

This has given me an idea for long-term string storage. You know those "JML suck all the air out with a hoover and it squishes yer clothes" bags. Bung 'em in one of those with a sachet of silica gel. Suck the air out, and I reckon they'd last indefinitely. Coated strings (hopefully) won't suffer so much. I only have to stare at Rotosounds or Slinkys and they go dull.

Take the "amp" out of the combo- have a look inside. If it's anythinglike my old SMX, it'll have push-fit spade connectors in it all over the place. These weren't (aren't?) soldered. My bet is that something's worked loose. That's what happened to mine.

[quote name='Wil' post='1299000' date='Jul 10 2011, 02:57 PM']I'd really like an SBV800MF. Rare as hen's teeth though, the only one I can recall seeing up for sale was when Paul C sold off his SBV collection some years ago.[/quote] Commission a custom build? It'll be expensive, though. Or build your own if skill allows?

Even if they do wear more rapidly, would it be an issue? I've never needed a re-fret. In fact, I've never even needed a stone & level... (Edit- I don't own a CV, I was thinking in general terms) When re-fretting, either spec harder frets (stainless steel!!!) or bigger ones that'll take the wear better?

And I now want a lefty SBV. Rotate that image through 180 degrees.... doesn't fulfil the remit of "Reverse offset", though!

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='1298885' date='Jul 10 2011, 11:52 AM'][url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Yamaha-SBV-550-Bass-Guitar-/150630160715?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item231241d94b"]Yamaha SBV[/url] [/quote] Second one I thought of after the Fret-King offerings... Both of which I thought of [i]before[/i] reading the thread. Thinks of new online acronym; [b][u]RTFTFBR[/u][/b] Read The F'ing Thread First Before Replying. Nice to see a bit of a consensus forming, though!

[quote name='Doctor J' post='1298823' date='Jul 10 2011, 10:47 AM']I can't see a nut wearing down from just the force of the string sitting in the slot on its own. If you maybe tuned up and down aggressively for an hour ever day so the string acted like a file, then maybe, but that's highly unlikely.[/quote] But wouldn't fretting do the same to a lesser effect? It stretches the string, causing windings to be drawn through the nut, as you release it, it goes back again. Sure, the impact on the nut is minimal, but over time it might open out the nut slots. Things that will mitigate against this issue; Just-a-nut Flats Nickels Coated Strings Zero frets Harder Nuts (!); Brass and so on. And finally... The Pencil graphite trick. Edit for- And maybe locking nuts?

Been playing for about 17 years, the first two without an amp... High points- The whole learning curve thing, new instruments. Headlining at The Garage and getting paid a reasonable amount. Playing in front of >1000 people in a Church yard at Hitchin Music festival, without a drummer. Low points- Now. It's too expensive to sustain the whole travel/rehearse/travel/gig thing without paid gigs. That and looking after the kids until 7pm every night. I'd never make it to any gigs in time. The complete dearth of decent bands out there at the moment that I'd actually want to join. Having to pass up a potentially serious "professional (signed) touring band" offer. Wife and two young kids- It wouldn't have worked. Am I really going to have to wait another 12 years before I can gig again? Being interrupted [i]every[/i] time I strap on a bass and put on my headphones. There have been occasions on which instruments have been destroyed in sheer frustration. Looking at the imbalance of high and low above, I think I just made a good case for packing it in Can't see any improvements coming soon either

[quote name='Danimal' post='1298299' date='Jul 9 2011, 04:03 PM']Captain Pugwash theme tune.[/quote] Awesome tune. (As is the theme to Inspector Gadget and Portland Bill and many others. What is it with 70's/80's kids TV themes?) Edited for- Extra points for anyone who can cross-handed tap both the bassline and melody of "Airwolf"! That'd be truly phenomenal. And probably impossible.

[quote name='Davout' post='1296844' date='Jul 8 2011, 09:40 AM']I think they are what's called Medium Jumbo frets. Get some flatwound strrings. They will reduce fret wear. Tony.[/quote] Even Nickels, Coated strings or Round-cored Round-Wounds are kinder than Hex-Cored Stainless rounds. Just in case you don't like [s]punctures[/s] flats.