Lfalex v1.1

[quote name='BigRedX' post='928883' date='Aug 18 2010, 06:15 PM']Modulus carbon fibre necks are a completely different construction type to Status (and just about everyone else).[/quote] Ah, but does that necessarily make them [i]better[/i] than Moses, Status, Gus, Vigier etc.?

Wanna hear a theory? I seem to remember reading somewhere that figuring in wood causes the figured areas to retain mositure more readily than the normal "grained" areas. Sorry. Can't remember the source. That's why you don't get heavily figured maple necks very much, as humidity variations cause all sorts of unwanted swellings I suppose my ideal wooden (all-maple, one piece) neck would have a ruler-straight grain from body-end to headstock. Maybe a little very light flame running perpendicular to the grain, but no Bird'sn Eye or Quilt. These sort of demanding requirements in a piece of maple command high prices. Now suppose that [i]someone[/i] comes up with a process that can wholly dry out all the (nice looking) irregularities and then seal it to stop further moisture ingress, thus overcoming the mis-shapen neck problem. It allows me to manufacture equally (or maybe more) stable necks with figured woods and a stain (or sealing agent) that looks attractive to prospective customers. It may also allow me to source [i]cheaper[/i] timber to offset the cost of processing. Call me cynical, but it's a possibility...

Last Sunday was my first audition/rehearsal in about 2 years. Also my first in a bass/gtr/vox/drums line-up. Every other band has had me dodging 2 guitars.. I took 2 basses- Yamaha Attitude and Status Streamline. Streamline was as superb on its first "noisy" outing, and you could really hear it if I dug in or moved my plucking hand position towards or away from the bridge. Sounded like it was going above the guitar a lot of the time due to its clarity and harmonic output. The Yamaha reminded me why I like it so much. Huge bottom end from the Neck HB, and the edgier, more brittle tone from the specially wound P pick-up can be used to add definition in a band context. I still can't quite get it to "sing" and it seems to lack the top end I'd like, but in a band context, it sounds very big. Neither was ultimately the better, but they were radically different. This week's rehearsal? Warwick Infinity & Squier VMJ....

[quote name='charic' post='927147' date='Aug 17 2010, 07:14 AM']I reckon someone should link this thread to that one so he can have a read [/quote] In one sense, a good idea; Sterling might read it and take some of the feedback to heart. In another, I'm not sure that an influx of aggrieved and aggressive new "members" fresh from the EBMM board would be quite as welcome...

If I were Sterling Ball, I'd only ever post something positive in a "News" section of the board. Stuff like; New product releases Endorsee news Charity work Factory news Employee (or sycophant) of the month I'd leave "brand defence" to my legion of fanboys, and have a tech-guru to answer those questions of a technical nature, and I'd emerge smelling of roses.

New bass AND amp day?! I'd never get that past the missus! I've always had a soft spot for Dingwalls/Fanned frets. Liking the other basses, even if it is all a bit MM-centric! I'd have 2 of the 3 (Bongo & Anniversary/Reflex, but not the Big Al!) As for the amp, I'd have to reserve judgement until I'd played it! Looks dinky, though. Aaaaaah!

[quote name='martthebass' post='925010' date='Aug 14 2010, 05:09 PM']EB have used ash, poplar and occasionally alder for rays over the years. Transparent finishes are almost exclusively ash. I've had a few solid colours and these have always been heavier than trans - maybe they were denser poplar.[/quote] A +1 to that. Alder and Poplar (and, for that matter Basswood (Bongo) and Sycamore (Original Burns Bison)) are not really very "pretty" to look at. They can be a bit dull and washed-out looking. Ash has a bolder, more attractive grain, and is typically used by many manufacturers as a solid body or veneer (cheaper instruments) under Trans, 2TS or 3TS finishes as well as for natural bodies. My 1990 Poplar Ray 5 is Black. My 2004 Ash MIA Jazz is Trans Sunset Orange. As for fit and finish, I've yet to see a poor MM bass. I'm sure they might have made a few, but not many!

[quote name='peteb' post='925570' date='Aug 15 2010, 01:47 PM']The other 'Ray issues to which I allude are mainly that even if you have it set up well with a nice low action, if I put it down and pick up my Warwick Stage 1, the difference in build quality is immediately apparent! BTW – the first thing I did was to lower the pick up on the stingray as much as possible as soon as I got it The ‘g’ string issue is annoying and leads to you trying to play harder on that string, which is less than ideal and is a design fault that should have been sorted out a long time ago! I can understand why lots of people like ‘Rays – they do have a distinctive sound, etc but there are obvious faults that just shouldn’t be there on a bass that is by no means cheap if you buy one new……[/quote] I thought MM build quality was pretty good. My Ray5 betters my StreamerLX and Infinity SN4 in terms of absolute build. That said, my 'Ray5 might have been dusted with pixie dust at San Luis Obispo. It did (allegedly) used to belong to Boz Burrell... (It's a fretless)

[quote name='Musicman20' post='921476' date='Aug 11 2010, 12:06 PM']I went on a huge '5 String that still looks almost traditional' and the best I found were: Stingray 5 - 2008 onwards have the nicer (IMO) warmer Alnico pups. Sorry to disagree with OTPJ, but im all for warmth and traditional tone. I think this reflects on why the pre-08s (aprt from the early ones) dont sell so well secondhand. That, and the fact that most people seem to ignore the more popular and traditional colours, so when they sell it on, they dont get as much back. You should be able to pick up a second hand 08-onward Ray 5 (single H) for under £1K, and it will, well should be, in fantastic condition. Pre-08 Rays go for SILLY money, and are bargains IMO. In a few years, Rays will come back into fashion and prices will change accordingly.[/quote] AFAIK the [i]early[/i] Ray 5s had an Alnico unit, too. Don't know when it changed to Ceramic, though. IIRC 5s started manufacture in '87/'88 (?) My 1990 fretless 5 is Alnico [b]without[/b] a phantom coil for single coil mode... Someone else may know more. The change back to Alnico makes sense, as it fits in with the current line up; Stingrays- Alnico Sterlings- Ceramic Bongos- Neodymium Bongo 5 for £1k? Get one!

A-ha! Thanks for that. I had considered a set of Steve Harris Rotos (because flats don't seem to die like their rounds do) But then again, flatwounds (or tapewound!) would open up a whole new can of worms with TI flats, Optima golds and Rotosound entering the fray! Thanks again for the help. I'll keep on going until I find the right set and post back. [i]"I'm going outside. I may be some time"[/i] (So don't hold your breath!!!!)

[quote name='peteb' post='925271' date='Aug 15 2010, 12:07 AM']It appears that I just don't have the technique to play a stingray! TBH - I always thought that my right hand technique was reasonably strong, but I have a low action, play over the pickup and tend to rake a lot (a la Sheehan in that respect at least) and the pole pieces do tend to get in the way more than somewhat! I might just drop a EMG in it if I decide that it's worth the effort / cash - a very frustrating bass, a great unique sound but several annoying flaws.......[/quote] I have a 'Ray 5 and other instruments with MMHB style pick-ups in. At least two have raised pole-pieces.I anchor on the pick-up/s too, and I don't seem to hit the pole-pieces. In fact, the only bass on which I DO strike the pick-ups is a Yamaha Attitude (a Sheehan design!) because they're close to the strings. The MMHB doesn't want for output, so you could try lowering it enough to stop your problem and see if it still has some degree of the tone/output you're looking for left. Otherwise, it's a new pick-up. IIRC The EMGs have hidden polepieces. So do the Bartolini ones, except that I know them to have Blades rather than cylindrical poles, which makes alignment less of an issue and can cope well with big string deflection (useful if you play hard from time to time) I have a bass with Bladed pole-pieces (a Warwick with MEC J/TwinJ in it) and it does work well. What are the other 'Ray issues to which you alluded?

Interesting... But I like alternative materials, so it's Spalt Born2Rock BassLab all the way for me. Like the tubular metal one, as long as it's heavy enough for a good fundamental tone. Fret system is reminiscent of the Gittler guitars.

I'm surprised that they haven't issued a Fatwa on Rob Green for making replacement Graphite necks and imposed sanctions against East, Bartolini, MEC, Seymour Duncan, et al for having the temerity to manufacture electronics/pick-ups... BTW, If I made Wah pedals, I would most certainly name one of mine "FatWah" and maybe "AutoFatWah"

Roasted neck? They've been doing flamed forumites for years over there! I own a 'Ray 5. Nice bass, but the way they behave on the EBMM forum can be pretty over-zealous at times. As mentioned before, some companies have their priorities right; =1 Customer Service =1 Making great instruments 3 Rectifying problems with people's basses 4 Giving open and honest advice on repairs and modifications 5 Protecting their brand image / company reputation by actually realizing that 1 to 4 (above) promote this aspect. Good examples of the above I have received; Patrice Vigier mailed me back within 24 hrs telling me how to carry out elecrics mods to the pre-amp in my Passion bass. Rob Green said "Ok, it'll cost more because I'll have to wind the coils differently so the outputs can be tapped" No problem. Even though it's not on the options list. The tech at Dana B. Goods (US) Warwick distributor mailed me back after 15min with a lengthy reply about a pre-amp/pick-up query. In each case, no fuss, no aggro. We are the end users of companies' products, and if the original manufacturers can't or won't help us, we'll just have to go elsewhere. Imagine the response if I wanted a Sterling 4HH with Series/Parallel/Singlecoil switching for both pick-ups and the 4band EQ from a Bongo?! EBMM possess the ability to make such an instrument. Most of us would pay a good deal more for a "tailored" (if not custom) bass. They're doing themselves out of potential sale AND repeat customers with their attitude (except they're made by Yamaha)

Good idea on the Hotwires, Rich. Hadn't thought of that angle! Rayman; You're kind of right, but it shouldn't sound as dull with fresh strings as it does. I thought maybe strings which might sound a bit light and clattery on any other bass could redress the balance.

[quote name='AttitudeCastle' post='922461' date='Aug 12 2010, 10:58 AM']I've always used rotosound ...Also got a great roundwound sound from the Attitude.[/quote] Not a fan of Rotos at all, I'm afraid. Am I to deduce from the second statement that you use flatwounds? Does Sheehan, too? I'm not a Fanboy, but none of the strings I've tried sound quite right. And they're all rounds. I might just have to revert to "Plan A"; DR Fatbeams or Hi-Beams. Any D'Addario or LaBella recommendations out there? The Attitude has lots of fundamental output and bags of lower mid-range. It's just that little bit of upper-mid singing and top-end sparkle that's missing. Thanks for your thoughts so far...

That's not Gospel, BTW, just my 2p from having owned 2 for a total of 6 years and played a few others here and there. Rich (OutToPlayJazz) would likely be able to give you his version of events. He's owned a few Statii from time to time! You DO need to try them out for yourself. I find the lack of head perfectly acceptable, but can see how some people might utterly loathe it.

That looks like a familiar concept- here's mine (so far...) I have an E-Pro in my Zoot. Tons of boost/cut and low noise, but the centre frequencies on the 3 bands (Bass, Treble, Bright) seem a bit off to me. Not my favourite EQ.

I'm struggling to find [i]the[/i] strings to use on this! So far; Whatever Yamaha shipped it with Ernie Ball Hybrid Slinkies Elixir Nanoweb Ashdown Nickels (I think) Currently using Stainless Elites I know Sheehan uses Rotosounds, but I don't like them- die too fast and too rough under the fretting hand. On other basses I use DR Fatbeams or Sunbeams or Elixirs. One consideration- My Attitude is a 10th Anniversary, and has a Phenolic fretboard rather than Maple. I play fingerstyle, and favour 40,60,80,100 or 45,65,80,100 Any recommendations would be most welcome. Thanks in advance! Alex.

As previously stated; The Gallery Bass Direct The Bass Merchant

I can't comment on using resistors for cross-talk reduction, but IIRC the "non-stacked" control plate uses 2x250k logarithmic pots for volume and 1x500k linear pot for tone purposes. If you want stacked controls, you'll need "dual concentric" potentiometers. I really have no idea what values these are available in! The capacitor values are right, though.

I have a '97 Streamer LX6 and an '04 Infinity SN4. Both very different. I [i]really[/i] like the J/JJ pick-up configuration on the Infinity/Dolphin. I've never had any issues with either bass. When I e-mailed Dana B.Goods (US distributor), they answered me at length 15min later, with all the info I'd asked for and more besides. There are a few designs I don't like (Stryker. Vampyre ain't great) There are a few design issues with some I do like (Thumb- nneck dive and and a tendency for it to jump off of my lap when seated) There are some I'd love- Dolphin, Streamer Jazzman, Corvette $$, Fortress Masterman, Streamer Pro M, Fortress Flashback, but which are discontinued, out of my reach financially, hard to find or difficult to justify alongside some of my current basses. In other words, it's pretty much all good!

I have a B2AV, too. Good to play for all the obvious reasons (mass, balance, size) Good, woody tone on GDA&E, but the B lacks weight of tone, probably due to the very low overall mass of the instrument. Ever heard a cabinet/amp start to run out of puff below low "D"? Sounds just like that!

(Being the Devil's advocate because I have an idea what your answer will be!) Why do you want the extra overall mass? I agree that in [i]theory[/i] the extra contact area between neck and body (on a neck-thru at any rate) might help stiffen the neck and assist in modifying (if not improving) the transmission of vibration to/from the body. If it's a bolt-on, I'd reckon that the screws transmit most of the vibration (Just look at a Ritter...!) Headlessness has its own set of benefits. Minimal mass resonating at the end of the neck is the main one, helping with stability and (presumably) deadspots. Better instrument balance is another. Size and transportability is a third. After that, it's marginal and subjective changes like the fact that most headless basses use zero frets, the addition/deletion of mechanisms such as string reservoirs/ Bendwells etc. I can see a train of thought emerging from this and the Steinberger/Streamline thread earlier...

45-105 wouldn't be that strenuous, as both Sunbeams and Fatbeams have round cores rather than hexagonal ones. In practice, this makes them [i]feel[/i] "less taut" under the fingers when fretting (even if they're tuned to the correct pitch) My concern would be length; Will you end up winding the thicker part of the string around the machinehead if you use 34" strings? The DRs are long enough for [b]at least[/b] 34" through-body stringing. Do you have to cut down your current strings in the same way, and does this work well enough? Otherwise, give the DRs a shot. They might just be what you're after.