Lfalex v1.1

Are they short scale? Unless there's something odd going on in terms of neck length- No I didn't count the frets (are there 24?), then the bridge saddles look too far up the body (assuming it's more or less a regular J size) Nice, but doubtless [i]brutally[/i] expensive. And they didn't make much of an effort with the headstock design, did they? It'd have to be something to outdo the Super J competition; Shuker Celinder Sei Sadowsky Zoot Funkmeister and so on. Not to mention the fact that you could probably buy two of the above for the cost of one Alembic.

Anything we need to know about the lighting? Is it; Dimmer Switches Fluorescent tubes Transformer driven low-voltage halogen or anything funny like that. All of the above can cause buzzing hell, especially with single coils. No matter how well shielded your instrument might be.

[quote name='lemmywinks' post='718889' date='Jan 20 2010, 12:34 PM']I guess if you look at the work that goes into the higher end Warwicks the cost makes a bit more sense, after all a Fender is basically a bolted together slab bodied instrument with a forearm and belly schamfer, selling for nearly a grand. Warwicks have all the nice curves and rounded edges. Mind you Warwicks are mostly machined now aren't they? I think the Infinity deserves to be pretty pricey, it can't be easy to build what with the cavities and f-holes...[/quote] They ARE machine made. Nothing wrong with that, [i]per se[/i]. Machines generally don't make "Friday afternoon" specials. With regard to the Infinity, you'd be surprised what you can knock up with a good jig, CNC router and some glue!!

[quote name='Exile252' post='226653' date='Jun 25 2008, 12:10 PM']I plan to be cremated so I'd have my fave bass along for the ride, oh, and I intend to have my ashes sent to space, which you can actually do.[/quote] You do know that there's some parts of the human body that survive cremation - Teeth, and other hard, dense bone structures. Same for basses, I guess. Somewhere there's a crematorium selling a job lot of slightly "dusty" bridges, truss rods, polepieces and tuners... From a personal perspective, if none of my family were playing/learning, I'd pass them on to people who would take care of and have a use for a nice bass or two.

The Italians have a word for drummer fatigue; [i]Decelerando[/i], I believe is the term! I was listening to an old live recording recently, and you can hear me trying to "pull" the drummer back into time by over-emphasizing beat "1" of each bar (it was 4/4 rock) That particular band metamorphosed from loose wishy-washy indie to nigh-on precise heavy metal delivery (whilst keeping many of the same songs), depending on the members. A guitarist/ drummer friend of mine replaced their orignal drummer. Which perked them up a lot. There was an internal rift and one guitarist and the bassist left. The drummer friend of mine moved over to guitars (his delivery is very punctual!) I joined. Which perked them up a lot more We got another drummer (as detailed in the live scenario above) He became ill, and we had another drummer dep for a few gigs, and he was the icing on the cake. So much so that the lead singer got a bit upset that our delivery was becoming more of a feature than the songs! That said, we could be very dynamic throughout the course of a song. It's all about the combination of musicians in the band, and their view of how music should be played in terms of tempo. A solid drummer and rhythm guitar along with a tight bassist are a formidable team.

I'd assumed that they were for open-backed cabs/combos... So not exactly aimed at us bassists. Also, how do you know that you've set multiple drivers to the same setting, and what effect might that have on your amp?

[quote name='MarshallBTB' post='717264' date='Jan 18 2010, 10:32 PM']Was reminded of the site today at work...[/quote] I wonder who that could've been? Welcome back!

[quote name='merello' post='715064' date='Jan 16 2010, 06:14 PM']Comments?[/quote] Looks like the guys at Warwick had too many spare bits knocking around! [i]"Hey, we've over-produced on L/H Strykers and R/H Buzzard Neck blanks... What can we do? Let's stick them together in an upside-downy kind of way and get someone really famous to endorse it!"[/i] And after all that, they put MECs in it AGAIN! There must be better pick-ups to put in some mega-expensive Warwick beast? But, on the plus side, it'll be the first Gibson design that doesn't suffer from neck-dive, so well done on thinking "outside of the box" on that one!

[i] "I am Spartacus" [/i] As opposed to; OLP MM3 SUB 5 Sterling by MM 'Ray 5 Sterling by MM Sterling 5 MM Sterling 5 MM Classic Series 'Ray 5 MM Classic Series Sterling 5 Oh, plus any Anniversary editions and "Ball Family Reserve" lines... Didn't post this on the EBMM forum for fear they'd issue a Fatwa. (Cool Name for a wah pedal, though.... FatWah) Edit. In my "excitement", I neglected to mention all the "H", "H/H" and "H/S" variants. Making at least another God knows how many alternatives. Normally, I'm all for choice, but this is getting a bit silly.

[b][u]like[/u][/b] Actually, most things! Bongos Fretboards other than Rosewood Control knobs in a "smile" that follow the shape of the bottom bout of the instrument Unlined fretless necks Fretboards with no front-face markers (only on the edge, thanks!) "Different" material choices - Tokai, Kramer, Travis Bean, Status, Moses, Modulus, Gus - just make for a different "look" to wood [b][u]dislike[/u][/b] Gold hardware, but only because it won't be gold by next week. The MM Big Al Ricky "Shark-fin" inlays Controls that are randomly distributed across the instrument's surface Wooden control knobs Overly colourful silks and ball-ends on otherwise sober-looking basses Overly colourful strings (coated) on otherwise sober-looking basses

£500-£1k is a sizeable budget, especially if you buy second-hand! Try everything you can get your hands on. Hopefully, your guitar playing / purchasing past should stand you in good stead when considering instruments, and you should have an idea of what tone you want and how you'd want it to feel. Got any bass-playing mates? Take one along for a second opinion. Unless you're in a rush, take all the time you need. Do bear in mind that a new set of strings and a decent set-up can make all the difference. Brand-wise, there's loads to choose from. DO have a look at Fender, Musicman, G&L, Warwick, Lakland, Sandberg, Ibanez, Yamaha, Rickenbacker and all the usual suspects, but not exclusively. I've done well out of picking up something I've never heard of that was being neglected in the corner of a showroom! Just because you may not have heard of it, it doesn't mean it's not potentially excellent. Happy hunting!

[quote name='basshead56' post='705648' date='Jan 8 2010, 04:06 PM']I´d go with a Darth Vigier [/quote] [i] Sorry, my master, I forgot me cape! [/i]

It really didn't trouble me at all. Have gone from 4 to 5 to 6 and now play whatever fits. I also have a fretless tuned CGDAE and swap to and fro quite merrily. That said, I am used to playing a broad cross-section of basses... So maybe I can adapt more readily than someone who sticks to just one instrument.

I'm not familliar with Nordstrand pick-ups, however, I do have a few thoughts; Have you had the bass for long, and has it always been this way? Or has it just started? I presume you've tried fresh batteries! Could one of the potentiometers be worn out/ faulty / damaged - The volume would be my first one to check. It's not unusual for basses to have a hotter ouput in active mode than passive - Most Warwicks are at least a bit quieter in my experience. Could the Nordstrands just be lower in output than you expect, and that perception is reinforced by the higher output from the Musicman? Just some ideas...

[quote name='ahpook' post='701068' date='Jan 4 2010, 10:26 PM']i'd be on for it, if i could get over the fear of meeting a roomful of bass players. [/quote] Really, it's an excellent experience. So much to experience and learn from so many [i]friendly[/i] faces, some of whom you'll be familiar with... if not actually know. Think of a bash as BassChat brought to life. Literally.

The last ATK I played was really good. £440 new, though. Second-hand may be a good proposition. That or the previously-mentioned S.U.B.

If you think that's unusual, the last piece of footage of Deicide I saw clearly showed Glenn Benton playing a black Rickenbacker...

[quote name='Stag' post='696429' date='Dec 30 2009, 04:12 PM']Particularly on "Nutshell".[/quote] To which I can only say "+1"

[quote name='lozbass' post='696167' date='Dec 30 2009, 10:53 AM']I think that WD40 is recommended by Status for ebanol boards. I tried this recently and it worked extremely well (a dash of WD40 on 0000 wire wool was very effective!) However, I'd get more opinions and do some checking - I don't want to offer poor or potentially dangerous advice[/quote] I used WD40 on my Vigier's phenolic fretboard with no ill effects, and it worked a treat. Frets came up nice and shiny, too. Just don't go mad and use loads. I used it on my Yamaha's phenolic board, too, and that's PURPLE (don't ask!) When I next change strings on my Streamline, if it's a bit manky, I'll clean it down with WD40. I don't think I'd use any abrasives, no matter how mild.

I've always preferred blend pots to switches. Separate Volume and tone per pick-up is better still. Coil switching is where it's at! Series/Parallel (and single-coil) or coil selection options can be very useful, and can give some really good tonal options that need not necessarily upset the soundman! There's plenty of designs that incorporate (coil) switching of some sort; Stingray 5, Sterling, Sabre, Warwick $$ (Streamer and Corvette), Dolphin/Infinity/Vampyre, Roscoe Beck Signature, Ibanez ATK, some G&Ls, S1 Jazzes and Precisions.. the list is quite extensive.

Nothing wrong with a FatFinger or two (!) Welcome to BC! It's good here.

(Before BigRedX gets here..!) That's a bit different. A bit like a Spalt Bass visually. They do a lightwave equipped bass also... I [b]really[/b] wanted to like the lightwave system, but I found it disapointing when I tried a Lightwave Sabre. Maybe it takes more time to get used to than I had available.

Still liking mine. Yes, they can be a bit on the heavy side, due to the Maple body. The stock pick-ups aren't so good- I'll probably change those next. Mine's wearing a BadAss II bridge, which was a straight swap for the old one. I could get a suitably low action from the original, but the BadAss just sounds better. It now wears DR FatBeams, too, though I may switch to Sunbeams next time around.

[quote name='JTUK' post='694174' date='Dec 27 2009, 11:46 AM']And what is this thing about neck-dive...?? if the bass isn't balanced why would you buy it...?[/quote] Because even the best instruments are compromises (no matter how good), and it ticks all the other boxes? A good example being my Yamaha Attitude. Monster Tone Plays well Feels good Really well made (Japanese!) Good hardware (DiMarzios, Gotohs, a proper Hipshot De-Tuner) "Real" P neck profile But- that hefty neck, headstock layout, weighty tuners and Hipshot do make it a bit dive-prone. I'll live with it, though.

[quote name='karlthebassist' post='694153' date='Dec 27 2009, 10:54 AM']Not sure if this has been mentioned already (I skimmed through some of the posts) but.... Strings. You need double ball end strings really if you want it all nice and tidy. If your favorite srings are not availiable as double ball end jobbys then you'll have to use the retaining grub screws in the string retainer (I know status/abm hardware has this option, not sure about other makes) - not pretty. But works. Just something to consider.[/quote] Fortunately, Status Hotwires are really good strings. Typical of Rob & Dawn to come up with a complete solution... I think they may even do flats. I'm not sure, as I use rounds exclusively. I've seen DB end strings made by other reputable manufacturers - I think it was either LaBella or D'Addario. Apparently, round-cored roundwounds "come undone" when assembled in a DB end format.