Lfalex v1.1

Nice idea about turning it into a bolt-on neck... Didn't think about it being passive, sorry(!) In any case, it might just be the pots that are wrecked? As for strings, I [i]think[/i] LaBella do some. If not, get some HotWires from Status; [url="http://www.status-graphite.com/status/frames/index_home.html"]Status Graphite[/url] (click on the "Online shop" option) They're quite reasonably priced, sound good, play well, and will make up custom sets if you so desire...

I own a B2Av. That's the 5 stringer. As Ray says, keep the hardware, as it's of a fundamentally good design. You may be able to find a replacement screw at a local fastenings supplier - Just take the original along (plus any parts that attach to it to make sure the thread's right) and match it up. Doesn't matter if it's too long, you can cut it down with a Junior hacksaw, and "open out" any deformed threads with a thread file. Fastening suppliers are excellent. I've sourced Imperial allen keys for a Fender Jazz, found the right hardware to hang a telly on the wall, repaired damaged parts on pushbikes, you name it. And all for a few pence. Back to the Hohner- I'd retain all of it, even the body, until you've finished your build- it may provide some helpful measurements. The neck not least! Definitley save the EQ. It may still work also. Hope this helps. Any more Q's? Ask away!

Nothing wrong with the purchasing of new gear. Instruments, if cared for, will last for an extremely long time, and when they do go, it'll likely be the electrics unless the bass has been physically damaged. Compare this with the transient pleasures of (for example) lowering the suspension on a car, fitting outrageous wheels and a big-bore exhaust... Makes bass look like a good way to dispose of what is, after all, [i]disposable[/i] income. That said, all that money I spent on HiFi 15 years ago is still working well for me...

[quote name='BassKS' post='386361' date='Jan 20 2009, 04:30 PM']It is also being used on EBS tweeters I believe for more or less the same reason. Being light, and strong it will be fast acting and wont suck up the vibrations (or dampen them) like paper cones/plastic etc.[/quote] Ti is sufficiently stiff that it pushes the point at which the tweeter (sonically) "breaks up" well beyond the hearing range of all humans. It's more reisilient than Al in this application. Al can weaken and ultimately fail under all that mad acceleration/deceleration that tweeters routinely undergo. With regard to saddles, it's worth remembering that although Ti is light, it by no means constitutes the mass of the entire bridge. It is very hard (as previously mentioned) and may well subtly alter the sonic characteristics of the instrument. Whether it's for better of worse will, as ever, be a matter of personal taste. It might resist sweat better than brass, mind you!

There's only one assumption that I can see, which is that the top 2 holes (on both necks) are in the same position. I don't see why they wouldn't be, but you never know. I suppose the best way is to whip the both off and line them up and have a look....

[quote name='Mottlefeeder' post='385951' date='Jan 20 2009, 12:43 PM']You do not mention the metronome or drum kit feature, so I assume this is not a feature you want. If you do not need amp modelling and phrase training, and can manage without the integral tuner, a Pocket Rock-it would give you bass + aux input, and chorus and distortion. There were about £35 before our financial troubles started.[/quote] Not unduly bothered by drum kit or metronome. The in-built tuner would be handy. Tascam DO produce a range of trainers. They're here; [url="http://www.tascam.com/catalogue;40,21.html"]Tascam Trainer Range[/url] I'd forgotten about the Rock-its. Thanks! Still don't know which way to go yet. Might have to try a few...

Just found this topic whilst reviewing some others I'd posted, and thought I'd update you all on what happened. I'm very impressed with most people's recommendations. They were borne out in practice. I visited BassMerchant for the first time a fortnight ago, and was immediately impressed by their range/quality of instruments, and their "Don't ask, just take it off the wall and play it!" ethic. It was a cold, cold day, and their industrial unit was freezing, which ultimately affected some of the basses to a greater or lesser degree. Tried; Sandberg P/MM Warwicks - Thumb NT5, B/O4. Streamer $$, Corvette $$ B/O and N/T (Bubinga/Maple) Vigier - Passion S4, Arpege S4, Excess (all 4 string) Overwater - Three of them, Definitely a Progress in there somewhere! Fender - Highway1 Precision Musicman - Bongo 4HH Spector - Euro LX (I think) in Zebrano x2 (they had two. I tried both) Tried to stay away from 5stringers, as I wanted a 4! Results Vigiers were predictably good. The Excess felt a bit "off" Overwaters, Warwicks and Sandbergs were all below par (presumably due to the cold) The Highway1 acquitted itself quite well, but only did the P-bass thing. The Musicman Bongo 4HH was really good. Bags of "poke" and a versatile pre-amp to boot. Shook off the cold well. The Spectors were also very gutsy and played well. I also tried a Lakland of some sort (44-02 Skyline?) which was okay, but not magical. The GMR I tried looked beautiful, but just sounded dead to me. Fair dos to BassMerchant, all the basses were well presented and well set up, but none really grabbed me. Then I went to Status Graphite (just down the road) and I think it's enough to say that I've got a Streamline on order. Wonderful instrument. It was cold there, too, but an all-Graphite instrument will shrug that off better than a wooden one... The other thing that has impressed me is how close you all got with your recommendations! I just read down the thread, and can see others mentioning all the models that impressed me most! Well done folks! A diminutive bass will be appearing in a Gear P**n Section near you soon! A big thanks to Out To Play Jazz and G-77 for their help with Streamline questions, and likewise to Dawn and Rob Green for all their help and co-operation... Now hurry up and make it!

Hello Everyone. I'm looking for a small (but solid!) device for (mobile/headphone) practice purposes. It'll be driving a pair of headphones, and needs an input for an MP3 player or similar so I can jam along. Ideally it'd be both mains or battery powered. I'm not too bothered about on-board FX, although a good OD/light distortion, compressor and chorus certainly wouldn't offend me!! Tone controls would be helpful, as might a gain control, as it'll need to handle both active and passive basses. Good sound quality is a pre-requisite, though. Budget? £150 max, I suppose. I've seen the Korg Pandora PX-4D for £75 on Amazon. I like the integrated tuner (one less box to carry/power!) but am non-plussed by the amp modelling (I'll bet most are for the guitarists out there!) I don't need the phrase trainer function particularly, either. Do Tascam still do the BassTrainer or a Pandora equivalent? I've read the PX-4D reviews on Harmony Central, but they all seem to be by guitarists, and vary massively from dreadful to perfect! Sorry for the lengthy intro, but I know it helps you to help me! Thanks in advance, Alex.

[quote name='benwhiteuk' post='385266' date='Jan 19 2009, 07:09 PM']Ever played an NT Thumb? [/quote] Or my Streamer LX 6 Or Infinity SN 4 Light they are not.

Dont' want to spoil the party, but my QSC has proven utterly unreliable. As did the pre-amp with which it was mated. Went back to the (reliable) 15 year-old Trace set-up it was intended to improve upon... Primarily because I didn't have to fret about it not working when I most needed it to!

Interesting indeed. I'd just like to chuck in that all the components in the signal chain contribute to what you end up experiencing, the cabinets you use and the room you are in not least. I own an Ampeg SVP-Pro, and it seems fairly even-handed. You want all-out grit? Crank up the gain and Drive. Personally, I keep the gain relatively low and add a wee bit of drive to bring out the (even order) harmonics, which sweetens the sound a bit. I don't use the graphic EQ, Hi, Lo or Bright buttons. There's a relatively good "Clean" tone in there somewhere that works withh most basses. I use headphones at the moment, and they show up EVERYTHING. The best noises I'm getting right now are by going straight into a cheap (£80) 8track mixer and only using the gain and volume on the channel I'm using plus the master fader. This works well with everything from a Squier VMJ and OLP MM3 to a Vigier and Warwick Infinity. I think the one of the better compromises for me is a valve pre running a fairly clean tone mated to a solidstate power amp.

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='383843' date='Jan 18 2009, 11:33 AM']I never say never...[/quote] I, conversely, ALWAYS seem to say never... Consequently, I have quite a few. I'd never sell the Vigier, nor the Yamaha BS Sig. I can't imagine the Status going either (that's still being built!) In a real pinch, I'd sell the others, but I try not to sell basses to finance more basses. Seems oddly counter-productive!

The Blue is nice. Reminiscent of the bass/es used on the 84/85 World Slavery Tour, most notably at the Long Beach Arena (LA) gigs recorded for the Live After Death LP/CD/Video. Don't really like the WHU Liveried ones he uses...

[quote name='Dosi Y'Anarchy' post='378568' date='Jan 13 2009, 02:52 AM']sorry to drag up this old thread, but I also have an Attitude Special that im loving, does anyone have any idea what they would have retailed at new/would be worth? I dont have any intention of selling, but I have an old issue of Bass Guitar Magazine (over a year old) that has Manson's selling a used one for £145 which isnt much less than i paid for mine off ebay, and also i've just purchased a DiMarzio Will Power neck humbucker, it hasnt arrived yet, but might I run into problems trying to wire it up to the Special? being that the Attitude LTD has two outputs and the Special has one? Also some sites mention the Willpower neck pickup on the LTD II has a high-cut switch, I wasnt aware of this before hand and dont really know what to do with it/where to put it/how to fit it. I dont mess with my electronics usually, but by all right the only thing separating this from the higher priced models is the electronics and output options.[/quote] Re: Twinning the pick-ups- No problems, I run mine in "mono" nearly all the time. The High-cut affetcs only the neck pick-up. I use it ALL the time, as much of the output from the neck pick-up overshadows (if not directly cancels) the "P" pick-up. It's entirely passive, and is fitted as a push to make/push to break pot on the neck pick-up tone control. Nothing to stop you just fitting a switch, mind you!

[quote name='BigRedX' post='374595' date='Jan 8 2009, 11:05 PM']Photos please OtPJ! The I really want to try a Streamline at some point...[/quote] I did 3 days ago. Then ordered one. I'd played dozens that day, and no others came close, especially in the cold weather. They are all that. And a bag of chips. Utterly devoid of deadspots etc, and not lacking in sonic weight for all the absence of physical mass! Even the Mrs liked it. Photos to follow. When Rob's built it...

Give me back my dynamic freedom! Signed.

I like it, too. But I've already got too many black basses! Stop it. Now!

[quote name='Jase' post='371795' date='Jan 6 2009, 11:44 AM']Try reinventing the wheel.[/quote] (For those of us who'll see it) Just wait until 2051, 2057, 2060 and 2062. Think I got my years right! [u]Centenary models of[/u] Original single coil P 1957 Split P Original (Dual concentric) Jazz 1962 Jazz Revision (2v,1t) Though I doubt the model line-up will have changed enough for anyone to be able to tell them apart from the last century's worth. Not knocking (I own a lovely MIA Jazz) but they're not the most [i]progressive[/i] company, are they?

[quote name='Tee' post='372538' date='Jan 6 2009, 10:36 PM']If you don't recognise the advantages of both, you don't know your instrument.[/quote] That notwithstanding, I play about 2 strokes with a plectrum, then just go back to my fingers. I just can't get on with it. Not deriding those who use a plectrum, it's just not for me...

[quote name='EBS_freak' post='372924' date='Jan 7 2009, 11:54 AM']The worst guitar ever created for this problem? Take a ganders at this [/quote] There's a missed opportunity here. This design could embrace the Gibson technology... And be a self-"tuna"ing bass. /gets coat and runs.

PMT in Southend had a good selection of Trabens when last I visited them. Methinks that the Traben is better suited to your musical direction, and could give a good array of useful sounds in the genres you specified. The SR500/505/506 are very good all-rounders, though. You may find it comes down to weight and neck profile in the end, in which case, the Ibanez will take some beating (assuming that you like slender/fast necks!)

All of which is further reinforced by the fact that the N/T Bubinga/Maple Corvette $$ costs yet more than the Streamer $$, and the limited run special editions even more still. They all share the same electrics package, though.

Colin Moulding Cass Lewis