Lfalex v1.1

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

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='363477' date='Dec 26 2008, 12:26 AM']Thats probably a softness issue, and they would coat your fingers in nasty also.[/quote] That, and the fact that they'd (very obviously) mechanically give up the ghost after the right number of stress cycles.

[quote name='backwater' post='364648' date='Dec 28 2008, 10:26 AM']The irony is that you spend that much on the cable from the wall to the equipment but from the wall back to the mains distribution is £20/100m twin and earth cable! Pointless really. Andy [/quote] To be fair, there was a guy who ran a dedicated supply from a nearby substation to feed his hifi. Using good cabling, naturally. It had a separate meter, the lot. It might just be worth it in that context. It might not be helpful to add that my "humble" £80 (1m) XLO mains cable stops my SVP PRO fom buzzing... That, at least, is a tangible benefit.

At the risk of getting a <slap> , I wonder how the 'Ray would sound with a Graphite neck on it when compared to the Modulus flea sig. Better still a Sterling with a Graphite neck!

Hmmm... WH, I can see what you're getting at with the "Different Strings on the same bass" being more different than "The same strings on a different bass" comparison. I'd also agree that, due to the number of altered variables, it is most likely true. I think the caveat that AC and I neglected to add about perceived feel being influenced by the amount of "elastic" string available outside of the witness points is; "For any given instrument at a given tuned pitch with a given set of strings on it, the perceived feel of the string may be altered by changing the overall length of the string by (for example) reducing the number of turns around the tuning post..." (Phew!) You can see this elasticity in action. Plug into a tuner and accurately tune a string. Pluck it, and watch the tuner needle or LEDs move first sharp, then flat, and then settle back to "in tune" Sorry. I fear I have led us astray, and that we are now well and truly "Off topic"!

Ricks look better when being worn than not. I find the inside edges of the Classic Status shape's horns too straight and angular. Not crazy about the Jaguar or Bronco or Mustang - The upper horns are too short looking. Not a fan of the Explorer shape either. Fairly sure I could find at least one Warwick to dislike - They always seem to have one stinker in production at any one time! Perhaps it's a corporate policy!

DR Fatbeams are super. And they have round cores. The compression winding technique that DR uses helps to add mass, but doesn't seem to increase stiffness for a given gauge. Apparently the .105 E string uses .108's worth of metal. Good tone, nice and compliant / responsive, plus they last and last...

[quote name='LukeFRC' post='361586' date='Dec 23 2008, 12:10 AM']would i be correct in assuming that if you are a selling a bass calling it a 'double jazz' is better than calling it a 'musicman style' or something as it doesnt reference another bass maker directly?[/quote] Not so much that, as the way the pick-up looks. The JJ/Twin J/Double J literally looks like (and sometimes is!) two jazz pick-ups bonded together, right down to the mounting lugs. The MM blueprint has the "2 at the top, one at the bottom" pattern for the lugs. Furthermore, the MM stereotype has exposed polepieces. 1 per string, and often has a hum-cancelling 3rd coil for when it's used in single coil mode (Sterling/Ray 5) The twin Jazz has either 2 small polepieces per string (Deluxe Precision) or blades (like the MECs in the Warwicks) The two major manufacturers who deviate from this are Bartolini, with blades in a MM housing, and Delano, who do a Hybrid with 8 poles on the rear coil and 4 big ones on the front. Again in a MMHB shaped housing.

I think I'd be wanting 8.5-9lbs in an ideal world. I like 'em heavy. But if they're going at £1k s/h, what the hell are they new? If it went as far as £1500, we're in Steinberger Territory. And £1500 buys a lot of bass elsewhere... even more so second hand!

I've used my Streamer LX VI at folky/acoustic gigs. And the Infinity SN4, too. The other bands mocked the 6. Before I played it. Then they sort of stopped. A good bass is a good bass, and you should be able to stretch it to fit your needs, irrespective of current fashions.