Lfalex v1.1

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='124205' date='Jan 20 2008, 10:11 PM']...On the other hand you could always add another £1000 and order a Status Streamliner. Played one at the factory last month & it was a stunning bass in all respects.[/quote] Don't even go there! I was already suffering mild GAS over these. AND I will soon have that sort of money. Money. Hole. Pocket. Burn. (In no particular order!)

[quote name='gafbass02' post='122352' date='Jan 17 2008, 06:14 PM']the GT40 is exactly what i had in mind[/quote] I was thinking more of... A Porsche 917. Some basses definitely echo their contemporary car counterparts. Fenders, Musicmen and G&L all often echo the looks, and engineering philosophy of the American auto industry. Didn't Broncos or Mustangs have a competition stripe option? Furthermore, witness naming policy; (various manufactuers, both instrument and auto) Corvette Stingray Bronco Mustang Jaguar (Aston) Martin?! Infinity (Infiniti) Viper Barracuda and so on. Furthermore, in addition to the iconic status of some colour combinations, I doubt (with a few notable exceptions) that sponsors would use or permit unpleasant colour combinations, or even ones that didn't "work" visually/aesthetically. Finally, it's not uncommon for (painted) instruments to be finished in precisely the same paint as cars, and I'll wager there must be a few Americans with vintage cars and matching guitars/basses! In short, a perfectly valid association IMO. Which does nothing to explain my collection being largely black or natural!! (Except I think good feel & tone are more important than finish colour!)

I have a B2A 5 stringer. It's my "traveller"... Bought new 8 years ago for £249. Pros; Fits in a guitar case Small, light, manoeuverable. Good for tiny stages! Stands on its (twin) tail strap buttons. Difficult to knock out of tune. Cons Slightly flaky EQ, quality-wise. Lack of mass seems to hinder the tone. It's woody enough, and otherwise okay, it just lacks weight in terms of tone, and th EQ can't put back what was never there! (noticable on the 5 when strung BEADG. May be okay on 4s or high 5s! String availability. Onc your get used to it, you may want a real one (Steinberger). I do

[quote name='GreeneKing' post='119496' date='Jan 13 2008, 01:42 PM']I tighten mine gently with a cycle 'cone' spanner, perfect for the job if you have one handy. Just nip them up a little more than finger tight so they don't vibrate loose.[/quote] They're also ideal for Schaller straplock nuts, too (although threadlock is a good idea if they come undone lots!)

Fortunately, very nearly. And on my third effort (and my first 5 string) A decade later, I've finally found some strings that really make it sing and allow a stupidly low action. The instrument in question is a 1996 Vigier Passion 5 (Standard, Series III), now strung with my favoured DR FatBeams (45-125) In fairness, I do have 12 other instruments to keep it company, and I'd not part with many of those, either. That said, it's definitely the best player and the best all-rounder, too.

I'm a bit confused, then! Bridge to the fore on the Squier 70s VMJ with a BadAssII strung with DR FatBeams. Neck to the fore on the 2004 MIA Jazz S-1 strung with Fender 7150s Talk about chalk and cheese. You'd barely recognise the respective sounds as coming from two instruments with the same basic design. In other words, do what sounds best to you!

[quote name='TheBigBeefChief' post='116238' date='Jan 8 2008, 02:29 PM']Because they treat the wood with a chemical that turns you into a git.[/quote] Is there a cure? I own a Fender, a Stingray 5 and 2 Warwicks. All 3 are well put together and sound good/play well. Don't rule out G&L, Ibanez, Lakland, Sandberg, Yamaha, Status, etc. though! +1 for trying before you buy. It's a must. If you can take your mate who plays, then do! He may well be able to help. Good luck with the purchasing!

FWIW, I have two basses with 18v electrics. My Vigier Passion V (S3) Has two single coils and a Pan pot. If run "flat out", its output is too spiky, and can upset preamp stages. As a result, I turn its volume down to about 75%. This smooths out the output, and softens the tone a bit. My Iceni Zoot Chaser has a (naturally hot) SD Basslines MM humbucker and just a volume (and three tone controls + series/parallel + active passive While it's hotter (on "average") it's less peaky output doesn't upset input stages as easily (primarily because it doesn't tend to surprise you with monster peaks if you dig in) Finally, I have a Yamaha Attitude (passive, of course) with the 2 DiMarzio Willpower humbuckers. This has 2 vol, 1 tone. I have to watch the gain on my input stage with this. In spite of the fact that it's a passive instrument, it's as hot as the Zoot! It's not just a problem for active instruments! It's perfectly acceptable to calm down hot instruments by easing off the volume on the bass itself. It can affect the tone, but not necessarily in a negative way. Use the clip indicators on your input stages to help set the input gain, and [i]listen[/i] to what's coming out of your stack/monitors/headphones/in-ear systems for the onset of distortion and back off the gain. Then there's the matter of compressors and how they [i]may[/i] help... But that's another thread!

[quote name='stewblack' post='113785' date='Jan 4 2008, 10:00 PM']Here's what they used to think the future would have looked like in the past. Um. (note "The bass you can take on a bus" !) Picture from [url="http://www.junkguitars.com/stories/czech.html"]here[/url][/quote] OMG! So that's what it is! I bought one of these from a Secondhand shop. For £80 It's kind of tatty, but sounds really good. 41" Scale That Humbucker is HUGE (no piezos here!) Bass of the future? Er. No.

[quote name='chris_b' post='112716' date='Jan 3 2008, 09:05 AM']In my opinion there is more to a 5 string than a low B. I hardly ever go below D but I can play across the neck... ...If you lean towards playing high or soloing then a 5 doesn't do much for you, but if you want to rearrange internal organs (as I do) then a 5 is the only bass for you.[/quote] Unless you tune your CGDAE or (quite usefully) down a tone from that to BbFCGD. The latter really is quite a useful Jack-of-all-trades.

Could also be mechanical noise of the knackered bearing variety, in which case, a replacement fan is needed.

I wouldn't rule out transluscent finishes... At least you can see what wood was used, how good it is, and how many pieces of timber it's made from. If that sort of thing is important to you! I bought this because it sounds good and is very light/plays really well... Transluscent sunset over Ash (MIA S1)

I think a 3+2 tuner arrangement would look stylistically "wrong" on a MM bass, if only because the SR5 and Bongo 5 are both 4+1. Aesthetically, I reckon they'll keep it in the family, as it were. Furthermore, they'll probably be wanting to distance themselves from the 3+2 arrangement as one of their most similar competitors (G&L) use it. Generally, I'd agree with the SR5 scratchplate criticism voiced by Russ, especially in its lighter-coloured variants; White, White Pearl Tortoiseshell But the darker ones that contrast less with (a darker) body colour look ok to me; Black Black Pearl Carbon I guess I would say that. I do own (arguably) the least offensive variant... Ultimately, unless the Sterling 5 brings something new to the party, such as; A different EQ A different Neck Profile A different selection of Body/Neck/Fretboard Materials A significantly smoother, more accesible and/or smaller body shape Then I don't see it as being much more than a design exercise as it otherwise seems to parallel the features offered by the SR5 But, if [i]different[/i] is what you crave, there's always the BONGO!

I use a Marcus Miller signature product. DR FatBeams. They are superb strings. I like his tone and how he plays. I'm no slapper, but I thought I'd give them a go. I don't like the Fender MM signature Jazz, but I don't think it ships with DR strings on it somehow. I have a Squier 70's VM Jazz with a BadAss II and the FatBeams on it, plus a "Fatfinger". It sounds just how I'd want it to; A smoother, passive version of the MM signature Jazz. The key is (mainly) in his hands, ably supported by the strings and his particular bass. The strings are round-cored, making them MUCH more compliant than Hex-cored designs, hence his very light slap technique. They also fret very swiftly and easily. They're really good for Hammering on an off also. They'll be replacing Elixirs across my collection of Instruments in due course.

In all honesty, I generally avoid "off topic" threads. I look in on it from time to time, but seldom read anything that is less than factual or news related. I saw the Jazz and Jamiroquai threads and duly ignored them. This place is still fine, and will remain so as long as people take the name of the site literally.

Actually, he may still be contractually bound to Warwick, whose products he used to endorse.

Erm, wasn't it Stuart Zender? Mark Ronson was on guitar, for sure. I figured some BBC Anorak meassured the decal and decided that it constituted advertising, compelling Mr. Zender to cover the "F" logo with unsightly black Gaffer tape. I note Mr. Ronson's Gibson remained unmolested. That, or it's a Squier Or some P copy that isn't licensed! Perhaps the bottom of his headstock will fall off if he untapes it?

I'd have said about £1k, depending on condition. From the S/N, it's 1989, so it's likely to have a bit of battle damage by now. Most of the Warwick Sixers escape the curse of MEC, as they don't do Pick-ups big enough. My Streamer LX has Duncans in it. The Thumb pictured hast Barts. MEC EQs seem okay, but the pick-ups sound a bit sterile. Not only will a Thumb dive, it'll jump off of your lap, too. The Sixes are probably even worse! I've only tried a five, and that was like a waxed lemming.

In spite of their near-legendary status, they deserve to go under for this. What other basses can you get for that sort of money? £1600? Well.... In terms of 4 strings, almost anything! Shuker Sei Iceni / Zoot GB RIM Warwick (Thumbs & Streamers, etc.) Fender (Deluxes and almost CS, plus NOS, vintage RI and Relics) Urges, and Roscoe Becks Yamaha Musicman (Fully loaded Bongo? Sterling with a Piezo?) Steinberger Status Sandberg Lakland G&L And that's just for starters... They'll all play as well as a Ricky, if not better, and they'll all offer greater tonal versatility, too. Edit for me & Ped; Sorry! Forgot Vigier!

I've got a piece of Duralmin 36" in length as a straightedge. Had it for years. It hasn't any markings, but it's dead, er... Straight. I use Automotive feeler gauges. Good enough for gapping 'plugs? Good enough for measuring action / relief!

Definitely seen JPJ with a 10 string, and possibly a BEADGC 12. It's true to say that harmonisers and octavers don't do the concept justice, but has anyone tried the Variax basses. I did, and whilst I didn't buy one, two of the best "models" in there were the 8 and 12 string basses (both EADG with 1 or 2 octave strings accordingly)

[quote name='ped' post='104937' date='Dec 16 2007, 03:07 PM']I was forced into some xmas shopping yesterday and have to say that it really annoyed me watching people buy all this disposable crap that won't ever be used - far better to spend it on something which will be used and loved every day - when it is something as personal as a bass guitar then price becomes irrelevant - be it expensive or cheap - it is about feel and sound. It is however unfortunate we have to pay for them at all![/quote] I agree with this wholeheartedly. For example; Do I put some 17" alloys on my beaten up car.. OR.. Buy a bass that'll give me decades of enjoyment? Bit of a no-brainer, really. Spend away. £1500, however spent, ought to get you something really nice. Even at this price, don't rule out second-hand instruments. You could get a really nice piece of exotica; Smith Sadowsky Alembic Sei and so on...

Fretboard replacements should be bread and butter stuff to most luthiers. Heavy fretless players wear out their fingerboards and need them replaced... Not to mention de-frets, re-frets, LED work and so on. As an aside, I checked the string height on my Squier 70s VMJazz. Both E and G sit about 2.5mm above the 12th, a little under at the 15th, but about 1mm at the 1st. Looks like I run a fair bit of relief on that instrument. I'm using .045, .065, .080, .100 DR Marcus Miller Fat Beams, and have fitted a BadAss II. I've never had to tweak the rod outside of its original set-up, but this does allow more movement without buzzing etc.

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='105106' date='Dec 16 2007, 11:02 PM']You could get a new fingerboard put on it. Get the luthier to install graphite stiffening rods and ask him to make sure the fingerboard is from something very dense and stiff.[/quote] +1 to graphite reinforcement. Not for nothing are many slim necks so strengthened. As for fretboards; Ebony. Or a Phenolic/ Ebanol item. Both my basses with Phenolic resin 'boards have never needed adjusting at all. And they hold tune really well. Hold on... I can't adjust the Vigier because it doesn't have a truss-rod. It's one of the reasons I bought it!

[quote name='NickThomas' post='105060' date='Dec 16 2007, 09:18 PM']I wish I felt durable .. 37 , feels like 67 lol[/quote] That may be... But you're posting on here, and therefore likely to be playing. And in spite of feeling old/ tired/ fatigued, you're [i]STILL[/i] playing! See! You [i]are[/i] durable. Hats off to you, sir!