Lfalex v1.1

Another vote for "Fairies Wear Boots", even though Volume 4 is my favourite album. Honourable mention for the opening to "TV Crimes" (Dehumaniser)

And certainly don't mention that there are (mostly) second-hand basses that are a good match for a Stingray. Looking at you; •Ibanez ATKs- or anything else with that Triple Coil pickup. •Warwick $$, Fortress MasterMan, Streamer Pro M etc. • Various G&Ls such as the L1000, L2000, ASAT All of them sport "that growl", or their own version of it.

Hopefully, this is it. Drove down to Guildford with my duff Argon. Anderton's were as good as their word. We tried the replacement out. It's already been flashed to v3.2, and has 400 completely different patches to the other one... Weird. Nice to have those last 5 semitones of range working, too. Excellent service from Anderton's. Everyone I dealt with was pleasant and helpful. Was daunted by the 88-key synths/electric pianos on display. Where does one even put such a thing?

@Misdee has it spot-on. I tried the Deluxe P with the TJ humbucker at the bridge back in the day. I very nearly bought it. Thought the active EQ was a bit crude sounding and the pots felt sloppier than I'd have liked. Otherwise, it was a very good bass. I prefer the twin coil bridge pickup. Although they sound tonally "thicker" than a single J, the extra output balances the P better. I currently own a Bongo 6HH. Someone did their R&D on the electrics for those basses. They can do most things well. Just a quick tweak of the 4 band EQ will get you where you want to be. The aesthetics aren't to everyone's taste, but the ergonomics are sound (apart from the bottom horn digging into your thigh if you don't position it well whilst seated.) Either bass would be a fine addition. Which you choose really depends on; •Which one you prefer when you play it. •What other basses you already own and how it fits into your collection- is is replacing something or do you want something completely different?

Anderton's were really professional and helpful. They've held their last one so I can do a 1 for 1 swap. We're going to try the "new" one out in the shop to ensure it works.. Don't hold out much hope. I've caused 3 other electronic devices to fail in 2 days just by looking at them.

Thanks, Rob. It was different suppliers on each occasion. Bax (who were at fault) the first time. The Argon was brand-new and factory sealed from Anderton's. This isn't really their fault. It's "just" a QC thing. I think I'm done with this business now. I'll return this to Anderton's. Can't see there being a replacement, as it's all becoming a bit of a roller coaster. That, and the fact that my bank must think I'm running a money- laundering scheme using music retailers 🙄

I thought this thread had run its course. But it seems not. The last 5 keys on the RHS of the keyboard are non-functional. So I have a 56-key synth, not a 61. Looks like this one's headed back to its packaging, too. Pretty sick of this, to be honest. Not very reliable things, are they?

I'm not sure I'd go back, even if someone asked me.

Or royalties.

I couldn't agree more. Alas that much of XTC's output is just too English/Idiosyncatic/Leftfield* (delete as appropriate) for some people's tastes. All too unfortunately evidenced by the fact that their Joke/Nostalgia "Dukes of the Stratosphear" venture commercially outperformed their regular album/s at the time.

@Woodinblack I've already bookmarked that YT vid to watch when I have a moment... Isn't there some other control that messes with waveform 1 and 2 to produce more variation? I thought so this morning at 0415h 🤣 @BigRedX As it is with hardware synth subtleties, so it is with bass FX and tonal subtleties.. "Lost in the mix" Fortunately, not an issue I'm likely to have any time soon. Hasn't stopped me ploughing an hour into trying (an partly failing) to create a useable string voice, though.. I reckon another 3 hours and I'll get close.

That's precisely what I have done so far. Chewed through 300 factory patches and found about 8 that I like. Early this morning I set about creating a patch, but have no idea at all where to begin in terms of which waveform to start with. The Argon offers 2 mixable waveforms with (I think) 16,129 x 16,129 variatons... None of the stock patches seem to offer a valid starting point, so I figured I'd look elsewhere for something to give me some pointers.

There you go. Now updated to firmware V3.2.. Finding the Argon pretty good, but for a lack of decent "String" patches. Guess I'll invest some [serious!] time trying to concoct some or take the easy way out and download some. There's definitely a healthy supply of uploaded content for it. It's frequently depicted being (physically) connected to a tablet/phone. The supplied cable covers PC and hopefully Mac, being USB B to USB A. USB B to USB C or Lightning isn't in my cable bin, that's for sure! There's still a place for the GK61, though. It has patches that a synth might struggle to replicate, plus it can loop percussion whilst still being played. This in addition to the aforementioned speakers for quiet practice and its Bluetooth music streaming ability..

Not impossible. Heavier cuts of wood such as as Zebrano often require chambering to reduce weight and improve resonant characteristics.

Had a 1990 SR5 fretless. Lovely thing. One of the few I regret selling. Fast Forward 15 years and I now have a Bongo, which is an excellent instrument. If you're open to alternatives, don't rule out a Bongo 4H or HH.

The Argon 8x arrived yesterday. Seems to be fully functional. It's a bit of a monster. Build quality of the body is beyond reproach. Less so the encoder controls, which feel too light and plasticky. The modulation joystick is really rather good. Way better than the strips on the Hydra Explorer. Keyboard/bed is good, and the fact that the aftertouch isn't polyphonic isn't as much of a come- down as I'd expected. Tempo control and arpeggiator control is much better implemented. Sounds less extreme and smoother than the previous attempt. In spite of my finding it LESS intuitive than everyone seems to think, I can see it growing on me. Photos to follow in due course...

Very nice. Now you need a G&L of some sort... Perhaps an SB-2 or an L-1000?

That was timely! (But then again, we are bassists!) I received it yesterday. Thanks for asking. An alternative replacement has been ordered courtesy of Andertons, in the form of a Modal Argon8x. It was very reasonably priced, and given that they're not likely to be around much longer due to Modal being in administration since last year... Why not? If I still feel the need for the screaming madness that a Hydrasynth can generate, they'll be around a while longer yet. As with all the best things in life, I've absolutely no idea where I'm going to put the Argon 8x! There's already one keyboard too many in the lounge! 🤪

Nice, and the SR body shape is lovely and comfortable. Yep, Barts. Yep, exotic woods. Yep, Made in Japan. But I can't help but to think that there are plenty of other excellent basses to be had for ~€2300. That's just the new stuff. What you can get second-hand in excellent condition for that money....

Finally got the refund. Purchased a replacement elsewhere instead.

Second-hand is the way to go, as long as you have an opportunity to test the gear first. It's worked out fine for me. I have subscribed to the 2x 8 ohm cabinet school of thought in the past. These days I prefer 1x 4 ohm cabinet (with plenty of power handling) in a larger format but ideally with lightweight (neo) drivers. The reasoning being that it's always going to liberate the all the amp's power (assuming a 4 ohm minimum load) which means you shouldn't easily run out of headroom. I'd rather turn down a system with too much potential than wish I hadn't left the second cab in the spare room... (For reference, I have an old 450w Markbass head and a Schroeder 21012L, which is about ¾ the size of a standard 4x10 and weighs 41lb. Both were second- hand)

(It was from Kent. It took 1 day to get from me back to them.) And the item was not sold as as advertised. I've no confidence in them whatsoever. You may think that's unreasonable. I don't.

Don't bother with this company. Just. Don't. Got an e-mail on 12th Mar; "You're eligible for a refund!" As though I'd won some sort of prize. Timeline; 26th Feb- Ordered. 27th Feb- Received. 29th Feb- Dispatched for return. 1st Mar- Bax received the return. Didn't acknowledge it. (Various emails and phone calls ensue) 12th Mar- Email to confirm that I'm entitled to a refund. Maybe another 14 working days. So I'm looking at 28th Mar before I might get my money back. They'll have had my funds for 31 days at that point. Hmmm. Get some interest on that, did you? Lump it together with everyone else's pending refunds for a month and get some interest on that, did you? And let's not forget that they're at fault for selling me faulty goods that weren't as described in the first place.. 😡

It wouldn't hurt if it helped people make better/more appropriate purchasing decisions! I've never needed to purchase any pickups. But from what I can recall seeing, they only quote things like DC resistance, Resonant frequency, wire gauge and maybe how many windings there are. Yes, they quote magnet material, but field density/ strength? Don't think I've seen that.

I take your point. It might be nice if manufacturers measured/ declared such specifications?