bassmayhem

When it gets so "original vintage" it is unplayable, it gets rediculous. There are so many conaisseurs and collectors (by word, anyhow - usually they don't have the money to collect) out there who has the opinion that original is better. Well, it is. For a collector. But for a gigging musician the bass is a tool. It must be useable. Small chips of lacquer missing here and there is no problem, but when people rave and summon the gods to call down heavenly fire about broken pots being changed or a replaced saddle screw, well, then it gets really silly. Back in the days when DiMarzio, Mighty Mite and the very high end (then) Schecter started to sell retrofit parts, many old original lousy, sh*tty Fender basses were upgraded to serious playing machines. To be played. Think about Chuck Rainey's '57 (I think) P-bass he installed the 2-Tek bridge on to make it a better bass. Well, he did. So he can use it. And since it is his bass it surely won't have lesser value on the market. Due to provenience. Meaning: original or not makes no difference for the played instrument, just for the instrument that is hanging on a wall and worshipped... As for the Victorian table - when it no longer can be used as a table, then it is no table... OK, now you can hang me.

I know it's a cheap Squier and not the real deal, but it is a nice cheap Squier without all the issues these basses tend to suffer from. No problem intonating, no problem staying in tune. All stock for coffee money... [IMG]http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd169/bassmayhem/2016-08-24%20-%20Squier%20Vintage%20Modified%20Bass%20VI_zpsbbcdeu5p.jpg[/IMG] The case cost more than the bass...

My Star Bass 5 Pro Series, made in Korea. (For sale too...) [IMG]http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd169/bassmayhem/Warwick%20Star%20Bass%205%20Pro%20Series/2016-09-07%20Star%20fredagsbas_zpskxbitp3n.jpg[/IMG]

It really ended up a Wounded Paw...

If you for example switch between a J- and a P-bass you may have to kick in some low end on the J, or alter the mid for the P. Things like that. It is not an eq to add flavour, more like adjusting levels. Or kick in a slap tone or solo tone or something. I'll probably end up just using one switch: the Mute switch, and leave everything else be. I am also a "straight thru guy", but sometimes the room you play in does awkward things to the sound. I see the eq more as [i]a corrector of tonal anomalities in the room[/i].

Well, Now the Bassic has arrived. Compared to Goliath it is another animal. Goliath sets its tone in a creamy nice manner; the Bassic is more or less a channel strip from a mixing console with eq adapted for bass guitar. The premier gig will be a church concert backing a choir. Bassic into Bose-rig seems to be a good choice...

Goliath has had his first gig. Sounded very nice. Fender P'57 AVRI into the Goliath, then DI to mixer. Big, fat and juicy, not at all dirty like many tube preamps tend to be. Used the Max 12.2 and TKS cabs as my stage monitoring.

[quote name='Dan Dare' timestamp='1472134512' post='3118790'] Stop it, all of you. I'm a weak willed man and love new toys. Was happy with my Basswitch until I started reading this thread... [/quote] I am happy with my Basswitch too. They are different animals. One clean - one colouring, when comparing with the Goliath. I got it delivered today, a really nice present... I mean, even the box looks exclusive. Like Dior or Armani or something... ..but what was inside was much nicer. It is a sturdy piece of gear; my reach on the piano is from C to G one octave up (with a little stretching)... ...and finally a family picture. The sound, then... It is no overdrive pedal, just a warm, nice preamp with tube/valve crispiness and cuddling wooliness. If I was to describe the tone, well, a bit Bassman flavour, especially with the deep switch engaged. Premier gig on Sunday on an outdoor stage. I bring my "non sexiest" light weight amp, the Max 12.2 (to be able to drive my two 4 ohm TKS 2126) with the Goliath into the FET channel. Report later! On Tuesday the Bassics BPA-1 arrives...

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1471991078' post='3117570'] All you need now is a Grace FeLix to complete the set [/quote] The Felix is a nice piece of gear, but more suited to acoustic instruments. I got two preamps already that I use with my uprights: a Fishman Platinum Pro EQ/DI with my cheap but well sounding Stella plywood bass, and a Basswitch that I use with my big solid wood upright. It is strange; some gear mix well with one instrument and some with the other. The cheap bass has a Realist Copperhead pickup and sounds good. The same pup on the other bass sounded crap. I use a Realist Life Line on that bass instead, and that is a nice combo. The Goliath is for my four string "old school" basses and the Bassics for my more "hi-tech" 5-6 string basses. I will also use that one as preamp to my Bose rig for church gigs, where traditional speakers tend to boom a lot.

[quote name='moooper' timestamp='1471981441' post='3117479'] Yeah TKS look good trying one might be a problem. [/quote] You mean problem as in getting hold of one? Talking about tone is difficult, but I have never looked back. Even if the specs say that the 2126 isn't that effective - a physical effect of the frequency response etc - I would say it stands well in competition with the D410XLT. Eden measures at 1 kHz and TKS has three measuring frequencies. The cab goes LOW, so you can back off the low eq on your amp to gain headroom. But the icing on the cake is the 6" mid woofer that delivers the essentials in the bass tone. My cabs are without tweeters; no need for that. And 25 kg! 55 lbs! That's nice.

I had the same; got a TKS 2126 instead...

...to come. Jacques Ruppert, the father of the Basswitch, talked very warm about a valve preamp one of his friends build, so after some correspondence I ordered one. Behold: the WR Goliath Tube Bass Emphasizer DI. There are some sound clips on the website, also some video clips on the Youtube. [url="http://www.wra.lu/"]http://www.wra.lu/[/url] As if not this was enough, I also ordered Malcolm Toft's latest creation: the Bassics BPA-1 preamp. This is more like a channel strip with foot switches. There are no clips available yet, but there will be for sure. [url="http://bassics.co.uk/"]http://bassics.co.uk/[/url] A review will come as soon as I've toyed around with them a while. No - I haven't won on the lottery, just sold a heap of goodies, so they are long time paid for...

I traded my Fender Jazz for David's Pender Precision. David is a nice person to deal with. We just had some bad luck with our respective countries' Postal Services. It took TIME, but at last everything got to the final destination unharmed. I recommend doing business with David. Too bad he lives so far away for that beer we talked about...

A little playtime in the bass corner in the living room... [IMG]http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd169/bassmayhem/20160725_110246_zps4wmtct8j.jpg[/IMG] I used the STL900 as "clean amp" through two TKS S112. Then effects send to pedalboard sending left to Magellan 800 and one TKS 2126, and right to Max 12.2 and one TKS 2126. With tuner mute: just the Streamliner, tuner bypass: very rich stereo sound through a tad of chorus. Nice? Yes! For live use? No. Not at all!

I got this one; close enough? [IMG]http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd169/bassmayhem/2016-06-18%20-%20Warwick%20Star%20Bass%205%20Pro%20Series_zpsvlndshi7.jpg[/IMG] it might - just might - be for sale...

There are good cheap basses, a lot of them. But - when the companies first introduce an expensive domestic model and then start to manufacture them overseas in low cost countries and lower the prices, then the more expensive models also will follow the fall. As happened with Peavey. Peavey has tried to play in all different series, but will forever be associated with entry level. Check music stores; what brands sell the cheap stuff and expensive stuff? Fender, Yamaha, Ibanez and Warwick. Here in Sweden it is close to impossible to sell a Warwick bass for more than coffee money. Ibanez, well, you have to almost give them away. Peavey: you have to give them away. Fender: you can sell Am basses för Chinese prices. Anyway, the Millennium USA is the real deal for nearly no money...

Well, I find this beast being a real beauty... Tom Clement Anne - the prototype...

[quote name='Tubster' timestamp='1469115634' post='3095903'] I currently have a blue 5 string and it is magnificent. Interesting to note that Peavey's top of the line Cirrus ended up with the Millennium preamp as most players preferred it. Had a white 4 string and let it go - very foolish. Balanced well, played great and recorded magnificently. In addition, when I lived in the USA, I owned a Sarzo and a Cirrus and a T-40 - all of them just great. If I recall, the Millennium is a 35" scale. Peavey USA offerings are all excellent but their value is affected IMO by the plethora of cheap basses they produce and lack of endorsers and players. If you check the used section at Guitar Centre, they usually have a few USA and prices are going UP! [/quote] Yes, it is 35". One of the very few four strings out there with that scale. Here is the one I sold some time ago. I really liked the beautiful fingerboard, but the golden one is in much better condition. [IMG]http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd169/bassmayhem/20140625_211652_zpsfa1c5b89.jpg[/IMG] Peavey has unfortunately devaluated their own brand by "polluting" it with cheap Asian models with almost the similar model names and appearance. The same with Yamaha. From 10 feet away you can not tell the difference between an entry-level model and a professional. Which one is $3520 more expensive? No wonder they have NO status...

Hair spray...? Then, there is that thing in Sweden called Fy Spray that makes cats not like and avoid things sprayed. Don't know what it is called in English though.

This bass - cool or not - is a very well built instrument with pristine tone and feel. Just - wow!

The Mex sounds more... gnarly and middy. (All other dirt uncounted...)

...and the late Mike Porcaro.

The first P-bass I got was a Mexico Standard, a rather OK bass for the money. I bought it just to learn to like the P-bass, since I hated the tone of it. No pic's though... The next one was this MiM Classic '57, a rather stiff bass to play. Never liked it - let it go. My third was a 2006 Am Standard with S1 circuit gone and a Seymour Duncan pup installed. I loved this one, but got an offer I couldn't refuse. Have missed it ever since... OK, time to get another one to replace the missed black one. This old '78 showed up so I got it. A HEAVY s.o.b! Totally unplayable, so I sold it... I replaced it with a Japan Vintage '62, but that sucker sucked full time. I sold it expensive to a guy who appreciated it. Then I fell in love with this one, just because of the colour: jade pearl metallic! It was never as good as the black '06. I swapped it (and some other stuff) to get... ...this beauty: a US Lakland Bob Glaub PJ. It has been owned by one or several BassChatters before it arrived to Sweden where I got it. I have it equipped with a D-tuner... Here is my newly acquired 2007 '57 reissue... And I call myself a Jazz Bass guy. I own one, a precious '78, and that sucker is original from neck up with exception of refret and new saddle...