markorbit

This is now sold pending payment.

I wouldn't mind trying a Precision (maybe even a P/J) with an Ebony fingerboard. Been thinking about building a parts bass for a little while. Maybe with a P-Retro.

But then I remember that I love the newer 2008+ Fender maple necks with the rolled edges and lacquer and wonder if I should really gamble on a parts bass when a nice Fender sunburst / maple is already available.

But building your own bass could be very rewarding. I do like how most Warwicks seem to have an acoustic 'soft/warm/absorbent' tone to my ears, which I associate with the Wenge/Ovangkol thing they have going on.

Edited for adding location in original post. A few nibbles so far but nothing concrete. If this doesn't go soon it is going to Europe. BuMp.

I'm also interested in these little rigs for the home. Well, the Ampeg ones.

At the moment I'm edging towards the micro vr stack. I love the classic SVT look and I'm yet to be convinced by the tone/feel of Class D amps. The Micro VR is solid state/mosfet and gets plenty of kudos on Talkbass.

Having said that, the PF series also looks great. I heard the PF350 has a preamp based on the Micro VR and the PF500 is based on the SVT 7 Pro.

I used to have an Ibanez Musician that I think had an ebony board. Don't remember it too well though...

Agreed that maple seems aggressive and snappy (sometimes good), rosewood is soft and bloomy (sometimes good), graphite is precise and even (sometimes good!) but I think ebony could be the magic choice for a good all-rounder. I'm thinking it may be a woodier-sounding 'graphite' which would suit me. Not much help I know but if it sounds as it looks...

I think you can trust Jon and any colleagues he may have to safely take care of your basses. I've dealt with Jon on two occasions and he knows his stuff.

Dingwall or Roscoe come to mind. I've been doing a fair bit of research myself on a 5ver around that price point. The Dingwall in particular looks an interesting concept that makes logical sense.

[b]No longer available[/b]

Anyone interested in a Mesa D180 all valve head? It's from 1982 with switchable graphic. It has the ability to cascade the input channels so you can do this unique to this model thing by lowering the Master and increasing the gain on one channel to get some proper cool overdrive. Don't think you can do that with the 400+.

I'm thinning the herd and have no need for it anymore. At a guess it's 180 watts (but I've read it's 200). Runs on 6L6s.

Condition-wise it's pretty good - most noticable from the front are some scratches on the front handles. Back casing has a few as the photos double highlight.

Just been testing it and the pots are slightly noisy and would benefit from a clean but it hasn't been used for ages so that may just disappear with regular use. Fan has two speeds.

Pickup from Doncaster preferred but could look into shipping. £430 + shipping. Or try me with an offer.

PM'd.

Old school Trace gear is great. I've just sold all of my last pieces and I'm not sure that I'm not going to regret it. Sure it has a certain signature sound but what a sound. Great for punchy, springy, funky rounds IMO! If I wasn't chasing the tube tone in a smaller box I'd still be a Trace user without doubt.

[quote name='Strife34' post='1143589' date='Feb 27 2011, 05:39 PM']I'm looking at advancing from 4 string to 5 string and wondering what was a good bass to get around £300 - £450[/quote]

I was really impressed by a used Cort A5 when I tried it. Nearly bought it. It's at Electro Music Doncaster. They have fairly close string spacing but I found it good for fingerstyle.

Yes, I'm on the same trip... very hard to let each one go but once gone you realise you won't really miss that one. And you worry one bass less about setups and strings etc, which is good.

I've recently switched to 5vers and now I just can't see my four stringers the same as I used to which makes things a little easier.

I want to get down to two basses - I know I will always gas for a P-type (so I have a Lakland Glaub 5) and the other will be pokier with plenty of warm articulate mids, maybe a Dingwall as they really intrigue me at the moment.

But er... yes, I'm selling as well, honest. Think I have about eight still.

I think I'm heading that way soon... just gotta decide which Dingwall. Considering letting go of a few basses and possibly going for a Z3 but even the more affordable ones look like exceptional basses.

I would leave the preset off as that will always have the Trace signature tone all over it.

The 12 band eq is very versatile. For Motown try a [b]fine[/b] cut curve cutting the top end from 2.6k onwards. Cut out some mids around 340hz and adjacent sliders to taste and give a slight bass boost around 60/100. If you need more 'body' put some 180hz back. 660hz is good for definition too.

As a recent convert to 5 strings I now find 4 string basses somewhat incomplete - almost like being used to 4 but then having 3.

There are other advantages to having a wider neck - it is more natural to me to adapt to better fingering technique.

Of course you don't [i]need[/i] the 5th string, but I really like all the options that open up when it's there, not to mention the extra low notes.

I have this exact bass (plus flats and ashtray) and I love mine. So comfortable to play.

It looks all wrong to me, like it's back to front or something :-)

Just looking at the logo - is that right about leftys not having the words 'Precision Bass' on there? I never knew that.

I like SB maple P basses. Does look very clean/pale for it's age.

I would avoid the big weighty SVT-type 2/300 watters. I think that area is well covered by Ampeg and Ashdown at the moment. Lots of players are also avoiding weighty amps these days as well. My recommendation would be look towards a studio/practice boutique rig with sound quaility the #1 criteria. It needn't be more than 30watts. My old Trace V4 200w combo had about 10 preamp tubes and it sounded great (warm and valvey) at really low volume. I would like to see a valve compressor on board as well. I would prefer to see a great sounding amp that's controllable than one you need to turn stupidly loud to find it's tone. Even some people with SVTs take their Markbass to the gig. Aim for the studio connoisseur!

Yeah it's not note for note but I like it none the less. Great tone too. Nice to hear a bass sound like a bass. Cool.

[quote name='LukeFRC' post='1053574' date='Dec 10 2010, 12:18 AM']my local guitarguitar has another one in at the moment. it's on their website.[/quote]

That's a slightly different amp.

+1 on his work with Kate Bush. Really inventive stuff that works. Marvelous player. If I ever took up fretless I'd have a good listen to John Giblin.

There was a lot of paperwork when I sent a bass from the UK to NYC and then back again for repairs. Things went ok in the end but I got the impression that if customs even *think* there is something amiss they won't hesitate to charge you.

What annoys me is when buying from the US you have to pay charges on the shipping costs in addition to the expected tax and customs charges. That doesn't seem fair and it's that kind of behaviour that would make me want to ahem, look at other options. I wouldn't want to risk the bass being confiscated though. I'd probably look to decrease it's value somehow and pay something on it but not get ripped.

I've never imported a bass whilst returning myself so wouldn't know the score there.

A Rickenbacker 4003? I would find a UK model as I don't think the prices are that outrageous here.

I've given this a spin today. I would say that it is a nice looking piece of kit, looks great in black. I always liked the 12 band EQ from my Trace days. Sound-wise it does put your bass into that tone area associated with JJ Burnel - in fact I found it hard to get out - the graphic didn't seem to be as effective as my Trace preamp on the low end. It doesn't do distortion but I like the way it handles once you get a bit of fret grind going. Whilst some amps start to protest and sound flappy and loose this one seems to sound better the more you hit it, almost compressed but in a good way.

The Harmonic Emphasis isn't my thing but if you like to add top-end sizzle and go for an earlier Burnel-style tone it's there.

I have a brand new 55-02 Deluxe that I haven't yet spent more than a couple of hours with. I've also recently rediscovered that I like my own Status S2 4 string so I could be up for a deal for another Status. The 55-02 is Deluxe (Quilted Finish), Three-Tone Sunburst and RW. If you fancy broadening your specs...

I owned a TC450 for a short time. Personally I didn't find the sound that I was looking for - and I don't go for sizzle I go for vintage. It was in good company as there are loads of other things I've tried that I decided weren't quite 'the one' either. Markbass F500 for instance. Both good amps.

Must confess though that I'm sure there is a bit of snake oil in evaluating amps for me. If it looks like it's gonna get warm then it's probably gonna get me the sound I want. The Class D stuff (especially something without a single tube) has to try a bit harder if you know what I mean.

Lovely set of features in one package all the same. I ended up looking at higher-end channel strips instead but if I was on a strict budget I could make a TC450 work for sure (although I'd probably choose an Ashdown or something).

However there are video clips of the TC450 where it sounds excellent.