PsyBean

On 12/01/2021 at 12:00, NancyJohnson said:

Just from a curiousity perspective, what's the decision-making force at work here?

I'd side with @wateroftyne here, there's good ones and bad ones, so choose wisely and play a few before you pull the trigger.

Thanks all for some really good advice, the build your own is an attractive proposition, but probably for the future. My main driver is for recording work (precious little live work at the mo) and to see what I'm missing! I'm currently using Musicmans and a Jazz but want to dip into the fabled P-bass tone, not necessarily as my primary, go-to bass but to add the sound to my armoury. Who knows, I may get the bug but will take something to knock my USA Sterling off it's perch. Budget not really an issue providing I don't lumber myself with a dud so in this climate (buying blind), I agree with the advice that vintage is probs not the right option. @Lozz196 I saw the MIJs on Bass Direct and they might just fit the bill. Hmm, choices! 

12 minutes ago, OliverBlackman said:

Definitely don’t go vintage without trying. I’ve tried a ‘63, ‘67, and a ‘77 and only the ‘67 was any good (it was really good). It’s a minefield out there.

Doing some more digging, it does sound like vintage US examples can be variable so would agree to try first. MIJ models seem to be more consistent (and cheaper) so this might be the way to go.

So I’ve decided I probably need a p-bass in my life but do I go for new or vintage? If vintage, is there any truth to the horrors of the CBS years or is that a myth? Maybe the build quality of MIJ is the way to go or do I just get something brand new(ish)? In the depths of lockdown, getting about to try stuff is not really an option so I’m looking for opinions. Yes, I know there’s a ton of stuff on here already but it’s bewildering so at the risk of getting shot down in sunburst, thought I’d put the question out there again.

I can highly recommend the Musicman Sterling 5 which I think has the same neck but a slightly lighter and smaller body than the Stingray 5 (and looks nicer). Both have the same nut width of 44.5mm so are relatively compact 5 strings. I am lucky enough to have both but tend to always go for the Sterling, it's just so silky and playable. I also have a Jazz 5, which with a nut width of nearly 48mm and while having a tone to die for, feels like playing a gate post compared to the Musicman 5s. I hear the Ray basses are excellent too if the USA made MMs are over budget. That Cort bass looks great value, but I think the specs are wrong for a 5 string, quoting a nut width of 39mm, which sounds more like a 4 string, but happy to be corrected if anyone knows for sure.

On 30/09/2020 at 12:58, MSL Pro said:

Hi All,

Thank you to all who gave the new strings a try - we really look forward to hearing how you get on with them.  Just a quick update to let you know our promotion will be ending tomorrow at midnight! 

But watch this space, we plan to do something again soon!  

- The MSL Team

Set of LongEvo nickel plated 5s arrived today and fitted to Jazz 5 and FULL MARKS (bad pun) to Mark Bass for making the B & E string windings long enough to allow them to be roved through the body and sit correctly at the nut. I posted about Elixirs being too short about a year ago and have not found a suitable coated string since, until now. (And no, the Jazz bass is not 35" scale!). First pic shows Elixirs and the taper of the B & E sitting in the nut slot (causing intonation issues) and the second pic shows Mark Bass LongEvo B & E string taper starting past the nut. Only a few mm different but a world of difference in sound quality. Please don't change the spec!

Initial impressions are that the LongEvo's feel and sound great, time (and the return of gigs) will tell if they are durable. 

Has anyone tried out the Humboldt Simplifier Bass Station yet? Thinks it's fairly new, looks and sounds great but wonder how it compares to preamp/DI competition e.g Tech21, Aguilar, Darkglass etc.

https://youtu.be/EFXydwEkIgM

Yes, PM me. If you don’t want to share your mobile yet, that’s cool, we can PM each other. Whatever your happy to do but let’s discuss off this post!

Hi, yes still for sale.

You are very welcome to come and try it out. I’m not around until Monday evening though and then available on and off throughout the week, days and eves. Or next weekend. When is convenient for you?

Regards

David

For sale is a Gallien Krueger MB800 Fusion Head with genuine GK case, foot switch+lead, 2x speaker leads, mains cable and rack mount kit.

Stunning head, hugely versatile and very powerful delivering 500W into 8 ohms, 800W into 4 ohms. In excellent condition with original box and packaging. One minor mark on top of the case (see photo). I purchased this new a couple of years ago to drive 2x Vanderkley 210MNT cabs (which I am also selling elsewhere and will easily handle the 800W of this amp - see pic but not included in this price) and have gigged with it probably 3 or 4 times max. It has just proved overkill for my needs and I have only ever run it at a fraction of it's capability. I ended up using a small combo and this just came out for special occasions!

I have the original foot switch, lead and mains lead and will throw in 2x speaker cables. I also bought the rack mount kit, I think I tried it in a rack once and changed my mind!

Looks stunning at a gig - multi colour controls with switchable A/B gain, variable contour frequency and selectable presence and deep controls.

Check out all the specs at GK's website - https://www.gallien-krueger.com/mb-fusion-800-specs

Currently £969 at Gear4Music - https://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/Gallien-Krueger-MB-Fusion-800-Bass-Amp-Head/27SP?origin=product-ads&campaign=PLA+Shop+-+GENERIC&adgroup=GENERIC&medium=vertical_search&network=google&merchant_id=1279443&product_id=103417d1&product_country=GB&product_partition_id=753065957886&gclid=CjwKCAiAvonyBRB7EiwAadauqX1-Y0QfejfrfZrmycvCW_qAby8Qvdt3FRHkb9roFNPOzvPwLnVDzBoCjy0QAvD_BwE

You are very welcome to come and try. Ideally collection please from Barnet (North London/Herts borders) but happy to discuss courier at additional cost.

Check out a demo at - 

2x Vanderkley 210MNT 600W 8ohm cabs with custom Roqsolid covers in great condition.

I have previously put these up at £1000 but withdrew them cos they were just too nice. But lack of space and ongoing lack of use means that this time they just have to go. I've dropped the price to £800 for the pair to try and ensure they sell before I change my mind again! 

Hardly used since I bought them from a Basschat member here in April 2017, previous owner had them from new and also hardly used them so these are in great condition. A few minor transport scuffs, as shown in the pics.

They look and sound absolutely amazing, no buzzes or rattles just pure clean tone. If you need the specs, head over to Bass Direct   http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/MNT210.html where you will see these are £765 new each, with covers, so this represents a significant saving. Run as a pair, they can handle 1200W at a 4ohm so well suited to a high powered head. (And by complete luck, I'm selling a GK MB800 fusion head elsewhere - the perfect companion - as seen in one of the pics but not included in this price.)

Any questions, please ask. You are welcome to try out. Collection please, Barnet (North London/Herts borders). Thanks for looking.

12 minutes ago, bassace said:

Better an ace than a nob, perhaps?

Maybe but you can’t twiddle an ace! lol

For Sale, 2008 Musicman Stingray 5 H in Honeyburst.

Great condition fitted with Elixir nickel strings and comes in Musicman hard case including wipes, case key, branded cleaning cloth and branded strap. I have owned this from new and used regularly but have taken great care of it. Case is in excellent condition and is hardly used as bass lived and was transported in top quality Mono M80 case. Weight of bass is 4.9kg/10.8lbs. In case you need the specs:

• Finish: Honey Burst, with white pickguard and chrome hardware.
• Body: Select ash.
• Neck: High grade maple. Quartersawn for maximum stability. Back of the neck unpainted, hand oiled and waxed for a smooth satin feel. Music Man instruments are particularly so famous among musicians, because of the outstanding quality of their necks. The neck is a pleasure to grab, feels perfect to your hand and plays just fantastic!
• Scale: 34" (Standard long scale).
• Fretboard: High grade maple.
• Frets: 22, high profile, narrow width.
• Nut: 44,5 mm.
• Headstock: Natural.
• Tuners: Schaller BM, placed in the 4+1 design.
• Bridge: Original Music Man USA. Chrome plated, hardened steel bridge plate.
• Pickups: 1x Original Music Man USA humbucker, with white cover. With alnico pole pieces and additional phantom coil to cancel hum in all 3 positions (serial, parallel and single coil). A classic among the bass pickups, famous for its relentless punch and rocking character.
• Electronics: 1x volume, 1x treble, 1x mids, 1x bass, 3-way switch.
• Absolutely outstanding quality of selected woods, craftsmanship, handling and sound!
• The bass comes with a high-quality original Music Man USA hardshell case and factory accessories.

I am selling as I have just bought another Musicman 5 string and I only have room for so much. It has that wonderful Stingray growl with the added bonus of a super-tight low B.

I have inspected the bass very carefully and think it has 3 very minor marks, which I have photographed but are very hard to see. One mark is next to the lower heel, below the pick plate, one mark is inside the lower heel recess and one mark is on the upper heel just behind the strap button. I have marked these, any other apparent marks in the photos are dust/light reflections.

You are very welcome to come and inspect and try. I would prefer not to courier but happy to discuss costs if you know a safe way of doing this.

Thank you for looking, let me know if you need any further photos or info.

So, stretching the definition of a music item but definitely Bass related so hope this is ok here...

I am selling the UK vehicle registration BA55 NOB.

I have a pair of plates which I can send to you but obviously can't guarantee they will fit your car. More importantly, I have the V778 retention cert which I will assign to your UK registered car. This then becomes your registration and you can legally get plates made up as necessary. As the registered keeper of the vehicle, DVLA will also send you a new V5 (log book) and you will have sole rights to keep, reassign or sell the registration as you see fit. Details of how it all works are here:

https://www.gov.uk/personalised-vehicle-registration-numbers

This looks great on a car or van, doesn't need re-jigging to be MoT compliant and tells everyone everything they need to know about you! There have been many occasions loading in/out when it's been the topic of much conversation.

Selling because I no longer own my own vehicle and my wife refuses to have it on her car. Any questions, please ask.

36 minutes ago, ped said:

Hmm probably on the very edge of  'Other musically related' I reckon  The car can go in 'Other' though 🤣

Ok thanks.

Hi,

I am looking to sell a vehicle registration plate that has bass related letters/numbers. (I won't post it here). Can I use the "Other music related" forum or do I need to use the forum for lawnmowers and washing machines?

Thanks.

Bought a very tasty MusicMan from Steve, very friendly and helpful, did me a great deal and makes a cracking cup of tea.. Pleasure to have met you. 100% recommended.

I have the M80 double and it comfortably takes two, heavy 5 strings but it weighs a ton when loaded, although I only ever carry it from the car into a venue. Not sure I would want to subject the carry handle to that load for any length of time but it is well attached and seems up to the job and there's always the shoulder straps, although I still wouldn't want to walk too far. I think it would be a struggle on public transport. Very well made and protects both basses admirably. Makes packing the car a little trickier, it's easier to fit two single cases than one, massive double case but never had any real problem. Easy to access either bass singularly or have both sides open to access either bass quickly. One point to note, I have also used an M80 single regularly for about 5 years (depends on the kind of gig I'm doing) and the internal padding around the bridge end of the bass has all but given up the ghost. I've had to put my own padding in otherwise there is very little between the strap button and whatever surface it comes into contact with. Overall, very happy with both M80s.

On 21/08/2019 at 20:58, hooky_lowdown said:

So, what you're saying is you brought standard length strings, put them on a through-body and they were too short. And you didn't buy longer length strings (for through-bodies) because? Or did I miss something?

Thanks for that. Ernie Ball long scale strings fitted fine when roved through-body, Elixir long scale strings did not. Elixir don't appear to give the distance from ball-end to taper of their long-scale strings so I wouldn't realistically know that they would be shorter than the Ernie Ball strings. An extra-long scale Elixir string would be too long as there would be no taper before the tuning peg, not ideal. There's an excellent article here https://www.stringsdirect.co.uk/blog/how-to-measure-bass-scale-length/ so while I may not have properly understood scale and speaking length, I'm satisfied that I've bought the right length of strings. Elixir don't sell an extra-long scale 5 string set anyway so I'd be having to make up a bespoke set, which seems a bit strange for pretty common Fender Jazz. Despite my woeful ignorance, the folks at http://www.stringsdirect.co.uk/ have been excellent.

So full marks to Paul at Strings Direct for responding really positively on this and offering to help me out and speak to Elixir. Many thanks.

Dropped Elixir people a line, hoping they’ll look into this, only a slight mod required. Tuning holds fine, it’s the damage I’m worried about. The core will never be truly straight again and integrity must be compromised to some degree. 

One of the selling points of the American Elite Jazz is the through-body roving but have to conclude Elixirs are not suitable for this. Restrung all 5 strings through the bridge but there is an obvious kink on every string just past the bridge. You can just make it out on the E string in the pic above. This must affect tuning and integrity so this set will have to go. I have to be able to trust my strings!

So, bit of experimenting; restrung the E string through the bridge which results in the small diameter change being about 30mm closer to the peg and past the nut. The overtone has gone! Obviously will have to restring all the others through the bridge and a bit concerned that this will stress the saddle kink created from having been strung through the body. There is about 30mm more string length required when stringing through the body. Think I've now probably ruined this £50+ set for any serious use.

Moral of the tale appears to be; Don't string Elixirs through the body of a Fender Jazz V, they are too short!!! Possibly same for other through-body bridges.

I've discovered a bit of an anomaly with Elixir strings on a Fender Jazz V American Elite.

I noticed a buzz/overtone on the E string so took a closer look and it turns out the string diameter is not consistent for the whole length of the string. This is in addition to the obvious diameter change between the nut and tuning peg. There is a second drop in diameter about 10mm before the obvious size change and when stringing the bass through the body at the bridge, means that this additional small diameter change occurs before the nut on the E string and on the nut on the B string. I've measured the E string accurately with a micrometer and the diameter is 0.1042” for the length of the string from the bridge, reducing to 0.0930” just before the nut then 0.0687” for the last length to the post. The string is described as being 0.1050” so is marginally under size but I guess within tolerance. You can just make out the diameter change in the photo and appears to be the cause of the overtone. Clearly this will have the effect of lowering the action on the E string but the overtone is not fret buzz. The overtone does disappear if I apply light pressure to the E string at the nut.

The strings are normal long scale and purchased from a very reputable source. I used Elixirs on a Stingray 5 to great effect so decided to fit them to my Jazz V but they don't seem to fit properly when stringing through the body. The overtone makes them unusable for anything other than practice and they're not cheap! Other strings, such as Ernie Balls are fine.

Has anyone else come across this?

Thanks. 

3 hours ago, Al Krow said:

That looks pretty similar to my first bass which I picked up for around £200 including case, early 2000s. I don't think they go for a great deal these days maybe £75 to £150 depending on condition:

 

Looks pretty similar, although yours looks like it’s badged “SLS series electrics” wheras mine is badged “XRB series electrics.” Any idea what the difference might be, I haven’t a clue?

My first ever bass was Hondo II Precision copy bought from a mate at school. Ended up defretting it, painting it metallic blue then eventually throwing it in the skip. But I have to concede, it launched me on a 40 year voyage of fun, friends and discovery!