Painy

[quote name='bagsieblue' timestamp='1403285307' post='2481550'] How easy would it be to remove - would there be any lasting 'damage' (for want of a better word) if removing? [/quote] You can literally just peel it off no problem at all. The adhesive doesn't even leave much residue behind either. The tricky part in avoiding damage is actually in the application. When I stuck it on it was actually wrapped further round towards the back of the bass (if that makes sense) and I then had to cut it all round the edge free hand using a scalpel. The secret is to score the vinyl deeply enough that when you tear the excess away it follows the cut, but not so deeply that you go right through and scratch the body. Maybe I should start offering this as a service

Cheers guys. Gig tomorrow night so get to put it under live scrutiny!

My standard Corvette in bubinga but with a DIY revamp. Always loved the sound but found the plain dark brown of the wood a bit boring so a bit of self adhesive vinyl off eBay and here you go. It's not perfect especially up close but I reckon, to the untrained eye and from a few feet away, I should get away with it. Seeing as it's a fake blonde though does this actually make it a peroxide blonde? Anyway, be good to hear what people think.

Line6 Lowdown LD150 ticks all the boxes. Even has a few built in effects to pay around with. 150w might be more than you need for a home practice amp but but at that power should be okay for band rehearsals too!

Personally I prefer the bright sound of new roundwounds. This thread has reminded me though of a story I read in a bassmag years ago about an interview with Jamerson in which he was asked which strings he used to get his distinctive tone. To which he apparently replied "I have no idea. What strings do Fender fit in their factory?"

Used to run a line6 bass pod xt pro using the SVT emulator through a qsc audio power amp and always thought it sounded great.... Until I replaced it with my current 'real' Ampeg rig!

Last one I saw was a Guns 'n' Roses tribute. 'Duff' was about 6'8", built like a brick sh*t house and was bald with a bushy beard but tried to look the part by wearing a very cheap looking blonde wig in a Jennifer Anniston style cut which was pretty hilarious (clearly tongue in cheek mind you). The singer was pretty good for most of the first half but then started to lose his voice so that by the end he sounded like a chipmunk with a sore throat. Did have a bloody good laugh though even if it didn't sound that great.

Don't think you can really quantify which instrument is easier as such.what you can often say though is that one piece of music may be easier to play than another. As a bass player that has been playing for 19 years with over 1000 gigs under my belt but also just messes around on guitar a bit, I would say that playing Wonderwall on guitar is quite easy but Metropolis by Dream Theatre is pretty tricky on bass. On the other hand, I could probably play Running with the Devil with one hand whilst simultaneously making a sandwich with the other and yet if I tried to play He Man Woman Hater by Extreme on guitar it would sound like I'd just dropped the guitar down the stairs! I'd say choosing an instrument because it appears easier is probably not the best way to choose 'your' instrument (otherwise we'd live in a world full of gazoo players). Having said that, I originaly took up bass at a friend's suggestion because it had less strings and you don't need to learn chords and by happy accident out turned out to be the right instrument for me. Turns out though that a knowledge of chords is actually pretty essential for constructing bass lines in the right key so ended up having to learn them anyway and I now play a 6 string bass. Go figure! In a nut shell, his reasons for wanting to play bass may be flawed but once he has a go he might fall in love with bass and become the next Jaco and even if he doesn't then a working knowledge of the other instruments you play alongside in your band is never a bad thing anyway.

If I compare my Cort A6 to the 5 string Warwick Steamer Stage 1 it replaced I'd say the Warwick was maybe 20% better overall (across tone, looks playability and build quality). The tone I can easily compensate for by tweaking the eq on my amp. Looks are very subjective anyway and I can quite frankly live with a little less flaming in the maple. Playability is the area hardest to get around but fortunately in the this case also the area with the smallest difference between the basses. Build quality may not be quite up to Warwick's standard but I by no means get the impression that the Cort is ever likely to fall apart on me. Given a 20% difference in quality but that the Cort is just 20% of the cost (around £800 or less for the Cort or well over £4000 for the Warwick) I'm far less inclined to worry about high end bases these days and concentrate on providing the low end. Having said all that I really really want a Ken Smith!

When it has piccolo strings on it?

[quote name='winterfire666' timestamp='1399115056' post='2441152'] some really cool stuff, that orange rig is so ott, its gotta be an acoustic nightmare though [/quote] I suspect those are mostly dummy cabs. Any one of those 8x10 cabs should move enough air to set your trousers flapping on its own. Still, as the OP said, purely on aesthetics, I kinda like it!

Let me see.... Another Ampeg 1x15 classic cab. Warwick pro series 6 string corvette. Bass Mods K6 in white, maple board, black block inlays, black hardware and pick guard. Complete new set of hardware in black and a pro set up for my 5 string corvette. Some purple Dunlop tortex jazz pics - the only thing on my list I can actually afford right now!

Cheers guys. I'll check these out.

Picked up my Warwick at a gig the other week only to find that the volume pot is broken. It rotates but the volume doesn't turn up. Checked the obvious to see if the grub screw on the knob was loose but it seems the pot itself is broken so now need to replace it. After searching online I can only find replacement knobs and as this is a push pull pot to switch the active electronics, I can't just put a generic replacement in so easily. Any suggestions on where I can get a replacement part or will I have to resort to contacting Warwick direct?

[quote name='HowieBass' timestamp='1391947696' post='2362829'] This is an active bass but it's a neck-through and Corts do get a lot of love from those who aren't label snobs http://www.cortguitars.com/en/product/a4-1 [/quote] I have the six string version of this bass and it is a hell of a lot of bass for the money. Can't recommend it highly enough!

Played a 5 string one of these in translucent honey in a music shop about 15 years ago. Was about 5 or 6 hundred quid at the time new if I remember rightly. Do remember thinking at the time it felt like a more expensive bass than that. Never tried it through an amp though so can't really comment on the sound.

Back when I was a teenager and my band was doing really well on the local pub scene we noticed that another local band made up of lads who'd been in the year below us at school and came to see us play regularly, were playing almost the same set as us. Didn't work too well for them though as they played the same places as us and the punters soon noticed and started joking that they were just a tribute to our band. Ironically though, years later, their drummer joined our band and played with its for about 3 years.

I remember the guy who produced one of my band's CDs talking about the production on Marilyn Manson's albums and how the guitars were kept very crunchy and bass light to create separation from the bass and kick drum which actually made the music sound heavier! I think a lot of the time the lack of bass in the mix on recordings is laziness. The producer assumes the listener will be less interrested in the bass than the guitars and so doesn't bother with it so much (unless its some stupid point being made by the rest of the band like ....And Justice For All of course)!

Why get rid of the Warwick? If you only want to use the Aria then fair enough but maybe just keep the Warwick in its case under the bed. Out of sight out of mind but there if you ever need it.

After selling my Streamer Stage1 5 string to raise some cash I decided to make the move up to a 6 string and used a 3rd of the proceeds to buy my Cort A6 Artisan. Now it may be pretty much Cort's top of the range bass but I'd still class Cort as a budget brand and its certainly more of a budget bass than the Warwick. I have to admit that the workmanship on the Cort is a bit less refined than the Warwick but I've actually found that I now prefer it. I love the piano like tones from the Barts, feels really comfortable to play and it's a decent looking instrument too!

I'd say that's over simplifying it a bit to be honest. Wal basses for example have a pretty distinctive and individual sound and I'm sure we could all name others too. As far as the list goes though, and just my opinion of course, if I had to describe the Ibanez sound in one word then the word I'd probably use would be generic! Thats not a criticism of Ibanez by the way, there's nothing wrong with versatility. Have to say too that the suggestion that Warwick should replace Ibanez in the list only works as far as you use Fender rather than Ps and Js. There's at least as much difference tonally between a Streamer and a Thumb as there is between a P and a J! Personnally, if I wanted to simplify things this much I'd actually go a step further and say there are just 3 main ones indicated by the pup type - P, J and Humbucker. After that you can often find as much difference between individual basses of the same make/model as you can between brands! As it is though I'd just rather not simplify it that much

As a 15 year old turned up at Kings Lynn working men's club to play my 3rd ever gig to be greeted with a sign on the door saying 'Due to the increase in drug taking and violence, patrons are required to leave the premises by 11.15PM'! Then spent the whole gig being heckled by a bloke who had, for reasons known only to himself, attached a condom to his forehead! It wasn't all bad though. Half way through the second set our lead guitarist started running around the stage like a loony which inspired the rest of us to show a bit more enthusiasm and in turn managed to get the crowd a bit more engaged. Learnt an important lesson about showmanship that night. Years later mind you our lead player confessed he'd actually forgotten how to play the song and was just running across the stage to get a look at the rhythm player's chord sheet! Played a pub in Ipswich once to a total crowd of two blokes.... They had a fight! To be honest I quite like a bit of 'spit and sawdust' in a venue!

Personally I like the bright sound of new strings but have freakishly acidic sweat (new strings will sound dead by the time I've finished a 2 hour gig!). I just boil my strings in a saucepan of water for 20 minutes then wipe them down thoroughly with a cloth before every gig and they sound like new - at least until the next gig. Disclaimer:- it is advisable to have a special saucepan reserved for this purpose as using one of the good pans to boil dead skin cells and grease out of your strings may result in the missus smacking you over the head with aforementioned pan!

I used to play with a band called the Floating Greyhounds who drew their name out of a hat. Apparently the other two names in the hat were Squeeky Pidgeon and Salty Badger. One of my greatest regrets is never having had the opportunity to play in a band called Salty Badger!