Twincam

If i did have to pick one it would be Heard it through the grapevine. However here are a few of my other favs. I've tried not to pick ones that come up commonly.

First up Damaged goods by Gang of four. Always thought the bass had a certain edge to it.

2nd is Uncertain smile by the excellent TheThe. A pretty good example of a simple baseline with a nice rounded tone.

Very nice! 

Think you made the right decision on colour. Dare I say natural looking ash finishes to me can look a little dated. Classic black looks alot fresher and has a certain classy look. 

30 minutes ago, songofthewind said:

Ok, thanks for that. I figured it would be tight, but it looks like it's not worth it for the gain. 

Do you find, like me, that you have learned more about musical instruments from fixing damage than anything else?!

Well I suppose practice does make perfect 😀.

On 12/09/2018 at 13:41, songofthewind said:

I've got a Sub Ray 4 in my arsenal, and I think it is a really great bang for the buck. To get one for cheap is even better.

As an inveterate fixer-upper, I am very curious to know: how deep into the neck was the truss rod?

I was toying with the idea of slimming down the neck on mine, about 1.5mm, maybe you can clue us all in on the internal construction of the neck!

 

In the last pic in Toms original post (pic 4). You can get an idea of the depth.

Where the end of the truss rod acts is directly below where there is two breaks vertical and horizontal as seen from above in pic 3. I think its fairly thin there. It looked like the truss rod contributed to the break when the shock happened. 

If you take off a very small amount from the entire circumference of the neck, including the frets and roll the board. It will feel much slimmer. Rather than say slimming it down from the back maybe. I just feel around the neck area is a weak point and 1.5mm might be too much. 

Well those were work in progress pics. I think it turned out a little better in the end. But considering the break was not just one clean snap and had multiple places that needed attention I was pleased. Especially as the break was right over where the truss rod acts!

If it was a painted or heavily lacquered finish the repair would be completely invisible. 

Anyhow glad I could help. And get a very good action to boot. 

Can you take a pic of the loose paint ? 

11 hours ago, Barking Spiders said:

Aren't low-mid price Ibanez actually made by Cort?  For my money Ibanez (SR) basses come into their own around the £800 mark, at current GAK prices. Under that, pound for pound I'd opt for Cort 's own basses over Ibanez 

That depends on if you'd prefer the SR shape or not. I've not had enough experience with Cort's own models to say there better than similar proced Ibanez models although I have seen two Cort basses with tottally broken truss rods.

Discovered Talking heads in my teens, in the mid to late 90s. Found some old cassettes belonging to my mam. Liked the artwork on the Little creatures album and thought would give it a go. I wore that tape out. 

They always had great lyrics and a interesting sound. 

And as already mentioned in the thread Tina Weymouth is a underrated bass player. 

41 minutes ago, Daveox said:

Thanks all for the replies, much appreciated 

i just have one question/ observation.......no one seems to have mentioned Ibanez who do a lot of guitars in my price range, is there no love for Ibanez or is there’s just better with other brands. Noted it’s opinion I was just curious

A used sr500 is a very good buy imo. Ones in good condition can go for less than half price of a new one, I bought one last year for the price of a sr300. Speaking of which the sr300 feels nice and the electrics are ok but nothing special. Good choice if you like a very slim neck. 

The lower to mid range Ibanez models don't seem to be very fashionable at all, despite them being decent instruments. And they have poor resale value compared to alot of other brands. Shame really. 

On 06/09/2018 at 20:38, leschirons said:

After stripping my SR5, I'm looking at my USA SUB. I know that if I strip it, it'll de-value it as  they were only ever painted as far as I am aware however, if it's a keeper, does that really matter?

Anyone ever looked beneath the surface of one of these?

Here is exactly what could be under there. These are the poplar sub bodies from the usa factory, taken in 2004. Note the different coloured wood one at the top. That's not one half stained or anything that's literally two very different shades together. The rest in the pile are not great either.

This was one of the cost saving measures along with the textured finish that didn't need much finishing work (if any), and the non mm stamped bridge and the use of ping non branded tuners which are the company that make the mm stamped grover tuners. Unfortunately the cost cutting measures didn't work and they had to stop production of that bass. 

1 minute ago, drTStingray said:

Aren't the hot pick up/pre amp ones made in China whereas the newer ones are made in Indonesia - the newer ones have been about for quite a while? You are right, the headstock logos are a giveaway (without the big SUB logo are the newer ones). I think SBMM published a fix for the hot ones anyway?

Im not sure but if ordering online who knows which one you will get. Be lucky if online they update pics too or know which is which. As said the one I tried was not the updated version and it was brand new, in a very well known store and online store. 

The published fix I've read helps but doesn't fully resolve the issue it's more a work around. There's something wrong when you buy a bass and have to fix it right away, they new about the issue for years. For the non knowledgeable up to date buyer I think it was a poor show. Especially when the ray34 is a decent quality instrument.

1 hour ago, drTStingray said:

These now have a different pre amp and no longer have that issue - apparently like the Ray 24, the pre amp has some elements of similarity with/have some derivation from the Old Smoothie design (though that one has the period correct epoxy covering). 

They sound and play pretty well for an entry level bass.  

There ok (ray4). Never tried the ray24 but there supposed to be much better like the ray34 is. Was thinking of getting the ray24 myself at one point as prefer a thinner neck. They have much improved hardware etc from the ray 4's very budget hardware. 

Shops are still selling the older hot pickup basses though. I tried one very recently. And you don't know if you will get the new pre one if you buy new online. So for the people thinking of getting one best maybe to hold off till the new headstock design ones are in stock, unless you can go try one in store. 

5 minutes ago, steantval said:

My main bass is a MM Stingray, just purchased the Sub as a back up bass.

Cool. I'm a stingray fan.

1 minute ago, steantval said:

Just done a spur of the moment purchase tonight, just ordered one in Walnut with a Rosewood neck from Andertons.

We are talking about the a different bass. In this case the USA made Ernie ball Musicman sub basses. Which were made with USA electrics from the sr classic and in the same factory.

What you bought was a Sterling sub ray4 which is cheaper far east made bass. Which don't share any parts from the usa stingrays. There a decent budget bass although the hot pickup issue put me off them. 

Musicman has a stupid naming system! There's usa sterling basses. And there is the company Sterling (far eastern made). There different things altogether.

28 minutes ago, Mykesbass said:

Didn't they use basswood for these? I know they did for some of the high end, solid finish guitars like the Luke. Or is basswood another name for poplar?

No there definitely poplar it's a fairly well know spec. 

Basswood is used on the bongos I believe. 

8 hours ago, BaggyMan said:

Decided in the end to upgrade the pre amp.  Found an intesresting pre-amp that is a 4 knob two band...going for that

 

May I ask what pre amp have you chosen? 

Stripped the rear of the neck on mine. Thought it was very easy. Maple of course but not a select cut at all. 

From pics I've seen stripping the body and having it natural is not the best idea although results vary. Best either paint over the existing finish, and if keeping the textured effect will need little prep work and little finishing work. Or flatten or strip and paint a solid colour 

Its also debatable if these may go up in value somewhat. People seem to like these and they have a small following. I was going to fully refinish mine and do the headstock with mm stingray decal. However just in case they become some sort of collectable I will hold off. 

22 hours ago, Daveox said:

Hi all, I’m considering a Hofner ignition bass, the Chinese version at around £250, it seems cheap in £ ? Anyone got one? Any good? Are they versatile or just Beatles type music? 

Seem to good to be true!

I bought one for my now ex girlfriend. 

Good Hofner sound no sound block like some of the newer models. Needs decent strings, as ones they come with are cheap garbage! 

Versatility wise well it's a Hofner sounding, semi acoustic bass so obviously it's not anywhere near as versatile as other completely solid body bases. Personally I would say the versatility is poor if you consider the broad spectrum of music. However they can do a lot of genres such as any 50s a lot of 60s genres pop, blues, country, some classic rock, Motown, and of course most beetles stuff. After that it's maybe a bit more hit and miss ive seen them do punk and well! But thats woth alot of distortion. I mean obviously you can play any type of bass to any music but the hofner sound is very distinctive even with quality bright roundwounds they still sound like a hofner. 

Build wise they are ok. However my (ex) girlfriend's came delivered unplayable, frets all over the place! I sorted that instead of sending it back to the store. I'm sure mileage will vary on fret level quality and never heard anyone else having that issue, but it happened. And after a year or so the cheapo bridge collapsed. Other that they are built fine for the price and I'm sure would last a long time.

16 hours ago, lemmywinks said:

If I had £300 max to spend on a bass then this would be my first choice:

https://www.thomann.de/gb/marcus_miller_v3_5_ts.htm

4 String for £237

https://www.thomann.de/gb/marcus_miller_v3_ts.htm

 

These seem pretty decent for the price. 

4 hours ago, Barking Spiders said:

I got my excellent SUB Ray 4 for £289 but nowadays most dealers are selling them for £320 -300 though I see Andertons, Thomann and PMT Online are offering just under £300. All reviews I've read have been positive  and I concur. I'd say considering the quality of build and playability Sterling are robbing themselves

I wanted so much to like these. But the hot pickup issue really put me off. Apparently the new ones coming out with the headstock decal change have fixed the issue.

£300 pounds will get you a pretty decent used bass something that was once £450+ to maybe even £600 if lucky. So a step up in quality. 

2 hours ago, MWH said:

You mean the guy who ''makes'' wide necked guitars for chubby fingers ?

Indeed. And I shall let him hack the compensated nut to nothing with a junior saw. "To aid fretting in the first few positions" as he would say. 

Actually nothing against the guy. But why doesn't he buy more suitable tools, And do more sensible modifications?

3 hours ago, Sibob said:

Musician does well for himself by having fun.

Branded a nob for no other reason.

Makes sense 🙄

Si

Now I did say fair play to him. And I have nothing against him personally as such and I think he has talent! I really mean that too. I will even say his video are well made and he has a talent for that production side too.

I just don't appreciate his approach to the videos. The acting up to the camera I suppose like there made to get just silly likes and making money, they feel hollow to me despite the good production and his excellent imo playing. 

Maybe buying a generic screw from eBay. 

If you Google all sorts of screws for instrument parts it can be difficult to find them. Say I googled pickup screws for a Yamaha xxxxx model no chance. However eBay is better at searching like that it seems to me and if still no luck you know the screw dimensions so buying a generic is easier. 

10 minutes ago, ambient said:

I was merely repeating what the lady in the post office said.

It's ok I didn't take it any other way. I just thought might be useful for people to know the score on posting via parcelforce. As it's not easy to fully know what exactly is and isn't included. 

What I've found with posting many instrument related things in different areas Ive lived, that in each post office they will say a slightly different thing! The do have in common one thing.... That there are all adamant there correct haha. 

In any case i would of replied (very politely I may add) to the lady that this isnt a musical instrument but actually a bag. 

22 minutes ago, ambient said:

Parcelforce insurance doesn’t cover instruments. I had to send a gig bag back to the distributor a few months ago. I booked the postage online and took it wrapped up into the post office, the lady  at first was reluctant to accept it.

Yes they do. They cover damage only up to £100 pounds which ismt great however losses are fully covered. Must be packaged in a hard case. There not covered for enhanced compensation but yes they are certainly are eligible for insurance. I believe max loss is £2500 I could be wrong there. 

When you book with them on certain sites like parcel2go they actually clarify this better than the parcelforce site.

From parcelforce site

Please note that musical instruments will only be covered up to the maximum amount of inclusive compensation included with the service and no enhanced compensation can be purchased on these items.

7 minutes ago, BreadBin said:

I have shipped a number of bass guitars and other items fairly recently using Parcelforce with no problems at all, save for a small delay during the snowy season. 

They come to pick up from my work address and bring labels. 

I haven't paid for extra insurance as none of them have had hard cases but always pack well, double boxed and with plenty of padding. 

No help to you @Dood I am sorry, but feel Ia should point out not all couriers are useless. 

I get the insurance with them no matter what. It costs more but psychologically I think (or is that hope!) it's more likely to be treated with respect. Plus of course if something does go wrong then  there more likely to help and you should be covered.