Twincam

Not had many pedals this year. But loving my new to me DHA vt1 bass valve drive standard, a very very good pedal imo much better than some three times more expensive. It can be subtle or fairly full on and everything in between nearly. Not perfect but at well under £100 bargain! I mean that as well.

YES And as said already what a kind and unselfish thing to do.

Well technically they should stay in tune however I have done a lot of intonating and unless you have a very good strobe tuner which I do indeed have it's hard to get everything that perfect. I don't care what people say your bog standard tuner will only do so well which normally is very good! But not perfect. And yes if your strings are old then it can effect stability, I've noticed this doing a lot of setup work, old strings and strings that have been messed around with, can but not always act in strange ways. After intonation make sure the strings are nicely seated by pressing down with your thumb above the saddle, you will need to retune etc but ensures that it's not a seating issue. Which again from experience happens often on fender bridges, Less so on the threaded type.

Not any particular bass tho there's no perfect bass, here are some things that annoy me. Any pickups that dip in volume when you blend them etc, why on earth in this day this is still a problem I don't know, on passive basses I can accept this almost as that's just how the physics go. But on modern active basses that still do this there's no excuse for output dipping. Fender style bridges especially low mass bent bit of tin, they work but are crap compared to many other designs and they look outdated too. Don't get me started on the saddles. The old Gibson, Epiphone 3 point bridge oh dear looks alright but so wrong in so many ways thankfully Gibson now use a slightly updated version. Tuners are a big problem too surely nowadays tuners should have micro gears and machined, designed to not have any backlash in the gears, yet on many basses the tuners are a big let down. Makes accurate tuning just that little more difficult. Fender E and A string break angle tension problems at the headstock,, angle the neck or put on a string tree please. This is solved by stringing up with plenty of wraps round the post but come on. This especially effects people going from higher to lower gauge where the nut is cut for the larger strings more break angle really helps. 1/4 jacks the design is getting on a bit now cheap to manufacture but surely there's a better standard that is a bit more robust. And maybe you can sens more signal down so you can do stereo on one cable etc. Very inconsistent fret material, I work on frets a lot, and the variation in metal consistency from fret to fret on the same guitar is terrible. Stainless steel frets are much more consistent. Seems many manufactures will buy in any old rubbish. Glued in nuts, why are these still on high end basses? Surely they can be screwed in and adjustable cheapish design out there. Neck plates that don't have separate screws holding them in place it's not a big issue but it's annoying when you take off many necks.

Yes in my first year or so of playing I sold basses that looking back where fine it's the fact I had a combination of wrong strings and bad technique. Actually I still struggle with some strings and it depends on a song by song basis so if a bass is sensitive to different strings I will get rid even though it's really just me. But genuinely some models are sensitive to different strings, string age etc. Also fender bridges imo (non string through) seem too not like old strings and can sound funny, maybe the break angle affects this. Flats seem a good way too go, and the fender tapewounds are good for lasting wish the tapes were a bit higher tension. But you can mess about with them also a little more than rounds.

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1451562243' post='2941520'] In which universe? [/quote] I think sterile is a strong word. Too me it means overly clean. There excellent gear. And admittedly my on experience is mainly of there cabs, but there not known for there tone colour and in some situations I can see why a mark bass rig alone while never sounding bad, would not sound as good as another rig. And vice versa a mark bass rig will do a better job in other situations.

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1451516043' post='2941233'] Really? I wouldn't say that at all going by the one I used to have. [/quote] Not by me, I think they are fine the cabs and heads. Just I've heard it said many times. And in a way I guess i could see why people who are used to other amps especially older gear, valve stuff especially say this. So maybe that's all he meant when saying about the overdrive.

Mark bass known for a rather sterile sound, don't many use a valve overdrive pedal in front of them? Even without much gain to thicken the sound somewhat.

Radio head - creep The undertones - teenage kicks The police - walking on the moon Those I think are the easiest songs I know that people will know. Oh and green onions

Think I will pass on getting a guitar for now at least as I want to concentrate on bass. That and I've actually did a bit of guitar playing in the past and didn't get attached.

[quote name='JAUQO III-X' timestamp='1451505786' post='2941111'] There's definitely some players that all these features will work for. [/quote] Yeah and no. For £600 pounds you can get things that do everything the b social does but better, much better. Never mind what £600 would get you on the used market. A separate bass and guitar combo that's properly voiced for there respective instrument will be no doubt cheaper and better, there's no way this can be voiced better than separate little combos that are also light and compact. I can see the angle but the tiny amount of practicality it brings does not justify its price over things that do the job better and are only the slightest amount less practical. its like trying to solve a problem that isn't much of an issue with something over priced and naff looking too boot imo. Nothing at all against Ashdown from me, in fact I was using ashdown gear a few days ago and liked what I heard. For £200 then it might seem something to consider however.

[quote name='oldslapper' timestamp='1451484983' post='2940861'] May I suggest trying a squier bass vi? I think you'd find it a lot of fun. I love mine. [/quote] Was oddly enough looking at one recently.

Been experimenting with my dha valve overdrive noticed me playing a lot of higher notes with more extreme distortion. Switched to my little bronco bass and with its thinner strings and strat pu, it actually sounds dare I say guitar like. With bright switches engaged and some creative eq. And I liked it so much getting a guitar crossed my mind. In the past I've sort of shunned that sort of playing for wanna be guitarists. I'm not getting a guitar but it did remind me how fun twiddly bits can be on bass.

[quote name='Clarky72' timestamp='1449787846' post='2926968'] I wanted exactly that, a precision with a jazz neck, so I bought a P body, and Mighty Mite jazz neck and all Fender hardware. Bolted it all together last week and this... [/quote] Really liking this.

[quote name='gareth' timestamp='1450986240' post='2937699'] Fender precision special, passive version, precision body, precision and jazz pups with controls to use either or both and jazz neck [IMG]http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r100/garethadavies/Fender%20MIM%20Precision%20Special/DSC009712.jpg[/IMG] [/quote] Stunning bass. I own one just like it. It's a bit better than just a p bass and jazz neck, having the j pickup definitely provides some more tone options. Getting slightly harder to find I've noticed.

I put forward for being a worldwide known song Billie Jean simple as we are talking worldwide here. U.K. Is definitely the chain.

[quote name='Truckstop' timestamp='1451390672' post='2940040'] A DeArmond Jetstar was the most horrible piece of crap I ever owned. Pickups weak and microphonic, wiring loose and messy, bridge cheap and stiff, plastic tuning pegs that didn't work, horrible body shape that was desperately uncomfortable, horribly neck dive and impossible to intonate properly. Bought it for £60 off eBay and instantly regretted it. I sold it on here a week later for a tenner and I think I ripped the guy off. [/quote] Haha. That could describe many basses. Think I've heard you tell the story before think there was another crap basses thread a few years back? We are lucky these days as there are far fewer bad instruments about. Although I do feel some of the old bad mainly cheap basses from the past were in a way interesting.

I have owned a fair few short scales, I don't think there's any tone sacrifice they can sound different but it's no sacrifice. Any well set up bass and amp should get growl. Even on my bronco bass with its squire strat pu I can get good tone and growl, it's a little weak maybe but useable. I think it's worth a go trying a ss bass see if that helps, buy something cheap though see what you think. Some shorts do look stupid though! Tiny body's stay away from. I like the mustang body shape just large enough not too look stupid and a classic comfortable shape. Sg shape much the same. Hofner violin bass is tiny but a classic. Takes me a little while to adjust to the different scale lengths in many ways you have to be more accurate with the shorter scale when playing the higher notes.

[quote name='karlfer' timestamp='1451338470' post='2939732'] Yup, pick of the wood in the Ensenada plant. If the one you are looking at is one of the 1999/2001 passive P/J's with jazz profile neck, they are fabulous basses ime. Very well made, great components, easy to set up. I recently missed out on a fabulous 1999 white/maple/glodscratchplate one and was gutted. My main gigging bass is a 2014 Sea Foam Pearl Factory Special Run, based on exactly that model. [/quote] I have a 2001 model sunburst, gold metal scratch plate. Lovely bass. The bridge is a multi threaded screw type was that standard?. The tuners and pickups seem a little better than standard mex models of the time too, I could be mistaken.

[quote name='AndyTravis' timestamp='1451335774' post='2939707'] Yeah, usually they'll have an active circuit or USA pickups - depends on the model. Mexican deluxe series are usually Mexican standards with US noiseless pickups and active circuits. USA deluxe Are normally souped up With pickups, switching and hardware changes - the current ones look like modified 70's Fenders, previously they were modern interpretations. [/quote] What if it's an older passive model? Will it still have the better pick ups and hardware? Somewhere I've read they had the pick of the wood that came in. Anyone know for sure?

Ive heard it said that mim Deluxe fenders have some better parts is that right

I find boiled linseed oil is very good for rosewood in fact after one or a few coatings it can harden the finish and prevent marks. This does not mean you need to marinate the fret board, just a good coating well rubbed in then rubbed off right away. For little chips etc on a rosewood board use rosewood dust mixed with glue then sanded etc. WARNING ROSEWOOD DUST IS TOXIC

I received a new squire bronco bass that I will mod and I also was given a nano block bass guitar lol, and from another person was given a little key ring with a guitar on. Bought myself a dha valve drive pedal for my Xmas gift too myself

Cracked up when I read the ad very funny!