absolutpepper

Hey I just bought a fretless VM Jazz bass (from the forum - cheers Chris!) and while I do like the Jaco-esq aesthetic I cant help but feeling that since its not actually all that accurate it would be better to customise it to a more personal taste. The ideas are - Fit a tortioseshell scratchplate; black thumbrest; replace tuners; replace pots and shield cavity; upgrade pickups with Di Marzio's; fit neck pickup cover (not bridge cover); chuck on a good set of flats; replace dials with black plastic ones. Chris, the previous owner, installed - very well I might add - a Gotoh 201 bridge so thats covered. Question is, does anyone have experience of modding a VM bass - I read on TB that most tuners, dials, etc are not a direct fit. Can anyone recommend me good tuners (BTW I only replace the stock ones if the tuning is an issue) that are drop-in replacements and also what about a pickguard? The official fender one is super pricey so I reckon there must be cheaper ones there. Also a advice on flatwounds would be appreciated. New to the fretless world, really like the bass but feel it could go from being good to fantastic without much work. Cheers Chris

[quote name='lemmywinks' post='716617' date='Jan 18 2010, 02:22 PM']There's a very nice EA head in the for sale section, good price too [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=73826"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=73826[/url] If that doesn't float your boat then a LMII all the way[/quote] Damn, that EA head looks perfect but I wont be buying till April. Grrrrrrrr

Thanks guys, appreciate the input. Im thinking 4ohms Purple Chili 212 cab. Ive been swaying towards the LMII as I think Id be maxing out the LM 250 and Id like the safe knowledge that if need be I have a bit more volume behind me. Chris

Hey I am looking to purchase a Markbass (or Eden) head. My primary concern is portability and storage which is why i've narrowed my selection down to these maufacturers - they seem to offer the best quality/portability match. Basically i'm looking for some advice as to models. I really like the Little Mark 250 but i'm concerned it would be powerful enough (other choice being LMII or equivalent Eden), however if it LM 250 will address my needs I dont really fancy having to pay the extra for an LMII if I wont see the benefit. I am playing a mix of heavy rock/prog with all passive basses (CV Jazz, Ric 4003) in small/mid sized venues (i dont see myself playing arenas any time soon). My band has 2 guitarists who both use Marshall JCM heads at rehearsal and we rarely play places that dont include a proper PA. Question is, I s'pose, will I get the headroom in the LM 250 to cut through at a loud gig with 2 guitarists or am I better playing more and getting an LMII??? Any advice is appreciated.

[quote name='joegarcia' post='713099' date='Jan 14 2010, 09:37 PM']Doesn't have reverb unfortunately, same prob with all the ones in the other post. Really looking for an all in one ambience solution.[/quote] You should be able to edit the delay to create a reverb effect whithout any difficulty. BTW if you can get beyond the modelling issue then the M9 is amazing for ambient sounds. I love mine and the verbs and delays are the best thing about it.

If you have that large a budget why not go for the Eventide Timefactor. Its simply amazing! Also on the other delay post I have added a reply which breaks down a few different delays if you have a look.

Delay is a tough one and so much of its down to personal taste (I spent longer picking a delay than any other pedal). Here my view - While they share a name Analog and Digital delays are really two entirely different effects which have different properties depending on what you are looking for. If you want pristine repeats, long delay lengths and generally more features Digital is the way to go. If, however, you want the warmer, decayed style sound then its Analog. My preference is Analog but that doesnt really matter I s'pose. Here's some of the movers and shakers in the Digital and Analog worlds - Digital: Boss DD-7 - Common delay - decent repeat lengths, clean repeats, tap tempo; not a bad sound just fairly uninspiring; and TC Electronic Nova Delay - High Quality delay with a number of different functions, slightly larger footprint on pedalboard than a Boss pedal, good overall value, can model some analog delays. (there will be others but i'm a bit out of my comfort zone with Digital) Analog Ibanez (or Maxon) AD-9 - Nice analog delay with decent repeat length and quite dark and a decent sound - not complicated but not packed full of features either; MXR Carbon Bopy - gets a lot of love, faily standard analog delay, small footprint, standard power supply, not bad - not fantastic - quite clean for an analog delay; Malekko Echo - okay my choice (I have one), there are 4 models the ECHO 600 BRIGHT & ECHO 300 BRIGHT, ECHO 600 DARK & ECHO 300 DARK. High quality with excellent sounds. Different features depending on model (the 600s have expression outs); not many places stock them but they are excellent value and have a great sound. Malekko 919 - this is a new one, packed with features normally associated with digital delays, you get analog sounds but with much longer delay times (analog being typically shorter), tap tempo, expression out - pedal is a little bigger but sounds featuretastic (recently released ahead of winter NAMM). EH Deluxe Memory Man - a delay standard, fairly pricey and unit is quite big. Excellent sound that can be heard on a million and one records. BOSS DM-2/DM-3 - discontinued, rare and collectable. Typical Boss design but a decent analog delay with a lot of cache, personally I think the sell for a bit to much due to the fanboys, you'll get a better analog delay for the money now by going boutiue route. Also worth consideration and in no particular order is the (soon to be reissued - see Winter Namm) Way Huge Aqua Puss, T-Rex Replica, T-Rex Reptile and Eventide Timefactor. Tried to cover most budgets and options here. There are a million delays all professing to be the best. At the end of the day it depends what you need/want and how much you'd like to spend I guess. Hope this helps. Chris

[quote name='luckman67' post='711834' date='Jan 13 2010, 07:51 PM']Thank you for your answers Gentlemen, it looks more like I will get the CV Precision over the MIM & save some money.[/quote] Bump for a good idea! I love my CV James Johnson Jazz and can't decide between the CV Precision or Jazz for another bass. Most people seem to rate the CV's above the MIM Fenders.

fwiw I found the Rockbass Corvette to be a bit of a poor imitation. I have a 1998 Warwick Corvette Standard which is really really great but the rockbass seemed to only really relate in terms of body shape. The neck is totally different, it lacks the 'Warwick growl' and it felt a bit cheap. My advice, look for a second hand Corvette standard or a Squier Classic Vibe Jazz (which is great btw and has loads of tone!).

Moog Moogerfooger Low Pass Filter - simply awesome.

As others have pointed out the 'best' is pretty much unanimously considered to be the Petersen Strobostomp. If you are looking for the tuner which offers the best quality, construction, functionality, etc for the money i'd say hands down the Korg Pitchblack. I love mine, sold a TU-2 for it (which was okay, nothing special - PB is same price and much higher quality).

99.9% sure they are pedalpad. Good boards but not cheap! Here's the linky. [url="http://www.pedalpad.com/"]http://www.pedalpad.com/[/url]

Well I just picked up one of the James Johnson sig CV Jazz's and I have to say that £ for £ the CV range is one of the best deals going at the moment. I've played a lot of different Squier's and Fender's over the years and while I'd admit that if money was no object I'd be looking at a MIA Fender I would also say that in my experience the CV Squier is a great second best and at a 3rd of the price (maybe less 2nd hand - I got mine off ebay brand new for £207) its impossible to beat. I've got a lot of love for mine, particularly the neck, and as a result i've decided to sell my OLP MM-2 in order to take stock of another CV.

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='704396' date='Jan 7 2010, 04:34 PM']That makes sense. I've been reading up on the TH over the past few days. Very interesting box. Im thinking of getting one (or a Sansamp VT Bass) just to add some warmth and depth to my tone. Not interested in DI so the VT might win out.[/quote] Well, there looks like there's a new VT Bass being unveiled at Winter Namm next week so I'd keep an eye on that. There's a thread in the Effects forum which has a link to TB where a user has posted a pic. Looks pretty interesting.

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='704372' date='Jan 7 2010, 04:22 PM']Wont the studio supply this?[/quote] Most likely, I know it wouldn't be essential but i'd like to have one anyways (I do a lot of home recording and gigging) so it would be a handy tool. Im thinking of the plumping a bit extra and going for the Aguilar Tone Hammer, gets quite the praise around the net.

[quote name='clauster' post='704226' date='Jan 7 2010, 02:37 PM']It's a passive DI box. My understanding is that you need an active DI for passive basses. Either will work for active basses.[/quote] Thanks, I had a suspicion I was being quite dense about it. Can anyone recommend a good quality Active DI box which is specifically voiced for bass within a £100 budget?

Hey, Looking for a bit of advice on the Markbass Super Pro DI. Im heading into the studio to record soon and having learned from past experiences Id like to get a high quality DI to balance my signal before firing it into the mixing desk. The issue I have is that upon reading about the DI the info seems to make mention of it being specifically designed for active basses. I won't be recording with any active basses but really like everything about this DI. I will be using 3 basses in the studio - a Rickenbacker 4003 (which has a massive output so I dont anticipate any issues there), a CV Series Squier Jazz (oddly the nicest Jazz i've ever played - and i've played a few!) and a 2009 Reissue Dan Armstong ADA4 Plexi. None are active and all have different output levels and tonal qualities I am looking to harness - so I guess the question is how well will it work with these passive instruments or am I wasting my money? Thanks in advance. Chris

For what its worth, i've never tried the Lovepedal but I have a Catalinbreaad Valcoder which is similar in size, also analog, TB, etc and its sounds amazing with bass. They are discontinued now and racking up in price, if you see one second hand I would recommend you check it out.

[quote name='munkonthehill' post='690565' date='Dec 21 2009, 12:38 PM']so i guess they are handing out signature basses with every box of kelloggs corn flakes hahahaha[/quote] Bit harsh! Personally I think that he totally deserves one: he can play, he's in a really great and popular band and lets be honest if someone offered you a sig model would you turn it down - I wouldnt, not in a heartbeat. I've just bought one ('cause it was a great price on eb@y) and i've heard they are cracking so I really cant wait!

[quote name='throwoff' post='677608' date='Dec 8 2009, 10:33 AM']I do quite want something with a bit of colour. As I said I tried out the SVT DI and loved it as it had a real tone which is quite nice for a DI[/quote] I havent used one personally but i've heard really great things about the Demeter DI boxes. Worth an explorating Id say.

[quote name='markl' post='683780' date='Dec 14 2009, 10:59 AM']+1 One of my best purchases, small neat and versatile and not that expensive compared to some power supplies.[/quote] This is a great product but the only thing to bear in mind is that some pedals don't like playing well with others and daisychaining certain pedals can lead to problems - also if the chain dies the whole pedals are Kaput until you get it repaired. A slightly larger but more stable solution is to get an isolated supply. I use a rothwell audio one which is really excellent, very high quality and excellent value. The market leader in this respect is the Voodoo Labs Pedal Power II which is probably the most versatile but it is quite expensive. Other seeming highly regarded alternatives are the T-Rex ones or you could always look at a powered board ala Trailer Trash. Its all about cost and there are lots of different supplies out there professing to be the best. Depending on the use I would look at Diago, Rothwell or Voodoo Labs.

[quote name='steve' post='683703' date='Dec 14 2009, 09:18 AM']anyone else have any experiences regarding bottom end dropout with fuzz/drive/disto patches? This would be my primary use for it tbh[/quote] I should say that there are enough great sounds in the pedal that even without a current 'useable' fuzz/od/dirt patch that its still great and really nice for use with a bass. Im sure the updates will improve the situation but until then I am really happy running it with a fuzz in front. It still gets two thumbs up!

[quote name='burno70' post='681345' date='Dec 11 2009, 01:57 PM']You sure? I'm not hearing that.[/quote] 100%, i've tried it with my Warwick Corvette Standard, Rickenbacker 4003 and Dan Armstrong ADA4. On its own its fine but when i'm playing with a full band it gets lost. Im sure they'll address it with the updates but for the time being I wont be using any fuzzes for bass on this - I'll just stick with the Prunes and Custard.

If there is nothing to lose its probably worth a go. You never know, it may just pay off.