tobiewharton
-
Posts
575 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Shop
Articles
Posts posted by tobiewharton
-
-
55 minutes ago, ordep said:
Here is something I never thought I will do, but offered something I was after for a long time so needs must. Will retract if the other deal falls through.
in good condition, scratches and marks from use. original owner made the pen marks, and to be honest I didnt try to remove it as it is where I tend to set the knobs anyway. I dont have the original box but will pack securely.
£950 located on Aylesbury. Can post.
This is a beautiful board! Very satisfying indeed.
-
1
-
-
16 hours ago, itu said:
You have a P with 34" scale and 19 mm string spacing. You say you want a 35" scale and probably get something with 17 mm string spacing?
A small bodied 5 string, well your equation is not the easiest with your current budget.
Similar ergonomics here would help you with the change. Do trials based on the ergonomics rather than pickups, or eq.
Good advice.
In electric bass terms, 4-string P to 5-string modern super-long scale is a bit of a jump. The transition can be helped by opting for tighter string spacing. Equally, don't dismiss shorter scale lengths - in my experience, a consistent or 'tight' B string is not limited to 35" or above. A brass nut or zero fret will help with consistent clarity too. Most extended range basses will have shallower necks anyway and asymmetrical neck carves are also common. Expect at least 45mm at the nut. As a result of this, ergonomics are very different and really necessitate certain techniques (no thumb wrapped around the fretboard unless you have enormous hands!).
Sound-wise, you can't go wrong with soapbars and MMs will be fine too. Modern voiced single coils if you want less welly. Be wary of option paralysis with complex onboard preamps; a simple 2-band eq (even boost only) is plenty as the kinds of pickups in these basses are naturally 'scooped' in the mids. This is generally great in a gospel context where there is much more sonic space for bass guitar; relative lack of chord-heavy and distorted guitar parts really help with this.
Modern, clean amps are the way to go with this; think Class D and 10s or 12s. A lot of prominent American players use GK.
The role of bass in contemporary gospel means a good grasp of music theory is a big advantage and ear-training is a necessity. Band MDs (often keys players) will call changes; songs are often started by vocalists in their chosen key; music starts and stops at different times, often with very short notice; spontaneous key changes are common. The Nashville Numbers System will be your best friend!
A final thought - listen to lots of music!
Some artists:
Fred Hammond
William McDowell
Tamela Mann
Yolanda Adams
Donnie McClurkin
Marvin Sapp
Kurt Carr
Tye Tribbett
Mary Mary
Israel Houghton
Kirk Franklin
Darwin Hobbs
Donald Lawrence
Hezekiah Walker
Anthony Evans
Some bass players:
Justin Raines
Andrew Gouche
Sharay Reed
Fred Hammond
Lots of great online content too.
I hope some of this helps and enjoy the journey!
Tobie
-
2
-
-
9 hours ago, JohnFitzgerald said:
No love for the 41 year old Ibanez ?
Lots of love but no room at the inn!
-
-
Hi there,
Can I ask why it's not for you? Considering maybe trying one.
Cheers,
Tobie
-
1 hour ago, Bassfinger said:
At least its unsinkable.
I'd happily weigh it down 😂
-
50 minutes ago, Bassybert said:
Jeez what an abomination!
Noticed at the bottom of the page that the Nate Mendel P is over £1,400 and a JMJ Mustang is almost £1,300 new 😮Yep - staggering!
-
Absolutely wonderful sales pitch from Fender Japan:
🤣
-
3
-
-
24 minutes ago, Agent 00Soul said:
Not sure if you've ever tried one of the Precision Elites from that year. My friend had one at the time and I thought it was the coolest. Of course, I was 15 at the time and didn't have much experience so no idea what I'd think of it now.
I haven't, but I would like to - especially the double P version. I've tried a nice Special and also a Lyte, which I was partial to; I rather like Fender's attempts to mess with the recipe in the 80s - would be nice to see a bit more of that these days!
-
It is indeed.
Cheers,
Tobie
-
I'm ambivalent about it, but understand the appeal. I'm 1983 and I think the Precision Specials were cool. If I had a need of something in that ballpark and found a good one for a good price, the year matching would be a bonus.
-
This has to be the bargain of the forum! The upgrades alone are costly. If it were a Squier it would have sold instantly for the original price 🤣
-
-
Bargain!
Glwts
-
Absolutely incredible. I've been thinking about commissioning a bass one - this isn't helping me resist the temptation!
Glwts
-
I keep coming back to this Lukasz.
Being a Yamaha, it's almost certainly an excellent instrument. The spec is top-notch and it looks immaculate. Altogether, it's hard to imagine a better bass for this money. To top things off, the seller is reliable and a gent. I WISH I needed a fiver 😭
Glwts mate 👍🏻
-
1
-
-
Looks Classic indeed!
Glwts
-
1
-
-
Looks brilliant - a bit like a Bongo from a very slightly less mad planet!
Glwts
-
1
-
-
That looks like a solid and cool bass, with great hardware, for not a lot of money at all.
Glwts!
-
1
-
-
48 minutes ago, martthebass said:
Back in the Sandberg fold after picking up this nice soft core aged Lionel from a fellow basschatter yesterday. Just fitted my strap locks of choice and I’ll pick up some appropriate string’s tomorrow (it’s currently wearing some longscale flats…) and then it’ll be good for next weekends gigs.
Didnt know what to expect on the relicing, it’s very different to my JMJ, doesn’t look artificial at all, similar to how my old 1990 Stingray looked after 15 years of heavy use.
Cracker!
Enjoy
-
1
-
-
You're right, GK aren't Mesa. I mentioned them as an American-made Class D competitor. I'd consider them a premium choice but acknowledge that that's very much a matter of opinion.
If we're comparing with Aguilar and Bergantino in the UK, one can currently get an Aggy TH500 for £800 or a Berg neo 410 for £1500. I just don't see the comparisons you're making.
This is all inconsequential of course - any products are worth the price that people are prepared to pay for them, which has always been and continues to be absolutely fine. I'm just not sure who those people are intended to be in this case and I'm dubious that they're the same people that were targeted in the past. I've absolutely no issue with companies going 'exclusive', as mentioned in earlier posts by others, but I do prefer those companies to call a spade a spade.
-
7 minutes ago, Downunderwonder said:
I'm with you in that there's no way I am forking out for new Mesa gear. But I wouldn't go around calling it overpriced stuff I wouldn't buy and by the way I like some other brand better so Mesa can do one I wouldn't buy it anyway. That's not cricket, and completely unnecessary.
I think you misunderstand me. I'm trying to understand why the gear is now considerably more than similar competitors. I don't have a particular brand allegiance - have owned a big variety. As such, I didn't say I wouldn't buy Mesa because I like another brand more (I actually use a Mesa preamp currently), I said I wouldn't buy new Mesa products because of these prices.
-
27 minutes ago, agedhorse said:
I don’t know much about the whole lifestyle thing, and I would not be a lifestyle product customer myself.
On the bass side of things, the Subway amps are pretty much in line with the costs of other non-Chinese built, premium products.
Am I missing something here? Anderton's has the Subway D-350 at £900 and the GK Legacy 800 at £850? The Subway D-800+ is £1250 from the same retailer.
-
1 hour ago, Steve Browning said:
I remember a wise man saying "Jeez, it's about preference". Remember saying that Tobie?
It certainly is! IIRC that was in reference to songs people dislike? Equally true for gear of course.
However, the suggestion here is that Mesa may no longer represent what it once did; a competitive choice for gigging musicians. 22 hundred quid for a 4x10? IMO that is pie in the sky. What I find irksome is the apparent disingenuousness of putting this purely down to market forces, with no acknowledgement of the effect of marketing strategies. Everyone can prefer what they choose but I won't be convinced that these offer value for money for the vast majority of players. It's a shame for me - I like the gear 👍🏻
Are short scale basses really as bad as they say?
in General Discussion
Posted
Check out Scott Whitley's online content - he's a big exponent of short scales.