Fraktal

Hello fellow Basschatters, Hundreds of times I have noticed that my low B and E strings die sooner than the rest, and often I find myself playing harder the B string to try to even out the output across strings. It really bugs me because even though I love the zing of new strings, I could live with slightly worn strings if they all aged more or less simultaneously. I know there are several factors to take into account regarding string lifetime, such as a fat string obviously has many more room for dirt to accumulate, but sometimes I have seen a few manufacturers including string tension weight data and it is clear that the low B and E strings have much less tension than the rest. So I wonder: Does more tension equals to longer lifetime? Would it be better to pick a custom set of strings with even tension on all strings? Please, if you can find string tension/weight data I would be most grateful, I have been googling but with no luck. Thank you very much!

[quote name='Doc B' post='572857' date='Aug 18 2009, 02:51 PM']Er, aren't Rockbass Streamer STDs, and the original Warwick Streamer STDs like mine made of carolena and not pine? Mine definitely isn't pine and I'd imagine you'd just get splinters/skelfs/spelks if you had a pine bass. Might smell nice though![/quote] I might be wrong, but I did some research long ago since I had no clue what carolena is, and found out that carolena is actually a kind of pine, heh.

Check out the Ibanez SR505. Thinnest neck in the market, perfect for fast playing, VERY light and comfortable (in fact lighter than many guitars), heavily contoured body, optimal balance, very versatile sound with Bartolini pickups and preamp, can do anything from old school wooly sounds to clanky-zingy-earthshattering metal, and if you like wood, it has the looks. I love mine!

I stack my 102 combo above a 151HF cab, and yes, the corners at the front of the combo stack perfectly. Anyway there wouldnt be a problem if they didnt, because most of the time, when reharsing, I tilt the combo to hear myself better (though I need to pull it a little bit) and it has never moved, not even a milimeter. I suppose the carpet covering the 151HF and the rubber feet on the combo are working as they should. You would need to hit the combo hard to make it tilt back when stacked. Most of its weight is at the front.

[quote name='grumble' post='571202' date='Aug 17 2009, 12:25 AM']OTH,the guy presenting should have been have been strangled at birth.[/quote] Indeed, and his image advisor's father should have had a vasectomy and save this world of such a mistake.

Be warned: It might be extremely hard to beat the sound of your Streamer. I have had dozens of basses over the years, some of them as expensive as 4000 euros, custom made, and none of them managed to beat my Rockbass Streamer Std 5 string. I know it sounds crazy such a cheap bass could be that good, but thats just the way it feels to me. Those MEC soapbars are a miracle, not to mention they are prized at 180 euros EACH, worth more than the whole bass. Again, I know that sounds crazy, but check MEC website if you dont believe me I dont play it much live anymore because I have some serious back problems and I cant make it balance right when standing, so now I mostly use my Ibanez SR505 when gigging. This Ibanez is probably the best balanced and most comfortable bass I have ever tried (honorable exception of headless designs) and, even though its sound is very good, I still play my Streamer when recording bass tracks since I can play while sitting and my back isnt an issue then. This, of course, is a totally subjective opinion, you might be looking for a sound that has nothing in common with the Streamer, but for me that particular bass is perfect tone-wise. If you would accept a recommendation, dont sell your Streamer until you have abused intensively of your new bass for a few months. There is always a chance you could regret it.

[quote name='redstriper' post='561531' date='Aug 5 2009, 11:06 PM']the second clip is with new strings which don't need talc[/quote] Actually I used corn oil since it was much slippery than the talc and lasted longer (stinky as hell, though, but you cant use mineral oils with silicone rubber). Did they improve the strings somehow? I never heard of Ashbory strings that didnt need some kind of lubricant.

There are several trash metal groups in reharsal rooms beside mine, trash is not between my genre preferences, but Im enough open minded to recognize something well done. There is a particular band with very good themes, sound and arrangements. Even though I dont enjoy the genre too much, its always a pleasure to listen to them simply because they are that good. Their bass player has one of the most aggresive bass tones I have ever heard, suiting its style perfectly. It has loads of high mids to cut through the mix and give that "clank" sound, typical of that genre. He uses a Peavey combo equipped with a single 15" Black Widow speaker. I honestly think everything is in a 15". As davidmpires wisely said all you need is EQ and cab placement (not necessarily in that order).

I had an Ashbory and loved its tone, but in the end I had to sell it because I couldnt get used to the extremely short scale. Just a few inches more would have been perfect because intonation is a big concern when playing the tiny bass. Are those wood models commercial? Would be nice to order a custom "XL scale" in case those arent already, cos I see those string knots dont have much string left, at least the Rickenfaker.

[quote name='Mr.T' post='560932' date='Aug 5 2009, 10:57 AM']Hi, No, I didn't try tilting the cab. I have come to the conclusion that a single 15" just ain't going to do it for me anway.[/quote] I have a better idea that might help you. Instead of tilting the cab, try to elevate it to your ears level using a few empty beer boxes, easy to find at any pub so you dont need to carry them. That will get rid of the floor coupling effect and damp those very low frequencies (40-50Hz) that are bothering you, plus allow you to clearly hear that highmid bump that you used to set on your Trace Elliot. Your old TE gear had speakers that will be considered inneficient by today standards, hence the much better low end response of the Compact. Honestly, all you need to get a killer bass sound should be a 15", and I bet the Compact is an excellent cab. The only thing I might miss in a 15" cab would be a tweeter because I love the "zing" of new strings, but I'm pretty sure adding a small tweeter with a high pass filter to the Compact would be child's play. Time to pester Alex, I guess . Anyway, you are completely right about the need of a better EQ than the built in Markbass. Its not that the Markbass EQ section is crap, just much less versatile than the Trace Elliot. Can you borrow a Boss EQ stomp? Not as good as the TE but could prove very useful for testing purposes. Please try the EQ stompbox and beer boxes under your cab on your next gig and let me know, Im almost sure it will help you a lot and Im honestly interested to see the results.

I've got a Markbass CMD102P and it is almost a perfect amp. There are only 2 things that I dont like about it: 1- The piezo tweeter has a crappy sound and 2- You might need an external 15" if you play a 5 string bass. Everything else I can say about this amp is VERY GOOD. Very hard to find a better combo!

Hello Mr. T Based on Alex's frequency response description of the compact speaker, have you tried tilting the cabinet so the speaker is pointing directly to your ear? Because that mid-hump curve you describe on your old TE gear EQ sounds very similar to what Alex said.

The neck of a Ibanez SR 505 is VERY thin, though they are prone to neck problems. After I purchased the first SR 505 in my city, some bassist friends ordered them at the local shop after checking mine and they still havent received them. 2 basses arrived, but both had twisted necks. The shop guys obviously sent them back as faulty to the Ibanez distributor. It could be that I was very lucky to get one with perfect neck, or that they were too unlucky. Either way, its not the first time I hear people complaining about Ibanez quality control and difficulties to find a flawless SR. Its a killer bass for the money, lightweight, comfortable, pretty looking woods, bartolini electronics... but check the neck extensively before purchasing one.

Whenever I think about power amps, QSC brand and their PLX series comes to my mind first. Lightweight, clean, loud, reliable, theres not much else to ask from a power amplifier. I have used several different PLX models for years on very long tours, enduring hits, extreme heat, cold, humidity, tons of dust, faulty AC lines and every other harsh situation you can think of on the road. They never broke. Never. Surely there might be some other great amps out there, but I CBA.

Just like Bill said, it might be very hard to find a suitable replacement. What about wiring the other 6 speakers with a usable impedance? You wont notice much difference in volume, and you only need to leave the broken speakers unplugged. Cheap, fast, easy and tone-matching solution!

Hey Nick, Markbass amps have a built in limiter to prevent square waves/distortion. Supposedly it works comparing the input signal with the output signal, if it is not the same it means distortion is happening and the limiter kicks in. Try playing at a much lower volume and see if the EBS compressor makes a difference then. If it does then the built in amp limiter is preventing your compressor from doing its job at your usual volume. Maybe you need more than 250 watts.

I wasnt too convinced by those doble shoulder straps until I saw this one: [url="http://www.slider-straps.com/"]http://www.slider-straps.com/[/url] I have yet to order one, but it looks ace.

Hello fellow basschatters My Ibanez SR505 came with a set of elixir strings that werent too bad for the first few months, but eventually developed muddiness in the 5th and 4th strings. Has anybody ever tried the alcohol pipe method to clean elixir strings? Did it work at all? Thanks a lot!

If I had the money I would order a 5 string uberhorn just right now. Thats class, style and good taste in a bass.

Passive electronics can handle a low B string as good as active ones, and sometimes even better. A perfect example of this would be, surprisingly, a very cheap bass, the warwick rockbass streamer standard 5 strings, passive MEC soapbar pickups and no pre. Clean, defined and punchy lowB, with an even signal output compared to the E string. No wool there. You should really try one, that bass has always surprised me.

Try placing your combo in a solid wall corner, that should help with your lack of lowend. Still, dont expect miracles from a single 12" speaker, specially if you play at loud volumes. VPF at 3 o'clock is way too much IME. That is dampening mid frequencies a lot, precisely the kind of frequencies that combo can reproduce efficiently. My VPF is always at 7 o'clock (thats completely off). Also, getting lost in the mix as you said usually happens when your bass is lacking mid frequencies badly. Thats were you usually find definition in the bass tone.

Drop C with a 105 string? I dont pretend to jinx it, but I would expect a very wooly, undefined tone with such a gauge, despite the inner core. Certainly thicker strings die faster, but at least they have a decent tension and tone until they need to be replaced.