danbanbass

My rig this weekend

Spot on, I really like the deluxe telecaster knobs as I find it useful for setting the tone knob for certain songs in my bands set. Bridge wise I just wanted something I could set, lock down and forget.

I also did some subtle mods, see if you can spot them….. Before And after

For me it has that zing and roundness whilst retaining a big bottom end without sound muddy. Almost piano esq, with lots of sustain. It’s clear, authoritive and punchy - I know these words are all subjective. The neck profile suits me too, similar to the width of a musicman neck but slightly wider. The depth of the neck is akin to a jazz bass neck. I’ve always struggled with U.S.A. standard precisions necks and found them to be too chunky, having owned 2 I found them to sound a little muddy on the lower strings. I had a couple of Mex p basses which left me wanting even after different upgrades with both. American Deluxe Precision, nice neck - struggled to dial the active eq and find a tone I liked. Never used the musicman bridge pickup on it. 70s USA precision, great to look at but on the whole felt lackluster. Finally the first version of the Squier classic vibe 60s precision, out of all the basses at that point this was the best. Felt right, played great. Had the sound I liked but lacked the depth and bottom end. The American Vintage II to me was everything the classic vibe was but far superior in every way. Nate Mendall Sig - had high hopes with this bass, was disappointed as it was quite dead sounding and uninspiring to play. However that’s from my experience, everyone else’s mileage will vary. if it also helps, I have a fond memory from 20 years ago of a Jap Squier Surf Green 60s reissue precision I played in a shop years ago which has been imprinted in my mine ever since - I remember being blown away by it but at that time I couldn’t afford the £299 used price tag it was up for so that could be something to do with it. I also have memory’s of a 65 Precision I had the chance to play which was a cracker as well. This new iteration meets my expectations of what I like in a Precision which is a mix of the 65, classic vibe and the Squier jap precision that I played and loved. Admittedly I’ve had to drive around the uk to play ones that shops had in stock and this one just blew me away. Some good, some dull and some average - it’s incredible how much they vary across the same model range.

Amazing I remember those quite fondly! For that price it’s worth a shot.

I’m after string advice, it’s been while since I’ve bought some and quite frankly some are eye watering in price. I tend to favour stainless steel strings as the seem to keep their zing for a bit longer, due to the band tuning to Eb standard and the occasional song dropping the Eb to C# - what gauge strings are best as I hate a slack/loose E string. I used to like 110s years ago which would limit me to choices but I’m wondering if there’s a high tension 105’s string set seeing as string technology has come on in leaps and bounds. Also something that’ll last, I got some elites last month but they go full/dead quickly even when using string cleaner. Thanks in advance.

They’re mustang pickups in disguise 🤣 I haven’t got around to taking the protective film off them yet.

Thanks Lozz, I can’t wait until the thin nitro starts to chip and wear 😄

After many years of owning precision basses and churning through them I think I’ve finally found one that might be a keeper…. Its a Fender American Vintage ii Precision Bass, it just hits the mark of what I’ve always been yearning for sound wise but struggled to obtain previously - to say I’m very pleased is an understatement 🙂

I can’t take any credit for this but it did make me chuckle and I thought it was rude not to share 😆

Weight doesn’t bother me as the head weighs 14kg and the cab is 13kg, it makes loading in a doddle with one in each hand. I had an Aguiler Tonehammer 700 which I struggled to get the fullness out of, also had a Ampeg portaflex 800 and a little mark 500. They felt shouty but lacking no matter how I messed with the eq etc, I don’t know if heft is the right word however I felt the sound was fuller, more present with the Ampeg B2R, Ashdown ABM 500, Ashdown CTM 100 and the Markbass SA450 I’ve owned. The class D stuff I wanted to love due to the weight, size and convenience but always found myself wanting - so no snobbery there at all. I hoped it would deliver the goods but for me it didn’t. The only D class that came close was the Bass Terror but at that time the Di out was horrendously hot on them, haven’t had the chance to try the lastest version.

I do like the terrors but as we do a couple of Biffy covers, however I find the sub octave feature on the ABM 500 handy for chorus’s to give it that weight when needed.

@Pirellithecat It was thunderous, especially with my ampeg svgt-di. You could recreate weight of an 8x10 ampeg cab obviously not move as much air but I’m a convert. More than capable with a fender blues 1x12 and Mesa Boogie express 25w 1x12 also the drummer too. ABM head gain was a 2,o’clock and output volume at 10’o’clock. Plenty loud enough - colour me impressed.

Many thanks, pm sent.

You’ll never be able to convince me into a D class head, I’m an avid A/B class fan and this little cab seems to have plenty of heft.

If no joy I’ll take the mediums please.

Finally managed to sell my 6x10 cab as it’s a bit too heavy for me to manage and have now downsized to a Barefaced Two10 to pair with my Ashdown ABM 500 Evo head. To say I’m very happy is an understatement, can’t wait to try it out at practice on Monday 😊