Musicman20

Totally off topic, but I've read the interesting blog on the EBMM forms about Markbass working with EBMM and re-introducing Musicman amps?! It appears to be public knowledge so I hope I'm not treading on any toes.

[quote name='lou24d53' timestamp='1392755069' post='2372441'] In what way do you mean? Just asking, cause anytime I've seen him on anything on TV he seems somewhat reserved, bordering on extremely shy. [/quote] He is quite shy, but confident when he sings or solos...just not a lot of rock star about him. Flawless live vocalist/guitarist. No lead guitarist. He played all of it which let the bass and drums shine.

He even dresses a little like JC, along with the fact he strums his guitar in that sweeping motion...also some Bob Dylan song writing style in there as well.

I don't know why a shop would keep them or misplace them!

Probably not one for the folk/country/blues police, but Jake Bugg is one talented young man. I went to see him on Sunday at the Newcastle City Hall, (great venue!). Stunning guitar player, excellent live vocals, almost like a modern day Johnny Cash. His band are equallty excellent. His bassist used an EBMM Stingray Classic and a Gibson Midtown throughout the set and both sounded superb. The Stingray sounded very fat, warm, with an almost double bass like tone with him playing nearer the neck. I was also super impressed with his guitar tone. Can't beat a good Telecaster/Strat with a bit of drive.

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1392681041' post='2371669'] To my ears Aggie stuff always comes into its own in a live band situation. Almost all their heads and cabs sound better cranked up I think. There's definitely some brands out there that seem to be 'tuned' for immediate impact in a shop demo environment. I can totally understand the thinking behind this but some of these can get very harsh at any kind of serious volume. It's been a while since I've heard Shuttle, of any size, at serious volume - odd really, they've definitely sold well but I don't see me out gigging much. Maybe it's just the sort of gigs I go to There's been a two tier rise at a few places. They moved from £599 to £629 but average price rises are going to be about 15% (maybe more on some lines). These are slowly filtering through already and the £650 price means UK dealers are swallowing a bit of margin loss to try and stay competitive. My guess is that they'll hold the £650 for a while but could creep to £679 later in the year. You can still get £629 from people holding older stock I think. These rises will be across the whole Aggie range eventually - certainly any new stock will come in at the higher price. The good news is that availability and turnaround times on new orders will be a lot quicker (especially for cabs which used to be 6-12 weeks delivery) but this is being reflected in pricing. [/quote] Ay, its a shame. I love Aguilar and I love the passion the guys there seem to have for their products. I'm guessing this is due to having a more structured/more expensive distribution system, whereas before I remember the Bass Merchant used to get them in direct from Aguilar and deal with warranty issues directly. Another mouth to feed, so to speak, with a middleman involved. I'm glad Aguilar stick to their guns and make top quality products though. I've recently bought a new 'no lip' Tonehammer pedal and it does sound great. I think they have also just gone up as well. It may be that I should try a TH500 before they go up again!

I think the EBMM necks are the best in the business, but probably because I am so used to them. The Ray necks are faster than a P bass...by far. I would say they are inbetween a P and a J but closer to a P. The Sterling neck is INCREDIBLY fast...

[quote name='lowlandtrees' timestamp='1392713725' post='2371792'] So would the Chromes have a higher tension than the EBs? Secondly if I wanted an EB with a similar tension to standard round wounds would that be a II guage? I ask this because I have had problems with my MM SUB strings (in another post). I think that the string tension has been too high. [/quote] I haven't tried Chromes but I think the EB strings are superb and suprisingly low priced. You get the zing for the first few months (although not as zingy as nickel rounds) but then they turn much more thumpy, warm and subdued in the highs. The Group III's are lower tension than the Group II's. You may find the Group III's are still fairly tense compared to rounds of a similar gauge, (they aren't as flexible) but the III's would be the best starting point. But, you could try Group IV's! Even lower tension.

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1392676907' post='2371609'] I recently had the pleasure of watching Paul Turner slapping like a complete funk-god through a TH500 and into a pair of Aguilar SL112 cabs. There definitely wasn't any lack of sizzle or snap in his tone. He wasn't using any pedals either, just a passive Alleva Coppolo 5 straight into the Tone Hammer. I used to own an original Shuttle 6 and never got on with it. If you are after a new TH then I'd strongly recommend hunting one down soon. They are all going to start rising in price soon [/quote] The bass on the latest .2 is much fatter. The HPF was pretty strict on the 6.0 due to the design to pair with smaller compact cabs but I agree. The .2 series are really really nice! I'd like to try a TH500 but it does tend to take a fair bit of sparkle off. Totally depends on what you like though How much are they going to raise by? They seem to have jumped from £590 to £650 ish.

[quote name='lowlandtrees' timestamp='1392665126' post='2371361'] Is there difference in tension between the D Addario Chromes and the EB flats? [/quote] With EB Flats, the higher the Group number, the lower the tension. IIIs are about normal flats tension for me (eg a little bit more tense than standard gauge round wounds).

Yes! It sounds fantastic. Less rasp more thump.

[quote name='Prime_BASS' timestamp='1392541584' post='2369748'] And while it does sound pretty good it sounds like you could achieve similar sounds with one of the dark glass products. [/quote] Yeah I get this point, but you could say you can get a tube driven tone from a Zoom B3 instead of spending a bomb on one pedal. Same with Ampeg/Tech21 etc. The tone from this amp is great. I'm guessing there is more to it than we think. I agree it would be good to know what the amp comprises of.

I never really had an interest in looping until I tried the on one on the Zoom B3. It's fun! This seems to be full of great features.

I must admit, they have really nailed it with that finish/wood. Stunning.

They will all go that way.

[quote name='chrismuzz' timestamp='1392196458' post='2365734'] He didn't say specifically, I can only assume that when he says 'same specification' that they'd still be neodymium drivers. Then again, if they weren't the cabs would certainly be even heavier! [/quote] Thanks. It all seems very odd to me. Markbass build up a fantastic brand and image, and now they have, in my eyes, completely changed it. This whole 'we test it in Italy' doesn't really make any sense to me. It is surely pretty normal to test them. Genz Benz always stated their amps were made in a high tech factory in Taiwan then shipped to be checked over at their headquarters. Thing is, they were upfront about that, and their amps were a good price IMO.

[quote name='chrismuzz' timestamp='1392145609' post='2365337'] Marco has just revealed that they no longer use B&C drivers. He said that they're custom Markbass speakers that he designed personally, to the same specification. [/quote] Are they neo?

Yeah, that doesn't sell it for me. Lakland manufacturer their Skyline series then re-test and finish them in Chicago. Why are some of the cabinets now heavier then?

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1391978428' post='2363259'] Indeed. I'm glad you are enjoying it, sir. [/quote] Thanks

Finally got this out! Super super impressed. Updated it in seconds. Excellent build quality, fairly easy to use, and the actual effects and amp tones etc and fantastic. This is a far cry from the zoom pedals of the 90s!

[quote name='NJE' timestamp='1391807854' post='2361658'] I am in the minority, I am not keen on Lakland. They are solid basses but with the exception of a Duck Dunn model, I have only ever been underwhelmed by Lakland Skyline's. They are well built, but for what they go for new I would buy something else personally. My best friend uses a 5502 Deluxe with USA Bart electronics for a lot of high profile recording jobs and has constantly struggled to get a decent tone out of it and now bypasses the electronics for recording. I leant him my old £260 Squier CV precision and he instantly found it easier to play and got a better sound out of it for recording. Its all preference though, we all have different ideas of the perfect tone. [/quote] Ay, I've been underwhelmed. Nice designs just not my thing for the price bracket.

One thing I do like about Ashdown is they are almost (well the heads/cabs/combos I've tried) indestructable. They seem to be in many rehearsal rooms in the North East and take a lot of hammering and don't give up! Even if the users of the amps have knack'd all the knobs on the front. I also like that they are easy to access for UK repairs. If I had a need for an amp I'd like one of their full tube amps!

These are very good prices...I'm quite impressed.

You will still get the same warranty from Fender UK for the Genz amps.