jonno1981

I had one of these and the pre-amp died. Replaced it with an MEC I think. Sounded pretty good, very lightweight, wasn’t outstanding but perfectly decent. 

That comment was posted 9 years ago! There was a batch of Mag amps that were fitted with the wrong fuses, it did harm their rep for a bit, I think they’ve firmly re-established themselves as being a top notch company for products and services these days. 

I was about to post the worst amp I ever played through was some sort of torque combo when I was at school, and it appears!! I could remember the colourful knobs (did nothing), big red power button and a rope that replaced the handle that had snapped off. 
I could never make it sound anything other than a fuzzy fart. Absolutely awful. In fairness it probably needed replacing about 5 years before I got my mits on it. 

It really hit home for me how it’s not remotely about the name on the headstock, it’s the instrument in your hands. I don’t think I’m ever going to mail order a bass again! 
It’s so subjective and driven by personal requirements, it’s not worth the risk to me.

I’ll take a look. I’ve been enjoying noodling to “10 funky bass backing tracks” by Quist. 

Also tried these in guitar guitar Epsom yesterday. I went along with a mate who tried out a load of strats and couldn’t resist a peek in the bass section.
 

They had two anniversary P basses in different colours, both were very good, the blue one the best one. I worked my way through their bass selection and preferred the squiers to the Mex (tried a standard and active PJ) and US models (performer pj, ultra) which felt really stiff and not much of a step up for the massive price difference. This was an overall theme for the visit. My mate tried fenders from mexi player series up to US Ultras and custom shop and the player was 80-90% as good as the top models for a small percentage of the price. He also tried a £6k prs hollow body which looked great but we couldn’t work out how this was worth 6 times the cost of an se hollow body. 
 

The necks on the squiers felt great, just the right amount of gloss and felt very similar to worn in 70s fenders. The gold hardware wasn’t too bright and blingy (is that a word?) even under the very bright store lights. Bonus looms and am considering one! 
 

They had a few interesting second hand exotics, a warwick or two, lots of sand bergs, a few dingwalls, and lots of single basses from a few brands I hadn’t played before (Kennedy??). I really liked a tribute l2500 for £499 but it had one of those satin finishes that scratches when you look at it. I’d consider one of these in another colour. 
 

The store was great, loads of staff, all really friendly and knowledgable, very enthusiastic and helpful throughout. 

My wife’s various classical concerts (she plays cello), then Devin Townsend at the royal Albert hall in April. 

10 hours ago, SteveXFR said:

 

Bloody useless then! "You listened to Slayer, perhaps you'd like Coldplay"

It’s not quite that bad! I’ve genuinely discovered a few acts that've gone into my regular rotation. It’s never jumped from meshuggah to Cliff Richard or anything. 

On 04/02/2022 at 09:11, SteveXFR said:

Is the range of music as good as Spotify?

I’ve not found anything missing so far. Similar “discover” features. 

I moved to tidal. Sounds infinitely better than Spotify! 

If the neck feels good and it stays in tune ok, I’d swap out the pickups first. Dimishing returns on the rest, especially the refinish! 

This is a lot of bass for the money. Much nicer body shape than the corvette for me and these are higher priced new. Glwts. 

That looks wonderful. I have fond memories of playing F basses at bass gear in twyford. 

Love the all parts neck on my bitsa jazz. All in new this would cost around 900 in parts in the current market but they do turn up second hand with a pretty frightening depreciation. I picked it up for £300! The bitsa builds just don’t hold their value. 
 

If I had to buy again, I’d certainly buy another all parts neck over a Mexican fender replacement. 

I hope you find a solution! I tried loads of different brands of flats (not the cheapest experiment!) at 45-105 and really struggled  with lots of them due to tension. Rotos, la bellas had ultra high tension compared to roundwounds at the same gauge. I’d have to drop a gauge to make them playable for me. Best I found were daddarrio chromes 40-100, sadowsky flats (wonderful but where to buy from) and then I discovered the TI’s. About the same tension as the rounds I was used to, feel and sound amazing and last a very long time. 

As a further option would you reconsider your string choice? I love the low tension of TI flats on my jazz. Not the cheapest by any means and possibly not what you’re after tone/feel wise but I thought I’d suggest it. 

I prefer the vintage micro tubes for low gain. It sounds quite different to the b series drive though. Lots of comparisons on YouTube between the two thankfully. 

That looks great! 

I know what you mean about rounds. They do add a load of grit and presence but I just love the feel of these strings. They last for years and years without losing all their brightness. It’s a hell of an outlay but I’d change rounds every 3 months if I had them so probably costs about the same. So very little string noise when recording as well. 

I’ve got a parts jazz with active emgs strung with ti flats. It sounds and plays great but probably isn’t worth a huge amount. Badass bridge, all parts neck, mighty mite body, gotoh tuners  It records really well and stays in tune. I had a sadowsky metro and ended up playing this more so sold it. 
 

Thanks for the info. Glad to have inspired a session to dig out the gear. I’m going to do the tomorrow for another attempt. My sansamp and darkglass fuzz aren’t really suited for this but I’ll try again. 

I’m obsessing over this bass sound. Any ideas how to replicate it? 

Love the colour! 

On 30/06/2021 at 19:30, Obrienp said:

All that weight (7KG) and no valves?

I agree. This comment sticks out to me as it really shows how times change! 

Nathan is such a brilliant player. He’s fast becoming my favourite demonstrator/ reviewer. Pedal sounds good.