dave_bass5

Hmmm, thanks guys. I was worried this might be the case. I'm stuck with using only one cab, and can't afford one of the bigger cabs. We don't do loud gigs, and I'm normally the loudest anyway, and no where near pushing my rig, but I have had other, larger cabs that couldn't beat the 1212L, so maybe I'm hoping for too much expecting a single driver cab to replace this. I'll keep investigating though.

Can anyone comment on how this cabs compares to a Schroeder 1212L? Ive had my 1212 for a few years but want something a bit more traditional sounding, without loosing too much in the way of volume/presence. To me the 1212 is like a sledge hammer, it just punches through everything, but i dont find the tone quite as faithful as id like. If i was to replace it this BF seems like the perfect choice. I play in a 4 piece covers band, doing social clubs and small scale wedding venues. I have never needed to turn my Markbass head up past 11 o'clock, and quite often not past 9-10 o clock. I dont have PA support, but dont need it. I did look in to a BF a couple of years ago but the buld wait time put me off. This time i can wait if i have to. Appreciate any replies.

Just found a thread on Talkbass http://www.talkbass.com/threads/new-mxr-preamp.1029475/

I must admit i was very underwhelmed with the Sadowsky DI when i had it. I felt it was nothing more than a subtle tone boost. I know others rate it but i wouldn't put it in the same list as the others. IMO of course.

They are very easy to fit, so if you get a new pick guard you can install most of it without disturbing the old wiring. Very easy to go back to the old set up then.

Placed a wanted add for a tone knob and Gerry was right in there offering me one for free. Turned up today and my bass in now complete, all because of the generosity of this lovely man.. Cheers Gerry.

[quote name='paul_5' timestamp='1401883712' post='2467790'] I keep trying P basses off and on, but always come back to a Jazz. [/quote] Tone wise I prefer a Jazz bass, but find a P works better in my band. whatever i play it has my Squier CV Jazz neck or Lakland JO neck on it. Cant get on with medium jumbo frets or P necks these days.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1401879342' post='2467715'] Well, I care. I've spend £££££ and hours and hours for many many years honing things and it isn't really much of a concern if most people have cloth ears.. If I feel I am sounding good and the band can feed off that, then that takes us up a level. Sounding and feeling great on stage is what I want to do it for... [/quote] This is the most important thing to me. No matter how i sound out front if im not enjoying my tone then i wont play as well. My rig has two tones. Close up on stage its quite poky and i never have any issues with hearing myself (nor do the band). Out front, say 20ft and further the lows seems to bloom, or the mids die off, and its a fuller, warmer tone. Since this thread started ive gone from a long time P bass user to Jazz bass. Haha, there is no hope for some of us. for me there is no "my tone", its what i want at the time and how i feel. By the end of the year ill be back to P.

This thread is really not doing my GAS any favours :-(

[quote name='BigGuyAtTheBack' timestamp='1401376678' post='2462991'] Spent 20 years looking for the 'right' tone, discovered a plectrum was all I needed! [/quote] Completely the opposite for me. I'd love to be able to play fluently without a pick, and I can at home, but once at a gig I resort back to a pick. I much prefer the tone of fingers over pick.

Wonder why so many people have multiple basses if its not worth spending more than a few mins getting a good tone. Maybe its not worth spending the time, but worth sending them money ;-)

[quote name='waynepunkdude' timestamp='1401279341' post='2461933'] Loud amp, comfy bass, no one cares in the audience. [/quote] or on stage in my band :-(

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1401201152' post='2461092'] Now I'm dabbling with dual-pickup basses, it's a bit different... I think a preamp works in a Jazz (for example) because as you have more tones at your disposal anyway, a preamp turns a Jazz into an uber-Jazz... YMMV, etc. [/quote] Yeah, there does seem to be a lot more active jazz basses off the shelf than P basses

[quote name='cocco' timestamp='1401200702' post='2461072'] Thanks Dave! I see you have a GZR and a fralin too, how do they compare? My other temptation is to swap the Fralin out for a GZR. [/quote] No problem. It's just a personal thing of course. Another reason for going back to the BDDI was so I could have that awesomeness on all my basses, not just one. There were sown great tones coming out of the P-Retro, and playing in a covers band it seemed perfect. Thing is I've been playing for the past 10 years without needing that versatility, same goes for effects. I really like the GZR set. To my ears it lacks some of the low end mud that my Fralin has. It still thumps but it's a cleaner thump. There seems to be a bit of upper mid boost that I've not heard in a P before. This helps get a bit more growl with the neck pup, but it can still definitely do vintage warmth. The bridge pup is dead silent, and while not as strong tone wise as my Fender Super 55, it seems to work better when blended in than my pervious set up. In fact the tone I have now with both pups on is more or less the tone I was looking for with the P-Retro in my Squier CVP bass.

[quote name='cocco' timestamp='1401199603' post='2461040'] To be honest I'm just wondering if it will make my Bob glaub any more awesome than it already is or take away from the awesome that I have. I currently run a sans amp BDDI, but that's mostly for dirt and garaunteeing a good DI sound, rather than tone shaping. It's probably gonna be a waste of money/time as I'm not a fan of activeness anyway. [/quote] Exactly what i was hoping to do. Ive been using a BDDI for a few years, always on, and hoped the P-Retro would help me replace this so i could have all the control on the bass. It didnt work like that for me, unfortunately. I too am not really an active guy, although i have had them, but these days im just back to using a BDDI and a passive bass. It can make it sound more awesome, but so can the BDDI IME. Keeping it simple.

Im pretty sure there are already threads about this on here, but for what its worth (normally not a lot) i use a cut off form one of those brillo pads with the large foam body. Its quite soft so doesn't seem to effect intonation at all, and does a good job of producing a nice thump (i play with a pick). Only downside is its not quick to get it in and sometimes if a song is called out that needs it quite often illl not bother, or ill just keep it in for as long as i feel like it. I am on the lookout for a more elegant solution myself, but not going to go as far as that overpriced Bass mute bridge..

I had a P-Retro last year. Its all everyone says it is, but for me it had one big negative (although this is a personal one). Too much control, and i found myself going from never needing to touch the two knobs on my P bass 99% of the time, to constantly fiddling with the 4 controls. I felt that the tones were pretty good, there really wasn't anything i could find fault with, but for me it was overkill and one more thing to worry about.

Nice one. Good luck with it. I've been meaning to put mine up for sale since Jan lol.

[quote name='Oopsdabassist' timestamp='1400835166' post='2457331'] Thanks for all the replies guys, Paul S, thats the sort of thing I was hoping for, setting up 3 of 4 'sounds' and using the foot switch to cycle through em. Bit of a bummer about the bad tuner though, my B9 is pretty good for tuning. Lozz, good point about the DI, I always like that backup option, looks like a B3 might be the way to go. *heads off to for sale section* [/quote] No issues with the tuner on either my 60B or B3. I have both and a although on paper the 60B seems to have the advantage with its 4 effect slots i found it too fiddly to use live. The B3 seems more immediate and easier to change things in a live situation. The DI has a very nice tone and for a while replaced my BDDI. In the end i just didnt need effects live so stopped using both live. My B3 is up for sale here ;-) http://basschat.co.uk/topic/237538-zoom-b3-for-sale/