dave_bass5

Yep, it's dead in the centre of London at the moment. I've just traveled out of central London on the tube and there were free seats on all carriages, unheard of on a Friday. It's also the school holidays so a lot of people have gone away.

Try backing the blend off. I found that by doing this i get a bit more definition and clarity.

[quote name='Clarky' timestamp='1343603337' post='1752702'] Best gig yet with All The Queens Ravens. Played the Hoxton Bar & Kitchen. Great sound on stage, appreciative audience and we just clicked really really well. This is why I do this, still buzzing We were support act to a new Country-esque act called Phillious Williams. My word are they good, they will be signed to a record label very soon I predict [/quote] Bugger, i totally forgot about this. Sorry, maybe next time. Glad it went well. I saw the vid you posted, loved the track although not keen on the over use of narrow DOF but im sure thats just me.

First gig with my new Para driver last night. Bloody fantastic. It was a wedding in a Marquee, plenty of blokes in kilts so a very lively crowd. At one point there were more guest on stage around the mics than there are band members. Quite a few people falling about so we had to keep an eye on things but it was very enjoyable. Highlight of the night was watching two blokes fall over my cab and bass drum (both packed up waiting to go out to the car) in slow motion and not one drop of larger was spilt. The Para driver is going to work well. Ive not had a lot of time to play with it with my rig, but its brought my P bass to life. Ive never been one to use dirt or distortion but found i could get just the right tone for the Jam/Clash songs, and a very warm tone for the Motown songs. The mid control really is a bit plus over the BDDI. My rig sounded very full and deep, not something ive really experienced in this way before, not even with the BDDI.

[quote name='Delberthot' timestamp='1343403616' post='1750301'] The three most annoying things a punter can say are, in no particular order: 1) "Can you put xxxxxx on?" - Do you see record decks? 2) "Can you sing xxxxxxxxxx?" - well our singer can but what are the rest of use meant to do? We're not a barber shop quartet (thankfully) 3) After being told that we possibly couldn't do a song because no one of us have heard of it, punter says "its easy, it goes ner ner ner ner ner".At which point our singer says "Do you want to sing it?" which usually has them doing a David Copperfield and vanishing to the toilets. [/quote] And all this can happen during a song. What is it with people (not just drunks) that decide to try and chat with you while playing a song. Luckily for me its only my fingers that need to be there, not my brain so i can quite happily chat away to them, i just cant stick my finger in their eye during this time.

[quote name='JimBobTTD' timestamp='1343328499' post='1749095'] Being a band jukebox has always been a dream of mine. A book at the front of the stage with a list of all the available songs...request made...band plays track. [/quote] Ive seen a band called Rockaoke a few times. They do mostly (only) corporate gigs and always go down well. They do have a singer but she tends to take a back seat unless no one wants to get up and sing (not often), then it works as an ice breaker until the drink has been flowing for a while. Its a really good concept IMO. You just hand out lists of songs you do know, it doesn't have to be that many as long as you stick to the standard stuff. Agree about the twats who think we can just "just play it, dont worry about the chords". We normally find its when we tell them to come and sing it that they back down.

Just got this myself and have to agree, its their best for a while IMO. Its a lot heavier that i thought it would be, and to my ears the vocals sound as bit lower these days, although that could just be the production, not a bad thing though. Love the bass tone. so thick and meaty, yet with definition that i felt was lacking on some albums. Im on my third consecutive play through, not something ive down with any album for years. Good stuff.

No problem. Ive been using a BDDI for a year or so and have been happy with how that works. My cab is quite middy so the slight loss of mids hasn't been a problem, and i keep everything more or less flat anyway, with a bit of drive (definitely not distortion) when required. I do miss my old SA450 with its para mid control though. Most of the time the F1 EQ points work fine but a few times i could have done with a bit more so the Paradriver makes scene. Its not bass specific like the BDDI but it still has that Sansamp tone, great if you like that, not so much if you dont. I was thinking of getting a P-Reto, i was very impressed with the demo on YT, but as good as it is i'd rather have something that works with both all basses.

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1343210672' post='1746979'] Does it increase the risk of the amp catching fire also? [/quote] no but if its on for more than 10 mins it cuts the amp off. Get back to the serious stuff, ive recently got a Sansamp Paradriver and that really seems to bring my F1 to life. I liked using a BDDI but now i have proper control over the mids im finding my tone has a bit more definition.

Yeah, i looked at the graph but wasnt going to elaborate too much on it. I tend to use it more when i put new strings on. After a few gigs i end up with it all the way off. The VPF tends to stay on around 9 o'clock most of the time although i do back it off a bit when using my Sansamp.

Sorry, Chris, I mis read the post, you are of course correct, and yes, it makes a big difference. For those of us that only have the 4 tone knobs using the VPF does alter freq's we cant adjust otherwise without outboard units.

Actually no, the VLE just cuts the freq from about 250hz and above. its designed to emulate the old muffled speaker cabs. They should have called it.......The Ashdown knob

[quote name='andydye' timestamp='1343121433' post='1745424'] and the 'wanted forum' should be 'GASchat'? [/quote] Haha, or the IWWOT corner ;-)

Gorgeous looking bass. My first ever encounter with Lakland was a 55-01, although mine was just boring black. Loved it though, i will own another one day (maybe a 55-02 though). Enjoy it, its one of the best budget 5 strings out there IMO.

[quote name='andydye' timestamp='1343120134' post='1745383'] wouldn't '[b]asschat[/b]' underpants be better? [/quote] Thats what the Off Topic forum should be re named to

Just brought a red Polo. Thats 3 now :-) These feel very comfortable in this bloody hot weather, might get another one or two once (if) the designs change. Still have to find some way of shrinking in to my old BC Tee though.

I think my CVP is around 8.5, the Jazz is a bit heavier. One other thing not mentioned yet is the string spacing at the bridge. The High mass bridge that The basses come with has a 20mm string spacing. For me that was a bit too wide, or at least it felt it, so I've changed the bridges on mine to Gotohs. This was probably the one "must do" upgrade I did.

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1343056823' post='1744446'] TBH a good passive jazz and a good P and you're sorted. What I think is great that a "good" version of each can cost anywhere between £100 and £5000 - and really, if you find a good one at the bottom end of that you are kidding yourself that one at the top end will be that much better. [/quote] Yep. my needs are simple so one of each is more than enough. Agree about spending more and not feeling like its been worth it. My Lakland DJ5 cost mew £1200 when i got it, and from the moment i plugged it in i never really liked it (loved the look though). I spent another £300+ getting it modded to a PJ and still no real love for it. Took a chance on the CV Jazz and while i felt it could be improved on with a pup change i didnt feel as negative, and i hadn't broke the bank paying for it. Sold off all my other basses and am pretty content now. I wish i had done this a few years ago, could have saved myself a fortune.

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1343055884' post='1744422'] Tried dozens of jazz basses trying to find a good one, only one I regret not getting was a HW1, it was dirt cheap too [/quote] Well ive had two now, a HW1 and a HW-One and both were fantastic basses (also had a HW-one P). Saying that, i really dont think ive played a nicer neck than the CV necks. I love the vintage frets and how nice the back of the neck feels. I don think i could go back to med jumbo frets now. Although i have a Lakland JO neck on my CV P its only because i wanted a maple neck on it, and this came up cheap on here a while ago. Every time i get the CV Jazz out the neck just makes me smile. The two basses have cured all my Bass GAS......for now.

[quote name='mashup' timestamp='1343053955' post='1744366'] That's great Dave. Thanks a lot for sharing your experience with me & for the very kind offer of ABing. Just out of interest, what Fralin's do you think could work really well with this bass? I was tempted to look into hum cancelling pickups but have read from player/users that the hum cancelling types of single coil pickups rob a fair bit of the single coil character away. Is this true in your experience? [/quote] No problem, glad to help. Ive no idea about the Fralins, just that ive always wanted to try a set. Ive had the P bass versions and they are very, very nice. The Jazz bass versions get good reviews but aren't cheap so i dont think ill ever get to try them on this bass. The only experience ive had with hum cancelling jazz pups was a Nordstrand i had on my old Lakland DJ5. Cant say i noticed much difference (or liked it, before or after) but then it was after i had it modded to a PJ so both pups were changed. I'd stick with normal pups if i was you, unless you really cant get the tone you want.

I felt the stock pups (and the bass in general) has a warmer, soft-ish tone to it. Its hard to describe but my fav Jazz tone came from my HW-1/one basses and these had a more middy, brighter tone. Not quite as deep but they seemed to cut through a bit better. The Wizards get me closer to the HW's, a bit more punch and upper mids, without sounding too bright. I actually started with Wizards 84's but found them a bit darker than i hoped for, so the 74's i have are in the middle of the 84's and the more vintage sounding 64's. I still feel the bass has a deeper tone than my HW's but thats fine, i like how it sounds now. I should add that i didnt really look around before getting the Wizards. I wanted to try them, and as they were pretty cheap i just went for them. I expect there are better out there (i'd love to try Fralins on this bass) but these do me for now. As its a cheap bass, and a back up i hardly use i dont want to spend too much on it. If you do want to compare stock with the Wizards you're welcome to come and compare mine to yours.

As far as the wiring goes, i'd go with Luke, wait and see how it feels and sounds. Ive seen many posts where people have upgraded the wiring and pots, its all nonsense IMO. Change it if its not working but dont bother just because others do. Some people like to put vintage wire in it, try and get it to be as authentic as possible, again, its not needed and really, its a Squier not a vintage instrument. The wires are so short that changing them wont make any difference to the tone at all, and the pots on my two CV's are fine. In fact if anything i'd say they are smoother than the CTS pots i brought for my CVP (because one was damaged by me). I brought 6 in total and still didnt find one as smooth as the stock pots. The wiring inside is pretty decent IME, although it cant hurt to check it all out to make sure its all secure. Pickup wise, well yes, im of the opinion that different pups can really make this bass come alive. I felt the stock ones were perfectly usable, but didnt offer quite the Jazz tone i was after so i swapped them out for a set of Wizards. Tuners? My basses travel to gigs in a practically un padded gig bag on my shoulder and still manages to be in tune when i take it out. Again, try them out first, and if they arent working properly then change them, but ive never felt the need. Enjoy the bass for what it is, a very high quality, low priced gigging instrument.

Just sold Rob my BDDI. Very smooth and pleasurable transaction. Great person to deal with. Cheers Rob.

My wish is for different colour combinations on the existing range of Polo's. Maybe we could have a summer or Autumn collection. I like the idea of the Mugs as well. Will they be available in both right and [s]cack[/s] left handed versions ;-)