RustInPeace90

Well, i've given it a week before I decided to report back on here so I could give it a fair trial. So far, I'm really enjoying playing it. It's helping to train my ear when I'm playing along to songs too and it's essentially teaching me a whole new way of playing. Really fun bass to play. The electronics are a bit weak so I'm definitely going to upgrade those at some point but that's last priority bass wise at the moment as I've got to get my other basses up to 100% how I want them. [quote name='sprocketflup' timestamp='1451521345' post='2941308'] Cmon now, you know the rules, pics or it didn't happen [/quote] Oh I suppose I better follow the rules here we go! As a little treat, i've attached a sound clip too. Points for guessing the song Please excuse the poor playing! I'm really not used to this thing yet! This is just a direct recording of the bass, solo'd on the bridge pick up, tone fully open. No post EQ or editing. Again, please excuse the sloppy playing. It's rather embarrassing but you'll get a feel for what these things sound like. [attachment=208889:019-P bass w flats#02.mp3]

Hey everyone I've been longing for a Jazz Bass again for quite a long time. I used to own one of the Squier VM 77 Jazz basses in black with the maple board and pearl block/binding but i swapped the neck with someone who had the natural VM so mine had the maple board with black blocks/binding and looked exactly like a Geddy Lee bass. Anyway, I've been really GASing over a Jazz bass again lately but I don't know if I want to go for a Squier VM again or to go for a Mexican Fender. Obviously i know what the Squier basses are like and since they "re-released" them with the heavily lacquered neck, i've wanted one even more BUT (and this is a big but), I've become a huge fan of Guy Pratt and his jazz basses look absolutely gorgeous. Both "Betsy", the Burgundy Mist with EMGs and rosewood board one or his 62 Stack Knob in sunburst with a rosewood board. The under-stated appearance of both these basses has really made me want one kind of like that. So yeah, what's the general opinion on here of the Mexican Fender Jazz Basses and would you choose them over the Squier VM Jazzes? (I've seen the Classic Vibe series and i'm not really interested in those so please don't suggest those). Bare in mind, i'm going to be tuning to Drop B with it thanks to the new band I've joined. I've currently got my Tobias tuned down to Drop B but I would rather just use her for recording and not risk getting her damaged during gigs. Hence why I'd be getting a cheap Jazz Bass too. I'll probably be sticking EMGs in it... and a badass II... We shall see! Thaaaaaaaaaanks.

Sorry to kinda resurrect an old thread but an old friend of mine had an Infinity fretless 5 string bass in natural hanging on his wall. I was over his on monday and he just gave it to me. Being a 4 string fretted bassist, 5 string, unlined fretless scared the hell out of me but this bass is really easy to play. I might give the pick ups an upgrade to something like some EMG HZs or whatever then use it on some of the slow parts for my bands album. Might have to be a cheat though and add side markers for the fret lines...

I totally agree Andy! That and the aching I felt in my wrist afterwards. Not nice at all! But unfortunately I didn't have a heat gun to hand and didn't know anyone with one. Plus with the gig being this coming Thursday, I didn't have much time to waste. Luckily, it's all off and the body has (as far as I know) been filled in the areas that needed filling and levelling. Hopefully an update will be coming later...

To answer Alittlebitrobot, yeah the finish was Poly. Took 2 days to get it all off. Even then i couldn't get the bits right in the curves of the 2 horns so i left it. Hopefully the guy painting it will be able to key it and work round it. I did need a few drinks after it as well haha. Anyway, here's the stripping photos... Oh errrr! [IMG]http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w99/Stevie_Dewar/Photo%2007-07-2015%2014%2041%2044_zpsv0ekwhc1.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w99/Stevie_Dewar/Photo%2007-07-2015%2014%2041%2034_zpsp8fmlthr.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w99/Stevie_Dewar/Photo%2007-07-2015%2014%2041%2007_zpsajv4alc6.jpg[/IMG] You can see here where the "through body" ferrules ripped the wood when i was taking them out. Luckily, it should be easy enough to sort that. Not happy with it though and one of the reasons i'm so against string through. Getting the holes filled in as i never use that option. [IMG]http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w99/Stevie_Dewar/Photo%2007-07-2015%2014%2041%2017_zpsicwbfq8z.jpg[/IMG] And here it is all stripped off! [IMG]http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w99/Stevie_Dewar/Photo%2008-07-2015%2011%2005%2009_zps7mtqqh6i.jpg[/IMG] Off to paint you go...

Hey guys and girls I decided to pull the plug on getting my Jackson Bass re-finished. Numerous reasons really, one being that i wasn't all that fond of the "forest green" finish it was in when i bought it and the other prominent one being that I'm playing a show with an old band I was in but unfortunately the vocalist died and we've all decided to play the same colour guitars/basses on the night meaning the 2nd guitar player is borrowing my LTD Alexi 600 for the night as it fits the colour bill and means that both guitarists will be using LTD flying Vs. Very classy! So, the colour. It's nothing exciting, i'm just getting it re-done in ice white with a heavy gloss overcoat. All black hardware on the bass too so it'll be all white and black. Usual Jackson rosewood board with shark fin inlays and white binding on the neck too so it all matches. Again, very classy! Here we go then, a picture of the bass before I started stripping it: (Excuse the bad picture and i know it looks black but it had a Green tint to it that i wasn't too keen on) And now to the sanding and stripping process...

Just like Mr Ardakin, i also associate sunburst with cheap after my Squier "Affinity" series P bass. Horrible cheap tuners, awful pick ups, crappy bridge, gross white pick guard. Ever since then i've hated sunburst guitar and basses. Won't touch them!

Aye a lot of any bass players' sound comes from how the engineer mixes it live but it's still important to have the sound you want and like coming from the speakers behind you. Alas, last night kinda settled my "to compress or not...?" question and the answer is... No! I tweaked my Sansamp a little bit last night in sound check and ran that directly in to my amp and in all honesty, it was the best bass tone I've ever had. We were damn loud last night but every thing sat so well together both on and off stage. I noticed there was more low end in the tone as well which was VERY useful I got complimented many times by different people after our set for the way my bass sounded too which is an even bigger plus.

You're all making very very good points. A compressor is seeming more and more pointless to me every minute. I have the ability to pluck hard or soft when needed and have an overdrive running which as people say, compresses the signal somewhat anyway. I'm gigging tonight for the Bloodstock Metal To The Masses Semi Finals (god i hope we win) so i'll be trying it for the first time without a compressor. Bass, tuner, sansamp, ampeg! Good stuff! Now my question is, what do i fill the spare gap with? A decent wireless? A multi effects unit like the Lexicon MPX200 or Behringer DSP2024 (more likely as i like Chorus and Phase a lot). I can't just leave it empty now

Yeah it really was a case of it was so subtle it really wasn't all that much of a difference. Usually in my bands set, i play the first song with a pick but the rest of the set with fingers. Hard hitting the whole way through apart from one "calm" section in a song where i basically wipe the string with my thumb haha. The Sansamp is ALWAYS on no matter what, it helps cut through the heavy drums and the guitarist's (ego) amp. Without sounding like a snob, i've set my bass up well enough to have even volume between all 4 strings so it wasn't really used to do that sort of job. In fact, i don't actually know why I ever had a compressor in my rig... A producer friend of mind who i spoke to yesterday said he usually advises against compressors for live use on bass as the cabinet usually compresses sound quite a lot as does the Sansamp's distortion/overdrive when you use that.

I don't know if you're familiar with him, but Marco Hietala of Nightwish/Tarot used to use the GT2 for his bass sound to fill the lack of 2nd guitar. The mix of his Warwicks, Sansamp GT2 and whatever amp it was he used on the tours sounded absolutely f'in deadly! £40 for it? You stole it! haha

Hey guys and gals, I've recently sold my DBX1066 compressor from my bass rig and was looking around at something else to replace it with but this got me thinking, is a compressor really that necessary? As it now stands, my chain would be Bass (Passive Precision or Active Jackson CMG) in to a Korg DTR1000 -> Sansamp RBI then off in an Ampeg B2R. I have yet to gig with out the compressor and I have a show this weekend where i'll be using my rig for the first time without the compressor in it so obviously i'll be able to tell a bit more whether or not i'm missing it after that. In all honesty though, i don't think it's going to make much of a difference as I always ran the output a 0 on it so it wasn't like it was boosting the output and i only really used "light" compression which in a metal band, really didn't seem to make much difference. I gigged for years without it and only really starting using a compressor in the last year/18 months. Even then i haven't used it for every gig, sometimes i've turned up with just a sansamp to run straight in to the PA or the supplied amp at the venue. So, please do discuss below. Nothing nasty yada yada...