Lo-E

Not too shabby. On the downside, the club's less-than-stellar gear left me having trouble hearing myself. On the upside, we played well and the crowd seemed to like us. Also, some friends I didn't expect to see made the trip out to see us and that was great!

I have no experience with Tecamp heads, but I have compared my TH-500 to my other heads in the same power neighborhood; an Ampeg SVT3-Pro, a Carvin BX500 and an Eden WT-400. While all of those heads get more than loud enough for my needs, I do find that the output of the TH500 seems to be quite loud compared to the Eden and Ampeg. I will say up front that this is not the result of any scientific testing whatsoever. It is simply my impression based upon many gigs with these pieces of equipment used with cabinets of all sorts over the years. (The Carvin, for what it's worth, also gets really loud.) All of those heads are very close in claimed output, but voiced very differently, which supports the suggestions that the best answer is really to listen to the heads in question and see which best suits your needs. @discreet: if rhubarb is still available, I think I'd be very happy to be rhubarb.

That shouldn't be happening. What's probably going on is that your fingerboard may have dried out some and shrunk, but the fret lines (often a plastic veneer) didn't shrink with it. You could try oiling your board with some pure lemon oil and see if it expands a bit, but it's more likely you'll need to sand the lines down so they're flush with the board. You shouldn't need to epoxy anything unless you want to. It will change the sound of the bass, but some people like the results.

A great, local band called Tied For Last at Otto's Shrunken Head in Manhattan's East Village.

[quote name='No. 8 Wire' timestamp='1446556852' post='2900250']where can you source decent P bass necks in the UK - or is just better to import a mighty mite from the US? [/quote] Well, I'm here in the US, so I'm not really sure where your best source would be. I'n my experience, Allparts necks are quite a bit more consistent than Mighty Mite and their profiles are,IMO, closer to the shape you're after. Your milesge, of course, may vary. Another option would be to find a cheap, used Squier P just to swap necks with yours and then sell it. It may be cheaper to buy a whole Squier than to import a new neck.

I've owned a couple and played bunches of these over the years. I haven't played a bad one yet.

Now that I think about it, you could also get a wider neck for your Squier. Just a thought....

[quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1446554668' post='2900226'] I thought a Stingray already had a similar profile to a Precision [/quote] Yes, for the most part, 'rays have a Precision neck profile. Bot Stingrays and Precisions have had variations in neck shapes over the years so I don't know what the likelyhood is of finding an exact match, but 'ray necks and P necks have a lot in common. Since you want to find a "beater" backup for your 'ray, have you considered the Sterling By Musicman basses instead of a Precision?

Hard to remember for sure, but I think it was Weather Report: Heavy Weather. Havona blew my mind. Bright Size Life and Hijiera are also early favorites. I still get a little misty when I hear Portrait of Tracy. It reminds me of how much we lost.

I love G&Ls and I've loved the look of the ASATs ever since they were introduced, but they really do balance poorly. Even with skinny necks and lightweight tuners, they neck-dive like crazy. The L2000 has the same electronics with more neck options and perfect balance. It's true they don't look as boss, but you can still get the sparkle finish!

[quote name='dlloyd' timestamp='1446158850' post='2897472'] I didn't like it at all. But I quite like this: [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vbvg1CPae4U[/media] ....right up to the bass solo. [/quote]i agree. Far more interesting and musical. That first clip, despite my disinterest in that style and approach, still demonstrates pretty amazing chops by two very young players. They're only going to get better - and I'll never have chops like that!

I'm another Evah Pirazzi Weich fan. Excellent pizz tone; they have a real "ping" at the front of the note which makes for a really present attack, but after that initial ping they don't sound overly bright. They also behave very well under the bow. On my other bass I'm using Corelli 370Ms. These pizz and bow well, too, but they're a bit of an acquired taste: very thin and low tension, long sustain and a very bright sound even after they've broken in. The pizz sound is almost like that of a fretless electric bass - growly and aggressive. Arco, they're very stable under the bow and very easy to start but they're still very bright. I like them a lot, but they're the opposite of the Evahs, which are better all-rounders IMO.

I don't own either anymore, but I owned both Alan Parsons' Eye In The Sky and Styx' Paradise Theater. I'm not proud of having owned either one of them. They're both terrible records. My friends who had any sense gave me a hard time about those records. It turns out they were right.

I love, love, LOVE a fridge, but I don't own one for all the reasons posted above. It would fit in my car, and I could probably move it (with some difficulty), but it's just not practical for the club dates I play and there are so many amazing cabinets on the market now that can do so much and weigh so little. I revel in the opportunities I get to use them in provided backlines, but ownership is out for me.

Better? Hmmmm..... Really good? Absolutely! I love my old Modulus BassStar and I really want a Status neck for my Musicman, so I'm definitely on board with graphite, but 'better' seems a little strong to me. I'll go with "Different and every bit as good". and to chrisanthony1211, I'm glad you've found what you really dig!

That looks great!

Oh, Man! I actually thought about Paul Jackson & Mike Clark when I saw the title of the thread, but I'm going to have to vote Levin/Bruford.

[quote name='The-Ox' timestamp='1445443046' post='2891535'] 2010 reissues are single coils? Interesting indeed [/quote]Yes, they're "reissues" of the original Bi-Sonics, but the word on the street is that they sound very little like the originals. To the OP's question; it's a little like asking to compare bacon to avocados: I love bacon. I love avocados. But if I had to compare the two, I'd be at a loss for words. The Guilds, as others have accurately stated are well-made, larger, have very thin necks and will have a less woolly tone than Gibson hollowbodies of similar design (because of the design and placement of the pickups). Danelectros are crudely made (in a wonderful sort of way), smaller, lighter in weight and tend to have a tone that's strong in midrange (thanks to the lipstick tube pickups). As to which would suit your needs better - you'd really have to try them out and see. Personally, I think Danos are a blast to play and find Guild necks too slight for me, although I like their tone, but my hands and ears may not look for the same things yours do.

I once read an interview in which John McLaughlin said that you can follow any note with any other note as long as the listener has been "properly prepared" for it. He didn't elaborate on what that proper preparation might be, but I always found it interesting and I keep it in the back of my mind when I'm playing experimental or improvisational music that's perhaps a little bit 'out'.

I'm very lucky that the bands I play in - thus far - don't play exceptionally loud. I've had very good luck with ER15s for years. I haven't found that the ER20s roll off too much high end, but that they simply roll off too much of everything. It's still relatively flat, but it sounds like it's in the next room. For that reason, I prefer the 15s. Human hearing is a bit funny in that, as we suffer hearing loss, we lose sensitivity to certain frequencies when they are at lower volumes, but we become more sensitive to the same frequencies at higher volumes. For example, those of us who have mid-frequency hearing loss will have trouble hearing people who speak softly, but loud mid-frequency sounds such as guitar amps will be more painful to us that people without hearing loss. For me, the 15s seem to balance things out in a way that enables me to hear vocals clearly without mids getting muddy the way they do with more attenuation. Everyone's ears, and degree of hearing damage, is different of course, so it probably pays to experiment.

[quote name='rodney72a' timestamp='1445130913' post='2889038'] EBMM. Very high and consistent quality over the last 30 years. [/quote] There was a recent discussion about EBMM quality on Talk-bass and the general consensus was that they've only continued to get better over the years and I tend to agree.

While I've liked the Ashdown heads I've heard, I can't say I've ever been all that crazy about their cabinets. Before you write me off as overtly biased, I'll gladly admit that I'm not that familiar with their entire product range and that there are a fair amount of recent Ampeg cabs I've disliked as well. Having said all that, I recently played through a friend's SVT-210AV and was completely floored by how good it sounded and how loud it was capable of getting for a moderately priced 210. I know that Ampeg gear is a fair bit more expensive on your side of the pond, but I urge you to give one a listen if you can. I did not have high expectations, but I was completely impressed.

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1444324002' post='2882278'] Put it between two heavy sheets of glass in the sunlight. Leave it a while. Sorted. [/quote]I was going to suggest the sheets of glass, but in a very low oven. I expect the sun would work, though.

It's just under 800 US dollars, unless I'm mistaken. Granted, that's still a lot more than the $600 it sells for here.