thegummy

I want to see if I like the MM Stingray sound enough to want to add it to the arsenal.

I've never found short sessions in shops useful for this, it's only after some time at home playing properly that I get a good taste.

What is the cheapest bass that would allow me to experience the tone style? I don't expect it to sound just like a full on MM but just in the same style like a cheap Jazz clone would give.

Would the cheapest Sterling model be there? What about 3rd party? If it's passive would it give me an idea of a MM set flat?

I have thought it could be good to buy a used one and can sell it on for minimal loss if I wanted to but, to be honest, I don't get how folk manage to find second hand stuff on here; any time I've had a look at that forum, when I eventually find what I'm looking for it's never anywhere near where I live.

1 hour ago, Basscabman said:

Put decent pots and capacitor in and the pickups sounded OK after that so no need to change them.

Different values to what came stock?

23 minutes ago, hooky_lowdown said:

So many people think the most expensive basses in a range are the best. For some they are, for others they are not. There is a reason many pro players use a MIM Fender over a US one. 

Don't get caught in the hype, some basses work for people, some don't. Try them yourself, and you'll know if the CV, VM or any other brand or range best suits your tastes.

Could you name a few pro players who use a MIM Fender? I'm not suggesting there aren't any or anything, I've just never seen it as far as I'm aware but would like to.

44 minutes ago, Basscabman said:

I've got a 77VM and It's a cracking bass, Changed all the wiring and didn't need to change pickups after that. Plenty of ooommpff. Really light weight too. Fantastic neck. My go to bass. 

You changed the wires in a bass and it changed the sound?

Find that very hard to believe.

38 minutes ago, Lozz196 said:

It`s worth trying to get over that phobia. I`ve just bought a Squier VM77 Jazz Bass and aside from the pickups which I`m changing due to very low output it`s a cracking bass. I`ve had numerous Jazzes and never really connected with any until this one. 

You're right and I have tried and just like I know a tiny spider on the wall isn't going to hurt me, I believe Squier basses are surely fine. But phobias are irrational. I think having a low-end Squier from age 12 and knowing that Fender was the real deal all those years has been too deeply engrained in me.

Thankfully Fender branded basses are only relatively more expensive than Squiers but still fairly affordable so it's not causing me too much grief

Just to update, I haven't received a reply from the above guy but I did get a reply from strings direct.

He wasn't aware of that happening before but made a couple of suggestions that did cross my mind already.

He suggested, and I reckon correctly, that maybe the string core broke the last time I took it off or put it on. That would explain why the sound difference is so big, it's hard to believe any brand could sound like that and I can't believe I wouldn't have immediately noticed it if it was like that before.

That doesn't explain the colours so I'm starting to think it's possible I've replaced that string at one point but not remembered. Would be surprising but I suppose it's possible.

Just while typing this I had a thought - I did have the bass in a workshop having luminlays installed; it's possible the technician either broke the string and replaced it or accidentally got it mixed up when restringing it.

Everything I've read says they're more like the old vintage modified rather than the old classic vibe.

Whether that's based on examination and experience or just a guess based on the price and factory, I don't know.

Daphne Blue is a fantastic colour. Unfortunately I have a Squier phobia. I wish the player series had Daphne Blue as an option.

Thanks a lot, really appreciate the info. I've emailed him, fingers crossed he can enlighten me.

I think that regardless of how this happened, I'll have to buy a new set anyway since it was 2 years ago I bought them.

I can't imagine not noticing how different it sounded the first time I put them on which makes me think the mismatch happened later. But then I've only ever had 2 packs of flatwounds and still have 8 flatwound strings.

I just put a set of TI flats on a bass that I'd had in a tin since I last took them off.

I noticed that the G sounds totally different to the rest then when I paid attention to the end, it has a red ballend and black silk whereas the other three have bronze or golden coloured ballends and red silk.

The only other set of flatwounds I've ever had (and still have all 4 of) are Roto and they all have red silk and red, white or blue ballends.

The G with the TI set is definitely a flatwound.

I'm baffled as to how this could have happened. I bought the TI set from StringsDirect. Could somehow a different G string be included by mistake at the factory? Seems only likely if the same factory package other brands too.

Any ideas?

11 hours ago, Cuzzie said:

@mcnach back to T-Bird - I popped a telebird together.

Epi Nikki Sixx body needed repair, and had no neck, so I repaired it and added a tele neck which needed a shave and voila.

Got any photos of the Tele neck with the hair still on it?

I've always kind of wanted one because they look so cool and the Epiphone ones are a good price but I've read a lot of negative comments online about them not sounding good and even things along the line of "good sounding Thunderbird pickups don't seem to exist" etc.

11 hours ago, Muzz said:

On listening to it again without watching it, yeah, the basses sound different, but not that different, and I'm still of the opinion they sound more like Scott than anything. And I'd challenge anyone to identify them in anything more than a very very rudimentary way without the visuals...in fact at least half of them could be the same bass with EQ, string and technique adjustments...

I could maybe pick out that it was a P or a J or an active type bass but even then that's pushing it, I wouldn't be surprised if I tried a blindfold challenge and had no idea.

On the other hand, when you say they sound like Scott Devine, do you think if half a dozen bass players recorded the same part you'd be able to pick out Scott's? I don't think I could.

A player like Geddy Lee I might pick out (providing he's playing in his normal style and not trying to trick us lol) but I've never really picked up on Scott having a distinct style other than playing very lightly. Just to stress again, I love him and he's an amazing bass player for sure. I'm just not sure about it sounding like him tonally, I definitely think it's more to do with the gear what the tone is like.

It's a commonly said thing in the bass world and the guitar world "person x would sound like person x through any gear" but I'm very sceptical of the idea.

2 hours ago, Muzz said:

I think the really remarkable thing is how alike they sound, or rather how much they all sound like Scott Devine...

It wasn't really all that relevant to me, as I'd make them all sound completely different to how Scott does*.  The real question between them would be 'How would they respond to how I play them, and how easily could I get a sound I like out of them?'

 

* And that's not any sort of qualitative judgement, obv, and not necessarily a good thing... 😕😀

Interesting that you find that, I have a completely different perception and think some of them sound as different to others as two basses could.

Agree with the positive comments about Scott Devine in the thread. I enjoyed being a member of his site and only cancelled because I don't have enough free time to justify the cost anymore.

13 hours ago, Cosmo Valdemar said:

It would have been a better comparison if all the basses were played in the same way. Slapping one and then heavily palm muting another doesn't give a great idea of what they sound like. 

A wider range of basses and styles would have been nice. And I doubt everything is 'wide open' either. 

Yeah, I'm having a bad day before anyone asks 🤣

I agree.

As much as it's still a cool wee video as it is, it would only really be a useful comparison if the same thing or at least style was played on each.

The Sheehan, for example, gets a wee riff at about the 20th fret, doesn't even get any proper bass notes.

Thanks for all the advice - pretty set on going for a Vintage V4

1 hour ago, hooky_lowdown said:

Yes, they have different spec. From things I've read the newer ones with the painted headstock have hotter pups than the others.

If you decide on the V4 than try a few out, this goes for any bass really. Some will feel and sound better to you than others, but the consistent is that you know all will be well made and spec'd.

All the CVs hardware is made in china, and most will agree while the Wilkinson hardware may also be made in china, it's of very decent quality.

If we knew what style or kinds of music you want the p bass for, we can help narrow down your search?

Play different kinds of music but nothing metal or anything - classic rock and softer.

Not sure if any shops here stock the vintage v4 range so might just have to buy blindly online.

I wouldn't want hot pickups but defo wouldn't want the fake relic so the icon is out.

The vintage is significantly cheaper than the CV so am leaning towards that.

Is everything standard sized like the squier would be, e.g. Normal p pickups can be put in?

I had a look for the ones on here but the only one I could find was the miles away, always seems to be the case.

11 hours ago, hooky_lowdown said:

No, the V4 has a bigger range, from the ICON series which is vintage in feel and tone, to the STANDARD series which is more modern sounding.

Ah really?

I thought the icon just meant it was "reliced". So the V4s that don't have icon in the name have different pickups?

Hotter?

38 minutes ago, hooky_lowdown said:

+1 for the V4.

 

With the CV you only have vintage tone. The V4 range gives you more options, from vintage to more modern sounding.

Really? Does it have some kind of switching or coil tap?

I want to buy a second P Bass so I can have flats and rounds available without restringing and also so I have a cheaper P to take to band practice without having to take my main Fender.

It's between the new Squier CV (not the older one that is hyped, the new Indonesia version) and a Vintage V4.

Anyone able to offer any wisdom and/or advice to help with my decision?

2 hours ago, Joebass said:

Hi gummy,

How low were you playing on the keyboard? A low register E on the piano will sound muddy and dissonant against a low A on the bass. Google low interval limits for more.

BTW, Am/E would be in 2nd inversion.

Joe

 

Wasn't playing in the bass guitar's register but suppose it still applies to a degree.

Will defo Google that, thanks for the suggestion.

Funny that I always thought that inversion was the first! Is first inversion what they call the normal chord or is first inversion with C in the bottom?

Thanks for the reply.

It's very hard to put in to words what I mean about that feeling of playing the root note vs any other, kind of hoped it would just be a familiar thing to fellow players.

You've essentially answered my question though.

P.s. I tried tuning the bass very carefully, tried changing the keyboard sound, drum sound etc.

Seems to definitely be that the lowest note played by the keyboard wasn't what I was paying on bass

I have played basic keyboard for many years and very often like to play the first inversion of chords - just always liked the way it sounded and never really thought much more about it.

The other day I looped a couple of chords to practice bass over and when I was playing an A note over an Am chord (first inversion) there was some strange resonance going on and it didn't have the same feeling as playing the root note on the bass usually does. I thought it might be amp settings or that maybe the kick on the drum machine had too much of a pitch to it that was clashing but ruled both of these out.

Then I thought about the inversion and tried playing the E note on the bass and it felt more like a root usually would.

Is it the norm to play the 3rd on the bass when the chord is played in the first inversion on the other instrument?

Obviously loads of notes can be played on the bass but I mean when going for that root note feel, would a "Am/E" chord have A or E played on the bass?

When I first bought a bass I went for a Jazz because I read on various forum posts people saying that the Jazz can be made to pretty much sound like a P but a P can't be made to sound like a Jazz.

Now that I've had both for a while I know that it's absolutely not true that the J can sound like a P - it always sounds completely different regardless of settings.

So, whichever one you prefer (if you can't have both), I just feel it will be helpful to anyone coming across this thread in future to know not to go for a J expecting it to be the best of both worlds.

5 hours ago, Lozz196 said:

I’ve had both maple and rosewood versions of the same basses over the years, and have always found that the maple ones were slightly “snappier”. I doubt I’d be able to tell in the mix tho.

Also a few years back we did a blind maple/rosewood test at the Herts Bass Bash. In every case the overwhelming winners were the rosewood versions.

Do you happen to have any more details about that test? Were there enough examples used that a coincidence could be deemed unlikely re: the rosewood preference?

I'm guessing the test was solo bass though; your point about the mix is a very good one - bass more than any other instrument sounds completely different in the mix to solo.

10 hours ago, tom1946 said:

I've recently bought another Jazz bass with a rosewood board, ( I always play on maple boards exclusively)

I wanted to see if if this one would produce a brighter sound than the last 2 or 3 did. All I seem to get is a sound like dead strings. When I tried the new one it just thumps and stops a bit like flats do so I've realised that finally rosewood boards don't ring out like maple do. I even put new rounds on it with no change in the sound.

There really is a big difference between maple and rosewood, but I've played maple for many years so I do notice the change.

Surprised to see how big of a difference you feel it makes, usually it seems to be debated between none and subtle