progben

Hi guys,

Haven't been here for a while but wanted to list my Aguilar Tonehammer 500 for sale here, as I've had so many positive interactions with this marketplace over the years. Head is in great condition with some minor gigging wear. Comes with a padded Gator case (fits perfectly).

Only selling this because I don't play bass in a band these days, so this head isn't getting the use it deserves. Really is a cracking bit of kit that's never let me down and sad to see it go, but that's life!

Specs below. And price includes UK postage. Will go RM or Hermes (depending on final weight/size) but happy to send however you like (within reason/for a bit of extra cash to cover a more expensive option).

• No trades (I need the cash for a vet bill for my pooch!)
• Payment via PayPal or bank transfer
• Happy to send more pictures on request

Thanks guys,

Ben

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"Based on the popular Tone Hammer pedal this superlight bass head combines 3 bands of flexible EQ, a colorful "Drive" control, and 500 watts of power in a 4 lb package. The Tone Hammer 500 will give you the legendary "Aguilar Sound" while still fitting into the accessory pouch of most gig bags - the perfect choice for bass players on the go."

• Power Output: 500 watts into 4 ohms, 250 watts into 8 ohms
• Preamp Section: Solid State
• Power Section: Class D
• Transformer: Switching mode power supply (SMPS)
• EQ Section: Bass: +/- 17 dB @ 40 Hz, Mid Level: +/- 16 dB, Mid Frequency: 180 Hz - 1 kHz, Treble: +/- 14 dB @ 4 kHz
• Drive Control: Fully adjustable, featuring Aguilar's proprietary AGS(adaptive gain shaping) circuit.
• Effects Loop: Series operation. Adds 6 dB of additional gain, making it useful for a broad range of effects units.
• Inputs: One 1/4" input jack, compatible with all active and passive basses
• Speaker Outputs: Two Neutrik Speakon speaker outputs
• Balanced Output: XLR balanced output with pre/post EQ and ground lift switch
• Tuner output
• Cooling: Two high quality whisper fans with thermal speed control
• Dimensions: 10.75"W X 8.5"D X 2.75"H

Thanks all. With this is mind, I'll take Sibob's advice and speak to Newtone strings to guide me in the right direction

2 minutes ago, Bigwan said:

The bridge issue will depend on whether the anchor holes are big enough to allow the thicker strings to pass through. Typically on a 4 string they aren't in my experience but you might be lucky. Exposed core strings should take care of everything else with respect to the bridge.

Cheers Bigwan. I suspect that I'm not one of the lucky ones. Do you have any recommendations in regards to the exposed core strings?

Hello all,

After years of E A D G bliss, I've been recruited for a project where I'll be playing in Drop A ( A E A D ) woahh  and, as such, I'm after a bit of guidance.

NB: I'd like to keep playing my current 4 string basses, rather than buy a 5 string.

After some preliminary reading, I've come to the conclusion that:

• I need thicker strings to be able to comfortably hold that tuning
• I'll 100% need to modify the nut to fit these strings at the headstock
• I'll most likely need to modify the bridge to get the string to sit properly

The nut mod is no problem, but ideally I'd like to keep the bridge as original as possible. 

I've seen some strings which have exposed cores down by the bridge. Would these allow for me to keep the bridge as is, and just make the modification to the nut where the string is thickest?

Any help in this area would be really appreciated! 

Just now, Ghost_Bass said:

What's unprofessional about silently tunning between songs when the singer is addressing the audience? Surely having a musician tuning by ear in those periods would be uncomfortable for everyone. No mather how good one's gear is it will come out of tune during the gig, strings get hot from the hands, the overall ambient temperature also gets hot with the punters body heat, it's impossible to keep perfect pitch from start to end, do an outdoor gig and it gets even worse.

My perspective is that being out of tune is way more unprofessional than the tuning solution itself, whatever that may be. 

Just amp -> tuner -> bass for me.

It's great to be able to set up quickly and, in the event of an inevitable balls up, the offending party is easier to spot.

I think if I was playing incredibly stylised music then I'd need pedals but I want my bass to sound like a bass, and it does.

For as long as 4 strings on a fretted board are enough, I'm sure my Aria Pro II SB will do the job.

Will I end up with another bass? Probably. Will it play or sound as good as the Aria? Probably not.

Either way, as long as I'm spending my $ on something which makes me happy, who cares.

This morning I finally got round to listening to King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard

I'm addicted! 

12 studio albums in 5 years is impressive enough, but the quality of everything I've listened to so far has been top notch. Especially Nonagon Infinity. 

6 minutes ago, Switch625 said:

I'm all for upgrades and customisation. But for a starter bass I just want something to pick and up enjoy playing without thinking "it could do with new pickups/better tuners". I think the VM squiers kind of fall in to that bracket, as does the bitsa you have for sale at the moment

Definitely think a second hand Ibanez SR is a good shout, then (if you get on with the neck/string spacing).

Because they depreciate faster than a Subaru, you can effectively buy a medium to high-end model pre-owned for only a bit more cash than the entry model new.

6 minutes ago, Switch625 said:

There's a second hand Yamaha RBX260 on ebay at the moment that I briefly looked at. But when looking at a couple of videos on youtube I wasn't overly impressed with the tone. I don't know if it's worth taking a gamble on it or waiting for the right PJ style guitar.

As it happens, I upgraded the TRBX to a 1980's MIJ RBX800 which is absolutely brilliant. I'd really struggle to part with it.

You should be able to pick one of those up for ~£250. Those old RBX's are a steal 

My first bass was a Yamaha TRBX304 and although I realised that active basses with humbuckers aren't really for me, it was a quality instrument which saw me through my first year.

I picked that up for £100 second hand so definitely worth considering if you try one and get on with it!

My favourite jazz album is probably Jazz Pa Svenka by Jan Johansson. Fantastic, simple and timeless. As for something modern, I really enjoyed The Epic by Kamasi Washington. Ambitious as hell at 3 hours but brilliant more often that not.

Picking a rock album is fairly impossible. I'm currently listening to Tool's 10,000 Days so I'll go with that purely because I'm still finding new things to love about it 11 years on.

2 minutes ago, GazWills said:

I'm listening to this now, it must have passed me by earlier in the year. I've not bought any primus for a while, but enjoying this a lot. The Seven is a hell of a track.

... as for the Prophets of Rage mentions, it may be just me but compared to RATM, I find it pretty terrible / formulaic. Really a disappointing album for me.

I bought more albums in 2016 than I had for some time, with Iggy Pop, Russian Circles, Helms Alee and Dismemberment Plan being some real stand-outs.

2017, I've hardly got anything new. Alpha Male Tea Party and Chiyoda Ku albums were both belters though.

Definitely a weird one, even for them. 

& I was on the same bill as Chiyoda Ku when they played in a practice room with about 50 in the crowd. They were really impressive - thanks for reminding me to check out that record!

11 minutes ago, Dazed said:

I have a translucent black one too. I’m going to check the serial number later now  

I guess the Japanese built ones used German parts - hence the rear cover. 

I recall reading once that the German built pro2’s didn’t ever get sold as they weren’t up to standard, but there does seem to be so many stories about these. 

I'm sure I've read somewhere that some did go on sale because there were up to standard, but the majority were destroyed because of low quality.

The Japanese-built w/ German parts theory does seem the most likely.

How're you finding your bass, Dazed?

26 minutes ago, Bluewine said:

Just remember, if your going to lump all cover bands together we can just as easily lump all originals bands together too.

Blue

Frankly speaking, I don't think there's that much difference between them. For example, if you replace a founding member of Band A, 20 years after they've formed and written the majority of their popular material, aren't you essentially playing covers every night?

Big grey area. We're all working towards the same goal (entertaining our audiences) and I think that's the most important thing to remember in any case.

50 minutes ago, stingrayPete1977 said:

I think it's quite sad that a fellow musician feels this way. 

There must be some brilliant songs tucked away on home studio computers. 

Agreed. 

RE: my band, if we don't think the song is good enough to stand up to what's out there, it never sees the light of day.

The whole point of being in an originals band (imo) is to write the best music you've ever heard

I don't understand why you'd invest a huge amount of time, money and effort into something which you didn't think was good enough.

3 hours ago, warwickhunt said:

 The bridge pup solo is a bit 'meh' mind! 

Agreed. Although with a bit of EQing and distortion, I can get it somewhere close to the Ric ballpark and often use it to track electric guitar parts on demos, so its useful in that respect. It really shines when you roll toward the neck though, for sure!

No pics to hand but as above!

I really, really rate the Pro II. It's unfairly compared to the Pro I which is a different thing entirely really. The II is essentially a really awesome lookin' J bass with some of that Warwick growl . Also its made in my birth year which is neat.

The craftsmanship seems really good, so it'd make sense for it to be MIJ, with German hardware (hence the MIG plastic cover). 

Hey all,

I'm just looking for any knowledgeable folks to shed some light on where my Dolphin Pro II was built. I've done some research online but there seems to be a lot of conflicting information.

It's finished in translucent black, has silver hardware, and has the serial number E-346-91 (Built in May, 1991, I assume).

From what I've read, the general consensus seems to be that a few German basses were made (badly, and without serial numbers), then production moved to Japan

Confusingly the back of the electronics cover reads 'Made in Germany', though. 

Anyone in the know? 

As others have said, it's hard to get a handle on this without hearing the band.

That said, if you're a 3 piece band and using a solo as a point of climax (see: bands like Testament who usually use the solo as an opportunity to up the tempo and introduce some crushing rhythm work), you won't really be able to get there without an additional guitar player/keys player/etc.

My band don't really have too many solo sections but they're usually used as a way to create space before the rhythm guitar/vocals punch back in. 

All depends on the music but worth asking some questions about the arrangement before you start altering your bass tone.

Most of London Calling, I'd say. Especially the title track. I think the imagery is superb.

22 hours ago, Quatschmacher said:

Yes, it did but I only heard it in summer after seeing them at a festival I was playing at. In my defence, I think the initial post was ambiguous in its wording and I wasn’t sure if it meant “favourite album released this year” or “favourite album heard this year”.

There’s a broadcast of one of their recent orchestral gigs airing on Radio 2 on Wednesday. 

Sorry for the ambiguity, the focus was meant to be on albums released this year - but thanks for the recommendations!

Yep, me too. 2 1/2 years into my current band and we've covered 2 (neither of which we play anymore) and written around 30. 

For me its all about playing music you cant find anywhere else!

11 minutes ago, Graham said:

Akercocke - Rennaisance In Extremis

So happy these guys have reformed and on top of that released my favourite album of the year.

 

Great shout that Graham. Awesome record. I was worried it'd be the standard flat reunion type fare but they proved me wrong!

Any genre, any style. Just share the album which stood out to you this year (edit: which was released in 2017)

For me, it was unexpectedly The Desaturating Seven by Primus. I didn't like the prerelease songs much but the record as a whole has sucked me in completely. Claypool always does the unexpected but this one really took me by surprise and won me over in a big way.

Over to you guys. Hopefully this will introduce some people to some gems!