Annoying Twit

Just curious, but is there a reason you prefer the B206sm to the D6? Edit: I presume they sound better in real life. But I listened to some youtube videos of demos of the B206sm and the D6, and I must admit that I haven't been overwhelmed by what I heard. But youtube videos often give an unrealistic idea of what instruments sound like for all sorts of reasons. Are you comparing it to the Ibanez SR506? If you buy online please make sure you know your rights under the Distance Selling Regulations. If you buy it and don't like it, you can send it back.

I googled, but I can't find evidence of anyone having bought one online. The price of the BZ-7000 has gone down again. It's €289 Euros, or £228.68. Including p&p! Is that cheap or what?

I must have measured things wrong then, as I don't think mine has a particularly narrow string spacing. It's about the same as my other basses. (Measures again). I don't have a very clear ruler, but it seems to be about 16-17mm spacing.

As in the other thread, I made a step forward using my Behringer BDI21 in terms of getting sounds. It's certainly good value for money, it looks a million dollars if you don't look too closely for imperfections. I think that everyone should buy one.

@ambient - thanks for the generous offer. However, I'm not sure about putting even thinner strings on it. I was thinking of trying something even thicker than 0.135, perhaps a 0.140. But in any case, I want to have some time playing the current strings as they aren't awful. Past experience has shown me that sometimes if I take the time to get used to something, I realise that it doesn't need changing in the first place. They are Fodera strings however, and it would be interesting to try them out. I don't want to put people to any inconvenience however. Can I think about it for a bit? I've now played the bass in passive mode through my Behringer BDI21. It makes the sound a little more generic sound than what I get out of the onboard active EQ, and the drive function on the BDI21 also gives me some more sound shaping ability. Using this as active EQ in front of my Zoom B2 is one option, and seems to work quite well. However, if I have both the BDI21 and the onboard electronics switched on, it all gets quite noisy. Having the bass in passive mode into the BDI21 then into the Zoom B2 seems OK however. I'm getting into things slowly. At present, I"m playing the bass. I haven't recorded with it or even used it with my looper. I hope to do so soon, but when I pick it up - it just gets played. I'll do more with it once the novelty wears off a bit. If anyone does want to play mine and can get to Leicester, then we can probably work something out.

I'm not sure how to measure string spacing, but it's about 70mm from the middle of the b string to the f string over the neck pickup. So, about 11.7mm spacing between strings? Newtone Strings offer custom sets. They aren't cheap, and there is said to be a 28 day turnaround. How is the quality compared to (say) Warwick Black Label?

Thanks. I want to be careful that I don't make this into my NBD thread mark II, it was meant to be about the general joy of 7 strings. BTW: Are you the MTD fan that I met at the Midlands bass bash in Leicester?

[quote name='ambient' timestamp='1409401845' post='2539356'] What bass did you buy ? [/quote] [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/243984-nbd-harley-benton-bz-7000-7-string-active-bass/"]Harley Benton BZ-7000[/url] I've seen mention of Circle K strings. I've also heard of people using fat strings, e.g. 0.145 for a B. I'm not sure how high quality the neck on mine is. It's a nine piece neck through with maple and nato. The type of maple is not specified. The strings are Olympia brand, and these are cheap and reviews are variable. Someone on sevenstring.org swapped theirs for Warwick Red Label, and reported a dramatic improvement in sound. From their review, I was expecting to have to change the strings immediately, but they seem to be OK, just a bit floppy. I do think I'll upgrade eventually, but I want to think about it and get really good strings. Wow Circle-K strings offer a lot of choice! [url="http://circlekstrings.com/store/7-strings-ss16.html"]http://circlekstring...rings-ss16.html[/url] Importing them to the UK would mean that I would be hit by customs charges and a 'processing fee' however. Edit: Shipping for one set of strings is US$24.75??? EDIT: Their strings won't work on a string through body bass. [url="http://circlekstrings.com/store/faq.html"]http://circlekstring.../store/faq.html[/url]

Thanks for the details Jon.

[quote name='henry norton' timestamp='1263919438' post='718041'] Hah! Probably not but he did use 'cheapo, inferior' wood to make some of his instruments. Most people think of violin family instruments being made of highly figured sycamore, yet quite allot of makers back then - Strad included - used other, cheaper woods like poplar. You don't hear Stradivarius owners complaining about the quality of their tonewoods.... [/quote] Post necrophilia alert! Having just bought a bass with a figured (seems to be curly) sycamore top, I am curious as to why it isn't used more. As said in other posts, it grows like a weed all over Europe. It certainly looks very nice.

Those are more affordable 7s, but still over 3x what I paid for mine. Unless I want to drop these large amounts of money for an extended range bass, then my options seem to be a second hand Galveston from ebay, or my Harley. Having had the Harley for a few days now, I'm not regretting it. The main problems is that the B and E strings are a bit floppy. A poster on sevenstring.org immediately replaced his/her strings to Warwick Red Label Strings, and reports that they were a massive improvement on the originals. But their original strings were rusting.. I can't see how string tension would be done to anything bar the choice of string, and the scale length. My bass's scale length is 35 inches, so already long scale. If the floppiness can't be fixed, well it's not that bad and I can easily live with it. My bass is even cheaper now that Thomann have reduced the price by three euros since I bought it. Can't expect everything for the price I paid. If I was going for a custom even more extended range bass, then one option would be to order from John Letts who lives about 2-3km away from me.

They play fine in Firefox. I have an old version of Mac OSX - never updated to a later one.

Mac OSX and Safari.

For some reason Harvest Rain and Triumph Herod won't play on my computer. I just hear silence, though the graphic on soundcloud progresses as if they are playing. Hence I can't vote as I haven't heard all the entries. No-one else has mentioned a problem, so I guess it's just me, for whatever reason.

How much do Conklins go for? LIke you I need to justify instruments, but I bought my Harley Benton out of general 'money for myself' as it was cheap enough. But if you're used to a Modulus Quantum, I'd guess that the Harley Benton would be too downmarket for you. The only Conklin 7 string that has sold on UK ebay recently sold for £800. That's a lot of money compared to the available budget I have for buying stuff. I can't justify buying your Chapman Stick either I've seen the Galveston 8 string basses, and they're said to be OK. But having listened to ebay videos etc., there's something about them that I find uninspiring. Having bought the 7, if I was to move up further, I'd probably want a 9 string to get close enough to full guitar treble range starting from a low B. I don't expect anything in my price range to turn up though. Edit: Even a no-brand bass from Ali Express is out of the range I can justify paying for an instrument. http://www.aliexpress.com/item-img/-/2000434195.html

I can't imagine having a low F#. Scott Fernandes (I think) demonstrates a 12 string bass on youtube that goes down to C#. When he plays it open it just flaps around a bit. Thinking about it, I can see the point of the lower strings for playing up the fretboard while still hitting the deep notes. Is that what you're doing with the F#? My B string is a bit floppy, I've read on talkbass that someone used a 0.145 B string and found it much taughter. Looking at single strings I found a 0.175 string! I guess that's for F#. I'm surprised how easy it is to play. As it took six days to come from Germany, I had time to do extra practice on my six string, which helped. And as an instrument, it has a pretty big range, very flexible. The three band EQ on mine really helps, as I can dial it quickly from a 'bass' instrument to a more 'treble' instrument if I'm playing chords or other notes in a higher range. The way I'm thinking at the moment is, if Thomann bring out a 9 string version, I would probably buy one. I'm practicing playing through multiple octaves. I can't do it yet at any speed, but I want to be able to play a run from low down on the B string to way up the fretboard on the F string Being able to tap would be a huge leap forward. Where is that book I bought myself I think there's more to come with a good setup too. Taughter strings would help, with less flop I could tighten the truss rods and get the action lower. Though, it's a comfortable medium right now. I think the nut could be filed a bit lower. But I'm not doing that now. I'm having fun playing it as it is.

... are feckin' amazing!!!! They really are more fun than a barrel of monkeys. There's just SO MUCH you can do with them. And I still don't know how to tap and my slapping is rudimentary. A seven string with a high F is IMHO a huge margin better than a six string. I'm in proselytising mode, and I really am thinking that I must tell everyone that they have to have one.

Just seen the relist of the Takeharu bass. Is it really Matsumoku? It has a slight Kawai look about it.

[quote name='kodiakblair' timestamp='1409246501' post='2537962'] AT could it be this ? [url="http://www.guitar-museum.com/guitar-35707--67-Harmony-H-22-Hollowbody-Vintage-Bass"]http://www.guitar-mu...dy-Vintage-Bass[/url] If no very similar. [/quote] If not, a replica I would guess. Well spotted I was guessing it would probably be something in the current Epiphone range or something quite obvious. (Goes off and googles a bit). Definitely a Harmony H22. Look at the headstock. I wonder if it is an original one, or a reissue. http://www.harmonyguitarsusa.com/images/H22_Bass_hires.jpg (large photo alert).

While we're talking semi-hollows, what semi (or more) bass is Nick Seymour playing in this clip? [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQFuyttmbvQ"]https://www.youtube....h?v=hQFuyttmbvQ[/url] (Note, he's only visible for a few flashes between about 2:40 and 3:15 or so).

@dunic - you've put less processing/amp sound on the HB-60 than Ed Friedman did on the Eastman Classic 4. But, from what I can hear the Harley Benton is quite close to the sound of the Classic 4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmSUjhcJaPo

I think he meant alembic by that comment. IIRC, alembic has had his six string Harley Benton for some time, and hence it's not the BZ-6000. IIRC (again), alembic has the rebadged Shine Harley Benton. KB: Looking forward to the Vintage/Harley sound and playability comparison.

Sounds fine to me. I'd like to hear a few more playing styles, e.g. with a pick. But it seems to make the right sort of sounds in that video.

I really want a DVD of this.