SamPlaysBass

This is precisely what I’m aiming for in this thread. The internet has a habit of saying ‘you MUST buy this’ - sometimes the people saying it have good reason to say it. The JV Squiers are great guitars (or mostly, as you pointed out KevL) but the internet has placed them on a pedestal. 80s Japanese instrument in general are on the up. Is there anywhere else to look for a great quality instrument that will appreciate in value?

I’ve just checked t’internet - there’s a Vista Musicmaster on evilBay for £600. There’s also a 1978 Fender Musicmaster on Kytary for £963. Bloody hell! Great shout.

Good shout, and the Pino style red one. I owned a tastefully modded Squier Chris Aiken P bass from the same vintage. Regretted selling that big time.

🚨 Contentious thread alert 🚨 I’ve been looking at JV Squiers recently, and the prices are well over a grand now. 2 years ago, I’d have said that £750 was the norm for a fair condition JV P or J bass. I know they are great instruments and in some people’s view as close as you can get to an original 60s Pre-CBS job, but they’re only worth what people will pay for them. Judging by the prices, someone must be buying them! This made me think. ‘What’s the next JV Squier?’ - in other words, which fairly innocuous bass/amp/pedal etc. do you predict will shoot up in value when people catch on to how good they are? Or, conversely, what internet hype will make an average bass/amp/pedal shoot up in value, justly or unjustly? My tuppence goes on 80s/90s era Trace Elliot stuff because they are louder than the Big Bang and cheap as chips currently. Your turn!

First thing’s first, this isn’t my amp. In belongs to One Louder studios in Newport. However, it’s as good as it looks. I played my ‘77 Jazz through this brute last week in a rehearsal. All pedals were redundant as it sounds so good straight into the amp. The way an 8x10 carries the sound is so unlike everything else I’ve used - big, pillowy warmth and punch delivered to the room via 300 muscular watts. I usually use a 2x12” set up and as loud as it is, the delivery of the sound that the SVT and 8x10 achieve is completely addictive and so much better than everything else. It’s well worth the chiropractor fees. I will own a set up like this one day. And maybe a small team to cart it about. 🤞🏻 👀

Thank you, Nige. Puts me in mind of the 2 band stingray I had a few years back - built in the same factory to the same specs, but with less options for finishes and soft gig bag. Cheers 👍🏻

I’ve recently acquired a Streamer GPS, which is very lovely. However, I haven’t got a clue what the German Pro Series is or what is meant by the ‘Teambuilt’ etching on the back of the headstock. It’s an absolutely stunning bass in every right, but I’m not very well rehearsed in what it actually is... Can anyone educate a simpleton on the matter? Not that it makes a difference, this thing is a keeper 👏🏼

Valve amp crew - have you seen this? Could be useful for a lot of you, especially with a few new acquisitions floating around.

If you’ve got a bit of cash but want the best, this looks like a great solution.

Received my refund for the Sandberg on Thursday. Glad people are getting in on the bargains, it’s genuinely nice to see a high street shop with a proper sale, not just prices going from ridiculous to extortionate 😂 Whoever bagged the Sandberg, I hope you thoroughly enjoy it and I hope you have years of pleasure out of it. Looked a cracking bass.

Looking absolutely fantastic, guys. Big up the big valves and bigger cabs! 👏🏼

Whoever had it, if it even sold, had an absolute monster at a bargain price. My paypal has registered a refund, but it hasn’t gone into my account yet. There’s hope yet.

Sulking that the Sandberg had gone, absolutely gutted. Has anyone else had a refund? Just hoping that no-one has experienced any problems with the refund process...

Hi guys, I’ve taken my ‘77 jazz bass to a well respected luthier to have a refret, new tuning pegs and general TLC. One of the issues is that the tuning pegs, particularly on the G and D strings, seem to be slipping and not working to their full potential. There’s a fair bit of corrosion on the G tuning peg and every time I’ve restrung it, I seem to fight with the D string not sitting on the ferrule properly and the string popping out. Also, the tuning peg on the D string ‘hangs over’ the edge of the headstock(!?). I’m going to replace them as it’s a working bass through and through. What recommendations would you have for replacements? Something ideally with a smaller baseplate than the originals and obviously reliable and sturdy. Photos of the old ones for those interested. Cheers!

I’m glad it has! I love going to gigs where the bass player has very obviously put themselves (and their back) out for the pure simple bit of pleasure it gives them. The audience won’t notice, other band members may not notice, by you do. The immediacy is crazy. I love this. I used to come across people who’d say ‘My X and Y is just as loud as that and I can take it to the car in one trip! Sell that and get what I’ve got.’ Indeed it can, Geoff, but my back is still in one piece and it’s my choice if I want to break it for quality tones. No, I don’t care that it’s completely impractical and the ‘punters don’t care.’ But I do, Geoff. I care about h**t.

What mic set up do you use for PA/FOH purpose? I like that idea, give the sound guy a solution before it becomes a problem. A mic and a DI as suggested by @Bankai have will have everything covered.

I'd read a lot about the slave being used to send a signal to the desk, but I was skeptical. The Orchid Electronics DI is a great idea! First time I've come across them, but they look up to job. Is yours like this one? https://www.ebay.co.uk/i/332667391957?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=710-134428-41853-0&mkcid=2&itemid=332667391957&targetid=938697916046&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=9045368&poi=&campaignid=10204071033&mkgroupid=100040608497&rlsatarget=pla-938697916046&abcId=1145987&merchantid=110659161&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_tyk1si76wIVzuvtCh0nrQI-EAQYASABEgJ36fD_BwE

Beedster and Skidder - How do you guys send a signal out to the PA from your beastly amps? I now run two TC RS112 cabs, which are narrow and long. I'd be looking at a potential sideways mount if I pulled the trigger on a new valve amp!

A few years back I bought an Ashdown CTM 100 and paired it with an Ampeg 410HE and had a jolly good time. It sounded great, up to a point. I could drive it and get some amazing ‘Live at Leeds’ tones using cheap basses and it solved all of my tonal problems. Or at least it did, until I was playing more clean-toned funk and blues. I ended up swapping it on here after a sound engineer I have worked with for years said he couldn’t get a nice, clean DI signal for the biggest gig I had done up that point. It was a case of great package, but wrong application. Having owned a valve amp once in my bass playing career, I had come to the conclusion that they were great, but not particularly practical for a bass player that needed to dabble in all styles. That, and it was a tad expensive to keep for one gig in 10. I’ve used various Class D amps since and I haven’t taken to any of them, except maybe a TC RH450 which is okay. This, along with the advancement of things like the Helix stomp, SansAmps/Behringers BDI etc made me think that there are better ways of achieving the sound and that was that. This week, I dropped my ‘77 Jazz bass to a local legend of a tech to be refretted and set up. He played it through a few valve amps he has on hand when giving it the once over. He was playing through a RD Amplification 100 watt valve head and 2x15 cab. It sounded unreal, with power and dynamics to dream for. I thought I had put the valve amp thing to bed, especially after I’d bought a less practical car and sold my big cabs. The mind wanders... The tech also had an Orange AD200B up for sale for a good price, which had been tastefully modded by another renowned tech. Valves sound amazing, but is anyone out there still using them regularly? I’ve got a potential new gig lined up playing predominantly rock, and I’m half tempted to back down that route. What is putting me off is the initial cost of buying a valve amp and then a sound engineer turning up with an XLR, looking around the back of something like the Orange, seeing no DI and getting his little silver box out to take a line from the bass, thus defeating the object of spending a grand on an all valve bass amp. So, my question is, who is still using big old Valve amps? Has anyone swapped to something new and is totally happy with a new solution? Is it always a compromise? I’ve owned ~10 other amps and never really been pleased with any of them.

On paper, there’s nothing to suggest you can’t set up your Blacksmith with your RS410 and two K210 cabs. The amp head will be running at about 2.67 ohms which is safe for the head. I know TC like to advertise their RS cabs for the Blacksmith head with little mention that the K series cabs can do the same job. Some people may say that sending power to a 4x10 rated at 8 ohms would be a mismatch compared to two 2x10 cabs running at 8 ohms each. As far as my understanding goes, it’s all safe for the head. Just listen out for any of the cabs making weird noises, use your nouse and your judgement if something sounds off or is distorting.

Definitely the ‘slimmest’ P bass neck I’ve owned. I took it to a rehearsal last night after many weeks of playing Jazz basses and I’d say there’s not much in it. I could barely notice the difference. Nut width is P bass territory, but the profile is 80% of the way to being a jazz. Certainly comfy and unexpectedly slim!

Bolted straight in, no drama. Easy to set up and surprisingly cheap as well (~ £30). Used the same screws from the original bass. Easy peasy! Thank you - there’s something cool about black on black on maple. They are painted on, but I don’t get the impression that they’ll scratch off very easily or anything.

Bought a 2020 CV Precision in black just before lockdown. The shop had a brown one and a black one - tried both and the black one was slightly sweeter. There was no one-thing that I could note was better about the black one, just the feel in the hands and the sound. Try before you buy is the best bet. Quality is great, although I am tempted to give in and have it set up professionally. I can't quite get it buttery smooth, and it may need a bit of fretwork from someone more skilled than I. Still, for £339 I would gig this bass happily and not care too much about it being dropped, chipped etc. I did a few mods to mine over lockdown, like adding a high mass bridge and new pickups (Entwistle Neos, then a Tonerider). Made the bass better sounding. I'm not going to say that these are on par with my Fender Elite Jazz, but they are great looking, sounding and if you choose carefully, well built.