Beer of the Bass

[quote name='chrismuzz' timestamp='1368292217' post='2075398'] I love that finish! Honestly I don't think that looks like a toy, it's a really cool guitar [/quote] Yeah, I quite like the blue crackle body, it's more the orangey stain and burn marks on the neck, and the faux-rust coloured tuners I have mixed feelings about! I had not very much in my pocket and really fancied a fender-ish single coil guitar for the band I play in, and this has done a surprisingly good job.

This Axl guitar, which was £99 new. I've changed some parts, but it was quite giggable new apart from the nut. As much as it's kind of goofy and toyish looking, I really wouldn't sound any better if I went out and dropped a grand on a US Fender tomorrow.

Roquefort Blue is a truly excellent name for the colour!

[quote name='MiltyG565' timestamp='1368244157' post='2074871'] So... what you're saying is - We have a traitor in our midst? Let the witch-hunt commence [/quote] Ah, that'd be me! I don't think I'm a witch, as I weigh more than a duck, but I do have a pointy hat somewhere (unless the clothes moths have eaten that one too). The departing bassist, LawrenceH is also on here, though more of an occasional visitor to BC at the moment. Hey McNach, you and he could compare notes on the rest of us!

[quote name='gjones' timestamp='1368015574' post='2072031'] I never bought a Little giant because of the bad press they got. But The Jazz bar in Edinburgh have one as their in house amp and not only does it sound great but it gets a lot of abuse (3 bands per night 7 days per week) and is still working as well as ever. Maybe it just goes to show that, with technology, you only hear about the small minority that go wrong but never hear about the ones that are super reliable. [/quote] Does that mean they've finally got rid of the knackered Peavey that was there last time I played there? Result!

When I've heard my bass DI'd through headphones or studio monitors with no EQ applied, a typical passive bass is surprisingly dull sounding IMO. It takes quite a bit of boost in the range of about 2-5KHz to get it close to the sort of amp sound I look for.

[quote name='MiltyG565' timestamp='1368131974' post='2073728'] Yeah, it's quite an old rock and roll sound I think. Good for jazz too I suppose. Definitely the opposite of what you want for reggae or funk though. [/quote] I dunno, I could imagine flats sounding good for some types of reggae guitar. Ernest Ranglin (legendary Studio One guitarist and the man who coined the word Ska) was a jazzer on the sly, and it shows in his playing.

Maybe I have cloth ears, but I've only noticed cables affecting the sound if they're long (6m and upwards), curly or the really cheap skinny ones with moulded plugs. Longer or curly ones do reduce the highs a little, in much the same way as turning down a passive tone control a touch. If you're the sort who's going to cut that treble somewhere in the chain anyway, I can see how that might be no problem. I do see the point of going for the higher quality cables for reliability though. I've had several jack plugs die on me, but never the better Neutrik ones.

[quote name='longtimefred' timestamp='1368128103' post='2073663'] Its also one dirty rock bass player giving another dirty rock bass player and long time friend a bit of jib about his crappy little broken toy amplifier can see how some people dont understand but thats just how we roll. Time to worry when the insults stop [/quote] Sure, and pointing out casual homophobia is how I roll. No real offence taken, and back to the thread...

[quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1368119326' post='2073505'] 10-52's are grand, until you try to use them with re-issue Fender F-tuners, such as may be found on certain of FMIC's output and available as 'period-correct'. [/quote] That's a curious one. Are those the the 70's style tuners? An old bandmate used to string his Japanese 60's reissue strat with 13-56 with no problems, so I presume so. That was a good sounding guitar, though really not bend friendly! My cheap chinese Schaller rip-offs take the 52 gauge string just fine, fortunately.

[quote name='longtimefred' timestamp='1365348626' post='2038320'] I think it's telling you need it sounding manly rather than a big wet gay sound that are obviously trying to make it sound. So stop being a homo and grind it up [/quote] This will probably get me tagged as one of the humourless PC brigade, but what on earth constitutes a gay bass sound? I've heard gay bassists playing with about the same range of sounds as straight or bi ones!

[quote name='alexclaber' timestamp='1368094098' post='2073033'] I'm actually planning something like that on the guitar cabs... [/quote] Although I hope you're not going for the same material as this one, even if it would make for a lightweight cab!

[quote name='MiltyG565' timestamp='1368093368' post='2073025'] I've heard stories about their flats for guitar, and I can definitely trust the guys opinion on strings! [/quote] I've seen less than positive reviews of the guitar flatwounds too, but that's different materials and a different manufacturing process, so I'm quite happy to judge the roundwounds on their own merit. And if they work out for me, they have the bonus of being half a pint cheaper than D'Addarios and not having been shipped across the Atlantic. If they don't work out for me, then I still have a set of D'Addarios in my case pocket...

It can be hard to find a space in the mix when you have bassy 4x12" equipped guitarists, no matter what size of bass rig you're using. Do SBK's guitarists gig with the 4x12"s, or are they the house kit in the rehearsal room? I suspect if they're gigging with smaller combos, the Markbass will more than do the job.

[quote name='MiltyG565' timestamp='1368083573' post='2072867'] I've never used Roto's on guitar before, but anytime I have used Roto's, they don't measure up at all to D'Addario. The tension shouldn't increase that much, so long as the increments between strings are even, because although you have a heavier bottom, you also have a lighter top, but you might need to tweak your setup a bit after putting them on. [/quote] I've never really bonded with Rotosound bass strings either, but I think that's more about their formulation than actual quality. I've used their Superwound phosphor bronze strings on my acoustic guitar for years, they've been as good as any other brand and perfectly consistent from set to set.

I managed to find time to drop by my local music shop yesterday, who had the Rotosound set, and stuck them on last night. I think I like them so far, and the Bigsby seems stable enough with them. It'll be hard to be sure whether I'll stick with them until I've gigged them though...

For me, finding out what gear people have used helps me to make informed choices as to what I might enjoy using myself, not really to emulate those players wholeheartedly, but to help narrow down the list of stuff to check out.

I have a double bass preamp with a phase reverse switch, which should have exactly the same effect as reversing a single speaker. I found that flipping the switch in between playing notes makes no audible difference at all, but if the phase is switched mid-note the transition itself is noticeable. Could this be what you heard in the demonstration?

I think I'll pick up a set later in the week when I'm passing by my local music shop. I'll stick with D'Addario XLs, just to keep everything else consistent.

The GK MB200 works well with my Wizzy 10 cab and is about as small as you can get - I often use it for the smaller pubs rather than lugging my 2x12" along.

Yep, as above really. There are a few folk who have stumbled across decent basses going cheaply, but they tend to be freak occurences down to good luck. Depending where you are, you may be able find a shop which rents out beginner level instruments, which can be a way of testing the water without laying too much money down.

I've been using 11-49 D'Addario XLs on my electric guitar for a while now. I like the firmer feel and clearer sound on the bass strings compared to a standard .009 or .010" set, but in my experimentation with heavier strings in the past I've found that a wound G doesn't do it for me, so the 11-49s always seemed like the best compromise between light and heavy. However, playing friends' guitars with .010"s, there's a snappy quality and elastic feel on the top strings which I enjoy. I'm thinking about trying a 10-52 set to try and get some of this. Are any of you using these? I'm wondering how uneven the tension feels, and whether the mismatch will wreak havoc with my Bigsby.

Or the plaque on the back is off the same parted-out Burns as the one on the front! Still, if it goes for the opening £50 then someone has done well, as it looks like the better end of no-name Precision copies with that nice Ash body. Possibly the Burns plates would be of interest to a collector too, so the seller might do better if they were auctioned separately.

[quote name='The Dark Lord' timestamp='1367764510' post='2069176'] This might just push me over the edge to get one of these ..... if the new model becomes available. Will cost more probably, but it's only money. [url="http://stranglers-ratter.blogspot.co.uk/"]http://stranglers-ra...blogspot.co.uk/[/url] [/quote] I'm not trying to stir things here, but weren't you posting about being strongly opposed to all of the companies who make upmarket Fender copies just a couple of weeks back? The Shuker must be one hell of a bass to change your tune quite so comprehensively!