PVTele

Dear distant departed days! Don't know what happened to the rest of the Arias, but [url="http://www.btinternet.com/~shadows_archive/shadows/AlanJ/AJones.htm"]Alan Jones[/url] is a kind of a crypto-Shadow, or long-term Jet Harris stand-in. Don't think that's an Aria he's playing in the pics, though...

[quote name='Lfalex v1.1' post='342214' date='Dec 1 2008, 06:42 PM']It's a pain if you ask me, as small felines have a tendency to climb up the green mouse fur covering and in through the exposed ports...[/quote] ROFL! I have the same trouble with my open-back guitar amp. No harm done (yet) but I have nightmares of claws through cones, or else the little terminals on the Accutronics reverb tank being gnawed

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='344582' date='Dec 3 2008, 07:00 PM']As has been already said, maple is brighter with more attack & rosewood is softer and more mellow. Great sounding basses, though. Rich.[/quote] Dead right about the sound, Rich. They [i]do[/i] feel different to me, too - rosewood feels softer, somehow, more fluid to play, whereas maple is harder, faster, possibly a bit more articulate. One thing I do know - neck profile and strings being equal - is that my left hand gets more tired by the end of the night on a maple fingerboard.

[quote name='budget bassist' post='339047' date='Nov 27 2008, 11:08 PM']Well, i'll admit it's not a close copy, i was thinking more along the lines of the inlays, the body shape (which isn't that close) and the contouring, but like the jazz and rick copies (though i realise some companies make nice jazz copies)[/quote] Do you know I'd never noticed that about the inlays? They're much bigger than the Ibanez's (SR500 up - the others have pearl(oid) dots) but they [i]are [/i]oval, and abalone... I was thinking more of the swamp ash and maple as opposed to mahogany and bubinga, the different type of bridge, etc. ... Good point about the JB copies - some respected companies built their reputations on those

[quote name='budget bassist' post='338919' date='Nov 27 2008, 09:01 PM']That's what i mean, they seem expensive for a fairly new brand to the market, especially one that does mainly copies. You can see that your bass is modeled on an ibanez soundgear, i've also seen rickenbacker, les paul etc copies. Good to hear it's a decent bass for the cash though.[/quote] At the risk of seeming argumentative, I don't think the IB604 is a Soundgear copy. Similar body shape, of course, but then so have dozens of basses, from the cheapest (e.g. Stagg) to models like the Lakland 44 series. But that's as far as it goes. Detail and materials are very different, as is the sound. Anyway - it's a good bass, for a good price, and I'm very pleased with it, no matter what anyone thinks it resembles

[quote name='budget bassist' post='338844' date='Nov 27 2008, 07:32 PM']Quite nice looking, i've always been apprehensive of indies because they're a kinda cheap sounding/new to the market brand that seem quite expensive. How does it sound? Also is that a set neck?[/quote] I agree about the name, but they're not actually especially cheap (list price just short of £550 for my bass) and the build quality is superb. Yes, that is a set neck (hard maple, 2-way truss rod, rosewood fingerboard) - you can get them in bolt neck also, 4, 5 and 6-string, and with either colour of hardware I love the sound of mine - more Warwick than Fender, but a sound all of its own. Very articulate and punchy (especially on both pickups) but distinctly growly. The neck pickup avoids muddiness, but has a wonderful deep singing quality, while the bridge pup is much more snarly - good for slap. Lovely to play - very nice neck - perfect balance on the strap, sits nicely on the knee. Weight exactly 8lbs, so not uncomfortable. Highly recommended.

I did promise some pics of my own bass, rather than the Indie website ones - here you go: Excuse the mess in my den

Thanks Keith - I'll look on eBay - and there's a Boss clone by Behringer that's cheap & solid and, if their other pedals are anything to go by, will do the job. Mike

[quote name='leschirons' post='335164' date='Nov 23 2008, 09:32 PM']Brit, now living in France and probably one of your oldest members at 56.[/quote] Beatcha! Just had my 60th on Monday... Interested in your comments about using a guitar compressor with a compressor-less bass amp. I have the same problem (actually my amp has a limiter but no comp) - I've tried using the compressor only on a guitar modelling multi-effects thingy - works (ish) but it's silly to haul the whole thing around just for one effect, so I was considering a stomp box. You say your old DOD works well? Which one? The FX-80?

Tortie, with a rosewood fingerboard. Jazz Basses almost always look best with tortie, IMHO. I'm with you on the maple question - my old all black Strat with its maple fingerboard looks just right. But Jazz Bass+rosewood=tortie, for me!

[quote name='Chris1127' post='334350' date='Nov 22 2008, 12:16 PM']it just lacks clarity and "oomph" for want of a better word. the IB sounds nice - i was thinking of a stained green oiled finish if I do strip this bass. Any pics on here?[/quote] Lack of clarity and oomph was just what I was afraid of I keep meaning to take some decent pics of my own IB (which has gold hardware) but here's the stock one off the Indie website: Doesn't show the nice, plain maple headstock with Indie in abalone to match the position markers - reinforced hard maple neck.

[quote name='Chris1127' post='332739' date='Nov 19 2008, 11:13 PM']Not mad on the black headstock/hardware, and a wierd pearlescent scratchplate but they may yet be replaced (the scratchplate definitely!!)[/quote] I'd looked at the black one and cringed at that scratchplate too I thought the flame natural with the tortie guard looked nice, though... I'm a sucker for natural finish - my main bass is a gunstock oiled swamp ash IB604 - that's my idea of a good looking bass! But I've always fancied a Stingray just for that wonderful bite in the upper midrange. I wonder if the OLP pickup does it? - can't wait for your report on it plugged in

[quote name='Chris1127' post='332717' date='Nov 19 2008, 10:37 PM']p an OLP Musicman[/quote] Aha! Let us know how you get on with it... I've been vaguely wondering if I could do with a Stingray sort of thing, and couldn't possibly justify an EB Musicman...

Hi, Chris, from the other side from Deep Thought - from the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset, that is... We should form a South West sub-section

Definitely natural, preferably oiled, ideally light. My oiled swamp ash Indie is as near perfect as I'd wish for!

[quote name='Telebass' post='320142' date='Nov 2 2008, 02:04 PM']Oh dear...that must mean I'm some sort of closet guitarist! AAAAARRRRRRGGGGHHHH! [/quote] Now then, now then... it's not [i]that[/i] bad Quite right about being stuck, though, Andy - bass kit [i]has [/i]evolved far further than guitars, except possibly for the digital modelling stuff - which is shunned by so many guitarists anyway, so I suppose that just makes your point...

Not too woolly, Peter? My only worry with a single 15" and no horn is it might sound as if it were full of (Cumbrian?) sheep... I do like a bit of top end, but I can't seem to find a 2x10 or such in that price range - except I might give the Fender Rumble 210 a listen too...

Just noticed your sig., Hamster! Sounds like a good recipe for sound to me...

Thanks for the suggestions, people. I'm now the proud owner of an Indie 604 custom in natural swamp ash. Lovely bass, suits me down to the ground. I've only a practice amp for the moment, so the next step is a proper amp... I'm looking at things like the Ashdown EVO II and the G-K Backline. I hear bad things about Behringer, which is a shame, as their amps look good for the money, and the one I've heard close up, a BXL1800A, sounded good...? I really can't afford to venture into Ampeg or Trace Elliott territory, much as I might like to!

Hi Peter, this is Mike here, all the way from damp distant Dorset! I love Cumbria, though haven't been there for years now. I'd looked at the Ashdown Five Fifteen myself, looking for a medium amp for worship gigs etc. - how do you get on with it?

The Squier VMJ has had fantastic reviews, and is a really truly Jazz Bass to play. If price comes into it, it becomes a very serious contender indeed. I've been seriously tempted myself - Squier build quality and components are getting better day by day it seems. I've a Squier Telecaster that's just a darn good Tele, and no apologies for the decal!

In a word, Eeew.

Indie IB604 active "Swamp 4" - oiled swamp ash.

I'm the proud owner of an Indie IB604 in natural swamp ash. Decision finally made for me (long story!) but I'm totally in love... I'll post some decent pics of my own when I get around to taking some (i.e. when I can look at the thing without playing it!) but here are a couple from the Indie website to be going on with: Briefly - swamp ash body, maple neck, rosewood board, abalone inlays - 34" scale. Active electronics - 2 of Indie's own humbuckers. I haven't weighed it, but if feels like around 8lbs. Very comfortable neck indeed, and fast. Feels more like a Warwick or a Spector than anything else I've played. Beautiful tone - I'm still finding out all the different sounds, but going John McVie to Marcus Miller by way of (simpler!) Steve Lawson is no problem at all...

[quote name='andy67' post='315731' date='Oct 27 2008, 12:53 PM']squiers are very nice, particularly the vm's but...for what my opinion is worth and of course, being biased, yamaha make superb basses. the bb series are far better than the vm's - yamaha's build quality is staggering and again, for me, unsurpassed both in construction materials and electronics used. quality control system is superb![/quote] I hear you regarding Yamaha build quality, Andy. The RBX I played for the evening wasn't a bass I'd have have chosen, just on personal preference, but it was astonishingly well-made for a relatively inexpensive instrument. I was very impressed by the feel and playability...