moley6knipe

To resurrect this thread to absolutely no interest... the Neutrik locking jacks would have worked fine BUT elected not to hack the body around to make them fit. Instead moved to using the Boss WL60 which is strap mount. Sorted!

Yes! Played nothing but double humbucking basses for years... I gig both of my Fender Dimensions regularly. They're killer basses - great range of sounds from the five-way switch and three band EQ though mostly it's solo neck humbucker, both coils for me. Ergonomics are perfect for me: asymmetrical neck and smaller body are great, balance and weight is good. They come up second-hand on here occasionally.

The BTB in this pic is the first really killer five string I bought (from new) - it's 17+ years old now and has USA Bart humbuckers. Sounds amazing, wonderful to play but heavier than a family car so stays on the wall!

1 hour ago, Huge Hands said:

As a big Beatles fan, I thought the song was good, but I do struggle with that Jeff Lynne production sound they keep on with that makes this and Free As A Bird  sound like a Travelling Wilbury's record.

 

 I think it's the "big wet fish on plastic oil drum" drum sound he seems to love.  Maybe they used Bev Bevan kit samples, but I don't like it.

 

Only my opinion, of course.....  

100% agree! And what a fantastic description of one of the single most loathsome sounds in recorded history! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Well… it’s ok. Don’t think I’ll be rushing to listen to it again really. They do need to knock it on the head now IMO and let the legacy speak for itself!

And don’t let your guitarist tip the smoke fluid over your sub woofer. That really, really, really makes a mess and is impossible to clean completely. Don’t place it on the sub next time, maybe, chap?! FFS

Late posting… Saturday 28th, 4 Play 😫 Drayman’s Arms, Spalding. Wife and gang of friends in attendance, and the locals who had been in since opening time.

Old drunk folks and the obligatory 7 year old wandering up to the mics etc. but we played really well overall. Here’s (hopefully) some Elvis:

I made some schoolboy errors on some well trodden songs but overall I played the bass nicely I think.

This band has come a LONG way from when I joined two years ago (new singer’s transformed things) and I’ve now gigged in 2023 more with them than my ‘main’ band. 

Fresh D’Addario Nickels > Fender Dimension > GK RB700 > Barefaced BB2.

17 hours ago, deepbass5 said:

 

Interestingly I bought a bass on here earlier in the year and checked the gauge of strings with my micrometer and found they were 50,70, 85, 105  EXL160's  liked them so just changed all 3 of my basses to them. on my 5 strings i bought four string sets and added single 125's on the low end. The Gallery and GAK had them on offer recently, and Bass Direct had the singles on offer. a messy way to buy strings but worked out fine in the end.

My CS p bass keeps its Labella flats though. 

Yes, that’s the E to G gauges I’m using, but I’m buying them as 5 string sets with a 135 B. I should look to see if buying them separately is cheaper, never considered that! Best price for the 5 string set is £37.56 from Amazon. I hate using them but £ is £.

I’m never sure whether thicker or thinner B is best really, there’s schools of thought advocating both. To be honest, we only play pubs where the punters have been drinking since opening time, so no-one cares really!

I started with steel rounds. Used Rotos for years, then D'Addario ProSteels for years. Changed them regularly back when that was economically viable! Loved the bright zingy snap of steels. Got fed up with them going dull so tried Elixirs but just hated the feel of them, plus back in the day I used to play with a pick most of the time and found my cack-handed technique stripped the poly coating off something chronic! I've never tried flats, and probably never will. So I played D'Addario ProSteels mainly.

Then... for some reason I went through a phase of trying everything and anything. DR steels and nickels (pricey, sounded dead really quickly to my ears). Ernie Ball Slinkys (flat as a pancake by the end of the gig. Hated them!) Ernie Ball cobalt rounds (utterly brilliant, the most aggressive sounding string I've ever played. Loved them but they turned my maple board black and through humbuckers into a cranked GK they were just too much!). D'Addario NYXL (nice... but just too much money). Loads of things.

Finally settled on common-or-garden D'Addario Nickels. Obvs to make life harder / more expensive, went for a gauge where the D and G are 0.05" thicker because less twangy (I'm fooling myself, I know. The audience at the Dog & Hand Shandy can really hear the diff though, obvs). They're not the cheapest going, but I only change about 3 times a year so manageable.

These have been a revelation with my Fender Dimension basses. They just sound soooo good, really well balanced sound and feel across the fretboard. Suit the basses so well I'll never change. I wipe down with a microfibre cloth after playing and they last for ages and ages. Playing through a BB2 cab means I get the clarity without the harsh treble yer can sometimes get from steels.

So that's my journey! Great thread @deepbass5!

I've never worried about driving my BB2 hard. I know numbers and website blurb are sales pitches, but it's rated as good to 800w and the point of the design is to get heat out, provide proper porting etc so it can handle what's thrown at it. My GK gives 320W @ 8 Ohms and I tried turning the master up to 12noon once and I soiled myself, as did the rest of the lads 😃

I'm not posting here to in any way decry or belittle what you're asking / trying to achieve, but for me a GK into a BB2 gives as much vol and tone as I could ever want for any situation... I'm just tickled to find someone who finds a BB2 insufficient is all!

I'm fascinated to see the outcome of this thread. I've gigged a single BB2 for years and if I cranked the volume on my GK amp to full I'd drown out drummer, both guitars and the PA!

Just bought a Boss wireless from Alin. Top transaction, no worries. Recommended seller - thanks!

It’s beautiful is that, I also give that a bit of a drool when you post pics!!

2 hours ago, Smanth said:

My post contains links to some very useful setup videos

S’manth x

Ah! Yes, I remember reading that now when considering purchase, nice write up!

Thanks! Very much appreciated. On that basis, it’s worth a go I think, can try it without re soldering and worse case I’m down a tenner or so. Thanks so much for taking the time to do this, nice one!

Thanks!!

In all seriousness, try a set of Ernie Ball cobalt roundwounds if you haven’t already. They’ve got SOOO much heft it could well unmuffle you! They’re great strings, but my Fender Dimensions are already aggressively voiced so I moved back to nickels.

Thanks! Yes, I'd considered that but it's how and where to clip/place the transmitter given it's not designed to strap-mount. Also, given the bass is active it would mean unplugging twice during breaks, which is no biggie but reduces convenience...

I play Fender Dimension basses with Boss' WL-20 wireless transmitter. Given the position of the output jack, I keep knocking the WL-20 with my leg whilst playing and thus the little spring-loaded prong on the WL-20 loses contact with the jack socket, switches off and silence ensues 😁

Moving the jack socket or changing to a strap mounted transmitter would solve, but the thought occurs that a Neutrik NJ3FP6C locking socket might fix things without woodworking / too many £££.

I've got an ancient Ibby BTB with one such socket to test this idea with, but when the WL-20 is plugged in there's still enough play on it to allow the WL-20 to be pulled out enough to switch off. I'm wondering, though, if that's maybe because my Ibby is 20 years old and heavily used!

Has anyone out there got a new(ish) Neutrik NJ3FP6C that can try the pull test, please? As in, does the jack pull out at all (obvs, without pressing the red release tab)? Fitting a socket in place of the existing one would still need some woodworking but not too much coz the standard Fender socket is already pretty chunky!

Thanks folks!

Well confess I’ve not tried it on pedals, only MainStage. That was easy though: enter assign mode in MS then press the switch on the M-Vave. TBH they’re £30 on Prime which means you can return if no good… worth a punt! I should try it on my pedals really, but I’ve got a Morningstar so don’t really need to!

Sennheiser E935 all the way for vocal mics. A noticeable improvement over the SM58s! Guitard in one of my bands uses a Behringer £20 jobby coz “it sounds better than a Shure”. Err, no. It sounds like a sock drawer. 

5 hours ago, ordep said:

Small update to the mini/practice board. 

The M-Vave Chocolate is great isn’t it?! No right to be as good as it is for £30. Bought one for my lad to do Bluetooth page turning, triggering MainStage patches etc. Silly easy to set up!

Oh bother! Or similar words ☹️

Jon Haire is great, been using him for years. Peterborough.

https://www.jonhaireguitar.co.uk

I love this! I’m so impressed with any of y’all that do any bass building or modding. Just beyond me. Good work!!

For pickups I’d investigate Nordstrand. Never heard one of their pups I don’t like. Loads of size options, voicing options and single/bucking options.