BillyBass

I have had two issues with my Barefaced cabs.  

Firstly, a One10 I bought new made a rasping sound when played at anything above dead quiet.  The Bass Gallery took it back and over a video call with Alex or someone else at Barefaced they took it apart and saw that a piece of plastic that came with the cone had been left in after it had been fitted.  Problem solved; The Bass Gallery apologised and someone drove it over to my house when it had been repaired.

Secondly, a Super Midget I got second hand (and slightly worse for wear) from eBay made a noise when certain notes above the 12th fret on the G string were played.  I had a long Email conversation with Alex.  He thought it would be the tweeter so I bought a replacement from him and changed it.  Nope, new tweeter made no difference.  I ended up playing something through a looper whilst running my hands all over the cabinet.  I found if I pressed the handle down the noise disappeared.  So I removed the handle, cleaned it thoroughly, unbent a bit of metal and all was good.  Alex refunded the money for the tweeter and I have a good cab. 

Alex and Barefaced were helpful to me and I have not been put off Barefaced at all.

Lovely looking bass that.  I would have kept the gold pick guard.  Cream coloured pups and knobs would be nice with the gold, but you like the stock pups so never mind.

Enjoy your new bass!

5 hours ago, BassAdder27 said:

I gigged the Legacy 800 last week and it did a fine job.

 

Ih has a definite clarity to its tone so more modern sounding perhaps. 
 

I’ve learnt a new trick too with the Drive engaged ( loses a little bass ) and that’s max out the amps bass tone and this balances out with the drive on. Then use the Edge Control to brighten things up. 
Im liking it plus for home use it sounds great with headphones 

There is a video on YouTube of an interview with Robert Gallien.  He says the amp isn't designed for home use and sounds clanky and bright; this is on purpose as the amp is designed to stand out from the mix.  This sort of made sense to me, and your post confirmed it, i.e. not a vintage amp and not for the Jamerson/Pbass/flatwound tone...but would probably suit me down to the ground.

GAS is getting worse

Loads of bass players stand out for me.  Special mention goes to (previously nominated) Geddy Lee and Tony Levin.  @Lozz196 has already mentioned Bruce Foxton; one of my bands does punk/new wave stuff and the Jam covers we do really are a cut above, bass line-wise, and Bruce Foxton did all that while jumping up and down.

So, as no one has mentioned Jean Jacques Brunel of the Stranglers, he shall be my nominee.  The bass in the Stranglers stuff when I used to go and see them really stands out, like Lemmy's bass in Motorhead...as Paul Del Bello points out in this YouTube video:

I will be interested to hear how you get on with this, after the honeymoon period. 

I have never played through a Gallien Krueger but I get the impression they will be my sort of head.  I like a brighter tone, I use nickel round wounds, and leave the tone knobs on my passive basses full on.  My Ashdown RM800 is fine but I have a markBass head that is too dark and I might swap it for one of these Legacy 800s.

On 06/07/2022 at 11:06, Nebadon2000 said:

 

I am guessing the 'Pure' named Cabinets may be Markbass entry into FRFR

Very possibly, but is that FRFR with their heads or a truly flat response?

On 06/07/2022 at 12:55, Greg Edwards69 said:

This was my experience with my old LMII head. It was quite dark sounding with the eq set neutral and filters bypassed. As such. adjusting the tweeter L-pad on my old compression driver tweeter equipped Markbass traveller 121H didn't seem to do much, if anything at all.

I had been led to believe the MarkBass cabs worked well with their heads and I thought my experience of them was due to not playing them through their cabs.  But maybe I was wrong; perhaps their tone just isn't for me.

Welcome to Basschat.  I live in Barnet now but I'm originally from Tottenham, which is, I'm guessing, what you mean by 'North east London'.

Peach Guitars near Colchester has possibly the best selection of Fenders in stock in England at the moment.  Bit of a trek from Hereford though.

https://www.peachguitars.com/guitars/bass-guitars/

I'm interested in these.  I own a MarkBass head but don't own any of their cabs.  My MarkBass head has a bit of a treble roll off, with all the EQ set flat, and can sound a bit dull playing with fingers and a neck pick up.  Having three options for tweeters could make for some interesting choices.  I'm guessing that all the different tweeter options will work well with their heads but individual options might be better or worse with fingers or a pick, P bass or Jazz etc?

I doubt many retailers will be able to stock all three variants of a given cabinet though.

Now with real rat fur?

The Schallers arrived and I have put them ion a couple of basses.  I'll keep the rubber washer things on three of my basses as they are red and I have a red leather strap for them.  The three basses using the blue and black straps now have the Schallers fitted.  So half and half; I'll see how I get on.

I'm going to see Pearl Jam and the Pixies in Hyde Park on the 8th July.  Next gig would be 'The Silent Era' in Camden Town on the 23rd July

Sorry to read about your experience at Peach Guitars @dclaassen

I visited peach guitars before the pandemic, to try a limited edition Fender.  I was unimpressed with the bass and didn't buy it but I was impressed by their service and felt bad I had taken up their time for no reward.  

Since the Pandemic that have either been closed to the public or now, it appears, pre-arranged appointments only.  Shame really because its a very large shop with a pretty decent selection of basses on the wall. 

1 hour ago, Franticsmurf said:

That may well be the reason why the supply in the pub I was playing a few years ago kept cutting out. The whole pub, three times. 😀 I figured out it was something to do with my extension (with and RCD attached) and used another but I was Mr Popular with the staff that night.  

You may have got the blame that night but if the whole pub went then that means they have an RCD as the main switch on their fuseboard.  Asking for trouble!

RCDs are sensitive, consequently it is not advised to have one as the main switch of the board of somewhere like a pub or a house, there should be at least 2 RCDs,  or, preferably, an individual RCD for each circuit (called RCBOs).

Electrician here...

RCDs are very useful @Dad3353's explanantion was on the money.

However, check to see if the circuit you are using already has an RCD built in to the fuseboard/consumer unit.  Two RCDs in the same circuit can cause nuisance tripping so only use the plug in RCDs when there is no pre existing RCD or RCBO (google that) at the fuseboard

The plug in socket testers are useful.  I use them as a guide to inform me whether anything is wrong.  Left and middle light glowing green and the 3rd/right hand light off means all is hunky dory (probably).  Anything else and the circuit needs to be investigated.

Thanks for the tips everyone.  I have ordered a couple of sets of chrome Schallers from Strings Direct (they didn't have Dunlops in chrome, or I would have got one of each).

I use those polo mint shaped bits of silicon/rubber to keep my straps on but the strap buttons on my latest bass are a bit too small and the silicon rings fall off too easily.  So I thought I would invest in some proper strap locks.  Ebay has the usual selection of no name Chinese stuff but the established shops seem to mainly stock Schaller and Dunlop strap locks.  

Does anyone have particular preferences for strap locks?  And why?  I don't really care about the price and I would rather spend a bit more to ensure my bass isn't going to drop to the floor all of a sudden, mid-song.

10 hours ago, Geek99 said:

It’s 1992 all over again 

 

nice bass, actually like the colour but I would not pay that 

I've bought two basses from them in the last 4 years.  The price is always up for negotiation.

11 hours ago, Pea Turgh said:

If that had a roasted neck, it would look awesome.

But someone would have already bought it

My local shop has one:

http://www.thesoundgarden.co.uk/product.php?productid=20757&cat=21&page=1

Its been in their rack for a few years, your taste in bass colours is not shared by the good people of Barnet.

I'm a little envious reading about all of your better halves being cool with you buying new basses.

Mrs BillyBass won't let me buy another one until I've slimmed down a little...which means exercise and eating less food, so I've got a problem.

Still, I have bought three basses this year and only two have gone out.

1 hour ago, Woodinblack said:

 

3+2 G&L headstocks are pretty good. Certainly better than any 4/1 headstock, and better than any fender headstock.

500 years ago, in Spain, people like you were burnt at the stake.

20 hours ago, HippieNerd said:

...or in the case of my G&L 4 1.  

Hold on a minute, OP.  You are complaining about Fender headstocks but you own a G&L?

One of these, er, beauties?

I suppose beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  I own a G&L, great bass with an eyesore at the end of the neck.  I personally believe the Fender Telecaster has the most beautiful headstock ever created.  But I'm a bassist so I don't have one.

3 hours ago, Old Horse Murphy said:

I personally found absolutely nothing wrong with the preamp. Granted I'm not a "hifi" preamp aficionado, but it was plenty musical enough and I managed to get a nice array of "passive on steroids" sounds from it. 

I think a lot of this is subjective.  I watch a YouTube clip of a bass video and the demo guy slags it off and so do loads of people in comments underneath, and I think...sounded ok to me, is there something wrong with my ears?

3 hours ago, patrikmarky said:

I was considering one of these in a 5 ..I did watch a YouTube review and they really slagged the electrics poor wiring unusable eq ect ..??which did put me off 

really fancied the lambo green 🙂..wondering if I should reconsider….can always send it back ..

I got my 5 string from Andertons, it was their demo model so I'm sure someone had a good look at it before it was put up on the rack.  It was fine and I've had no issues with it.

The 4 string I ordered online from PMT.  The first one I got had a faulty pre amp; it made a potentially cone damaging screech when the mids were pushed to about 50%.  It also had a wonky volume pot and no centre détente on the bass.  I sent it back and PMT sent out another, which was fine, no defects whatsoever.

So, the quality control issues Mr 'Low end Lobster' flagged up in his videos have not gone away, but you can always send it back if you get a dodgy one.  In my opinion, it's worth the risk.

A German bloke gets a great Geddy Lee tone out of his 4 string PJ on Youtube:

5 hours ago, horrorshowbass said:

So much want for a green one

I was of two minds about the 4 string; metallic blue or metallic lime green!?  I went for blue but the green does look really nice.  Even the darker metallic green of the 5 string goes really well with the roasted maple neck and gold hardware.  They are just lovely looking basses.  

4 hours ago, MattW said:

 

Thanks for the confirmation - 34 inch is definitely my preference, so the fact that it is makes it very appealing!     I have a Maruszczyk Jake 5p on the way next week, but the Charvel may well be next inline!   Really appreciate the offer to try yours - may well take you up on that once I have the funds available 😁

I'm not going anywhere and neither are the basses, so my invitation is an open one, just pm me if you want to come over.