BillyBass

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.

7 hours ago, MattW said:

I played the same red Jazz V in PMT the other day - it was gorgeous!!   Really tempted by one.

 

Did some digging when I got home and different websites seem to list the scale lengths differently - some 34 and some 35.  @BillyBass are you able to confirm which it is?  Thanks!

34"

It's my first fiver so I can't compare it to others but so far, the things I don't like are: 

There is some neck dive, I have a good strap so its not really problematic

The B string lacks the definition of the other strings.  I've replaced the stock 125 with a 135 and this has improved things but I can see why a longer scale would be of interest to people.

Mine weighs about 4.5 kg.  Not uncomfortable but lighter would be better.

What I do like is: how it looks and plays; the neck with its rolled fretboard edge feels lovely in my hand, the black surrounded luminlay dots are perfect for roasted maple necks and I get some great tones out of it.  Overall, I'm still very pleased with it; I believe I would have to spend considerably more to improve things.

I live in Barnet; I'm not sure which side of Essex you live in but if you are nearer to Waltham Abbey than Southend, you can come over and try mine if you like.

11 hours ago, MacDaddy said:

What's the neck like? Is it close to a P or have Charvel kept to their slim shred profile?

No, it's not your standard P bass neck.  More like a Jazz neck.  The neck really is lovely to play, its slim, fast, has a lovely colour and the fretboard edges are rolled off so it really feels nice in your hand.

The bass isn't a P bass with a J pup added, it is more of a hybrid:  P body, J neck, Both P and J pups (though the P is reversed).  With the active controls the J pup can do way more than just adding a bit of treble to the P pup.  So far, for home practice, I like the P pup soloed in passive and the J pup soloed with a 50% boost to the mids.  I don't think I'll use the pups blended.

One of the bands I'm in does mainly punk stuff.  I'm going to try the p pup soloed for pick stuff and the J pup soloed for fingers.

All you need is a Rickenbacker and you'll have the complete set.

Nice looking basses those.

6 minutes ago, Old Horse Murphy said:

I'm really glad it worked out for you 👍

I think its worked out for me, I had about 30 minutes with it earlier today and so far all boxes seem ticked .  I was after the 'perfect PJ'. My BB wasn't that and you and one or two others suggested getting an active PJ.  You suggested this one in particular (in a thread in September 21).  

I couldn't stretch to Fender Ultra prices (and stay out of the dog house) so it was this or a Player Plus P bass.  The Charvel has a few advantages, or things I preferred: It was £200 cheaper, it has luminlay side dots with a black surround, which is the most visible dot on a roasted maple neck, they are lighter, and the P pup is a reverse P, which I'm hoping means less woolly E string and less'pingy' G string.

I love the look, and tomorrow, when I have a few hours to get to know it I'm hoping my first impressions will be confirmed.

46 minutes ago, PaulThePlug said:

Luverly neck 'n fretboard colour...

Dimazio's in 70's Cream?

they are DiMarzios, not sure of the vintage of the cream colour

33 minutes ago, LeftyJ said:

These look so tasty! They really picked some gorgeous finishes for them, that pair really well with the cream pickups and roasted maple neck. Simply lovely! I'm a sucker for reverse PJ too. Slight GAS 

well here's a pic with the bass next to its big sister

35 minutes ago, BassAdder27 said:

Just weighed it 9.6lbs 

 

Slightly more than my PBass 

 

The black model has a mahogany body 

That's not bad.  The one I picked up must have weighed about 11lbs or something like that

I bought a 5 string version a few months ago and, impressed by the fiver, I Thought I would get the 4 string version.

I've been after an active PJ, with a J pup at the bridge just as usable on its own as the P pup.  @Old Horse Murphy suggested one of these Charvels and I've followed his advice

Lovely looking bass, congrats.

How heavy is it?

I took a Ray34 off the wall at Guitarguitar Newcastle, it was bloody heavy!

31 minutes ago, PaulWarning said:

I hate shopping, finding places to park the car...

That's the worst bit.  I've only been to Andertons once, I timed my journey so I arrived at opening time to give me the best chance of getting a parking spot out front.  I was successful but as soon as I had parked and got out, other cars started sniffing around.  I try to only go to shops that I know parking won't be an issue, at a certain time.

Nevertheless, I really enjoy being in guitar shops, looking at all the basses etc hanging from the wall.  I feel like a kid going to a toy shop just before Christmas.

1 hour ago, ubit said:

 

 

I love the bagpipes. They stir your soul. Men have followed them into battle being given heart by their sound. New York policemen get buried to the sound of them. They can be soulful and sad or hearty and cheery. Opinions.

I agree.  I always get emotional listening to bagpipes, especially when watching repeats of 'Carry On Up The Khyber'

8 hours ago, MrDinsdale said:

I find I have to be really careful with string muting while tuning on my 5 string Warwick Corvette, my other 5 string is absolutely fine and has no issues. I think for what ever reason the Warwick is way more sensitive to sympathetic vibrations or something so it helps to mute or use harmonics on the 12th fret for tuning the B string.

I read through a thread from a certain other bass forum from overseas and someone mentioned the 12th fret harmonic.  I tried that earlier today and it worked much better than just plucking the open B and E strings.  My issue does seem to be bass specific, though I haven't got another fiver to compare.

I have also just ordered a Landlord FX 'Lock in' tuner to see if it is a tuner or bass issue.

38 minutes ago, Daz39 said:

Dim question: is it set to Bass mode? Because A on a Bass is not far from low E on a guitar so I can see it managing that.

Not a dim question, but yes, my Polytune 3 is set to 'bass needle mode'. The Polytune mini doesn't appear to have a bass mode or a way of setting it up for bass...I await enlightenment here.

29 minutes ago, fretmeister said:

Weird. Is it faulty? My polytune works fine for a 5.

Works fine for 4 strings , The capital E is always there...but switch to my fiver and the E and B just show up sporadically, but A, D and G are always there.  It's as if it senses its a 5 string and stops functioning well.  I keep my fingers muting the B string and still the E won't show up when tuning the fiver.

I acquired a 5 string bass a few months ago and its now my main bass.  I'm having issues with tuning the B and E strings, my TC Polytune won't show the capital letter B or E to aid tuning, though A, D and G tune as normal.  When I tune my 4 string basses with it, there is no problem, E, A, D and G show up as capital letters and I can adjust sharp or flat as needed.

I swapped the TC Polytune to a Polytune Mini and the same thing happens.  thankfully I have a cheap clip on tuner that functions and I also use apps on my iPhone, though tuning with an app can't be done silently.

Am I doing something wrong here?  Is this issue specific to TC Polytunes?  Or do 5 strings confuse pedal tuners?

Help!

Markbass have a new 1000 watt into 4 ohms power amp.  It seems to only be available from European sellers:

https://www.bax-shop.co.uk/bass-guitar-amp-head/markbass-little-mark-vintage-amp-1000-watt-bass-guitar-power-amplifier?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=surfaces&gclid=CjwKCAjwp7eUBhBeEiwAZbHwkYNvu5oYsStvG1A2EyxCrUS6sd01rLeGZrqHTSttyN55TWZ1HGQSYRoCmqQQAvD_BwE

It's a match for their Markbass vintage pre amp.

@shoulderpet and @Dov65 How does one access the truss rod on the Vintera basses?  Is it proper vintage unscrew the neck from the body or is there hex key access somewhere that doesn't require dismantling the bass?

On 16/05/2022 at 18:29, Ricky Rioli said:

 

I just put a fresh set of the 50-65-85-110 Pro Steels on my P, and thought not to cut up the outgoing set, since they're still a fair way from being dead, just thoroughly mellowed.

 

Would you like them so you can see what you think of a 110 downtuned to D Standard?

Sorry, I've not been on basschat for a while and have only just seen your post.  If you haven't already binned them I wouldn't mind trying them out, but you did post the above 8 days ago!  Thanks for the offer.

5 hours ago, thodrik said:

D'addario do a balanced tension set of 120 - 90 - 67 -50. I use that generally for D standard and drop C. The tension of a 120 tuned to D is not dissimilar to having a 110 string tuned to E.

 

GHS do a Heavy Boomers set of 50-115 which I rate. There is also a DR DDT set of 55-115 but I find the higher strings to have too much tension at D standard for my personal taste. 

A normal heavy gauge of 50-110 with your favourite brand of strings should be fine though. If you are changing from a lighter gauge of strings tuned to standard then you might need to give your bass a set up for the new tuning. 

I realise the current E string on the bass I will detune is likely to be a 100, it was a bit floppy but not too bad when dropped to D so 105 might be good enough. @Ricky Rioliis going to send me a set he doesn't like to try as he thinks they could work well in D standard. 

I'll experiment with a few different gauges but I doubt whether 120 would be needed, I am not likely to need to drop down to C.

6 hours ago, Ricky Rioli said:

 

I've just done this: it still feels good. Of the four strings, the E is much the least tense, but even that wasn't feeling floppy.

 

With the P pickup soloed, the sound is bit funny, but on PJ and J it still sounds great – it was easy to imagine the them being a success on a Kiloton 👍

This has been quite informative.

First of all, solo practice with fingers in E standard:

I usually have the G&L pup in series when playing in E standard; I like the bite and the extra bit of heft.  Sounds fine in split too but lacks a bit of oomph that the series mode gives (I am adjusting the volume when swapping between the two.  The parallel setting sounds good also but is a bit more mellow; if I wanted mellow I wouldn't be playing a Kiloton. 

Fingers in D standard:  I have a slight preference for the split over series as it can get a little bit muddy in series on the D string.  Definitely not in parallel as it gets too muddy for me

With a pick in D standard, I wouldn't use the split mode as it loses quite a bit of body, series and parallel both work well with a pick, slight preference for series.

The string set I got with the bass feels fine in D standard, though the D string is a bit floppy.  It's nowhere near as floppy as a D'addario 135 B string on my Charvel 34" scale fiver, but floppy enough for a bit of buzz that doesn't happen in E standard (I haven't bothered adjusting the saddles as I'm swapping between E and D standard at the moment).  You might well be right about the E string being a 100 gauge; the ADG (GCF) strings have good tension in D standard; I'm thinking now that I would probably prefer a 40 over a 45 in E standard.

To conclude, I think 45-65-85-105 would be good in d standard though I would still like to try a 110

10 hours ago, Ricky Rioli said:

 

I think G&L use EXL170 across the board, that is to say 45-65-80-100. Given how my set sounded in D Standard, I would easily believe that the 45-65-85-105 EXL165 would be good. (The Roto Bass 45-105 or 50-100 might be worth thinking about? I've the RB45 on my BB atm, and love the really strong E string, and the mids-heavy sound. The downside is that the top sounds a bit inhibited when soloing the neck.)

 

Do you think the Kiloton's pickup position nicely balances out the detuning, adding back the bite? I'd be interested to know which setting worked best: series / parallel / single? (Now I'm very curious to search out a clip of Kiloton+Roto Bass)

 

I'm so unimpressed by the 110 I'm half tempted to conclude I got a dud one - it has a completely different sound, no matter what pitch I tuned it to: D, Eb, E, F, all missing the gleam of the 85. Perhaps it's just too thick for have that ringing quality? I dunno.

 

At any rate, I'm afraid someone keen to try the XL Nickels for free has already nipped in and asked for my set. I've told him where he can find a 45 and 105 if he likes the 65 and 85 enough to make the most of them 

 

Never mind about the strings, by the sounds of it I'm not missing much.

I normally leave the toggle switch to the right, which is series, I think.  I'll have a play around tomorrow and let you know.