risingson

[quote name='Gust0o' timestamp='1379582494' post='2214343'] Crikey, HH? Am now fully sold. [/quote] I must say I'm looking interested now too. I'm thinking natural 5 string dual pup!

Pick playing is one of the most widely misunderstood and underestimated means of playing a bass. It requires a completely different skillset and a lot more concentration to play dynamically. I would probably say it's the least researched means of playing the instrument insofar as only a handful of people have pushed pick playing to its limits. Like this man [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rxYw7Y45Eo[/media]

I've largely been a passive bass guy but I do like both. Onboard preamps can be really hit or miss for me, which means I have to be careful going about picking active instruments. I hate sterile sounding preamps (pickups too) and like to be able to hear a bit of the tonal character as well as the actives working, kind of like a subtle mix. In short actives for me have to be musical. I also find an onboard mid control dialled in at the right frequency range to be really handy when I need it.

It sounds pretty MM to my ears, really nice playing too. I know his original Jazz had a Star preamp fitted by Roger Sadowsky, I guess an onboard preamp close to something like that would go some way to helping you out nailing the sound.

[quote name='BassTractor' timestamp='1379506995' post='2213446'] OK, then let's get this down to your level: TC say and sell it as m watts, when it isnt, its f watts run through a multiband limiter/(other assorted shenanigans) Glad to be of help. [/quote] Glad you could bring it down to 'my level', appreciated. My post was a little tongue in cheek, but beyond the sound and functionality of the amp I have no personal problem with the TC power ratings. I was aware of how the ratings worked before I purchased the amp in the first place.

[quote name='51m0n' timestamp='1379495155' post='2213238'] Nah TC say and sell it as n watts, when it isnt, its g watts run through a multiband limiter/(other assorted shenanigans) rather like a simple digital mastering cover all solution, in order to get a higher average level to peak ratio (think radio station broadcast limiter). The amp runs harder than a real n watt amp to achieve the same level as an n watt amp (by which I mean in achieving that same level the amp is running closer to its theoretical maximum more of the time - just look at the graphs in the pdf). Which may or may not worry you. It also means the transients are very definitely curtailed, and that is something you may be able to feel. I can honestly say the TC stack sounds really loud, possibly louder than my rig in fact, but I prefer the sound and feel of my rig (I had a day with my rig sat next to Charics - IIRC - at a previous bass bash, so this is a personal subjective impression of the two rigs suide by side for an extended period of time). I have no problem with that approach from an engineering point of view, if they said thats what they did, but in their initial push to market (anyone remember their bass 2.0 ads?) they kept this all very quiet. Any kind of limiting or compression is a form of distortion of the signal, and to claim they have 500, 1000, 1700 watts of [i]clean[/i] usable power is frankly a lie. Whether this is a negative thing is entirely up to you of course [/quote] All of which is totally over my head I'm afraid i don't deny that TC have fibbed, my point really being that I just don't care as the sound I get from the amp has always been great, noticeably so than a lot of other stuff I have used. Having said that I would like a TH500 right now with the new Berg CN212. Great sounding rig and the only thing I'd consider swapping out for right now.

[quote name='dmccombe7' timestamp='1379452833' post='2212972'] That made for some interesting reading - thanks wateroftyne. Always amazes me how mfr twist their statements to make their gear look better than it sometimes is. Cheers Dave [/quote] TC stretch their statistics concerning wattage but I've actually never encountered a problem being heard with my RH750 head. I don't really understand these things too well either but it's as much about the assumption by others that watts = overall level as well as TC pulling the wool over the eyes a bit. TC stuff is largely complete quality in my experience.

[quote name='charic' timestamp='1379316245' post='2211052'] [/size] Two handed tapping would have been my approach if I couldn't match the tempo with the octave jump. Makes perfect sense [/quote] It depends on the context and I would say the majority of the time, tapping is absolutely not the way to approach lines like this one. It's actually making me shudder a bit! It's a case of grabbing a metronome, slowing things right down and gradually speeding things up until it becomes unmanageable again, at which stage drop the tempo back and repeat. There isn't a quick way to get round straight forward, good old fashioned practice and stuff doesn't happen overnight! EDIT - just grabbed my bass to see how I do it, index finger on the lower note, index + middle on the octave.

My old Lakland Darryl Jones had one of the slimmest neck profiles I've used. My preference is for something a bit chunkier nowadays though!

Looks like the kind of instrument almost completely unusable for most things I do. And I absolutely love it, badly want one!

I'd have no problem with the scenario you've described as a buyer, providing there had been excellent communication between both parties, which is usually where the problems start with stuff like this.

I've not tried the Blacksmith but it looks great. They're hand built in Demark too. I've got the RH750 which is the same to an extent, less power and made in Thailand. The sound of it truly is brilliant, an insane amount of power too.

You need to be running Mountain Lion, only works on certain laptops (more recent Pros, my Air) and more up to date iPads/iPhones.

[quote name='Lowender' timestamp='1379080072' post='2208468'] One important lesson I've learned over the years -- [b][i]"Work on your weak points, but concentrate on your strong points. " [/i][/b] [/quote] This is excellent advice. I'm at a position where I can appreciate my shortcomings. I play regularly dep for a band where their main bass player is insanely gospel orientated, listening to him can be truly mind boggling and inspiring, but the other lads in the band have commented on my economical way of playing and how much they love it when I dep. Trying to mirror the other guy's bass playing here would be the mistake because whilst I love gospel, it's not been the main focus of my learning over the years. I like the bass player I am now, but I also love the continuous learning as a bass player.

He's been on my radar for a while now. A phenomenal bass player, a great feel for the instrument.

I love my P-Bass and I love Stingrays as well. Very different sounding instruments (obviously) and I think a lot of people's ears are familiar with the tones that a P-Bass can offer due to it being probably the most recorded electric bass guitar of all time. A lot of people just gravitate towards the sound. Now that I have a P-Bass though I'm looking for a Stingray again. I did own a 5 stringer that I bought off Gust0o^^ but I'm after a pre-EB this time around.

It's actually pretty common. When I first got bought a bass my dad asked his left-handed guitar player if he should get my a right or left-hander (I'm a lefty). He said to get him a right, due to the fact that there would be many more options when it came to choosing instruments. So I got a right-handed instrument and that's the way I learnt, it's been 12 years now. Playing left handed is completely alien to me.

[quote name='tedmanzie' timestamp='1378914628' post='2206457'] I don't particularly love the sound of TI's (which to me is very middy), but if I try ANY other strings I get immediate tendon problems in my left arm. I really liked the sound of LaBella 760FM but even at drop D they were too high tension. I'm cautious about throwing any more money at flats as it seems like TI's are lowest tension out there. I must agree with BigRedX though - they appear to be low tension (to press to the fret) but the actual twanginess (which I think is compliance) seems fairly high? [/quote] TI Flats are the lowest tension strings I've used period. Just not to my tastes. I don't have as much of an issue roundwounds being lower tension, in some cases I prefer it but with flats it seems unnatural. I get why people like the TI's though, they just don't sit with my more traditional taste in flats. Have you tried La Bella 760FL's? Lower tension than the FM's which are incredibly high, sound amazing. Still not great perhaps if you suffer from bad wrists though. Status Hotwires measure about the same too.

I'm also happy to admit I might have gotten a dud pack, but the tension alone was enough to put me off the strings.

A cautionary tale to those who are fans of flatwound strings but like the more traditional feel of La Bellas et al. Invested in a set a few weeks back. I'd played them before on a P and vaguely remembered being impressed but it was a while back, so I went in slightly blind on the expensive string purchase. The experience has been completely frustrating, the tension (compliance?) of the strings is lower than any [u]roundwound[/u] string I've ever used, very loose feeling due to the nature of the construction of the string. Unpleasant if you're into your classic flatwound feel, which generally speaking with flats I am. And the sound across the strings was hugely unbalanced. A mixture of bright on the A and D strings, dull on the G and E, very uneven sounding and because they're flatwounds they take some serious time to wear in to balance out the sound across the strings. Finally, the strings just didn't sound good IMO. Low mids weren't present and accounted for like a regular flatwound, no punchiness to speak of either. Overall the strings just aren't for me and didn't merit the price tag. I understand there are more than a few people here that like TI flats but I'd be weary of buying a set if you're into your traditional flatwound string because they don't deliver the goods. I'm amending the situation immediately by returning to good old La Bellas! On a sidenote, some of the most impressive flatwound strings I've come across have been the Status Hotwire Flats. Hugely affordable and excellent sounding strings for those who haven't tried them before.

[quote name='Low End Bee' timestamp='1378742732' post='2204053'] I quite badly want one of these. Shame I'm skint at the moment. [/quote] I'd love one of these too. They look bloody great.

One of the new Bergantino CN212's + the Aguilar TH500, tried one recently, what a rig. Apart from that, a new 5'er, I just don't know which one. And to be honest I'm on the slow quest for a pre-CBS P-Bass to be my prize instrument too. I just need a lot of cash!!

If this was me I would have got in touch to let them know how (in a polite, roundabout way) that they'd wasted my time, had acted less then professionally and had financially inconvenienced a soon to be father. You could invoice them but I doubt you'd get your money and to be perfectly honest I'm not sure it would be the right approach should you want to keep your options open for future dep work (if you're relying on the money that is). Again, personally if it was me they'd get crossed off of my dep list. I'm not up for being that badly inconvenienced.

[quote name='Gust0o' timestamp='1378461276' post='2200545'] I've always suspected that the elephant in the room might be the old green-eyed monster. I'm not sure I'd want a Fodera, but I can imagine that many bassists might like the opportunity or option to procure one, even if they then spent the money on something else. So, are we really rounding on the instruments? Or the individual, and the circumstances which have allowed them to indulge their passion to such an extent? [/quote] +1 this is definitely what it always boils down to.