risingson

I count myself incredibly fortunate that all of the musicians I play with are aware of the power that the bass can hold over the rest of an ensemble. It's not an ego thing, they respect me as much as I respect the fact that I can be made to sound good by what they all play on their respective instruments. As a bass player, I'll always need a band to sound great and I get a kick out of supporting other musicians.

The fretless sounded just fine this evening mate! Great job, nice and prominent out front, not overpowering at all either.

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1384101869' post='2272756'] What we also can't be sure of is if a bass made today will change in in the same way as the old ones did. Pickups are made differently today. So the break-down in the materials will be different. So it's very possible a bass made today will sound exactly the same in 50 years as it does today. So, sorry guys, but if you're looking at keeping your new Fender for 50 years it may well totally fail as an investment. [/quote] All true apart from if the functionality of the instrument becomes a redundant feature to a collector, which is entirely possible. The inherent value of the instrument to someone like me on the other hand would be zero as I'd never own an instrument that I wouldn't play.

I've not played enough vintage examples of Fender guitars (played plenty of basses) to really have any idea of whether this is true or not, although some of my guitarist friends have vintage Fender guitars and to be honest I can't hear the difference when they play live. My opinion as a vintage Fender fan isn't that it's so much that the sound gets 'better' over time, rather I love the feel, appearance and comfort of a well used Fender bass guitar. It fascinates me, I love it. I do think the sound of Fender basses change over time, this is something I have no honest or scientific explanation for but something I've just noted having used and played both new and old Fenders before. The crux of the sound is always the same though, and there are more variables involved than just age in it.

The first one is a mime job obviously. I don't think fans would have been overly picky about the parts not being live. The second one appears more live and Jermaine could certainly play, although props should go to Stevie Wonder for writing the tune and for Nate Watts's insanely good slap part on the original record. Monstrous playing.

[quote name='cameltoe' timestamp='1384027227' post='2272154'] I find DR Sunbeams to be far better than D'Addario's, but they are twice the price. They are lower tension, smoother, and if like me, you like the sound of a played-in string (which I suspect you don't if you change strings every two gigs), they just stay in that sweet spot for ages before dying. I seem to get a bit more punch from my amp when I use them. I usually only use Sunbeams, Fender Nickels, or D'Addario Nickels depending on how desperately I need them and how skint I am. I have just bought a set of the balanced tension nickel D'Addario's that I'm looking forward to trying- the floppy E-string problem is no more I hope! I heard Fender Nickels and D'Addario's are basically the same string? The local music shop tells me both are made on the same production line in the same factory. No idea if it's true, but would be interesting considering some on the thread seem to like D'Addario and not Fender. I've always found them to sound fairly similar. I once bought a set of Stagg strings because I was desperate, and took them off after one rehearsal- I could hear and feel the core rattling around inside the winding. Never again. [/quote] Cool, I'll give Sunbeams a punt! It was mentioned earlier in the thread that D'Addario make Fender strings but they aren't just repackaged D'Addario strings. I bought a set of the new Fender strings over the summer and the difference was there for someone who's been a longtime D'Addario user. I guess if you are too you might find the same. Still not terrible strings by any stretch of the imagination, just not the same IMO.

Brilliance http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-0JZlrk4xA

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1384012803' post='2271916'] What do those D'Addario XL's feel like in terms of tension /compliance? I seem to remember that they are meant to feel pretty tight . Do they last a fair while? [/quote] It's been a while since I've used the standard XL's as my local music store has had the balanced tension XL's in for dirt cheap, I can say that the balanced tensions feel tighter than the regular XL's though with some certainty which means that the XL's are probably middle of the road. The balanced tension ones are somewhat tougher if you prefer a higher action and I found them to be a little slower speaking than the standard XL's unless you prefer a lower action. It didn't take me long to get acclimatised to them though, YMMV and all that. XL's are lovely strings but like all round wounds apart from coated ones they never last as long as I want them to!

Thomastik flats, I really can't stand them. Everything I'd want about a flat wound string just isn't there and I found them 'uneven' sounding across the strings too. I know I'm in a minority with this one! I think a lot of other people can get on with them because of their lower tension but it's something I really didn't like about them. La Bella 760FL's are what I like in flats. I never got on with DR's. Lowriders I found a little on the dull side and High Beams were okay, but not worth the price. I'm yet to try Sunbeams yet but unless they completely trounce D'Addario Nickels then they won't be worth it either. D'Addarios are still my favourite round but they just don't last for more than 2 gigs with me!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfsH3MkRgE0

It's going to happen sooner or later, the more you try and prevent the more inevitable it ends up becoming. Your instrument should show to an extent its journey with you otherwise it's just another guitar off of the shelf in a music store.

I do this thing where I take sharp intakes of breath through my nose when I'm really concentrating. Fine in the studio when I'm doing bass takes but if I'm recording acoustic guitar like I do a lot I drive the engineer crazy when I'm mic'ed up! It's totally subconscious of course

His bass tone is awesome, but I can understand why this might not exactly please a lot of NIN fans. Nice and groovy for us bass players, way off the mark for fans of Reznor. Reminds me of Nile Rodgers with Daft Punk recently. Nice on paper, but a disappointment for me as a lifelong fan of DP and Nile Rodgers.

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1383943570' post='2271210'] That`s a shame Liam, still your observations have now removed these from my GAS list. [/quote] I'd still recommend trying them out Lozz as they might well be your thing but unfortunately they didn't suit me at all for a variety of reasons. A shame but you live and learn!

Okay, the condensed story is this: I received the bass on Tuesday morning, and it got returned today. Looked nice, played fine, sounded completely lacklustre to my ears. A shame but I'm glad I took a punt, it was completely uninspiring for me to play. It's the quickest turnaround of an instrument I've ever owned!

[quote name='bh2' timestamp='1383686589' post='2267770'] I found a Rembrandt and a Stradivarius in the loft the other day... Unfortunately Rembrandt was crap at making violins and Stradivarius couldn't paint for toffee. Apologies to Mr Cooper. [/quote] Love it!

I've not played one but I think the look of them leaves a lot to be desired. Not inspired! Having said that I do love Lakland as a company, I just often wish they'd offer a few more finishes on some of their cheaper products.

I've got the RH750, it's a great head and I've never had so many compliments about the sound of an amp before from sound guys and audience. I don't find the amp to be overly limiting in its performance, it does do highs if you want them unlike the RH450, and it's not harsh sounding like a lot of modern amps, always found EBS bad for this. It doesn't sound too much like Ampeg stuff like a lot of people reckon it does, I've always found Ampeg amps to lack control when it comes to EQ and the EQ options on the 750 are seemingly limitless. It's got more of a low mid focus and doesn't do massive sub lows but to be honest that's the last thing I need saturating the stage when I'm playing with bands. I'd really recommend it.

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1383302020' post='2262763'] Anti-Chinese bass sentiments? What is this, Talkbass? [/quote] I read some of that stuff. Some people over there truly have their heads jammed firmly up their arses! On the flip side, Justin Meldal Johnson, producer and session extraordinaire has reported very good things about the Starcaster having used it with M83 live. I'm choosing to trust the man's opinion over the people who haven't touched the bass yet but are still passing opinion on it.

[quote name='Prime_BASS' timestamp='1383252922' post='2262304'] I'm 24, I don't mind the hollow bodied vintage stuff, the other one that's out that's symmetric looks nice, black headstuck in red yum. My guitar is a 335 dot derivative, I love the jack casady bass and the dean cabbie too. But this, it's shambolic. It looks like someone made a bass using a melted picture of a 335as inspiration. Like a weird indie copy that has an offset body the wrong way. I also question the chinese origin. Im a bit of snob when it comes to place of manufacture, but I'm sure as hell not going to spend that kind of mullah in a Chinese instrument when there are possibly hundreds fir around £200 Edit- on my phone hence poor usage of language and typing ability [/quote] There's nothing to be snobbish about until you've played one. Presumably you don't have a problem owning any of the tablets or computers on the market right now? Got a MacBook? I'm looking forward to challenging the QC perception with the new Starcaster. Increasingly it means little if nothing at all, I'll own both American made and Chinese made basses so I'll be able to make an informed decision hopefully! We'll see.

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1383246742' post='2262175'] Kind-of reminds me of when Brit-Pop was about, many of the bands suddenly all seemed to be using 335s. I like the look of these basses, but the sound-clip is what really gets it for me, think they sound great. [/quote] Aye me too! Looking forward to getting hold of it.

[quote name='Prime_BASS' timestamp='1383235981' post='2261964'] I think it looks ridiculous myself. Cant see why they are liked so much, maybe I'm not of that "age" [/quote] I'm 24, I'm a sucker for vintage style gear though. They seem to be marketing them to a younger crowd for whatever reason, presumably to hit the alternative hipster side of the market so perhaps you actually represent a minority. I'm going to use it for most music I play if it suits.

Ahh well I've just ordered the Cherry Burst one, in Sweden right now gigging so it'll be with me next week when I arrive home. Will post first impressions and that!

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1382622370' post='2254541'] And Fodera's "New York" location hardly looks like a prime bit of real estate. It's down by what appears to be docks in Brooklyn, and not even a "trendy" part like Dumbo where Sadowsky used to be based... [/quote] Give it a few years because Brooklyn round the shirts of Manhattan is about to explode. Any property round there will be worth holding onto.