Munurmunuh

In 2021–2023, I sold three basses in the £350–500 range through Bass Direct. An straightforward painless process all three times. I sent them via Parcelforce, which was under £15 iirc, and BD took a 20% cut from what were good prices. I was happy all three times. 

7 hours ago, Rodders said:

I have a 760FM set on my main bass, not noticed any issues, they were lightly used when I got them from a fellow forum member here but I've noticed any issues with this set or sets I've used in the past.

Those were a sealed pack from Bass Direct. I ordered them as soon as I heard that in the US La Bellas were appearing with coloured ballends — I presumed (correctly) that Bass Direct would still have sets with the older brass ballends.

I rather liked them, but had put them on very much the wrong bass.

The Crow Road, I really must reread that, I enjoyed it so much back in the day.

G&L say, "MFD technology places a single bar magnet entirely beneath each pickup coil, and proprietary machined bushings house height-adjustable pole pieces to fine-tune the magnetic response to each string.  Central to the electromagnetic formula, broad, potent magnets radiate a single polarity upward through the coil. The result is a stronger, smoother magnetic field right where the strings interact, for a fuller, warmer sound with less noise."

I've a SB-1 and an LB-100. For a while I had a Dimarzio Model P on the LB-100. You would think the two pickups would be pretty similar, but when I transferred the same set of strings from one bass to the other, I learnt just how much the MFD has a "fuller, warmer sound". It just seems to be thick everywhere.

I tend to use the volume knob as if it goes to 12 - I start at 10, with extra punch at 11, and all-out intensity at 12. Lot of change of character in that final bit.

Strings Direct shipping might be cheap, but generally their prices aren't as competitive as they were just a couple of years ago. 

That pickup can lowered a bit, and will still give a very strong sound, but warm and rounded. I use Pro Steels with mine. I was very pleasantly surprised at the tonal range that that combination can do. Much more versatile than I expected. 

The inner ring of the pole pieces can be raised with an allen key, which seems to bring out a little more definition, useful for the E+G.

My SB-1 is packaged up ready to have its neck sorted out, and I'm missing the pickup already.

Posted 2½ years ago......

In 1985, there were several recently released albums which I could have bought, had I understood what I would like, but which I overlooked, only coming to know and love later on: 

Powerslave - Iron Maiden (Sep 84)

Ride The Lightning - Metallica (Jul 84)

Killing Is My Business - Megadeth (Jun 85)

Cyclone - Vow Wow (sometime 85)

Head on the Door - The Cure (Aug 85)

First and Last and Always - The Sisters of Mercy (Mar 85)

Psychocandy - The Jesus and Mary Chain (Nov 85)

Meat Is Murder - The Smiths (Feb 85)

But, in 1985, this is what I actually spent my money on:

Dream Into Action - Howard Jones

2 hours ago, neepheid said:

don't see how the first point is Guitarguitar's fault, tbh

What a retailer stocks is their decision. You wouldn't catch me asking 100 quid for this.

4 hours ago, neepheid said:

Holy zombie thread resurrection, Batman!

Just wanting to add my one bit of feedback to the existing accumulated experiences, not much point having more than one thread, is there? I'm sure starting a fresh thread just for my post would be more worthy of ridicule.

Just bought a £100 hard case from Guitarguitar. Ordo brand. The channel for the neck is too thin for a standard neck. The case was shoved in a generic cheap af cardboard box with next to no padding to stop it being bumped about. Too many retailers out there to bother with ones who don't care. Next!

Have you been going through his bins, again?

On 04/08/2023 at 08:02, BigRedX said:

Personally, I can't see any aesthetic reason for not having the neck the same colour as the rest of the bass.

HOPEFUL FORUM USER: I've decided on x. How would I achieve that?

STANDARD FORUM MAN: You shouldn't do x.

On active, the bass and the mids step on each others toes — if you add mids, you'll need to back off the bass, and vice versa.

The character is very polite. Be prepared to do a lot of experimentation with different strings to find the ones that bring it life for you. With hindsight, I wish I had tried DR Nickel Lo-Riders before I sold it. Flats gave the sound depth, but the bass made their earthy side seem clumsy.

The sound with the blend at the centre detente is very bland, but either side of that are a couple of sweet spots. Plenty of owners report playing it on 100% neck / passive.

The build quality is a real joy, and living in the same space as the dark redburst was a delight. The body shape is very comfortable. On the 4-string, the neck specs are identical to those of the equivalent Ibanezes.

4 hours ago, Jean-Luc Pickguard said:

Is this the first verse of Bob Dylan's latest song? 

I know something is happening, but tbh, I'm ferkt if I know what it is

Use an alcohol wipe on Chromes before fitting them, and that grabby sensation caused by the residue of the polishing compound disappears.

The unpleasant stiffness of the strings when new I found only lasts for the first few hours. A kind of audible stiffness lingers for quite a while longer, but does go, giving a tone with nice bloom. The treble is a bit jangly at first, too, but lowering the tone knob a little mops that up. 

I play a 45-65-85-105 set, and now they're broken in find them similar in feel to the higher tension 45-105 rounds, eg Boomers, Roto Bass.

I once had a 45-60-80-105 set. The 60-80 I remember feeling immediately very attractive .... and getting less so as they broke in. Too easy going for my tastes. From which I suppose the 40-60-80-100 set should be a good starting point for a standard taste in tension. 

Unlike LaBellas, Chromes speak very easily, and so suit a light or varied touch. I really like the feel of them, but wish they had a touch more tonal variety. If I was starting from scratch with them, I would have a bass with two pickups.

I recently swapped the pickup on my LB-100 from a Dimarzio to a Fralin. In terms of tone, both before and after, the Chromes followed the pickup's lead. In contrast I found LaBellas always imposing their character over the pickup's (even when the pickup was an MFD)

I really liked the old website, I'm glad I sold my basses through them with that previous used basses page, which put all the range in front of the buyers faces. Endless scrolling is boring af, as is faffing about with filters. Anyway, the world's now got what the world wanted, I hope it'll consider whining a bit less.

Chris Poland followed up being this guitarist......

....with being this bassist....

"Cobalt allergy is often found to coexist with nickel allergy in many people"

13 hours ago, dclaassen said:

I also would probably not consider playing a jazz, folk, or country gig on upright knowing I can produce an acceptable tone on my fretless Spector. 

4 minutes ago, dclaassen said:

You can get close, but it’s like an electronic keyboard vs a grand piano….close but not the same.

Mmm-hmm.

I was wondering that and, if there had been a back of the headstock photo, would have quietly looked the serial number up here 

On 15/07/2023 at 09:21, Mudpup said:

Just buy them in bulk from the USA? Last time i did it 6 sets of Hi Beams came to $129 inc shipping. As long as you keep it below £130 (I seem to remember, check up on that amount) you don't need to pay import duty.

Making up custom sets of Daddarios from singles costs a fortune in the UK, eg 45-65-85-105 Chromes from Strings Direct is £79

So I bought 4 sets of Pro Steels and 3 sets of Chromes from the US, and paid $45 for UPS shipping. This came to $240 all in, and I didn't pay any customs charges. Very slightly more than half the UK price, iirc.

With UPS you can have the parcel sent to a local Access Point. For me that's a Londis on the walk home from work. It's usually 6 days from order to delivery from the US. 

As I have many times before, I shopped with Greg at Rocket Music. He's listing the standard DR sets at £19 / £20 atm, but email him first to chat about shipping options, possible bulk prices. He is truly everything you could hope for from a retailer. Fast, friendly, engaged, amenable, and deeply, deeply honest.

If you purchase from USA using PayPal, remember to make sure the payment is in dollars or suffer PayPal's hilarious exchange rate.

But on Greg's site, I just use my debit card. Every time I've purchased with him, we've agreed an all-in price, and he's sent a link to a page on his site where you input the precise price.

(BTW, the more recent time I had a bass sent via UPS, I didn't get customs charges either. That was a long way north of £130, obvs)

That flag doesn't look right without an orange car around it

https://i1.wp.com/www.careofcars.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/original-junkyard-general-lee-car.jpg

On 01/07/2023 at 10:20, Supernaut said:

Yup... that's a Jazz bass. 

35 minutes ago, Supernaut said:

I have a Radial JDI - never let me down. 

Given that that costs £200 more than the budget example recommended in the OP, this post is just an excuse for yet more

No takers, unsurprisingly