Boodang

49 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

 

Are you sure? I've no experience of 34" sets but all the Bass VI sets I have tried (30" E-E) have a wound high E string.

 

If this was me, I'd be looking at getting Newtone to make me a 34" set based on their Axion Bass VI strings

The Ibanez 7 string comes with a plain F string but I'm sure you could get custom sets made. Just got to pay attention to gauges so you end up with a balanced set.

No experience but was looking at the 7 string Ibanez. I string my 5 as high C but it looks like once you go up to F it's a plain string ie. not wound, which might feel a bit weird.

3 hours ago, WinterMute said:

I had a Geddy Jazz with the Badass bridge, sustained forever, had a Squier jazz fretless, the Jaco-esque one, which came with a standard bent tin jazz bridge, swapped it for a Gotoh hi-mass and it made absolutely no difference at all, unlike dropping a pair of Wizard pups in, which did.

 

Was the sustain on the Geddy a function of better builds and woods? Maybe. I have MM SR5s now, the MM bridges do the job very well, and I think the posts let into the body that secure the bridge do play a part in allowing the string vibrations to act with the body, as they all sound great unplugged, as did the Geddy, the fretless not so much. YMMV

Replacement pickups definitely the quicker and easier route to a vintage tone. Put some Creamery 60s style pups in my Squier Jazz.... what a transformation. 

3 minutes ago, Reggaebass said:

Out of interest who was the band 🙂

This was back in the 90s, a small venue in Luton with an indie band in the style of 'power of dreams'. Can't remember the name of the band other than they obviously didn't make it big. Their 'professionalism' might have had something to do with that!

Had the same thing in reverse, we were the support to a 'pro' band and their bassist broke a string (no spare bass, no spare strings! What a pro!). I had spare strings, he broke another one! I gave him another one and he didn't break any more. 

I had to leave before they finished packing up after the gig and was cursing that there was no thanks from the band. Some time later at the same venue, the sound engineer recognised me and handed me one of my wind up extension leads I'd left behind. When I opened it up out came a load of cash and a thank you note from the string breaking bassist! Restored my faith somewhat.

2 hours ago, Bassfinger said:

The pickups are sensitive to the vibration of the strings above them, not the instruments body, not the neck, or the birds flying south, or the earths core. Provided the saddles are equally hardened there is no means by which different bridges can affect the sound.

 

Indeed, the more energy a bridge "absorbs", mas people say, the less is available to make the strings vibrate above the pickups.

 

So, im going with no difference.  They can come with handy stringing and adjustment options, but I can't actually hear any difference and Ive yet to see an oscilloscope trace that shows any difference. 

The only bridge I've seen that actually has made a difference on an oscilloscope... a Ray Ross saddle-less. It's a weird bridge... any body got one?

According to the blurb from (some) bridge manufacturers, the key element in transferring string vibrations, regardless of the mass involved, is the amount of contact the saddle has with the base of the bridge, thus, 2 grub screws are quite inefficient at doing this. Having a saddle that sits flush is apparently much better but the engineering solution so that this can happen whilst still being height adjustable has to be quite elegant. KSM and Babicz more or less manage this, but that's why they are expensive. 

There is an arguement for low mass bridges! But to be honest the only difference I've found with either is that after market bridges like KSM etc are just better engineered than a standard one.

Well, an update after a couple of weeks of playing... they've needed tuning up every day (how stretchy are these strings!), but they stay stable for a whole session. 

I've given them plenty of abuse, picking, slapping (yes, even on a fretless!) and they've shown no signs of the delicacy mentioned on the packet.

So, these are now my fav strings... great sound and feel, especially on the fretless. 

Not so much to replace the guitar but more to create a bigger sound, I use an octaver and, instead of a chorus, a phaser for the more rhythmic parts.

For more radical sounds i use a EHX mono synth pedal. Really big sounds and some of them you can tame for normal use.

Yeah, lucky timing on my behalf with this one. A few weeks ago I started a thread in 'effects' on funk machine vs supa funk, so when I've had a bit of time with them I'll post my thoughts.

I'll let you know but.... I have high hopes for this one. I've just got the solid gold pedal, so the two together should make a supa funk machine!

At least you don't have to change DB strings that often!

I still think there should be a campaign to make sure EUBs are made with proper tuners.

This is what double bass machine heads should look like!

I'm using Pirastro Obligato medium tension (30kg for the E) strings. The E string is 3mm in diameter.

The schaller machine head tuning shaft is 7.5mm in diameter and about 12mm in length.

A DB machine head is at least 10mm in diameter and approx 25mm in length.

Consequence of which is that on the NS CR the strings are squeezed onto the tuning shafts and only just fit. In fact to get the E string on I had to use the 'A' string tuner in order to accommodate enough of the silk winding, and use the 'E' tuner for the A string.

No problem with stability, just space on the tuning shaft.

In short, EUBs shouldn't have bass guitar sized tuners on them like the NS does.

Just thought I'd post this as A. it was good value for money B. it was excellent service & C. I couldn't believe the options they offered.

I bought a second hand Bright Onion loop switcher (from a BC'er), was so useful I thought I'd buy a second one new. They have some great pedals but also they'll customise the paint job and led colours for very little extra. 

So...

The boring one;

The pimped one;

Definitely... we're the glue between the rhythm and melody. Generally speaking guitar players make bad bassists and the reason they won't notice a bad drummer. 

I've had an NS Design CR4 since they first came out. It's a great bass but doesn't sound like a acoustic upright. The latest Yamaha gets close but is v expensive. 

The NS is a good starting place to get into upright playing and the fingerboard dots really help. To help with the EQ I use a TC Electronic Bodyrez which is designed to put life back into piezo pickup instruments. 

The strings that came with it new, were very light and it was well worth changing for a heavier set, especially for bowing.

Mysteriously they've put bass guitar tuners on it which really are too small for the job, but I wouldn't fret(!) about that and it's certainly not a deal breaker.

Designacable defo..  go to them direct. 

PS good quality + not expensive = you'll be lucky!

Design a cable are good value though.

I can vouch for the Blower Box. Just sold one of mine, light to heavy overdrive, can get very gnarly, has separate treble and bass eq and does have loads of balls if you push the bass.

On 15/07/2020 at 17:18, BillyBass said:

Thanks for replying all of you.  All I want is just one teeny weeny T-47 but maybe I'll try something else.

I've got a custom finish T65 for sale if you're interested? Not quite a T47 but close....ish.

On 22/10/2020 at 20:38, Ramsay777 said:

Digging up an old thread here but I was doing a bit of searching for myself, I emailed him about this time last year and he got back to me saying he was planning more stock in the new year but I didn't hear anything more. 

There's currently a T-70 for sale on the forum if you're still looking for something.

I'm after a Grand Tarkin, just messaged through the website there to see if I have any joy.

There's a  custom grand tarkin for sale over in effects. 

... oh, and something I found useful when initially getting to grips with the intonation on my new lined fretless was to put a clip on strobe tuner on the headstock to double check my technique. You still use your ears and don't rely on the tuner, but to initially fine tune my technique was really useful.

When I started playing bass many moons ago, I decided it would look cooler (!) on stage if I played fretless bass. So I went out and bought an unlined fretless bass and it was 20 years before I picked up a fretted bass (I've been playing bass for going on 40 years now).

Something I have found over the years of playing fretless is that there is a period of time with each new fretless bass where you get familiar with the fingerboard and your fingering. I recently bought a lined fretless and it's taken a lot longer to get familiar with than my unlined basses (I don't consider lined to be cheating. If that was the case Jaco cheated! And what counts is the end result not how you get there). 

Anyway, tips; use your ears and concentrate on / practice your intonation technique (as in set aside some regular practice time for it) especially at the dusty end of the board. And, the best thing I've bought recently for practice purposes... an EHX Freeze. Great for playing along to chords, notes etc on the fly.

I bought an Aguilar Octamizer a few months ago and have been using it constantly. Has an organic tone which I love, the tilt eq is great and you can change the filter tone from smooth to something with a bit more edge. 

I also have a Cog T65 for full on synth style subs and use the built in in effects loop with a fuzz to dial it up a bit. A big sound but not very subtle!

15 hours ago, Mudpup said:

 

Yep i had a quick blast through most of them last night on the headphones. That Toneprint idea is loads of fun.....

 

Each toneprint radically changes the nature of a pedal... great fun. 

Out of interest, does the classic toneprint get close to the OC2 sound?