biro

some three years ago I played at a pretty famous busking festival in Ferrara, Italy. All the buskers had to comply to some strict regulations, most importantly 1) no more than 20 W; 2) bring your own power supply. When I first read the above-quoted rules, I had already been selected to play there, and I kind of freaked out as I was absolutely sure that 20 W would have never been enough to spread the love. I eventually decided to buy a roland microcube bass thinking that I could always return it. As it turned out, this little 10 W box went on to perform beautifully, and caused no problem at all. I played solo for about 3.5 hours every day, and I really have to say that its behaviour impressed me greatly. here's a link to a short video of me performing at that festival. the video/audio quality is really bad because it was recorded with a compact digital camera. The sound is slightly distorted, but no distortion at all was provided by the microcube (although its volume knob was cranked almost all the way up!). [url="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/ANYVFAFifDvPOu93eC4g-LHkMCPjOXcOyLdxq70kUq4?feat=directlink"]https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/ANYVF...feat=directlink[/url] My needs have evolved since, and I eventually sold the roland microcube, but I maintain that it's one hell of an amplifier. If you are going to play along an acoustic guitarist or to perform solo and electricity is not supplied, then the roland microcube is probably one of the best choices available.

My bad: in Italy they're price tag is somewhere around EUR 620. The situation could be entirely different up there.

one of my biggest regrets is having waited so long before buying a jazz type like bass. I just don't know why and how, but even though i regularly fell in love every time i tried a JB it took me like ten years before eventually deciding to finally take the plunge. and even if it's just an SX (beautifully crafted and playing and all, but still an SX), I'm currently not playing anything else. I'm such a retard at times.

[quote name='Dad3353' post='1346046' date='Aug 20 2011, 08:14 AM']I have a 6-string 'Douglas' fretless' active; it cost under 200€ delivered from US to France. Excellent value for money, imho, and definitely not a 'cheap' instrument.[/quote] [quote name='Mog' post='1347696' date='Aug 22 2011, 02:25 AM']Picked up a Brice 6 string for €70 notes SH. Stuck a Glockenklang pre-amp in it and couldnt be happier. Doesnt sit so well on the knee but its perfectly balanced on the shoulder. Well worth looking at IMO. Definitely comparable to the SR300 line from Ibby. Slightly wider string spacing but nothing a solid week of scales didnt sort out.[/quote] hey fellas, do you have any sample/video of these two? In the mid term I will probably be spending a lot of time in the US, and having an inexpensive yet playable bass there wouldn't be bad. thanks in advance!

as far as i am concerned, and being a proud peavey tim landers six owner (mine's one of the early 1991 models, trans brown finish - one of the most useless finishes on ever conceived: however transparent, is still brown and definitely looks blackey to me), I am bound to say something about this bass. If you find one of them used on ebay, just get it. It's just one of the best basses I've ever played, and I ended up selling many other and more espensive basses because of it being the only bass I would play. this said, £ 600 IMO is more than enough to get a great sixer, and I guess that any yamaha trb or Ibanez BTB (I happened to try the new 676 model recently, and I found it absolutely gorgeous to look at in person, and extremely nice to play. also, it's really, really lightweight) would fit your needs. Anyhow, if this is your first six string bass, yous should definitely try some models in order to understand thoroughly some of your needs: first of all neck width and scale length. It could just be me, but I tend to feel uncomfortable with longer scales (35+) on a sixer, even if I have rather Sasquatch-like hands. Oddly enough, this did not apply to the above-cited Ibanez BTB, whereas I've found the Yamaha 1006 a troublesome fellow. I also have to stipulate with the very cheap bass theory. Sometimes, and without any justification, some extremely inexpensive basses play are almost as awesome as their much more pricey brethren. I got a 200 euros worth HS sequoia fretless 6 on ebay years ago, and it still has one of the best low Bs I've ever heard. To sum it up, try some basses, and find what you like. Then, pretty much any bass within that price range is going to fit your needs beautifully as far as finish, electronics and fretwork. Just pay attention to some details about the "size" of the bass: a bas you're not comfortable with can be a nasty beast to cope with.

[quote name='Kongo' post='519350' date='Jun 20 2009, 03:57 PM']It's a shame almost no one knows this guy. Not only does he have 4 hipshot D-tuners he also has a bridge that slams into any tune too...Takes him a good 30 mins to tune but...[/quote] I had the chance to attend a michael manring masterclass in Milan some years ago. He brought three basses, as he had to use all of themmanring's music for "my three moons", and he eventually told us that it took 2 hours to put a new set of strings on the three of them. this said, he's the man.

[quote name='bartelby' post='516651' date='Jun 17 2009, 06:24 PM']Cheers. I am seriously tempted by the BTB676,[/quote] I know that temptation, and I have been very close to yield to it. Such a great sounding sixer is a steal at that price. Not that I need another sixer, but I've already started telling lies to myself. You know, the ones that go like "what if a string brokes. I may need a backup". in short, the dangerous ones!

well; I've made show-off videos too. But I like to add some meaning to them, as I don't want to be mistaken: I'm not that exhibitionist! e.g. this vid: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Df1ljlMXpLc"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Df1ljlMXpLc[/url] I filmed myself doing crazy and far from being musical things because I had entered the guitar rig contest, and therefore I had to do everything I could in order to demonstrate the software capabilities. And this implied doing lotsa things I personally dislike, although I've tried in any way to do something funny and interesting, at least sound-wise. as far as music is concerned, I'm not any longer in a have-you-seen-that-guy-triple-plucking-on-youtube state of mind.

in Italy you happen to see basses like yours for sale for about 800 euros or so. BUT: it looks like your bass has some significant upgrades (eg the finish), so it may be eligible for a place in a higher price region. nonetheless, I have no idea of how sandberg guitars are made available in the UK. In italy those are sold directly by the importer, and this allows for slightly lower price than most european megastores like thomann.

[quote name='The Bass Doc' post='516157' date='Jun 17 2009, 10:55 AM']Can't help but admire his expertise but I have a problem with technique at this level - imagine if you were other than the bass player in your band, would you really want this guy to join it?[/quote] nope.

italians up here! his name is gianni serino, and he's from genoa. not my cup of tea, as well, yet we have to give the devil's his due. astonishing technique.

if the bass is well-built, you shouldn't get any problems. as far as I'm concerned, I wouldn't choose a 33" scale lenght, but to me it's just a matter of taste. I've go very big hands. Plus, I like my strings to be a bit tighter, and, above all, I like that "bigger" voice that usually comes out of longer scales. not only allows for a more tight - and thus better sounding low b, but it also makes the higher strings of your axe sound more like a bass - especially the high C, which frequently happens to have a difficult-to-melt-with-the-other-strings sound, especially if you use light gauge strings. nevertheless, I've seen tony grey performing in Milan with Hiromi Uehara, and he was playing with his 33" fodera sixer. killer playing, and also killer sound, even on the lower register.

most of you got great looking and pretty refined ramps on your basses. I don't! I made mine out of a cd box, and glued it on the pick ups. not really great looking, but it does the job pretty well. you can see it here: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Df1ljlMXpLc"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Df1ljlMXpLc[/url] since I've got P-style pick ups I can easily match the fingerboard radius by adjusting the pick ups. nevertheless, to prevent those reckless basschatters who are about to spoil their basses this way: keep in mind that this system only works properly if your bass has a considerably flat radiused fingerboard. I don't think i would do the same with a 7.25 fender-style radius. i also did something similar on my status S-1, but in a slightly different manner. I first fitted a small piece of wood between the pick ups in order to create an even surface. then I laid down a layer of sticker paper on the newly available surface. it works, and it definitely looks better than a sanded CD box. again, don't do this on buxom fingerboards, it won't work the way you want it to.

[quote name='molan' post='513953' date='Jun 15 2009, 11:59 AM']Look out for 'holoflash' - that's the official name of this finish from Spector [/quote] Thanks a lot! I really feel the urge to satisfy my long time hunger for a truly embarassing bass!

god, I want this bass! such a sparkling finish!

before I forget: I've also seen and played several epoxyed fingerboard. I haven't managed fo find great differences. sound-wise the superglue treatment seems to be a great and fairly cheaper alternative to the epoxy coating. the basses also feel very similar under your fingertips, as far as I can remeber: but I've never had the chance to set up an A/B test, so it's possible that I'm not considering subtle differences that may bother someone else.

a fellow memeber of an italian bass forum has written a very through tutorial on how to put a layer (actually, more than one) of superglue on a fretless board. I've seen a couple of basses that have undertaken this treatment, and I really have to say they both looked and sounded better to me. Well, it's not exactly something I would do on an ebony or wenge fingerboard (the first being hard enough, the latter to wide-grained). but it appears to work beautifully on a rosewood or maple (yummy!9) finegerboard. here's the link to the tutorial: [url="http://www.gospel.bo.it/albums/userpics/10221/finitura_tastiera_basso_fretless_con_cianoacrilato.pdf"]http://www.gospel.bo.it/albums/userpics/10...anoacrilato.pdf[/url] unfortunately, it's in italian, but I guess you could babelfish it easily. If not, I'ask the author to give me permission to translate it. But, as far as my english proficiency is concerned, I fear it wouldn't be such a great deal. babelfish is definitely more skilled than I am!

i really have to point out that, to me, a bass hanging on someone that way is one of the worst looking things ever. to say nothing of the potential neck issues!

I've tried a couple of iceman specimens in istanbul last summer, and I have to say they're great basses for the price. Let's say I've had the chance to try out some other Ibanez basses in the same occasion, eg a couple of BTB's, which in my opinion were clearly superior. as far as i can remember the pirice tag was similar, but sound-wise it wasn't really a fair comparison. If i were in your shoes I'd consider picking up a four stringer btb. It's a great looking bass, and has a great sound. Plus, the 35" scale lenght allows for higher string tension, which is a great thing if you are into picking styles and perhaps dropped tunings. then, keep in mind that we're still talking of fairly cheap korean-made basses, thus they're not exactly flawless. Though, I enjoyed the BTB's a lot. give it a try, I don't think you will be disapointed.

Well, I wouldn't go so far. It is true that many things have been introduced since Leo sold Fender to CBS - just think about the singray. But it doesn't seem to me that Fender has completely lost its talent in adopting good market strategies. Simply, Fender has better succedeed in promoting a "retro image" for today's bassist. which is kind of a challenging task. to put it straight: Fender's client base is demanding a traditional bass - which may also happen to be spiked with pots, but has to look and feel as a fender bass. obviously, this is not an absolute value, and many people can easily live without it. Yet Fender's offer is addressed to players of this kind, and it's not really big deal. You just have to know which featuresa are important for you in a bass, wheter it's a fender or not.

OMG, this bass is gorgeous. I mean, it's just a korean made bass. IF ONLY IT WAS RED, i would have bought it immediatly. let's face it, a bass must be cool looking in the first instance!

I have a number of different basses, but in the last few months I started suffering of some swap-frenzy disease. Thus, I swapped a rare graphite-necked Peavey GV bass for a fretless european spector. it was a hell of an axe, but I quickly got mad at that bass since I couldn't really get the tone i wanted out of it. I eventually sold it to buy a Status S-1, which is now serving as my main live and studio bass. however, I wouldn't define my current bass a better one. It's all about understanding what you want in an instrument. The spector I had would have been perfect for some playing style - and it actually is, since the guy I sold it to is more than happy with this bass. but it just could not deliver the sound i had in mind when i recklessy bought it.