mike257

I've fancied trying out one of the new series P-basses for a while to see how it would sound in the band, so I pinned down a bass playing mate in our rehearsal room last night, and asked if he didn't mind a swap for an hour so I could have a crack at his. He took my Sandberg off to his room, and I ran through a set with his P, which I loved, but when I went to hand it back, his buckle has took a whacking big patch (about 2 inches across) of the stain off my bass, right down to the wood! He was really apologetic, and has offered to pay for the repair, but I'm left wondering just how much it's going to set me back, and if it's likely that a good luthier can match the colour properly. It's one of those tasty redburst stain finishes that shows all the grain. Does anybody have any experience of getting a repair like this done? If anybody wants to recommend me someone who's done this kind of work for you, that'd be great! I've kept the bass pretty damn immaculate and I'm gutted - I don't plan on ever parting with it, and I fully expect that over the years it will get some knocks and bumps, but I'd much prefer them to come from me gigging it like mad!

Hi guys, been away since last week, have only just caught up with this. I brought the Big One home from my practice room after 2 weeks intending to shift it on promptly, and have just been snowed under with stuff, so it's still in my hands. I have indeed spoke to Etienne about passing it on to him, so if there's no objections I'll send it his way for his next gig. Whoever's next in line, speak up!! Thanks again to Alex for this by the way, it's most excellent of you!

[quote name='FlatEric' post='658011' date='Nov 18 2009, 12:42 PM']First of all, when the bridge pickup is selected and set at single coil setting on the tone control, the phase switch can be used to select either coil of the pickup.[/quote] That solves a mystery - I was sure the phase switch was doing [i]something[/i] when I only had one pickup on. Never quite fathomed what it was!!

My girlfriend was taking her daughter to see Pink the other week, until her daughter fell ill on the day, so I was drafted in as a replacement (and had to leave a radio session in hurry, to the echoing sound of having the mickey taken by my band). It was one hell of a show... brilliant choreography, acrobats and all kinds of high wire/trapeze-type madness, and an awesome band (including ex Mars Volta bassist Eva Gardner). Pink herself was absolutely fantastic, I hadn't realised just how good a singer she was. I knew the show would be high caliber, but I was blown away on all fronts!

Just to be a pedantic bugger - the text in your FAQ about wait times is still referring to things being ready in May, might want to do something to bring that up to date. Your page about availability kind of renders that question obsolete, so you could replace the current answer with a link to that page Looks the business though, a huge improvement. Nice one!!

[quote name='Legion' post='636807' date='Oct 26 2009, 11:52 AM']Was secretly lusting after that - still have a Sandberg on my wish list of basses to try [/quote] I was eyeing that blackburst last time it came up on here too, it's gorgeous, I want!!!!

I doubt he's gonna drop his Custom Shop Fender for it. If you believe the promo vids, they've 'used' the guitars live and love them. Hmmmmm.

To put your mind at ease, he's a cracking bassist. Biffy are ace

Well, gave the Big One it's first run out last night, first impressions... Didn't take it out of the box it was shipped in until I was about to run it to soundcheck. Absolutely blown away by the (lack of) weight. Compared to dragging my SVT610 around, this thing is a revelation, and my band were instantly of the opinion that I should buy one for this reason alone! This was the first gig I've done in ages where there's been no PA support for the backline, so it was all about the Big One out front. The gig was at Studio 2 at Parr Street studios in Liverpool, which has now been converted into a bar/venue, so the acoustics in the room are pretty bloody marvellous. I was running my Shuttle 6.0 with both preamp controls at 12 o'clock, and a slight mid cut, and my JM4 on the neck pickup with a touch of bass boost. The difference from my 610 was apparent almost immediately, especially in the low mids. There was a lot more weight to the notes, and I definitely felt like I was getting the tone of my bass, rather than the tone of my cab. The attack of my flats came through really nicely. Consensus of opinion from the band was that the bass sat in the mix much better (against 3 eleccy guitars, 1 acoustic, drums, 3 vocals) and sounded 'bigger' without overpowering anyone else. I did feel there was something missing when I got up past the 5th fret on my D string, the notes were lacking some punch, but I didn't have time to really experiment with my EQ at the gig, and I'm sure when I spend some time on it in rehearsal this week that I can address that. Overall, I'm very impressed, as are the lads in the band, and I'm seriously thinking how I could fund a Barefaced purchase. I'm hoping to give it a more thorough going over at rehearsals this week, and A/B it against the Ampeg cab. Etienne, I'd love to meet up with you and your Compact - I'm pretty busy all this week, but could possibly do something early next week, I'll give you a shout! Thanks again to Alex for this, it's great to be able to try out a potential new purchase in the real world, I'm pretty sure now that my next new bit of gear is going to say 'Barefaced' on it!!

It is indeed - Voodoo Chile (Slight Return) - kicks ass. I thought the first 2 minutes was well cool, but it didn't do it for me once the change of pace comes in, seemed to loose something. Nice idea though, and I've personally not seen a DB attacked like that before, enjoyed a different take on it!

I can indeed confirm the Big One is squeezed into the back of my little work van at the moment, looking forward to giving it a bash soon! The box was bigger than I expected, but after taking my 6x10 up a spiral staircase yesterday, it feels well light! I've got a gig on Sunday night, and a practice next week, so I'll give it a going over for that and then move it on, as I know there's a few people round here waiting for a go at it! Cheers Ade for sending it up, and thanks again to Alex for letting us all loose on it!

I tried my JM4 against my Stingray when I first picked it up. It does a pretty reasonable approximation of an MM humbucker sound, but lacked a little 'something' that my Stingray had - although that may be down to my bad habit of 'everything on eleven' with the 3EQ on the 'ray. What I can vouch for is the build quality and the playablility of the Sandberg, it's absolutely flawless, beautiful to look at, and screams at me to play it constantly.

When I was using a rack setup (SVT-3/Tuner/Wireless) I had a cheap Samson power conditioner fitted, but it was more for the convenience of having everything powered from one source, with neat and tidy cables, and only one mains lead to connect from the back of my rack. They are by no means an 'essential' piece of kit. The rack lights were pretty though.

Yeah, if you're on a budget like that, you're best off going for something 'ready-made' really, there's some great gear knocking around in that price range. Buying spare parts and building is pretty nifty and cost effective if you've got a bass to upgrade, but not so much so if you're buying the whole thing from scratch!! Good call on the drunken soldering too, I'd end up with a tone pot permanently fixed to my kneecap, probably!

What have you got Lew? I've got a screwdriver and a soldering iron. I'll have to go the offy for us though, you'd have no chance in my local

Excellent choice, sir. I used to have the 2005 Ltd with the rosewood, didn't realise there was a maple option! The buttercream is gorgeous though, you'll love it. I miss playing my Stingray

Looks an awful lot like those Stagg Jag copies, I'm sure they've got the big-polepiece pickups on em too. Hmmm....

I'd always wondered why they had 'The Band' stuck on the end. Things you learn on Basschat, eh!

Mon the Biffy!! Saw these the other day, it's nice to see the boys get some recognition. James is actually a cracking bass player, has some really catchy lines and the interplay with the drums is great. It's mad to think that the Biff are actually big enough to have signature guitars now, how the times have changed!

I spent two years spinning round stages with a Sennheiser Freeport and never had any trouble (apart from forgetting to put fresh batteries in every once in a while). We had three of them on the go, but our singer gave up on his when he realised he never strayed far enough from the mic stand for it to be any use. Me and the guitarists even knew each others pedal changes so we could swap sides on the stage mid-song and not have to worry! Don't use it now as running around the stage throwing shapes is a bit inappropriate in an alt-country band, but I'd have no qualms about relying on it if the situation required.

As others have said, all the big 'name' sequencers/DAWs are just as capable as each other really, and unless you're going pro as a recording engineer (in which case you'll NEED to learn Pro Tools) then you can get by with any. I'm a long time Cubase user, mostly just out of familiarity. I've thought about learning the others, but my days of trying to blag a studio job are sadly behind me, and Cubase does everything I need it to, so I'm sticking with what I know!!