Metal-Mariachi

Here in the US we don’t get many of the imports you get in the UK. I’ve tried out the Squire Vintage Vibe basses and have to say they are very nicely made. Much better quality than any of the ‘70s 3 bolt Fenders. The necks have a nice feel and they don’t sound bad as they are. With a good set of strings I’d say a Squire is gigable as it is. A little pickup swapping and hardware upgrade and you have an even better bass. They did get carried away with the Urethane though. That just means you have an excuse to refinish to that metallic copper, metal flake emerald or glitter pink bass you always wanted. MM

Check out the Fuzzhugger Algal Bloom or Great Wall. [url="http://www.fuzzhugger.com/fhfx.html"]http://www.fuzzhugger.com/fhfx.html[/url]. Tom ships to the UK and is great to work with for custom touches. He built me a Great Wall with a couple of extra custom features, and I supplied him with the “Berlyn” graphics. Demo of mine here. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EzuzsUzCY8"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EzuzsUzCY8[/url] MM

do you mean the Vintage vibe jazz and the classic vibe '50s and '60 p basses? I tried the VM Jazz. It's very nicely built. sounds pretty good. You wouldn't mistake it for a new American Standard in a blind fold test, but very good for the price. MM

the sn and number on scratch plate date is as a 1999 American made. [url="http://www.fender.com/support/usa_instruments.php"]http://www.fender.com/support/usa_instruments.php[/url] the '90s are not the best years for Fender but is an American made. MM

I put one on one of my basses and am considering doing it to another. As Muppet said, once you get past the weird feeling on initial stringing, they work great. Just follow the directions and you'll have no problems. Right now mine is set to C for no particular reason other than I can. Now if I could find a way to drop all 4 strings at once. MM

Here in the States or at least in some of them, dealers have to wait 30 days before selling an instrument, jewelry etc. That way police can check if stolen goods were pawned or sold. If the thief hangs on to the stuff for a couple of months though it does slip through the cracks. MM

I found a slightly modified used Mark Hoppus. It had 2 tone controls added, so there is room in the PG, cavity for a VVT set up with a J pickup added. I swapped necks on mine, partly because I didn't like the wide P neck it came with and I had a maple board, block inlay neck I wanted to use.. MM

I have a MIJ '51 reissue, and a MIM Mark Hoppus sig. Both are very well made. Granted the Hoppus is the high end of the MIM basses. I was in Guitar Center today and tried out pretty much every Jazz they had on display. Sound wise I preferred the American standards, but each one of them sounded slightly different from each other too. Interesting enough the Squire VM sounded better then the Geddy sig they had. none of basses had gaps in the neck pockets and the finishes were all well done. Neck feel is a combination of personal preference and set up, so I won't get into that. The main difference I noticed was the sound (pickups) and quality of the hardware. I suggest you play as many as you can, pick the one the sounds, feels, and looks best to you. MM

Can be done with 9-12v ac as well using a step up tx. [url="http://www.hoffmanamps.com/MyStore/perlshop.cgi?ACTION=thispage&thispage=parts1.htm&ORDER_ID=179120208"]http://www.hoffmanamps.com/MyStore/perlsho...ER_ID=179120208[/url] That will give you plate voltages in the 200-250 v range. I feel that if you’re going to use tubes, run them at tube voltages. MM

I almost bought one around 1990 but it was way too expensive (for my budget) at the time. Btw; if you happen to come to the Baltimore/ DC area you can call and arrange a tour of the PRS factory. It’s a bit of a haul across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, but you can make a day of it and enjoy some blue crabs while you’re on the eastern shore. MM

Actually the bass on Ebay has what is commonly referred to (in the us) as fret lines or markers, as in fretless with markers. Warmoth, USA guitars etc all make aftermarket necks like. [quote name='Jase' post='206029' date='May 25 2008, 11:59 AM']The reason I posted was, I'm sure I read somewhere that Percy Jones had a "fret levelling" job done on a bass [/quote] Having frets leveled is done to ensure there are no high or low spots, usually done after a refret MM

I occasionally re-find their site and gas for a Tremulus Lune or the Phaseur Fleur MM

You could also use the Fender Deluxe series bridge. [url="http://www.guitarpartsresource.com/bridge_genuinefender.htm"]http://www.guitarpartsresource.com/bridge_genuinefender.htm[/url] (just below the Tele bridge) And there is a Gotoh available [url="http://www.guitarpartsresource.com/bridge_gotoh.htm"]http://www.guitarpartsresource.com/bridge_gotoh.htm[/url] MM

Great idea. If you do have a get together over there, you should try to set up to record the sessions. Maybe a little video action too, ‘Basschat the lost sessions’. That way the rest of us from around the world could live it vicariously via Youtube and clips. MM

I’d be very interested in buying one. I also think the price is reasonable. Funny I was toying with the idea of sending you an enclosure with my artwork/paint job to build one in. Let us know when they will be available MM

I played with a fretted one of these yesterday. [url="http://cgi.ebay.com/New-4-string-left-handed-headless-fretless-bass_W0QQitemZ370023190875QQihZ024QQcategoryZ4713QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1713.m153.l1262"]http://cgi.ebay.com/New-4-string-left-hand...1713.m153.l1262[/url] In spite of having the fattest strings I’ve ever seen, and being a lefty bass (I’m right handed) It played very well and the sound quality was better than 2 MIM Jazz basses I tried out. MM

This just went up tonight. [url="http://www.deviever.com/fx/bassfuzz/"]http://www.deviever.com/fx/bassfuzz/[/url] MM

I saw this up on the Bay, and was wondering if any one here has any experience with these? [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-SEMI-ACOUSTIC-BASS-GUITAR-DOUBLE-BASS-TONE-gabp_W0QQitemZ300201826842QQihZ020QQcategoryZ2384QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-SEMI-ACOUSTIC-BA...1QQcmdZViewItem[/url] Waiting on a reply from Alden US to see if they will be available over here. MM.

Just for another option; I’m using a Jacques Meistersinger. There’s only one bass sample here, but it sounds great. [url="http://www.ts808.com/meisteraudio.htm"]http://www.ts808.com/meisteraudio.htm[/url] MM

I’ve owned mine for at least 10 years now. The neck isn’t a baseball bat; it has the modern Precision contour. It’s light, and I’m not bothered by the lack of contour. In fact I actually prefer it to the Jazz shape. I didn’t care for the stock pickup so swapped it out. Duncan, Lollar, Fralin, Rio Grande and a couple of other companies make replacements so that’s not a problem. Fralin will wind a hum canceling version, and Vintage Vibe will custom wind for you also. I find the tone to be flexible, with a bit more note definition than the split coil P If I got another, the only upgrades I’d make would be a new pickup and replace the stock 2-saddle bridge with a Wilkinson (to keep the look) or new Fender 4 saddle string through, both are direct replacements. MM Btw I tried a Mike Dint, which to me is just a standard P with a tele headstock.

I have a couple of the Moen pedals. They are very well built and sound very good. They are larger than the Boss and MXR size pedal and are all positive ground so you have to watch what you daisy chain them with. Also the 9v adaptor is set in a ways, my OneSpot daisy chain kept popping out so I changed the plugs out to slightly longer ones. With Neg tip there isn’t any problem with the longer ones accidentally touching the chassis. I’ve been thinking about getting a Distortion Master or Violent Metal just for kicks. MM

Some Fuzz pedals don’t work well with actives. I believe there was a large thread about that over on Talkbass a while back. MM

I had a ’70 Musicmaster bass, which I gave to my son, and I have a ‘60s Hagstrum Coronado. Love the sound of it. I would like to find a Burn’s Jazz (batwing head stock) or maybe get one of the Burns marquee reissues. The problem is I found that it’s easier for me to switch between my 34” scale fenders and a 30” scale than it is to switch to a 32” scale. All the frets are in the wrong places. MM

I’m using a Jacques Meister Singer. It works well, built solid and doesn’t loose the low end like a lot of others do. It’s probably not the most versatile, but does what I need. MM

Hmm doing the same thing to me today. Let’s try again. Aenima [url="http://www.deviever.com/fx/forum/viewtopic.php?f=45&t=1239"]http://www.deviever.com/fx/forum/viewtopic...f=45&t=1239[/url] Bit [url="http://www.deviever.com/fx/forum/viewtopic.php?f=48&t=1240"]http://www.deviever.com/fx/forum/viewtopic...f=48&t=1240[/url] Karaoke Party [url="http://www.deviever.com/fx/forum/viewtopic.php?f=56&t=1242"]http://www.deviever.com/fx/forum/viewtopic...f=56&t=1242[/url] Hyperion [url="http://www.deviever.com/fx/forum/viewtopic.php?f=77&t=1241"]http://www.deviever.com/fx/forum/viewtopic...f=77&t=1241[/url] Soda Meiser [url="http://www.deviever.com/fx/forum/viewtopic.php?f=60&t=1243"]http://www.deviever.com/fx/forum/viewtopic...f=60&t=1243[/url] If they still go to home page, scroll down to forum and you’ll find them there under the headings. MM