Ballie
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I'll bet it sounds as great as it looks! Can't wait to see those in action.
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Hey, Proud owner of a 506. Had it since they first came out, the mahogany finished ones from four years ago. It's my main bass once again after a bit of modifying. It's now got a ramp, a 27v Schack circuit, shimmed neck and it's had the frets done professionally. The intonation was a problem until the fret job, that said, I do use hideously low action! Get a Buzz Feiten system on it , that'll help it a bit more as the guitar or bass are compensated instruments. For the price, these instruments are pretty tough to match. I'd say have a look at some Carvin basses on Ebay, they're usually on the .com site.
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Hey, I've made a few ramps for my own basses and friends. I'm hooked on the things. Not fitted one to my jazz bass yet as the scratchplate proved a bit awkward. I play mostly 6 string so it's no loss. I made my ramps from African ebony, it has a really nice grain and once burnished, it looks sleek. Takes a while to shape it using sand paper though, Gary Willis recommends using Pine molding on his site. Just make sure you sand whichever wood you go for, then use wire wool to smooth it off. Helps keep splinters out of the equation! Keep the ramp curved with the radius of your fingerboard as it'll help keep the distance between the ramp and strings the same, giving it a much more consistant feel. I'd shape the ramp by hand as it's easier to make fine adjustments to it, I'm pretty hopeless with powertools though... If you varnish your ramp, that'll feel like shifting on a varnished neck, it gets a bit sticky. I recommend you keep a wood surface to the ramp as it'll let your fingers move across it with a lot less resistance. Again, make sure it's had wire wool used to smooth it off, and even wash the piece of wood to get any traces of wire wool and sawdust off. You don't want to be inhaling any of that stuff!
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I agree with Delberthot. Definitely worth stretching your budget that little bit further to save you making adjustments down the line. I have an Ibanez SR506 which currently serves as my main bass. It was great stock, though it turned into a bit of a modification project for me. It's got a 27v Schack circuit, a ramp, neck's been shimmed etc. The only problem was that because of the radius on the neck, the A and D strings are noticeably further away from the pickups in terms of volume than the B and C strings. They're the cheap Bartolini MK 1's. Ideally, the pickup should be wound for each individual string but on this budget it'll be non existant. I tried a Spector Legend 6, and although it's a 35 scale, it sounded great. Really nice punchy deep tone. Schecter are another good one to look out for, particularly the Stiletto and Studio models. Again, 35 scale. Owned the Yamaha RBX 6JM, you can pick them up for around £400 and no mods needed at all. Fantastic basses, they punch well above their weight. Hope you find what you're looking for!
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*SOLD* Yamaha TRB 6P Dual Truss Rod Model *SOLD*
Ballie replied to Ballie's topic in Basses For Sale
Sold! -
*SOLD* Yamaha TRB 6P Dual Truss Rod Model *SOLD*
Ballie replied to Ballie's topic in Basses For Sale
Thank you very much =] They're incredible basses. Will accept sensible offers on this bass for anyone interested! It's the original increasingly rare TRB series with single coils, not the TRB II. Will consider a part exchange for a Ken Smith Burner 5 or Smith BSR 5. -
Hey all, For sale is my Amber dual truss rod Yamaha TRB 6P. The pickups have been upgraded to a pair of Bartolini's which really make the bass sound great. Original electronics installed. Neck is 35" scale, perfect for that extra tension on the low B. I currently have it set up with 40's, and a 135 B. The bass is a thru-neck with 24 frets on an ebony board, super-low action can be obtained on this bass. The body has figured maple body wings under the transluscent amber finish, looks very smart. First off, I'm selling it to further modify my Ibanez SR506. The TRB has been my main bass for a year or so, and hasn't really been gigged much, though played a fair bit. It's not in mint condition and there's a hairline crack in the finish just below the bass/treble boost/cut pots. It's been there since I've owned the bass along with the upgraded Bartolini pickups, which had been professionally done, the routing is awesome. There's a few scratches over the bass and a couple of tiny dings in the finish, but no damage. These are all down to the age of the bass, around '94. The playability of the bass is rock solid. I'm asking for £900, this includes a heavy duty flight case. It really is a pro-level instrument for anyone who wants to get into some serious playing, sounds as great as it looks. The sound is amazingly clear, piano like note definition and it cuts through the mix. Sounds a lot like the John Patitucci model as it's a very similar spec. His is a bolt on, not a thru neck like this bass. The tonal quality of notes are very consistant up right up the neck, a truly awesome bass. The piezo pickups (on the bridge) give a Nylon acoustic guitar like quality to the sound. It's great for tapping and slapping, it adds a little bit of extra bite to the smooth tone of the magnetic pickups. In terms of soloing, it sounds like a nice smooth jazz guitar, also being able to have that extra range either side of the normal 4 strings tempts you into playing stuff you couldn't normally. 6 string bass isn't necessarily about shred, for all the haters!! Because of the clarity of the sound of the bass, it's great to use with overdrive if you're into the metal thing, as you can hear the note cutting through. The spacing is 19mm, same as a 4 string bass, this means it has a pretty wide neck to allow for the spacing. The neck is very thin from front to back, my hand easily fits comfortably around it. It's a fairly heavy bass, but that's expected with a wide-neck 6 string. The spacing makes it easy to switch between a Fender and this bass. Hardware is Gold Plated. Preamp has Master Volume, Pickup Pan, Bass boost/cut, Treble boost/cut, piezo blend and a piezo phase switch. The circuit runs of a 9V battey and battery life is incredible. I have put a ramp on this bass with double sided tape, the ramp can be removed without marking the bass in any way, though taking the ramp off would only make the bass less playable in my honest opinion, hence putting it on in the first place. It's made from African Ebony, has a very classy look to it! Here is a photo of the same model, this is not my actual bass. Photos to follow tomorow. [url="http://www.alembic.com/club/messages/395/45484.jpg"]http://www.alembic.com/club/messages/395/45484.jpg[/url]
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If you have a local luthier they might know about fitting ramps, but most of the people I've spoken to about it had a bash at making them. Gary Willis used to make his ramps using sand paper, no radius block etc. Just making it feel right to play. I've made my own ramps on basses, that way I found my preferred distance from the ramp to strings. It's good fun to try doing little projects like that until I trust myself to tamper with the rest of the bass!
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I used to have the clicky mid scooped tone as my usual setting, it's awesome for switching between slap and fingerstyle, solos come out nicely with it too. Been experimenting with more mid boost and treble cut lately as it's very responsive for fingerstyle. I play with a light touch so I no longer hit the strings, but pluck them. It's a different sound to what I used to go for, but I use both in different contexts. The clicky sound on a Stingray is truly amazing, or one of those new Ibanez ATK series, they have some serious low end!
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I was considering getting a Ken Smith Burner 5 in the not too distant future, has anyone owned one or have any opinions or stuff about this bass I should know?! Looking for it to be my all-round work horse, one that's fairly light on the shoulder. If anyone is looking to sell one in the next 6 months or so, I'd like to know about it!
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In terms of eveness, putting a ramp on my bass did wonders for the dynamic side to my playing. I wouldn't say I was the cleanest of players at all, but I'm working at it. I play 6 string with wide spacing, and damping is a nightmare, hence I'm switching to the Gary Willis method. It's like starting over, but hopefully I'll reap the benefits one of these days!
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Ideally you should be able to do both. The ear backs up what your eyes see on the page, so you know intervallically how it'll sound. The wider your skills set, the more opportunities you will be able to take!
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I do use the CMD 102P and it kicks out a lot of noise, and cuts through the mix nicely with the awesome mids it delivers. Very versatile, certainly worth giving it a try! Incredibly loud for a 300W combo aswell, and that's before putting it with an extension cab. I haven't tried the Genz Benz stuff, though it looks amazing! EBS does sound great, and I dig their sound. Markbass have just released a new Little Mark III that has tube and a solid state preamps with the great feature of a Blend control! Not tried it or heard it, but I'm sure it'll be killer. I'm yet to hear any of their tube rigs, let me know how you get on!
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That's more like a wall with speakers! Very cool though, and much more portable than some of the monumental Phil Jones Bass stuff I've seen! EBS stuff sounds killer, love it.
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Corr, bit pricy for a P bass?!
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My first bass was made by "Vintage", and was a passive Musicman Stingray style design. I tried it back to back with a real stingray and the only real difference was in the physical weight of the bass. They sounded incredibly similar. To a punter's ears, it'd be indistinguishable. Cheap active circuits or pickups are often a main downfall of a bass - take the Ibanez GWB35. Everyone who owns one replaces the p/up and circuit, then it's a truly awesome machine. Built with prettymuch the same materials used to build it's £2000 pro-level version. I have heard basses that just don't resonate nicely because of the woods or shoddy construction and lack sustain as a result, but a brand called "Mushroom" make a P bass replica that sounds just like the real thing, only the tone capacitor is a bit too strong and makes it sound subby. As for me, I play a Yamaha TRB 6P with Bartolini pickups. It plays very close to some custom shop basses I've tried, but still lacks that hint of magic you pay an extra £1000 for. Either way, it works fine for me, and I'm happy with the way it plays, certainly more affordable than splashing out for a custom job. It's the spec I would have ordered a bass in anyway, so it suits me!
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Spector make a 35" 4 stringer. Look around their site to find it as I'm not entirely sure which one.
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Fender are definitely great basses, but I'm more set on other types of basses with very large neck radiuses with a slim neck profile and ramps! Fender aren't the be all and end all of bass like some people make them out to be, though a great brand. Have to give them credit for inventing the electric bass, that was a good shout =]
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Looks a great idea man, though I can see a lot of traditionalists are going to be deeply upset!! Nah it sounds a great idea, that should have been the Fender Mark King signature model instead of the blue one with a head!
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Being a passive bass with single coil pickups, it hasn't got the most "in yo' face" tone. Try out some humbucker equipped active basses such as the Ibanez SR series, hope that appeals!
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SOLD.
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Get a Yamaha! Never had any problems with them. If not, options B and D seem like good ideas! Hope you manage to get a bass that is what you wanted. All the best Joe
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You don't want the action to be so high you have to force the string against the fret. Maybe adopt a lighter playing touch to allow lower action without buzz, and turn up the amp a little. That'll get you started with a good sound, and allow better playability of the bass. You shouldn't need to use much pressure to hold the string down, so stick your left thumb on the back of the neck, crank your bass up higher on the strap and then tell me you can't do it! Makes the world of difference having the bass at a comfortable height. As for the finger, just keep using it where possible, and it'll get used to it in time. Just keep going with it, all the best of luck!
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Maybe try the ACM in Guildford? Loads of bass players there, some around the 40 yr old mark.
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