LeftyJ

5 hours ago, Schnozzalee said:

Double soapbar, thru neck bass? 

Gibson Thunderbird 

Les Paul wiring is known to "couple" the volume controls together, where they both affect eachother and the overall volume with the pickup selector set to the middle position. If you want true independent volume and tone controls, there is a workaround to it but it will affect the treble response of the bass:

https://www.premierguitar.com/diy/mod-garage/les-paul-independent-volume-wiring

16 hours ago, Dazed said:

I’ve been thinking of adding a pre amp to one of my p basses. 
I’ve been looking at Tonestyler type things, anything else out there I should consider?

I don't think the Tonestyler is a preamp, it's "just" a passive varitone control with a different capacitor on each setting of the rotary switch, for a different style of treble cutoff that changes the character of your instrument - and a neutral setting, of course. It replaces your regular tone control. They're awesome, and offer some very useful sounds.

If you want an active onboard EQ, the P-Retro seems like the way to go. You maintain your volume and your regular passive tone, they're just combined in one stacked pot. Rather than a regular two- or three-band EQ it adds two filter modes with a variable frequency control: the top knob gives a mid boost when turned in one direction, or a combined bass/treble boost in the other direction. The bottom knob sets the frequency spectrum. Seems very useful and intuitive to use. 

In my rehearsal space: EBS HD350 through an EBS Proline 410. Although the HD350 sounds great, I use an Ampeg SVP-PRO tube preamp into the FX return of the EBS. I could replace the head with a nice power amp, but can't be bothered. I like the EBS, and for gigs I rarely need to bring an amp and just carry a small rack with the preamp and a Korg DTR-1000. 

At home I play through an EBS NeoDrome 12 (that I also bring to small livingroom rehearsals or as a personal bass monitor at gigs when I don't need to bring the big one) which I absolutely love. I got it at a steal, and it sounds fantastic at any volume. Like most EBS combo's it doesn't have an external speaker output and all 150 watts go to the internal speaker at 4 Ohms - and it can get deceptively loud. 

Aside from the Ampeg SVP-PRO I also have an SVP-CL and an SWR Grand Prix tube preamp - but they haven't been used for several years. I bought the SWR as my "silent rig" for home use, to plug straight into my USB mixer to practice along to music on my computer, but it's been sitting in a rack in my rehearsal space in neglect along with the SVP-CL.

Darkglass B7K Ultra. Done. I have the regular single-pedal B7K currently, and it's all I use really. I play in a melodic doom metal band with a fairly modern sound, so none of the sludge and oldschool doom tones but a supertight graphite-necked Status S2 Classic through an Ampeg tube preamp. A modern sounding drive pedal with a good EQ is all I need. 

I didn't care for the passive tone of mine (dark and muffled IMO) but loved it in active mode! 

50 minutes ago, garethsnaim said:

My one defo had the simpler bridge though, more modern ones have a weird thing going on.

There are versions around that have a D-tuner on the bridge to drop the E-string down to D at the flick of a lever. 

22 minutes ago, Muzz said:

That body shape's quite interesting, but the headstock...oh dearie dearie me... 

That was an attempt to get rid of excess stock of Fender Electric XII (12-string) parts. In a similar way, Fender also briefly offered the Swinger guitar, that was built around a reshaped Bass V body, which wasn't exactly succesful either. Both of these models were only available in 1969 and just a few hundred were made. The Swinger has an odd 22.5" scale, even shorter than the Mustang and Jaguar (24"). Fender Japan built some reissues of it, and a guy called Daiki Tsuneta even had a signature model based on it.

Ha, I stand corrected then! Thanks for the heads up. 

On 04/11/2023 at 14:18, WishIcouldplay said:

Also have MM not released a model true to the initial specs with "radio" knobs etc.

I believe that was the limited edition '76 nitro finish reissue, that was released alongside two nitro finish guitar models. Which is funny, because I don't think Music Man ever used nitro finishes when they started in the 70s. So like the Stingray Classic, it's a "reissue" of a bass that never existed, despite the otherwise historically correct featureset. 

22 hours ago, ezbass said:

Vincent are clearly not aware of the rhyming slang, ‘pony & trap’  . I can see why they used it, but maverick might have been a better choice.

The big F already has a guitar by that name (and reissued it in the Parallel Universe series, so it's still alive and kicking) so that might lead to some copyright claims 

I'm not a fan of their flat top option, I much prefer the "regular" shape with rounded edges. However, this finish makes it work. 

10 hours ago, lemmywinks said:

Ibanez BTB and Yamaha TRB have 19mm I think.

 

I don't know about the BTB, but the two Yamaha TRB5II's I owned were 19mm at the bridge. Their 35" scale won't be for everyone, but I loved them.

1 minute ago, TheGreek said:

 

Space is infinite  - you can always squeeze another bass in😉😉

...unless we're talking double basses 

Or a shortscale SBV 

Does it need to be a pedal? The range of options would vastly increase if you'd include 19" preamps. There's a host of great tube preamps out there, some of which can be had used for little money, and most (if not all) have a balanced XLR out.

• Ampeg SVP-CL (the preamp section of the SVT Classic in a 1HE rack space);
• Ampeg SVP-PRO or SVT-PII (the preamp section of the SVT2Pro and SVT II respectively);
• Trace Elliot V-type;
• H&K Fortress;
• SWR Grand Prix;
• SWR Interstellar Overdrive (harder to find, but splendid);
• and several others that aren't quite as affordable but can be found cheaply with some luck, by Demeter, Reussenzehn, Alembic, Aguilar.

I've got the Ampeg SVP-CL, SVP-PRO (paid €400 each, used) and the SWR Grand Prix (paid just €125 used because of a crackling push-pull pot with a defective switch - that was an easy fix by taking the switch apart and reassembling it).

I have always had a strong tendency to tamper with the guitars I've owned. Additional switching options, upgrading the pots and switches, experimenting with various capacitors on the tone control, graphite nuts and string retainers, swapping pickups, and all have had strap locks added. Somehow on my basses though, I barely touch anything. I have one exception (Fender MIJ 70s Jazz Bass reissue) that was originally passive but went through two different preamps, had its stock bridge swapped for a Badass II and its tuners swapped for Hipshots and a D-tuner but otherwise I've kept things limited to just strap locks. 

My previous band used to do this, but not for the reason you state. We played pop metal with female vocals, and our album prominently featured a lot of synths and a Hammond organ - but we didn't play with a live keyboardist, so we had a backing track with all the keys and some backing vocals. We rehearsed either with a clicktrack (which only our drummer would hear through his headphones) or to the drum tracks from our album recordings if our drummer couldn't make it to our rehearsals.

We sounded tight as f*ck! 

We often played live with in-ear monitoring, and would have the click track in all our personal mixes (which added a funny bonus: we replaced our drummer's count off with four clicks up front on our in-ears, so we would all start our songs perfectly in sync and our audience would have no idea how we did it). 

Wow, killer deal. I'm not keen on having to pay import charges and 21% Dutch VAT over that amount, or I would be seriously tempted. That neck alone is droolworthy! 

My last remaining Ibanez is just one month younger than me, so pretty close to turning 40 (December 1983).

I consider it vintage, but I'm not quite ready to be called that myself 

I saw one of Lukasz' creations on eBay just last week, a lefty in matte black with an MM pickup. The design isn't for me (strong Ritter vibes, but less elegant), but they do look well-made and well-designed. Enjoy! 

38 minutes ago, castlemaine22 said:

Klos are currently taking pre-orders for Fender replacement necks:

 

https://klosguitars.com/products/carbon-fiber-bass-neck-and-pickguard-upgrade-50-deposit

 

I've ordered one, so I'll happily report back when it arrives in a couple of months. I took the plunge based on the positive reviews of their basses and their replacement guitar necks. Also, their customers service has been very good thus far, fast email response to any questions.

Ouch, that 3+1 headstock does not look good IMO. I was expecting it to look more like the headstock on their Fender guitar replacement neck.

Check out KLOS. They've recently introduced separate graphite guitar necks, and I expect bass necks will be next on the list. They're made in China, with final assembly and QC in the USA. Their Apollo basses have been getting great reviews so far. 

And @Beedster's advice is great! Sometimes basses with Status Jazz or Stingray necks do pop up used.

Overrated: MM-style humbuckers. I get their appeal, and I like the tone many players obtain from them, but I just can't get along with them. I've owned a Stingray 5, two Carvin LB75's, a Carvin B4 and several Ibanez ATK's and I've loved each and every one of them for a while, but grew tired of the tone after a while. I like a bit of attack, but I don't like the overly bright, midscooped clack I get from them. Or more specifically: I don't like a bass where the "neutral" setting of the EQ is not a good and solid base tone where I can just unplug one bass (say, a Jazz) and plug in another (MM) without having to adjust the on-board EQ to match my amp settings. So definitely a me-problem 

Underrated: Line 6 Lowdown bass amps. They were short-lived, and dropped in price real quickly. Their big mistake was they only sold them as (bulky) combo's, and not as heads. They were simple, with just 5 different on-board amplifier models, had a very usable range of tones, and sounded great. I had a Lowdown Studio 110 for years that I used for home practice, small livingroom rehearsals, a few small gigs and to record an album with my old band The Bullfight, all through the XLR out. It was just 12x12x12 inches in size, very portable and rugged. It only lacked one thing, IMO: a tweeter would have been great. I contemplated replacing the stock speaker with a coaxial one with a tweeter in the middle, but then a cheap used EBS NeoDrome 112 presented itself and I've been a very happy camper ever since. 

That looks surprisingly good! A bit of Peavey (Cirrus), a bit of MTD (not just the knob layout). I like it, and would happily rock a 5-string version or a first venture into 6. This one is over the top for me I'm afraid, and the wrong way around at that! 

Very rare 1980 Vigier Arpege in France:

https://www.leboncoin.fr/instruments_de_musique/2383827738.htm