NJE

This could be a really interesting range and I can’t wait to try one. Great weight and same build as USA (graphite rods and Nitro necks etc). They are going to sit a little higher than Lakland Skylines and it makes sense for Guitar Guitar to take them on as they stock Metros. These and the Blackstar practice amps have interested me most from NAMM so far....

I saw the sneak peaks of these on Instagram and got excited, I thought they had sorted out the ugly headstock. They have to an extent but the rest of it is still pretty ugly IMO. Sure the build will be great and it’s a lovely finish but for that kind of money I would be looking at the Dingwall NG3 for my fanned fret needs.

By the way the guy in the video was talking this is the new standard Stingray. It’s got a neodymium magnet from the bongo wound to Stingray Spec, whatever that means. The guy jokes and says something like ‘why would we mess with the Stingray’. I would love to try one, especially with roasted maple as standard.

It looks like MusicMan have updated the Stingray for 2018. New features: All toasted maple necks, 17 new colour options, black hardware (ebony boards on black hardware basses), 5 bolt neck joint with what looks like a more rounded joint. Also lighter hardware (1pound reduction in weight) and 18v preamp. All on Thomann YouTube vid here:

Saying that I have just seen the tweed TKS cab in the amps for sale section, that is a lot of cab for £450, and I would gladly live with tweed covering.

I think I would be looking at a secondhand Vanderkley if I was starting again. I like carpet covering on cabs for durability and they seem to be one of only a few companies making cabs that aren't tolex. Also if you can find one anywhere, EBS cabs are incredibly good IMO. I have had two in the past, neo and normal speakers, and both had so much thump and clarity, just superb.

So funny you mention this, I remember going to a big heavy rock/metal festival years ago and all of the bands looked as mean and scary as possible. My friend and I both had an ongoing joke the whole weekend, that most of the bands singers were really softly spoken and polite over the microphone and then launched into super aggressive almost inaudible screaming shouting vocals. "Hi everybody, we are Satans Armpit from California, we are so blessed to be here and see you you all, thanks for the support. This next songs is called BLOOD GOBLIN DEATH MURDER" followed by screaming for 3 minutes. I am guilty that I have let the personalities of musicians and bands influence me to an extent. I always though James Blunt was incredibly funny and self deprecating, and played up his soft image. I have no doubt he is more rock and roll behind closed doors than most bands, and a lot tougher than anyone will ever realise. I have recently found a new level of respect for Noel Gallagher too, he is very funny and a proper wind up merchant, and its made me a little more tolerant of Oasis and his solo stuff. I know there are more examples but my mind is not functioning well today. My friend sent me a link to a band the other day and I mocked him quite a lot, because he said "great band, really good songs, tight as hell and they are really nice boys". I love the fact that we have both got to an age, where being 'Nice Boys' is something you should mention about a band.

I am pretty sure Ernie Ball have not Long released a short scale set that fit traditional Mustangs.

I will echo everyone else's comments, I never had much time for them as people or their music to be honest. However this was a good insight and very entertaining, and I don't quite know why, but I actually really like Noel. He really doesn't give sh*t what he says or who he offends, and I think most of it is only meant to provoke people for the fun of it rather than intentionally hurt anyone. There is a dark sense of humor in there and he pokes fun at his own songs, which even I cant deny, defined a generation and struck a chord with so many people. It is an incredible talent being able to write songs that so many people identify with, especially when you do it on your own without a focus group to help out.

Dingwall have slowly changed the few small niggles I had with the NG2 which, in my head, kept me from buying one. I didn’t like the squared pickup shells, I never really liked the old bridge pieces and I always thought the triple pickup config looked the best on almost all of their basses. This new model could cause me a bit of trouble.

I have actually found Bass Direct very competitive in the past. I remember getting an amazing deal on Dunlop Super Brights from them.

I have been abusing a set of NYXL strings for a few months now, and considering they aren’t coated they have lasted better in terms of brightness and tone than any other uncoated string I have used. I am not that knowledgable on string construction but it may be something with the core of the string? I would get in touch with D’Addario (there is a representative in here) they have always been super quick to reply and they seem to really care about their customers.

I would question whether it would make any significant difference to you live sound out front, but it may sound better to you if you are using in ears.

Thanks everyone, I think that is my curiosity purged! I don’t think I will be recording play along videos any time soon, I don’t think I could subject my playing to that kind of audience and criticism. Always good to learn something new though and it might be a cool way of sending a couple of musical friends ideas and making notes and recording gigs and rehearsals.

Bargain! 😂 I would love to know how many of them they actually sell.

I also spotted the Thumdercat signature 6 string in the new catalogue which suggests it may be ‘normal’ production bass now.

I very much doubt that the new SR is 19mm, just look how close those mono bridge pieces are. Also their description of the bridge ‘MR5’ is the same as the upright. I found a copy of the 2018 catalogue and did a screen grab. No mention of the scale of the upright but it one picture is does look similar to the NS NXT, I wouldnt be surprised if they were made in the same factory.

I had a pretty long drive home after New Years with the family and my mind started wondering all over the place. One thing I started thinking about randomly, was how do people record the YouTube play-along videos and reviews of basses etc? I presume a video camera doesn’t give you good enough quality audio on its own, so do you use recording software, play over a loop or a song and then synchronise that to the video with video editing software? How do people like Scots bass lessons and Anderson’s do it when they go between speaking and playing? I get slightly obsessed about the mechanics of how people do things.

I am looking at a small combo or speaker cab for the house to practice through and it has brought me back to this thread. I was looking at PJB combos, small 8” Markbass combos, etc and then thought, what about a small FR powered PA speaker? In my head something like an Alto TS210 which is 500 watt I think, should be ‘better’ than something like the TC Electronics 208 combo? Am I way off thinking this? Are the small speakers in a tiny bass combo going to be better voiced for bass than a FR PA speaker?

I think my opinion is slightly skewed by the fact that classic American rock hasn’t really featured much in my musical world. As such Rudy wouldn’t be the first person to pop into my head when I think of ‘hired guns’ in the music world. You also make a valid point about being able to actually get certain people for the film and then they have to actually be a decent personality in front of a camera, it’s entertainment after all. I did enjoy it though, and in fact I actually looked up what Rudy had done after the films because I thought he seemed like a thoroughly nice chap.

I was slightly disappointed, but only slightly. It was very much focussed on ‘rock players’ which is fine, then there seemed to be odd bits where Billy Joel’s ex band members laid out how he is basically a complete ar*sehole. whilst I can appreciate Rudy Sarzo is a great player and seemed like a thoroughly decent chap, I couldn’t help but think they could have got someone more prolific to talk to from a bass point of view, Lee Sklar immediately sprang to mind when watching it, but what do I know. A very nice insight into that world and nice to seen some great players get discussed (Phil X is a funny fella) but I would have preferred more from Steve Lukather for instance, and what about guys like Steve Gadd representing drummers? Just a few rambling thoughts but overall it was far more enjoyable than most of the dross out there at the moment.

Ooh very nice, I was admiring that for a while on the retailers website. I may get a gang of angry traditionalist after me with pitchforks for saying this, but I thought a tort guard would look amazing on that.....(runs for cover ?) lovely bass though, I am starting my savings tin in the new year for a CS Relic.

I cam across these a while ago, Tim Lefebvre has been using them for a while and they are all over his Instagram account. They seem to be fairly new and starting to pick up pace as a brand. Hand made and pretty pricey I think, but no doubt high quality especially if you have someone like Tim Lefebvre using them. Have you looked at talkbass yet? Bound to be a Serek club on there, they love their clubs over there.

I used this as the basis when I played it:

Whilst I do absolutely love the NG2, I would be going for the 3 pickup AB1 for a bit of flexibility and because if you are spending the money, why not have a fully fledged Canadian made Dingwall. However, a good 80s Stingray is always a good buy and that era tend to have some stunning flamed and Birdseye necks. The AB1 is a very cool instrument.