Kongo

[quote name='Jonnyboy Rotten' timestamp='1349283105' post='1824293'] Hi Guys, I am as fresh to the bass scene as it gets but I have a few mates who play electric guitar but not bass. I want to play mainly hard rock/metal but I will possibly use in my church music group too. These are the models I am considering, has anyone got any experience of these models (good or bad) and which would be the best option? 1) Epiphone Toby Deluxe IV (probably my favourite in terms of how it looks) 2) ESP Ltd B-10 3) Ibanez GSR200 [/quote] As it would seem Basschat is devoid of LTD players I can tell you from loving experience they are built and feel better (more natural on the hands) than Ibanez...But in this instance I'd say not to go for that model. It's a P-bass in a different shape, which won't give you the array of tones a beginner should be exposed to. May I suggest a Yamaha RBX170? 24 frets, P/J combination and a lovely neck. Balances right and doesn't fatigue the player, stays in tune etc. I had one as my 1st bass and learnt everything on it from Iron Maiden to Victor Wooten. It's retired now but I still love it. Better yet you can try the 2nd hand market but do some research, the people here are genuine but at the end of the day wish for a sale. Not calling anyone a con, they are not, but you may feel pressured entering someone's house to try something you have no clue about. The 2nd hand market does open up more areas and gain you a better instrument but it will be used. The worn in feel can either feel great or really bad depending. My 2 pence in this is the RBX170 would be a sure fire 1st bass. :-)

[quote name='Audiokostas' timestamp='1351675183' post='1853926'] Couldn't agree more. Currently I am using a [b]40P5[/b] in the neck and a [b]40DC [/b]in the bridge position (in order to have an "illusion" of a PJ bass) paired with a EMG BTS preamp on a Custom Landing medium scale and I am more than happy with them. I did not get them for their vintage character and I definitely not getting any of it. I wouldn't call them soul-less (since the soul comes out of the music you make) but I would characterise them somehow HiFi-ish (not in a British but rather in a more American way that pays attention to treble and bass and a tad less in that magic midrange). They are pretty versatile paired with a good preamp but they usually need some eq fiddling to shine in the band (since, on their own, they sound better than vintage pups). The good thing is that they eventually, (almost) always blend in nicely (unlike some one trick -arguably the best trick - pony gorgeous vintage flatwounded p-basses) no matter the occasion. Although they rarely require battery change, I am not that comfortable that I would be force to change while tuning before a live performance. Never happened though. It's true that 18V provide you with more headroom but I wouldn't go as far as calling them rubbish with 9v. I never tried them with 27V... As for cliches such as "[i]Batteries belong in flashlights", [/i]I leave them to manufacturers that a)can not learn new tricks and b ) do not have active pups in their range (either by choice and/or by inability to produce them)[i]. [/i] My 2 eurocents..... [/quote] Indeed man. Y'know, I think I'd go as far as to say EMG active's (Not Hz, those are [b]passive[/b]) give you in essence what a modern player looking for that sound would want; proper hi-fi signal. I mean, there is nothing whatsoever wrong with vintage tone or a pickup that has "that sound" but I feel this is where some players meet their folly They have a sound in mind yet they keep hitting a wall. Why? Because their own electronics are fighting them. EMG active pickups give you pure hi-fi signal to do with what you wish. Your amp gets a healthy dose of crystal clear signal and you can process it from there. I guess in that way maybe they are characterless but then again not...It's hard to explain. But these pickups DO NOT clash with you in any way. My guess is this is why active pickups are more welcome in the bass world, because guitarists are very purist on the old ways. Don't even mention graphite neck to a guitarist. They are adventure shy when it comes to technology, maybe this is why the guitar world hasn't changed much (unless you include Djent and 8-string guitars, there's a storm in a teacup). Their world is different though where grit and distortion comes natural through valves whereas we prefer solid state and tonnes of headroom. But I digress. Conclusion is there is truth in the above post and I feel that's the best way to describe active EMG pickups; Pure hi-fi signal...Without the baggage. They should use that as a sales pitch. :-P

G#

Always playing even when not gigging. Gotta keep my hands in shape. Maybe it's learning a song, maybe it's mechanics (hand workouts) but whatever it is I always make it relevant and as interesting as I can otherwise I'm likely to get sidetracked. I find sometimes it's best to do something else first and THEN practise as the mood takes me. Usually inspiration comes along 2 - 3 hours after waking, which explains why it always hits at work and diminishes come home time. :-/ But days not working always involve a lot of playing. That being said, two years ago I barely touched it at all other than gigs and rehearsals...Biggest mistake I ever made!

[quote name='Doddy' timestamp='1351557755' post='1852711'] I prefer to slap on my Fenders because the scratchplate raises the surface a bit. I don't like a large space between the strings and the body. [/quote] That's actually what got me to realise why I struggled so much on said bass. I got a Jazz bass and noticed the scratch plate raised the body to the strings a bit more and it got me to thinking. The ramp I made is only slightly thicker than a scratch plate but it made a world of difference.

[quote name='Dread Bass' timestamp='1351447298' post='1851316'] Dominic Forest Lapointe from Augury and Beyond Creation: [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrwWBFp91U0[/media] [/quote] Oh for sure man, that album (The Aura) blows me away! Gonna pop it on in a sec actually. I guess Steve DiGiorgio has already been mentioned, as we have a fretless bassist in metal posted here? MOAR fretless in metal I say MOAR!!!

If I had to throw some effects together? Compression and Reverb for sure. A touch of compression evens out the extreme dynamic range a bass seems to have when amplified and again, just a touch of reverb to make the sound less in your face. Delay for those ambient chord moments in my main band...and that's about it. Do volume pedals count? X-D Distortion a no-no for me. Fingers dig in enough to create a touch of grit but I hate induced distortion on bass unless you have dual output then it becomes interesting. We are saying graphic EQ is on the amp? If not then I want a graphic also. Pretty much a plug in a play kinda guy, never needed many effects, I've sold most of them on here. They just made me make funny noises and that was it. Of course, there's absolutely nothing wrong with using them. :-)

[quote name='lettsguitars' timestamp='1351554191' post='1852682'] All sounds like a load of cobblers to me. Ramps for thumb rest, yes, for slapping???? Fingers get trapped under strings that are too close to the body, not the other way around. [/quote] The issue is overshooting and undershooting the string IMO. I hate it when my fingers can flail out all over the place. Much like many players I prefer there to be some form of physical resistance to limit how far I can overshoot. Same thing with finger ramps, they are used for more than resting a thumb on, they are used so you get a more even attack. [quote name='daz' timestamp='1351554004' post='1852679'] took me a few seconds to get the [b]"THIS IS SPARTA!!!"[/b] reference [/quote] That's literally how I feel when playing on a bass where the strings are too far from the body. Easiest way to explain. X-D

I use fretless basses even in metal where it's easy to get buried, I feel ya on needing to hear yourself. after all, how can you tell what people are hearing if you cannot? Midrange is your friend as is monitoring. In-ear monitoring would be awesome then you'll know for sure. It's a bit scary once you get up there, unlike fretted you can't poorly fret (those moments when you barely caught the note) but worse of all is you seem to become even more concious about what your doing, which in itself can make you mess up and thus, be out of tune.

I used to use one (probs still should) on one of my basses because the strings were higher above the body than normal and I felt like I was levitating over a huge void...Every time I'd pop it was like [b]"THIS IS SPARTA!!!"[/b] and my fingers got booted down the endless pit. :-( Same principle as a ramp for fingers. I usually use the pickups for this though. [quote name='Lfalex v1.1' timestamp='1351497994' post='1851689'] Aren't they the brass plate at the base of the neck? AFAIK you "slap" the string into it for the percussive sound... rather than sound being from the string striking the last fret. At least, I [i]think[/i] that's how it works.. Arguably of more use on fretless, I suppose (?) [/quote] Now, I've been thinking about that, what a small plate of metal at the end of a fretless would sound like. Because the only thing that's stopping me fully convert over is the initial attack. The sustain and decay is fine, I love the woody tone but I miss the sharp bite at the start......Other than that I friggin' love fretless! It's just...something else. :-)

[quote name='bzmnt' timestamp='1351514675' post='1851959'] The only thing I would like to have different in the TRBJP (and which has been done better in JP2) is that the barrel jack. It is not as reliable as a normal open jack and when I got my bass (second hand) it had to be replaced immediately. And I've had to do it with a couple of other my basses too with similar output jack. [/quote] I did look at it today, after yet another re-solder of the bloody connecting wires, and pondered if a standard jack would be best. But I have no idea on how it would be. Either way I've got some ideas to stop it spinning, although I'm starting with a fresh jack from scratch, solder it properly etc. :-)

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1351467098' post='1851598'] "Modern" sounding? Sure, if by that you mean precise and articulate. [/quote] Haha, I think this here is the perfect response. [quote name='Mudpup' timestamp='1351502209' post='1851733'] Got a feeling the HZ series are passive [/quote] They are but I think this thread is about EMG's as a whole. Completely different concept though I agree.

I shall be popping by this store tomorrow en route to rehearsal, may need to pick one up. :-)

[quote name='Myke' timestamp='1351326279' post='1850043'] That's fair enough. I'm not saying he's bad or anything because he obviously isn't from that video. [/quote] it's cool, I didn't take it that way just thought I'd educate anyone who might stop by that vid. Sweeping is something I still can't do and he's rapid at it.

I still love my TRB6II. No matter what it's still my main bass for progressive styles. Built like a tank! But it's jack repair from previous owner has a flaw as it spins which, if left without being tightened (which requires the back plate to come off :-/) it pulls it's output or ground wire out...5th time now! So I'm gonna order a new jack and re-solder from scratch and make sure it doesn't move. Where these designed with any particular sound in mind? Mine is bloody aggressive as hell! Even through bland sounding amps it still pushes it's personal tone through. This is another reason it stuck with me. I thought it was 19mm not 18mm but either way, it's nice and broad. :-) I guess the only thing I get bored of is the Orange finish. It's not exactly a neutral colour. I wish to re-finish it someday but I can't bring myself to do it. Oh and the lacquer on the back of the neck was sanded off and finished with oil by previous owner. The raw wood feeling is so much better than sticky lacquer. I guess if I ever got another one of these (would make a great fretless) it'd feel off due to the minor mods this had to the neck etc.

I think the worst part of scale length differences to me is when players use a shorter scale to their advantage. They can do things on a 32" that's harder on a 35" scale. So, come time to learn it some parts can be damn near impossible! I think string spacing also caters into this as well as neck profile. A 35" scale length 6-string with 19mm spacing with a hard V profile...that'd be interesting to play haha!

[quote name='Myke' timestamp='1351287344' post='1849862'] Why doesn't this bloke get a guitar? He's playing it like one... [/quote] He didn't always, no clue why the 10-string, be better on a chapman stick...But hey, to each their own he has a lot of fun. That's the real w***y side of Technical Death Metal I can only listen to in doses. Good for play mechanics but that's about it, they aren't trying to be melodic at all so if you want melody just don't listen to em.

Not sure about Jazz basses and Precisions with EMG's, seems you guys want trad when using them. If you want trad stay away from the EMG's. 40DC soapbar active EMG's are the best pickups I've used of that style so far. Better than Bartolinis and Nordstrands IMO. I have no idea what this stigma of "soulless" or "use by skill-less player" is, I really don't they are a pickup and that's that. To me they deliver some of the most crushing tone and output but at the end of the day it's my hands that play the damn thing, not the pickups. :-P

That's the thing as well; they have all the accessories and care products you could want...Plus a HUGE array of straps.

Scale length is a boon for me all the damn time. 35" scale does take a bit more to play, but once used to it you know no difference...IF you don't play a 34" scale. Soon as you do that your brain goes "Hey, isn't this so much easier to play"? Then you start to question haha. Personally I do prefer the way the frets are on a 35" scale, more so for 5 and 6-string. Tension? Meh, best string tension I ever had was on my Ibanez RD605, that's a 34" scale. But then again, I don't like too much tension. I dunno, it's that million pound question. Best bet is to just play what feels good to ya.

This is the only place I buy from. Gave up buying from shops when I got my 6-string, being my 2nd bass that's a VERY long time I've been a customer. :-) I also bought a bass from there once because it was long discontinued, yet they managed to have one. It kinda got confused by the central hub but they worked together with me to track it and make sure it got here, which it did a week later. They delivery times on strings are still the same. As long as you order before last carriage they will arrive the next day. The box will fit through a leter box so if you are away they'll still deliver, although I'm sure they are getting bigger. X-D

[quote name='alyctes' timestamp='1351098472' post='1847351'] I think my Cirrus BXP is one of the early ones [/quote] I don't know a great deal about this myself as I've only read about it, but it's apparently an issue with how they are wired. People have rectified the problem by re-wiring but I'm afraid I don't know what the correct diagram looks like. Either way, if I did stick with this bass I'm gonna rip the pre-amp out, it's not to my taste. But then again, it might be down to more than that tone wise. It plays so damn sweet, it just lets me down when I plug it in. I have to scoop all the mids to get a nice tone, which sucks because volume declines and so does your part of the mix. :-/

[quote name='chrismuzz' timestamp='1351041263' post='1846628'] Thanks for the super long response! The wide strap thing is a great suggestion, however it's not the weight that's the issue, I used to work in a warehouse and I still lift weights frequently so my strength and stamina are very good in that respect. In fact I prefer it to feel heavier because it feels like i'm actually holding something, if that makes sense! My shoulder issue arose when I used to have the strap up quite high, and because my arms are quite long, I had to raise my right shoulder and curl up my arm resulting in bad posture, less freedom of movement and less strength, and i used to get sharp pains in my shoulder. When I said right hand issues, I should have explained what I meant really... It's not pain or discomfort, but because I like to play hard between the neck and bridge pickups to get my sound, I find it much easier, and never get fatigued when I do this with a straighter arm, which commands a longer strap. I am going to have a long practice session before my next gig and play around with strap heights some more (I have been changing it a lot lately), this time paying very close attention to my wrists! With regards to the one finger per fret, and fretting with my finger tips... I don't do these exclusively but I DO do them. Thanks for bringing it to my attention, that's another thing I need to look at! Oh my ring is very tight big boy [/quote] [quote name='chrismuzz' timestamp='1351041453' post='1846629'] By the way, I just want to say this: A few minutes after originally starting this thread, I wondered if it might have been a bit trivial... Very surprised with the amount of helpful responses I've had so far... So thanks! Basschat and its members have once again proven to be an invaluable resource I hope at least one other person finds all the info here useful some time. [/quote] Well, there's not many metal bass brethren here so I think it's only fair. :-) Ok strap width, it allows for the weight to distribute along your shoulder better but you'll still feel an anchor on you. I also work out very hard, to begin with it was so my shoulders could take my 6-string Peavey grind when I was only 18 haha. Broad shoulders help but joints still exist. If it's to do with your arm I guess you need to find a happy medium. I agree though, Mark King height does hurt. I think my bass is slightly higher than yours is worn but then it's hard to tell. I'm 5' 11" so maybe my arms are shorter. I guess you can just play around but yeah, for fatigue reasons I'd suggest a 3" strap at least, especially for the 6-string. You'll still know it's there, but it'll allow you to stand for longer sets without getting aches and also helps your spine in the long run I find. :-)

[quote name='chrismuzz' timestamp='1350813546' post='1843639'] Thanks man, I've been considering strap height for a while but have actually been lowering it to prevent shoulder and right hand problems! Looks like it's gonna be a trial and error, finding the balance type job... again! Of all the things to get hung up about and with me it's bloody strap height [/quote] I play metal mostly, from Progressive to Brutal Death and my bass guitar is up high-ish. Mind you, most technical players these days realise this, low slung guitars in metal are seen less and less. That being said, it's easier to get away with when using a pick because of the desired angle. Anyway, for shoulder problems I know what you mean. Higher strapped basses feel heavier and my main bass is pretty weighty. May I suggest the purchase of a 4" leather strap? I've been using them for years, takes the weight right off because it distributes it across more surface area. As for right hand problems I'm interested, what is the issue? Do you tend to glue your elbow to your ribs? I play more on the neck pickup unless there are cleaner parts that need less "umph" then it's straight to the bridge, but my right hand has no issues. As for the original position, I think unless you feel pain you've just looked at the picture and winced lol. Blues players tend to come in the fretboard at an angle on the electric guitar, I don't think it's an issue. You hand looks like mine though. It does come from your hand wanting to get over the amount of fretboard that currently isn't there, but it also looks like you stick to one finger per fret with strict discipline and fret notes right on the end of your finger tip. That could explain the angle and finger span. :-)

I make things similar to this for F1 and GT race teams but they have extremely expendable income. Make some for my gear from time to time with spare fabrics and time etc. Honestly though, just took at look at their pricing and it's reasonable for the labour charges plus the materials they use. I know we charge £35 PH, each cover would take about 30 mins cut from pattern and the same to machine...When profit is considered you can already see the flat rate. :-)