Kongo

Do love Manring's tone...The fretless mwah is there but he also has a nice bell like tone and attack to the notes as if it was fretted. As for sustain...I guess it depends on what music your playing. I do sustain notes in my main band but not always for a very long time. At home generally the music I play won't have too much of a gap between notes so my primary is attack, not sustain, and as someone pointed out too much makes it ring out like mad...harmonic resonance becomes your enemy.

[quote name='geoffbyrne' timestamp='1340403829' post='1704235'] I have 3 basses: G. [/quote] I see you went with the pickup switch out on the BB then? B-b-b-but...where's the RD? 8-O

[quote name='TRBboy' timestamp='1340387873' post='1703972'] I'm suspecting this is where I'll end up, in fact, the more I think about it the more I think this is what I used to use. D'addario Prosteels are just awesome! They seem to be some of the chepest "name brand" strings about these days, but they're just great strings. I very rarely buy anything else. [/quote] I should probably add my action is about 2mm off of the last fret and, not through trying to, I attack them with a bit of muscle and still, no flob. :-P I have to agree with you though. I've used pretty much all, bar DR Handmade when it comes to string brands. Used Warwick Black Label for years but they dull so damn quick. They are punchy but their Low-B sucks in comparison and it's tapered, which I normally like. D'addario Pro Steels don't cost much yet they stay in tune, last about a month before I drop them in the meth bath to revive the tone and I've never broken one. However they don't have enough options for 35" scale players. Their "Super long scale" sets are limited in gauge and single strings are 34", so I can't even buy a tapered low-B. My 6-string set adds a .30 but I did quite like Warwick's .25 I'd really like them .40 .60 .80 .100 .130 though. I don't like too much tension because to me it reduces the tonal voicing and a low-B has enough bass, it needs clarity too. I'd tune that gauge down as far as D-standard (A-standard with 5-string)... I'd still only add .5 to the set to detune to C#-standard (with a low G#)...even then, it's bass depending. Yeah...this is a topic I could discuss all day lol. But so far, D'addario Pro Steel...7 years running and they never let me down. Before then Elite's were my main choice...Those are awesome as well! Just don't try putting them on a 35" scale, they don't fit any of mine. :-/ Strings I CANNOT get along with though; Rotosound. Apparently the players choice...#1 in the "rock and metal" world etc etc...I don't see why. Snapped two G-strings merely by playing and they just sound duff to me. Also, and this is silly, but I don't like silk windings either. Plus, as I bathe them in meths once a month, the windings discolour and come off anyway. X-D Conklin strings however, the silk windings are purple, same as the meths, and seem unaffected. I had two strings by them: .150 and .195 gauge...armoured cable! X-D

I used a pick in my absolute beginner days because I used to use my thumb and a guitarist gave me a pick...so I used it. Phil Lynott and Lemmy used to thrash their hand about and I could never fathom Steve Harris at the time when I was routed in such music so...I used a pick. it was ploddy though and then my friend showed me that bassists also use fingers...So I went from there and instantly look to it. Been a fingers guy for 9 1/2 years now. Way I see it I can't drop my fingers like I can a pick and it's get in the way as I change what I do all the time, from standard to classical finger picking, flamenco strums, slapping, tapping etc...A pick would get in the way for me. HOWEVER! I do not see a player who uses a pick as being inferior. One of my best friends does and like I say to him when he comments "Yeah but I can't use a pic"...fact, I fail at using a pick. Sometimes I think, it might be wise for some songs where the player does and uses it's advantages but...That's not often enough to warrant practise time.

Here's my main bass; "Retribution". Yamaha TRB6II, Japanese made, year 1998 I am told but have never checked. it's 35" scale as we know, wide string spacing...neck is like a baseball bat, feels like a P-bass neck. Oddly, despite it being gargantuan in size this is the easiest of all my basses to play. The action is 2mm off the last fret and other than the 14th fret on the G-string, all notes play with minimal buzz (I like to have a little). Dunno what these were designed for, Jazz fusion maybe? But I used mine for Progressive through to Technical metal. It's neck had the lacquer sanded off and was finished with wax by previous owner so it has a bare wood feel but your thumb doesn't stick...I have considered doing this to all my basses. Never re-applied the finish though...probably should? The gold hardware has worn due to age, it has a couple of minimal chips in places, the bridge has gone almost chrome. Only bad parts are I can never get the jack to stay tight, so it loosens and spins, which if left will, and has on a couple of occations, pull out the output wire. Tried many fixes but the damn thing still loosens. Also, as seems with all of these, the centre indent is hard to find on the pan pot and EQ controls, making on the fly adjustments iffy. Nontheless, I love it. Wanted one ever since I found I love Yamaha's and that they play very well and are built like tanks. [attachment=111226:55421_107411905993104_232920_o.jpg][attachment=111227:IMG_0125.JPG][attachment=111228:IMG_0127.JPG][attachment=111229:IMG_0126.JPG] Also have an RBX170, which was my first bass. An RBX375 and did have an RBX270, which I lightly modded and was homage to my first bass. I sold it on here years ago, it may have come around, not sure. I do fancy a Yamaha RBX775 because I'd like a narrow spaced 5-string in 35" scale but they are hard to come by.

[quote name='chrismuzz' timestamp='1334701720' post='1620142'] The ultimate justificationfor succumbing to GAS: I need a bass for every tuning I/my band use! (and at a stretch, a backup for each ) [/quote] I'm the same way, damn metal bands and all their tunings. But pretty much I hardly use anything under 5-string. I have a 4-string P-bass for that classic sound and a Yamaha which I used for Stuart Hamm covers etc. But with my 5-strings (All 6-strings / 6-string fretless are for main band) they have set jobs and when I run out of basses for tunings / jobs, I get a new one. X-D Currently really GASsing over an ESP LTD purely because I don't have anything of that ilk, usually stayed to Ibanez and Yamaha. Anyway, with the OP dude, just do whatever you want. Even if you don't use the Low-B all the time, it's still there and if not, maybe you prefer neck width? If someone is watching you play to the point they KNOW you never used all strings and then comment afterwards...What were they trying to achieve? It's your choice of machine. Some cars people drive can easily do 160MPH...but do they use that power? My point exactly. You can also use it to keep two tunings in one. Example Alex Webster of Cannibal Corpse. The band mainly uses Eb (older) and Bb (newer) tunings. So when the switch came, he got a 5-string. Now do the math. Bb is Eb tuning with a low-Bb...so come stage etc he never needs to change bass. Less you change less you muscle memory needs to re-adjust. End point: Play whatever you want. If you wish to use 5-string exclusively, they why should you have to answer to the "purists" (Elitists) that scorn you for not using 4-string? It's silly for someone to judge such a thing. Don't feel guilty, do what makes you comfortable. :-) Buy a 9-string and use only 3...who cares? :-P

My main gauge is - .45 .65 .80 .100 .130 I use those for standard, Bb standard and A standard. I play fingerstyle, root on the neck pickup and I'm not very reserved either. X-D They don't flob, but I don't like strings over tight, they tend to loose tone, especially the bell like tone I crave, the tighter they get. Also for tapping, having the lower strings not quite so thick helps reduce mud. It's all about the way you attack and EQ I think, long as they ain't rattling like hell it's all cool, and I do like a little fret buzz. Just as a fretless gains it's mwah from neck contact, fretted gains edge and grit from a touch of buzz. :-) Forgot to add, this is on both 35" and 34" scale. Strings are D'addario Pro Steel.

It took me a while to take to them, because I went straight from 4-string to 6-string and found a 5-string...pointless. But in time I came to love them. If I KNOW I'm not gonna use the high-C then a 5-string is fine, also some are made for certain uses my 6-string cannot. With the bands and musicians I jam with these days though anything under 5-string isn't desirable to me. I've never liked BEAD tuning on a 4-string because to me I've just chopped off the G-string and as someone said here, just because you have a low-B doesn't mean that's your root. I still stay on the E-string as my home, no matter what tuning it's in. Not a fan of "Drop-D" either, for octave purposes, so if your band is in Drop-D you can get away with standard on a 5-string. My main band is in drop-B but because of the low-B string I stay purely in standard...If something too hard to reach riff wise I'll just tap it instead. :-P That out of the way, the issue with sloppy low-B has never came this way. Either change the string (some companies make bad Low-B strings), the type (Tapered / non-tapered), the gauge (Heavier doesn't always mean better), your attack and / or the pickups. I play mostly 35" scale because it's what I like but the best Low-B I ever had was on my old Ibanez RD605, which is a 34" scale, so can't really judge by scale either. Also EQ, scooping mids usually makes a low-B too boomy or clacky, a bit of mids just shy from the shoebox area gives them a lot more kick. That's about all I can think of at the moment. But as a conclusion; 5-strings? Yep, I like them. :-)

Bought a Laney RB1 off of David and have to say it was a great experience. Updates were prompt, delivery was ultra swift and it arrived rather professionally packaged, padded to hell in all the nooks and crannies. This meant it arrived same as it left: in mint condish. Fantastic. I would recommend. :-)

Ah, the "Stingray Killer", these are mighty fine basses indeed! Not sure if they've changed them since I last looked (and I shall check later) but I prefered the older models with the J pup in the neck. Never really been a fan of a single pickup in the bridge. As for Ibanez on a whole I have two BTB's; 556MP (discontinued 6-string), 405QM (Older model 5-string before they used Bartolini mkII's) and I used to own an Oddball of a bass: Ibanez RD505. Strangely the RD was made for a single year to take over the ATK but then they discontinued it and re-made the ATK. It had SD Basslines (J / MM) and yielded a sheer amount of power for it's price. Also had the most amount of tension for a 34" scale. Shame I don't have it any more. All of the above basses have served well and for the price the build is fantastic! You can have your string mm's off of the last fret and get great tone all along the board, after you've set it up to take it. :-)

My main 6-string is a Yamaha TRB6II (1998) and I gotta say, it's very well built! It's age has only made it better. It's massive and the neck is hunk a chunk but that's what I like about it. However, it played even easier than my Ibanez BTB556, which has a really flat neck. Never tried a TRB6IIp though...Hmmm...

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='1320095' date='Jul 29 2011, 09:31 AM']Yes 'rays are aggressive but I wouldn't really recommend them for metal unless your prepared to eq the hell out of it's ass - the mid bite is too intrinsic for me. I play stoner rock and seldom bring the ray out for that.[/quote] +1 on this. All the rage said about them sent me on a frenzy to get one, and as much as they sound the shiz on their own, I'd be damned if I could ever cut through the mix with it without the use of extensive EQ. Not enough low-mids. Just my experience though.

[quote name='thodrik' post='1326392' date='Aug 4 2011, 01:35 AM']When the bass sounds less good than it usually does, then it is time to change the battery.[/quote] Y'know...I might just change them batteries. You've just made me interested in how much tone may have been lost that I've never noticed over the years.

Always unplug to save on batteries, it's a PITA (especially on Neutrik locking jacks :-/ ) but worth it. Time frame in all honesty I don't know...Been using my Ibanez BTB556 daily for some 3 - 4 years now with a slight boost to the lows and highs. It's an 18-volt and still on factory batteries (2 x 9-volt). I think it depends on the pre-amp but really expect some 10,000 hours or something dumb lol. My Yamaha TRB recently conked out but I dunno how long that battery was in there for. :-/ (9-volt) Active EQ's vary but are boost / cut on a whole. You'll find some have mid boost / cut, some have frequency selector switches and some have a mid sweep. Usually it's the mids that have the fancy add-ons though and even then, not on all models. Basically put, the idea is you can make your bass sound certain ways before EQ on an amp. If you love the way the bass sounds, but perhaps it could do with a little more low end, dial some in, just a touch. Likewise if the low end is fine but you wish to have more zing, dial in some highs...But watch your ears!