JTUK

Fail........... you should have added 'metal', 'Geezer', 'Barefaced' or somesuch to get any reaction. I think it is a good use of a MM. FWIW, I was watching MJ's last tour rehearsal film and the guy used a MM to very good effect and also ran a synth bass across a few tracks. Very interesting to try and create classic synth lines on a bass...IMO I think that is a real neat little angle to explore... or go the whole hog and learn to play synth bass keys.

[quote name='steve-bbb' timestamp='1388381809' post='2321351'] It will probably sound better [/quote] whoaaaaa........... LMAO..!!!

[quote name='flychris' timestamp='1388325430' post='2320743'] JTUK, if you're int he PJ mood, but for a 4, you just have to look on a sadowsky metro HPJ. unfortunately, they don't do it in 5 strings. [/quote] I'm a J man anyway... and only play 5's.... 4's just seem to feel so unsubstantial and missing something these last 20 years... but thanx.

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1388261392' post='2320210'] I was with you up to the Porsche 911 bit... [/quote] indeedy.............

If GB have anything about them, and some people here would know here better than I, but I would be matching it with the 212 Neox..... If that doesn't work as well as any... then they should give up IMO.

Can't quite get my head around a 5st P myself, but then I could stretch that argument to a 4 st P as well...if I had to . With that in mind I be looking at a PJ..and Lakalnd might figure in there, as would Overwater, Sei and Sadowsky. I think I'd be trying to track a Lull in the 1st instance.... just to set the bar...

DB750 and DB212 is a GREAT matchup. I'd be thinking 2xDB112 would sound as good...if they try and keep those cab goals close. I agree with Barrie, Aguilar have a tone goal in mind and they build their range to compliment and achieve it.. It sounds obvious ..........but Aguilar cut their teeth as a studio pre amp solution and I think they seem to retain that core ethic...

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1388143781' post='2318802'] Check out the (sometimes hard to find) Stingray HH or HS. You can get very woody P bass tones from those neck pups. [/quote] This is why I make a point of meaning the single humbucker jobbie as that is the trademark MM afaic.

It isn't an out and out tone monster in terms of the EQ stage ..but neither does it need it. No ridiculous mini graphics required... I think the dials are very subtle... - you get no harsh extremes. I've only every tried them between 10-2 and that was more to have a play... -but then I am very confident that my bass sound will come through. Now... I turn it on and turn up the bass..set the level and we are good. I would say it is subtle but an educated sound ..and by that I mean it is the bass you are hearing but with a FULL wallop of the power stage. The valve pre is airey enough, and power stage has real heft. The only other amps I've used ( not owned ) that had this were the Boogie 400 series and the SVT and whilst they too, are plug and play and you are more than happy... the DB has a far more modern sympathetic sound. I am quite happy to accept this is because the DB is a more modern design and because this is the sound Aguilar were going for I also think they now have that ground covered over Ampeg and Boogie with BIG amps. The DB is around 60 plus lbs IMO... so not light. Molan has a better take on the 751 in comparison to the 750.... and when I've played through them, ...Not A/B.. it sounded pretty similar to me. You'll get 60-70's vintage thru to Geddy Lee very easily...should you be looking for a quick sound reference and if your bass doesn't fight that.

I had a PV combo with a BW speaker. It was woefully underpowered but it also got a hell of a beating, and it took it all. To this day, I still think that amp sums PV up, pretty much. A pile of crap..but a well built pile of crap.... and pretty indestructable.. and that made the stuff stand out back then...........

The P Bass was pretty much THE workshorse and then Leo wanted to update it..or was in a position to update it with the MM brand. And at that time, the upgrade worked but now people don't need an active bass for that workhorse thing as they have much better bass systems and more sospisticated mixes... There is no reason why a P Bass will not do that job of old now which is still why it is the workhorse of choice. I think MM should have the edge in QC...as my MM was a great bass to play and rock solid...but you can shop around for good basses easily enough. If the showroom is the pub then MM have quite a useful following but if you have good P.A and soundmen, that 'advantage' is less relevant and you go to the core sounds. I think basses like passive Laklands have moved in on the same territory and not many people are after MM sounds so much. Never been a P Bass man myself..always a J, but my MM was a far better bass, IMO at that time ...or rather, by far, my best bass. Not so much now. I only got rid of the MM as it was a 4 st and I went to 5... I considered a MM 5 but never found one I liked... for a variety of reasons..

There is no different tone in it.... you can hear them a mile off. You always have that unmistakeable Ray sound. Not everyone goes for the same same sound, of course, but the character is there..always. You wouldn't use one otherwise.... It is as much a unique sound as a Jazz or a P, or a Smith...

It is a single humbucker pickup with a simple pre amp. I don't need an Ed Friedland review to tell me about a bass I used exclusively for 10 years, tbh. When I think Stingray, I think classic Louis Johnson and the sound of those days have long gone. I think the reason people get a Stingray is for a specific sound...

[quote name='aende' timestamp='1387312079' post='2310644'] Persuade or dissuade me! I quite fancy a pj or pm format bass like a schecter model t or a sandberg pm. I am not sure.....I love my mm stingray, but it is a 1 trick pony! Am I being a twat? [/quote] They are a bit one-trick IMO.. not a bad trick, mind, but it depends if you are bored with it. I was... and mine was a great bass... but I started to rip out the electrics and I knew the game was up...

Steve Washington Jeff Pocaro Dennis Chambers

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1387744949' post='2315196'] There's no point in trying to pull the wool over people's eyes and to attempt to flog them whatever is worth most, has highest margin or is simply something we'd like to shift. Just leads, in the long term, to unhappy customers and a feeling of mistrust. Honesty is always the best policy [/quote] The type of shops I like The last thing I want from a sale POV is a load of Bull... garaunteed walk..!!

[quote name='largo' timestamp='1387797958' post='2315690'] Surely this is what insurance is for? If you gig as much as you say, then I'd have a backup bass & amp at least kicking around anyway. [/quote] yep..agree. I don't get tyhe idea of trading down if you are still doing valued work.

Probably because it would be more expensive and overkill... I don't think the basic tweeters you see/hear on most cabs are that great tho, IME...

We use a Markbass 102 Bass combo ...

Funnily enough I heard a guy using this combo with an SG bass and it wasn't a kind sound to my ears. Very overdriven to the point of being distorted and too much signal for the amp/cab to handle. Just, not nice.........

Been lucky enough to play with a few name drummers and 1 or 2 were/are very special. One of the best things about that is that you get a take on 'real' talent..IMO and what it takes to get to the top. So, if these guys are any indication of the talent that you need to have, then that would make my list massive...

Buy the best you can afford and then you will not have to buy again in terms of quality. You need to hear it loud to see if the high end is powerful and clear. The number of P.A's I hear with 'blown' horns.... and where the band has a 'make-do' mentality on the P.A A poor P.A cannot do anything but hinder a band.......IMO

The first thing to do when picking up a new bass is to see if it could be moulded to your own preference. Too many basses have a poor to average set-up in the shop, and the strings aren't in any special condition. This is understandable in most shops as set-up is time consuming and wear and tear on strings going through a good few hands over a period of time will dull them. Plus they may also be the string that the bass has travelled/been packed with, and it is not surprising that you have to use a bit of experience to know where you can get that bass to..in terms of playabilty. Last bass, I bought from the shop... I asked them if I could work on the neck and they agreed. They even offered to do that themselves...as they were capable enough, so I could see what action was available/possible. A new set of MY strings and it was very good for me. They knew I was seriously interested in the bass... and I told them I would have it IF things like action and relief were to my liking. They indulged me and I bought it. Very good sale service from GAK. You need to be able to judge what is possible, so a new set of strings is the start, IMO.

Not a fan of D'addarios XL pro's feel-wise, too rough.. but I did use them for a while. Nice tension though... Newtone feel good...but the lighter gauges can be over-powered.... I do wonder about what grade metals they all use...

[quote name='DiMarco' timestamp='1387493583' post='2312761'] ....................... Same goes for my Marcus Miller sig japanese active jazz with ash body, maple fb and seventies pickup positioning. Great bass that gets lost in the mix just as well as any jazz! [/quote] Then don't blame the bass, blame your mix