thodrik

I thoroughly recommend the D'addario balanced tension set of 50-67-90-120 if you are interested in downtuning to D standard. I generally use it for tuning for D standard and drop C. That 120 is a beast but it really works well at maintaining definition. In the past I have found 'heavy gauge' sets of 50-110 to be underwhelming when downtuning to D standard. However I do like a 50 -110 set I want to play rock stuff with a high action to avoid any 'fret clatter'. For standard tuning I prefer 100-80-60-40 gauges generally as I find a 45 and 65 gauge or G and D strings a bit stiff for slapping and popping.

Okay, I have now installed a set of NYXLs on my Sadowsky NYC five string. I was really reticent of moving away from Elixirs as I really rate them. However, I thought I would try the NYXLs as I just can’t find Elixirs in the gauges I like (I tune B F# B E A and use a high C string for the high A). Anyhoo, I’m very impressed by the NYXLs. They seem to have a lot more bass and treble response. The question is how long they last. Definitely a step up from the XLs so a definite thumbs up. The tapered 135 is immense!

The higher tension of the Elixirs is actually why I quite like them! I definitely noticed an extra stiffness but this really helped with a low B which never become floppy and still had a lot of definition after a year which frankly astounded me! I have gone for a tapered 135 on the NYXLs because I always find D'addario to be a bit looser and flexible. With Elixir I use a tapered 130 and it is great.

I have bought a set of singles to use with my five string which I tune B F# B E A. I generally use Elixirs but find that Strings Direct have not had any stock of the 32 high C string for over a year! I generally like D'addario but stopped using XLs as they were only lasting me about 4 weeks of regular rehearsals and gigging. If the NYXLs can last six months or so that would be great.

Very difficult to say. The values are all over the place depending on how old the cabs are and the condition. I have seen the 2x12 and 4x10s go for £500-£700 depending on condition. I would think that the 1x15 and 2x10s would be worth slightly less in the £300-£500 bracket. You actually are more likely to get a better deal on the bigger cabinets on account that they are so damn heavy that demand for them is very low, so sometimes you can get one of the 2x15 or 6x10 or Powerhouse 1000 cabs for £400-£600 (though usually they go for more). This is a great deal considering new they were in the £1500-£2000 bracket when new. However, once you try to lift them into the car you realise why people were willing to sell them for much less. I got a mint condition 2009 ish Powerhouse 6x10 on this basis. I would probably recommend just getting another 2x10. It should give you all the on stage volume you ever need. I love my 6x10 but it is heavier than most 8x10s and is overkill for nearly every gig. The sound though is frankly incredible and for how little I paid for it and how expensive it would be to courier there is no way I would ever sell it.

I have a Keeley Bassist that is better than most 'on amp' compressors I have tried and has been on my board for six years. Not flashy, easy as hell to use, very transparent. I haven't needed anything more than that. I think that EBS makes one of the best 'one knob' compression circuits on an amp. The compression on my old EBS Fafner is brilliant and every EBS amp I have tried has been as good. Though this circuit is pretty much derived from their MultiComp pedal. I generally prefer a pedal compressor on account that it means that I always have an option to add compression even if I am using shared/provided backline at a gig.

Looks very nice and uncluttered. I would very much be interested in trying one.

I like Rotos, but they generally die on me within 3-4 weeks. Elixirs can last me up to two years. So for regular gigging they end up cheaper. For recording though, a fresh set of Rotos (or any stainless steel roundwound) will be a lot more aggressive than the nickel Elixirs. So generally Elixirs for me.

Heavy guitars for heavy music. I can’t imagine even trying to play it. I would expect that the design came into fruition after Al shared a joint or two with a few folk from Rickenbacker. Silly, impractical but unique.

What if...Lars had turned the snare on in St Anger? What if... Steve Harris had instead bought a Jazz instead of a Precision? What if...BB King had named his guitar 'Betsy' and not 'Lucille'?

Done by a previous owner. Apparently because the jack socket wiring was terrible and constantly needed to be fixed and only having to remove half the pickguard saved time. My then 15 year old brother resoldered in 1999 soon after I got it and it has been problem free ever since! I thought it was weird at the time but I love it now!

You haven't lived until you have owned a vintage Gibson EB3 in which the inherent tone from the front pickup is utterly impervious to tone settings or pick up settings. I have owned a 1974 EB3 for twenty one years and I am still not sure exactly why!

'Relative ease of portability' Description for 1501 combo, a 150 watt 1x15 combo weighing 95 lbs!

As far as I am aware, you can pretty much use all non-valve amp (i.e. valve power amp and valve pre amp) amps without using a load. With class D technology I can't imagine that running it without a load could cause an issue. The D800 has a headphone out, so presumably it was designed for use without a load. It wouldn't make sense to have a headphone out if you also had to have a cab connected.

Gold hardware: just don't like it. Fanned frets: great concept, but not for me as I found it more difficult to play some parts (particularly chords) in the upper registers. More than two pick ups: it just makes me think of those three pickup Les Pauls from the Frampton Comes Alive era. Anything with 'Fender' detailed on the headstock which isn't actually a Fender. 24 fret necks with poor upper fret access beyond the fifteenth fret. Weight and neck dive isn't a deal breaker for me, which is good because I have wanted a five string Warwick Thumb for a while.

Love those amps. One of the best 'idiot proof' amps on the market.

I would think that stacking two 2x10 cabs vertically might be a good idea if is all about having something audible at ear level. That would actually be a taller stack than a 6x10 and much more portable, easier to move and take up less space in the car/van. From experience a smaller cab and a plinth is a lot easier to shift than a single 6x10 if you are trying to load out by yourself at 1am because the rest of the band have gone AWOL after saying that they would help pack up! It also will take up less space in a car/van.

Due to the porting there is far more low end extension on the 610 and 410 hlf than the sealed 810. I have recorded an EP with one and used them live. Very good cabs. There are modern lightweight cabs these days that are louder and more portable and with modern PA systems and monitoring nobody really ‘needs’ a 610 anymore. With that said my main cab is a Mesa 6x10…

I saw them on the UK tour later that year, though by then Dave Grohl had left and Joey Castillo had joined. I think that Dave Grohl only every played a select few dates over the summer. Immense drummer as always though. For me that is definitely the absolute peak for the band.

He generally did. It just sounds like he isn't at times because Geezer played a lot of his stuff in the higher registers anyway so it doesn't necessarily sound downtuned.

Latter period Slayer saw them use 7 strings tuned to B. Of course, a 7 string in standard tuning will be a lot tighter than tuning a guitar with light gauge strings down to B. A lot of it comes down to set up both in terms guitar and amp set ups. A lot of Machine Head's classic more thrashy stuff is in C sharp 'sabbath tuning' but it sounds very crisp (or crap depending on your opinion of post-Blackening material). I quite like faster downtuned stuff like High on Fire and old Mastodon and Baroness which to me is a bit of mix of downtuned classic rock with little bits of thrash metal and sludge thrown in. Even then I don't consider the music to be unduly heavy compared to a brutally aggressive thrash band playing in standard tuning. What is 'heavy' can vary from one person to another. I just to focus on whether I actually like it. There is lots of heavily downtuned Roadrunner Records type generic metal which I don't consider to be 'heavy' at all. I am also pretty sure Geezer tuned down to match the guitar both live and in the studio and has given interviews saying as much. He probably did a fair number of songs on standard tuned bass live if he didn't have a spare to hand or he simply forgot to tune down or switch basses on account that the 70s were a wild time.

I am pretty sure that Glockenklang pre-amps come as standard on Sandbergs and some of the latter period Vigiers (I might be wrong on that), though in both cases they are preamps made specifically for those brands (definitely for the Vigiers). That system however looks very similar to the Sandberg circuit. My nephew went from an entry level Sire M5 to a Sandberg. The pre-amp on the Sandberg is a marked improvement. In terms of a comparison with a Sadowsky, I have two Sadowskys and when comparing them to my nephews Sandberg I do think that the Sandberg circuit is a little more transparent as the Sadowsky circuit is pretty coloured. I still prefer to the Sadowsky circuit, mainly because I think that the treble on the Sandberg circuit is a bit glassy on higher settings.

23 years and counting with this bass, which was about 20 years old when I got it. I have other basses but this one is still the reference point. Lacquer on the neck has really started to peel off in the last 5-6 years (and is worse now than in the pic which is now 2-3 years old). I'm in two minds to get it re-lacquered or just let a tech give it a satin finish. Either way, it isn't going anywhere even though I don't really gig it much anymore.

I used to have cheaper power supplies, however once I started touring I went for the Dunlop DC brick. It works with pretty much any 9v standard pedal with no additional noise. Much like my use of the Boss TU tuners, there are probably 'better' products out there but I generally just want an easy to use product that just works.

What was the issue with the Bi-Polar Bear power sections? I had my first GP7 SM300 amp replaced during its warranty phase. The technical reason given to me by Trace Elliot for the fault was 'DEATH', so I presume that it must have had a Bi-Polar amp. My GP12 SMX amp I bought used also had a new power amp fitted, so I presume it was also a Bi-polar Bear amp originally as well!