thodrik

From experience of owning a Fafner (mk I): Even though it is only a 3U head, EBS recommend using a 4U rack case. This is on account that the fan is located on the side and there is the risk that there is not enough space in a 3U to give the fan enough space to be effective. A 3U rack might be okay, but I have never wanted to take the risk. You can always contact EBS directly, I'm sure that they would be able to confirm. I ended up getting an EBS 4U rack which is fine, but being wooden it is much heavier than a Gator equivalent.

Absolutely that! Gorgeous.

I don't own one, but in the 70s Fender did walnut coloured finishes on some of their basses. I love that finish, particularly on a P Bass . Also Walnut finished Gibson SG guitar...yes. Also, I love translucent black as a finish, particularly on a Fender-type bass.

Okay. Finally listened to it. Firstly, I’m glad it was made. There is some really good stuff on this album. Descending and Culling Voices are tracks which are really good additions to the Tool catalogue. 7empest too. The drawback to me is that I feel that I have heard variations of most of the ‘heavy riffs’ from previous Tool albums. Lots of fairly similar drop D riffs and drum fills and bass parts with delay. I don’t think it is a complete retread though as on the whole it seems a lot more mid paced and less aggressive than previous releases. It seems that Maynard has taken his crooning A Perfect Circle approach to this album. I quite like his vocals taking a different approach and I like the parts that are focusing on creating layered soundscapes rather than ‘let’s play a riff that kind of sounds like [insert riff from earlier Tool song] but change one note’. My taste in music is a lot more eclectic now than it was when I was 20. Tool were a band that acted as a gateway for me to explore heavy post rock, instrumental and psychedelic music. The fact that this album doesn’t make me go ‘wow’ is probably due to me rather than the quality of the album. Probably a 7 out of 10 for me.

I might be wrong, but I think he was using them prior to that as well. I'm sure I saw him using one when I saw them on the Blood Mountain tour and I'm fairly sure that was what he was used to record the album. Frankly though it is tough to keep up with the basses he uses as they change so often!

Delay on bass is also a great way to do post rock volume swells to make your bass sound like a dying whale. I used it to shockingly mediocre effect for a couple of years before I moved back to playing heavy riff rock.

Still not bought it. I am old fashioned and I would prefer to buy a physical release, however there is no way I am paying £80 for a CD. So a download it is. Also, there is a really good interview by guitarist Adam Jones on the Chris Jericho podcast (he of Fozzy/pro wrestling fame). It might not be a thrilling listen for people who don't like Tool and/or pro wrestling. However, it is a really good podcast interview by Adam Jones covering his background, his approach to music videos, the background to how Tool started and his friendship with Tom Morello. It is also pretty much the only podcast interview ever done by Adam Jones.

One of the best things about having a Sadowsky Metro is that people who have no clue about basses just think it is a cheap Fender copy which I play into when I say that it was made in Japan. 'Wow, your bass sounds great, you'd sound even better if you had a proper Fender!', is one of the best lines I have received from a sound engineer. Frankly, I'm not sure I believe half of the bass forum or gear review comments along the lines of 'after the show the sound engineer complemented my bass tone, stating that it just sat perfectly in the mix, was phenomenally balanced, had great mid presence and even had a bit more girth in the fundamental than my usual 'go to' instrument. Some of the audience members even came up to be to complement how the maple fingerboard really helped to emphasise the slap bass passages in the set.' I am usually impressed if people even remember I was in the band, let alone what bass I was using or what hell the bass actually sounded like.

I have 6 basses which is just about my limit. I regularly use about 4 of them for gigs, recording, rehearsals etc. I have two different projects, in which I use different tunings so I generally use one bass for each different project with a back up for each. I might just buy one more inexpensive bass as a backup. I don't like having to bring two expensive basses to a gig when I am only intending to use one. A Squier Jazz is accordingly now being considered, however I used to own one andended up selling it on account that I had never used it in 8 years. I tried using a five string in standard tuning to cover everything but given the technicalities of some of the riffs and the fact that ringing open strings are important to both projects, having basses tuned to the same as the guitars is frankly just a lot more convenient than a five string tuned to concert pitch and having to constantly transpose things and work out new fingerings for parts on the fly. However, I always need at least one bass in standard tuning, just so I can practice funk music and double thumb techniques that I love learning but will never use as part of a rock/stoner/doom band.

I love my Precision, but I find it takes a bit of EQ on the amp in order to get the tone I actually like, which generally finding the sweet spot of adding a bit of bass/lower mids (around 300-500Hz) and taming the upper mid and treble 'clank' by rolling off the tone knob ever so slightly. This is opposed to an active bass like my Sadowsky, where I can pretty much dial in a tone on the bass and the amp EQ is basically untouched. If my first serious bass was a Musicman with a really powerful active EQ, I would perhaps have struggled if I then went back to a passive Precision armed with just a volume and tone control. A passive Precision sits wonderfully in the mix with a sound engineer who knows what they are doing (well so should just about any quality bass). Also, I'm pretty sure that the Fender marketing team will have gone to great efforts to ensure that as many bassists as possible were using Fender basses during the Reading and Leeds festival. There is nothing wrong with not liking Precisions though. There are plenty of other basses out there.

I have only owned (and still own) two five strings. A Vigier Arpege V string, one of the 'modern' Series IV with a bolt on neck rather than neck through. There is a 3 band EQ on each pickup set up which is mad and a composite 'phenowood' fingerboard. In terms of design and fit and finish it is nearly flawless. My only gripe is that the space between the front pickup and the end of the fretboard is pretty small so you have to play pretty accurately when slapping and popping. Not sure I like the monorail bridge system compared to the big hulk of metal that is the Vigier Excess bridge. Drawback of the Vigier is that lots of guitarists listen with their eyes and don't like a bass that doesn't look like a Fender. I have had this bother a few times over the years. Sadowsky NYC Jazz Bass. Sadowskys don't get the glowing praise on Basschat that they do on Talkbass, but I personally love them. The two band EQ plus VTC on the Sadowsky doesn't offer the flexibility of the Vigier, but I love the slightly more vintage voice of the Sadowsky which the Vigier just can't really do with the pickup, phenowood fingerboard and 10/90 carbon neck system. It also looks like a Fender so aforesaid guitarists don't get uncomfortable. I don't have pics readily to hand. Other fivers I want to try but I am unlikely to own: Musicman HH - they just look cool, I would also happily own a four string too. Wal Mk II - my favourite Wal shape Clover Xpression 5 - I just think that they look like a great all round bass, but I don't know of anybody who actually owns one. I will probably buy a six string before I buy another five string bass.

Ooof, class bass that! Congrats.

I played double bass as well so I am used to a fair amount of challenges of getting to the upper notes. If I am spending £1800 on a 24 fret bass I would want all 24 frets to be reachable. Not so much for gigging, but certainly when it comes to practising technical playing I like to be able to get to all the frets. My old Vigier Excess for example, has great 24 fret access, though it now has a broken jack socket after about 15 years of wear and tear... I'm certainly not ruling a Spector out, but I think I would need to try one out to see if I could live with the ergonomics. Cheers!

When playing the guitar in a band the best bassist I have every jammed with had a Euro 5LX, which through an Ampeg 8x10 rig produced one of the best bass tones I have ever heard. If you don't mind me asking, how limited was the upper fret access? Was basically everything past the fifteenth fret inaccessible? I haven't played one myself and there are barely (if any) Spector Euro dealers in Scotland so I am unlikely to try in the near future as well. I have been thinking about getting a Spector Euro 5 (or 6...) but I'm not really that keen on getting a bass where 5 or 6 frets are basically there for just decoration purposes. . Granted, I am used to Fender bass designs and a Les Paul guitar where upper fret access is limited, but not impossible with some shoulder and hip movement...

I want ALL the amps!

Bad time for me. We just had a baby last month and the roof of my garage/amp room is going on today. At least it isn’t a Matamp or Trace Elliot V8 or I would be in trouble!

To be honest I had always wanted one of the Fender TB series amps but I could never find a shop that actually stocked them!

From my experience with the M6, there was no real way of getting any valve warmth or dirt via the Gain control without running the risk of permanent hearing loss. It was very much a ‘clean machine’. Stick a drive pedal in front of it and it is brilliant though. If you want a Mesa with preamp gain then I would look at the Walkabout or a Big Block. I love the Big Block.

I rarely, have ever, have GAS for effects. Mainly because the last two that had me giddy with excitement on release left me a bit unimpressed when I bought them (EBS Billy Sheehan Signature Drive and Darklgass Alpha Omega). Don't get me wrong, I do buy effects, but I generally buy them on a whim rather than as a carefully planned purchased so there is never any real GAS. For basses, I have longterm 'I wouldn't mind but don't need' mild GAS for a Rickenbacker and an HH five string Stingray. I have longterm 'I would really quite like but can't justify the expense of purchasing' GAS for a Wal and Spector 6 string. Not really much else and I don't see myself buying any of those basses. My real GAS problem area relates to amps and cabs. I just have a terrible need to buy the following amps: Matamp GT200, Mesa 400+, Trace Elliot V8. I am far more likely to buy more amps than I am likely to buy another bass. I also really want to buy the matching Trace Elliot V-type 8x10 to go with my V6. I could have bought one for £300 or so a few years ago because I didn't need it and I was living in a second floor flat. Now I live in a detached bungalow with a large garage, I desperately wish I had bought that 8x10!

I must have missed that. I saw a V6 for about £750 at the start of this year which I don't think sold. Had there been a V8 for sale at that price I would have promptly bought it and arranged pick up by courier myself!

Great colour!

I’ve never played a Sire but I can echo a good bit of your post. My Metro was a great buy at £1500 but not sure I would buy it at £2500 which is their current price. My NYC was a great deal at £2500 but not sure I could stretch to buying it new which would cost me upwards of £5000. To be spending that much on a bass you really have got to know what you are getting, so I would certainly recommend trying a Metro before even considering an NYC.

Hello Pete, Apologies for sounding a bit like our American cousins on Talkbass, but you started a thread in 2013 saying that you owned a V8 and were thinking of selling it. I presume that you still own it? If so, you probably know more about the amp than most of us since the amps are very rare and not many people have actually tried one out, let alone owned one. In terms of potential prices, V8s are rarely on the market and they are very much a specialist piece so it is difficult to work out a market value, as was detailed in the thread in 2013. Prices can be in the region of £2000 plus when one actually does turn up. As they are a specialist item, there is no guarantee that you will get an immediate offer if you chose to sell. I bought my V6 in 2012 and I am pretty sure the price I paid (about £650) would probably be about the same price I would get if I chose to sell it, as big heavy valve amps are not as popular now with the innovations in lightweight bass design. There would still be interest in a V8 though no matter the weight. However, if you did decided to sell the amp in 2013 then I would just wish you good luck on finding another one. Most folk who are lucky enough to own a V8 tend to keep it. All the best.

I listened to the new song. It was serviceable and might hook me later as a good album track. Intro aside it just seemed a bit overly familiar, like I had already heard the various tones, effects, drum fills and riffs but they have been slightly restructured. Great mix though. I do like though that it is a song structure rather than variations of an initial open string drop d riff, which I had initially expected it would be. I can’t hate on it. However it is a bit unremarkable on the first couple of listens.

Also, just looking at the Jackson site it would appear that Mr Ellefson has about 4 different Jackson signature models. I admire his commitment! https://www.jacksonguitars.com/features/david-ellefson