thodrik

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1371681594' post='2117049'] Excellent quality. Just not my thing. I don't see any issues with normal parallel frets. [/quote] Pretty much my view. Though I haven't tried one so can't really judge yet.

A 450 watt amp is still a 450 watt amp. You won't be able to actually increase the power without modifying it. Turn down the gain, run all eq knobs at 5 and have the graphic eq set so that there is no boost or cut. This might allow you to make the amp seem a bit louder as low bass frequencies can suck up the headroom of an amp.

If the distortion pedal is really high gain, maybe get a noise suppressor. I set my overdrive before my Sansamp and try not to have too much of a jump in volume from clean to distortion, although generally I have the distortion set slightly louder. Generally I have never had any problems and often I was using the Boss ODB3

Resurrecting the thread a bit here! I have been using the 120 - 50 sets for the past few months in D standard/drop C. When tuning down, I really do believe that balanced tension is the way to go, as it avoids the tight 'G' string, loose 'E' string problem I have generally had with 'heavy' string gauges which are generally around 55-110. Its not that the DR DDTs (55-115) I was using before were bad, its just that I thought that the high 'G' was pretty damn tight relative to the low 'E'. In terms of standard tuning I'm still happy with normal 45-105 gauges as I find the mismatched tensions more manageable. I have also put a 50-120 set on my five string and added 145 for a low A string. It isn't exactly balanced but it works a lot better than the five string 55-135 set I was using before. Being picky I would like like a five string set and for the sets to be available in Prosteels. Also, I don't think that they stay as bright for as the DRs. For the price though I don't really have any real complaints.

When gigging a lot, every three to six weeks. Just now every couple of months or the day before a recording.

Lots of classic music has been recorded in e flat tunings using fairly light strings (Hendrix being an obvious example, and Sabbath were/are tuning to C sharp). I would suggest just getting used to the different feel, whether it is the 45-105 set or 50-110. I used to use 40-95 for standard, but now I use 50-110 for standard tuning. After a bit of practice you get used to it.

I regularly swap from a Precision to a 24 fret Vigier. You'll be fine.

Awesome. Just some pics of the workshop would be great for me. I always liked the look of Mayones basses.

The amp will be fine. If on another hand you know that you want a new amp and just want some reassurance before doing I'll happily say 'It is a disaster waiting to happen, you need a bigger amp.'

I have tried a few Jazzes from the same period of my 1970s Precision and didn't notice much of difference. Gibson EB3s and Thunderbirds though are on a different level entirely.

Drop D a half step down. Is that drop C# then. I would be wary of trying to tune a normal 60 gauge D string and trying to tune it up to F(d standard) or F#(drop C#. You could try the heavier gauge D'addario Balanced Tension 50-120 which I have found works well for detuning. You could also try the DR DDTs though these are fairly expensive in my opinion. I've found that when tuning down, especially with drop D-type fingerings, that string tension issues are highlighted are lot more than in standard tuning. Thus I'm not sure that the 'use the bottom four strings of a five string set' will always work, especially in the 'drop C# down to Drop B' area. Making a custom set of strings for your own needs is probably the best bet.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1370774449' post='2105282'] I think the main reason '70's basses are becoming collector-ish is because 60's are so hard to get. [/quote] I think so. I got my 1978/9 (not exactly dated it) Precision for less than £400 12-13 years ago. Now it would probably be worth around £1000, despite it being played and gigged regularly by me over the last 13 years. Its madness. To the OP, I wouldn't buy a bass just 'as an investment'. As soon as I start thinking 'investment', I start making allowances for the 'intricacies' of older Fenders which I would consider 'faults' on any other bass. Thats why after spending 6 years looking for a comparable Jazz bass for my Precision, I ended up buying a Sadowsky Metro.

I wouldn't try to tune a BEAD set of strings to anything higher than C standard due to the rise in string tension. Try the D'addario balanced tension 120-50 set for a fairly cheap solution for D standard/C# standard, or get a custom set made out of singles of strings you like.

[quote name='winterfire666' timestamp='1369841692' post='2093365'] yeah i have heard a lot about them, from what i have read i reckon a mk 1 is gonna do what i want perfectly, iv gotta try one out sooner or later :^) [/quote] Well, if you happen to be up in Glasgow you are welcome to try it. It is a very flexible amp, though in my view it is not one of those 'leave everything flat/in the 12 o'clock position'. I find that I have to use the EQ a bit to get a sound I like, as opposed to something like an Ampeg SVT where I generally would leave everything 'as is'. The mk II Fafner looks awesome though with the different options and switchable overdrive. A bit pricey and a bit too many knobs and options for me though

I have one (mk I). Its pretty great.

I prefer the look of the massive pole pieces in the L2000/2500 models. However the features on the M series look very impressive. I always prefer a pan to a toggle on a bass.

I'd probably go for: Warwick Thumb (the ones with the club necks) Fender American Vintage 75 Jazz (one that was terribly set up) Any 'vintage' Fender that has been poorly set up Musicman Stingray (never liked the neck shape) Wal Mark I (same)

[quote name='Myke' timestamp='1366637949' post='2055224'] I hope that's not true for everyone because I've just bought a set of these [/quote] I had a set. Worked well enough. Just tonally not for me so I went back to rounds.

I liked the bass sound. The way that Bill Ward was treated kind of soured me on this whole 'reunion'. Production is a bit polished for me as well. Great riff at about 7 mins in, but then the guitar doesn't really do anything interesting to match the bass. Average.

Okay, I've taken a few days to formulate an opinion: The looks don't do anything for me whatsoever. The bridge looks oversized, the pickup looks undersized and the pickguard looks like it serves no meaning purpose whatsoever. The video demo is okay, but that sound could be achieved with any number of Fender-designed basses with the help of eq and a bit of overdrive. The price is decent however. I would have got rid of the pickguard and put in an oversized humbucker/single coil pickup in the style of a G&L/Musicman or a completely unusable EB3-style mudbucker.

Currently I'm in a band that is in the Sabbath/early Baroness/Isis/Kyuss territory. I don't really consider it metal but rather heavy psychedelic rock. That is pretty much the kind of music I'd ideally have been playing over the years, although it seems that I've done pretty much every type of music apart from that! This is mainly because I have found it really hard to find people that were into the same stuff. I have no real interest in doing classic rock, NWOBHM, old school thrash or modern Trivium metal, which seemed to be all that I could find when looking for bands.

Tried out my Trace V6 yesterday and it confirmed my initial suspicion that a 400 watt all valve amp is entirely unnecessary, but also a lot of fun.

I generaly prefer post if it is a nice preamp. If the soundperson is good I am generally happy to do whatever they want to do, pre/post/DI box/mic or whatever. If the soundperson is entirely clueless (rare but it happens), then I am liable to just take a sansamp, set it to a vague approximation of the SVT setting, and just hope for the best.

The new D'addario balanced tension set at 120-50 works well for drop c.

I like the bass terror heads but I have never been impressed with the 'one speaker behind the other' Orange cab designs. It will probably do the job fine but I would be more inclined to use the head with a separate 2x10, 1x15 or 2x12. The head is so small you could probably fit it in a rucksack and just throw it the bag over your back when carrying the cab, which still makes it one trip to the car, albeit a slightly more cumbersome one!