thodrik

Recently just got my first five, which I felt I needed as the stuff I am doing now involves a low B or low A. I could have altered a 4 string to acheive this, but then I couldn't really use it for standard tuning as well. I am still happy on a four string bass though, I only 'need' a five when it involves music in a lower register than drop d. I would just say to play what works for you personally.

I only tend to buy a bass if I know its going to be a keeper. I would not sell any of my basses. My 1970s Fender Precision will always be mine, as will the 2 Vigiers and the Sadowsky Metro. The basses I have are pretty much the only items of value that I own. I would only sell them if I really needed money, but never for the purpose of getting another bass. In terms of amps though, yes I could imagine selling or trading. Or if I was buying a bass blind and I didn't like it when it arrived, it would maybe go. I have never described a bass as a 'keeper' though, I think that I just take it for granted that I'm not going to trade it on or sell it.

Very talented musician. For me he is in the Jeff Ament league of 'everybody knows he is good and his band is really really famous, so there is no need to talk him any further'.

Its nice hearing from a guy that has really thought about every aspect of his signature model rather than just putting his name to anything. Very cool video, though the bass is not something I would ever play myself, but then again it is his bass not mine!

Spare bass, lead, amp if possible! Spare set of strings Tuner (Boss pedal for me) Wire cutters Allen key and set of screwdrivers Batteries A decent strap for every bass Case/gigbags for bass a watch (so I'm not always late) Optional things I really like to have personally: A good overdrive pedal A good on the floor preamp if the soundguy wants to put you through a DI box (Sansamp or similar) Power supply for pedals

[quote name='mart' post='1108145' date='Jan 30 2011, 02:06 PM']I thought this was going to be about Jeff Berlin [/quote] Me too.

I have only had a five for a little under a week, but I have been tuning B E A D G. But since a lot of guitarists seem to insist on drop D tuning and playing riffs that require a ringing low D and high D (listen to a tool song for examples of this type of playing), I'm probably going to need a low open D anyway. I will probably end up tuning A D A D G. It looks stupid written down but I have found it makes more sense fingering wise than say B D A D G. Obviously I bought the five string for the low B and the rest, I'm not sure I would find much use for a high C string outside of bedroom soloing. I would personally say that if I was lucky enough to own a five string P bass, I would feel obliged to have the option of a low B. Depends on what you want to play though, there are no real right or wrong answers.

I have never tried any Genz Benz stuff myself, though I'm sure they are great. I have never tried EBS stuff and walked away feeling let down. I do think that the amps tend to have a very transparent sound to them, which isn't for everyone, as some consider them to be a bit sterile. The cabs are great at reproducing the really high frequencies, though I find the Proline series to just be a bit heavy for me. I currently play through a Fafner and it is probably about the most flexible amps I have tried in terms of sound, as it can either be very clean or very warm. I preferred it over the 650 because of the ease of use really. The new Fafner looks incredible but would probably overwhelm me.

Simply put, if there are only three bands playing and we are the headline band and are ordered to turn up several hours before a gig for a soundcheck, I would expect a bit better than just a DI box awaiting me! Playing in a three piece band most of the time with bass, drums and guitar, its not like our set ups require the soundguy to spend ages with a horn section, keyboards or other stuff. I don't run an extreme setting or anything but the fear of the DI box puts me off using a passive bass at gigs, as a bad soundman can completely change the character of the sound of the bass in a bad way. I don't buy the 'what sounds good to you may sound crap out front' as a reason for always using a DI box, as it kind of gives the impression that the bassist in question has no real idea on how to use eq. A crappy thin, middy P bass tone is going to sound pretty weak regardless of the system its being played through. Of course some bassists really don't know how to use eq, and some soundguys can make a passive bass sound amazing from just a DI box. I also just don't buy the 'he/she is protecting himself/herself in case your amp goes', half of the time it is just lazyness and at most gigs, there is about as much chance as the PA 'going' or their Behringer DI breaking down as there is of my amp. With that said I never really kick up a fuss and even understand using a DI box if there are a lot of bands playing at a gig (for me this is more than three), with lots of different amps and no soundcheck for anybody. Usually if a soundguy gives me a good reason why he is only using a DI box(small venue, very little bass going through PA anyway, time schedule etc) I will leave him be and just use the box, as life is too short to get wound up about such things. But if the answer is just because he can't be bothered, I just make sure to take the Sansamp out of the gigbag. Rant over! With all that said, most sound guys/girls I deal with range from good to excellent and are very easy to deal with. My rant is just based on the few times that I have just been at one of 'those' gigs.

After watching the Gibson Firebird X demo, the Gamechanger looks like a P bass in comparison in terms of ease of use.

Tough one that... Probably any of Hendrix, Peter Green, Buddy Guy, SRV, Matt Pike, Josh Homme for an open ended blues based/stoner jam. Part of me would say Kurt Cobain as well. I always think that his ability as a guitarist was a bit overlooked, he knew what he was doing and always got a great sound, in my opinion anyway.

I don't really get on with MM basses myself, but they make really good stuff. A nice way of way of moving the design of the electric guitar while making it appear user friendly. Personally one of the best things I like about guitars is the natural character or identity they tend to have (ie the Jazz/P bass or Tele/SG differences). This will be a great studio and live instrument for sure though. Not my thing however. I'm really enjoying the Youtube video though, you can tell they are really proud of it, as they should be. Without all the gimmickery though, I think that its one of the best looking MM basses they have made, especially the double humbucker model.

Interesting. I still have not even seen the BTA series around at gigs or in shops around here though, and they have been out for a while. It could be a while before I see the Drophead around.

[quote name='JMT3781' post='1089728' date='Jan 14 2011, 07:30 PM']Price is 1399 as stated in the article[/quote] Wow, so that is Mesa's idea of being 'truly wallet-friendly'?

From what I have heard the M3 Carbine is a standalone amp rather than a replacement for the Walkabout. The Carbine series are supposed to sound a lot different to the Walkabout, generally a lot cleaner sounding at high volumes. I hate to see the Walkabout be discontinued, as its great amp. The lack of clean headroom on the Walkabout is a problem for some, but brilliant for folk that don't want a really really clean sound.

I ended up going with the Aguilar Agro recently as I got tired of doing repair works on the English Muff'n. Good pedal, adds a bit of grit and can do some good full on fuzz too. Could do with a blend mind, but nice for a bit of grit that doesn't colour your sound as much as the Sansamp Bass Driver, which is also a great pedal.

[quote name='bubinga5' post='1087030' date='Jan 12 2011, 06:46 PM']Do you mean they are not worth the asking price of £1200?[/quote] I was a little bit yes. In term of looks if nothing else I find the 44/55 series as lacking a bit of wow-factor, even in comparison to the Joe Osborn series etc, but that might be down to me not liking the looks in general as I will always pick a Fender clone over a Musicman based design. With the way the price of basses has skyrocketed in the last couple of years though, I think I have to reevaluate my expectations of the bass I can buy new for £1200. Musicmans are going for around £1500 new, standard US Fenders are going for over £1000. So in that respect, yes the Laklands probably are worth the money. Its just that a couple of years ago I'm sure that the Laklands were going for a lot lot less than they are going for now. With all that said though, I absolutely maintain that they are very nice basses that are really playable.

I tried a 55-02 and 55-01 recently and really liked them. In the day where I also tried an Overwater Perception and an older series Fender American deluxe V, the Overwater 55-02 was my favourite by far. I really liked the neck profile which surprised me. I never really liked the profile of four string Laklands I have tried, but on the five it just seemed right. I wasn't entirely convinced by the electronics of either the 55-01 or 02, but they could easily be switched out. The overall build quality seemed pretty good on all the ones I tried as well, a much better 'good ones to dogs' ratio than Fender. Still regardless of that I have a hard time believing that the 55-02 Skylines are really a £1200 bass. But I think a £1200 bass is fairly different from it used to be, in terms of buying from shops.

Looks like it. I prefer the new name anyway. I wonder if they would ever make them as a five string? Doubt it though.

I would maybe say the ampeg BA combos as well. Not very moveable or loud for their size, but will always deliver good tone, be loud enough for gigs and ampeg have good name recognition amongst the general public. Hartke would also be a good one, though I'm in the minority of folk that don't like the Hartke aluminium speaker cones. Good luck.