thodrik

The 'if you are a headliner expect to provide backline' bit kind of annoys me as in my experience a) if you are headlining there is always some guy that is totally clueless that is going to misuse your gear if you are not headling, the headlining band will be against other people using their gear, due to reason (a). I think 'if you are headlining be prepared to let people use your cab' is a better deal. People can bring their heads and change overs don't take very long. It becomes more problematic when people are using combos, but they are by definition much easier to move so change overs shouldn't really suffer. Good organisation with promoters and other bands can get you pretty far in avoiding backline duplication, but for me there is nothing more annoying than people never getting in touch/replying to messages before the gig who just turn up expecting to have an amp provided for them.

[quote name='Musicman20' post='761338' date='Mar 1 2010, 11:01 PM']Thats the thing...ive got a lot of options! I was thinking Sadowsky but if im honest, i dont want to part with £1800+ on a non-US Sadowsky. Dont get me wrong, the finish and fit is flawless on the ones I tested, but the sound wasnt what I was looking for. The rest Im definitely going to consider. Thanks[/quote] Yeah, if you weren't into the non-US Sadowsky sound I'm not sure you'd get on with a US one either. Sadowsky's have a certain sound to them that bassists either take to or they don't. You are never going to get a really vintage sound even running it passive, every one I've tried has had a certain modern 'zing' to it. I did end up buying a Metro for £1500 new. In a comparison with a Mk 1 Wal, a 1971 Fender Jazz and an Overwater Perception it was a clear winner for me, and was cheaper to boot. The stigma of it not being a 'proper' US Sadowsky was an issue at first for me, but it is the same bridge and pick up as the NYC models and they are generally finished to a high standard which is comparable to other basses in the price range. It really is a proper Sadowsky bass, except without the extra options, bells and whistles that make the NYC range a bit more special. This does make them more of a real workhorse bass than a special one of kind bass though, so you are maybe right in looking elsewhere if you want something a bit more unique. The only thing that ran the Sadowsky close was a Sandberg JM, with the pre-aged finish putting me off more than anything to do with the bass. Those were all 4 strings though and a different player would probably rank the basses in a completely different order!

[quote name='Merton' post='760643' date='Mar 1 2010, 12:42 PM']Careful with your history... Gibson took over after the GP12X preamp, not the SMX preamp, that wa sa Kaman era and widely regarded as the last "good" Trace. Pedantic, I? [/quote] That is good to know though, just bought a 12 band 300SMX on ebay! Should do well for a backup. I do like my trace elliots, though if you have the furry amps and cabs, your pet cat will consider them useful as scratching posts.

Well I didn't sell it but I gave my brother my 1974 Gibson EB3 as I hadn't gigged it for years. Yet everytime I hear Cream or Free, I just really want to get the sound of an old school Gibson bass. Then I remember that it was neck-heavy, heavy in general, had a poor bridge design, poor intonation past the 12th fret no matter how many adjustments were made, and couldn't really be used for anything downtuned due to the shortened neck length and poor intonation. What a tone though! Whatever they are, they are unique.

Top end 5 string jazzes with a £2500 budget, so much choice! Since it is a long way way off you could try a few models to see which bass feels like 'your' bass. Any combination of Sandberg, Nordstrand, Sadowsky, (the metro range is around the £2000 mark anyway). Overwater as well are known for making great 5 strings as well. I don't know the pricing of the US Laklands, Alleva Coppollo or the Fodera NYC range, but they are also in the same bracket of high quality Fender J-style basses. You could also try Fender as well, you just never know you try one that for some reason plays like a dream! For the 'wildcard' I would suggest trying out a Vigier Excess five string that is coming out in a few months. Not vintage at all and some people don't like the lack of a truss rod, but if its like my four string it will pack on hell of a punch and will be built like a tank! With any of the listed brands in this thread though, quality control should not really be an issue. Happy hunting!

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='759186' date='Feb 27 2010, 03:30 PM']I went for a first jam with a band last December that started out fairly positive but by the end of the night the guitarist was showing me what he wanted me to play and telling me what sort of bass sound he wanted, and despite telling me in emails that he was into a lot of the same music as me, all his sounds came out like country rock or Oasis. Drummer was ace, but looked as bored as I did. Wish I'd got the drummer's number but it would've looked conspicuous![/quote] That has happened to me a lot as well. The amount of times I've gone to a rehearsal for a 'really heavy rock/stoner band with hardcore elements' which has turned out to be Biffy Clyro/Silverchair/Foo Fighters pop-rock. It gets bloody annoying not because I dislike that kind of music but that its not what I want to play, or expected to play when I replied to the ad. Its all fine and well to say you like band X, but if it has no relation whatsoever to the kind of music you are making, why bother? It just pisses people off that reply to the ad solely on the basis of band X. Like the guy who said he loved Tool and Mastadon, but on first rehearsal basically said he wanted to acoustic singer-songwriter stuff a la Elton John. Or the guy that said he loved Soundgarden and Nine Inch Nails, but then it turns out he wanted a Motown vibe to everything. Actually the last one was quite a lot of fun for a while!

I generally find that in most gig situations, the bassist is generally the least likely to bring any gear, so bassists that are really into their gear have to suffer for the laziness of others/ Generally if it is organised beforehand I don't have a problem with providing cabs or on some occassions an amp/combo, especially if annother band is bringing a kick drum, guitar cab etc, it seems only fair. But generally once you are gigging with bands that are supposed to making a go of being a 'proper' band, I would expect bands to at least bring their own heads, drum breakables, snare drum, guitars and drum sticks. I have no problem with bands/bassists I know and trust using my cabs and even my head at a push. But there are unfortuantely so many bassists that are so clueless about gain and the issues of clipping that handing them a valve preamp is about as safe as handing them a shotgun... It can get annoying, if you spend your money/make yourself broke by buying a really nice amp, but at a gig bands show up with nothing and essectially say that they have to use your amp or else the gig can't happen! Everybody else gets the benefit of using your nice amp, without having to spend any money whatsoever. Generally with planning and organisation you can try to avoid it, but it does happen quite a lot in my experience. My most annoying parts of gigging are this though 1. Being asked to provide a backline for all the other bands except the headliner on a 4 band bill, but your band are on first before anybody arrives. 2. When you are headlining, a support band will turn up, use your gear and then leave without so much of a thank you or staying to at least hear you play. 3. People not bringing their own gear, but feel the need to complain about your gear 4. People saying that they have no transport and thus couldn't bring their own gear even though they live round the corner and could fit it in a taxi, much in the way that you had to fit your 1x15 combo into the back of taxi, but had to pay £10 as you live further away. 5. Other bassists getting their girlfriends to ask me if they (the boyfriend) can use my gear, on the basis presumably that I will be so smitten with the girl that of course I will say yes they can use my amp!

£1000 is going to get you pretty far, new or second hand. Never discount Fender, for every few duds, there will be a few that will be amazing. Sandberg make seem really cool J style basses, if you were going down the active route. Don't be afraid of the lack of face dots, you don't need them really. They generally sound and play great too, but all I see in shops are those pre-relic type finishes which is the only thing that turns me off about them. I have not tried a Lakland yet, but I would assume that they be really good. For me though the 'new' prices are getting a bit too steep given the massive increases over a short period of time. You could maybe get a second hand Sadowsky metro for that price as well, if you find anyone willing to sell. But I would recommend trying one before buying, not for build quality issues (they are usually top notch) but some people just don't get on with the Sadowsky sound. I love it though!

All my basses have maple fingerboards, but its not so much a preference as so much they just happened to have maple necks. They all sound and feel completely different as well, which makes it difficult for me to say 'maple fingerboards sound like X' as there is a lot of variation within the types of maple, like how old it is, where it is from etc. I do think that the general consensus is more right than wrong though, that maple fingerboards tend to be a bit more bright and more 'attacky', for lack of a better word. But with eq, playing technique etc the difference will often be minimal really. Though for many bassists this 'minimal' bit is often of utmost importance. So just pick the one you think looks the best and would be most comfortable playing. However, I think the notion that you 'need' an ash body with a maple neck for slap and an alder body with rosewood fingerboard for fingerstyle or rock is a load of rubbish. Although I think it is possible to work out the difference between say a jazz and a precision in the mix, but to claim you can tell the difference between certain types of fingerboard just by listening without looking? I really have my doubts! I would love to try an ebony fingerboard though, they just look stunning, especially on a bass without any blocks or dots on the board. I should just stop looking on the bloody Sadowsky site!

Hi there. You might just be adding to much bottom end which is overpowering everything else. Start with everything flat or with the bass at about one or two o'clock. Then start messing around with the tube gain. If you are tuning down, it might have nothing to do with your amp and more to do with your strings. If you are tuning down to around C with light to medium strings, you are not going to get a crunchy tone, as your strings will have lost a lot tension, to the point that you may start losing definition in your notes. My advice would be to use thicker strings if you are tuning down lower than drop d. You shouldn't really be straying too far from a good tone using a Precision bass through an Ampeg rig. Good luck

Hmmmmm, its a tough one. If I had money to burn (which I dont) and I had complete control over every detail of the bass, I could maybe possibly see the point, but I'm not so fussy that I would be unable find a bass for less than half that I would be totally blown away by. I think I would maybe stretch in the future for a Vigier Arpege or NYC Sadowsky, Alleva Coppolo, Mike Lull etc, but I don't think they would even be 5 grand. Also, although I have done loads of types of music over the years, I ultimately want to be in some kind of stoner/psychedelic band (With each passing year in Glasgow though, this goal seems to be getting less and less achievable.). I really wouldn't feel comfortable playing an ultra boutique coffee table bass. In fact, I just feel that I am too ordinary looking to play an ultra wacky bass design, as I just look too bland in comparison! If people want it they will pay. I had the chance to buy a Mach III Wal for just under two grand but I didn't think it was worth it. Six months later I bought a Sadowsky Metro for a bit less than that. Yet some people are so into their Wals that they would find a way to pay £5350 and some people just don't like the Sadowsky vibe and wouldn't buy one even if it was the same price as a US Fender Deluxes. It pretty much turns into the old Fodera debate or if you really want it then you have to have one! I used to think that I would spend loads on a vintage jazz bass, but for me a lot of times you are paying X amounts of money on a bass that might play like a dog, so you have to be ultra careful. Still though, I have nothing against bass builders trying out strange designs and charging large sums of money for them, its just that they are not for me. Sorry, long reply. Its been a long day though...

[quote name='Metalmoore' post='740554' date='Feb 10 2010, 01:48 AM']Seen Megadeth the last 2 (maybe 3) times they have been in glasgow with my mum (shes liked em since their 1st album) and i gotta say they are everything i was expecting and more. Always preferred dave tbh.[/quote] I'm the same though it was my brother rather than my mum. Very impressed but yeah for me both Daves have to be in the band for it to truly be Megadeth! Lomenzo is very much a hired hand, though a very good player. I just get annoyed with the way he had to change his entire wardrobe each time he got a gig. Saw him with Black Label and you could swear he was a born and bred biker, six months later in the same venue he rocking out in faded jeans and thrash metal gear. I know image plays a part in music but Lomenzo never seems to stamp his identity on a band, but rather blends in seemlessly to the point you don't recognise him! This is in contrast to Rob Trujillo who until recently was the another big metal bassist for hire, but always well...looked and played like Rob Trujillo!

Pino, great player no doubt, nobody can replace the Ox but, well...they tried and got a great session player. Nothing wrong but just that the Who songs never quite sound the same without the original guy. I just can't be bothered that much with the Who, the people that made the band interesting for me are dead. That statement sounds a bit harsh but Townsend and Daltrey don't do a lot for me. I have no problem with people continuing to like the band and the music, but they are one of my least-favourite bands from that era. For a half-time superbowl thing, it wasn't bad for what it was, seeing as half-time at superbowl is becoming more dad-rock than a 10 minute MTV music awards ceremony.

[quote name='silddx' post='735498' date='Feb 4 2010, 08:42 PM']So get a POD and save your money and your lumbar region for drinking and dancing! Also, the space your amp used to take and the money you have saved makes a sports car much more viable [/quote] Well, I had a POD and it didn't do EBS Fafner! I used a POD once at a gig and had a few issues, I'm just more comfortable with an amp and cab set-up, plus some of the smaller venues have minimal if any decent PA set up, so I need some kind of amp anyway for a pod to go through. Given I'm happy with my amp, the POD or a sansamp are an extra expense I don't need. If I ever hit the big time though I'm pretty sure it would lead to me running through a pod with in-ear monitors with a stacks of empty speaker cabs behind me! Just now I'm content with being told to turn down. Also, lugging the stuff about is pretty much my only exercise... Given the way I drive a sports car might not be the best plan. I've been told that my driving is somehow even worse than my dancing. My drinking though is pretty good!

Fender makes some good and bad in every era, you just have to play and see. Dodgy wiring aside when I got it (previous owner issues I think), my '78 Precision plays as good (or should it be well?) as any other bass I've ever played. I bought it for 380 quid in 1999. Before Christmas I tried a 1971 Jazz that was supposedly worth 2 and half grand. It played and sounded horrible and the Sandberg sitting next to it for half the price was a far superior instrument. For me that is semi-vintage Fender in a nutshell!

Must say I've enjoyed reading this read. However it has confused me to the point that I'm not sure what 'core tone' is anymore! I prefer to think that tone is in your brain more than it is in your fingers as your brain controls your fingers (alcohol sometimes has a role too). That said I have three basses, all with maple fingerboards, which all sound vastly different acoustically and even more different when plugged in. No matter how hard I try, I can't really make my P-bass sound like a Vigier. I still sound like me when playing both of these basses. So I guess 'core tone' is provided by the player in a way. each bass I tend to get a get a sound I can work with and leave it at that. I don't really change settings between songs, mostly because I'm lazy, partly because I'm happy with the sound I have and partly because I don't think anybody would care if bumped the mids at 500Hz for a certain song or used a pod to change my amp from a GK to an Ampeg! Most people at a gig would probably notice that the basses looked different before they would notice that they sound different. In fact most people probably wouldn't care or notice at all. I must say I've never been that bothered by digital processing, plug ins and the like. I have used them before and will again but there really is no substitute for a good amp, good cab and somebody that knows how to mic things up properly in a studio. This does take time though and for a quick recording a pod or ampeg plug-in thing is pretty cool. We could all get by ditching our amps and just gig with DI boxes and in-ear monitors. I just think that too much technology ends up taking some of the fun out of playing and recording music, at least for me. I just want to get a good bass, a good amp and play loud. I probably completely missed the point of the thread and for that I'm sorry!

I've heard that Mesa amps work really well with Bergantino cabs. That said, most good amps should sound good through Bergantino cab! Lots of good stuff about, just try them out and see what you like in terms of features and tone. You could consider EBS or Aguilar as well.

Anything using a passive bass, I'm gonna take a Precision every time. It just works. I love the neck profile of Jazzes, but I find the passive pickups generally a bit weedy in comparison. I'm not a fan of the back pickup neck 'burp' thing: when used by a great player it works, but sometimes I feel that it just provides a perfect bass tone for music that goes nowhere. I just love the fundamental you get from a Precision. If you start to get into active electronics though, I do think that the Jazz style pickups provide a lot more tonal versatility, as evidenced by the amount of 'J bass on steriods' basses available. Yet the fact that nobody really describes an insrument as a 'P bass on steriods' says a lot for the original design of the Precision.

[quote name='simon1964' post='730835' date='Jan 31 2010, 05:37 PM']TBF that's how a lot of the Fender blurb marketed it. It doesn't make a Jazz sound like a Precision, but it gets it a bit closer, and certainly gives a fatter sound. Personally, I like the added versatility.[/quote] Probably why they stopped it then: 'Buy this then you won't need to buy our other bass.' Hmmm, sound marketing technique. I think they are back to the 'you need to buy both of these instruments if you can'. I do love Fender though and you can't blame them for trying out new things.

I would love to try out a Fodera but as stated by somebody earlier I have my doubts as to whether it would be worth the extra money over an NYC Sadowsky, unless you count that Fodera basses have a very unique design that is totally their own while the Sadowsky is pretty much Fender-based. If you need a Fodera then paying all money is somewhat justified, (like owning a Wal I guess). If you need a great bass though, there are many other companies you could also consider that make top quality instruments, just without the price. I probably would have to sell my 4 good basses and come up with some extra money to come close to getting a Fodera, which considering this list includes a Vigier and a Sadowsky Metro seems a bit extreme!

I remember a sales guy tried to big up the S1 thing with the argument of 'you can make the Jazz bass sound almost like a Precision'. I already had a Precision, thus I didn't get excited about something that almost get the low-end thump of a Precision but not quite! If you just want to use one bass exclusively though, the idea starts to make a lot of sense. Good idea in theory, in practise I just didn't think it added enough to the sound to get me all excited, at least on two or three I tried (Fender QC and all that).

Its a lot of money to sure. Sends a strange message to the made in Asia stuff though, I thought they were still billed by Ampeg (up until the last few weeks) as still being top of the line stuff. No comes off as second rate to the US stuff. Of course people will pay the price if they really want 'Made in USA' Ampeg, or at least Ampeg think they will. If people don't buy them, Ampeg will just say 'You complained about us moving stuff to Asia, but when we gave you the chance to buy American you didn't take it'. I always thought Ampeg should be for gigging bassists, but this seems to be a move into the boutique market. I do get annoyed at the 'buy our stuff because we have history' idea though. History as it turns out, is pretty expensive. I don't have any money but if I did I don't think I would consider the Heritage head. Loads of good second hand Ampegs about for less than half the price. Neo cabs look interesting, so I will give them credit, but no 2x12 is kind of confusing as others have said.

Without doubt my brother. He is a guitarist but there is nobody else I totally trust my gear with. I doubt he would sell them. He has a Gibson EB3 on long term lone already. He, or his son would make good use of my stuff. I would ideally like them to be used rather than use as ornaments. I would like them to never be used for folk music but I suppose that is out of my control! Buried with me? Not sure about that. But I personally feel that Frankenstein bass should have been buried with John Entwistle, nobody should have touched that after he went. Amps? don't really matter as much, they could be sold.

I'm using a 2x10 and 1x15 set up. I love it but I feel its a bit of overkill for some gigs! I have seen a few 2x10 and 2x12 used together. I would like to try that out. I'm thinking for smaller gigs a 2x12 is a better all round cab than a 2x10 or a 1x15. All things considered, I would really rather have a 4x12 or 4x15 (a couple of 2x15s would do) My brain is tired though as I've been reading uni stuff all night, so logic isn't running high.