sdgrsr400

Whereabouts do you live? There may be a BC'er nearby...

Very, very, nice.

Hi, 2005 55-02 Skyline owner here. My brief impressions:
+ Wide range of sounds (Barts on this one)
+ Amazing tuning stability
+ Phenomenally solid neck construction
+ Good neck access assuming correct hand/wrist position
+ No dead spots on neck
+ Deep and sonorous B (using Overwater extended scale nickel mediums)
- Very heavy
- Not particularly comfortable when sitting (fine standing)
- Doesn't quite have that 'Slam' sound some other basses have

Overall, a very good offering indeed.

During the early stages, the wider neck of the 5 feels more cumbersome. For me, the way to get round this was to keep the LH thumb more on the back of the neck, i.e. to clearly move away from trying to closely wrap my hand around the neck in the way that is possible with a 4. After a while this slightly different wrist angle rotation starts to feel natural and mobility increases.

Er, no offence but getting a teacher (even for a couple of lessons) might be a good move.

Spotted this Zon Sonus 5 now on sale at the Bass Gallery (no commercial involvement on my part):

If the song key was G, it would not be unusual for string players to sharpen the F# as it's called the "leading note" as it leads to the root (aka "tonic") of that key. The sharpening gives a stronger effect of resolution when you finally get to the G.

My name is Francis and I am a serial instrumentalist. I have, either to hand, with a friend, or in storage, the following instruments acquired over 30 years playing, in approximately chronological order of learning:
- grand piano
- full-size midi keyboard
- bass trombone
- 2 x cello + 3 x bow
- 2 x djembe
- pair claves
- small harmonium
- a voice
- Strat clone + Ibanez RGA121NTF guitars + practice/combo amps
- Ibanez SR400 and Lakland 55-02 basses + Glockenklang/Acme rig
- 3m of sheet music shelving

Now, all I need is a drum kit and I can form a band...

I like Overwater strings, you'd probably be best with the light tension ones. Nickel for warm tones, steel for zing.

If you've got that much time, I'd suggest learning another instrument, in particular keyboards if you don't know that already: you'd improve reading skills and learn about harmony, etc.

Seems like a good idea to me.

Jemsite is excellent for Ibanez guitars: [url="http://www.jemsite.com/forums/index.php"]http://www.jemsite.com/forums/index.php[/url]

I agree that the thump is intrusive if you don't want it: I am trying to control it in my own playing.

No easy answers, other than be aware, just keep listening carefully and adjusting finger action as necessary.

Best tip is, let the amp do the work, i.e. have vol set so little effort involved. However, if you are in punk/metal etc then heavy physical playing may be part of the style so this probably doesn't apply...

[quote name='Veils' post='592735' date='Sep 8 2009, 10:59 AM']Graphite necks. Ewwwwww.[/quote]

Amen to that.

Hmm, well in my experience there are many good free [i]effects[/i], but not that many free traditional [i]instruments[/i]. Maybe the work involved in the latter much exceeds that in the former. There are quite a few good free synths, e.g. SuperWaveP8, but I'm not sure whether that's what you're after. Maybe take a look at DSK Strings, MDrummer, sfz + some .sf2 files.

Just checked out Simon Merrick's site: very good indeed, with many exercises and transcriptions: [url="http://www.thebassment.info/"]http://www.thebassment.info/[/url]

[quote name='Stingray5' post='582946' date='Aug 27 2009, 09:40 PM']Keane[/quote]

A perfect example of more is less. A brilliant first album with just piano/voice/drums, each successive album has less original music and more producer-led "stuff(ing)"

[quote name='Jean-Luc Pickguard' post='583515' date='Aug 28 2009, 01:22 PM']the irons from maplins are OK but the crappy lead-free solder they sell doesn't flow.[/quote]

Yes, entirely agree with that, it's rubbish. Proper lead/tin rosin-core solder is what's needed, not so easy to find these days.

Interesting article on the problems with lead-free solder: [url="http://mae.pennnet.com/Articles/Article_Display.cfm?Section=ARTCL&ARTICLE_ID=238657&VERSION_NUM=2&p=32"]http://mae.pennnet.com/Articles/Article_Di..._NUM=2&p=32[/url]

If you purchase something by phone or web, under the UK Distance Selling Regulations 2000 you have a period of 7 working days to cancel the contract and get a full refund of the purchase price. See [url="http://www.oft.gov.uk/advice_and_resources/resource_base/legal/distance-selling-regulations/"]http://www.oft.gov.uk/advice_and_resources...ng-regulations/[/url] . Some sellers try to weasel out of this requirement but it is mandatory AFAIK. You would be out-of-pocket for the return shipping cost, and they might play the "you damaged it" card. Best to ask for feedback here on experiences with the supplier before ordering.

It helps to fill in the 'From' field in your profile!

Try connecting with another lead to eliminate that as the cause - connections inside the jack can fail also.

Benvenuto!

I am definitely interested in this bass, but I would need someone to buy my Lakland 55-02 Deluxe which I got not so long ago from Champion Badger.

Full set of photos of this at [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=47865"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=47865[/url] , excellent condition and range of tones, £675.

This is just like a house buying chain!

I *love* my Overwater nickel strings, a really warm sound with no zing whatsoever. They (medium guage extended scale) are quite high tension so little buzz but action is still pretty low.

The best quality SS strings I tried were the DR HiBeams, but they were a bit buzzy, and gave the low notes a "piano tone" which wasn't for me.

Another option is to record fairly clean, and add the dist & effects later in the DAW. Maybe get hold of Guitar LE as per [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=53874&hl=LE"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=53874&hl=LE[/url]