Muzz

Oooh, just thought of one: Hard To Handle - technically a 60s song, too.

[quote name='hamfist' timestamp='1358357016' post='1937746'] INteresting. Do you know if the Warwick "P" pickup is the same exact size and shape as the Fender ones ? ie. are they interchangeable with std aftermarket P pickups ? [/quote] I've got a pair of Wizard (Big) P/J pickups (a Thumper and a 84, IIRC) in my 93 Fortress, they fit just fine, and really bring the P/J tone: they're ballsy pickups, and I've mentioned in a few 'tonewood' discussions how close a Maple-bodied, Wenge-necked bass can sound to an Ash-bodied, Maple-necked one. The all-wenge neck's the fastest and slimmest I've played on a bass, too. That Just-a-nut thingy's a fantastic idea - I can get the action down to 3/4 of bugger all.

We do a short funkish section in the second set: Play that Funky Music, Superstition (with a segue into Good Times in the middle, then back into Superstition again), and Long Train Running. All great fun to play. But 70s...

Strings will definitely change the sound, if you're after 'deep' rather than 'zingy', another different option is flats - I've just tried some D'Addario Chromes on one of my basses, and I'm getting a good punchy rock tone. Everyone will have their own favourite strings and recommend them, FWIW on the Rounds side of things I use DR Low Rider Nickels when I'm flush and when I'm skint I use D'Addario Nickel rounds. Try a few, your ears (and fingers) will be the judge.

Use them (well,it: a ME50B) with the function bands - the variety of tracks played means I need to sound very different (Octaver for Sledgehammer, for example, or chorus for You Can Call Me Al), but I don't use it for the originals band, it's not appropriate.

I ended up in Court on the Wednesday of TT week in 1985 after jamming my headphones into my bike helmet and playing Accept's Fast As A Shark when riding down the mountain on Mad Sunday...

If protection is paramount, the Boschma cases are very good. A bit larger than the boggo ABS ones, but lighter, too. Worth the extra, IMHO.

Wow, a sample size of eight people? Can't fault that for a thoroughly researched article... Although I'd imagine The Black Eyed Peas would be dangerous to drive to - difficult to steer properly with your fingers in your ears...

Yep, I've got three MM-necked basses, and they're very very good for the money. I've had them fret-dressed, and they play and feel as good as anything Fender. The Warmoth neck I've got on the Explorer is indeed chunky-P in profile (there's a Slim Taper option, tho), but also top quality. I'd love to try a full-wenge J-neck, or go bananas with a full birdseye maple one. I'm over in the States for three weeks at Easter, so I might even order one to be delivered over there and bring it back myself.

I've had both, and the Warmoth stuff is much better. High quality stuff, plus the website's top gear-porn browsing

[quote name='Dave Vader' timestamp='1357916002' post='1930555'] open e for half an hour, 4 to the bar 15 bpm, then A, then D, then G. Repeat until somebody throws you out..... [/quote] The advantage of this is you can fend them off with your left hand at the same time...good for about twenty minutes, which is usually how long it takes for the bloke with the tranquilliser gun to arrive...

Drew's a great bloke, and a proper bass enthusiast.

I agree - I think people are forgetting that Mark is the OP in this thread, this isn't just some interestingly anonymous website someone's found.

Bought a neck from Paul, boy, does he know how to pack! All good, he's one of the good guys, deal with him in confidence.

Yeah, I doubt I'd use them exclusively across both bands and all songs, but they're good to have as an alternative, and I was surprised I liked them at all, to be honest.

For quality basses, the best selection will be Drew's place in Worsley, he's got a detailed website (www.manchesterbasslounge.com), and he's always worth a call. Nobody else will make you a coffee when you visit. You'll need to ring him first, though. PMT have a bit of a random selection, but have plenty of Fenders, Peavey, Yamaha, Ibanez, Ashdown and Ampeg stuff, a few secondhand ones too. Dawsons have a few basses, but not many, all new stuff. Johnny Roadhouse is again worth a ring before you go, as it's all secondhand. Toneworld's a new place in Ancoats, looks nice but I can't see any basses

Went to Richer Sounds recently to look at the Sonus stuff, for the wireless/convenience angle, and was distinctly underwhelmed by the sound - very boxy, nothing special at all - the product's clearly all about the wireless networking, but the sound was so poor I couldn't live with it. Well, not for the money, anyway. Having said that, I'm only using a pair of Control 1s these days, and I'm not even sure about the bitrate of all of my mp3s, either...then there's my tinnitus to contend with...

I think the aesthetics can be hijacked by comments, and therefore ruined for ever more, for example: Bongo = bog seat, Corvette top horn = nob. It's impossible to unsee this sort of thing once it's been pointed out. Sorry. In other news, I don't like Jazzes, singlecuts or reliced anything, but then I have a Dingwall, a pointy Explorer thingy and a Thunderbird, so what do I know?

Sooo, what with the family Xmas paid for and a Stateside holiday just booked, any GAS over about fifty quid has had to be curtailed, so obviously the next best thing is to faff about with strings I've never really got on with flats, but after reading some good things about Chromes, and finding some cheap in, of all places, a local secondhand shop (the strings weren't second hand), I went for a set, and put them on my Fenderbird. Quite the revelation - plenty of sustain, enough brightness for me, I like their relatively high tension, and although their tone played at home is obviously duller than the DR nickel rounds, in a rehearsal I was very impressed by the heft and solid punch they can deliver, played pick or fingers, especially with the rockier stuff. Bear in mind I'm using a Streamliner with a 2x15, so I like valvey old-school sounds. I'm sticking with the rounds on my Dingwall, but in future I'll have a flats option available, definitely with the Chromes.

Incommensurable...fantastic.