Muzz

I had a LMIII and the rear-ported 410, and the sound was very very full - I liked the cab a lot. It was stolen, and if it hadn't been, I'd probably have kept it, but as posted previously, I liked a BDDI in front of the LMIII to give it a bit more rock character. In search of a minimalist solution, I tried the LM Tube (too subtle for me) and the Rocker (0 = no fizz, 2-10 = fizz), as well as Shuttles and some other larger heads, but ended up with a TC RH450 instead. If you're considering the Tube or the Rocker, be sure and try out (if you possibly can) the Shuttles, the TC stuff and even the new Ampeg mini head before you part with your wonga. Not a bad head in that list there, but your ears may well surprise you and pick a favourite. On the MB cab front, I'd advise trying just one 410 (the HR is the smaller of the two) for volume, unless you really really want a full stack. Then buy two. And a big-ish car: they're not heavy, but they're still a 410, after all.

[quote name='kevin_lindsay' post='1266320' date='Jun 12 2011, 05:08 PM']Paul Turner (Jamiroquai) has all his basses set with high action - around 1/2" at the 12th fret. He has a monster tone whenever he plays. But, whenever I play his instruments up at "the dusty end" I find my fingers slipping under the strings due to the height if them!! Pino's basses are set with a medium action, not so low you can't dig in without thf bass rattling, and not high so it's s pig to play. I guess it's all down to personal preference, huh?[/quote] Sorry, I'm still getting over this one...HALF AN INCH? Anyway, while I like a low action for noodling about, I tend to thwack the strings a bit playing with the band, and like some other guys, I don't like much fret buzz, so my action's as low as I can get it without too much of that. I'd say a couple of mm at the 12th on the FrankenPs, and a bit more on the Ray, which is strung with Heavy Gauge at the mo. All my basses have Hipshots, which I accomodate with a bit more string height for the sudden tension drop. Having said that, my Fortress had a fret dress recently, and partly thanks to the JAN1, I've got the action on that down to approximately three-eighths of Bugger All, as my Grandad used to say...

I'd have liked to have heard a bit more space, say about five minutes at the end For some balance, I should at this point say I do like some of his Joni stuff. I'd open the curtains for that...well, maybe one Yeah Bremen, agree completely. Understatement. First time that word's been used in this discussion - a much underrated talent.

Yep, I'm on my second set of Wizards - first set went into my FrankenP/J, second set are for my Fortress (which should be interesting). Fantastic pickups. Can't help thinking a pair of 84s in my S1 Jazz might be very interesting indeed...

That version of I Shot The Sherriff sums up everything I can't stand about Jaco. 8 minutes(! ) of some of the most pointlessly self-indulgent wibbery* I've ever heard - fine for the rehearsal room where everyone can nod approvingly at each other**, but if they were playing in my garden, I'd close the curtains. * And I don't use that word lightly. Whatever it means... ** A bit like when the chickens used to come off stage in the Muppets...

I'd echo the thoughts about Schroeders or Barefaced being a good, light, one-cab solution. Never tried a Barefaced, tho if it wasn't for timing issues I'd have bought a Super12 last year untried (there's always Alex's returns policy as a backup), but I can tell you definitely that the 1515L sounds as big as your full Roland stack, because I had one previously (you've got my old 115X there). Pair it with a LMIII or TC Classic/RH450 (to taste) and you've got a great portable stack. The RH450 even has MP3 in/phones out for silent practice. The Schroeders do have 'a sound' - which I like - however if you want to come over and try mine, give me a shout. Because of the aforementioned timing debacle last year, I ordered mine from a place in Sweden (or was it Denmark? I forget), and it arrived in three days.

With a bit of judicious searching, £300 should get you a Roland D-Bass 115 combo. Terrific combos for the money, and, as they're not very trendy, a s/h bargain.

It's also the case that what sounds great as a tone played solo isn't neccessarily what the band needs. Mid-heavy tones, as has been said above, cut through a band mix, but can sound odd to the ear when played solo when practising. I'd also consider your rig, too.

Bought a pair of Wizard's from Chris - painless transaction all round. A gentleman and a scholar. Where's that thumbup emoticon gone?

Now[i] there's [/i] a plan...actually, I'm on it, although it's taking me forever to get my finger out - Ryder P-bass, MM neck, two Thumpers, Series pull-switch. Bam.

[quote name='solo4652' post='1253506' date='Jun 2 2011, 08:55 AM']I'm interested in the PF500 head. What would be a good, lightweight 210 cab to get the full 500W? Excuse my ignorance - I'm new to this seperate head + cab lark.[/quote] I'd recommend a Schroeder - they do a variety of 2 speaker cabs (2x10, 12&10, 2x12, 2x15) in 4 ohms and are very small, very loud and very light. They do have a 'character' though, so it might be best to try and hear one. Alternatively, I'd say Alex at Barefaced has something suitable...and he does a trial scheme, too... And now I'm gassing for one of these PF500s - even though my RH450 is fantastic. Gonna have to get down to PMT to get it out of my system. I hope.

[quote name='stevie' post='1255411' date='Jun 3 2011, 01:26 PM']Not really. As others have said, you just need a loud bridge pickup. Even the Musicman pickup is quieter than the P-Bass one when it's installed in the 'bridge' position. I found that wiring the MM in series makes for a more balanced pairing and IMO works better when the two pickups are used together.[/quote] I've just fitted a Wizard 'Big P/J' pair, (which is the Thumper and the 84 Jazz), and it's the first time I've ever considered soloing the bridge pickup. I didn't actually do it of course, but I considered it The output from these pickups is up there with my Ray, if that's any indication. I'm fitting a pair to my Fortress, as I was massively caught out the other week playing live when I swapped basses and I thought the Fortress was broken Oh, and I've got them wired with a pull-switch series option, for those moments when a mid/punch boost is the only way to go...

[quote name='ahpook' post='1251940' date='May 31 2011, 07:37 PM']whilst playing with the techno/spacerock band a bloke danced his way up to me, looking very enthusiastic and wide-eyed (i.e. on drukqs) and asked me "what note are you playing ?" now - at this point in the song i'm playing a simple rhythm on bottom G, with a big filter going on and some phasing. "G" i shout back at the fella with a smile he bellows "i f**kin' love G !" and danced back into the audience [/quote] Winner.

Cheers guys! I'll post some links in the appropriate place as soon as the songs are ready for release. Current delay* is band name - we're having to change it. I think I'll start a completely different post about this, though... * Just one in a seemingly endless series - if you were to theoretically add in a personal wealth of millions of dollars and access to unlimited drugs, I'm beginning to see why it took Axl 11 years to record Chinese Democracy...

[quote name='Jondeeman' post='1251662' date='May 31 2011, 03:51 PM']The bridge is a bit more than a bent piece of metal. I'm not sure why you'd look to change that out first, though - unless there's a fault with the existing one. The biggest change you will be able to make is the pickups. If you change these and then set-up the bass properly, it'll sound and feel like a different instrument.[/quote] Yep, having been down the road a couple of times now, I'd do this first. Unless you don't like the feel of the bass - the neck on the SX (and the Ryder) is so big, they had to go first.

[quote name='ray57' post='1251642' date='May 31 2011, 03:36 PM']I have always been a bit wary of cabs that squeeze the drivers into the smallest possible box. Ultimately they fart out before the bigger cabs IME. In the past the Markbass cabs have not been as good as the amps, which was why shops like Bass Direct sold the amps with Berg cabs. Now that the Berg AE' s have been discontinued thats no longer an option.[/quote] The day my 1515L farts out, my inner ears will be hanging out on my shoulders like overdone spaghetti, and the drummer will have exploded. It's ridiculously loud.

[quote name='mentalextra' post='1251644' date='May 31 2011, 03:37 PM']Great. Thanks for the help and advice. I must say that I am not in it for profit. Just the fun side really. I understand with pickups you get what you pay for. But, the bridge looks to be a very different item. Genuine Fender Jazz bridges dont appear to look a lot different from the hardware on cheapy copies, just a bent piece of steel screwed to the body. Would I be right in thinking that the more "mass" or substance to the bridge the better. Thanks again for the great advice[/quote] On the bridges, the Gotoh 201 is a really good (and cheap) alternative to the standard Fender offering - it's a more solid bridge, and although there's been endless discussion about high-mass bridges and their benefits (have a Search for the thread(s)), I like them. My favourite is the Schaller 3D, but that's mostly because I play a lot with the heel of my hand on the bridge, and the Schaller is very comfortable for that. Also, the ability to adjust the horizontal position* of the string comes in handy if you're playing about with pickups, to help align the string over the pickups should they be a little astray. * Err, that's horizontal if you have the bass lying on a flat surface to work on. When the bass is on the strap, it'd be vertical. Er. You know what I mean. I hope...

Tell you what, buy a brand new Stingray, or an Alembic, or an Overwater, try and sell it in a short while, and let me know about mug's games... Having said that, there's a really nice US Jazz on here for £475, so that's a really good deal. If you're buying... Modding can be a very effective way of finding out what you want from a bass if, as has been said before, you've an idea where you're starting from, and where you'd like to be. The learned opinion on here can help with that, too. If you find none of the mods works for you, the key to modded basses, if you're selling, is to part out. If I sold my SX project bass parted out, I'd get 80% of what I paid for the bits. The key bit of this is I'd be losing about £60. Pretty cost-effective, I'd say. Buying and selling basses is also fun, but it's not for profit... Well, it's a buyers market at the moment (see the Jazz above, plus Warwick prices generally, etc, etc) so you can buy cheap, but don't expect to sell dear for a good while yet. Which means you might be stuck with something you didn't get on with, which has cost you several hundred £s.

Well, I've become addicted to this route, ever since I got an SX for about £80, then put a £80 MM neck on it, a £25 bridge, and it turned out to be a better player than my US P-Basses. Eventually I put a pair of Wizard pickups in it, and now it's done, and it's my main bass - the Ray, the US Jazzes, etc, all take second place. The P-Basses got sold... Next project is my £65 Ryder P, which will be getting another neck and a Wizard Thumper (or possibly two), and I have high hopes of this one, too. If you're looking to get back money you put in, then you probably won't get that back, though if you part it out you'll probably get 75% of what you've spent. Which, unless you're very lucky, is more than you can say for any US Fender, Musicman, Overwater, Alembic, etc, etc... If, however, you're looking to try out some new kit for very little cash outlay (and that can be done in stages), then it's a good route. Plus you'll have something no-one else has got... IMHO, YMMV, etc, etc...

I had one and loved it - if it hadn't been nicked, I'd probably still have it. Tons of everything, and not too big. Mind you, I'd left it at our rehearsal studio (from where it was nicked) because it was a bit of a pain to get in and out of the car. OTOH, my 1515L is better, lighter and smaller, so (as long as you're insured) every cloud, and all that...

I posted a while back, just after I'd got the first mixes back of the album we were recording in a local studio, and I was a bit sensitive about what I saw as 'my sound' being buggered about with. Incidentally, we were in the studio for 14 or 15 days, and it took me about 3 minutes to get the bass sounding good. More than 5 minutes, and I'd have been getting embarassed... I've just got the final mastered product, and I was completely wrong about my sound. It's been changed from what I was hearing in my cans while tracking, sure, but to the benefit of the band (and album)'s overall sound, and the changes are appropriate to the relevant tracks. Unless you're a professional sound engineer, or your band sound is built on a specific bass sound, or yours is the ego that runs the band, then having faith in the guy responsible for the overall sound is the most sensible option. I realise this isn't always the safest route when playing live, as there are good sound guys out there and bad ones, but as I've said before, live environments are such a crapshoot in what they do to your sound that it'll be a miracle if you get the same sound twice anyway. I'd also agree with the poster who mentioned he has a sound for home/practice/playalong use, and one for the band.

Hi, I had a Lowden Goodfellow a while back, in fact my friend has got it now. Terrific bass, very very well made, a proper 'boutique' instrument. I sold it because I just don't get on with soapbar pickups on a bass - I had an Overwater, too, and while that was a sublime instrument, it just wasn't me. P/J pickups (preferably Wizards) are my thing - I'm just not a subtle or sublime bassist... Pics are always good, you know... We're a nosey bunch on here... [quote name='retiredbassist' post='1249301' date='May 29 2011, 03:33 PM']Got a Good fellow from Lowden factory, in 1994. Was looking to see if anyone out there has one from Lowden as well? just curious.......... or knows anyone who has one.[/quote]

I knew my borderline-OCD would be good for something sooner or later...

Holy Trinity you say? How about a colour-themed Holy Trinity? [attachment=81072:trinity.jpg]