Muzz

[quote name='Chris2112' post='1109025' date='Jan 31 2011, 08:13 AM']I've always thought the Attitude was a really cool bass, and that it was one of the most 'identifiable' singature basses. It's so closely linked to Billy's needs and preferences in a way that say, the Yamaha John Pattituci isn't. The Yamaha TRBJP is just a top spec TRB, the Attitude a a bass designed especially for Billy.[/quote] That's the main reason I'd never even consider one - it's SO specific that you'd need to be in a tribute band (or be the ultimate fanboy) to play one. Much as I admire Billy, I don't want to play just like him (I hate the mudbucker, anyway) or sound like him (although a smidge of his talent would be good to take elsewhere) or even look like him. I have an 80s BB, and back in the day was pleased to see he played one (pre-Attitude), but I never took a drill, sander, soldering iron (or, Gawd help us, a tin of metallic pink paint) to mine to make it EXACTLY like his. I'm sure it's a great instrument, and having played one of the new £2.5k BB2024s, I can say they're as good as anything in the £2k market quality-wise, but it's far too specific for me.

[quote name='thepurpleblob' post='1107985' date='Jan 30 2011, 11:58 AM']I'm sure I've told my cautionary tale before but I bought an Overwater a while back. Now, don't get me wrong, it was a thing of beauty, the quality was outstanding and (in the shop) it sounded incredible. In my band it sounded awful and no amount of adjustment or different strings made it sound good. The thing is, I play in a pub covers band. If I'd thought for ten seconds, who plays a fancy custom bass in a pub covers band? It didn't make any sense at all and it just didn't sound (or look probably) the part. That's what Leo Fender made basses for, so it was back to the Musicman which sounded (as usual) great and appropriate. Moral - have a very clear understanding of what role the instrument is intended to play. Sometimes a battered old Precision is actually exactly the right thing, no matter how little or how much it costs![/quote] + a lot. This is so close to my own experience it's scary: beautiful Overwater (and a Goodfellow before that) is an unused wallhanging, standard Ray and £200 FrankenP are my working basses. Both great in the studio, too. Are you monitoring my life from an unmarked van, Blobster? Having said that, I have a slow-burn of GAS for a custom Shuker P, but it'd be so close to a Fender (just better built, and with a couple of tweaks) that I'm having trouble justifying the outlay. I know exactly what I want now from a custom build, but I've been through a lot of time, money and basses to find that out. I'm sure if I'd gone out to a luthier earlier with a big wad of cash, I'd have made an (even more) expensive mistake. I'm marking time with the low-cash option of modding at the cheaper end, SXs and the like, and having great results.

I got stung for more than £40...

Twas indeed Soloshenko's P I bought first (yep, it's great mate!), tho it had a log of a neck, hence my replacing it with a MM. The neck on the second one, which was a P/J with the 'new' headstock and a rosewood board, is miles and miles better. I've played worse on basses costing three or four times as much. Quality-wise, I can only presume I've had a couple of good ones, because mine have been fine. The only downside about ordering from Rondo now is the exchange rate. And the shipping. And the import duties on both. Bah. Although they did get the bass to me in four days, when the snow meant that another Royal Mail Guaranteed Delivery of mine took nine days to get 45 miles...

Ok, I have very positive first hand experience of SX basses: I bought one (a P) from here last year, put a MM neck and Schaller bridge on it, and then sold my US Precisions on the strength of it, it was that good (it's the one in my avatar pic). Then just before Xmas, I bought an SX P/J from Rondo in the States, transferred the MM neck and bridge, and it's also fantastic. Just used it in the studio for our new album, and it sounded like a good Precision should. No mods to the electrics for me (tho I have heard others have done so), just the neck and bridge, tho the neck was because I love maple, and adding a Schaller 3D is my favourite and first mod to anything - I've put them on more than just the SXs. For the money, and if you're inclined to mod, it's a no-brainer. IMHO, YMMV, etc, natch.

Gone for a Navy Blue one - it'd be rude not to. I've just landed an SX P/J from the States that got a MM neck onto it, and was just stupendous in the studio last weekend, so I'm firmly in the Bargain Basement Modders Club now... great for indulging in GAS on a budget...

Don't listen to old blokes waffling on...

[quote name='Metalmoore' post='1087934' date='Jan 13 2011, 01:27 PM']Those mighty mite maple necks are awesome, my custom jazz has one and it is THE best neck i have ever played... Very reasonable price too from eBay.[/quote] +1 on this - my bitsa P (actually now a P/J) has a MM neck, and it's fantastic. I'm getting a bit monotonous about this, but the whole bass turned out so well I sold my US P-Basses on the strength of it.

If you drop a b*ll*ck onstage...glare at the guitarist BEFORE he glares at you.

Erm, the D-Bass 115x IS a powered speaker - 330w, 15" and tweeter. Could be the ticket...and they're even less fashionable than the main combo, so if you see one for sale on its own, you could be quids in...

Yep, I can recommend the D-Bass, too. Really only available second-hand these days, but they seem not to be too fashionable, which means they can be had for a bargain - I paid £300 for my D-Bass and £250 for the 115X. There's a pair on Ebay at the mo. Very, very loud in combination (660w) and pretty portable, too (about 50lbs each and they've got wheels). Plus, they stack, too: essential for intimidating guitards...

Thanks for this! Any recommendations for cable fro the same place? Cheers, Muzz

Yep, another +1 for the RH450 - can do everything the LMIII/Sansamp can do, but in one box, and with lots of really useful stuff like an onboard tuner, a great compressor, adjustable EQ and three presets. Not cheap, mind, but the sound can also be had from the Classic for less cash (around LMIII money). +1 also for the Schroeder 1515L - the smallest, lightest 800w 2x15 there is. As thumperBob says, it's a little mid-heavy, but that isn't a bad thing in itself, and there's so much headroom it can be EQ'd out anyway. A very, very loud combination. Try before you buy, though - let your ears decide...

From an amp perspective (yeah, I know you said you were sold on the Genz, but...) have you tried a TC RH or Classic? I only ask because I was using a Sansamp for some Ampeg-y drive with my LMIII, but I tried the TC stuff and found I could get it all without the pedal. Sold the Sansamp, sold the LMIII, RH450 does it all. For me, of course. Cab-wise, my Schroeder 1515L keeps up (actually it'll comfortably overtake them, too) with a loud drummer and two guitards and as well as being very, very loud is really, really small and light, but they may be an acquired taste: it works for me, though. Worth mentioning I used to have an SVT and 810, too - back in the days when I could lift 'em... If you can, I'd recommend a visit to Mark at Bass Direct - he has all the heads in stock so you can A-B (and C- and D-) them, and lots of cab options. And he's a thoroughly nice bloke, though you'll need a will of iron not to spend a fortune on lovely, lovely stuff...

[quote name='Bassmonkey' post='1084110' date='Jan 10 2011, 12:30 PM']...Shame I then had to help shift the rest of the bands gear too though..[/quote] This is the unforseen downside of lightweight rigs - gigged on Friday in Leigh (don't ask), and walked in with rucksack containing amp, cables, etc, on back, cab in one hand and double gigbag in the other. Done and dusted in one go. This tragically left me more time to Quasimodo myself lumping the friggin PA cabs in...

An ideal candidate for "Is that as hard to play as it is to listen to, mate?".

That clip's one of the smuggest things I've ever seen.

I use Sennheiser inears - CX300s I think. If you can cope with inears (and some people can't) they're really good, and for £30, a cheaper option. With a good seal, they reproduce a lot of bass. Used them for studio monitoring, too, as I'm used to their sound. The Beyers are industry standards and very very good, but too pricey for me.

That's got to induce neck-dive, surely...

And from me...not that I was worried at all, you understand...

Sansamp BDDI, or, for the more budget-conscious, the Behringer BDI-21.

Yep, my RH450 does that. It's not a noise from the speakers, Lozz, it happens with mine whenever it's switched on (even when I'm using headphones and they aren't on my head), and seems to come from the amp itself. Now I'm hoping it's nothing significant

Tried one (twice) in my search for a tubier version of my LMIII, and thought it was indeed very very subtle. Given that I was looking for some warm breakup and even more towards drive, I may have needed more than you did, but it wasn't enough of a difference for me to change from my LMIII. The LM Rocker, by contrast, was just about as subtle as a brick - at about 15% of the tube dial it started to fizz, and stayed fizzy the rest of the way round. I found the RH450 the best tube-sounding head out there, so I bought one. I'd really, really try to try before you buy, though - your ears are everything. If you're anywhere Bass Direct (Warwick-way, and even if you're not, it's worth a day out), Mark has a great selection of mini-heads, including the MB, Genz and TC ones. Edit: Just read the above comment, and I did have a Sansamp BDDI in front of my LMIII for a good while, which gave me the Ampeg-y tone I was after. I can get this from the RH450 on its own, so I sold the LMIII and the Sansamp. The Sansamp isn't exactly subtle, though. If you can't get to a shop to try, if I was you I'd consider buying a Behringer BDDI box for £30 or so, because this'll give you a ballpark of what the Sansamp sounds like.

Steve Curtis working out of PMT in Manchester has done some work for me in the past (and is about to do some more). Very highly recommended.