Muzz

I'm not sure the bombastic thread title helps, really...while I'm sure he's terribly, terribly clever, I haven't heard (and I've given it more than five minutes) a rearrangement of a good song that's improved it at all. It's very niche, and in those terms people who like that sort of thing will like it. Didn't work for me, and I don't get it in a similar way to anyone who doesn't get the Stone Roses or The Smiths* doesn't get them, either. Those trousers in the first clip really are dreadful, though...and without wanting to reduce things even further into the realms of shallow waters, his resemblance to a very young, very pleased Keanu Reeves unsettled me, too... 😕😁 * And I note in between the protests of judgement, there's plenty of judgement of other musicians (very much The Usual Suspects) and their output.

I don't think you're threatening him at all - you're only discussing unresolved issues with a bass from a manufacturer whom lots of people here like (this is Page 99 after all 🙂), and he has an opportunity to make things right for you, which in many cases can turn out to be an even bigger positive for the manufacturer. I had an issue with a Dingwall pickup a while back, and the way Sheldon D resolved the issue reinforced my positive opinion of him and his company. I hope it all gets resolved for you.

Is he aware this is being documented on a busy bass forum, and therefore not doing his business any good? He might respond differently if he knows this is the case...

I once had a brain fart when trying out a Warwick Vampyre 4-string that I knew was strung for low tuning. I assumed it was BEAD, turns out the Vampyre Dark Lord (for unbeknown to me 'twas one of those) is strung F#BEA... 😕😀

I’m interested in the outcome of this, mostly because of the knock-on implications to the whole ‘tonewood’ debate... So will it be installed in an otherwise completely different bass? Construction, tone circuit, pickup position, body and neck woods? if it sounds just the same, you may have started a revolution...or a lot of arguments... 😀

I had a direct response from Jeff when I had a question about the amp; he's a very good communicator, unlike some manufacturers, and if anyone knows, he does. FWIW, I ran mine with 3x8ohm cabs a lot, and it was always good...

I'm also a fan of the Schaller 3D bridges, because I think they're a clever and simple piece of engineering to give some lateral adjustment, but mostly because they're a comfortable shape if, like me, you spend a deal of time with the heel of your hand on the bridge. As far as tone goes, like soooo many elements in a bass guitar, I'm unable to conclusively comment one way or the other. Oh, and anything that replaces the Gibson 3-point 'everything falls off when you remove the strings' bridge can't fail to be an improvement...

Can I just start the day by saying '...the clientele are semi-evolved and are only interested in the disco...' has made me smile like a loon? Thank you. 😁

All subjective and completely valid, but in this case, I'd take the OP's original db751 over any of those options, given that the two options you found more pleasing are pretty much as big/heavy as the db751...it's all a compromise, in the end. And, I have to say, in at least 75% of the gigs I play, a completely academic exercise...but then that's the wacky world of gigging all over 😕😀

Ohhhhh, that's genius... 🙂

We played a pub on Saturday night, and by far the biggest posters in the windows were for the previous night's entertainment...which was The Meat Raffle...

Don't forget the constant talking until the Bingo comes on... 😕

There's a wedding venue up in t'th'hills round these parts that we're not going back to: it's a big wooden barn conversion with gaps in the walls you can see through, and 'actively negative' neighbours on the volume front* - none of them are particularly close, but it's quiet up there and I guess the sound carries. Anyway, they have the most aggressive sound limiter I've ever encountered - our dep drummer at the time set her kit up, hit her snare once, not too hard, and off it went. We found it actually onstage. She then tried a rimshot...ping, off it went again. I walked up to it and clapped my hands...it went off. So we moved the kit to the far side of the makeshift stage, and started off at suuuuper low volume. There's nothing more depressing than being able to hear everyone's feet shuffling on the dancefloor, and people coughing, over the music. Still wasn't enough for the woman running the show - she was constantly on our case. The couple who'd booked us were desperately disappointed; ultimately, it's not a venue that can cope with amplified music, and really shouldn't have been advertised (or sold) as such. To add insult to injury, it was early in the year, and the wind was blowing through the walls (see 'gaps you could see through', above) - there were four of those big tube heat blowers going full blast, but it was still freezing anywhere not in a direct line with them. All in all, a nightmare of a venue... * Can't really blame them, as they've been there long before the owners decided to make it a music venue.

My favourite's still Earth And Wind For Hire...

So how are you getting on with them now? How long does a charge from the UV light last? Am considering some Luminlays, but if these are an option, they're a whooooole lot cheaper...

I've never been as comfortable with theory as I'd have liked, despite playing for forty years now, but I'd agree with the poster who's said learning and playing lots of songs (or all sorts of genres) opens up the kinda dry theory with some "Ohhhh, now I get what he did there..." moments, and they're the ones that have stuck.

There's basically two 'Generations' of Class D amps out there, a lot running the older power amp module (which, I believe the TH500 is one), which had its detractors, and was the origins of the whole 'heft' thing, but the newer generation module in the Magellan, Mesa 800, Darkglass, etc, is a different animal in terms of presence and 'heft'. Unfortunately, an awful lot of people's negative perceptions of Class D is based on their experience of the first generation amps... That being said, I think the OP will struggle to replace a db751, which is at the end of the day a £2500 amp, with a £5-600 amp...if weight is the issue, I'd agree with the folk above who have suggested keeping the 42lb amp and changing the 98lb cab for something half the weight...and there's plenty of options for that...

This was a Perception with Overwater soapbars and their EQ. Definitely polite, clean and sterile. Probably sophisticated, and certainly a lovely bass - just not for me. Having said that, Barts (and Jazzes, even copies) aren't my thing, either... This was before I got into modding basses, so it didn't really occur to me to start ripping out pups and EQs...I'm still not sure it would have made that much difference...

I think the technical term, given the smoky venues these basses will have been played in, is 'Fagnolia'... 😀

Ermmm...funny you should say that...I've got a John East U-Retro in mine... 😁 It's more to keep consistency with my other gigging basses, all of which have East pres, but it doesn't do any harm... 😊

I put the 'P-Type' pickup in the neck position of my ABZ, and it's no longer polite - actually, I'd have described it more as 'Clean'. When I think of 'polite', I think of the Overwater I owned once (actually twice...long story) and I emailed Chis May about its 'politeness', but there wasn't much to be done about that...

I've had an ABZ for years, and the fanned frets aren't an issue at all: as others have said, 30 seconds the first time you pick one up and they're a natural thing, and I switch between my ABZ and 'normal' Shukers at gigs without even thinking about it. The string tensions are great, and although mine's a 4, I'd imagine the benefits for a 5 are even more pronounced...If you are a 20th fret chorder, then you may have more of an adjustment to make, but that's not me... As Chris says, try and try one first, though: there's more to them than just the fanned frets - they're light, they have compound radius boards, banjo frets, they're tonally very versatile and feel like the hand-finished quality they are. All good things, IMO... 😍

Yep, I've commented before about the appalling quality of a lot of big festival/gig bass; it's invariably mush...or at least it has been at the last few I've been to. The two methods above are a step towards a better sound out front, but then the sound engineer will probably make a balls of it anyway...he'll just have to try a bit harder... 😏