M-Bass-M

I think that is the only bass that I have ever seen that makes white pickups actually look good! If it were me, I'm sure I could find some space somewhere for a bit of red tortoiseshell

I'm amazed it hasn't been mentioned already but the Flea bass hits near the top of my list. Other than the very square design, the colours are just too hideous to contemplate. I'm also not a very big fan at all of symmetrical basses, and the pariticular offenders I can think of are any of Stanley Clarke's or Mark King's basses. In this month's BGM there's a photo of SC in front a load of his Alembic basses, and quite frankly they are hideous - particularly the flying V! I think what really turns me off are the stupid tails that these basses have - either pointy out tails or just where somebody has taken a Batman-size bite out of the bass. I'll also +1 to T-Birds, anything from Burns, and singlecuts.

[quote name='matski' post='949151' date='Sep 8 2010, 09:32 AM']How about a Status Graphite StingRay replacement neck? From what I've read peeps who have gone this route are usually more than happy with the result.[/quote] +1 Was going to come along and say exactly the same thing! Was thinking about doing this with a Jazz, and unless they have them in stock the build time was around 6-8weeks. I've seen a few on eBay recently, but think that's perhaps the exception rather than the norm. The other option is to contact your local luthier and see if they can do a job for you. The Sims Custom shop might be a useful place to start as a reference.

I have just the one. Can we have a poll for the number of basses that I'd like to own?

Tuesday for me. Mondays are rubbish with me, Wednesday the singer, Thursday the guitarist, and then it's the weekend...

[quote name='BigRedX' post='933859' date='Aug 23 2010, 04:42 PM']Last time I talked to Martin Sims about these I got the impression that changing the neck profile would not be a standard option. That is to say it would be possible but you would have to pay extra for what he would consider to be a custom neck. However this policy might have changed since then.[/quote] I got this impression too. When I talked to him about the bass, he went to quite some length to highlight some of the engineering that was incorporated into the bass, and I recall him saying that the neck profile was to ensure a straight line all the way from the headstock down through to the bridge...or something like that. The point I think was to make the neck exceptionally stable. Either way, they are an absolute beast of a bass, no doubt about it. I really like the concept of the bass - don't drive your underlying tone from an EQ, but instead take a more 'natural' route of changing your PuP configuration and then shape with the EQ. For the price, it seems you get what you pay for - a well engineered, high spec custom built bass - and one fugly pickup!

I went last year, and will most definitely be going this year...with a cash fund should anything take my fancy Last year was a blast - found myself talking to the legendary pairing of John East and Martin Sims. Was blown away by the fantastic craftmanship of the Enfield bass, but had distinct reservations over the fugly "Super 8" PuP...and of course the price!

My vote goes for Pro-Tools, for one simple reason: it's the same software used by the recording studios we use, so it means that I can take the tracks home and remaster them myself if need be! When I looked into it, I reached the conclusion that all the software was equally capable, and so what you finally chose would be influenced by other factors - in my case the software used by the recording studio. As mentioned, two criticisms I've seen against Pro-Tools are the lack of free plug-ins (compared to Cubase VSTs), and also inferior midi capability. On the plug-ins issue, I know that you can buy a piece of software that "wraps" VST plug-ins into Pro-Tools plug-ins. I think it was around £100, but my intention is to invest in it so that I get access to the free VST plug-ins. As for midi, I've spent the last few days writing a midi score using just my trusty mouse, and I have found the interface to be very easy to use. I haven't tried to use a midi instrument yet, so it may be there where the criticisms are. However, as mentioned previously the choice of instruments bundled with Pro-Tools is very limited. You get a nice piano, and that's about it. If you get the Factory plugin, then you get a drumkit, a synth and a Hammond organ - but no strings, brass, woodwind, harpsichord... Just my £0.02. What may actually drive your decision is your choice of hardware, and hence the software that is bundled with the hardware. Mark

One, because that's all I have I'd like to have a back-up bass in the rare event that a string goes mid-set, and if I ever get into fretless then that's potentially a third bass - but then that's just being greedy!

Go on then...explain yourself On a slightly different tack, which of the following represent the "best" imitation? Ray by Sterling vs StingRay Tribute G&L vs USA G&L Fender MIM vs Fender MIA

[quote name='Bassnut62' post='916646' date='Aug 6 2010, 08:03 AM']My solution is to have one of each of the most brilliant bass designs in history IMO: Precision, Stingray, Jazz, G&L Asat (or L2000) I really don't feel the need for anyother basses![/quote] Ha, a worthy goal, but not necessarily practical! Maybe if Lady Luck pays special attention to my lottery numbers this week... Thanks for the info. It seems that while the G&L offers a lot more tonal variety, this comes at the expense of the raw Ray sound. It is as you say: if you want a "true" P/J/Ray tone, then get an original. If you want something that could do all three albeit not quite, then a G&L can certainly provide that versatility. It's clear that I'll need to invest in a Ray at some point, if just to get it out of my system! They have a few at my local guitar shop, so if I've got some time to kill I'll go give them a try. Cheers Mark

I'm well aware of the revered status that StingRays have in the bass world, which is certainly fuelling some much unwanted GAS right now. I'm also aware that Leo Fender moved on from MusicMan to form G&L. As such, I'll look at something like the L2000 and see that it is very similar to a HH StingRay. So what I don't get is, why so little expressed love for the G&L? I mean tonally, does it compare at all to the StingRay? Or are they actually damn good basses, but people give them little time because they're not part of the established Fender/MusicMan/Rickenbacker Elite? Cheers Mark

[quote name='alexharvay' post='910145' date='Jul 30 2010, 12:08 PM']My first bass was an Encore P copy which is the worst I've owned.[/quote] +1. I cannot for the life of me remember what it sounded like, but I remember it being damn heavy and vastly inferior to the MIJ Precision that I replaced it with. Another fairly disappointing bass that I had was a MIJ Fender Precision Special, with a Jazz PuP and stacked pots. Aside from the fact that one of the pots needed replacing, I can't remember making it to sound vastly different from the aforementioned Precision. Of course, back then I was not nearly as educated around tone as I am now, so my opinions may be different now!

I used to have a negative association with the synth, but that's more to do with the fact that the type of music I like just clearly doesn't suit a synth! However, in the band I'm in I'd love to introduce some keys to some of the songs, and short of hiring a dedicated keyboard player, the next option is for me to play the keys. This is fine for recording, but live is a different story. So now I'm pondering the idea of right hand keys, left hand bass synth - see that how works. I'm a long way off doing this, but I suppose at least my view of synths is slowly changing!

John Deacon is the guy who effectively got me into bass playing, so a lot of love for him from me! The thing that I have always admired about his basslines is that on the one hand they are simple, yet on the other hand there are little runs and fills every now and again that never clutter and overpower the song, but add a lot of depth and interest to the bass line. Even now, I'm thinking through the bassline to Radio Ga Ga in my head: it could so easily be played very straight and plain, yet John Deacon adds enough variety into it that it makes it great to listen to and also great to play. From a song-writing perspective, sure he's written some of Queen's biggest hits - Another One Bites the Dust and I Want To Break Free. Personally, I prefer some of the stuff written by the other members. As for being a "nob", the impression I get having read a few Queen biographies, I'd almost say he's the furthest from "nob" that a bass player can get. He was a family man right from the start, which is what drove his decision to retire from the music industry after Freddie Mercury died. He'd made his money, had 6 kids (I think) to raise, and gracefully retired from the business. I remember looking through the Times Rich List during the early '90s, and John always seemed to come ahead of Roger and Brian - clearly sensible then in how he invested his money! John Deacon for me feels like a bit of a guilty pleasure - but that's probably more due to his association with Queen. If he had played for a band that had less of a polarising effect than Queen, then I'm sure that more people would rate him as a bass player. Mark

Another option - albeit a bit more expensive - is to go for a [url="http://ikmultimedia.com/stealthplug/features/"]Stealthplug[/url]. It allows you to plug your guitar/bass directly into a USB port, and also features a convenient headphones out socket. It comes bundled with a couple of useful pieces of software: - Amplitube 2.0, which simulates different amps / cabinets, and has some FX built in - Traction 2, which is a useable sequencing / recording program So while it may be on the expensive side, you get some quite decent software with it which IMO makes it worth while.

YES YES YES! Can't say I've been mad keen on them when I've seen them before, but from those photos...wow! Sooooo many buttons to press too, just like being a kid at the Science and Industry museum all over again

Guitarist: "I've written this bass line that I want you to play..."

Taking it one step further, amputation of either arm would be my worst nightmare. Although, if it were the right arm then I suppose you might be able to hook up some sort of pick-holding prosthetic.

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='883455' date='Jul 1 2010, 09:48 PM']I almost forgot one of my all time favourite Status designs... The Barracuda. Now added to the poll! [/quote] There is a certain Buzzard-like quality to the Barracuda, isn't there? The slightly beak-like headstock, and the wing down where the electronics are. I certainly wouldn't say no I still have a soft spot for a Shark, and would love to get my hands on one again. The neck was lovely and wide, and surprisingly flat! It had a playability about it that I didn't appreciate at the time, but now remember so fondly. The body styling was nice too - a bit compact, not big and overbearing like some of the Fender bodies can me. *sigh*...

S2 Classic for me, although I have previously owned 2 Sharks and an Empathy...