M-Bass-M

Damn, in one fell swoop this bass would solve two drivers of current GAS: - wanting a natural body / black pick guard combination on a Precision á la John Deacon (although shame about the maple fretboard) - wanting a bass with a P-Bass PUP at the neck instead of a Jazz PUP Oh and potentially a third one too: - a gratuitous number of nobs to fiddle with and therefore keep up the illusion that I know exactly how to shape my bass tone...

Hi guys, Thanks for all the responses. The sound I'm trying to describe is "Beeeoooooooowwwwwww" where the "ow" is like "cow" as opposed to "bow and arrow"! I was in the recording studio yesterday, and just listening to the pre-eq DI out from the amp told me there was very little wrong with my sound. Therefore I've come to the conclusion that the sound must be related to listening to headphones connected to the headphone out on the amp. I think velvetkevorkian is therefore correct - I'm hearing too much of the pure sound through the headphones and not liking what I hear! The next question is then, as I live in a flat headphones are a must for me. Therefore, what better way could I hook up my headphones to my bass? Connecting through a computer would be an option, by the way. Cheers MArk

Hi All, Well, yesterday we spent the day at the Crash rehearsal studios in Liverpool laying down two tracks - [i]Secret Agent[/i] and [i]The Light Between Us[/i]. The two tracks are up on our MySpace site: [url="http://www.myspace.com/deathdefyingspying"]http://www.myspace.com/deathdefyingspying[/url] It was my first time in a recording studio, so I was unsure as to how it would all go, however I'm actually very pleased with how the bass sounds - particularly on [i]The Light Between Us[/i]. There are some harmonics at the start of [i]Secret Agent[/i] which sounded great when it was just the drum and bass, but unsurprisingly are completely lost in the full mix. Guitarists, eh? We'll be back in the studio hopefully end of April to get another 4 tracks laid. Until then, I've got the fun task of trying to work out how to play and provide the backing vocals at the same time! Cheers for listening, Mark

You perhaps thinking of Live at the Bowl? Was watching that on DVD recently, and I noticed that he not only swapped to his MM, but also to a guitar of some sort for the uber-fast Backchat. Am I also allowed to confess that not only do I want a Precision, but I also want to strip off the paintwork to reveal a natural alder finish? And the compulsory black pick guard too. Oh, and the two blue Fender picks while I'm at it...

The last couple of weeks I've had some serious GAS for a Fender Precision - driven in part by listening to Queen Live at Wembley, and just digging John Deacon's tone. I'd love to get back the blue foto-flame MIJ Precision I had waaaaay back - that was a stunner! More recently I've been gassing for a G&L of some sort. I'm in need of release, but living in a flat I'm very short on space

Hi there, At home when practicing, I have my Jazz plugged into my Shuttle 6.0, and listen to the lot on headphones. Now when I pluck the strings, the sound that rings is an annoying "bow" sound, rather than a plain "berr" sound. (Hopefully you'll get the idea that I'm trying to describe the initial attack of the note and how it then rings out!) The sound is very noticeable on the E and A strings, less so on the D string, and even less so on the G string. Playing on an open string or a fret makes little difference either. Quite frankly, the sound annoys the hell out of me, and it seems that no matter how I blend the pickups or tone, I cannot get away from the underlying sound. My thoughts about its source are as follows: 1. The strings - although I recently changed from DR Sunbeams to EB Slinkies and it had no effect. 2. The nut - although the sound even happens when fretted 3. The pickups - even when I blend from one to the other, I get the same effect. The odds of both pickups being wrong must be low... 4. The bridge - something to do with the way the strings rest on the saddle seems logical to me 5. The amp - could it be to do with how the sound is processed by the Shuttle? Do other Shuttle users get a similarly bright tone? 6. The headphones - although I have tried others, and it seems the same. I should add at this point that when I run the amp through a cabinet, the sound is much less noticeable. You may ask why I'm bothered then, and the reason is because I'm recording in a few days time and I don't want my sound to be sh*t . Anybody have any idea what I am on about, and some ideas on what approach I should take (other than sell the damn thing!)? Cheers Mark

In a few weeks or so the band has got a day booked in at the recording studio to lay down a couple of tracks. For my bass, I would want both a DI feed and my cab mic'd up. With my current equipment, the DI would come from the Shuttle 6.0 DI output. Essentially what I'd like to know is, is this sufficient? Or alternatively, what benefits might I get from using a stand-alone DI box as opposed to the DI from the Shuttle? Thanks in advance, Mark

Thanks for all the great comments. A headless bass definitely appeals to me, but given my limited experience with other basses and the role that I want my new bass to play, I think I'd much rather stick to a headed bass this time around. Next time, perhaps! Cheers Mark

Thanks for all the comments. Strangely enough a Status is exactly the bass that I have in mind, and given that there is no price differential for a head or headless, I'm severely tempted. Another Status-related question, what the heck does the "Bendwell" do? It suggests that it allows vibrato effects, which implies that you can't otherwise get vibrato effects from a headless bass. Can somebody clarify this for me? Cheers Mark

I've got a fairly desperate case of GAS that I'm looking to tame by acquiring a new bass. One possible option could be a headless bass. Now obviously there's the looks factor of a headless bass, but I'm keen to understand what they are like to play. For example, I would expect movement around the neck and general fretting to be easier becuase you're not having to support the weight of a heavy headstock. On the other hand, I'm also wondering if the lack of a headstock results in balance issues that makes it harder to play? Any experiences with headless basses would be much appreciated. Cheers Mark

Really great guy to deal with, would happily sell to again Payment received promptly, no mucking about, overall a very slick experience.

Bought an EBS Multicomp from project_c. Really friendly guy to deal with, kept me up to date with how things were going, and the pedal itself was extremely well packed! Would happily deal with again! Cheers Mark

Hi there, On my MIA Jazz, I've noticed that the stings don't align themselves to the pick-up poles on the bridge pick-up. On the attached pictures, you should hopefully see that it is only the D string that seems to be perfectly aligned. I can't see any obvious way to fix this problem. No amount of adjusting the bridge or where the strings sit on the saddles seems to make any difference. So my questions are: - is it normal for the strings to not be perfectly aligned - what impact is it likely to have on the sound of the bass, and how the pickups function Thanks in advance, Mark

Hi Has anybody had experience of this dual channel compressor / limiter? I like the flexibility that this unit appears to provide, but I'm a bit uneducated when it comes to knowing what else is out there! Cheers Mark

Well, it appears that not only does Victor Wooten string his 5-string fretted as EADGC, but he also has a "tenor bass" stringed ADGC. Guess that's a pretty definitive answer to my question!

Thanks for the replies. Lfalex - I like your compromise suggestion. Would confuse the hell out of me at first, having to remember that it's NOT an A string that you're playing, but I guess you could get used to it! A more serious consideration is the price difference between a 5-string and a 6-string...go on, spend that bit extra. You know you want to

Hmmmm. I have a MIA Jazz (passive), which I seem to recall being a 2000 vintage, and I too have said hole. I think it's in line with the neck pickup? A routing hole may be the answer - others know far more about it than I would ever hope to - but I'd be surprised that this would be both for US and Mexico construction. Is this where I discover I've actually got a MIM Jazz?

I've previously owned a 5-string bass, and quite frankly I never really saw the point of it. Sure, you can now go down to a low B (and the all important low D), but I seem to find myself coping quite well with only a low E. Also, due to the thickness of the string, I don't think I'd ever find myself playing on say the 8th/10th fret of the B string in preference to the 3rd/5th fret of the E string. I've also previously owned a 6-string, and again while I didn't make too much use of the low B string, I did find myself using the high C string a lot more - to reach the higher notes, to strum some chords, and to allow me to access higher notes without having to move my hand up the the fretboard. So my questions are: - from a technical/contsruction perspective, is there any reason why an EADGC tuning wouldn't work? - for those of you who own a 6, what value do you get from the low B string? Thanks in advance, Mark

All Thanks for all the tips and advice, and even the quite interesting thread hijack! For me, the long and short of it is a change in technique. It's a bit frustrating at the moment, as my finger muscles clearly need to be developed to work with the new technique, but I can see how it would reap dividends in the long run. Ironically enough, this question actually arose from trying to play nearer the neck rather than the bridge. Although I do love the sound from playing at the bridge of a Jazz, it doesn't always suit itself to rock! Cheers Mark

Thanks for the different tips. Actually trying out the four finger technique made me understand what you mean by hand / arm position, and how the plucking action is more towards the palm than down. Thinking more about my "old" technique, I think how I anchor is at the heart of it. Using my thumb as an anchor, the pressure point would be at the tip of the thumb, and to pluck I would bring the finger and thumb tip together. This results in straighter fingers when plucking - at least it does when I try it on the desk in front of me! I'm guessing to change this, the pressure point on the thumb should be the side of the thumb (and not the tip), and hence when I pluck, I bring the fingers towards the palm and not the thumb tip. Again, the frustration of not having a bass with me now to try this out on! One additional question, do you have your forearm resting on the bass, or do you have it floating above? My tendency is to want to anchor my forearm on the bass, but I find that this can hinder quick movement between top and bottom strings. Cheers Mark