Doc B

I'm selling my Streamer STD just now and will be looking to get a 5 string with a budget of about £500 once the 'Wick goes. There are loads of 5s out there for that money but I have some pretty strict requirements: At least one humbucker pickup in the Musicman 'sweetspot' position Active preamp preferred Narrow string spacing about 16-17mm at the bridge No solid colours - I like to see the wood my basses are made from No basses with odd sized pickups (like the Ibanez ATK) - I like to swap pickups and electronics Smaller body preferred I'll consider new or used. I've been doing some searching online and have found various options but none that I have actually been able to see or try in person. I've seen a used Warwick Fortress Masterman on Bass Direct's site but the electronics look too complicated to me. Also has anyone tried any of these? Dean Sledge Hammer or Rockbass Streamer STD Blackhawk 5 str? Any other suggestions welcome. Remember I don't have the cash right now if you try to pimp your bass to me!

[quote name='PURPOLARIS' post='566990' date='Aug 12 2009, 05:06 PM']Nice looking Bass, what's the B string like on it ?[/quote] Cheers. The B sounds just a tad quieter than the higher strings but I think screwing down the treble side of the bridge pickup will solve that as the 3 highest strings are loudest - but I'm not sure where my precision screw driver set is just now. Other than that the B is well defined, growly and not too 'floppy' in comparison to other basses I tried - I can even hear it unamplified! The string tension is even over the 6 strings too. I'm well chuffed with this - great bass for the money.

Pino Paladino played one with The Who when I saw them a couple of years ago at T in The Park.

A couple of weeks ago I'd spent a day or so trying out all the 5 string basses I could find in Glasgow for under £500 with a view to getting one to re-string E-C and add a D-tuner so I could play more chords and indulge in my cod-Peter Hook bass style and play along with songs written with a low B (no jazz or fusion or prog for me). Given the distinct lack of choice in Glasgow, anywhere apart from Guitar Guitar, I couldn't really find anything that I really clicked with except for the wild-card choice of the Ibanez GSR206 6 string in Guitar Guitar. This was the bass that I spent the most time with and preferred it's playability and tone to the 5s and at £250 it was the cheapest too. In the end I bought the Zoom B2 I was also wanting and I went home without another bass. It took me a week of thinking it over as I've always thought I wasn't a good enough player to try a 6, my hands are too small, etc but this was as easy to play as most 5s I've tried. It also removed the need to shell out another £80 quid or so to get at a D-Tuner and was the cheapest of all the basses I'd liked the look of. I'd also been GASsing badly for a 30" scale 6 string bass/baritone for messing about and this 6 would cover that requirement too. The 6 started to make sense so I went back in to Guitar Guitar and got it last Saturday. It's still a big mental jump going for 4 to 6 strings even though I play g****r as well! I'll need to practice a bit to adjust my fingerstyle technique and I find using a plectrum much easier on the big six. I'm really chuffed with this bass and it's the first time I've bought a bass and had to raise the action to suit my needs! The tone is good too especially with just the bridge pickup (which is almost in a MM style 'sweet spot' position) volume up and the passive tone full up and the Phat II EQ full on as well. I'm not sure about the exact nature of the Phat II: it seems to be described as an active bass boost by some but it also seems to boost the high mids to my ears. Anyway - check out the pics: [attachment=30719:Ibanez_3.jpg] [attachment=30718:Ibanez_2.jpg] [attachment=30717:Ibanez_1.jpg]

I'm a bit of an rock/indie player so I find that these work well with just bass: Soul to Squeeze and Universally Speaking by The Red Hot Chilli Peppers Love Will Tear Us Apart and She's Lost Control by Joy Division I also once worked out the guitar riff and rhythm guitar part (i.e. no the solo) to La Tristess Durera by the Manic Street Preachers for bass - it worked quite well. I've hardly played in the last 3 years so I can only really manage the Joy Division ones now!

[quote name='garry' post='565625' date='Aug 11 2009, 07:56 AM']to the OP, its a week tuesday is it not (25th?) or have i cocked up my schedule?[/quote] No that's what I meant. Should be good. £45 isn't too bad a mark up considering how close it is to the gig.

I'm going to be seeing some classic 90s rock/metal/funk bass stylings this late summer/autumn - Faith No More in Edinburgh next Tuesday and then Skunk Anansie in Glasgow in November. SA should be good (I saw them first time around) but I really can't wait to see FNM as I never managed to see them in the 1990s (or the late 80s for that matter)due to being a cash-strapped student at the time. Shame Big Sick Ugly Jim Martin won't be there but Billy Gould will and he's a real bass hero to me.

[quote name='thodrik' post='554624' date='Jul 28 2009, 11:45 PM']Luckily living in Glasgow, Guitar Guitar and CC Music are really good shops and the staff are usually very helpful and tend not to bullshit you or treat you like an idiot, unlike a certain other music shop in the city which I visited when I was younger.[/quote] I know exactly what you mean about al of the above. Guitar Guitar is now my first choice of music shop, I've bought 2 basses and an Eden Nemesis Combo in there. I also got my Boss Micro BR in there too.

Other than a Stingray 5, Ibanez have a big rock/metal following. I'm not sure what they are like for slap but the SoundGear (SR) models tend to have fast necks but the ATK is chunkier.

Brilliant - PMSL! Really cheered me up on a Monday morning. Attack Attack seem to have been heavily influenced by The Mighty Boosh's Sammy The Crab when he had a stint as lead singer in The Horrors. BTW- It's bizarre and really annoying how American acts in R&B and now .....(hesitates before actually using the word)....'rock' acts have just caught on to the sounds of mid 1990s cheesy Euro dance and now incorporate it wherever they can.

[quote name='ashevans09' post='12253' date='Jun 5 2007, 12:53 AM']....last time I was in a store near me there was a 5 string (possibly a 325?) SGC in white with the SGC pickups, rosewood board and matching headstock....[/quote] I had one just like that until I sold it on here (or a previous incarnation of this forum) about 3 years ago. It was passive, white pearlescent painted body, neck and headstock and a brass nut. The action was fantastic, better even than my Warwick! I got it second hand in Big Deal in Sheffield in about 1999/2000 and never had to adjust the action. The SGC pups had a pretty high output for passives. It was the wide string spacing and painted neck I couldn't get on with. Great bass though.

Ibanez do a 'him out of Slipknot' signature version of the ATK bass set up as BEAD so that may be a good bet. A status Graphite would be another good bet with the graphite neck and the standard 35" scale on current headed basses. Status aren't cheap mind! Timmy C from RATM uses a Custom Shop Fender Jazz strung BEAD, so a USA made Fender should be up to it too.

[quote name='steve-soar' post='558014' date='Aug 1 2009, 06:59 PM']Good call.[/quote] Cheers - I've recently introduced a mate to Living Colour and have started listening to them again myself. What a band!

[quote name='bubinga5' post='557307' date='Jul 31 2009, 05:28 PM']...For under £500 ish i would suggest a Lakland 55-01...[/quote] I'll need to see if I can find a used one, they're £650-699 new. I'm also not sure about the 35" scale with my wee hands.

A band I was in for a short while wanted to cover She's In Parties by Bauhaus, played by David J. Great bassline that. Black by Pearl Jam's Jeff Ament is another favourite.

[quote name='ped' post='557311' date='Jul 31 2009, 05:31 PM']Welcome back mate. One word of caution - sometimes you get REALLY used to the sound of your bass, and playing something else instantly sounds better (though may not feel as nice) because it sounds new and interesting. Give it a month or so and go back to the Warwick with fresh ears, and it will sound new again, and take you by surprise. I have made the mistake of selling basses which I have listened back to on recordings and thought ''aww that sounds lovely!'' Cheers ped[/quote] Not likely to be a problem - I've had the Jazz for over a year now and it's definitely what I want sound wise. Shame it's not anywhere near as nice to play as the Warwick. The Warwick saw off the challenge of a status graphite but not the Jazz.

Muzz Skilling's fretless solo on Living Colour's Broken Hearts is my favourite. Very tasteful and soulful IMO.

It's been a fair time since I posted on here, mainly because I went through a period of doing very little bass playing or anything bass-related. I'm in the process of changing that and have been playing again recently and I'm hoping to be on here regularly again too. I'm in the process of 'rationalising' my gear. I'm even selling my beloved Warwick Streamer Std as it isn't the sound I want anymore - my maple body and neck Squier VM Jazz with Wizards is 'the sound' for me right now. It's a shame as the Warwick plays and feels better than any bass I've ever played on but the Jazz is getting all the action now. So it's time to move the Warwick on. I recently flogged my PC-based recording gear and got a Boss Micro BR to encourage me to play, practice and recording more. I never got on with the PC set up as it was too time consuming when I just wanted to fire an idea down onto the hard drive. The Micro BR is a great wee thing and does everything I need, especially as I haven't been in a band for a few years now (another reason I stopped playing). It's also a damn sight smaller than any previous recording set up I've used. Once I sell the gear I don't need or use I'm planning to get a 5 string, string it E-C and stick a D-tuner on it. The high C will give me more latitude with playing chords and I've never gone below low D when I had a 5 before, so I don't need a 6 (although I'll maybe try one out just to see). I'm going to try as many 5s as I can to see what I like. If anyone can point me in the direction of a nice, fast playing 5 string that suits playing chords, has a good amount of high end clarity and costs less than £500 let me know ;-)

[quote name='joegarcia' post='360271' date='Dec 21 2008, 03:31 PM']Looks lovely. After a similar Jazz myself at the moment and am looking very closely at a CIJ reissue, this is making me think twice. What are the Wizards like? Any samples at all? Personally I'd finish it off with some Jazz knobs but thats just me.[/quote] Cheers Joe, I don't have any clips of the Wizards yet - I'm still in a period of change over with my home recording set up. The sound of the VM is now very strong and glassy as the 64s have a toppier, more vintage sound that the 84s (so the Wizards told me). This works very well for the chords and drones I like to play. Most other people seem to buy Wizard 84s which are darker and more powerful. The stock Duncan Design pups are very good too. I'm actually thinking of removing the pup cover though as it gets in the way - looks great though! I prefer the metal knobs to the black plastic Jazz ones myself. I'd love one of the CIJ reissues but the Squier does me fine.