bremen

Well I've got the JagWah. It's immaculate.

No culture shock adapting to the scale length ( it's 30", which surprised me a bit; are there two versions?) and the narrow nut. The strings weren't as wetnoodly as I'd been warned but a bit fretbuzzy when clumsily flailed with a pick, so looking forward to the higher tension Newtones. No sharp frets.

3.9kg, heavier than my P but I won't know if that's heavy till I've done a full rehearsal with it. Bit more neck dive than my P, but to be fair everything has more neck dive than a P and nowhere near as bad as some have reported. I don't think it'll be an issue.

P pickup is great. J is useless on its own but might blend...it actually sucks some level out of the P as it's turned up. Apparently that third knob can be turned anticlockwise should one need a more muffled tone. I haven't tried 😉

BBOT bridge is as basic as a bent bit of tin can be, doesn't even have grooves for the saddle screws. Don't know if that'll be an issue but no biggy to upgrade if it is.

Anyway, it's a new bass and I love it, rehearsal Wednesday where I might or might not discover stuff I don't like so much. But none of the negatives I've read online have manifested, and it was a bargain. The only upgrades I feel it needs is new strings and black pickguard screws. Might stick my Seymour Duncan alnico J in there. But not any time soon, its fine playing and sounding as is.

Happiness!

...and I've already made a newbie error, ordered strings from Newtone as recommended by you lot and ordered "short" when it needs "medium". Am I right? I emailed to ask them to hold until I'd confirmed

Going to collect this tomorrow...last time I played anything less than 34" was 1977. No idea what to expect, but a bit excited.

1 minute ago, tauzero said:

Putting a reverb with a quite rapid decay on it helps, especially if you start out with an Ashbory.

Makes sense, maybe low-pass the signal to the reverb, and mix the output of the reverb with the direct bass?

Somewhere in the World Wild Web there's a description of a rig that uses a digital loudspeaker crossover's time alignment function to make an eb sound like a dB. Something like, the sound of the body resonance hits the ear later than the direct sound from the strings. I'll try and dig it out, might take a while though as I'm really not sure what search terms to use.

(Later)

As Adolf Hitler once said: -opinions are like testicles; everyone's got one. 

Most of the opinions I've found on the www are "turn the tone down and use tapewounds". Not good enough. Others say "it can't be done lol you loser" or "get a db"

Closest I got was from holding the bass vertical so the side of my index finger pulled -"plucked" isn't the right word - the string, over the 12th fret. Still didn't have that blossom that Paolo describes though.

How did it go?

That looks like a pretty standard switch, but could you measure it? I have some M6 nuts and bolts, chrome if that's any use. PM me if you want a pair.

On 29/04/2024 at 09:49, Grassie said:

Come On Eileen - 42 years later and I still have no idea what the little curly haired fella is on about.

 

Bukake karaoke?

On 31/03/2024 at 09:03, ubit said:

 

Many years ago, I watched a documentary about UB40. It was probably made because the Campbell brothers dad was a famous folk musician. Anyway, they had only released two albums I think at the time. They said we won't sing love songs. We sing about real life struggles and oppression and all that stuff that's important when you are young. If you ever hear us singing love songs, you know we have sold out.

 

I guess they sold out then.

Seen, but in their defence they got a lot of royalties paid to the composers of the songs they covered. Many of them were skint, having been ripped off by the original producers. Labour of Love, cheesy as it was in my (our) opinion was just that.

Does anyone, since the invention of the excellent Speakon, still make amplifiers with xlr speaker outputs? Seems a bit risky, a connector offering big volts and amps on a connector most commonly seen on microphones.

God bless Phil and Bill, for sure they are the nemesis of the Audiophool!

16 hours ago, NancyJohnson said:

I ran an old Precision bass for years, this went through several pickup configurations and arguably the best was when I just wired a 1/4 Pounder pickup straight into the output jack.

 

Not pots, just pure signal; this fed a POD (and later a BDDI), then into the effects return of whatever amp I was using.  Lovely.

 

End of the day, I always play with everything open; this just takes it a step further.  We obsess too much - just let the bass ring and let your outboard kit and amp do what they're supposed to do; shape and amplify.

Works for me, too. Still got the controls, but fitted a bypass switch.

On 15/03/2024 at 03:15, M@23 said:

Didn’t know what to expect with a thread title like that 😂

Up there with "will I blow the speaker?" a while back

My sister has a 90s 5 string Thumb that she discovered has a stripped truss-rod nut. Apparently in an effort to alleviate the neck-dive they specified an alloy nut, and this is a known issue. I don't know how difficult that would be to fix. If you want to have a go, make an offer.

16 hours ago, TheGreek said:

You're all missing the essentials...

 

The Ritter Royal Flora Aurum

 Price: $250,000
 Manufacturer: Jens Ritter
 Year Made: 2006
 Body Type: Solid

Image source: Jens Ritter Instruments

The Ritter Royal Flora Aurum Bass Guitar truly represents the epitome of luxury and craftsmanship, with its attention to even the minutest details making it a veritable work of art making it the most expensive bass guitar ever. One of the standout features is the Floral Pattern Fingerboard Inlay, which is meticulously crafted from massive 24-carat gold.

The bridge, tuner buttons, and knobs are individually hand-cast in massive gold, exuding a sense of grandeur that complements the bass guitar’s overall aesthetic. Two flawless brilliant-cut diamonds, each weighing 3.3 carats, adorn the knobs, elevating this instrument to the realm of true luxury. The incorporation of tiny green brilliant-cut diamonds as knob position marks is a thoughtful and intricate touch, adding both functionality and beauty to the design.

Did You Know?

To underscore its uniqueness, the nut is crafted from at least 10,000-year-old mammoth ivory, connecting the instrument to an ancient past and making it a true collector’s item.

 

...but is it the best bass for metal?

7 minutes ago, LukeFRC said:

I personally think that most the tone from a guitar or bass comes from the TONEWOOD, I’ve done extensive RESEARCH on the internets so don’t have the TIM to argue with uneducated people about that. What I would do is combine the BEST of all worlds to create a amazing axe - the body would have layers of ash, alder and mahogany letting me access all the major guitar tones - and then I would want in layers  a 5A* burl top, then 5A*flame maple then with 5A* quilt top - expensive but worth it by having all the tone woods it gives you. ALL THE TONES  

the fretboard I haven’t decided on but think maple under the D and G strings, wenge under the A and then Brazilian rosewood under the B and E string 

 

 

Interchangeable tonewoods, possibly automated, so you don't get the problems associated with playing in C on a maple body or 3/4 with ebony fingerboard.

A smartphone, possibly recessed into the back of the headstock, for checking the Funny Meme thread on BC while the guitarist faffs about with his pedals.

19 minutes ago, fretmeister said:

 

Hopefully there will be a bar.

And some foam

Everything was digital in the 80s, then it was Titanium for a while, now it seems to be Quantum. There's even a housing estate being built near me called Quantum Fields. Whatever next, Quark Gardens?

19 hours ago, BassmanPaul said:

just to be picky with the OP, Class D amps are not digital they are analogue.

 

I use a 2KW capable  Class D stereo power amp driven by a full tube pre-amp I designed and built for that purpose. In a four space SKB rack case I can lift it with just two fingers.

 

True, but it doesn't help that the Synq amp pictured above describes itself as 'digital' on its face.

Like a pair of headphones I once owned, a panel heater on the wall over there, and probably several of the onions in my fridge.

I was 16 when I borrowed it, seemed huge at the time. Mind you, I was a four stone apology, not the two separate gorillas I am today.

Fender did a 4x12 with angled speakers, as Mr Paul says it was huge.

David Wm Sims 

6 hours ago, merello said:

Tony Levin with Peter Gabriel, especially Sledgehammer

Fretless with a pick, isn't that illegal? 😅 

On 27/02/2024 at 04:20, BlackCrow said:

And if that is not enough information, I only use Duracell batteries to power the active EMG pre-amp and active pickups running to a Mogami Gold 6ft cable  with one straight 1/4 inch end into the pedal chain and a 90 degree 1/4" end into the bass. The Voodoo Labs pedalboard which powers all my pedals ( no 9v batts in pedals) which are all all connected by Mogami Gold 3" patch cables. The Mesa amp power cable is stock. I run all this through a Furman RMI/EFI/Surge protected power conditioner. I keep my bass in a Gator hardshell case. I use a Franklin black leather strap about 4 inches wide with some nice padding over my left shoulder with some nice brass conchos in the empty adjustment slots that hang on my right side behind my ass. Play mostly two-finger style, but can make do with a plectrum if a song requires more "bite". Usually wear jeans and boots and a t-shirt to rehearsal and gigs. I have more hair on my face than I do on my head, and usually wear a cap, but how all this info will help me determine if a particular Barefaced cab will work for me is beyond my comprehension...just trying to supply all the info I can...

But... What are the best socks for metal? 😅