krispn

Bought some flats from Gareth - the strings are as smooth as the transaction was! Bingo!

Razze I'm recently a 5er convert and have hardly touched the 4 string in months. I've not had to 're-learn my playing style' nor made any massive changes to how I play in general. Sure I have reworked original tunes to incorporate the low b but not in a way which over emphasises the low end - it's actually made some tunes easier as shifting the root notes to the B string 'opens up' the fretboard and going down to D on the B string is very rewarding! If you fancy a go on it gimme a shout - but I'd say from experience (and I'm of the opinion that) you should play a 5er exclusively each day for a week or two (month or two) just to get your head fully into the zone. By incorporating the B or indeed shifting patterns down to the B string you'll find that patterns are the same just in a different position on the neck (if uisng the B string as your start point) which should make the transition more natural should you go back to trying it. I've been playing over the festival and gigging with a singer/songwriter makeshift band thing and on the slower tunes the weight of those lower notes is simply a delight to play and a real nice contrast when I play a little higher up (not too high mind its still a bassline!). The bass is a 35" scale and I swear I can hear the open E string sounding 'deeper' or 'fuller' as a result but that could all be in my head I suppose. It took me a cple of goes to feel right on a 5er but now I can really dig it and have gigged and rehearsed with it exclusively with my 4 string staying home and likely to be sold off in the very near future!

Buy A basswitch or one of their new tone spark thingys. Fully fledged EQ with two bands of semi parametric mids as wella s a very musical bass and treble control too. The Basswitch is also an A/B box so you can keep your passive bass tone and then go active at the step of a button. Go check out the Basswitch demo's - its a total live tool too with boost, DI function etc etc If you like how your bass plays this will be all you'd need with no mods, simply plug and play!

I agree with MM20 Although the shape is 'different' it's as if they took a j bass and cut around that tried and tested feel/balance to give something which looks different but feels right when on the shoulder. I had one but took a panic that it was too expensive for the dives I played. In passive mode its a beast and while I think the 5'er is just a H not SSS its still got some tonal options. Probably my fav bass to have played and I'd have another in a heartbeat. The switching options should be a standard on all basses with more than one pick up. Good luck in your search!

As someone said email him or hit him up on twitter - his new band are putting out a fan funded album real soon, may even be out and as he's touring with Extreme- he could tell you what he's playing on the road now! He's been a big fan of this gear in the past. Mesa 400+ and Diesel cabs 3 8x10 GK cabs and a rack with two 2001-RB-II heads Spector, Washburn basses and Mouradian CS-75 Good luck!

My current 65 Amps 115 is sounding great!

Buy a basswitch

Can one of the band play your bass while you go out front and listen to the mix? I sometimes go through pay only but where we play has a big bass bin so I'm confident with the sound in the venue out front plus our singer has been a sound guy for yrs and does a good mix!

My recent expereience of recording Drummer and I were expected to go in and nail it ASAP - we were both a bit unhappy with the rush and basicaly had two three takes max. We never really heard it again until it was to be mixed (and honestly not THAT bothered really) and at that point there were some minor but obvious to us mistakes and a bass part which was dropped in over a build up section I didnt record! Singer did it as he "plays a bit of bass"! All vocals were done and redone until nailed and the guitar and over dubs the same - when it came to paying the back up singe got charged less in the 5 way split as she only did a little bit of vocals. Drummer and I agreed to pay our share but reminded them all that we had the least 'studio time' and the least input. We're recording again soon and there are clear boundaries as to what the drummer and I will accept in the final mix. The guy recording did a live room field recording to get the vibe and I can tell he thinks one of the songs the guitarist is over playing - I have to agree. The guitarist has declared "I'm gonna ask for a production credit"! and wonder how he'll feel if asked to under play the verse!! Drummer and I pointed out the poor quality of our last recording and and asked him how he would fix the errors he and the singer let slip on the last recording. New prouder guy took great pleasure in this and I feel we'll have a better final product thanks to his input! You have to laugh at the ego of the other pair tho - they think they're producers already I understand that recording bass is a straightforward task compared to the multi layering of vocals etc. If I play my part well I'm not gonna go back and listen to overdubs etc and woldn't want to but if you are happy with your parts as they are recorded then simply enjoy the process while you are there and be glad you're not dragged back again and again while the singer and guitarists ego wrestle for prominence in the mix

Like other posters have said play basses of diffreing price ranges againt cheaper models and try and disdern if the £600 or whatever differnece in price is in the fit & finish, pick ups/hardware or actual playability. Pick ups and that can be changed but if the basic feel and playability are right thats the best measure or a good bass. I replace a lovely jazz bass with some Dimarzio Model J's(which were a steal at £98 new!) and that bass was rockin'! I currently have two laklands, a 4 and a 5 and the playability of each is what swayed me over the other options available to me at the time. £500 budget for a decent 2nd hand bass, especially off the BC classifieds is the way forward.