franzbassist

23 hours ago, Al Krow said:

Oooh pics please! 

 

Very tempted to get another active PJ 5er  at some point and I could never quite bond with my Yamaha BB735A. 

 

Guess I need to check out what the key differences between the Sire P5, P8 and P10 models are - have to fess I was totally unaware of the 8 series! 

I was amazed at how good it is for the price.  I've swapped the tuners for Gotoh Res-O-Lite: it wasn't neck heavy but now the balance is perfect and it's trimmed the weight by 7oz to make the bass bang on 9lbs. Also added Dunlop Straplocks, but other than that I will keep it stock.  No hum from the pickups and the 3 band EQ is great.  Honestly can't say enough good things about it.  Oh, and it also came with a really good gig bag as standard.

Best was without doubt my Sire P8 5 string with natural finish ash body and a roasted maple neck: Everything I have always wanted in a P5: sounds fabulous, 9lbs, perfect balance, and looks beautiful.

Worst was probably the EHB 6 string.  A lovely bass, but I just need to accept that six strings is one too many for me!

Having played around with pickup heights I can now confirm there will be no pickup retrofit.  The original set sound just fine.

10 minutes ago, chris_b said:

I'd always upgrade the pick up first, but I'd only change them if I knew I could get a better tone out of the replacement.

And as Wishbone Ash said, "there's the rub"!  I would imagine that a Nordstrand pickup sounds better, but will need to see if I can find any videos to compare online.

2 minutes ago, Geek99 said:

Not many people mod them that I know of - what exactly is wrong ?

There's nothing wrong, I just enjoy modding basses!   I may well leave it as is.  Just curious to see what others would do if they went down the mod path.  

So I am loving my new Sire P8, but I'm already thinking of what I can mod to make it even better.

I've added straplocks and lightweight tuners, so the next candidates are pickups and EQ, but which to do first?  There's nothing wrong with either, of course, but I do love to fettle!

My gut tells me pickups first and see how they sit with the existing preamp?  I could even just do the P pickup as that will do most of the work.

On 17/12/2023 at 12:33, tauzero said:

I finally got round to learning Slade properly this year.

Me too.  A lovely, melodic, weaving bassline to play.

And funnily enough I have just had a follow up email from them checking all is okay.

3 minutes ago, SumOne said:

I dunno, that doesn't sound great to me. They shouldn't send a Bass out with saddle screws missing and the electronics cutting out, needs a bit of QC before leaving Andertons or they're wasting everyone's time. As it was ordered online they have to offer refunds within 14 days regardless of any faults of they'd be breaking the law.

 

I've bought a lot of stuff from Andertons but over time I've have gone right off them.

Good points all, but the EQ may have worked perfectly if indeed they did test it before shipping: they certainly couldn't replicate the issue in the shop when I took it back. As to the saddle screws, the saddle was at the correct height as it was at an angle and balanced off the adjacent saddles: yes, maybe someone should have spotted it, but I'm not sure anyone would check for something like that before shipping.

I'll be the first to admit, I haven't always had the best experiences in Andertons.  Even as a seasoned player of many decades, I've often felt patronised when shopping in there.  However, they did a really good job for me last week, so credit where it's due.

At the start of the week, I bought a Sire P8 five string as a little treat to myself.  Bass arrived on Wednesday and it was great, and I mean really great, apart from the fact that the active EQ circuit was intermittent and the A string saddle screws were missing.  How the latter issue made it through final QC I have no idea!

Anyway, straight on email to them and they said sorry, no problem, we will sort it.  I said I could bring the bass back on Friday as I had a gig in Guildford that night, to which they said would I like a refund or to exchange it.  I opted for the latter.

I arrive on Friday afternoon and they have no less than five Sire five string Ps ready and waiting for me, ranging from the passive P5, two P7s and two P8s.  They were all great, but a natural ash P8 was the stand out bass for me, so it was just a straight swap in the end.

So, Andertons, well done.  Faultless customer service.  No ifs or buts, no patronising questions.  Thank you.

I always leave a smidge, and I mean a smidge, above the board.  

1 minute ago, SumOne said:

If it's short defined punchy notes you want then perhaps muting and EQ would help more than compression.

A fair point.  My muting technique is decent enough but it could probably do with some work when playing with a pick. 

17 minutes ago, MartinB said:

I think I learned White Wedding once, long ago - is it the one where there's like 32 bars of the same note over and over?

A couple of suggestions:

- Attack determines whether the initial transient is allowed through before compression starts. So you don't want to set it too fast, or it'll squash the percussive "click" of the plectrum. The Providence manual says it goes from 0.1 to 10 ms; I'd probably crank it to maximum.
- For general smoothing, set the threshold so that the gain reduction indicator isn't lighting up on every note - just when you dig in a bit. This should help even out any over-enthusiasm, without sounding too effect-y. But also try setting it so that it's on all the time, and see if you prefer that sound.

Thanks, that sounds like a good starting place.

And yes, there is a loooong passage sitting on that B

My covers band are playing "White Wedding" and it sounds surprisingly good, however I'd like to clean up the bass and need your help!

i) I'm playing it with a pick

ii) Initially played with down/up strokes - sounded sloppy

iii) Switched to down strokes only - much better, but still not clean enough to my ears. 

So my thoughts are to try and see if a compressor can tidy things up, however I am a technonumpty when it comes to such things, so can anyone suggest some good basic settings to try?  I have a Providence Bass Boost Comp I can use, or try out the (8) compressors in my MS-3.

Hello Brian.  If you got this from Bass Direct it's probably my old one.  A very good amp.

Imagine rocking up with that at the Dog and Duck on a Saturday night!

36 minutes ago, WinterMute said:

Surely thats Geddy Pee of Rash?

Geddy Pee of Tush

Hello Phil

You're right, there is no other choice of gauge for the low B.

I've used La Bella white nylon 5 string sets for years and never felt the low B was particularly flabby.  However,  I have also had issues with intonation on the low B in some sets, but as long as it's stable up to the fifth fret E I haven't worried about it.

Not sure that helps tbh, but you're not alone

Cheers

Gareth

Hello Si

I've been on a similar search, and would suggest Galli synthesis flats or La Bella white nylons.

The Gallis have a nylon core so they stay pretty low tension but have the feel of a traditional flat on the outside.  They are quite mid-sounding, but not in an unpleasant way.

You probably already know the La Bellas, but I have used the standard set (with the .060 G string) for many years and am a huge fan.  They work really nicely on longer scale basses.

Cheers

Gareth  

Interesting thread.  I think it's absolutely the right of any musician to keep going for as long as they feel comfortable doing so.  No one is forcing audiences to sit and listen to them.

A few observations on some of the artists mentioned.  YMMV of course

Elton John: Sounded awful at the Queen's jubilee event but was good at Glasto.

Coverdale: Lost his power years ago, but has packed out stadiums in spite of this.  I think he's confirmed he won't tour again now?

Rob Halford: Priest have de-tuned for years to allow him to keep hitting the high notes, but even he is struggling now.

Chrissie Hynde: Still amazing.

7 minutes ago, fretmeister said:

Just let people enjoy what they want to enjoy - both performer and audience.

Agreed.

Yes, it’s a BSR6M.  The W stands for walnut.  Oliver nailed it.

Superb heads.

I play a lot of fretless and have had both, but would say go for dots in the fret position rather than dots and lines.  It looks cleaner and is less confusing when playing.

Here's my view.

Bass Bros seem to be getting some real traction in the marketplace at the moment.  I haven't used them myself, but if OHM recommends them they must be good.