gjones

I think you mean at what stage you can call yourself a 'bass player' i.e. someone who can play the bass to a certain level of competence. Personally I think it's a title that can only be bestowed upon you by others - like a knighthood. It can't be bestowed by someone on themselves.

I haven't got a clue but I had a listen to you tunes on soundcloud and I really like them. Especially the first one 'don't leave your joy behind' great vocals.

[quote name='Evil Undead' timestamp='1350993625' post='1845919'] Do you by any chance work for Lindo? [/quote] Oooooh.... such cynicism.

[quote name='TRBboy' timestamp='1350848258' post='1844274'] Dimarzios all the way for me! I put an Ultra Jazz set in my old USA Standard Jazz and they were just incredible. Massive output, but with a very well balanced response and frequency range. Model Js are also good, but maybe a little darker sounding. I had Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounders in there before, but I didn't find them that much of an improvement over the stock pups. The other benefit with either of the dimarzios is that they are individually hum-cancelling, so no nasty 60 cycle hum with either pup soloed. [/quote] Do you need a battery with those?

[quote name='Captain Rumble' timestamp='1350838928' post='1844078'] How do these compare to your ears ? [/quote] The model DiMarzios were very dark and deep, the Wizards were great and sounded just like my Japanese 62 reissue Fender Jazz (think of that very burpy stereotypical jazz bass sound with a nice top end but not much bass). The Mexican Jazz pickups you'll know all about. I recommend Wizards as the guy who makes them can design them to your specification for not much dosh.

Well, in the last few months I've had a set of DiMarzio model Js, a set of wizard 64s, and a set of mexican standard pickups in my Jazz Bass and have ended up reinstalling the originals (from a japanese 94 squier) back in them because, ironically, they had the sound I was after all along. So good luck with your quest. You may end up back where you started....... like I did.

[quote name='thebrig' timestamp='1350643512' post='1841588'] Don't know whether this has been done before, but here are the songs I hear most when I go and see a live 'covers' band. Admittedly, they [u]were[/u], and still [u]are[/u] great songs, but do WE still want to keep playing them, and perhaps more importantly, do the PUNTERS still want to keep hearing them? It would be interesting to see what songs you guys/gals come up with, and to hear your thoughts on playing the same old songs over and over again. 1. Mustang Sally 2. Brown Sugar 3. All Right Now 4. Born To Be Wild 5. Black Night 6. Sex On Fire 7. Brown Eyed Girl 8. Honky Tonk Woman 9. Maggie May 10. Can't Get Enough [/quote] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]I haven't played a lot of covers over the years but to my eternal shame..............I [/font][/color][b]CAN[/b][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif] play and [/font][/color][b]HAVE[/b][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif] played [/font][/color][b]ALL[/b][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif] of those![/font][/color]

Sorry to hear that. If you do want a change from TC electronics, I recommend the MiBass. The parametric EQ lets you dial in just about any sound.

I love a bit of good old Madness. I file them in my mind with all those 70s sitcoms like rising damp and on the buses.

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]How much do JV Squiers go for with non-original pickups and controls/wiring.... £600 maybe? Which would make this worth £400 max?[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]We shall see.[/font][/color]

I don't play many covers but when I do I enjoy it. Playing covers also helps your own playing as sometimes it means you step outside of your comfort zone to learn lines that can be challenging.

Oooooh I have a pair of early 80's Precision pickups that would sound real dandy in this little honey.

You want one of these. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGVyk_TObCo"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGVyk_TObCo[/url]

[quote name='Townes1992' timestamp='1329225707' post='1539061'] Thanks guys for all the advice thus far. I was heavily considering a VM squier, they seem to be popular, but the criticisms that Squier's get is always off putting. Being labelled as a 'beginners' bass sometimes makes me concerned about their longevity with redards to durability and versatility. I do often wonder why they get such bad stick in some places i look, maybe because 1 of their models recieves bad press people hold it against the whole brand!!! Thats interesting about the consistency of the MIA models, for their price range id hope that they are all consistently top quality :/. But yeah, if i settle on the MIM then i will definitely try before I buy, its ashame that Fender dont iron out this discrepancy with the MIM, £450+ is a huge chunk of money when you can't be sure of the quality. I also considered the Ibanez ATK200 and another ibanez, the Roadster from the SR series, these are within my budget and look to be good basses. I will certainly keep your advice in mind though and check out those VM's and Yamaha's, Cheers [/quote] At one point I owned 3 Jazz basses - a made in Japan fender Geddy Lee Jazz bass and a Japanese 62 reissue Jazz bass (both £800 basses and as good or better quality than US Fenders). But my guilty secret was that I preferred the sound and feel of the standard Squier Jazz Bass I bought secondhand for £95. There's a lot of brand snobbery among bass players and many wouldn't be seen dead playing a Squier.....however great it played or sounded. Interestingly the original owner of my Squier (it's had 3 owners since he bought it new?) hunted me down and asked if I would sell it back to him. I've passed on to my nephew who is learning to play so the answer was no. It just goes to show there's more to a bass than the pricetag or the logo.

Hopefully, one day before I die I'll find a band who can do justice to The Blockheads 'Hit me with your rhythm stick' just so I can play that bloody bassline I took such a long time learning. I'm not holding my breath though.

if you don't like it, It's an awful long way to go to take it back to the shop.

[quote name='Greggo' timestamp='1350287851' post='1836699'] Just seen this on internet, a stingray preamp for £41 sounds like a bargain? Is this the real deal? [url="http://www.ernieball.co.uk/products/productdetail/part_number=M05400/574.1.4.3?utm_source=google&utm_medium=shopping&utm_campaign=googleshopping&os=googleshopping"]http://www.ernieball...=googleshopping[/url] [/quote] This talkbass thread gives some good advice. It also mentions the pre amp you saw for £41 at the end of the thread [url="http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f38/mm-pickup-basslines-bassculture-villex-156511/"]http://www.talkbass....-villex-156511/[/url]

[quote name='njr911' timestamp='1350334474' post='1837575'] Anyone gt any suggested settings for the MiBass? I'm after a rocky sound. Might put a bad monkey brought it for a bit of grit. Still not had chance to plug it in [/quote] Remember that the rotary knobs allow you to pick a frequency for the Lo Mid, Mid and Hi sliders to boost or cut (the bass slider doesn't have a rotary knob). I recommend you start with the knobs all set to 12 o'clock first and then experiment with picking a frequency you want to cut or boost. Make sure you have the pre amp button pushed in to get the pre amp to work. And also make sure the shape button is not pushed in - unless you want a very scooped sound which is only really useful for slapping. You'll find there's not very many sounds you can't get.