gjones

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.

[quote name='RandomBass' timestamp='1350343183' post='1837718'] Im a fan of Ashdown amps, but the mibass didnt float my boat. I found the 550 version I had just didnt have any oomph behind it. The preamp went into nasty clipping before the power amp was being driven properly. Nice design and facilities though. Cheers Geoff [/quote] It took me a while to figure out how the EQ actually worked because Ashdown ,for whatever reason, don't give clear instructions on their website. The 3 rotary knobs allow you to pick the frequency you want to boost for lo mid, mid, and hi. Once I'd figured that out it opened up a world of different EQ settings.

Sold a scratchplate to Alain. Hassle free transaction and money on the nail. Deal with confidence.

Sold a scratchplate to Jon. Hassle free transaction and money on the nail. Deal with confidence.

Sold John a spiral saddle Fender bridge. Hassle free transaction and money on the nail. Deal with confidence.

After a quick search and I found this thread from talkbass. It explains the EQ very well. [url="http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f15/ashdown-mibass-756384/index7.html"]http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f15/ashdown-mibass-756384/index7.html[/url]

Well I like mine. I have the 550. Very light and pretty loud. EQ is good too. I'm sure there's an Ashdown video of it somewhere on youtube but you're right there's not many reviews. I had a fender TV15, a TC electronic classic 450 and an Ashdown ABM in the 18 mths before I got the MiBass but it was the MiBass I ended up keeping.

[quote name='bartelby' timestamp='1350310368' post='1837098'] My band's drummer is annoying me by booking us gigs without actually contacting anyone else in the band first. Then getting all stroppy when one of us says we can't make it. He's the only one without other commitments, so just ploughs ahead and confirms stuff... [/quote] Send him up to Edinburgh. As long as he's house trained and doesn't chase cars I'll take him!

[quote name='Jack Cahalane' timestamp='1350308831' post='1837065'] ...maybe when he goes he'll send back a letter from America? Okay mine was even worse [/quote] Oh, he's heard that one a few times as well.

[quote name='barneyg42' timestamp='1350306436' post='1837018'] Did he walk 500 miles to get that gig? I'll get me coat. [/quote] I thought I was very amusing when I said exactly the same thing to him when he told me he was off on tour. But he'd heard it 100 times that day and I assume he'll hear it 1000 times before he's finished the tour. He'd better get used to it.

I have found, through experience, that you are only as good as your drummer. You can be Pino Pallidino, Marcus Miller or James Jameson but if you are playing with a crap drummer, you'll sound crap as well. And if the drummer makes the bass player sound crap..........the rest of the band will sound awful too. The drummer in my band is, from tomorrow, on tour with the proclaimers for 6 weeks so I'm having to go through the same pain as you at the moment.