Delberthot

Do I get an award for never having any attachments uploaded ever? Always used Imageshack until it went all wonky and now use Photobucket

That's the first natural Stingray I've ever liked the look of because of the clear guard

[quote name='Dave Vader' post='1263626' date='Jun 10 2011, 09:29 AM']Although IIRC McCartney said in an interview once that he only started playing the Ric for precisely that reason, cos they gave him a free one, and it was the 1st ACTUAL left hander he'd got hold of.[/quote] I remember hearing that he preferred the Rick and only went back to the Hofner because Elvis Costello said that he suited the Hofner more than the Rick. And someone mentioned the lack of artist relations. I had quite an interesting debate on the Rickresource when I suggested that the Rick that Lemmy used with the maple fretboard and the star inlays was in fact a copy which meant that the extremely limited edition of about 50 Lemmy Basses hand carved by pixies in gum tree lane was silly as he had never played an original one. Plus it had no bearing on anything he had used as it couldn't possibly be a proper signature model as it was a completely different spec No one could provide evidence that the Rick in question was real but it didn't stop their witch hunt

The Van Halen one was for safety reasons - the way they saw it, if the venue took the time to take the brown M&Ms from the bowl then there was more chance that they'd read how to erect the stage or whatever safely

[quote name='4000' post='1263355' date='Jun 9 2011, 10:10 PM']Oh God, not this familiar sh*te again. [/quote] How is it sh*te? This is from experience - if you had a choice of something comfortable and easy to adjust and something with hard edges and harder to adjust then I know which one I'd go for. And yes, you can get the Hipshot bridge (didn't they have to stop making them because of RIC?) and the Pickguardian thingy for the pickup surround but I wouldn't want to spend £1600 on a bass only to find that I had to buy extra bits to make it easier to adjust

[quote name='Al Heeley' post='1262406' date='Jun 9 2011, 10:48 AM'](screwfix.com - better choice and price than B&Q)[/quote] I've always found that bizarre as well considering its the same company

Rodger Waters used an RM1999, John Deacon briefly used a 4001 prior to joining Queen. The one I remember Stanley Clarke using was a black 4000 Pete Trewavas (sp?) used a 4000 as well.

[quote name='Beedster' post='1263167' date='Jun 9 2011, 07:56 PM']Yep, agreed, so how about I rephrase the question: why is it that established bass players don't seem to gravitate[i] towards[/i] Rics?[/quote] Cos they're uncomfortable, the bridge is badly in need of an upgrade, if you play without the pickup cover you lose the skin off your fingers on the sharp edges, from the ones I've had they're simply not worth the money in terms of fit and finish versus the cost and waiting time. Compare it to the simple Precision or Jazz - comfortable forearm contour and belly cut, easy to adjust string height and intonation, you can rest your thumb on the pickup, no mucking about with twin truss rods that have to be adjusted differently from most other basses made. If I was a pro player and really wanted to get a Rick sound then I'd try different amps, effects etc rather than getting another one. Oh aye - Bruce Foxton also endorses Waterstone semi-acoustic basses

Some pics

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='1262177' date='Jun 9 2011, 12:51 AM']I'm not in a covers band but there are hundreds of other peoples' songs I can play and hundreds of others I could busk easily, and I suppose hundreds more I could manage with charts. The more you play the more obvious songs become. I was jamming some Simon & Garfunkel and Beach Boys songs on double bass tonight after a few glasses of wine and they were good fun. I could've gigged those without practicing them. If you have a decent ear you don't need to memorise much.[/quote] One of these rare 'I actually agree wth you' threads The line I recognise most is 'the more you play the more obvious songs become' there's only so many ways a song can go so why not work them out for yourself?

Awaiting a referral but I'm 99% sure I have Asbergers which means I have a sh*t hot memory. I could play 100s if not into the thousands. Plus playing in a wedding band for 14 years means that I can pretty much work out how a song is going to go even if I've never heard it before

A quick matter of letting the seller know that you can courier a speaker cab for £20 and you can have a bargain GT6-B for £85 or best offer [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BOSS-GT-6B-BASS-GUITAR-MULTI-EFFECTS-PROCESSOR-MINT-/230632434700?pt=UK_Guitar_Accessories&hash=item35b2c3ac0c"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BOSS-GT-6B-BASS-GUIT...=item35b2c3ac0c[/url] I'd have it but I don't need it

[quote name='LukeFRC' post='1261907' date='Jun 8 2011, 09:32 PM']if you fancied theres a layout on the net to build a preamp inspired by the early musicman 2 band jobbies.[/quote] Whereabouts? I already have a Bartolini active harness with stacked bass and treble but quite fancy this. There is no battery rout so the game might be a bogey if I can;t get the battery into the existing spacce

[quote name='Cosmo Valdemar' post='1259667' date='Jun 7 2011, 01:44 PM']I'd also contact the manufacturer, they may be far more helpful than you might think. I once found a dead A string in a set of Rotos. I emailed them and got a reply the same day from Jason Howe (the boss I think), apologising profusely and offered to send me a whole new pack free of charge. No return of the defective string needed, no proof of purchase, nothing. I was very impressed. [/quote] +1 to that The D on my 5 month old Roto flats felt like the wraps were coming loose as the string felt rough ( for a flat anyway ) I emailed rotosound and after a couple of emails I had a brand new D in the post wrapped in about 12 layers of bubblewrap.

[quote name='gjones' post='1261822' date='Jun 8 2011, 08:51 PM']Would this help? [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001GU6FYI/ref=s9_simh_gw_p60_d6_i2?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=10XSQJ22J6EADP932BG9&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=467128533&pf_rd_i=468294"]http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001GU6...;pf_rd_i=468294[/url][/quote] Apart from the colour of the wheels that's exactly what I use - good for 90kg Folds up nice and small. Avoid those ones where the wheels fold in like the plague. they have an unfortunate habit of trying to fold in when you're wheeling the PA subs into the gig

Its a Wilkinson Musicman pickup so its definitely a humbucker - you may be right about there being a tone control for each coil. That would make sense

I forgot about the Mk V 1518 cab. I used one of those with the V-type combo I had and it was pants wettingly good. Unfortunately I was offered an obscene amount of money for it and away it went

I've never had one of the Pros but the best rounds I've used on mine are the cheapy Hartke ones, the best coated ones were the DR Red Devils but nothing can touch the Roto flats. I've had those on for 6 months so far. I did use EB Slinkies for years on various Stingrays and Fenders and liked those. Oh and if you ever fancy getting rid of those Steve Harris flats then give me a shout. I've always wanted to try them but don't really want to buy them and find out they're too high tension

[quote name='Jean-Luc Pickguard' post='1261773' date='Jun 8 2011, 08:29 PM']Sounds weird - My Pro-V sounds pretty even across all strings with TI Flats. Do the strings match? perhaps the E has been replaced with one of a different type?[/quote] How does the Pro sound with the TIs? I absolutely love the Roto flats on my Goth

If its the factory originals then they're likely to be [url="http://www.juststrings.com/epi-e-60m5.html"]Epiphone strings[/url] funnily enough the string thickness was something I had thought about as well.

There may be others who would disagree but out of the dozen or so Stingrays I owned including a 20th anniversary, the 30th anniversary one was by far the best and started my love of mahogany bodies. The fretless Stingray is still by far my favourite fretless bass out of all of the ones I've had As soon as I read the first paragraph I was already thinking Precision. Personally, and this is only personally, they all sound more or less the same when used in a band environment so Fender CS or modified charity shop I would keep a hold of this one too. That leaves the Status but what if you suddenly develop back pain or become an old fart overnight and start complaining about the weight of the other basses? I say f*** it. You have 4 nice basses. Unless you can't find a reasonable amount of use for any one of them then keep them all.

I just picked one of these up yesterday for a bargain - even more so when I realised it had a set of LaBella flats fitted [url="http://www.gak.co.uk/en/vintage-est96-active-bass/7270"]This link is to the active one so you know what I'm on about[/url] Its one of the older (I think) passive versions but the controls have me confused. There's no battery so its definitely passive but it has 3 controls. I unscrewed the control plate to reveal a volume and what looks like two tone controls as both pots have caps fitted. I've had a guess at one being the tone and the other being a blend between using both coils of the humbucker and using just one but I'm probably wrong. Any ideas and any idea of the model number? I'm guessing EST 96 as the active one is the EST 96a

[quote name='solo4652' post='1261725' date='Jun 8 2011, 08:04 PM']Thank you to everybody for your suggestions so far. Keep them coming! A sensible way forward may well be to keep the SWR combo at the rehearsal room (where there are stairs...) and replace everything else with a suitable lightweight head + cab, or maybe a decent combo. So, for £800, what's your choice? I'd rather buy secondhand to get better VFM. Barefaced Compact + GK MB500 head? Compact + Orange Terror head? (might be a bit gritty-grindy for me). How about the Ampeg PF 500 head + cab? Again, I'm not sure I'm after the classic Ampeg rock tone. Secondhand Markbass F1 + 210 cab? How about a GK 210 combo - they look like really good value new. I'm pretty much a plug 'n' play person (because I'm used to combos), so I want a simple-to-use head, a well-matched cab, plenty of grunt, not-too-gritty sound. I don't want much really.[/quote] That's why i have what I have. plug it in and play. there are loads of controls but I only ever use the gain, output volume and a bit of boost. It has such a great inherent sound but like the Laney, it ain't fashionable and not mentioned in every second 'what should I buy?' thread so tends to get forgotten.