Minininjarob

I got a Hipshot Kickass bridge for my P mainly because the stock BBOT is frankly terrible. Hipshot still have silly imperial Allen key sizes but it’s made a lot better and looks cool too. 
I think I may have a bit more sustain but honestly I’m not sure and I don’t care. 

18 hours ago, jd56hawk said:

Sure, it looks like a Gibson but it might be an Epiphone Thunderbird Pro IV with a Gibson truss-rod cover, and the simple truth is the Epiphone is every bit as good as the Gibson for maybe one third the price.

Seller's asking $600.

I'd buy it myself if I had the money or of it's still for sale when I do.

That’s nice thanks. 

2 hours ago, NancyJohnson said:

The colour of those Thunderbirds was more ivory than white.

 

This was mine.  I bought it in from Japan.

 

 

 

Damn that’s cool. 
why can’t I just after cheap stuff???

23 hours ago, AlexDelores said:

Very much like the band 👌 Cheers for that, they got me in through this mornings run 🙌
 

 

 

Just found them myself! Yeah really good and that tune is so catchy. 

1 hour ago, PaulThePlug said:

Epiphone...

Cheaper bolt on necks or look for a Epi Pro with thru neck.

 

I was very drawn to that particular colour and the headstock tbh

6 minutes ago, fretmeister said:

Deffo a Gibson Thunderbird.

 

The colour might not be available at the moment though.

Yeah I couldn’t find the colour and I’m not familiar with TBs so I was hoping it would be a cheaper version. Thanks for the reply. 

Lead singer from Millington plays this very tasty looking Thunderbird style bass but my googling has failed me. 
Video and poor quality screenshot below. 
Thanks!!
 

BD sorted out a problem with some strap locks I bought online so well they are my first call for bass stuff I can’t get locally. Just got a new bridge for my P bass and it arrived really fast. I got the pen and sticker which I was more happy with than I want to admit. I’ve had to hide the pen from my wife who commented on how nice it was…..
More than happy to drive 2 hours to them to get good service. 

13 hours ago, Dan Dare said:

 

Substitute "Fender P bass" for SM58 in the above and would you still agree? The 58 was a great mic' in its day and it's still serviceable, but the model was first introduced in 1966. At the time, it was pretty well the only show in town (as was the P bass in its heyday) at its price, but technology has moved on. A lot.

Yeah it has. The SM58 isn’t the same one that it was decades ago you do realise? 

I read this topic a few days ago and made the effort to speak to a pro live audio engineer and producer I know who confirmed that a SM58 is pretty much the standard and anything else just add uncertainty to them. They know the characteristics of them, they are tough, sound great and easily replaceable. For a studio session other options may be better but for a live situation why get anything else?

If you feel safe doing so you can open up the case and have a look inside. Is there loads of dust inside? Is there anywhere with any burn marks or obvious overheating issues? If you remove the case and you play it does the fan kick in when it should and does it run smoothly and quietly? Is there anything blocking the air flow? Does the amp vent out to clear air or does it fire straight into the flight case box? Is it able to suck in cool air easily? 
These are all basic things to check first and see when happens, worth a try before you send it off for an expensive repair. 

Last chance before it goes in the bin. 😞

3 hours ago, Mudpup said:

2 months away. You'll have time to learn half a verse of one of their other songs then 🤣 

Been trying to learn All My Best Friends are Metalheads but to be honest I think I’ll be drawing a pension before I manage to learn one verse. 😂😂

23 minutes ago, Mudpup said:

A brave man!!!! Good luck with it. When's the gig?

In May. Outdoor mini festival. First ever gig for me - so excited! 
I’d post a vid of me playing it but whenever I try it I am embarrassed by it. 😂

9 hours ago, Mudpup said:

I had to Google him......he's a proper monster isn't he! Love it. 

Here's a link to a tutorial. Classic Sterling tone there. As mentioned above, whack it through an SVT or something valvey to give the bottom end some girth and add some drive and it's there. 

 

 

One of my top 3 fav ever tunes. I’ve spent 2 years learning that tune (since I started playing the bass) and I think I’ve got it down now, not all the frilly bits but most of them. Going to be playing it live at my first ever gig. 
 

9 hours ago, Jack said:

Whilst singing lead and jumping around to boot. 

Honestly seen them live and it boggles the mind. 

10 hours ago, Terry M. said:

I genuinely believe the OP bought the Sterling for the wrong reason. No offence intended 🙏 Work on your craft and step on fresh snow and tell YOUR story. I mean that in good spirits. 

I am here you know……

I bought it as I tried a stingray and wasn’t massively keen, and I wanted a bass with a thinner neck too to try out (I have quite small hands compared to most, I don’t struggle too much with a P except complex stuff). I found out by chance about the Sterling and thought it might just be the ticket then later that Roger used them. It seemed to be the exact combination of everything I wanted so found one not to far away to go and try. 
I love it apart from the odd tone for some stuff which is why the advice given might help me keep it. 

10 hours ago, Cosmo Valdemar said:

Apologies if you've mentioned this already but do you use any drive? I love Stingrays but do find them quite harsh and clicky... until there's a bit of drive in the mix. Mind you that's me with most active basses 😄

A little bit yes, but not tried it much with the Sterling. That’s a good idea I’ll give that a go, thanks very much. 

11 hours ago, Jack said:

Excellent role model and one of my early reasons to get a Stingray, even though I later found out that it was a Sterling... 

 

You need a pick, an SVT and a lot of practice to sound like that though, it's more than just the bass. 

He actually used a GK 400rb for touring and recording up to Hello Rockview. Which I also have. 

3 hours ago, Mudpup said:

I think you're just used to a Precision and the USA Sterling has a very different inherent sound. Its worlds away from a Fender P sound. I'm exactly the opposite - I prefer modern active basses and just never seem to bond with Fendery type things. Having had both USA Sterlings and an SB14 (which is very very close to a USA in every aspect) they can have quite a cold clicky and clinical sound from the ceramic pickup which you can struggle to dial out. Even a Stingray sounds noticeably different because of the alnico pickup and can get pretty vintage sounding with the 2 band version. Are you sure the chap you saw had a Sterling and not a Stingray? They can look pretty similar from a distance. But I wouldn't waste time and money on the modding options, you'll only devalue what you have and it still won't quite do what you want it to. Just move it on and try something else...

He’s well known for playing a Sterling - Roger Lima from Less than Jake. 
I wasn’t about to spend that amount of money without being sure! I did play it before buying too but I’m sure we all know that it  can take a while to bond with stuff sometimes. 
As I said originally it does sound awesome for some stuff but not an awful lot for me. 

3 hours ago, ezbass said:

Multiple band line up tonight, with backline provided. Sounds OK with my MXR comp and VTDI going into it.

That bass is sooooo cool. You got a better pic of it?

2 hours ago, kwmlondon said:

Like this? 
https://www.music-man.com/instruments/basses/sterling

That’s the one. 

3 hours ago, kwmlondon said:

I’ve found modding basses is only really worth doing if you fundamentally like the instrument but have a clear, specific understanding of what you want to improve/change. In your case, if you like the way it plays and the fundamentals of the tone but find it too hot/bright/aggressive then I’d say look into an alternative preamp and/or pickup with a tap/split option. Lobster has done an amazing series of YouTube vids demoing different configurations in a ‘Ray.

Mines a Sterling not a Stingray though and not many people even know about them let alone talk about modding them. Very underrated. 

3 hours ago, Norris said:

I don't know exactly which Sterling model you have, but my Sterling Sub5 sounded very "meh". It was just about ok at home, but was quite indistinct and really didn't cut through in a band situation, even in our guitar/bass/drums trio. I then bought an active Sire PJ that sounded so much better, so put the Sterling up for sale on here. After a few weeks of bumping I eventually withdrew it.

 

I was considering changing the pickup, but after doing a bit of reading found several people who said that the preamp was the weak link. So I bought a Stinger '77 preamp from Retrovibe. Oh my goodness - there was the missing Stingray tone! It transformed the bass into something usable. It wasn't that expensive and I considered it paid for itself in one gig. I've gigged it a few times now and it makes a nice contrast to the Sire.

 

You never know, if you fancy a bit of tinkering, you might get a little bit closer to that sound that the bassist you love has

 

https://retrovibe.co.uk/product/retrovibe-stinger-77-classic-mm-stingray-bass-eq-pre-amp-2-band-pre-eb-circuit/

As someone else says I have a USA EBMM Sterling not a ‘Sterling by MM’. Yes it’s confusing I know. 😂

8 hours ago, chris_b said:

When it comes to tone an MM and a Precision are chalk and cheese.

 

It might not be an active thing, maybe you just don't get on with the sound of humbuckers.

 

I don't either.

Maybe so, good point. I’m not rushing into anything just wanna make sure I’m right before I go selling anything. I suppose it’s a journey I’m on to discover what works best for me.