Mog

Played a deluxe a few years ago and was fairly impressed. The neck was really comfortable and fast (or would have been if the owner knew how to set up a bass) and the electronics were very usable. The build quality was fine but left me wondering if I could get a higher quality instrument for the same money. Overall its a fine bass if somewhat uninspiring/bland.

Played a deluxe a few years ago and was fairly impressed. The neck was really comfortable and fast (or would have been if the owner knew how to set up a bass) and the electronics were very usable. The build quality was fine but left me wondering if I could get a higher quality instrument for the same money. Overall its a fine bass if somewhat uninspiring/bland.

Dean Markley Blue Steels for me. Amazing clarity and a fantastically bright tone.

I use different materials depending on the tone required. Nylon, Delrin, Celluloid, etc.etc. I've always maintained it's the easiest and cheapest way to change/improve your tone. It's really noticeable with distorted basslines.

[quote name='Deep Thought' timestamp='1376624772' post='2176993']
I think the album is cracking, best I've heard in a long time. I'm quite annoyed that I won't be able to catch them on tour this year. That is one of the better tracks, although 'My God is the Sun' is my particular favourite.
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Agreed, lovely fuzz tone on that track. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-90obSa1Az4"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-90obSa1Az4[/url]

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1376636637' post='2177045']
Meh. It's OK, I suppose....


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That Jazz is fantastic. Well done sir. OT, I don't mind burst finishes if they're done correctly. Some budget instruments have awful bursts that don't have a seamless transition between shades and IMO this is what gives the technique a bad rep.

Fender prices in particular have soared over here. MM has done what it always has. Bring out a budget line relatively cheap then add another budget line so they can extort a few €100 extra out of punters by upping the price of their higher end gear. On the other hand, string prices have fallen over here. In some cases nearly by 25%.

[quote name='HazBeen' timestamp='1376039314' post='2168817']
Time for an update.

[url="http://s87.photobucket.com/user/welcometombh/media/image_zps93313940.jpg.html"][/url]

The Palmer Octobus controls all pedals (programmable) apart from the Multicomp which is always ON.

There are 4 gain/ dirt stages: Carl Martin Bass drive (low gain tube breakup), MXR Bass OD (medium gain), COG Fuzz (settings pretty heavy) and lastly the excellent B3K distortion ( hi gain distortion). I use these separate and combined.

Then a simple EBS Octabass, MXR Bass Envelope and MXR Chorus for more sonic goodness and lastly an MXR Line Driver for Clean Boost and a Korg Tuner.

My board is a Pedaltrain PT3 and I have 2 Voodoo Lab power plants installed to power it all.
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Nice board! How do you find the MXR Overdrive? I've been thinking of adding one to my own box of tricks.

Cracking bass. A mate had one with a maple board (also from the mid 90's) which I tried to buy every time he took it out of the case. Funnily enough we couldn't figure out the colour of that one either. Enjoy.

[quote name='hiram.k.hackenbacker' timestamp='1376507395' post='2175227']
+1 for the above.
It got me thinking, are there any original bass body shapes that subsequently had a guitar equivalent?
I've sat here trying to think of one for a few minutes and have come up blank.
There are loads to choose from the other way around.
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NS shaped bodies. That's all I can think of.

[quote name='Lowender' timestamp='1376503779' post='2175140']
P/J configurations -- they never seem to be like either.

Foderas. Owned one-- sold it. Nice and solid feeling but zero tone, even with 3 pu changes and a pre-amp change. They also look dorky.

Yeah, white pickguards look cheap.

Every Warwick I've ever played felt stiff to me.

Sadowsky's. Good basses but I just can't justify the price.

Most effects pedals -- they just compromise the original signal too much.

Aquilla heads. They have 20 knobs that don't do anything.

SWR heads. No way are they the wattage they claim.

Light rosewood fingerboards. They just bug me. Rosewood should be a deep dark brown.

20, 22 or 24 frets. 21 is perfect.

Thunderbirds. Good luck finding one that's balanced.

Synthetic fingerboards are fine but synthetic necks feel like plastic.

Headless -- of course.

Fiesta Red -- It looks like the color of a toy to me.

Maple finish -- except with Rics, in which icase it's my favorite Ric color. Go figure.

Acoustic bass guitars. You can''t hear them from 2 feet away and once they're amped they sound like an electric, but not as good.

Electric uprights -- neither fish nor fowl.

Obvious splits in the body wood grain. Yuck.

Lakelands -- for some reason I'm never drawn to play one.

18" speakers -- slow response and muddy.

Vintage Modified -- any way you slice it, they're cheap basses. The CV however are outstanding. They're not in the same league.

Boutique Ibanez's -- the SR is a great bass for $500. The Prestige is the same bass for $1500.00

Ultra fancy finishes. It looks like you're trying too hard.

That's off the top of my head. I'm sure I can think of more . Give me time.
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Wait until I make a brew. Don't want to miss this...

SG basses. I don't get it. Forgot to add Flying V basses. Horrible things.

[quote name='nottswarwick' timestamp='1376496426' post='2174932']
TC do a nova system specifically for the acoustic. I it is as good as their stuff usually is, it should be ace.
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Aye. The guitarist in the originals band uses one. Might be overkill for my needs though and I don't think they're great at alternate tunings. His wont even tune drop-D.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1376495395' post='2174897']
For delays your either want something very subtle, or something with a tap tempo (or MIDI synchronised tempo if you use pre-programmed backing) because there's nothing worse than obvious repeats that are out of time with the music.
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Cheers BRX, DD-6's usually pop up for next to nothing over here so I might take a punt on one of those.

They're hit and miss apparently. I've come across a few of their guitar heads and have been impressed. The link to Behringer usually leads to a shitstorm however so grab your umbrella!

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1376471556' post='2174259']
I tend to run all basses through their more "appropriate" input channel - actives through the active channel, passives through the passive... and I've never had a problem, even with my 18V Status with full bass and treble boost. But my newest bass (to me, anyway!), the Spector, seems to cause distortion on the active channel

There are a few things that could be causing this I guess, and the easiest fix is the one that I am about to go and do - put a new Duracell into the active preamp! But if that doesn't sort it, could it be that the output of this bass is just too hot for the preamp valve in my LH500? If so, would there be any value in changing it for a valve with more headroom (like the 5751 mentioned above)? Are Spectors known for having a particularly high output?

I'm rehearsing tonight so will get a chance to see if the new battery solves the problem. I hope it does!
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I run my Spectors fairly hot but I've never had that problem. Reduce the preamp output using the internal trim pot back to 55% - 60% and it should be fine.

Personally I'd use a Jazz, it gives more options. String it with a mellow sounding roundwound (Elites etc.). If needed stick a piece of foam under the strings at the bridge to slightly mute the strings.

Cheers lads. So Comp, Delay and Reverb are the big winners. I've been messing about with a TC Dreamscape and the Tone Print editor so I might grab a Hall of Fame to cover the 'verb. I've never really messed around with delays, I'm assuming I'm looking for something subtle? Re. preamps, I've the 12 string loaded with a LR Baggs Anthem. It's about as good as I'm going to get (or prepared to put into a Tanglewood) and the 6 string has the stock Shadow preamp still installed, which is fine for occasional use. Cheers again for the replies.

I've been playing for the other team a lot lately and I've decided to put together a small pedalboard to suit my needs. I mostly play the 12 string at gigs but occasionally I use a 6 string in open tunings with a slide for blues numbers with both going straight into the desk. Anyway, I'm looking for suggestions for a few basic fx units that will open up the tonal palette a wee bit. Besides the tuner (I know, not really an fx unit) and a chorus I'm not really sure what to add. I like the idea of using bass fx as they usually allow for blending of wet and dry signals so I'll probably use a few of those. Any suggestions?

These are pretty good but are limited to a few sizes. [url="http://www.pedalock.com/models.html"]http://www.pedalock.com/models.html[/url]

About every second or third gig. Fresh string Zing is a big part of my tone.

God knows?? Still doing the rounds AFAIK. He was in a Lizzy tribute the last I heard. Incredibly nice bloke I have to say. Well able to down the stout.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1371111344' post='2109823']

And while it might be possible to fit a new string in 90 seconds in the comfort of your home, on a dark stage with your band mates giving you the hurry up, it's going to be a completely different story. And that's provided your spare strings are easily accessible on stage and not still in your equipment case in the dressing room. Of course once you've got it fitted, if its a new string it'll take the next two songs to stop it going out of tune, and if it's a used one it will most likely break during before the end of the set!
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I dont get that. You let your mates give you the hurry up on stage. Great mates. I've seen many a string break at gigs, large and small and I never seen a band member or audience member get pissed about it. In fact its usually the cause of a bit of light hearted banter which is just as good as throwing a barage of tunes down their necks for an hour and a half.

Re change times, its absolutely possible to do it on a dark stage. Two snips on the broken string, run the new pre-cut string to the post, tune ,stretch, tune, stretch, job done.

I've met a few (Reading was probably the most famous internationally) but never talked technique. Our singer once asked Brian Tatler what the secret of succes was and his reply was "write good f***in songs, its that simple.."

Didnt want to hijack the thread/go OT so I sent you a PM boss.