Conan

[quote name='fishfry' timestamp='1421800004' post='2665294']Ditched the stock strings for Dean Barkley [/quote] They add plenty of "Gnarl" to the tone, for sure!

[quote name='Misdee' timestamp='1421796192' post='2665260'] The Fender - style bass looks great, but sounds budget, even in Marcus Miller's hands. [/quote] I'm not sure I agree. I think they sound fine. Hard to judge from a youtube video though, but they sound pretty much like a Jazz bass to me... Looking at the pickup positions though, the bridge pickup seems to be in a typical sixties placement - whereas in Marcus's original basses and his Fender signature models it is in the seventies position. Not sure how much difference that would actually make mind...

[quote name='HowieBass' timestamp='1421832073' post='2665386'] Yamaha BB425 going for silly money at GAK right now - a PJ that's well liked by many [url="http://www.gak.co.uk/en/yamaha-bb425-standard-bb-vintage-white/48076?gclid=CPiK5-jgpMMCFQHMtAodPU4AmQ"]http://www.gak.co.uk...CFQHMtAodPU4AmQ[/url] [/quote] Wow! What a price!

[quote name='uncle psychosis' timestamp='1421853122' post='2665799'] Yamaha (my preference) or Ibanez. [/quote] Yes to both. But also add in Spector - they do a "budget" range which are only budget in terms of price, not feel or sound! See Discreet's post above...

Surely (unless I have misunderstood the question) the most "versatile" pickups are the most transparent ones? The ones that colour the tone the least? I have no idea which ones these would be, but is that what we are talking about here?

[quote name='pete.young' timestamp='1421851100' post='2665758'] Any excuse to repost this link to the story of the Burman 4x18, posted by Kiwi, no. 46 in this thread: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/58420-show-us-your-burmans/page__st__30__p__972632__hl__bumper%20brown__fromsearch__1#entry972632"]http://basschat.co.u...__1#entry972632[/url] [/quote] [i]"Anyway, a local band called 'This Years Girl' wanted to try [the 4x18 cab] so they took it to the Lacarno Ballroom in Sunderland for a gig. I gave strict instructions DO NOT SWITCH IT ON UNTIL I GET THERE! As I arrived the bass player had switched on the amp, plugged in his bass and was about to pluck the bottom E string. Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!! Everything went slow motion as i moved towards him. He hit the string and all the glasses of the previous nights drinking just disappeared from the top of a grand piano. I don't mean vibrated off the top, they actually disappeared and smashed to the floor!! Light fittings in the ceiling fell out and crashed to the floor! Worse still, people standing by the bar at the back of the room looked like they were vomiting beer!! I turned from the stage area and ran towards these people. As i ran from the stage to the bar, an distance of about 20 yards, i could feel the air waves of low frequency going up and down my body which made me feel nauseous. At the bar, the bass was punching and hitting everyone including me in the throat! I discovered that the people at the bar weren't being sick as such, they were physically incapable of swallowing their beer! I managed to reach the main switch behind the bar and everthing came to an abrupt end. Of course the bass player turned round oblivious to the mayhem and destruction that had happened. To him the sound on stage had sounded normal but the cab was producing ultra low frequency that is unaudible to the human ear but can destroy your internal organs at high volumes! I can't remember [color="#ff0000"]Bumper[/color] [color="#ff0000"]Brown[/color] taking delivery of the cab! In fact I can't remember much at all after that episode - it's a blank."[/i] Now that's what I call a bass cab!!

[quote name='ubit' timestamp='1421850355' post='2665737'] They are my all time favourite band. I'm not in the least bit annoyed if someone says they don't like them. [/quote] Me neither (despite the impression I may have given earlier)! I am just interested as to why a musician would rubbish the efforts of other (very established and wealthy) musicians who bring a lot of pleasure to thousands of fans/listeners... I find it difficult to fathom.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1421845337' post='2665624'] oooh..get you..? [/quote] Well, it is a rather odd attitude that you display. There are lots of bands that I don't particularly like, but I wouldn't seek out threads about them and post the purported reasons for my dislike. That just seems pointless and rather insulting to the people who do like that band... And even more so from a musician.

[quote name='Spoombung' timestamp='1421846239' post='2665650']I'm thinking of doing a study of Rush fans. [/quote] Good luck with that!

[quote name='The Admiral' timestamp='1421705836' post='2664227'] I remember an article about gear, and he was talking about basses and amps - and had moved to Dynacord BS412 I think, and the quote was "they have really saved my life....". [/quote] If only they had...

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1421844694' post='2665606'] My take is that it is proficient but there is just no music in it. Very successful over the years, no doubt. [/quote] Geddy and the boys will be stung by your criticism of course - until they look at their bank balances. [url="http://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-celebrities/rock-stars/geddy-lee-net-worth/"]http://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-celebrities/rock-stars/geddy-lee-net-worth/[/url][url="http://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-celebrities/rock-stars/geddy-lee-net-worth/"]http://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-celebrities/rock-stars/geddy-lee-net-worth/[/url] They may feel the same about your band... assuming they've [b][i]heard[/i][/b] of you that is

Well... we have our first proper band practice with our new drummer this evening (as last week was his audition). We found him online, through a local musicians' site. The process [i][b]can[/b][/i] work, but a lot of it is down to luck. Band needing drummer at the same time as there are drummers looking for a band. I'm just pleased and relieved to be playing again after four months off!

[quote name='xilddx' timestamp='1421832178' post='2665389'] I can't really say. I'm a Rush head. I love the song, the power, the dynamics, Alex's chords, how much they seem to be in the moment, that undefinable magic. Why? [/quote] Yeah. If you love Rush (as I do) then that particular period really seems to capture what makes them what they are (in our eyes). Exemplar material, if you like. Not sure that really answers the original question mind - but how do you actually describe why you like a certain band/genre/style or piece of music?

[quote name='notable9' timestamp='1421668322' post='2663700'] Geddy Lees J has amost no action at all and to me it just sounds clanky and grindy which I know appeals to some but it does'nt really sound like a good solid bass tone to me. [/quote] Horses for courses. Geddy plays in a three-piece rock band so he has a rather large "sonic space" in which to work. If he was having to compete with two guitars and keyboards, then even he might find that his current tone might need adjusting slightly... It works for him, in his band. Problem is, loads of other players then use his tone in other bands...

[quote name='handman' timestamp='1421612722' post='2663317'] there is still a very loud hum when the bass is not being grounded by me, [/quote] You will always get that to a certain extent with single-coil pickups - but the extent will depend on the quality of the pickups themselves, your settings (reducing treble will reduce hum), the wiring, the shielding within the control cavity and so on. All are fixable to a certain degree, but there comes a point where simply buying a better quality bass becomes a more sensible option (unless you are far handier with a soldering iron than I am!) Squier pickups are notorious for hum and a generally weak sound, so pretty much anything you replace them with should be an improvement. Even a set from a Fender MIM J! (which I did with my fretless). Entwistles have a good rep on here at the moment, and are priced [b][i]very[/i][/b] competitively. I've not used them myself so I would be interested to hear your thoughts when they are installed... Watch out for the sizes though, as a number of people have reported that they are very tall...

Are the MM five strings still made in the US? The fours are now MIM aren't they? (after being made in Japan for several years...). An interesting decision from a pricing and marketing point of view.

[quote name='FinnDave' timestamp='1421593035' post='2663008'] If you set the strings too low, the magnetic field of the pickup(s) can have a damping effect on them. [/quote] Depends on the pickups. EMGs, for example, have a very weak magnetic field and you can set the pickup height as close to the strings as you like (within reason!) without the field effect you describe. In fact, EMG recommend that you do so!

[quote name='HowieBass' timestamp='1421625492' post='2663482'] You can use a length of old roundwound string as a makeshift file to deepen a nut slot. [/quote] What an excellent idea! I never would have thought of that...

[quote name='lowdown' timestamp='1421610688' post='2663287'] Blimey, they've got expensive. [/quote] They have indeed! It always surprises me that they don't come with a set of MM's signature DR strings on though... Fat Bass I think they are called.

Aha! [url="http://www.ebay.com/itm/Roland-G-88-Philip-Lynott-Bass-Guitar-Synthesizer-Controller-/321630979768?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item4ae2b346b8"]http://www.ebay.com/itm/Roland-G-88-Philip-Lynott-Bass-Guitar-Synthesizer-Controller-/321630979768?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item4ae2b346b8[/url]

[quote name='FlatEric' timestamp='1421657651' post='2663556'] From what I can see, it looks like his Roland - Based on a Greco GOB.[/quote] Interesting.... did he actually use its synthesiser capabilities, or just play it as a "standard" bass?

[quote name='Lynottfan' timestamp='1421443086' post='2661435'] I do miss the smooth warm sound that Phil had, a lot of rock players seem to just have loads of "clank" and no note definition, but not Phil. I do miss the man. [/quote] Tone-master indeed! Speaking of which, which bass is he using here? Looks like some kind of Status (or at least graphite) Fender-type neck... [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqRJtUorPMg"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqRJtUorPMg[/url]

I recently bought one of these [url="http://www.gak.co.uk/en/ibanez-sr705-tk-transparent-black/18673"]http://www.gak.co.uk...ent-black/18673[/url] for my 17 year old son, who is in exactly the same position as you. It's actually a great bass and plays really well. Plenty of tonal variation from the 3-band EQ and a nice slim, shallow neck. I bought it used (on here) for less than half of the new price! I know you said that you want to buy new, but there are some excellent bargains to be had on here - and it really is a buyer's market at the moment! For example: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/252230-ibanez-sr905/page__p__2660301__hl__ibanez__fromsearch__1#entry2660301"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/252230-ibanez-sr905/page__p__2660301__hl__ibanez__fromsearch__1#entry2660301[/url]

[quote name='cocco' timestamp='1421346716' post='2660250'] I wonder how the new Geddy will stack up against the old Jap one, its definately less attractive. [/quote] Over twice the price! Interesting that they talk about a more chunky neck profile too... surely the most attractive feature of the Geddy sigs is the slim neck? Also, that's now [i][b]three[/b][/i] Geddies in the range - MIM (that used to be CIJ - the "original"), the custom shop version and now this one! It just smacks of change for the sake of change. That said, I like the pearl blocks on the maple board - classy!