ThomBassmonkey

[quote name='bass5' post='751339' date='Feb 19 2010, 08:24 PM']That [b][size=3]is[/size][/b] plain crazy, people with more money than sense, for sure.[/quote] He was a spoiled boy. Mummy and Daddy bought him a Trace combo and an extra cab, and a Warwick Corvette STD. Then he managed to persuade them that because he wore glasses, he needed the LEDs in his bass to see it properly so they did that for him without any questions asked (then just had them put in the front of his fretboard rather than the side) . So I'm not really sure that he fits in with normal common sense that would dictate this kind of choice. I'm tempted to try and find a nice Rockbass or Squier 5 and slap some upgrades on it, that's what brought about this thread. Not really looking for suggestions, just wondered on peoples opinions. If I was going to do an upgrade, it'd be more likely to be a Squier Jazz 5 (so that there's way more things that'll fit without too much alteration) that's gradually done up over time (like Lfalex), just seems like it could be a fun and satisfying project without going to the extremes of building a bass from scratch.

I have a Brice HXB406 and it's great. The frets could do with filing down a bit at the edges, but they're not "slice a finger off" sharp, they just poke you gently. Looks awesome too. Cost me £215 to my door a while back. Never really been used either (bought as a backup bass and my Ibanez is so reliable), it's probably going to get sold soon to fund something else.

[quote name='bass5' post='751231' date='Feb 19 2010, 06:36 PM']Yes you can buy a £250 Squier but you'd be crazy spending £600 on upgrade bits. The most you should spend would be £100 on a pair of pickups and £15 on decent pots / input jack & wiring. Anything other than that would be madness, and you'd be better off buying Fender rather than Squier.[/quote] Depends on if you're getting what you want from it. If you want to get the best from it, new machine heads, bridge, pickups, custom wiring (coil taps and such if you wanted it) etc would all add up and if you spent the cash doing them all up, you could spend £600 and the individual parts would be better than on the higher end model. I've seen some crazy things that I don't see the point in though, £300s worth of LEDs in a £600 bass's neck for instance.

Just wondering what peoples' views and experiences are regarding this. Basically (for example) you could buy a Fender US Jazz for £850 or a Squire Jazz for around £250 and stick on £600 of upgrades, which costs about the same amount of money. Same goes for Warwicks and Rockbasses, EBMMs and SBMMs, ESPs and LTDs etc etc and all the 3rd party copies too. To me the main pros and cons are that if you upgrade a cheap bass then it's very much more "your" bass, so the pickups, tuners, bridge etc will be your choice and also some of the components would probably be better than on an expensive bass. The biggest con from what I can see is the build quality of the wood should be better on a bass that's significantly more expensive. Just wondering what peoples' thoughts are on whether or not the better build quality would be worth the extra investment in the first place? Is there really that much of a gap that after spending the same amount on a budget bass as a pricier version that you're still losing out? Any particular budget brands that tend to skimp on the electrics to save money rather than the wood (and so would be more suited to an upgrade project than one with better grade electrics that would be more likely to be replaced anyway)? That kinda stuff. Just a food for thought thread, not really looking for anything (though I may take into account a few possibilities in the future). (apologies for putting this in the off topic forum to begin with, got lost in transit)

Just gonna add to this thread now I've had more dealings with them. Basically the cab showed up and wasn't very loud before it started to distort (barely above band practice volumes and some of the tone was lost even in the practice as it got a bit muddy) so I rang up today and Adam has been pretty helpful. My band's recording next week and he's happy letting me keep the cab for that (because it sounds awesome at low volume) then going to give him a ring at the end of next week to sort it out. After that they're going to take it back and test it (I thought it was a bit odd that it was reacting like that to volume), then seeing how that goes I'll either get another 210RBH or a neo 212 (or maybe something else, depends on the outcome). Been very pleasant to deal with today and I really think that all the problems I've had have been down to poor communication (in fact today, someone was meant to be ringing me back and never did because the message didn't get passed on, it's sorted now though). Would I order from them again? Probably if it was a straight forwards order that I could just place then be happy that it was going to get delivered with no messing about.

If you're only using it for playing on your own, you can't really go wrong. Problems will only come up if you crank it for a practice or gig.

[quote name='M4L666' post='750570' date='Feb 19 2010, 09:49 AM']The problem is finding 500w cabs, I guess. They seem to be working fine, but I'll keep my ears open. Ideally, when buying a new cab, I should go for the same or above wattage of the head, right?[/quote] Just get as high wattage as possible, can't go wrong that way. There's loads of 500w+ cabs about, it just depends on your budget and other preferences.

It's not so much the angle of the pick (if you're using a hard pick, you need to angle it a bit so it's less resistance) bu that you're moving your hand too much left and right instead of just up and down so you're scraping a little bit and getting inconsistencies. Try picking more from the elbow and shoulder and less from the wrist. You could try using the pick flatter too but it depends how stiff it is. Personally I just play fingerstyle, it's a bass, not a guitar.

I think he meant to make sure that all your FX etc are panned full left/right. There's no point hard panning if the reverb is playing both sides on both sides. Else the problem could be that the click is spilling off the stage. IEMs/phones for your drummer would be the only way to effectively cure that.

[quote name='Phaedrus' post='750465' date='Feb 19 2010, 02:39 AM']BTW, I've owned two 4x4s, and loved them both, and would love to have another one again. And while we did use the second one for the school runs, I also used it to hump band gear round in, and to get me to places where I fish that would otherwise mean long awkward walks. I couldn't (can't) afford to run a separate normal car for the school run [i]and[/i] a 4x4 for the fishing/load-lugging. So rather than have a normal car that could only cover one of my requirements, I had a 4x4 that could cover both.[/quote] Using your analogy though, would you use a 4x4 if you only needed to do the school run or transport yourself without any gear that wouldn't fit in an average car? I guess the car analogy is a good one though since people do buy sports cars and 4x4s to do the shopping and pick up their kids even just for the image.

Thanks, now I know what I'm listening for at gigs, I'll try both.

If you like the MB, why not get it? Worst that can happen is you like the GK rig too. I voted GK, I own a RB700-II that's currently running into a 210RBH (swapping to a Neo 212 for more volume) and it sounds beautiful. If I could afford the 410RBH and the back surgery I'd need every 6 months from moving it about, I wouldn't even hesitate. All comes down to taste though. Edit: and be careful, GKs are known for being loud and my 210RBH (which has similar specs to the MB STD 102 HF in that it's 2x10 400w at 8ohms) isn't really loud enough for gigging.

Ok well it was ok in practice. I found that I had to push it a bit so it lost a bit of it's clarity (not enough to be bothered about really, it still sounded great just not quite as good as it did 1 lower on the volume dial). If that was the highest volume I ever used it, I'd probably keep it, but it left me little/no headroom so it's going to go back and I'll be after a Neo 212 probably (though considering a Neo 410 too).

[quote name='Bankai' post='749908' date='Feb 18 2010, 04:06 PM']One other thing. The head is 350w into 4 ohms. 240w into 8 ohms. Both cabs are 150 @ 8 ohms. I'm not too sure on what this works out to as I don't fully understand the relation between impedance and rms. Could someone tell me what the power output would be if I used 1 cab, and what it'd be if I used both. And whether I could only use one without putting the cabs in danger. Thanks.[/quote] 4 ohms can be divided into 8 ohms with 2 cabs so with both cabs running, you'll be using 350w. With only one cab, it'll be 240w. The wattage of the amp is higher than the combined wattage of the cabs though (if you're using both) so watch out for overdriving it. It's not a massive difference though, so as long as you're easy on the volume it should be ok.

If you send a message to James Warner Prophecies ( [url="http://www.myspace.com/thejameswarnerprophecies"]http://www.myspace.com/thejameswarnerprophecies[/url] ) we'd be interested in some gig swapping action. I've only recently joined the band so it's probably better to grab one of the others. I'm sure something could be sorted out though. We play a similar style of music (roughly, we have some songs up on our myspace anyway) and we're based in Derby, so it could work out well.

[quote name='discreet' post='749210' date='Feb 18 2010, 01:41 AM']Would be very interested to know how it goes... was thinking about one of these myself.[/quote] Being honest, I think I'm half just being paranoid. I'm just finding it hard to judge in my home because my old amp was a lot cheaper and only 150w so it used to get muddy at higher volumes while this stays clear so it's not as easy to judge. Plus I'm still getting used to the head, only spent a day or so playing with the bi-amp feature. I need to get used to the boost dial which seems to distort it faster when it's up than with that down and the volume up (like a gain usually, but it seems the wrong way around). My mind's just pulling me in two directions. It sounds great, but if it's not going to be loud enough, it's better to return it now and spend the extra £50 or so to get a neo 212 (which has an extra 200w and more surface area, plus people say is mind bogglingly loud) than to decide later on that it's not enough and have to fork out for a new cab (which would probably have to replace this one rather than add to it due to space restrictions, so that'd cost me an arm and a leg). Either way, I'll try and remember to stick up a post tomorrow evening/friday morning and let you know how it is.

Thanks Still not sure about the cab, it doesn't seem loud enough but I won't find out till tomorrow night at band practice. Might end up swapping it for a Neo 212. The Brice is excellent, it's never really been played in though as I just wanted it as a backup bass. Probably going to sell it soon because I'm after a Warwick (when I recover from buying the amp!) Feels really good for the price though and feels just as good as the Ibanez, just the tone isn't quite there (though I have some EMG45Hz pups to put in it, just never got around to it).

Personally I find that as a rule of thumb, cheap instruments can be every bit as good as expensive ones (see threads on here about Westfields amongst others). Just that the QC isn't there. With cheap guitars, there seems to be a higher ratio of crap instruments to good ones, with expensive instruments, they're generally usually all pretty much the same quality (as the others in the same line). I played a RB streamer next to a EBMM ray and preferred the streamer (despite it being over £1000 less). I'd suggest going to try some out and avoiding ordering over the net.

[quote name='RussFM' post='748805' date='Feb 17 2010, 07:04 PM']I never tried an RBH, but my old Neo212 (now owned by Josh) gave me way more volume on stage than anything else I'd played, and a crisp, clear tone. Can't go wrong with them in my opinion![/quote] I've heard things about them sounding a bit synthy (all Neos, not specifically the GKs). Does that make any sense? Also just noticed that the Neo 410 is only about £40 more than the 212 on Thomann (with casters). Might be worth going with that instead if I decide to try the Neos. All this might be in vein though if I feel that the 210 is loud enough at practice. We shall see, but I'll keep looking so my options are open. Edit: just noticed the 212 goes lower. Bah, why's there nowhere in the midland that stocks these? It'd be so easy if I could just try the buggers.

I received my order of a 210RBH yesterday and a few things have struck me about it. It sounds ACE. Seriously good. It looks the business, the tilt back is a great feature and it's a good size to fit in cars and under pianos (out of the way at home). Unfortunately there's some bad points. It weight about 8 tonnes and because it's only a 2x10, it has no casters (which all the bigger models have). Also the handles are placed length ways, so it's awkward to lift with two hands and a pain in the shoulder with one hand. It starts to distort fairly early in the volume on my 700RB-II. Before halfway. I don't know if it's loud enough because I've not tried it in the context of my band yet (will be having a practice tomorrow and I'll see how much headroom there is there). It does seem loud but I don't know if it's loud enough to give me some headroom to play with. Basically, as a preliminary question, if it's not loud enough (the weight's less of an issue) I'll be thinking about moving to a Neo 212 (I'd love to stay with GK because of the bi-amp system and apart from the 210RBH, Neo 210 and Neo 212, the rest are way out of budget (not interested in the 115RBH), as much as I'd love a 410RBH. The 200 extra w handling should mean that I have more headroom to play with and it's a tad lighter. I've heard various things about the tone from the Neos being a bit different to normal cabs though. Can anyone shed any light on the differences? There's an Eden dealer in Derby so I might pop over to them to have a look at the NSP410 too, so any other suggestions will be welcome (though please try and suggest places around the Midlands if you can that stock them as I don't want to buy blind).

Maybe not the perfect place for this question, but screw it, I'll go for it anyway. How do the 5 and 6 string Warwicks balance? Very tempted to get one in a few months (obviously I'll play before I buy, just trying to find out as much as poss beforehand).

[quote name='Higgie' post='747950' date='Feb 17 2010, 03:29 AM']You guys that run just a single 2x10, are you going through the PA at your gigs too? I'd never have thought a single 2x10 would move enough air to be heard over a band![/quote] Not gigged it yet to be honest (it only arrived yesterday). It seems loud enough in my front room though. I have been wondering that myself though, there's still a very real possibility that it'll be going back and swapped for a GK neo 212. Got a practice tomorrow so I'll be able to judge better then. I've gigged for ages with a 150w 1x15" combo though and this should move as much air as that but at 320w, so it should be ok.

I think the OP is getting confused with a pre-amp as part of an active circuitry and a pre-amp as in a pre and power amp head. Get a good EQ pedal with a true bypass (as has been suggested) and you'll have more control over your tone than with any other means.

[quote name='Dr.Dave' post='748374' date='Feb 17 2010, 01:11 PM']As you say , the vent extends beyond the back of the Korg and I've never had issue with it. It goes on for about 4 hrs a night at gigs I should think , though the GK's (400RB) on mute when I'm not actually playing. Say a couple pf gigs a week on average - amps 3 years old - being Mr 12 oclock when it comes to knobs the gain and master are always straight up the middle.... Just never been an issue for me and I expect the 700s bigger power section would be pissing about at the volume levels I play at. I think it's wise to have considered air space as you have but for practical purposes I went for the 3u shallow. BTW - rack bags - nice soft padded top makes a good home for a resting bass guitar - safer than a stand IMHO if you have the sort of 'carpet carrier' roadie that we do that walks into anything in his....well - 'it's - search for raw meat and females. (Sorry Mark if you're watching!!)[/quote] I'm considering getting a 4u shallow instead of my normal 4u which is huge, I'm thinking about getting a compressor/multiFX though which might go in the extra U at some point. I guess by then I'll have gigged it a fair bit though so I'll have a better idea of how much heat is coming off it. Thanks for the reply.