Chris2112

To be honest, the overall mix for wedding and functions bands tends to be better using a soundman and a board. But this is more for the really high end stuff, for other acts the backline could suffice with some care being taken to ensure the mix out front is good.

Thanks for the advice, I'll give it a shot!

[quote name='4000' post='1345337' date='Aug 19 2011, 12:28 PM']Personally I think the Wal on BSSM is is his best sound.[/quote] I'd usually support Wal but for Flea I thought the Modulus just had that edge.

There must be a lot of faffing about going on. Surely that relatively simple set up shouldn't take three hours!?

Yamaha TRB is always what comes to mind when I think of a good six string on a budget. I believe there is also a 6 string Spector on the boards at the moment for not much more, which will be an incredible bass.

If you're going to have just the one pickup, thats the place for it! Jonas Hellborg would approve!

Great looking bass! The home photographs make the headstock look really sharp! I see in the Status photograph it's a standard item. Lovely!

I usually leave them in the case with the rest of the 'case candy', despite their short shelf life.

Judging by his crap tone in the video, Flea could well be using a Fleabass! His Modulus sound was his best by some margin.

When I worked at as hotel we had a lot of weddings and fucntions bands playing there, and if the customer asked the hotel to book a band I'd usually see the invoice from the band. Some of the cheaper acts were around £400-£700, some of the most expensive acts were considerably more than £3000!

Didn't think much of that, and the tone of the bass was the worst part for me. It sounds as flat and lifeless as anything, he could have been slapping a bloody P bass!

Front face? As in the radius of the board? To be fair, I can't remember it being that different to the Musicman neck in terms of feel, apart from being slightly 'sleeker' to the hand. The main difference was in sound. It brings in that graphite sound, which is clear and burpy and very even. It's tempered still by the Musicman pickup and EQ, which isn't the sharpest item so it won't sound like a Status bass but it will improve the sound. It will also reduce the weight of the bass slightly and the tuning will be more stable as the graphite neck will not respond to temperature and humidity changes in the dramatic manner that a graphite neck will.

[quote name='TheGreek' post='1344155' date='Aug 18 2011, 11:03 AM'][b]This is sex for your eyes....absolutely beautiful bass..[/b][/quote] Sounds great too, I love the sound of the magnetic pickup mixed with the piezo. This, combined with the graphite neck leads to a cool, multi-dimensional sound. As for acoustic basses, it has to be said they won't even be loud enough to match an acoustic guitar unless they're plugged in. And once they're plugged in you're often left battling feedback and thinking "why didn't I bring an electric?". I've also never found one that felt great to play. Plenty are useable, or passable. But never great.

It will sound amazing, I'd definitely go for it if I had a jazz bass or a Musicman.

Can't you just contact a Warwick dealer in the UK?

I do have a fretless, my Iceni Zoot bass. I don't play it as much as a my fretted basses but that is mainly down to the stuff I play. I do love it though. Carbon fibre neck too, yum yum! As for acoustic basses, I've never really been that thrilled with them and the fretless acoustic basses I've played have never really impressed me. Maybe I just need to find a better one.

The Squier Classic Vibe Jazz basses are a good bet. I'm not really a jazz bass fan but I've had two and they've both been very impressive, especially for the price. If you look for a used one you certainly will not get more for your money at that end of the market.

I've always had a soft spot for Wal basses. I suppose I have had to admit that recently, I've seen them in a more realistic light. The woodworking can be superb, it can be a little less brilliant. They can be heavy. The Mk1 basses can look a bit dumpy. I think their value ballooned when it looked as though no more were going to be made. A lot of kids wanted them to look like Justin Chancellor so the old guard bought them up and increased their value. As it happens, the ideal bass for sounding like Justin Chancellor is a MM Bongo, as his Wal sound is so slathered in effects and pick noise it could be anything, and the Bongo does a perfect impression for less than 1/3 of the Wal price! I used to think the Wal sound was some kind of magic, and I worship that Geddy Lee sound. After getting my ACG I realised it was all wood choice and filter preamps! My Harlot has a mahogany body with a amboyna burl top, sycamore back and a maple and wenge neck. The pickups on the front are the ACG RFB 'Musicman' style humbuckers through the ACG filter based preamp. It naturally puts out that burpy, complex midrange that Wal basses do and that sort of shattered the mystique of Wal basses for me a tad. On the other hand, it opened my eyes to ACG and how amazing they are...which sent my plans to buy a mk2 or Mk3 Wal straight back to the shelf. In response to the original question: yes, a good handmade bass with the right woods and preamp can sound as good as a Wal. They can even sound like a Wal - my ACG does. The woodworking on my ACG is better too. Keep it quiet though, as I plan to buy a few more

[quote name='lyonk' post='1343246' date='Aug 17 2011, 03:18 PM']I already know that Ibanez SRs are a good match for me, but what other basses should I be on the lookout for? I've heard mixed reports about Warkwick necks - could a non-German Warwick work out well?[/quote] Warwick necks are a bit of an odd one. The early ones (early Thumbs and Streamers) can be very slim. The ones later on were a little thicker, my 1999 BO Thumb had a wonderful neck. After the Millenium their necks became very fat and clubby, some of them were just outrageous and their change to a D profile as opposed to the earlier C shape didn't help. Their 5 and 6 string necks have always been what I would call substantial and having owned an Ibanez BTB405QM myself years ago, I'd put them in roundabout the same region of size. I wouldn't advise going for a non-German Warwick though, as they are just not up to the standards of the proper German instrument. Don't compromise on quality merely for the size of a neck!

Yes, it's back to front! I often wonder about where my basses have ended up! Most of the ones I've traded or sold I can't remember where they went! The one I think about most is my old Status Stealth 6 string, simply because it was so rare, you don't see that many about. I'd have it back if I could, but I don't stay awake at night thinking about it!