Chris2112

It's always good to get to grips with a decent EQ if you have time when you're gigging live. It gets you some of that control over your sound that you have when you're in a decent studio with your amp sat in front of you!

The Gaia SH-01 might not be the sort of thing you're after. It's an analogue modelling synth, designed to work sort of like old synthesizers did when they had proper analogue workings inside. It strides the gulf between proper synthesizers and synth/samplers. It's definitely more focused towards analogue sounds though, so will do a great synth bass sound (Roland have always been really good at this). You won't get it to make a convincing piano sound with just the analogue modellers, though IIRC it has a general midi soundbank of sampled instruments that will no doubt include a piano, but these can be pretty hokey sounding. Go and check one out before you buy it and see if it will suit your needs.

Buying basses is like buying a car. Crap pictures in the advert? Don't bother.

[quote name='Shambo' timestamp='1327018777' post='1505454'] No guitar ever lost value because it was owned by a smoker. The ony reason people say from a "smoke freee home" is because they're trying to validate their non or ex smokieness. I kinda knew what sort of responses to expect. [/quote] You are completely wrong. I do not mean to embarrass you unduly, but please read back over your post and see how ridiculous it sounds. When I say my basses are from a 'smoke free home', I'm not trying to 'validate' my stance on smoking. I am simply informing potential buyers that they are going to get an instrument that doesn't smell of anything, and definitely doesn't smell of toxic fumes. It's the same with my cars, I don't smoke in them and I don't let anyone else smoke in them. I cannot cite a case where an instrument has lost value because it stinks of smoke, but I'm sure it has happened. It certainly happens with cars. If I were viewing a car I'd want at least £300-£400 of the price, to cover the time it would take me to get it valeted and then to pay for the valet. So you are completely wrong, because non-smokers will let their money talk when it comes to buying soiled goods. Frankly, the last line of your post says a great deal to me, you sound like an embittered smoker who feels increasingly isolated from society by his foul habit.

Stunning, and fabulously expensive as you would imagine!

I'm guessing you're new to all this? Now is not the time to be getting hung up on the nuances of whether your Squier jazz bass sounds like the bass in the video with it's MM position humbucker. Get playing it and enjoy it! There is much time to faff about with tone in the future, when you are more sure of what you're after.

[quote name='andytoad' timestamp='1327100989' post='1506600'] you never heard of funky fingers? Tony Levin stylee? [/quote] Definitely not for Sledgehammer.

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1327069024' post='1506004'] No, I've not heard much... maybe a couple of stories years back.... certainly not as much as other brands. [/quote] The only ones I've played were either Rockbass items or Corvettes. The Rockbass and Streamer Standard model, understandably never going to set your world on fire. The Corvettes that just seemed naff were early millenium ones like the FNA, the necks were massive and the set up was poor, and it just sounded naff. Even with a setup, I don't think it would have impressed a great deal. And then there are the $$ basses and other ash bodied Corvette types that never sounded great to me. The proper top end Warwick stuff is quite genuinely incredible, to be fair.

I'd go for the Roscoe. More modern sounding with those lovely Bartolini pickups, compared to the F Bass, which to me have always sounded like a jazz bass with fairly 'cool' output.

[quote name='eude' timestamp='1327064614' post='1505899'] None there at the moment, but they come and go fairly frequently. Keep yer eyes peeled Eude [/quote] I will do, Always wanted a Thumb NT. Getting the Streamer was the bass that reminded me why Warwick suit me so well.

[quote name='eude' timestamp='1327054833' post='1505629'] plenty of peeps will chime in to direct them to the pre 2000 Thumb Bass NT's sitting in the "For Sale Section" for under £1k. [/quote] Could you please direct me to one of these in the Classifieds as I want a Thumb.

[quote name='BottomEndian' timestamp='1307784255' post='1264692'] [url="http://www.tradetang.com/for-sale/sex-toys-bondage-gear-chastity-belt-SOUNDING-Male-Urethral-Stretching/127319-2105098.html"]It's not just instruments...[/url] (That link's fairly NSFW, by the way. I mean, there are no actual naughty bits involved, but... heavens. You can just imagine it.) [/quote] No thank you! I recall someone on Talkbass talking about how a friend of his ordered a 'Fauxdera' Lincoln Goines model from Tradetang, and he reckoned it was a superb bass, almost indistinguishable from a real Fodera for a fraction of the price. Would I buy something like that! Indeed I would, if I could find one. I'd be honest about it if I sold it on, though really no-one should get scammed buying a fake Fodera...they're so rare you could just email the Fodera guys the serial number and see when they made it.

[quote name='Shambo' timestamp='1326730289' post='1501144'] As I peruse the for sale boards for instruments I can't afford, I regularly see them advertised from "smoke free homes". I was just wondering, am I missing something about ciggarette smoke causing damage? [/quote] Because it makes instruments f***ing stink. And thats never nice, it never really goes away. It was more of an issue years ago when you could buy a used bass that was fresh from years of gigging in smokey old pubs. Yuck. For me, having a bass from a smoke free home is important, I don't want that disgusting smell in my room when I'm playing my basses.

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1327006257' post='1505217'] The website was all about 'the sound of wood' and showed the massive warehouses of wood stock sat for years drying. That was what they were all about. Now, since production has gone mental skyward you wonder how they can have the same level of wood quality? [/quote] I think you could see the corners being cut a bit when they started using Ovangkol for necks instead of Wenge. I think they attributed it to Wenge being more and more difficult to source as most of it was from the Congo, which was pretty unstable in the late late 90's and early 00's when the changeover was made. I suspect before that, Warwick had decent stocks of wenge for making necks which slowly dried up. The Korean basses won't be using woods anywhere near as good as the old German basses. I don't hold high hopes for those one as Rockbass have never impressed me. If you want a great Warwick, buy an old one! My Streamer Ltd Edition from 1990 is an absolute stunner. It is noticeably better than most Streamers I've played and genuinely feels like something special.

Sounds like this bloke has taken the piss. Mind you, if he had failed to deliver on what he had agreed to teach in the lesson I wouldn't pay him a penny. Learn from this, that you should never stand for people mugging you off.

I'm not really bothered, to be honest. We've destroyed the world, effectively. Beyond rescue. I wouldn't buy them because I tend to avoid Ernie Ball stuff.

[quote name='shizznit' timestamp='1326975841' post='1504509'] I was fortunate enough to be sponsored by Warwick for a few years until they decided I wasn’t important enough and pulled the plug on me! I owned 6 basses and all were incredible…I would recommend them to anyone. [/quote] Sorry, but who do you play for? I can think of people who have had more Warwicks than that and never had 'sponsorship' from Warwick so I'd say you're lucky to take what you can get! As for these new basses, I'm a bit non-plussed but I have generally felt that way about most new Warwick basses over the past decade, apart from the Hellborg bass and amps. The Korean stuff still looks cheap and tatty and will no doubt sound and play as such. They are quite simply, not great - though their price really has rocketed over the past few years! The 30th anniversary Streamer looks awesome, despite the 'modern' features. Mind you, despite the fact it contains some features that are technically newer than the bass it's paying tribute too, I suspect it will be the better instrument for it. I much prefer the scooped headstock to the old Spector shape, the two piece bridge and the angled tuners.

Please do let us know the price of the Contrabass when you've decided on it/got word on it, Barrie.

This is crux of the matter with cover tunes; if you want to make them something 'different' you're going to need to dedicate as much time to it as if you were writing your own songs. Take those Dirty Loopz guys. Okay, so their music is awful and sounds as nice as a couple of tramps playing a rusty trombone. But they clearly didn't throw those awful tunes together in five minutes, because as dire as they are they are fairly polished performances. So if you're wanting to do something different, it will take some time and effort to make it credible. Ask yourself though, how good are 'fettled' cover tunes?

Funky as hell. Love the bass too!