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I'm thinking about getting one of the Squier P-Basses in the Vintage series, maybe the ash-on-black-with-maple-board. I was thinking about dropping one of the SD Quarter Pounders in there. My only question is how much REALLY does a body and neck mean on these? I've been having one or two intonation issues with my bass, but it's an SX and I treat it like poo poo sometimes (bass feedback freakouts at the end of shows) so I'm not really surprised. I'm mostly worried about intonation, so I'd like some feedback from people with experience with that line of squiers. Edit: Serious question: Why do I always have to go to the bathroom in the middle of practicing my upright? Is that normal? Noise Machine fucked around with this message at 19:07 on Sep 1, 2011 |
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Sep 1, 2011 19:02
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The neck is a weak point for lower end P's, designed with a truss rod which often doesn't have enough threads (not enough range of adjustment) to correct positive bow. Electronics are universally lovely on Squiers but electronics are very simple to upgrade compared to a neck. I'd say test out a good amount of Squier, MIM, or used P-basses, and pick out the one that plays the best with the straightest possible neck.
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Sep 1, 2011 20:12
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Barn Door posted:The neck is a weak point for lower end P's, designed with a truss rod which often doesn't have enough threads (not enough range of adjustment) to correct positive bow. Electronics are universally lovely on Squiers but electronics are very simple to upgrade compared to a neck. I'd say test out a good amount of Squier, MIM, or used P-basses, and pick out the one that plays the best with the straightest possible neck. Do you think I should just go for a used MIM? The price point is basically the same, and if I'm going for the squires I feel like I should save the extra $50 to get a good used MIM.
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Sep 1, 2011 20:19
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I'm thinking of trading my beater Yamaha PJ for a much sexier beater Squier PJ. http://www.guitarcenter.com/Squier-Vintage-Modified-Jaguar-Bass-106075815-i1535384.gc
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Sep 1, 2011 20:33
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Barn Door posted:The neck is a weak point for lower end P's, designed with a truss rod which often doesn't have enough threads (not enough range of adjustment) to correct positive bow. Electronics are universally lovely on Squiers but electronics are very simple to upgrade compared to a neck. I'd say test out a good amount of Squier, MIM, or used P-basses, and pick out the one that plays the best with the straightest possible neck. I disagree on the electronics. Ever since the VM and CV series came out, their electronics have been on par, if not a tad better than the MIM Fenders. Granted if you want the slightly scooped sound of the Quarter Pounders, then go for it. But they definitely don't NEED an electronics upgrade like the Squiers of old.
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Sep 1, 2011 22:01
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Noise Machine posted:Do you think I should just go for a used MIM? The price point is basically the same, and if I'm going for the squires I feel like I should save the extra $50 to get a good used MIM. I would go for the used MIM just for resale value, but you've already won the battle by choosing a P bass.  Check around, though. I found a $600 1980's MIJ P bass in my town recently and horrifically couldn't justify the purchase.
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Sep 1, 2011 22:12
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Barn Door posted:I would go for the used MIM just for resale value, but you've already won the battle by choosing a P bass.  Any clue what year?
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Sep 2, 2011 01:02
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scuz what are you going to do with that DS-1? I'll pay shipping to take it off your hands if you think it's at all fixable. I'm not averse to putting some time into fixing it but I don't want to bother if it's just flat busted at this point. PM me if you're interested!
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Sep 2, 2011 04:34
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Barn Door posted:The neck is a weak point for lower end P's, designed with a truss rod which often doesn't have enough threads (not enough range of adjustment) to correct positive bow. A good guitar tech has the ability to fix this problem fyi, or so says Cat Fox.
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Sep 2, 2011 07:33
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Schlieren posted:A good guitar tech has the ability to fix this problem fyi, or so says Cat Fox. http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f18/worked-washer-under-truss-rod-nut-378372/ This was what I tried. Used a 1/4" shim. It seems to work for some people, but not for others (like me), and people continue to speculate about why. I just bought a ~$100 Mighty Mite neck and transferred all of my hardware (I have access to a drill press). Scarf posted:
I think it was about '85. https://spacetonemusic.3dcartstores.com/Fender_c_13.html It's gone, but that store always has boner-inducing vintage equipment. edit; gently caress look at that goddamn 1975 P. That is a loving slab of wood. Barn Door fucked around with this message at 10:23 on Sep 2, 2011 |
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Sep 2, 2011 10:19
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Barn Door posted:I think it was about '85. Good ol swamp ash  I do like that '71.
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Sep 2, 2011 14:20
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Barn Door posted:http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f18/worked-washer-under-truss-rod-nut-378372/ It was in a brief conversation with her when I described why I was replacing my old SX neck with a Warmoth one; she said it had to do with heating up the neck to 'reset' it or some such. I'm going the same route that you went, just thought I'd put the information out there for someone encountering the same problem who really doesn't want to have to swap out necks! I'm no guitar tech, so to have any questions answered, call: http://www.catfox.com
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Sep 2, 2011 16:30
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Partial crosspost from the new purchases thread:   Squier Vintage Modified Mustang and a Peavey TKO80. My very first bass and I couldn't be happier. I played a few different basses at a music store and had decided on some kind of short-scale, and when I found the Mustang on Ebay I pretty much had to buy it.
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Sep 3, 2011 00:43
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Does it matter if my fingers don't come to rest on the string above after I pluck a string while playing fingerstyle? I've played for a bit now without doing it and it feels uncomfortable to do it.
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Sep 6, 2011 00:55
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How's your muting? If you crank your amp and play in front of it are strings resonating on their own? I'm not sure how I'd mute without good right hand technique.
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Sep 6, 2011 01:33
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I absolutely love the sound of the Yamaha SBV-500 bass. Unfortunately, I'm poor and they're pretty rare/expensive. I'm looking for a bass under $500 with similar qualities: 1. Punchy bottom end with well defined midrange 2. Slim, slender neck I guess what I'm looking for is a good punk bass - something with enough midrange to be up front but enough bottom to fill out a song. Can anyone point me in the right direction?
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Sep 7, 2011 03:15
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Doctor Claw - Find an old Fender Power Jazz Special from the 80's. Rosewood board, black hardware, black back of neck, P pickup, J pickup, and lots of great tone. It's the bass that Duff from GnR used/uses. Here's a vid of a newer one, where the back of the neck is clear instead of black. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g01PHw12sAc This might have that sound you want. Otherwise, look for a Fender MIM Jazz bass. It has the growl, the midrange, but can also lack in a bit of bottom, which is why I suggest and prefer the growl of the PJ config. Matt Freeman is known to play a Fender Jazz (as well as precision basses): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjMi0R1ogi8 But what do I know, I'm a bit biased. Looking for a different sound, I'd probably recommend a Ric, but out of the budget you are looking for.
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Sep 7, 2011 03:35
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Omar al-Bishie posted:Does it matter if my fingers don't come to rest on the string above after I pluck a string while playing fingerstyle? I've played for a bit now without doing it and it feels uncomfortable to do it. Nope, it doesn't matter. It all depends on the note you are trying to achieve when playing. Does it need to come to rest on the other string? Or is the other string still resonating? Really depends. If you think this is a muting issue, muting can be done by the right hand but is also controlling the left hand. There are basses that I'll play that I prefer the fingers to hit the next string. Mainly on jazz basses on the bridge pickup, where the tension is tighter. On the bassier/neck pickup, I don't do this at all. The strings are just too flabby at that point, and my finger will end up pinching the other finger because I'm not a finger-floating kind of guy.
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Sep 7, 2011 03:39
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Doctor Claw posted:I absolutely love the sound of the Yamaha SBV-500 bass. Unfortunately, I'm poor and they're pretty rare/expensive. I'm looking for a bass under $500 with similar qualities: My MIM Jazz works great for punk stuff. If you do go for that, though, I'd recommend a pickup upgrade. I went for a DiMarzio Model J in the neck and an Area J in the bridge. Neck gets really fat (especially if I put the pickups in series) to the point that I usually roll off the bass a little bit, and there's midrange for days from the Area J. I'm extremely happy with the combo, and they're completely hum free!
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Sep 7, 2011 03:56
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Doctor Claw, first off I gotta say we are SBV-bros. Kind of. I loving love mine. So much. So, so much. Secondly, Plastic Snake is dead-on with the Model J neck. I don't have experience with the Area J, but that neck pickup is massive. Like he said, you may find that it's less articulate than other pickups with the same EQ settings. It's huge but not overly hot, which is convenient. Throwing some new pickups in a cheaper Jazz-style bass (I've heard a lot of good stuff about the CV line) might be the way to go. By the way, the SBV-500's neck pickup isn't quite as big as the Model J, but it's around that range. Not as bassy. It is the perfect pickup, to me. I never even use the bridge one, I'd be happy with the neck alone. If you use resources such as allofcraigs or even Ishibashi's used section, you might be able to find one SBVs. There was a -550 (the P/J version) on eBay a while ago, but it was local pickup only in England. I would kill a man for one of those.
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Sep 7, 2011 04:48
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Achtane - recently noticed the green Jag on TB. Gorgeous! Just stunning! Did you ever post it up on here? Gotta show the world... or just a few goons that pay attention to this thread.
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Sep 8, 2011 00:36
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Anyone have any experience with DR Black Beauties? I know they are coated with something. How long does the coating usually last? I just switched to DR Hi Beams from Ernie balls and I love the strings tone, feel and everything.
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Sep 8, 2011 01:30
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lazerwolf posted:Anyone have any experience with DR Black Beauties? I know they are coated with something. How long does the coating usually last? I just switched to DR Hi Beams from Ernie balls and I love the strings tone, feel and everything. I've gone through several sets, and even have a few on basses/guitars in the collection - mainly for the look. While I like DR sound, the black beauties don't give the classic DR tone. With a pick, you'll notice a bit of scuffing on the strings. If you are just a finger player that frets, they'll last a long while. DR has also released extra life coated strings. I think it's their new K3.
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Sep 8, 2011 01:59
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I have some on a 35" tuned to B. They're less bright than hi beams and the coating isn't nearly as nice or resilient as that on the Elixrs I typically use. They do look kick rear end on a maple fret board though.
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Sep 8, 2011 05:13
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Ackbarf posted:They do look kick rear end on a maple fret board though. Yeah I have a Fender Marcus Miller Sig bass and I think the bass deserves those strings.
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Sep 8, 2011 14:58
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http://www.ebay.com/itm/SQUIER-VINTAGE-MODIFIED-JAGUAR-BASS-SPECIAL-JAG-BASS-/180718655088?pt=Guitar&hash=item2a13abd670#ht_1847wt_1037 Don't tempt me, eBay. I know I've been wanting to get into bass, I know that I've wanted a PJ bass, and I know I COULD give you $130, but I really should be saving up fo- Who am I kidding, I still want it.
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Sep 8, 2011 16:55
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Both guitarists in my bands use Line 6 Pods and while I'm not usually much of an effects player I'm interested in one of those multi-effects dealies. I'm finding Bass Floor Pods for pretty cheap online, are those any good? My guitarist is urging me to get an XT with all the bass upgrades that's on local craigslist but it's about a hundred more and I'm worried I'll just be spending on stuff I'll never use, since it's mainly a guitar effects thing and I don't do much electric guitar playing.
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Sep 8, 2011 22:08
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Bruce Boxliker posted:Both guitarists in my bands use Line 6 Pods and while I'm not usually much of an effects player I'm interested in one of those multi-effects dealies. I'm finding Bass Floor Pods for pretty cheap online, are those any good? My guitarist is urging me to get an XT with all the bass upgrades that's on local craigslist but it's about a hundred more and I'm worried I'll just be spending on stuff I'll never use, since it's mainly a guitar effects thing and I don't do much electric guitar playing. The newer Line6 stuff is great. Before, you could get the bass unit, or the guitar unit and then add on the bass modules via software. Now, their stuff is all in one from what I have read so far. There are tons of sounds you can get, adjustments you can make on the fly with a computer hooked up, it's really great. At one time, I wanted to play with the XT Live and a power amp - that's it! But I ended up selling that project off and going with a different setup.
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Sep 8, 2011 22:32
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I feel like I should know this but I don't since I've never had two cabs: For argument's sake, say I have two 8-ohm cabs, each rated at 500w. Should my 4-ohm head be rated for 500w or 1000w? My question isn't about ohms, it's about if having two cabs doubles what you can output for power. So if I used a 500w head, I'd be running each cab at half power? NarkyBark fucked around with this message at 23:21 on Sep 8, 2011 |
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Sep 8, 2011 22:45
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NarkyBark posted:So if I used a 500w head, I'd be running each cab at half power? Yes, 250 each. I'm assuming that you would have these cabs in parallel, so they would present a 4ohm load to the amp.
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Sep 9, 2011 04:13
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You will also want to consider the sensitivity ratings of your chosen cabs. A cab with low sensitivity (95db, for instance) will require more power to achieve the same "loudness" as a cab rated to 101db. In your case, 250 watts per cab would be more than adequate if the cabs were reasonably sensitive, but if they're power-hungry you might want to look at something with a bit more juice. Personally though, I would say that 500 watts at 4 ohms should be fine for most situations.
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Sep 9, 2011 04:45
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Schatten posted:The newer Line6 stuff is great. Before, you could get the bass unit, or the guitar unit and then add on the bass modules via software. Now, their stuff is all in one from what I have read so far. There are tons of sounds you can get, adjustments you can make on the fly with a computer hooked up, it's really great. At one time, I wanted to play with the XT Live and a power amp - that's it! But I ended up selling that project off and going with a different setup. Yeah I know they're pretty sweet from seeing my guitarists mess with them, I guess my question was more "Is the Bass Floor Pod good or should I spring for the XT". The Floor Pod seems to do everything I'd want except distortion/fuzz, but the XT seems like I'd be paying more for a lot of functionality I'd never use.
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Sep 9, 2011 07:06
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Juaguocio posted:You will also want to consider the sensitivity ratings of your chosen cabs. A cab with low sensitivity (95db, for instance) will require more power to achieve the same "loudness" as a cab rated to 101db. In your case, 250 watts per cab would be more than adequate if the cabs were reasonably sensitive, but if they're power-hungry you might want to look at something with a bit more juice. Personally though, I would say that 500 watts at 4 ohms should be fine for most situations. This. Plus it's a rare event to use every single ounce of power from your rig... And anywhere you play that you would need more than 500w is going to have a pretty sizable PA system.
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Sep 9, 2011 13:54
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With my amp, at least, I've noticed that I can't really run at full power due to transients. If I play with an aggressive attack, or if my equipment is especially sensitive to the initial attack of the note, it can use a lot of power to reproduce that. Having extra wattage in reserve gives you more room for that sort of stuff. My cab also has exceptional low-end response, which sounds (and feels) fantastic but requires more juice. My setup has a cab that handles ~400 watts, with a 500 watt head to give a bit of headroom. In my travels through other music forums, I have seen players with heads capable of delivering 4x the power that their cab can handle in an effort to keep things from distorting and help the amps run cooler. This is also done with PA and other pro sound applications. TL/DR solid state amps are like cars - it's better to let a powerful engine pull you down the road at 2000RPM instead of a little engine screaming along at 7000RPM. It runs better and lasts longer.
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Sep 9, 2011 14:20
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Schatten posted:Achtane - recently noticed the green Jag on TB. Gorgeous! Just stunning! Did you ever post it up on here? Gotta show the world... or just a few goons that pay attention to this thread. Thanks man! I posted it a while back. Couldn't have done it without you! I should be getting a mic preamp soon, so perhaps I'll have clips up then. Recently I ordered a set of Circle K strings, the balanced balanced .150 .112 .082 .061 set. I tune it BEAD and it's blowing me away. The most attention I usually pay to strings is "is it round/flat/nickel/steel", but the balanced tension really makes everything more comfortable. It also stays in tune really well, and the act of tuning the B is no problem at all. I thought the .130 and .135 Bs I tried were still too floppy for my liking, so the comically large .150 is working out great. I absolutely hate steel strings, but the nickel/steel hybrid is working out well. Still gotta kill them a bit though. Also, the Wagoneer has been updated with a bridge pilfered from an El Degas Rickenbacker 4001 copy and twin 31k mudbuckers. And a stupid homemade "pickup ring" from the lid of a CD carrying box to cover up the huge chiseled cavity I made for the soapbar that used to be there, as well as the chiseling I had to do to fit the bridge in. Glorious.  I needed a bridge with tighter string spacing to better match their fields. Actually, the mudbuckers aren't total bass like you'd expect. I really like them! But, I am also a neck pickup guy -- I only sometimes use J-basses with both pickups on, and almost never with the bridge only. I also tend to play almost on the neck, so my taste might not be a good general barometer. These mudbuckers are both wired to one volume pot right now for convenience, but I might do a 3-way switch sometime.
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Sep 9, 2011 18:54
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I really like instruments with character, and that looks rad - nice red and orange colour scheme too!
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Sep 9, 2011 19:13
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I was actually asking more about the dual setup than the rest, but it's all good. I think I've changed my mind anyway- I'll likely go with a single 1000w 8-ohm cab (because I'm getting it cheap) but instead will try to find a power amp that's a good fit for it. (and if you guys have any suggestions on THAT, I'm all ears!)
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Sep 10, 2011 00:04
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NarkyBark posted:I was actually asking more about the dual setup than the rest, but it's all good. I think I've changed my mind anyway- I'll likely go with a single 1000w 8-ohm cab (because I'm getting it cheap) but instead will try to find a power amp that's a good fit for it. (and if you guys have any suggestions on THAT, I'm all ears!) What kind of sound are you looking for? What types of music do you play? I got a call from a flute player in Orlando looking for a bassist for a gig at my school to play a jazz combo gig for a conference this Friday. He asked me if I was a straight-up cat I also talked to the local PD about a block party gig possibility at the end of the month. They said my band Grandpa's Headache (classic rock covers) is more than welcome to play, but that gig is also Friday. If we confirm both gigs, the keys player an myself would have two gigs to play in a four hour span... Busy day.EDIT: I was just browsing through combo pre/power head units recently, spaced out on that bit. The Science Goy fucked around with this message at 17:02 on Sep 14, 2011 |
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Sep 14, 2011 15:08
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NarkyBark posted:I was actually asking more about the dual setup than the rest, but it's all good. I think I've changed my mind anyway- I'll likely go with a single 1000w 8-ohm cab (because I'm getting it cheap) but instead will try to find a power amp that's a good fit for it. (and if you guys have any suggestions on THAT, I'm all ears!) CaseFace McGee posted:What kind of sound are you looking for? What types of music do you play? If he's just looking for a power amp then it doesn't really matter what kind of sound/music he's into. Crown and QSC are kind of the big names in power amps, but you'll pay more for them. Peavey is always a good, solid choice. As for preamps, THAT'S going to depend on what kind of sound you want.
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Sep 14, 2011 15:41
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Not worried about sound, I already have a full setup, I'm just upgrading my sound output. I think I'm most likely going to get a Carvin power amp, they're one of the few I can find that has bridged Speakon outputs, and seem a bit cheaper than others. I'm still probably going to add some sort of additional EQ, but won't know until I try the whole new arangement. I might be able to get away with my pod and bass' EQ.
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Sep 14, 2011 16:31
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