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Adonro posted:e2:If the 6 string is indeed a no-go for my price range, what brands would be best for my style in 4 or 5? For what it's worth, I had a 5 string, and found that it wasn't as easy as I thought to adjust. If you want to play a 6, I'd suggest saving up money to get a 6, so you don't have to adjust. It's just easy and will save you money and effort in the long run.
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Apr 14, 2008 00:29
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Figured this would be the best place... The other night I was playing a gig and I broke TWO strings. Over the last couple of months I've had a problem with breaking strings on stage. Usually they happen while playing finger style but the first of the two was with a pick, and the second was with a drumstick. Now, let me clarify here, there's a song we wrote where I hit the strings with a drum stick. Fairly hard, but not enough to actually snap them at the first hit. I have a MIM Fender Jazz, and I replaced the stock bridge with one from allparts.com (This one). It came with no instructions so I just lined it up with the old one and drilled it in. I've noticed whenever I break a string on stage a very large percentage of them break at the bridge saddle. I have been currently using DR strings. Could it be my bridge? Am I playing too hard? Noise Machine fucked around with this message at 21:43 on Aug 6, 2010 |
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Aug 6, 2010 21:16
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The break happens right in front of the saddle, or on the saddle, it's too close to tell.
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Aug 6, 2010 21:57
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Underflow posted:
Can you get a name brand? Some Chinese brands are actually very good if you know a good setup guy, in particular Shen.
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Sep 19, 2010 08:14
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I'm looking to buy a combo amp that is small enough that I can use with my upright, but powerful enough where I could use it in jam situations and maybe even gigs with my electric. I've been impressed by GKs new combo series though I haven't actually heard them. I hear good stuff about Markbass too. I've tried a Line 6 bass amp that has either a 1x10 or a 1x8 in it and I've been impressed by that, although it's a little too quiet.
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Nov 24, 2010 04:44
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I have more of an ethical question than anything. I'm thinking of selling my Ampeg B3-158 combo. It's big, heavy and never gets used. I bought it when I was 13 thinking bigger amp=more rock. It's been gigged out, there are some tear in the tolex, it's had it's share of drinks spilled on the cab portion (never on/in/near the head) and then grill has gathered some rust as a result. The master volume knob has broken off but is still usable, you either have to push your thumb in it and turn, or pull it out (as it's a push/pull pot that activates the graphic EQ) and turn to taste. I'm thinking of selling it for 250-300 as a result. Is this fair? Can I even sell this thing after what it's been through?
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Nov 30, 2010 06:32
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Walked posted:Anyone have any suggestions on rhythm exercises? Take the stuff you know you're having trouble with, and sloooooooooow doooooooooown with a metronome. A good rule of thumb is if you can play it three times in a row you can start to speed up gradually. I'm just starting to practice the stuff I'm having trouble with, as oppose to practicing the stuff I'm already good at.
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Feb 1, 2011 23:45
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Action Jesus posted:Some posters in that thread liken it to $50,000 pianos or $20,000 upright basses, but that to me is a pretty off comparison seeing as those things require near-shipbuilding levels of construction to begin with Having played a $20,000 upright once, it's more a matter of how wood ages, especially in an acoustic instrument. I've never played a Fodera but I'm willing to bet the tone doesn't get better the more it ages, more or less stays the same.
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Feb 15, 2011 18:59
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DEUCE SLUICE posted:Right, a 20k upright is probably over 100 years old, or at least all the ones I've played in that price range have been. Yeah the one I played was made in the 19th century in Vienna.
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Feb 16, 2011 22:05
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DrDraxium posted:Upright/Double Bass – Starting Out Last question first, absolutely. Especially because both are now offered in academic settings, at least from my experience, it's usually weirder if a jazz player doesn't double in classical as well. Definitely purchase. Shen basses are usually the best entry level bass for the money, but the key to having a GREAT beginner bass and a POS is the quality of the bass, but also getting a GOOD LUTHIER. Do you know any people in the area? Can you ask your instructor where they get a good luthier? You could start out on electric although I know most upright bass players would advise against it. Part of why I play upright is because I don't need power to play, it's kinda liberating. It's a characteristic of the instrument.
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Apr 8, 2011 05:23
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Scarf posted:I caught the very tail-end of Ron Carter's set. If I had my way, I would have spent the entire final hour watching Ron Carter. How often do you get a chance to see the man who played bass for Davis' 2nd great quintet? I know exactly this thinking, and I'm not saying you're wrong, but I saw Ron Carter in 2005-2006 and it one of the most boring sets I've seen. He only played ballads, or songs at ballad tempo for the WHOLE TIME. They never played louder than mezzo-forte, forte tops. I left 45 minutes in. Granted he could have rip poo poo the moment I got back to my car, and I would gladly go see him again if given the chance. Also, now that I currently study jazz in school (  ) I'll admit that I had absolutely no idea how to really listen to jazz attentively. I was in high school and didn't even know about AABA forms or the concept of choruses in a jazz context.
Noise Machine fucked around with this message at 23:19 on May 3, 2011 |
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May 3, 2011 23:15
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Scarf posted:Who was he playing with? At the Fest he was with the Golden Striker Trio with Mulgrew Miller and Russel Malone. I don't remember the exact players but I think it was billed as just The Ron Carter Quartet. I remember there was an aux percussionist who had a poo poo ton of knick-knacks he would hit/blow thru/rattle, but he always went back to these toys that were just plastic tubes, and if you swung them around they'd make this drone. Very cool, not so cool when you're making it your primary instrument of the night.
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May 4, 2011 16:32
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Ackbarf posted:Any recommendations for a good bass chorus? I'm looking for something more shimmery than watery, for some of our cleaner parts (I play metal). The Polychorus sounds right up there, if I think you're going for a more "metallic" sound akin to New Order or a lot of 80s clean guitar tracks. I have a boss Super Chorus that I'm not crazy about but it gets the job done for bass.
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Jun 2, 2011 05:18
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Southern Heel posted:I'm playing in the 5th position at the moment, it's really opened up a whole bunch of inspiration for me - maybe because the open string notes are so ingrained in my head on their positions in the staff, it plays easy like Sunday morning. You should focus on notation. Tab can still be incorrect even though it's the "right" notes, the tone is not the same. In my own experience, I tend to play some notes higher up on the neck that I could play in 1st position on the G string, but I play them high up on the A to give me a fuller, rounder sound, especially if I'm using a pick. When I'm playing electric I hardly EVER play open strings (except E of course) because I can control the attack a little bit more when fret in the 5th position as opposed to an open string. On the flip side, I'm playing with a group of friends that's doing a Neko Case song that had an upright originally. I got very close to an electric-cum-upright sound using my thumb, palm muting, and playing the D and the A open. Noise Machine fucked around with this message at 20:51 on Jul 14, 2011 |
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Jul 14, 2011 20:47
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Juaguocio posted:I know some folks like using onboard preamps, but do any of you go for the minimalistic approach? I actually had a J-retro preamp installed in my j-bass for about 7-8 years before I sold it. Granted, the battery died one night at a gig, so I just flipped it into passive, and I was so lazy I never changed it until I sold the thing! That was also the time I was beginning to use fuzz pedals, so I didn't have a need to use the active circuit. When I sold the thing I took the stock jazz plate and wired it up to a single volume pot, which I actually regret now as I've been learning to use the tone control on my SX P copy, and it helps a lot! I can get some warmth when I play with a pick and I can subtly change my tone during sections of a song, IE sort of dark for a verse and bright for a chorus. My guitar player had a stock MIM strat for years but would always play with his pickup positions and tone controls to get different colors out of his guitar, I was amazed! I didn't really understand before why you would use a passive tone control on a bass.
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Jul 21, 2011 06:53
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darkwasthenight posted:
In my experience, a lot of extra bass doesn't really translate well to "good" tone. If using reggae or dub as a starting point, most of what my ear perceives as massive bass starts with a hi-cut filter. If I boost up the bass too much it gets inaudible and just becomes resonant frequencies for everything in the room. Also, you might not be as audible as you once were on stage/in rehearsal from the scooped mids. Adjusting your volume to compensate won't compensate for everything, and it might just get out of control on stage. I would keep experimenting though. This is all just in my own experience so it could be completely different for you.
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Jul 21, 2011 19:43
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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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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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DrChu posted:Yes, if you need strings that go dead quickly and chew up your frets then Rotosounds are the way to go. I bought one pack of rotosounds, they had some weird metal powder on them that irritated my eyes and caused discoloration on my skin.
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Sep 28, 2011 03:40
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Sweet lord I am GASing for a really nice P-bass or a 4001. Sweet christ sometimes playing an SX isn't that fun.
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Nov 22, 2011 05:32
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DEUCE SLUICE posted:
For what it's worth I tried a hollowbody Ibanez that I was incredibly impressed by. They can actually make good guitars when they want to.
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Nov 23, 2011 03:25
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Scarf posted:Squier has really upped their game since about 2008. Their Vintage Modified and Classic Vibe series basses really are a great value. I'm really interested in the Butterscotch Vintage Modified P-bass, should I look at replacing the bridge and the electronics or are the pickups ok? I really really really like the look of a Butterscotch/Maple P-bass but can't afford anything else.
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Dec 19, 2011 15:30
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Took my J-bass to practice the other night. In 2002 I put Bartolini pickups in it and a J-retro too. I sold the J-retro in 2010, bought a cheap P-bass copy and didn't really play the jazz for a while. When I brought it into practice it didn't really sound good unless I had a clean boost on it, then it sounded pretty good. Is there such a thing as "underpowering" pickups? Do these pickups just need a bit more gain to sound good?Scarf posted:I mean, the whole thing is gig-able in my opinion. But yeah, the electronics obviously aren't top notch. A few I've toyed around with in some shops had kind of scratchy pots, but that can happen to any bass on the floor. It definitely wouldn't hurt to maybe replace the pots, shield the electronics cavity, and yeah, replace the pickups if you really feel the need to. I'm going out on a week and a half long tour in January. I played that jazz for a long time until I broke a string and borrowed someone's p-bass, and suddenly found it was exactly the type of tone my band needed. I bought an SX p-bass copy and have gigged with that for about a year and a half. It's slowly starting to lose it with stuff like intonation, and I figure I'd rather have a bass that seems more well built and a better instrument than an SX p-bass. But then I'm worried I might just be buying another cheap bass and have these problems down the line again. Noise Machine fucked around with this message at 06:51 on Dec 28, 2011 |
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Dec 28, 2011 03:07
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The bad news: I am shuffling my schedule around so I can focus on my senior recital rather than my independent study in Engineering this semester. Good news: That money I was gonna spend on an audio interface just turned into money for a good used P-bass. THE HUNT IS ON.
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Jan 27, 2012 03:36
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Manky posted:I'll agree with that, with the exception of Danelectro '56 basses. G&L have the only single cut bass bodies I actually like.
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Feb 16, 2012 05:53
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I think that might just be fretbuzz from the roundwounds coming thru the electronics. It's part of the sound of the instrument...
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Mar 16, 2012 14:47
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How many of you have bought a used bass online without actually playing it? There seems to be a P-bass drought in my state, and the local Guitar Center is useless as it seems it's only stocking P-basses that are out of my price range. I've seen some PURRTY basses on Talkbass but a lot of them are Franken-Ps, I'm looking at one that has an unknown body make but with a Squier Standard P Neck. I'm unfamiliar with the neck to a standard Squier. I'm coming from an SX P-bass copy that while served it's purpose, basically started deteriorating after a 9 day tour. I'm afraid of spending money and ending up right back where I started, an instrument that will fall apart on me in about a year.
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May 7, 2012 07:05
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I found a MIM P-bass fairly close to me that's cheap enough to buy. If it's not in a horrible state I might snatch it. I've been eyeballing the Squier VM/CV series again though. Apparently Fender took a big turn up in QC in 2008.
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May 10, 2012 06:35
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Schatten posted:MIM P's and J's are a great staple for any bassist. If you can afford the MIAs (even a HWY1 if you don't mind the badass bridge/greasebucket where applicable), or even an MIJ, go for it. But a 300 dollar range MIM can be quite a workhorse. I actually have a MIM Jazz that I really like, unfortunately it just doesn't fit with the type of sound that I want out of my bass now, but I'll still keep it around. I guess being on talkbass for so many years (I never go on it now, but I basically went on talkbass instead of doing my homework from 2001 to 2006) I have an inferiority complex for playing "only" a MIM bass instead of some MIA Fender with lush finish or a custom boutique 7 string with mult-quilted wood laminates, but the price is actually good where I could upgrade the shielding and pots, maybe even the bridge for about 100-150. Edit: Within an hour, the price on the butterscotch Squier P dropped $100  I think it might be a sign.
Noise Machine fucked around with this message at 20:12 on May 11, 2012 |
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May 11, 2012 19:44
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I bought a Squier Jaguar VM bass today, I really like it except for the fret buzz on the 12th fret of the A string. I adjusted the neck for a little more relief and put the action on the A string fairly high (more than I'm comfortable with) and I still get fret buzz. My guess is a high fret, but I don't have any tools on me to accurately measure this. I plan on going back to the GC I bought it from and exchanging it for another one. Does this make sense or should I just find a good setup dude and pay for the repair? Edit: for the record, I like a little more than "normal" relief in my neck and medium-high action.
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May 14, 2012 01:37
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JayKay posted:A local guy here is offering me a Dingwall Combustion for $875. It's a V1 with the B-booster installed. Overall in really decent shape, just 2 small dings on the bottom corner. Thoughts? FWIW I've never played a Dingwall, but everyone I've ever heard have one says it's how a 5-string should play in terms of string spacing and string tension on the B. I've also heard multiple people say "The Voice Of God" when talking about those basses too.
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Jun 16, 2012 07:00
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Awesome cord! I can't tell if I posted this in this thread before (If I did, I blame  ) but I had a J-retro preamp for years that I really liked until I found out that I could get the same tone with passive electronics and a bit on palm muting on the lower strings...
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Jun 21, 2012 20:42
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My squier Jaguar bass hasn't been staying in tune lately, but I'm unsure if it's because of the weird humidity levels or the lovely tuners, but I played a show on friday in a friend's basement and the fucker would just not stay.
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Sep 4, 2012 06:58
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scuz posted:Just switched to a short-scale Squier bass myself and I noticed that it would go way sharp when I was really digging in, especially on the E. Tuning slightly flat or tuning while repeating a note helps a lot. It's not the short scale, it's the Jag Special. It was made in 2011.
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Sep 4, 2012 07:14
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Constipated posted:
This is the best guitar polish I've ever used: http://lizardspit.com/ The first 30 second you polish it, it's going to smell TERRIBLE. Absolutely awful, and then it will be lemon-y fresh. I sweat incredibly hard at my gigs over my bass and this absolutely gets rid of it.
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Jan 7, 2013 20:08
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niff posted:
I got the guitar polish as a gift but I'm so impressed by it I wouldn't hesitate to try another product.
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Jan 7, 2013 21:38
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Crazy glue. It's bailed me out more than once of some multi-set gigs.
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Jan 29, 2013 23:26
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Is it safe to use WD-40 on open face style tuner gears?
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May 9, 2013 22:25
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scuz posted:If you're trying to clean them, sure. If you're trying to lubricate them, no. WD-40 is primarily a solvent, since it contains mostly alcohol. If you want a lubricant, try TriFlow; it's a million times better. I am trying to lubricate. Would vaseline work for a cheap-o solution? Doesn't have to be pretty, just get the job done.
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May 9, 2013 22:58
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| # ¿ May 9, 2024 22:28 |
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js86 posted:I decided to buy one of these for my AV75RI Jazz Bass. Anyone else have one of these? Yeah, actually. I had one for a few years because I was plugging directly into PA's for a few years. I then lost battery power at a gig, flipped it into passive mode and liked the way it sounded so much I never put the battery back in. If you're using dirt/fuzz effects active basses don't usually play nice with them but YMMV.
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Sep 1, 2013 08:34
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