Members Annoying Twit Posted September 13, 2008 Members Share Posted September 13, 2008 Finally, I have a sufficiently low frequency stringed instrument in my grubby little hands. I was in a bit of a bind as I had decided I liked the idea of a five string with a low B, but I would have preferred a reasonably playable but cheap instrument to bash about on for a bit. But, checking the second hand ads on a British bass forum revealed not one, but actually several choices. This is not the perfect bass for me. I quite like the way it feels to play, but I have felt better. But not for the price with five strings. The sound is a little metal-ish for my tastes, but this can be dialed out with EQ. While this bass is second hand, you wouldn't know it. I really, really, had to look carefully to find any imperfections. Which, when I found them, were really tiny dents in the finish. So, I have a five stringer. But I also have a bass bought for a low sum, which perhaps in the future can become a "project" or similar. One job done. Now for the next job of becoming more proficient on it. For some reason my camera was refusing to use its flash even though it needed to. One of the photos did flash though, so at least that one is clear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 0175westwood29 Posted September 13, 2008 Members Share Posted September 13, 2008 nice finish man! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Incubitabus Posted September 13, 2008 Members Share Posted September 13, 2008 Nice. As for the "metal" tone, I've found using nickel strings instead of steels will mellow out just about any bass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bassgirl9 Posted September 13, 2008 Members Share Posted September 13, 2008 That's one heck of a starter bass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Annoying Twit Posted September 13, 2008 Author Members Share Posted September 13, 2008 That's one heck of a starter bass. Is it? I don't even know which model it is. I presume it's a rockbass streamer standard. Certainly looks like one. Here it is on ebay, but they're asking freakin' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Incubitabus Posted September 13, 2008 Members Share Posted September 13, 2008 Is it? I don't even know which model it is. I presume it's a rockbass streamer standard. Certainly looks like one. Here it is on ebay, but they're asking freakin' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bassgirl9 Posted September 13, 2008 Members Share Posted September 13, 2008 My buddy had one of those. It served him well from beginner right into university as a bass major. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Annoying Twit Posted September 13, 2008 Author Members Share Posted September 13, 2008 My buddy had one of those. It served him well from beginner right into university as a bass major. Ah. I was thinking of "project-ising" it. Maybe I shouldn't then? Things I was thinking of included: Adjusting the truss rod. The action is comfortable, but perhaps the "concave-ness" of the neck is a bit high. In theory since this was cheap, I was going to be brave and actually adjust a truss rod. Everyone else probably does this all the time, but I haven't yet. Speaking to colleagues of mine who are circuit design gurus and seeing if it is possible to retro-fit active electronics. Or at least changing the tone circuitry to make it work more effectively. Now, the blue finish is very nice, and looks much nicer than the photo shows. But I do prefer natural basses. I was wondering about the possibility of removing the blue, then staining, then using some sort of matt finish. Not the sort of thing I've done before. But I don't think a, say, walnut-ish, finish would work with the silver hardware. And a new bridge would cost! Now, where's that "Bass guitar for dummies" book I got out of the library... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bassgirl9 Posted September 13, 2008 Members Share Posted September 13, 2008 Adjusting the truss rod even as often as every 3 months isn't unheard of. Kindness had a decent how to set up your bass thread a while back... I'll see if I can find it. Refinishing, changing pickups, that's all great. Some people leave their instruments as is, some hotrod them. It's all up to you. I'm going to change my pickups on my bass pretty soon too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bassgirl9 Posted September 13, 2008 Members Share Posted September 13, 2008 stupid search. I cant find it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Annoying Twit Posted September 13, 2008 Author Members Share Posted September 13, 2008 stupid search. I cant find it. I think I have it: http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1710236&highlight=truss+rod Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Incubitabus Posted September 13, 2008 Members Share Posted September 13, 2008 Adjusting the truss rod even as often as every 3 months isn't unheard of. Kindness had a decent how to set up your bass thread a while back... I'll see if I can find it. Refinishing, changing pickups, that's all great. Some people leave their instruments as is, some hotrod them. It's all up to you. I'm going to change my pickups on my bass pretty soon too. +1 I will say that anything you can't easily reverse (IE - refinishing) is usually done to a backup instrument. You might wait on that until you have a second bass. Pickups/electronics and basic setup (truss rod included) are all fine to do now, since you'll still be able to play it, but if something goes wrong in refinishing, you're out one bass (just ask bassius about his recent refinishing woes). In your case, it sounds like you'd be out your ONLY bass. Good luck with it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bassgirl9 Posted September 13, 2008 Members Share Posted September 13, 2008 I think I have it: http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1710236&highlight=truss+rod yup, that would be it. I type Kindness bass and set up into the search engine and it didn't bring it up. I guess I'd have to type kindness's and bass and setup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Annoying Twit Posted September 13, 2008 Author Members Share Posted September 13, 2008 +1 I will say that anything you can't easily reverse (IE - refinishing) is usually done to a backup instrument. You might wait on that until you have a second bass. Pickups/electronics and basic setup (truss rod included) are all fine to do now, since you'll still be able to play it, but if something goes wrong in refinishing, you're out one bass (just ask bassius about his recent refinishing woes). In your case, it sounds like you'd be out your ONLY bass. Good luck with it! I was planning to do this sort of stuff over a long period of time. I'm going to look into upgrading the passive electronics though. Not necessarily to active electronics, but maybe enough to have more tone control with the passive circuit. Fortunately I know people who know how to debug electrical circuits if I get it wrong. I imagine that I'll get a Jazz bass (of some brand) at some point in the future. Unless I discover things, like the sound of nickle strings, which change my mind in the meantime. In that case, I'd then have two basses and could take risks. But if I keep doing what I'm doing, my next purchase could be yet another different instrument first. Could be a mandolin. Or, having just edited my signature, perhaps getting my acoustic's electrics fixed could be it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Incubitabus Posted September 13, 2008 Members Share Posted September 13, 2008 I was planning to do this sort of stuff over a long period of time. I'm going to look into upgrading the passive electronics though. Not necessarily to active electronics, but maybe enough to have more tone control with the passive circuit. Fortunately I know people who know how to debug electrical circuits if I get it wrong.I imagine that I'll get a Jazz bass (of some brand) at some point in the future. Unless I discover things, like the sound of nickle strings, which change my mind in the meantime. In that case, I'd then have two basses and could take risks. But if I keep doing what I'm doing, my next purchase could be yet another different instrument first. Could be a mandolin. Or, having just edited my signature, perhaps getting my acoustic's electrics fixed could be it. Warwicks and Rockbasses pair VERY well with Bartolini pickups and electronics. They will mellow out the tone, but have a punch and clarity that those stock MEC's just can't touch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Annoying Twit Posted September 13, 2008 Author Members Share Posted September 13, 2008 Warwicks and Rockbasses pair VERY well with Bartolini pickups and electronics. They will mellow out the tone, but have a punch and clarity that those stock MEC's just can't touch. Yes, I can imagine. But, say if I went for a Bartonlini J-bass pair, which I presume would be difficult to mount, that would cost more than my entire bass did! A pair of MM style humbuckers would cost far more. I don't want to sound like I'm unhappy with the bass. I am happy with it as it is. But I do like to think about distant future upgrade paths. And I would eventually like a real "project". Which could be this bass after a future purchase, or another bass. Or even another instrument. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bassgirl9 Posted September 13, 2008 Members Share Posted September 13, 2008 Warwicks and Rockbasses pair VERY well with Bartolini pickups and electronics. That is exactly what I was going to suggest. You and I are of the same mind today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Annoying Twit Posted September 13, 2008 Author Members Share Posted September 13, 2008 May I engage in a considerable amount of backpedalling here. I've just plugged the rockbass into my Behringer X-VAMP guitar effects thing. I was listening through some cheap Sony headphones that boost the bass a bit much. Even though the X-VAMP is not designed for bass, I seemed to get a variety of nice and interesting tones out of the combination. So, rather than modify the bass or electronics in any way, it looks like I have the tools to get some really nice bass tones (as far as my inexperienced ears can tell) at my disposal already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fretless Posted September 13, 2008 Members Share Posted September 13, 2008 Looks Great ! Congrats ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Annoying Twit Posted September 13, 2008 Author Members Share Posted September 13, 2008 The pickups are "soapbar", which I thought were a kind of P90 pickup. Is this the case? If so, I've just bought a bass with P90s and didn't even know! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fretless Posted September 13, 2008 Members Share Posted September 13, 2008 The pickups are "soapbar", which I thought were a kind of P90 pickup. Is this the case? If so, I've just bought a bass with P90s and didn't even know! they are not P90's , they should be "dual coil" humbuckers but you would need to check the specs . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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