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Abzan_Titan said:

My current Top 5 !

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Wait! There’s more?

OK. Here is the history:

1) G strings were thicker so they did not twang.
2) With the 7 1/2 inch crown radius, and that magnetic pole response varies as the square of the distance of the string from the top of the poles, D strings were made a gauge heavier for flat top pickups, such as the original J-bass pickups.
3) The A string is heavy enough. No adjustment necessary.
4) The E string tends to thump, so old sets had the E string a gauge lighter, both so with the increased mass they did not overpower the output, and to retain flexibility so the tone matched the rest of the set.

That is why the traditional Fender set was 50-100.

Now, to the present. Crown radius on basses is now generally (except for vintage reissues and such) between 10 for some 4-string basses to almost flat for some 5- and 6-string basses. That gets the middle strings closer to the pickup so they have more even response. Nobody cares how bright the G string is anymore compared to the rest of the strings. String technology has progressed to help modern E strings retain flexibility, and therefore consistent tone, through study of core diameter, core geometry (hex or round) and core to wrap ratio, and as with DR and others, multiple wraps.

So you can still purchase "traditional" gauge sets if you want the "traditional" feel, such as the Ernie Ball stainless flats sets, or any round set that advertises gauges of @ 45-65-80-100. I prefer a more balanced feel, so on my five-string I use a set of D'Addario 170BT with a 130 B string tuned up to C so my fingers feel the same tension and I can have consistent articulation string-to-string. With the consistent feel, I have consistent tone string-to-string.

Some players prefer progressive tension, whether from a more taut G string to the lesser tension E string, or vice versa. To trick your fingers into having the same feel, raise the E string a little higher than the crown radius may indicate. Since there is more mass on the E string, you won't lose any output, or if you think you do, you can adjust the pickup slightly. The extra effort, albeit almost imperceptible, to fret the E string with the slightly higher action will give the illusion of a consistent feel. Of course, you will have to re-intonate the bridge saddle backwards for the increased fretting height and string stretch.

The conclusion: there is no right or wrong. Use the set that fits the player's style, repertoire, and feel.

lug said:

It's like half these people don't know what "mojo" even is!

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Who *is* Mojo Jojo?

Nebadon2000 said:

I am guessing OP didn't get answers he may have been looking for

It reminds though of something a past Boss said to me when I was promoted to assistant manager

" If you think you have a good Idea run it past me first"

It has been of value for me in all things in life

So OP did good by posting here first

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Amen to that. How many times have we seen similar posts that start with "I just bought...."

Keep your guard up but don't overthink this. We are becoming a cashless society. LOTS of people are used to paying by app. I just sold an amp to a TB member a few weeks ago and he paid me with PayPal for a local sale. I have done that for others too and have paid PayPal also. F&F means no recourse from the buyer so as a seller you are safe. So insisting on cash and treating the buyer like he's taking out a second mortgage to buy a banjo will not be conducive to a smooth deal. If he wants to pay you up front PayPal F&F, IMO that means he is a serious buyer. Do that. Then give him his banjo. It will be fine. Consider too that he doesn't know you and may be reluctant to carry cash to a meet with an unknown CL stranger.

bass player 53 said:

I have a lot of old vinyl Jackie. You sound like an interesting guy, and very fortunate to have played with so many greats. Yeah, I think the point you’re making is that Jackie may sound slightly out of tune to some, but he had a signature, identifiable, ‘his sound’, that is so important to a jazz artist. Like Coltrane.

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Great tune. Thanks ...yeah, I was fortunate, but I have to tell you, it was intimidating too. I don't think I was ever NOT anxious. Jackie and I became very close friends over the years. He also called me one day to ask if I'd put an electric band together with he and his son Rene. They were inspired by Miles' Tutu and Decoy albums and wanted someone that could play slap bass. We rehearsed a few times, but it never got passed that. The drummer was Cindy Blackman, if you've heard of her.

I've never seen a phaser with no sweep.

The use of the DOD envelope filter in the manner I described does indeed end up as a notch filter or band pass if you will. At least that's my understanding.

Sounds good and works. All else is ephemera.

tutubass said:

could anyone comment on the ibanez 25" bass vs the magma transposistor? are there any similar basses?
i am looking for a short scale abg, 5 strings would be better.

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Do you mean the 24.75" Parlor bass they make, or something new I am not aware of?

Good sound guy, Levi. We worked with him at Cedarfest.

Round earth, flat strings

Love this setup!

What are flats?

Are we talking European apartments here or what?

bucephylus said:

Pricing is due to Supply and Demand.

Why is the Demand high for vintage instruments? For the past 50 years or so “vintage” instruments have been sought by BOTH players and collectors. The collector part of that demand has been high going back to the mid-80’s.

This can certainly be frustrating for players. The good news for players is that the player makes the instrument, not the other way around. The key aspect for a player is NOT TO GET CONFUSED between player value and collector value.

But, Fender continues to produce eminently great bass guitars at current pricing levels; and the used market has real values. You just have to play a bunch of them, know what to look for in terms of issues, and be ok with making a mistake or two.



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I think you make a point differentiating between collectors and players. Unlike acoustic instruments, solid body instruments require amplification (electronics) which IMO makes it more difficult to believe that there is that much difference in the SOUND of a vintage instrument, at least if it is constructed with vintage style electronics and within similar parameters and selection of wood species for resonance.

But the idea of "Fender continuing to produce eminently great bass guitars AT CURRENT PRICING LEVELS" leaves me scratching my head in wonderment. I dunno. There are a lot of bass mfrs who produce basses of better quality for a lot less money. There is a lot to be said for price increases of the last few years, mostly based on marketing citing "upgrades" (mostly electronics) that cost pennies more to build over the pre-upgraded stuff. I think QC is a bit iffy these days as well. Two years or so ago I bought a new Fender USA Pro II P bass. After a time with it, I realized that I could not set if up to be as refined as all my other basses (some needed fret leveling and re-setup). I finally gave in and spent the money to have it Plek'd which made a significant difference. But should a $1900 bass require tech work to make it "premium right"?

Other subject... Because of the warm summer here I was searching for a protector against sweat from my arm on the body of my JCB. I found this all the way near Houston at CalidoGuitars.com, Texas (and "no problem" to send it to the Canary Islands). It arrived after some 3 weeks, it's not rocket-science but it works!

I think it's really cool that it made it this far in that condition. At this point more of a collector piece to be displayed and/or played carefully in a safe environment.
You'd have to be out your mind to take this to a bar.
I have no interest in it at this price whether it's worth it or not, I don't know.
Hopefully wherever it ends up it keeps getting care of like it's been. Kinda like a time capsule at this point.

Kind of similar - I have noticed a significant uptick in the number of grocery store 'pickers' where I shop. These are the store employees or other service providers who are doing surrogate grocery shopping for internet / app customers. I used to see one every once in a while. Now I see several every time I am in a store. So THAT service is definitely being used by more and more customers. I can't see me letting anybody pick many of the grocery items I buy (fresh meats, produce, bakery goods, etc) on my behalf. I'm too picky. I would imagine this service also comes at a price.

Jogobass said:

i like my fingerboards like I like my coffee. black and strong!

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Hey, I love me some rosewood too! Here's a whole slap of it.

I've gotta have full control: freq, sweep, blend and output volume.

Wasnex said:

Unless you need the ability to toggle the second jack on and off for different parts of the show, I would eliminate the switch.

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That is exactly the point of the whole affair. If you'll read original post you'll see that I needed to be able to switch on the go, e.g. in the middle of a song.

TonH said:

My 30th anniversary Stingray in translucent Crimson Red over mahogany.
I replaced the original black pickguard with DIY parchment one (with thumbrest).

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Best Stingray ever made.I had two. I kept one. Love it.

photo taken in the early seventies at Detroit's Eastown Theater of the youngest in Detroit's Quatro clan, Nancy Quatro with the band Cradle.
Nancy was 16 when she joined sisters Patti, Arlene, and Suzi in the Pleasure Seekers, her first gig with them was in August of 1969 at the Mt Clemens Pop Festival. at the end of the year they decided they wanted to showcase a harder rock music edge, now as a quartet, and renaming themselves Cradle. Nancy was vocalist as well as playing bass, keys, and percussion. Suzi would move to England and Nancy became the lead vocalist of Cradle until early 1973. August 29th is her 73rd birthday.

That

TonH said:

My 30th anniversary Stingray in translucent Crimson Red over mahogany.
I replaced the original black pickguard with DIY parchment one (with thumbrest).

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That is very pretty. I have to confess I owned one many years ago, and, I didn't get along with the 3 band eq/clank so I sold it, reluctantly. The mahogany was awesome and warm.

My 30th anniversary Stingray in translucent Crimson Red over mahogany.
I replaced the original black pickguard with DIY parchment one (with thumbrest).

i like my fingerboards like I like my coffee. black and strong!