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Gold Tone MicroBass Talk

#482
Bagging the mod for now. I think the -/+$200 will be better spent later on a solidbody GoldTone.

Meanwhile, does anybody have suggestions for portable, battery-powered amps for this bass OTHER THAN the very well-covered Crate Taxi/Limo, Phil Jones Briefcase, Pignose 30, and Roland Microcube RX? I would really like something under $500 that provides decent tone and battery life. Nothing spectacular, just lightweight and dependable. I will probably find myself in situations (busking, camping, hanging out by the lake, etc.) where power outlets are not available. Also, is there a thread somewhere on TB about using car batteries for this purpose?

Also, do people find a DI and/or preamp helpful with this bass, perhaps while keeping the internal Fishman pre flat?
 
#483
Had a fun visit last Friday with Bluebird28. We not only talked about music but covered many subjects including the old days and so on. I'm grateful for his expertise on fret leveling it definitely helped with my microbass. I just installed paehoehoe strings on my microbass and I love the sound and the feel.I really can't stand the thunder guts grateful I had this alternative. I don't think I'm going to go the route of getting the LaBella strings and having my bridge rerouted. Sounds like a little bit more than I want to get involved with.
 
#484
selowitch said:
Meanwhile, does anybody have suggestions for portable, battery-powered amps for this bass OTHER THAN the very well-covered Crate Taxi/Limo, Phil Jones Briefcase, Pignose 30, and Roland Microcube RX? I would really like something under $500 that provides decent tone and battery life. Nothing spectacular, just lightweight and dependable. I will probably find myself in situations (busking, camping, hanging out by the lake, etc.) where power outlets are not available. Also, is there a thread somewhere on TB about using car batteries for this purpose?
Click to expand...

There's a few threads about this. A search on "portable power" brings up a number of them. Here's one:

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f15/battery-powered-bass-amp-recommendations-886490/

The little Roland sounds pretty nice (several amp models built in), runs pretty much all day on 6 AAs and weighs about 15 pounds. You can attach a guitar strap to the handle lugs and easily carry it over your shoulder. Most of the alternatives would need a cart for easy transport.
 
#485
macmanlou said:
There's a few threads about this. A search on "portable power" brings up a number of them. Here's one:

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f15/battery-powered-bass-amp-recommendations-886490/

The little Roland sounds pretty nice (several amp models built in), runs pretty much all day on 6 AAs and weighs about 15 pounds. You can attach a guitar strap to the handle lugs and easily carry it over your shoulder. Most of the alternatives would need a cart for easy transport.
Click to expand...
I believe I've read most of those threads. Pretty much it looks like the options are: Pignose 30 or Crate Taxi at about $150; Roland Cube RX at $250; Crate Limo at $400; and the Phil Jones Briefcase at $650. I can't really consider anything beyond that price point.
 
#490
selowitch said:
Bagging the mod for now. I think the -/+$200 will be better spent later on a solidbody GoldTone.

Meanwhile, does anybody have suggestions for portable, battery-powered amps for this bass OTHER THAN the very well-covered Crate Taxi/Limo, Phil Jones Briefcase, Pignose 30, and Roland Microcube RX? I would really like something under $500 that provides decent tone and battery life. Nothing spectacular, just lightweight and dependable. I will probably find myself in situations (busking, camping, hanging out by the lake, etc.) where power outlets are not available....
Click to expand...

I now use this:

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f15/n...-review-pics-1005244/index2.html#post15640795

So far, It'll run the amp for approx 4 hrs no problem and I've had it around campfire jams with a drummer, two acoustics and 3-4 vocals no p.a.

Works great and is incredibly portable.
 
#493
Hey guys! I have been following the 2-3 pages of this thread. I am looking at buying a microbass next week once some funds roll in.

How essential is this mod? I am assuming the stock model is fine and playable and the mod exists to allow more string options and easier tuning? Is that about the sum of it?

Second, can someone explain to me how / why this thing requires me to life up on the string to tune? Seems rather odd....

Thanks in advance!
 
#494
I love both the Thunder Gut and Pahoehoe strings. I love the tone that they produce. The reason that the strings need to be lifted is they are going thru the nut slots and the strings are made of a rubber/plastic material that binds on the nut material and will not slide like metal strings do. A roller nut would likely alleviate this problem.
 
#495
bluebird28 said:
I love both the Thunder Gut and Pahoehoe strings. I love the tone that they produce.
Click to expand...

I like the tone of the Thundergut strings on my GT Mbass but not the feel (didn't like the Whites or Reds all that much either). I like both the tone and feel of the Pahoehoe strings on my Kala Ubass so I'm awaiting delivery of long set of Pahoehoes for my Mbass.
 
#496
bluebird28 said:
No he's a salesman, this does not happen with other types of instruments. Are the frets coming out on the fretted instruments? NO! They are not using enough glue and they are not dressing the ends properly. It is a mfg. issue.
Click to expand...

Fret spouting happens like this all the time on sting instruments and it is caused by
mongo2 said:
RE: Fret Sprout

Fret sprout is a very common issue for fretted instruments of all types, it's the result of the neck and fingerboard reacting to a change in the environment. The only time I haven't had an issue with it is on bound necks, but I've only had a few instruments with bound necks.

I do my own work on instruments so, when fret sprout happens, I just file down the fret ends, dress them and move on. Since that's not an option for most, the only other solutions are to have another do the work or send the instrument back and get another but it's still possible that at sometime the frets will sprout.
Click to expand...


Fret sprouting is a natural occurrence. Gooldtone has some of the best QC in the business and they put out a lot of instruments with a very small % of issues.

Fret sprouting really is nothing to worry about and it's something that any competent luthier/repair person can fix.



Goldtone endorser
 
#499
Orangeclawhammr said:
Where do you get 23" scale pahohoes?
Click to expand...

I got mine from Road Toad Music. I ordered the strings for 22"-24" scale basses. Mine arrived the other day and I installed them yesterday.

When installing them I found the tuner slots for the E and A strings on my Mbass are a bit wide for the Pahoehoe strings I received. I checked them against the shorter scale Pahoehoe strings I have for my Ubass and they are a bit thinner than the shorter scale Ubass strings. I wound up using an "over/under" initial wrap to lock the E/A strings on the Mbass tuners instead of just setting them in the tuner slot as on my U bass. BTW...the Pahoehoes do stretch...a lot.
 
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