In reply to Beer Baron 🍺 :
That is a very nice piece. Way to be. Just make sure you unplug the thing before hanging it up. That's an active setup, and plugging the cable in is what turns it on. 9v batteries are getting rather silly. But it should last at least a year under normal use. Usually two.
Seriously though, those are really nice to play. Ibby builds things very well, with nice hardware and stunning finishes.
In reply to barefootcyborg5000 :
Yup. Know about that. I've got the guitars up on wall hangars and keep them unplugged. (Wasn't giving you that pick because there's a bunch of laundry in the background). I also flip the switch into passive mode when I'm done.
I love the tone on it. It has a tone of its own that is both bright and warm. But also lots of variety and flexibility. Testing it out last night, went from Bob Marley "Stir It Up", to Cowboy Junkies "Sweet Jane", to The Church "Under the Milky Way".
I had been looking at the Sire Z7 and had thought that would be my next guitar. But I've got room in my budget to get both, and I think they'd be excellent compliments to each other. Thinking I'll add flatwounds to the Sire jazz bass.
Flat wounds are the best bass strings IMO
In reply to Beer Baron 🍺 :
That bass is seriously nice, and it will do everything you would want it to do and then some. Nice score! Lots of tonal possibilities and flexibility with something like that. Ibanez makes some really nice basses for the money.
In reply to Tony Sestito :
Oh yeah. Was playing around last night. It's sort of natural tone with preamp active and everything centered is very brite yet warm. My immediate association is Dire Straits "So Far Away".
Adjusting things I wet from Bob Marley "Stir It Up", to Cowboy Junkies "Sweet Jane", to The Church "Under the Milkyway". Everything was great.
I'm going to adjust the action up, because the previous owner liked it super low, but that's easy enough.
Plus Purple and Teal is one of my favorite color combos.
In reply to Beer Baron 🍺 :
The controls are very similar to my Cort B4, and the ibby likely came from the same factory. I'm curious about the setup since one of my pickups took a dump, but the bartolini setup uses somewhat odd sized cavities. I'd really like to upgrade the electrics in mine one day.
That said, you'll really like the onboard EQ and pickup blend. Super versatile. And the 5-piece necks are amazing. Is that rosewood/maple? (We need more photos!!!)
barefootcyborg5000 said:In reply to Beer Baron 🍺 :
The controls are very similar to my Cort B4, and the ibby likely came from the same factory. I'm curious about the setup since one of my pickups took a dump, but the bartolini setup uses somewhat odd sized cavities. I'd really like to upgrade the electrics in mine one day.
That said, you'll really like the onboard EQ and pickup blend. Super versatile. And the 5-piece necks are amazing. Is that rosewood/maple? (We need more photos!!!)
They're Nordstrand Big Split 4 pickups. 3.9" x 1.27". Supposedly can swap for Bartolini BC or EMG35.
EQ Controls are: volume, pickup blend, bass, mid, treble; switches for active/passive, and 3-way mid selector.
Neck is Panga Panga and Purpleheart with abalone inlay. Body is mahogany with poplar burl top. Will get more closeups in better light.
barefootcyborg5000 said:(We need more photos!!!)
Here you go...
In reply to Beer Baron 🍺 :
That's beautiful!
Used the Ibanez for a 2-hour practice with the School of Rock band that I'm joining.
Definitely noticed how much thinner the Ibanez neck is than my Sire. They both have the narrow J-bass nut, but the Sire has a much thicker, rounder neck. The Ibanez didn't feel quite as comfortable after 2 hours, and I'm not sure whether it's not as good of a fit, or if I'm just more used to the thicker Sire.
Gotta get more time with the Ibby.
In reply to Beer Baron 🍺 :
My SoundGear SR400 has the slimmest neck I've ever played on. Jazz Bass necks are thin, but these are a whole new level of slim. It does take some getting used to. Every bass (and guitar for that matter) is different, and you'll figure out the best ones for you. My personal favorites are based on Jazz Bass necks.
Speaking of basses... a 5'er Epiphone Thunderbird just popped up locally for dirt cheap. I am really hoping someone else buys it before I have to. I have enough bass projects right now! I still have to finish my Peavey Foundation S (pickup replacement) and the Martin Stinger/"Duff Bass" replica I have to put together. I don't have a 5 string yet, but I rarely play the Thunderbird I already have due to comfort issues with it. I need to pretend I didn't see that.
In reply to Tony Sestito :
If you do happen to snag it, keep me in mind if the projects become overwhelming. We can work something out. And it would look rad hanging next to either of our goth explorers
In reply to Tony Sestito :
They're both jazz necks. They're roughly the same width across the fretboard (the Ibanez is maybe 1/2 mm narrower), but the backs are different shapes and they're different diameters. The Sire is very rounded back of the neck, and the Ibanez is very flat along the back. My thumb just falls on them differently.
Gotta give it more time getting used to it. Then it will be valuable information learning what I like. I got both used and could easily sell the Ibanez for what I paid and the Sire for not much loss.
(Also this has not diminished my desire for a Stingray style... question there is Sire Z7 or Sterling Ray34 HH?)
Antihero said:Flat wounds are the best bass strings IMO
If you're playing Jazz on a fretless. Otherwise, they have absolutely no bite to them.
z31maniac said:Antihero said:Flat wounds are the best bass strings IMO
If you're playing Jazz on a fretless. Otherwise, they have absolutely no bite to them.
I mean , Steve Harris would probably disagree.
But lack of bite isn't a downside to me, I like decades old flat wounds and the terrestrial boom they have
Antihero said:z31maniac said:Antihero said:Flat wounds are the best bass strings IMO
If you're playing Jazz on a fretless. Otherwise, they have absolutely no bite to them.
I mean , Steve Harris would probably disagree.
But lack of bite isn't a downside to me, I like decades old flat wounds and the terrestrial boom they have
Recon1342 also disagrees. Flats are awesome, and there's really no other way to get that phenomenal thump that basses are made for.
That being said, play what you want to, that's why they make different strings.
Final setup for now. I put the 12" on a spare snare stand and was able to hang the damage splash up top
Also, kid tested.
I have been playing drums A LOT since we moved back into the house, at least twice a week since then. I'm at the point where I am learning new things again, which feels great! In addition to the recent cymbal purchases I've posted about here, I've been tweaking my setup here and there for better sound and playability. I've gotten things dialed in really well now.
I last posted about my Ludwig Acrolite snare, but I have two other snares in the inventory. One of them is this late 90's Pearl Session 6.5x14 that I've had since about 1998.
I bought this "used" at the old Guitar Center on Comm Ave in Boston back when I was in high school, and it served as my main snare for a few years. They told me it was a take-off from a Pearl Session kit they sold, and the buyer didn't want the snare. I paid $60 for it, which I thought was a screaming deal at the time. I also remember NOT buying a road-worn but sweet-playing/sounding Gibson Ripper bass for $250 that day, which I continue to not let myself live down. But I digress. After I bought my Magstar Custom Drums 6.5x14 maple snare in the early 00's, this got relegated to backup duty, and I rarely did anything with it in the past 20 years except change the heads twice. I've considered selling it a few times but ultimately kept it.
I decided after my success with the Acrolite that I wanted to take another stab at making it sound good. So last night, I pulled it out of its case and got to work. Eventually, I got it to sound unbelievably good. I have an Aquarian Triple Threat on the batter side, just like my Magstar, and after going with a higher tuning, I found what made me love the thing to begin with. It has a short, punchy, and beefy thump now that cuts really well. Not as well as a metal snare, but close. These are made of a 7 ply maple/mahogany mix, and it's really warm. They basically have all the features of Pearl's higher end snares from back then, but with that maple/mahogany shell instead of the full maple. I played for about an hour with it and I didn't want to stop playing.
If you guys see one of these cheap, snag it. I'm guessing that these can still be found for well under $100. A hell of a bargain, if you ask me.
New room is coming right along.
but my favorite part is the window dressing
everyone needs a unicorn in their jam space.
Anyone here need a hickory snare?
The little rail-bucker I put in the bridge just wasn't doing it, so time to get out the router.
Fits in there ok, now just need to figure out the nuances of mounting a filtertron size pickup where it was never meant to be 
This thing should be killer for jazzy stuff when it's done. It's a wider neck with a pretty flat radius, so way different than the usual Tele feel. I'm leaning toward stringing it with flats or half-wound .10s.
Haven't had a ton of time lately between work, house stuff, and other hobbies, but I have been itching to finish my El Cheapo "Jazz Bass Lite" project. One thing that is weird about the Martin Stinger SBL-10 compared to a Fender is the bridge.
On the left is the original 5-hole Stinger bridge, and on the right is a typical Fender-style 5-hole bridge. The saddles on the Stinger are actually from that Fender bridge, and I've swapped them back on.
I plan on using a Fender bridge here. Why? Because I think a part of the problem with the bass other than the banana'ed neck is that bridge. The saddles that originally came on it were massive brass saddles like a lot of the import basses had in the 80's, and no matter what you did, they would sit too high. Switching to the Fender-style allows for more adjustability, and frankly, it looks better, too. I can use the two end holes that already exist and drill the rest for the Fender bridge.
Speaking of drilling, one of the things holding me up is just that: drilling. I have a drill press, but I haven't had the chance to set it up where I want to. I'll need this for the neck and the bridge drilling, so that's what's really holding up the works. Soon!
Random thoughts...
As winter approaches, it has me thinking more about guitars. Specifically bass guitars. Let's do some stringed bench racing.
I was thinking about my bass tone, and how to improve it. One thing I think would help with that is a Bass DI pedal. I already have an old Line 6 Bass POD, which kinda is that, but I'm not sure if something like the Behringer BDI21 (a copy of the SansAmp BDI) would be better.
I've heard that the SansAmp is the correct weapon for this, but this is $29 vs the $200+ the SansAmp costs and by all accounts will do the same thing (yes, I know it's kinda cheating and that's what Behringer stuff does).
What I want is a bit more boost and grit to my tone, a la Geddy Lee, but without going with a full fuzz effect like I can get out of my Sovtek Big Muff. I've also thought that a simple Boss Overdrive might boost it just enough to be good, but I'm not sure if any of these things is better than the POD. The POD is cool and all, but the thing is 20+ years old and the modeling is a bit stale.
Any thoughts?
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