poopcicle Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 Ok so I have narrowed it down to a T bird (not sure which model or an EB3! I Sing and play guitar so this will be for foolin around, home recording and jamming with friends. I am also gonna pick up on of the Ampeg mini 2x10 stacks to go along with it! So any thoughts or guidance by those more versed in Bass would be appreciated! I don't want to go overkill as this will not be my main instrument but at the same time if I really enjoy it I don't want to be hampered by to low of a model! Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinTheHood Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 Well, that doesnt leave much room for T-bird choices. If I was going to get a "new" T-bird, I would go for the PRO or wait for one of the Classics to be released. Both have neck-thrus, which I'm partial to on a bass. After that, they are pretty much all the same except for the Blackbird, which is really stripped down. If you can find an old non-reverse though, I would recommend them becuase they are very much like the EBM without the faulty pots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfox14 Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 I definitely recommend the T'Bird. Great bass Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poopcicle Posted April 20, 2012 Author Share Posted April 20, 2012 Thanks guys, I see there is a 5 string T bird pro also, any reason why I should not consider this one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinTheHood Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 Thanks guys, I see there is a 5 string T bird pro also, any reason why I should not consider this one? Its discontinued, so get one while you can. If I was going to get a T-bird, the PRO-V would be the one for me. They had some pickup problems at release, but that has been fixed long ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poopcicle Posted April 20, 2012 Author Share Posted April 20, 2012 Its discontinued, so get one while you can. If I was going to get a T-bird, the PRO-V would be the one for me. They had some pickup problems at release, but that has been fixed long ago. ok thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamb100 Posted April 21, 2012 Share Posted April 21, 2012 that doesnt leave much room for T-bird choices Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poopcicle Posted April 21, 2012 Author Share Posted April 21, 2012 Ok thanks for the help guys! I went with a T bird V and an Ampeg Micro stack! This should be fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfox14 Posted April 21, 2012 Share Posted April 21, 2012 Thanks guys, I see there is a 5 string T bird pro also, any reason why I should not consider this one? 5 strings are very cool. Totally up to you. If you are a beginning player, then I would stick with 4 strings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poopcicle Posted April 21, 2012 Author Share Posted April 21, 2012 5 strings are very cool. Totally up to you. If you are a beginning player, then I would stick with 4 strings I went with the 5 due to the price I was able to score! I figure I can still just use 4 strings on it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinTheHood Posted April 21, 2012 Share Posted April 21, 2012 I went with the 5 due to the price I was able to score! I figure I can still just use 4 strings on it! Precisely. And to be honest, you dont really use the low B string all that much anyway. Most of your playing will most likely be on the E, A D & G. The low B really comes in handy for songs in the keys of D, E & F. It will allow you to hit the lower notes without breaking the scale pattern or having to move up to a higher octave. Another advantage to the low B is that you can use it as an anchor for the E string. I find that anchoring to the pickups can be limiting. But if you train yourself to anchor to your strings, the B is a great advantage for the amount of time you spend on the E string. And for as little time as you will most likely spend on the B in a normal situation, you may find that you dont need to anchor at all when you do use it. There are a couple disadvantages to a 5-string though. If you are a funk player that likes to slap & pop, you may find that the narrower string spacing will make it more difficult to play in that style. Though, if you are typically a guitar player (and dont play slap bass), the transition between instruments is much easier becuase of the spacing. Another disadvantage would be for someone that is trying to learn scales. The low B can kind of be confusing. But to anyone that is learning scales, I suggest learning them on a guitar to get the full picture, and then applying it to bass. At that point, applying scales to the low B is just an afterthought that will fall into place without much effort. This is all from my personal experience with a 5-string bass so your mileage may vary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poopcicle Posted April 21, 2012 Author Share Posted April 21, 2012 Ok so next step..... I know, I know this is completely subjective but Taking into consideration that I just dropped more money on something than I should have! lol and not really wanting to play multiple string swap can anyone recommend a good set of strings to help me not waste extra time or money at this stage in the game! I know I will eventually find my own way as far as what plays and sounds best to me but right now I am looking for suggestions of reasonably priced good all around strings( the bassist in my band uses ghs boomers so by default I am gravitating that way but only because it is all I have any experience with, even if just in hearing it at practice and shows) ! also what gauge will the t bird come with? thanks again for all your help and consideration! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinTheHood Posted April 21, 2012 Share Posted April 21, 2012 Hmmm... I used to try all different kinds of bass strings back in the day. Eventually I decided that I dont like new bass strings so I stopped putting new ones on. lol. I prefer old strings that have been well taken care of because they are more consistent than new strings. All bass strings have different characteristics (in terns of brand) when they are new, but they quickly lose them after a short amount of playing. But if I do buy new strings, I usually go for D'Addarios because they are cheap, yet consistent. Same thing with guitar strings. I've ran the gammut with bass srtings; DR, Ernie Ball, GHS, etc. They all sound the same to me once they lose their initial charactheristics. Like I said, I dont change my bass strings but one in a blue moon and only if they start to get rusty or pitted. I may catch a little flack for this, but I've noticed that if I wipe them down with a little WD-40 when they start to feel "sticky" or dull they last for a long, long time. I use this method on all my basses and have for over twenty years. I recently traded in my Epiphone Expert-6 at GC. It had the stock strings on it from 1996 and the salesman and guitar tech had no idea that the strings were that old. They looked, felt and sounded great. All I ever did was make adjustments to the neck as needed and wiped them down every few months. Of course, this bass didnt get an excessive amount of play-time either. Had I played it more, I would probably have changed the strings once or twice during the time I had it becuase they do get flat spots in them after so long. But a lot if it also boils down to the style of music you play and how hard you are on your strings. If you play with heavy hands, you will need to change them more often. I know this doesnt exactly answer your question, but I'm just giving you a little insight into bass strings. I guess that I;m not the person to answer a question about string brands because I'll buy the cheapest ones within reason, and unless there are glaring problems with them, I'll stick to that brand. And that brand has been D'Addario for both bass & guitar. 5-string bass strings are not exactly cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poopcicle Posted April 21, 2012 Author Share Posted April 21, 2012 Hmmm... I used to try all different kinds of bass strings back in the day. Eventually I decided that I dont like new bass strings so I stopped putting new ones on. lol. I prefer old strings that have been well taken care of because they are more consistent than new strings. All bass strings have different characteristics (in terns of brand) when they are new, but they quickly lose them after a short amount of playing. But if I do buy new strings, I usually go for D'Addarios because they are cheap, yet consistent. Same thing with guitar strings. I've ran the gammut with bass srtings; DR, Ernie Ball, GHS, etc. They all sound the same to me once they lose their initial charactheristics. Like I said, I dont change my bass strings but one in a blue moon and only if they start to get rusty or pitted. I may catch a little flack for this, but I've noticed that if I wipe them down with a little WD-40 when they start to feel "sticky" or dull they last for a long, long time. I use this method on all my basses and have for over twenty years. I recently traded in my Epiphone Expert-6 at GC. It had the stock strings on it from 1996 and the salesman and guitar tech had no idea that the strings were that old. They looked, felt and sounded great. All I ever did was make adjustments to the neck as needed and wiped them down every few months. Of course, this bass didnt get an excessive amount of play-time either. Had I played it more, I would probably have changed the strings once or twice during the time I had it becuase they do get flat spots in them after so long. But a lot if it also boils down to the style of music you play and how hard you are on your strings. If you play with heavy hands, you will need to change them more often. I know this doesnt exactly answer your question, but I'm just giving you a little insight into bass strings. I guess that I;m not the person to answer a question about string brands because I'll buy the cheapest ones within reason, and unless there are glaring problems with them, I'll stick to that brand. And that brand has been D'Addario for both bass & guitar. 5-string bass strings are not exactly cheap. Thanks RTH I will give the D'Addario a shot, like I said I have no experience in this I don't know the difference between round, tape and flat wound. I am going to be doing a lot of bed room playing and laying down simple tracks on my portastudio to fill up the guitar, banjo and dulcimer tracks I have been laying down! This Bass will be taken well care of and most likely see little to no abuse I am a little bit OCD and have always thought I should have a Bass in my "collection" so regardless of how deep I delve I think I will be happy to have a pro V in the family and will have fun and get some good use out of it! Now the Ampeg micro stack may have been a little overboard for my purposes but oh well It sounds and looks awesome!!! Any thoughts on the Gauge that will be coming on the T Bird? I am guessing mediums as this seems to be the Epi status quo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinTheHood Posted April 21, 2012 Share Posted April 21, 2012 Yeah, I didnt get into the different types of strings because I just use regular round-wounds. I tried flats once a long time ago, but the felt weird to me. Its really a matter of preference and style. The T-bird will probably come with mediums, like you said. I always just stuck with that size. There is so much more tension on a bass neck that I've never wanted to bother with messing around with guages. I'm sure there are tonal differences, but I cant say what they are. Thats probably something you will figure out over time as you decide what your needs are. And yes, everyone should have a bass in their arsenal. I hope that the T-bird does well for you. That Ampeg Micro Stack looks pretty good too. 200 watts will definitely be enough wattage. I've been using a GK RB400 (200 W) for many years and its always been able to handle any band situation. Home playing is no problem at all. I dont particularly care for the 10" speakers though. I have a 4x10 GK cab and it can sound a little trebely. But its a different rig, so the Ampeg my sound a lot different. I acquired a Randall 2x15 cab a few years ago and I like it much better. Its just to big to gig with, so I end up using the 4x10...which sucks for outside gigs, BTW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eggs Posted April 22, 2012 Share Posted April 22, 2012 Really keen to hear your thoughts on that Ampeg rig poopcicle, as I've got my eyes on same come better days. ... & I fully agree with RTH re D'Addarios, including aging them out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poopcicle Posted April 22, 2012 Author Share Posted April 22, 2012 Really keen to hear your thoughts on that Ampeg rig poopcicle, as I've got my eyes on same come better days. ... & I fully agree with RTH re D'Addarios, including aging them out I will report back with pics, and impressions of both Bass and amp when they arrive! (Hopefully Soon) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poopcicle Posted April 22, 2012 Author Share Posted April 22, 2012 Ok shipped yesterday fed ex ground!! Looks like they have a New Jersey Warehouse so fingers crossed both the Bass and Mini stack shipped from there cause that means a 1-2 day turnover for shipping! Can't wait, even though I am going to have no real skill playing this thing the anticipation is killing me, well that and my hang over! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poopcicle Posted April 24, 2012 Author Share Posted April 24, 2012 And Fed Ex has it on the local truck out for delivery!!!! Great Success Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poopcicle Posted April 24, 2012 Author Share Posted April 24, 2012 Ok everything is here, looks good minus a small scuff on the bottom of the bass The Ampeg sounds good and is plenty loud at 100 watts! I will have to play around a bit to dial in and figure out the sound I want! Ok so big question........ there is a little bit of a electrical hum from the bass when I am just holding it and it stops instantly when I touch a string, is this normal or is it something I should be concerned about? thanks! Pics to follow soon Here is a video of the noise! well it appears I have an early one that has the original hum problem so I guess it is going back and I am on the hunt for another bass! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morkolo Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 Ok everything is here, looks good minus a small scuff on the bottom of the bass The Ampeg sounds good and is plenty loud at 100 watts! I will have to play around a bit to dial in and figure out the sound I want! Ok so big question........ there is a little bit of a electrical hum from the bass when I am just holding it and it stops instantly when I touch a string, is this normal or is it something I should be concerned about? thanks! Pics to follow soon Here is a video of the noise! well it appears I have an early one that has the original hum problem so I guess it is going back and I am on the hunt for another bass! Is there anyway to check and see if everything is properly grounded before you do that, like taking off the back plate and checking the connections. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poopcicle Posted April 24, 2012 Author Share Posted April 24, 2012 Is there anyway to check and see if everything is properly grounded before you do that, like taking off the back plate and checking the connections. I looked in there but I have no idea what I am looking at or doing....... I may just exchange it for an ebony eb3 and call it a day! Uggh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morkolo Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 I looked in there but I have no idea what I am looking at or doing....... I may just exchange it for an ebony eb3 and call it a day! Uggh EB3s are nice but no where near as versatile as a Thunderbird. If it were me I'd keep looking. Are you set on an Epiphone and what is your price range if you don't mind me asking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poopcicle Posted April 25, 2012 Author Share Posted April 25, 2012 EB3s are nice but no where near as versatile as a Thunderbird. If it were me I'd keep looking. Are you set on an Epiphone and what is your price range if you don't mind me asking. I am not looking to really play Bass! lol I just want something to fool around with and do some home recording! I do not have a set budget but it won't be much! lol I think either a Thunderbird iv non pro or an Eb3 are my choices now! Any opinions on which is more well rounded? I play indie blusey folk rock stuff and alt rock kinda music. I also looked at the Squire vintage modified series but I kinda have ocd so I will most likely end up with an Epi! lol Thanks again for any and all help/input Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morkolo Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 If I were going for a new Epiphone bass I would look at the Thunderbird Pro line, if open to used I'd go with a Fender Highway one Jazz or Precision, depending on your preference both are good choices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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