Guitar Nerds Anonymous

@Nahguavkire nice! What have you gone for?

That is exciting - any ideas on who you're going to yet?

Going to go for an Urquhart! He doesn't actually make basses but I've been on to him and he can do a bass version of his Leo with a bass voiced version of the X-Coil pickup!

Haven't decided on hardware yet but we're going to go with a 2+2 headstock instead of 4-a-side and 33" scale length. I didn't want short scale but I did want something that would be a bit more compact for chords. I've seen lots of people ranting about Fodera 33" scale length basses being a perfect middle ground between improved playability and string tension.

Maple neck and fingerboard.
Alder body.

Undecided on colour for the moment.

Humbuckers or single coils? If you wire humbuckers incorrectly it can make the output quiet. Also, have you set the pickups to be the right distance from the strings?

It's just a single humbucker

4 output wires from the pickup? That setup can accidentally be cross-wired so the outputs from the 2 halves of the pickup basically cancel each other out.

Yep, I have them wired to a 3 way switch to give parallel/series/split. It's likely I've messed something up!

So I've managed to sell my ludicrously impractical valve head and 4x12. Given that I'm only going to be playing at home in the near future, I need to go right to the other end of the practicality spectrum and am looking at things like the Yamaha THR10ii, or the Boss Katana Air. Anyone have any experience, recommendations or opinions? I work not far from Guitar Guitar in Camden so I'll go try some things too...

That's exciting- pretty strong statement look with that pickup. I've not seen them before - are they his own ?

You mean fugly right? Obviously taste is subjective and clearly people love this but I just can't see it...

Katana Air is the answer if it were me! Great sounds and the wireless capability seems like it would be so useful at home!

Alternatively would you consider Boss Waza Air headphones?

Yeah they're his own design. Really interesting pickup and some great control options!
I can see how they're an acquired taste though alright :)

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Pretty cool idea.

I wonder if you could ever start using different poles from different position pickups? That seems to be the gist of position two and four. Electrics confuse me so no idea how / if you ever could.

I’m in the same position, have considered the Yamaha THR range and the Boss katana range and Waza headphones, and looked at some of the other options.

Think it comes down to a) whether you’re willing to pay a premium for wireless over cables, b) whether you need something physically small

If the answer is no to both, then the katana 50 is the answer. On balance best sound and functionality for the price, cab emulation seems to work well with headphones and option of using at practise volumes if chance allows.

However it’s physically larger than the other options and requires cables for guitar, headphones and computer (although some of that can be circumvented with other gadgets for a price)

I liked the Waza air headphones - but can’t bring myself to spend an extra £150 over the katana 50

Maybe makes sense someone that has an amp already they’re happy with and needs to buy headphones - rather than +£100 on some quality wired headphones, get the Waza air. But if you have quality headphones already then it’s a big jump

I like my cheapo, second hand Yamaha THR10. Honestly I could have gone with the 5 as I don't need or use any of the effects (I only ever play the blackface deluxe model amp.)

I'd go with the original cream as it has the greatest range of amps - mine is the green and is not as versatile (no higher gain sounds.)

They also run on batteries which is fun if you want to take your guitar camping etc.

So the thrs came in different flavours - standard, thr-a acoustic (which sounds like the one you have) and the thr-x with extra super metal gain sounds. The new version of the thr-10 has all three types in one box.

I have the teeny creamy thr-5 one with 5 amp sounds. For noodling in front of the telly it’s great. Sounds awful cranked up but that defeats the object anyway so not fussed. I have real amps for loud.

I paid £100 for it. Best bang for buck (hate that phrase, but I’m thinking of hours of use and fun had per £ spent) purchase made in years.

Mine is the ‘boutique’ amp one. It’s supposed to be a deluxe reverb, another small fender, a blues breaker, a Vox and a dr z or something...not what I wanted but it was super cheap off craigslist.

Old man me just uses the deluxe reverb and even the flat (no modeling) sounds.

Would have liked the JCM800 tones on the cream one for a bit of nostalgic crunch.

i really want one of these Tom Petersson GWF 12 string bass monstrosities...

I can totally see you rocking one of those... Does it even blick?

Looks fun (and challenging) to play!

I'm not one for these body shapes usually but I'd play the hell out of this. Love the colour scheme too.

Specification for the Urquhart bass are coming along nicely and he's just told me about a prototype string through pickup he's working on. Tempted to add one just to have the most bizarre pickup setup ever installed on a bass :)

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