Caporegime
One thing I found attractive is the all in 1 like the Yamaha, or the portability of it. Even at 1w my amp is still very loud. For practicing, I don't want people hear how bad i am
Got mine for £120 on ebay with the extra footswitch included... as Fox says above the modelling is really very versatile, not only can you change Genre there are then 12 variations to select from (within each genre) and then for every one of those you can also specify from 3 different types of bassline (essentially controls how much the "bassist" ad-libs around and adds little fills and fluctuations, which are sometimes great but other times not quite what you were going for). You can also just use it to record loops like a regular looper
After more play, the Yamaha does sound better, the Spark is too bass heavy in a way that I can’t really dial out. I think it’s to do with the inherent design of the cab/speaker. I can’t see a port at the back, I’m not sure if there is a port on the front as it’s all covered but as a result it’s quite boomy.
it is still a fab tool for practicing, especially if you like to try out lots of effects. It had far more functionality than the Yamaha in that regard.
If you could only keep one which would it be?
That seems to be a common theme on the yamaha, less time spent fiddling around for tone and more time actually playing! Interesting to hear the opinion of someone who owns both and might well be interesting how you opinion changes over the next few months as you spend time with both.Erm..............
Probably the Spark. Just...
But then part of me really like the Yamaha for its simplicity, run off battery, plonk it on the coffee table and straight it goes.
That seems to be a common theme on the yamaha, less time spent fiddling around for tone and more time actually playing! Interesting to hear the opinion of someone who owns both and might well be interesting how you opinion changes over the next few months as you spend time with both.
Sadly, my multimeter and I seem to agree it's probably something in there. The EQ sliders have LEDs in them (get me and my fancy lights!) which light up ok, but the tiny toggle that turns the lights off doesn't work any more, and there's no sound whatsoever coming out of the guitar... not even the annoying "we have a problem, Houston" hum of the earth singing songs of damaged leads. I'm going to give my multimeter another attempt at finding a wiring problem, but so far everything seems to be connected to where it's supposed to be.90% of the time it's the battery or lead, and likely the jack socket if not.
Maybe £10 or so. If you're really lucky they might not even charge. It's a 5 minute job if the jack is removable easily.Went to play the other day and no sound was coming out of my amp. I found out the problem, a wire inside the output jack on the guitar has come loose. Guess it needs soldering back on, I'll take it to a local shop on Monday, I assume its a fairy quick and cheap fix if anyone knows?
I go pedal board -> amp+cab sim (various) -> interface and headphones. I can play well into the early hours and not disturb a sole. Plus instant recording when I want to remember something/play with it another day.One thing I found attractive is the all in 1 like the Yamaha, or the portability of it. Even at 1w my amp is still very loud. For practicing, I don't want people hear how bad i am
nice. What kind of effect are you going for? Did you cross sand and presoak the maple to help pop the grain? (on the body I mean - less common to try and do that on the neck beyond wet sanding on the 1st pass to let the grain do its initial swell)So my build-it-yourself bass job is coming along, paint has been curing for 2 weeks now and planning on doing a bit of neck work tomorrow. Got some amber stain to add a bit of colour to the anaemic looking maple neck, so a couple of coats of stain followed by some lacquer should do a job on that. I may consider wet sanding and buffing the body, but ideally with nitro you want to let it cure for 3+ weeks for good strength.
I go pedal board -> amp+cab sim (various) -> interface and headphones. I can play well into the early hours and not disturb a sole. Plus instant recording when I want to remember something/play with it another day.
nice. What kind of effect are you going for? Did you cross sand and presoak the maple to help pop the grain? (on the body I mean - less common to try and do that on the neck beyond wet sanding on the 1st pass to let the grain do its initial swell)
That seems to be a common theme on the yamaha, less time spent fiddling around for tone and more time actually playing! Interesting to hear the opinion of someone who owns both and might well be interesting how you opinion changes over the next few months as you spend time with both.
Already painted in a shell pink nitrocellulose. Simple enough to use, just did my spraying outside and with a proper respirator and eye protection then left it to dry in a well ventilated outdoor shed. Been curing for 2 weeks now, going to leave it another couple and then get to work wet sanding and polishing it up.If you want a truly old school look you need to go nitro - but it is a pig (and not very pleasant either i.e. harmful)
Yep, I hear this too with so much time fiddling, this is my fear if I ever get something like a Helix. Which my friend has and I know for a fact he spends a lot of time fiddling with it! I'd do the same thing, it is a given.
I'm terrible for distractions, instead of playing today, I ended up cleaning and polishing my LP and then photographed it.. when really, I should be using the free time to play!
She looks pretty though, finally pulled off the sticker on the pick guard!