All Activity

Thanks everyone, those are some really interesting and useful replies. Much appreciated!

Close my eyes forever is a great song

All amplifiers get hot in use. As @Downunderwonder says it's what the fan is supposed to dissipate. Make sure there is clear air around the amp so the cooling can occur.

I'm not sure what the chip on your shoulder is here, but as I've explained, I have played bass with low tension strings and really like them. I have owned, played, and enjoyed basses with these. My favourites were Golden Slaps. In fact, I'm doing a gig with them on Saturday. I recently played at a festival with gut strings and loved them. The issue here seems to be that I politely suggested that someone new to double bass might benefit from a lesson or two on technique to avoid developing poor habits or hurting themselves. Or, to put it in different terms. You're an expert woodworker and instrument builder, right? If you spotted someone doing something with a drill or an adhesive that could potentially harm them, you'd probably say something. It's literally the same thing. If you're getting the sound you like out of your bass, then good for you. Nobody cares, least of all me. Life is too short for this nonsense. I'm off to get some chips of my own with the kids.

I think typical earlier 20th century gut sets wouldn't have been all that low tension compared to modern specialist rockabilly slap sets - they were usually silver plated copper wound on the lower two strings, and with the higher action that was common, I'd say they wouldn't be easier on the left hand than my Spirocore mediums and lower setup. I think you mentioned elsewhere you were playing a "bumped" Rotosound nylon set? Unbumped, those might be similar in feel to traditional gut sets, but it would be fair to say you're working with an ultra low tension setup compared to most, which will probably give you more leeway in how you use the left hand. As a fan of higher tension steels myself, I feel like we don't use them out of some masochistic sense of what's "proper" or even to gatekeep out the noobs by making things unnecessarily hard, but simply because that's the sound I found inspiring and they're the most direct route to getting that out of the instrument.

If you can get to Swindon this would be an absolute steal leaving you £220 for an amp: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/236179876553

Neither with the app, nor with PC via USB is it possible for me to edit the toneprints in the unit.

Sold Paul some pick ups, great fella and sorted a little issue no bother. Enjoy dude

@stevie - can you make this?! Would love to see a selection of your wonderful cabs

Both in London - smidgeon over your budget, will work for gigging and home practice. Of course in reality these things are highly personal, but this is what I'd get with £300!

Cheers. Make it out to ……..Please teach me how to slap properly!

It seems to me like the E string has a very bright and 'chorusy' sound compared to the others, lots of warbling harmonic information but not so much fundamental. As a result, the tuner is slightly struggling to track it. It'd probably give you a more accurate reading if you try it only through the neck pickup with the tone rolled back. May possibly be due to the strings it came with. Don't know if you're usually a short scale player, but (IME) harmonics on the lower notes of the E string can often be weird with bright strings on short scale basses. I mostly use Ernie Ball strings now because they seem to suppress those weird harmonics well while keeping the rest of the tone intact. Also check how high the pickup is under the E string. Only time I've really had strings sound quite that unintentionally chorusy is when the pickup is set too high.

Bless you.... the cheque's in the post!

Decloaking briefly. I have a thing for Fiesta Red Precisions. One the left a GB Spitfire with a P bass pickup. In the middle a 1962 Fender Precision On the right a 1981 Fender Precision 1957 Fullerton reissue. These have very wide necks!

Great. Thank you everyone. I was worried about gauge, now I'm also worried if I'll chose the right, gauge, tension, winding type, texture, core shape, material, coating, brand, and probably price? Are flat wounds even legal on a Spector?

I've mailed teh pickup contact to see if he's interested in attending either/both the SE and SW bashes and doing some pickup-related talk or tech comparison for us. I'll update when I get a response. Fingers crossed. ATB Sean

Heya and welcome to the wonderful (and expensive!) world of bass playing! Where abouts are you in London? I'm sure there'll be someone here nearby who would be willing to meet up and take a look at the setup of your bass. Starter packs are great for getting going, but the bass will almost 100% need to be setup properly to eliminate fret buzz and get a decent action. Even if no one is near to you, a decent setup is worth paying for when you're looking at budget guitars. Or, like @neepheid mentioned, there are loads of handy videos on YouTube walking you through what you need to do (if you're handy. Word of warning if you do give it a go yourself - don't give the truss rod more than a quarter turn at a time). If you still fancy an upgrade though, there are 2 ways to look at it as to which you should do first... - Guitar first. If you're just learning and playing at home then I'd upgrade the bass first. It'll feels loads better, encourage you to pick it up more and just play the thing. Most basses still need a setup to suit the player, but if you go second hand and get from here you'll almost certainly get something that doesn't need to be tinkered with. - Amp first. Do this if you're gigging. A bad bass through a good amp will sound loads better than a good bass through a bad amp. However, bear in mind that the increase in size and volume doesn't make a gig worth amp too convenient to play at home. Most of the time I'm practicing at home I use headphones and Zoom B1Four or a 15w Fender practice amp - even with this I have the volume at roughly at 7/8 o clock and it's plenty loud enough.

Well your experience, ability, talent and the myriad of basses you have reviewed. Just as a starter mate! 🤣