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The defret will destroy the value of the instrument, and for a BBNE2 this is probably somewhere between 2 and 3 grand. Nathan East plays a TRB5 fretless, not sure if it's a defret or a factory custom special. Prices of these are starting to creep up and amounts verging on silly money are being asked for them. If it were me I'd be looking for a TRB5, BB-N5A or the fretted version BB-N5 to defret. Or maybe even a BB2005. Luthiers in Suffolk? Well you could ask Andrew Guyton but I'd be surprised if he'd be interested. I'd say Colin Fulton, but he's disappeared from view and I don't have an address. It depends whether you want a full-on luthier or a good guitar tech. Steve at Guitar Lodge in Felixstowe has done some good work for me, though nothing involving fretwork or fret removal. He does a lot of fret work and broken headstocks though. Robbie Gladwell is also highly recommended though I've not used him so cant vouch for him personally. If you're going to attempt it yourself, buy some cheap necks and practice.

It won't be free for long.

Go for it.. I've done a few for myself. As others have said, go steady when removing the frets - my first attempt had many chips flying! I was later shown how to grind some pincers sharp and flat for gently lifting and rocking the frets. Go steady and all ends up well. Filling in, I've used black or white plasticard, also maple veneer, also just rosewood dust mixed with epoxy. Each gives greater or lesser visibility to the lines. Overfill then smooth back. Good luck!

I'm taking it a month at a time. Failed in January, so far I'm OK in February.

Not sure on the relevance here, you were talking about pitching a note on a fretless, not a where within a fret to place your finger on a fretted instrument. I would think where you land in between the frets will make a minimal difference to tone as the anchor point is the fret after your finger (closest to the bridge) to the bridge anchor point. Pitching a fretless is still the on the line closest to the bridge (on a lined fretless). Jonny

I'm sure as we are all analogue playing musicians on this forum that most people will see that Suno CEO as the enemy. But I think he might have a point on one thing: Technology will be able to really 'gamify' music and open up brand new stuff - e.g. you're at a birthday party and all say a few prompts 'make a rock version of Happy Birthday for John, make fun of his hair, add a Kazoo solo' and a visual app to 'suggest dance moves' then 'record us performing this song/dance in the style of a 80s hair-metal stadium performance', upload and share with 'John's birthday party TikTok group' etc etc. The end product will be throwaway and pretty much worthless to the rest of the world (there are already 100k songs uploaded to Spotify daily, so we're nearly there already), the value is in the experience of those that created it. It is a shame though, a party could hopefully just sing a song, do a kazoo solo, dress up and do a dance all without any technology....but I guess times are a-changing and people like using technology for this sort of stuff, I suppose it could make your party more global and not face to face, which again I'd see as a bit of a shame in many ways. Perhaps there's room for that, and still room for semi-retired blokes playing a P Bass in the pub to do their cover of Mustang Sally for the 100th time to an indifferent audience and feel acomplished/joy in the artistic expression experience?

Thanks guys, thought it was possible but that I should check there wasn't some fundamental deal breaker in compatibility before I muse on it further

As @Paddy777 said you should be able to operate both Anagram and DMX controller together or independently using the Morningstar. Depending on how your setup is used you may need to use different midi channels for each peice of equipment. 👍 You've now got me thinking about my band set up.......💰

If you’re asking if you can use the Morningstar midi controller with it then yes you can, I’ve seen a few Anagram setups in various FB groups with exactly that setup, so yeh you’ll be fine with that

When Scotts Bas Lesons posted a clip of this on Instagram they got a reply from Dave Hillis, who was apprently one of the sound engineers on the original track, saying there's no acoustic bass on there. I can't 100% vouch that the guy posting as Dave Hillis is who he says he is but he seems to check out.

Anyone can stencil "New Order" onto a tatty old flightcase.

Hi all, I am trying to work out if the Anagram might be right for my needs, hopefully some of you are able to advise. I currently run an fx board with a Morningstar switcher controlling both effects selection and sending midi to a DMX lighting controller. This allows me to single click changes in both effects and lighting live. I assume if I was to go with the Anagram that I would be able to take a similar approach and use the Morningstar to change effects on the Anagram? I don't have a huge numbers of settings, usually just ~4 key sounds: OD, Distortion, Chorus, Chorus + Reverb. I sometimes dabble with additional drive/fuzz sounds but these 4 are the fundamental ones I need to switch between. Is this going to be easily achievable?

It's always good practice to have your fretting fingers as close to the fret as possible without choking the note out. It helps to reach notes without excessive stretching when using the four finger per fret approach. Some say you get a better tone too, but I'm not personally convinced of this.

It might have been a problem with early flip paint finishes, but I think the Gus had just had a very hard life prior to me buying it. As I said the chrome work was in a similar state and several parts including the truss rod cover and the one on the back that gives access to the intonation and action adjustment were missing. The Hiscox case it came it was so battered I've never dared use it to take any of my basses out of the house. I've now had the bass for a lot longer than the previous owner and it's been my regular gigging instrument when I've needed a 5-string for the last 18 years, but apart form a couple of dings on the headstock it's pretty much still in the condition it came to me after being refinished.