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This drives me nuts, less so if I’ve been in a band (when I would have said something), more when I’m in the audience*. Thank you to the drummers on the thread who have confirmed that I’m not mad and it is a reasonable thing to expect. * Extra points if it happens while the drummer has left the stage for a quiet duo or trio number.

I’m pre CBS. And so's my wife.

Ironic considering it was (supposedly) banned from early church music for fear of summoning the devil!

Thanks for the tip. I got the template here....

They look like quality efforts to my eyes, good work! IIRC, there was a downloadable template for this procedure somewhere on BC.

Pre-CBS? 🤦🏻🤔😂🫨🤪

Hope you have fun with it Neil! Great to meet you 👍

I've been doing a 50s Rock'n'Roll show and decided I wanted a 50s type p bass for the look. Obviously, the most afforable option is a Harley Benton PB50. I love it, very basic, but does exactly what it says on the can. Only snag is, of course, the headstock. So, having never done more than setting up the neck on a bass, I decided this might be the opportunity to pop my modding cherry. I had an extraordinary bit of luck when I discovered that my landlady had a scroll saw in her basement. So, here's a pic of the bass as is, the saw and my dry run attempts at cutting the headstock shape. Many thanks to @PaulThePlug for tips and the template of the headstock. Any tips before I jump in with the real thing would be much appreciated.

I decided to keep the format/concept of single track bass improvisation, with only edits done to it in a simple Wav editor, so here I bring you: The astonishing psychedelic Faux Electro Dog Simulation™ : Take 1 of a free improvisation with some minor post production edits in a simple Wav editor. Played on my 5 string Ibanez GSRM25 Mikro Bass, that I named "Mr. Growly - The Noodlemancer", tuned in G# standard tuning (as in one half step bellow the 4 upper strings of a 6 string bas in regular B standard tuning, plus a high E string), through my "amp-less" setup, directly into a hand held Zoom H4n recorder.

Here's my stone to the building. Just like you, I like flatwounds that almost sound like roundwounds, but for other reasons. I don't play with a plectrum, but I play fretless 99,99% of the time, so looking for the same overall feeling as you, but not for the same use. I've tried almost everything available, yes it cost me quite a lot, but I always managed to resell the sets I didn't like. I also have one question for you @dmc79 : Do you play in the higher register? It's important, because a lot of flatwounds sound weird past the octave, out of tune in fact, even with a perfectly set-up intonation and it's more obvious on the E and A strings (linked to the construction)... With that in mind, the best flatwound strings are the DR Legend, but they are a bit too dark for your liking, or the Dogal Hellborg Perfect Pitch Flat Wounds, but they are too floppy for your taste (and very expensive). To me, the Fender 9050 are the perfect flatwound strings for your needs (and mine) and their intonation has improved over the years, certainly thanks to more control and precision during the manufacturing process at the factory. Frankly, the Ernie Ball cobalts are as dull as possible. The D'Addario Chromes are so stiff you could tow a truck with them, just like the Rotosound 77's and absolutely not the kind of tone you're after. The Thomastik Infeld Jazz flatwounds are really good, very close to what you're asking, but the low tension is not a plus for you and sometimes the E sting may sound a bit dead to the ears, just like the LaBella Low Tension which are darker than the TI flatwounds. The LaBella Deep Talkin' Bass will not suit you as they are indeed the sound of Motown as @fretmeister said. You may also consider these Harley Benton flatwounds as they are close to the TI flatwounds sound wise, only stiffer and really cheap, worth a try even if the sanding process (to flatten the string) is not perfect, but won't be an issue with a fretted bass : https://www.thomann.co.uk/harley_benton_hqs_bass_45_100_flatwound.htm Good luck with your quest.

bit of a fun afternoon project

That puts it the right side of the 4kg limit (I have shoulder/neck issues), thanks for that.

24 hour party people - Happy Mondays

I’m a drummer (as well as a bassist) and unwanted snare wire buzz is something that I’m acutely aware of in band situations. For a lot of intros / endings I reach under the snare drum to mute. But also I pay a lot of attention to the tunings of the snare heads as well as the snare tension, particularly when it comes to avoiding this issue. Oh, one thing for your drummer to try, on the snare reso head, try loosening the lugs slightly either side of the snare bed which should help reduce sympathetic buzz.