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I've no idea yet whether or not my new bass will arrive on Tuesday (I'd hoped it might get here for Monday but that won't happen now, unless Royal Mail forgot to scan it when they collected it). Away on Wednesday and Thursday for work, so I might get to plug it in on Thursday evening. I only go away for work about once a year, typical that it would be now when I'm awaiting my new toy. I don't think I'm too bad though, I didn't buy any new musical gear last year. I'd almost run of our space in my bedroom and front room to keep basses and my wife was asking just how many more I'd end up with. I've passed over buying loads of great basses in that time since, basses that I didn't really need but really fancied for one reason or another. If I was looking a bass that wouldn't fill a specific role that wasn't already covered, it wouldn't be worth buying. Really, only the fretted six string and fretted jazz bass slots were left open. There are a few things that I have fancied but just won't touch now. I would like another Status bass but having enjoyed them for years, I wouldn't buy another now that the prices have inflated so dramatically. Not that I dislike them, but playing over £3000 for a Stealth that would have cost £1000 a few years ago is not my idea of a good time. In this case, it had to be a fretted jazz bass and I was waiting for the right one to come along. I was probably a bit snobbish about jazz basses in the past, because I've always enjoyed boutique basses and other high tech, high-falutin' basses over the years, but when you slice it, the jazz has an unmistakable presence and tone that many boutique basses aspire to and cannot compete with. Since I got my CIJ fretless jazz (also from Bass Bros) I've barely played my Pedulla Pentabuzz. Maybe I need to sell that one...😂

If starting today i have trained my ear up faster/earlier , i did theory up to grade 5 in my first few years of playing & while it was great for knowing what i could play it i later found out that what i could play really isn't the same as what i should play For the styles you listed id say get your motor skills & timing worked on/up (not the same as playing music) and pick some tunes you love some easy, some hard(er) and jump in, there are 1000's of tab/play along and breakdowns on YT for almost any song these days and if you know someone who knows someone who plays try and hook up with them for a few informal lessons before you try and find a tutor, GL

Im seeing Randy Feltface on Wednesday in Glasgow.

This I my third order with a stained black figured top. If only you could get flamed ebony big enough for a top, all this colouring in would be unnecessary...

Yer still not getting it off me Dave 😆🤣🤣🤣👍🏼

Nitro over poly is no problem and actually what a lot of the ‘nitro finishes’ are on mass produced basses. The primer/sealer coats are sprayed with polyester and the top coats nitro, this saves a lot of time as the poly has a much higher solid content and will not shrink back/evaporate as nitro does. The same would be true for your bass…it’ll save a lot of time if you keep the old finish. The downside is it’s possible if you get a chip in your new finish, you may see the basses true colours at any damaged areas. I would make sure you throughly scuff sand the existing finish, new paint may not stick properly to anywhere that doesn’t get abraded. It probably won’t lift and peel, but it will come away with only slight knocks/scrapes unless the surface is abraded. To ensure it’s got a really good scuffing I’d to go for 320 grit. You’ll likely see sanding scratches through this for the first couple of passes but you’ll be safe in the knowledge that you’ve got a good key. You also need to watch out for contamination from silicone/oils etc which could be on the existing finish. Wiping with acetone and/or lighter fluid is good. But silicone is pretty much impossible to remove as it just spreads. In answer to your questions - there isn’t a one ratio fits all. You’ll need to thin it down to the point where you can get good atomisation with your air brush/setup. If you’re using a small airbrush setup you may need to thin considerably. It also depends on how thick the nitro you use is to begin with is. The stuff I buy is a sort of honey like viscosity and would be no good in an airbrush without lots of thinning. More thinning means more drying time between coats and a longer wait before final buffing. The guys which use aerosols for this work will usually recommend a can of colour (400ml ish) for the colour coats. But it depends on your experience and again how thin the paint is. Always buy more than you need! I’m not sure I’d want to do all the colour coats and clear coats with an airbrush. Though they can be a useful tool for spraying bursts and repairs. If possible you may just want to get an aerosol or two.

Apologies, I’ve only just spotted this, clearly my inbox has a better slap technique than I do. It’s been a bit of a journey with the VM SL. It’s quite different from my TT SL, which is no bad thing, but if I’m honest, I was still preferring the TT for a while. That said, the TT now has a John East preamp fitted, which has made it noticeably warmer and more vintage-sounding, in a very “ah yes, that’ll do nicely” sort of way. I've since swapped the preamp in the VM for a Sadowsky I had lying around, mainly out of curiosity rather than dissatisfaction with the Glockenklang. The Glock was perfectly good, I just can’t seem to leave well alone. I do prefer the Sadowsky overall though, especially having the passive tone control available while in active mode, which is a really handy touch. I also picked up a Sandberg P passive VS recently. I really like the Sandberg Delano-style pickup in that, so it got me thinking about the P pickup in the VM. I’ve since fitted a Tonerider and now an Aguilar AG4P into the VM and I’m really loving the P tone a lot more now in that bass, it’s got the punch and character I was after. The MM pickup still underwhelms me slightly, so I may well grab an Aguilar MM at some point to match the P and complete the set. Because apparently I enjoy turning basses into ongoing research projects Playability on the VM is impeccable, as you’d expect, and it’s ridiculously light too, around 6.4 lbs I think. You almost have to check it’s still on the strap. Also i now have 4 Sandbergs...how did that happen!

290mm on the nose, I reckon! Maybe 289.5, if you're splitting hairs.

Cheers Dave, much appreciated

For ages my number1 budget bass would have been my Dano Longhorn. Last year I picked up a Harmony H22 Batwing , I’d been hoping to find one for years. Love the little thing.

Glad you did the show @martthebass nice thing to do no matter how difficult it was to play there. Huge respect guys. Dave

FFS, I just put it away. Hang on...

Bit of a bitter sweet one for Glam Viva last night at a very nice local private club. We’d played this venue back last November and one of the audience requested we play the same venue for her birthday in February. This was booked, sadly she died over Christmas from a massive stroke. The family asked if we would go ahead with it as a tribute to her memory. We were unsure but it turned into a massive party with lots of happy revellers and even a nice fund raiser for a local animal shelter. The buffet was top notch too which pleased our drummer no end. Thats it for a couple of weeks as next weeks gig has been cancelled through lack of ticket sales….we’ve all agreed we won’t take anymore gigs where the organisers are relying on ticket sales to fund.

Surprise gig to go to tonight. My brother's mate had to back out of seeing Mogwai at Bristol Beacon, so I'm the benefactor of that!

To be fair, I don't think that £1.4k for a Stingray like this from a specialist shop is at all bad in today's market. I'm not surprised that if someone tried to sell it privately for £800 that they would get their hand bitten off.

Last night, played with Nine Lives at the Balaclava in Fraserburgh. Quite an odd night of two halves. First half was pretty busy and we had some dancers up. Second half got a bit quieter, and everyone seemed more reserved, although I did note some head nodding and singing along. So we got finished, and then, to my surprise given the relative tumbleweed which was the second half, got 4 different folk say to me how much they enjoyed the gig, we were amazing etc. One fellow bass player too praising my performance - always nice to have one's ego fluffed a little! Gear was Ibanez ATK200 then G&L L-1000 into the usual cubular black and yellow trouser flappers.

You haven't lived until you've heard Lovely Day sung in a robot voice ...

That's a nice bass @BassTool 😂 Dave

The Purple People Eater - Sheb Wooley

I missed this thread entirely! Gorgeous, very stealthy. Wonder where you got the idea for a black stained ACG? 😜