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A small rant because sometimes you just have to. I frequently look through the sale thread here and Gumtree/eBay and various other selling platforms, and keep an eye out for certain things I would like to own again or like to try. Recently a few things have popped up and I have got all excited until I see photos or the description which basically outlines how the owner has done loads of (unnecessary in my opinion) modifications to the instrument to 'make it better' and now they want basically what the instrument cost new, or close to it, or even in some cases, more than it was in the first place. I am sorry, but this seriously p*sses me off, why would you badly fit a load of hardware, damage the bass, sand or refinish it yourself and then expect to get so much money for the thing?? Worst of all is that most of the time they don't even keep the original parts to put it back to how you actually want it. I have seen tuners fitted wonky and the person didn't even go to the effort of buying tuners that retrofitted, botched logo changes (seriously who are you trying to kid) huge amounts of damage through use and low and behold its £20 less than I could buy new one with a years warranty! That is all, I am in a bad mood today.

Trying to buy basses 'without' an Adam Clayton signature is becoming difficult, I think the ones without will be worth a few quid in years to come!

Said Constable Yawn....

Fretting hand....(you need to be playing through your amp for this). Just spend 10-20 minutes putting gradual fretting pressure with fretting hand and hear when notes play/sound cleanly. Start with no or very little pressure and add pressure until note sounds. This is all the fretting pressure you need...any more is wasting muscle energy and may cause fatigue and badly intonated notes. The thing is to be constantly aware of this (minimal fretting pressure) when playing. Unfortunately, when people start concentrating on what they are doing with their non fretting hand that the fretting technique goes pearshape and they start to overpress again.

Ok. Well I got mine the other day but so far have only been able to give it the briefest five minutes check over. Bear in mind that I'm learning the bass at the moment so don't really have a wealth of experience to fall on. What I would say is that almost certainly this is designed for guitarists, not bassists. Yes it will work with a bass - it doesn't need to hear chords in learn mode to work out a rhythm, it will respond to a bass line and then you can turn the bass down completely to just hear the drums but as a drum machine alone it's not that brilliant. They are not that convincing and as Al points out the rhythms it produces are random so for my needs as a practise tool it has limited value. What I need is something that will produce a consistent rhythm every time I practise the same piece, not a different rhythm each time to keep me on my toes. Would I have ever paid full price for one of these? Hell no, but for the £40 I splashed on it its an OK bit of fun. A dedicated drum machine would be much more useful though.

My phone has auto-corrected to worse things than that in the past!!!

I'm amazed this is a thing! ha ha ha! It's a bit like saying that an able bodied person prefers walking with their left leg rather than the right.

Well, you never know. There might be new BC members that don't know my position. Plus the whole "Proud B List Bar Band Player" is sort of a new tag phrase for me. (: Blue

So - lots of fun today First of all, I had to get that silly vertical cable to lie down. You wouldn't think Schaller mainly deal in guitars and basses...how many 3" - 4" deep basses do you know that could have a control chamber that would accommodate this design 'feature'? And the only way of doing that is to invalidate the warranty on what is a very expensive bit of kit by taking off the very stiff, very thick sealed rubber boot: And while we're on the subject of 'I love Schaller, but...', if I turn round the guitar to see the other side, let me give you a quick quiz... Question: Between the two types of knob: nicely powder coated solid brass knurled, allen-key secured, standard 6mm shaft beauties push on, plastic, non-standard 3mm shaft, small top hat ...which is the dirt cheap Harley Benton offering and which is part of the Schaller flagShip top of the range (and very expensive) piezo pre-amp mixer offering? Yes - the nice knobs are the Harley Benton ones. Honestly, I DO love Schaller - great service and some great, great products but, if you're looking, fellas...come on...you are better than this! So, I found this in my bits box: And the bottom left hand bit has an i.d. of 3mm ...and when you put it on the sanding wheel, you can get this - a 6mm o.d. (you make knobs, Schaller - yes, 6mm...the standard size of the knobs you supply to millions of us!): And that fits on the non-standard 3mm shaft of the three way rotary: On which the nasty cheap Harley Benton knob itself fits: Call me uncouth, but I think that looks better : And then came the rest of the day (pretty much 12 hours) with the myriad of tweaks, and drills, and earthing and tinning and checking and planning, until: And - knock me down with a feather - it all bloody works! And the hatch still fits. And I'm going to go and have a long sit down....

The original bassist in Saxon, played open as much as possible, so the other hand could be held aloft in rock salute! \m/ ?

There is negligible difference in tone between open or fingered note. The reason to avoid open strings is when it comes to transposing: Far easier to transpose a riff/lick/line etc if all notes are fingered.

Purchased a Genz Benz Shuttle 9.0 from me a few months back. Nice chap, very easy to deal with, payment up front, no hassell - would recommend. Thanks Freddie

Sold a pedal to Clive. Prompt payment and solid communication throughout. Good chap to deal with.

Hello from Geordieland. Just learning to play despite being a Granddad. Been told it's never too late.......

I've got a Streamer Stage 1 and a Streamer JM, they are very different beasts. I like the Streamer shape a lot, it's exceedingly comfortable, even if some of the contours aren't to everyone's tastes. As mentioned already, the only difference between the FNA and Streamer JM is the body shape. Both are bolt-on with the same electronics.

Love it. You already have a bass collection! 10/10!

just installed Firefox and im in fine, thanks Phil Starr!

I'm in the fens in South Lincs - I bet it's flatter here than your zero fret (unless you have a board of less than 12" radius )

Opinion, yes. Sort of means a reason for or against. Where was your opinion ? You just posted a big yawn. If you see a thread title that has no interest for you, move along. No one forced you here

i use them to my advantage to fill my sound out if need be,that ringing on is handy when a guitar goes onto solo leaving you and drums The Tool stuff is a great example,you get some cool stuff on the G string while ringing the A i never use them in a run at the bottom of the neck,i find it really odd if i do

Class BC actually

Your OP does not mention whether you've already visited a site called basschat.co.uk where there actually is a forum section for gear, in which a forum called "Bass Guitars" contains dozens or even hundreds of treads were all the info on the 4H is readily available. Other than that, it's reported to sound closer to a StingRay, and the H pup is indeed positioned in the StingRay spot. Somehow, the back of my mind seems to tell me the 4H does not have the 4-band EQ, but I'm sure someone will correct me if that is wrong.

Thanks for that, appreciated. Have another on me, too...

They come from people liking your comments basically they're there for a bit of fun

Loads of admiration for the guy. I've read his biog, watched clips of him play with my mouth agape, wandered how marvelous it must have been to be in his presence, acknowledged his influence, and understood that he changed the world of bass playing.... ...but I don't really like any of his tunes. Also, Dry Cleaner from Des Moines would have been better through Jamerson's taste filter. IMO, obviously.

Totally understand, Duroc!

I was going to say that the scratchplate screws look old. A faker rarely has old scratchplate screws knocking about. Oh, I appear to have said it! A funny thing, the English language...

Haven't seen close up photos but from what I've seen the Mikey Way Mustang seems to have a silver finish with a black fleck. OP's bass certainly isn't that... Edit: reasonably good pics here of the Mikey Way finish: https://www.andertons.co.uk/bass-dept/bass-guitars/retro-bass-guitars/squier-mikey-way-mustang-bass-rosewood-fretboard-large-flake-silver-sparkle Doesn't look the same to me.

Nice looking bass. Looks like it was originally Olympic White... (possibly black looking on the right edge of the neck pocket) Can't imagine the racing stripes on a Mikey Way would be easily removed to leave a finish like that, and the Mikey Way seems more silver to me than this. EDIT - what's the pickup rout like?

And yet here you are

Hi, again James (it's alright folks, we've pm'd on a different topic) When I get a linky tag thing from @Norris I know I HAVE to respond! Tru-oil. Wonderful stuff. And like always, there are choices. First of all, unless you've already ordered a bottle, a 3oz bottle will generally do at least 2 guitars or basses so plenty for one even with trial and error repeats Used on unstained wood, I would echo what @Bridgehouse said - use tru-oil with sandpaper to create a slurry. Wipe it off after a few minutes and the slurry acts as a sealer and grain filler. Repeat a few times and progressively drop down to, say 250 grit, and now, not just wipe it off but vigorously buff it off. Quite quickly you will get to a beautiful, quite durable, silky smooth satin finish like this: I do ALL my necks this way....it has to be felt to be believed Next option is to do the above just as a grain filler stage but then just apply coats of tru-oil wiped on (I use cheap household microfibre cloths) and left to dry without wiping or buffing. After a number of coats, with a wet sanding of 1500 to 2000 wet and dry every two or three coats to flatten any cumulative ripples or dust buggies and then a final couple of coats as the final semi-gloss. I say semi-gloss because tru-oil does dull down a touch after a few weeks. This one was done that way: For stained woods you do also actually have a few options: Stain it, apply a couple of coats of tru-oil left to dry overnight to act as a sealing coat, then apply wiped on coats as above, doing the first light sanding (1000 grit used wet) after, say, the fourth coat (so you dont sand into and through the stain) then carry on as above building a semi-gloss build-up I'm probably one of the few people who do it, but I have started doing the 'slurry and buff' approach with stained woods. You have to be gentler, but I've found that the slurry takes stain with is so actually, unless you are too harsh, you don't end up with bare unstained patches. Takes a bit more practice, but you can get some decent results (this used to be white): Hope that helps rather than further confuses! Andy

I think that we are perhaps getting away a little from the point of the OP. Like Bilbo, I aspire to pay better gigs with better musicians (but not any form of jazz of course), even though most of the time I play in bars for so-so money (like Blue). Certainly, it is the times when I’ve shared a stage with people like Lance Lopez for half an hour, where I was a bit out of my comfort zone but still managed to hang, that I remember with the most satisfaction. It makes you think that perhaps you could play at a higher level if the opportunity arose. I think that the thing about playing the local gigs with some guys who are perhaps not quite as experienced are that you learn to cover for them and play around the weak points of their playing. Hopefully you can make them sound good and even get them to play better, just as superior players make you play to a higher standard. Of course some just aren’t up to it and you have to try and avoid them where possible…

Wembley Loudspeakers are your friend. They can test it and do any repairs needed. http://www.wembleyloudspeaker.com/

Yep. I've gigged this setup half a dozen times now. I love it. The FR800s are so good that you can go from crystal clean to huge overdrive and everything in between and they just lap it up. The helix is so versatile and the options are endless. I love the versatility of the eqs and the fact I can have whatever I want to hear on stage and if necessary something totally different out front. I'm so happy with it that I just sold my Aguilar DB750 rig knowing it won't get used again.

G# (13th fret), open E = Double stop. A lovely sound. Then add a D at the 12th fret on the D string, a nice D7 shell. Then of course, all the variations. Open strings are gorgeous for chordal pieces. Fast chromatic runs down low, the open strings can be invaluable and at high tempo, the difference in tone wouldn’t be noticeable. What about tunes played on a four string when a low E is needed? You have no other option, unless you retune. Open strings are part of the Bass gig. At some point in your life, for some reason, there will be a need for an open string, even if it is just for tuning up.

Yes, and also because they are sticking out higher than the metal switch less chance of accidentally changing the settings of the effect.

I tend to play open strings as often as I can depending on the song and the position of my left hand on the neck. But I have nerve damage in my left arm so the fewer fretted notes I can play the less fatigued my left hand becomes. Needs must and all that.

Why not play through headphones? Use your budget to buy something like a PJB Bass Buddy (other gadgets are available) and your Fun Prevention Officer will love you even more than she does already.

There is no nonsensical noodling in most of Jaco's work. If it sounds like nonsense, it is because you aren't hearing it. As a fan of some of the more extreme Jazz forms, my interest in Jaco wained a long time ago but, to continue your analogies, Jaco was pretty much Jameson plus. There isn't much that he does that isn't intensely melodic or riff orientated. Sometimes he went up his own arse a bit but that is the nature of improvisation; sometimes you fuck up. Jaco pushed the envelope. A lot of what he did had precedents but he just took it all further. Except the harmonics. That was all him.

I've run one amp for probably 95% of the time I've been playing, but the old swing-o-meter for basses has gone from 1 to a perhaps a dozen or more at any given time over the years. Thing is, I find that gear in shops distinctly underwhelming. Doesn't matter where either, the small/large standalones (GAK/Andertons), the chains (GuitarGuitar, and obviously the bit US ones, Guitar Center/Sam Ash), it's all a bit meh. It was like shopping for clothes at Gap. I just took a look at the Bass Gallery in stocks. There wasn't one thing that I'd buy (but the Normandy Archtop looked quite nice...). The big brands tend to bore me stupid now, hence I'm going with someone who can make what I want that doesn't resemble a coffee table. Anti-gas is good.

Very easy transaction and a good seller to deal with. Everything sorted over PM in a couple of days and now I have a Sub n Up.

I spotted Clive's wanted Ad for a TC spectracomp and after a couple of messages we'd sorted out the deal, Clive paid straight away and I posted the same day. Thanks again Clive and enjoy the pedal!

Clive bought a pedal from me. Great comms and super quick payment, couldn't ask for a smoother transaction Deal with confidence.

Did a trade with Clive ,p bass for a very tasty schechter , Clive alias T-bay is a top fella ,deal with confidence people He's a credit to the forum👍

Just bought the Jake 4 from Stephen, who made sure I was updated with the packing process in preparation for shipment. He was also quick with answering all my queries. The bass arrived very well packed minimizing any chances of being damaged during the shipment. It was also nice of him to throw in the top quality padded strap from Maruszczyk . Overall I'm extremely happy with the whole transaction. Pleasure to do business with Stephen.

Sold my amp to his mate, thanks for the reference!

Steve just popped over to meet his new fretless p bass and to bring me my new stingray5. Super pleasant transaction and he sure takes good care of his toys