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Andy is a top guy and I never expected to see the bass again after 2 years - to say it made my week would be an understatement! My lesson learned is always unload the car post practice and gig regardless of whether you're knackered and it's chucking it down and get insured..... the other guitar, an ACG, was returned in similar circumstances a year ago by a great guy in Hebden Bridge As Andy says bass players are a fantastic community of like minded souls - my faith in human nature is reaffirmed! Cheers Justin

Hi everyone, I'm posting this story because it reinforces what a close-nit community that we musicians, and in particular, bass players are. Some of you might have noticed recently I advertised on basschat a lovely Paul Everson Caiman bass for sale. I acquired the bass through a trade about a year ago with a guy who advertised it on Facebook. We met in a service station. I swapped a very nice 4 string Shuker bass for the Everson, had a nice chat with the fella who bought it and returned home. Whilst we were talking the lad confessed to me that he had found the Everson Bass in one of those second hand chain stores that have 'cash' in the title. He knew next to nothing about basses but had liked the look of it and bought it. He then tracked down Paul Everson on Facebook to get some info about the bass. I loved the bass. It appeared to have been treated quite badly. The electrics were shot and it was covered in a weird thick dust. I had it cleaned, sorted and set up and quickly picked up another Everson that appeared on Facebook. That was around a year ago. I recently decided to sell the caiman. Id always had a little niggle in the back of my head about 'Cash _________' and wondered if I'd been a little naieve in my trust. So to put my mind at ease I contacted Paul (Everson) who told me he had sold the bass through the great British bass lounge. I then contacted Drew who was running the lounge and asked them both if any Everson basses had been reported stolen. They both did some digging and came back with a resounding no. Drew had a record of a sale to a lad called 'Justin' who lived near Bradford (I'm in Macclesfield). So back to present day. After advertising said bass on Facebook and BC I received a message from a lad called Justin who explained to me that this was his bass and that he'd had it stolen in early 2016. I immediately phoned him and we discussed at length what to do. Now the dilemma. Justin hadn't been insured and had lost the bass along with a whole heap of equipment. He had been scouring the Facebook sites to try and recover the bass for the last 2 years. I had essentially swapped a 900 quid Shuker with it. The lad who had bought the bass oringally had moved the Shuker on. We were all victims of crime and it was a difficult puzzle to unravel. Justin had contacted Yorkshire police for advice and they had said it was a civil matter. Anyway the final result is that we met the following week and Justin got his bass back. It was a great end to a saga and needless to say Justin was chuffed! Just a big shout out to Paul Everson and Drew for caring enough about this story to help me with my clumsy detective work and a big shout out to Matthew who contacted me on behalf of (current) BBL. The photo below is of Justin (on the left) recieving his beloved bass back! Moral of the story. Cash ___________ are a store I like even less now and Bass players are awesome folk. Andy

The OP made a comment in reference to politics, but it does bring up some interesting parallels. On one hand you have uninformed opinion based on 'belief' and a lack of ability to comprehend simple facts (about compression), and proudly shouting about it. Meanwhile on the other you have a rational explanation (of compression) from people who know what they're talking about, which gets completely ignored. It's an interesting reflection of divisions that exist elsewhere.

3 to 5 coats in and things are looking satiny

I think from a legal perspective you’re okay with that statement unless it’s leopard print

Only just received this 92 thumb.

I can only see your fingers

Sure it's overkill if you only play at home, but if said 800 watt amp is still cool to the touch at bedroom levels, then there's no reason why the cooling system couldn't be designed to be as silent as possible up to a certain temperature threshold, only kicking in the loud fan when it's really needed. I need to store my amp and cab in my room regardless, so I use it for low volume practice instead of having to buy a separate practice amp that takes up more room and doesn't sound as good!

Oh man I laughed so hard at that, a worthy choice for quote of the week methinks!

Saw this one for sale in Chichester on Gumtree. Under @Elfrasho's budget and looks like a lot of bass for the money but more importantly has a slimline neck...

Please lay off the politics and religion, folks. Ta. 👍

I thought of adding some inlayed swifts instead of the dots but then figured life is too short...

well, I changed my mind. I'm keeping it. It's just too nice to play. The Yamahas have an interesting look and sound good but they've never felt "right" when I tried them.

Why would you say such a thing!!!!! The example looks nice......

One Control pedals are built by magic elves. I don't know how else to explain how they can cram in so much into a 1590A enclosure and still have room for a 9V battery!

Ive said it for years - change the names of these pedals from 'compressors' to something like 'sound balancer' and people would get it more and know what theyre aiming for. Ps i know sound balancer is a terrible name, but you know what i mean. The name compressor immediately gives the image of squashing and squeezing the tone, which it doesnt need to be used for.

Just teamed up with a great vocalist who is also a voice coach. She proudly claimed she could teach anyone to sing and I couldn't resist. No band I've ever been in would let me near a microphone unless there was a fire and we needed to clear the room. I sing like a cow with a throat infection giving birth to a tumble dryer. However she has taken up the challenge. All of the work so far has been around understanding my body, breathing properly, hissing and humming. Not a word has passed my lips in three lessons and I am amazed to find the process fascinating. I'm actually excited to continue and while I still doubt her chances of getting a noise from me which wouldn't startle passers by and cause the dogs to hide, I am enjoying finding out just how a real singer goes about their business. Turns out that they actually practice every bit as hard as we do. The voice really is an instrument which requires work. Who knew? My respect for vocalists will of course never be more than marginally higher than that with which I esteem guitarists, but I do feel slightly less contempt for them.

You should probably just think that

same way that a flirty new girl at work makes you horny for your wife again wait, what?

To this... The new board is already full, so I think (hope?) that should mean this is now going to be a pretty 'final' incarnation. For a little while anyway! (I suspect @Skol303 may be surprised to see a particular type of pedal on both boards; a direct consequence of too much tilting at windmills )

This came up on my FB feed for some reason. Doesn't quite look the same as the pic to me (control knobs, neck pick up) can't quite manage the reserve... https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/frank-zappa-s-customised-1952-53-gibson-les-paul-10-c-08748eda8c?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=retargeting&utm_content=dpa&gdffi=dca0399140a148a7a30f2232feaa5a73&gdfms=3071FE75C02143D0A901C14816B369D3

Bollocks. its got a volume control. An amp shouldn’t need active cooling when being used at conversational levels. I gig but I play far more at home than anywhere else. I should be able to enjoy my purchases.

I take it this isn't helping

I just wish my knob was that big!!!

Leave it long enough and conversations always end up being about men and their knobs.....

I'd favour option one too, option two puts the lower set of knobs too close to the bottom of the body for me. TBH I've no idea why you'd want to mess with it. Buy a pre-amp pedal instead.

They look more sophisticated knobs than mine. I thought I'd gone extravagant with flamed maple cap over grain-filled ash, but you've raised the bar now

Knob on! (As they say locally) With an oil finish they are going to be like little jewels against the Amboyna top. Would you accept a post as Basschat's full-time knob consultant?

First Wirebirds gig since November last night, so a little bit rusty, but as soon as we started, it just came naturally. Ended after three (I think - I lost count!) encores and were packing away to calls of 'one more...one more'. Landlord and agent happy, band happy, and that's what it's all about, really.

I don't know of any D class amps currently on the market that are unreliable or less than well designed. My minimum is 500 watts and my current go-to amp is 700 watts. Lots of headroom is always a good thing. I've used Aguilar TH500 and AG700 amps for a few years now and would replace them if they were stolen. I know a player who uses a Markbass 800 watt amp with an EBS Valve Drive. Sounds as warm as a warm thing!

Who suggested that you need a flatter fretboard for these techniques? I've seen all these techniques performed on every kind of bass, so I'd question that advice. I'd only change if I found that I actually had a physical problem with my bass.

Vocal abuse is the misuse or overuse of the voice in an unhealthy fashion Well there's your problem straight away. Vocal abuse is swearing at someone. Vocal misuse is using your voice in an improper fashion. On-line stuff is all very well, and some of it is really very good ... if you can find the good stuff and recognise it. But if you're an absolute beginner, then there is no substitute for a couple of one-on-one sessions with an actual voice coach, who can identify what you're doing wrong and show you how to do it right. No on-line voice coach is going to see that your posture is all wrong, you're not breathing properly, and you're straining too hard for that note. Ultimately, you get what you pay for. And on-line coaches cost nothing. Just saying ...

In 40 years of playing bass, a BBE Opto Stomp compressor pedal is the only pedal I have ever used. I bought it & used it for a month at 3 gig's. I had no idea how to use it, and couldn't discern any difference in my sound other than when I turned the controls up and got a "squashed" sound. A support band bassist borrowed my rig including the Opto Stomp, and commented how great it was & offered to buy it off me....which he did. I never heard their sound check, but listen to their set. The bass sounded unremarkable (FOH festival rumble). What's my point? No idea... Other than (understatement alert)... perhaps knowing how & why a piece of equipment works, is the way to get the best out of it. I'm pretty sure sound engineers put compression on my signal....I've never asked & don't intend to, I don't care.

Quite honestly I’d say that fingerboard radius, while important, isn’t the sole factor thing to consider. String spacing (at the bridge and the nut,) string gauge (affecting tension) and neck profile are big contributing factors too and I’ve always found that the combination of them are very interactive in creating the overall feel of a bass. For years I assumed I didn’t like 19mm string spacing because I’d played a couple of Ibanez BTB 5 stringers which had necks that felt to me like aircraft carrier decks. Once I’d found my Ibanez BTB33 5er with 17mm spacing I was happy. Then about 6 months ago I was drawn to the look of MTD Kingstons but was sceptical on the basis of their 19mm string spacing...until I tried a few of them out. The fingerboard radius is actually very similar to the BTBs but the neck profile and spacing at the nut make it one of the most comfortable basses I’ve played. In the past I’ve sold basses thinking I didn’t get on with the scale length but in hindsight I realise that it was the string gauge causing a tension I didn’t like which was the real problem. A different set of strings would have been a cheap and easy fix but I didn’t know that at the time. So my advice would be to try out as many basses as you can, including some that don’t appeal to you on paper. You’re likely to surprise yourself.

It's not as easy as it looks but like you say, it's fascinating to learn what your own voice is capable of when guided by knowledgeable folk. The MD of Royce's male voice choir assessed me as being bass/baritone. She said that with practice I would tend more towards one or the other as I developed my lungs, breathing and delivery. You've got to be fitter than I realised too. I even took up swimming again to help. I am more baritone now. Years of smoking in the past has the effect of making my voice drop in air conditioned spaces so I can still get right down there on occasion. I don't attempt it for anything other than self amusement though. A word of warning however: If you are giving birth to any more tumble driers try not to deliver a Hotpoint. You'd run the risk of igniting one of your own cow farts and the resulting containment failure would take ages to clean up. Think of the environment, please. Hope the throat infection clears up soon.

That's a lovely story, its just a shame you ended up being down 1 Shuker I guess! fair play to you sir!!

When you put it like that, it assures me that you've got it sussed, as it were. I am thinking back to when I recessed the knobs on my kit so that the nuts holding the pots were concealed beneath the base of each knob. I felt this was necessary because of the curved body. There was an untidy look to the exposed nuts. I had thinned down the floor of the control chamber already and I then had to do little passes with a Dremel grindstone mounted from the inside so that the back of the grindstone did the work on the outside while the spindle was guided by the hole for the pot from the inside. Although I got away with it, the sound of thin timber just from running a finger tip across the front of the control chamber made me feel uneasy about exposure to knocks and bumps. I've been told that I worry too much before so thanks for sharing your experience. Ah Wolverhampton. Highly regarded as a cultural oasis of the Midlands with it's pubs and clubs. So that's how you discovered the lost chord... by t w a t t i n g a disillusioned yoof across the back of the nut wiv a dreadnought. Inventive.

STOP spreading the myth that original bands play for free !!! I'm in two now, and have played all originals since the 1980s and we never play for free apart from a festival as our first show with a brand new project.. WHY should a cover band get paid more for bringing the same sized crowd as an original band?

Wonder if he'd accept an offer for a 1x12 while he's got the saw out...

I'm wondering how 4 x 4-inch drivers can possibly generate 126dB.

I do not manufacture or sell speakers, or represent in any way any entity that does. I'm an acoustical engineer, so any comments I may make come purely from an engineering standpoint. I don't have a dog in this fight, but that doesn't mean I can't point out if one or more of them have a decided limp.

Nothing like this ever happens in my band. We're all crap and we know it.