Leaderboard

This just turned up this morning... oh my god its incredible. Can't wait to get home and plug it in!! Check out the gloss fingerboard

I took up bass to see what a bass does and to learn what it adds to music. I cannot think of a single song that made me think, I will have to learn to play bass. I discovered that I love playing bass but to get the best out of it, I took on a music theory course and this led me to learn to play chords on a piano. The bass re-ignited my love of and interest in playing my six strings.... I might be slightly against the grain here by suggesting that the bass is not a lead instrument. It is much more important than that. Drums and bass provide the foundation for the song, for the music being played by the band. I hear music as the total sound created by the band and not the individual members contributions to the sound. On balance if the song requires simple root notes, then I play root notes. Boring? Possibly but the overall sound is what matters, my ego has to be put aside in favour of the song.

Been lucky enough to never have anything truly terrible, but three that stick out: Pub cover band going through a few lineup changes for a variety of reasons. During guitar auditions one guy arrived in triple denim with a guitar worth more than my car and a strap with so much brass on it looked like it was pinched from the wall of a country pub. Widdled badly away to himself regardless of the song, and decided to sit AC/DC out because (quote) "it wouldn't sound right with two guitars". During drum auditions for the same band a chap turned up who was friendly enough but struggled for time and just didn't have the chops - seemed like he was super rusty rather than just bad but we wanted to gig so didn't want to wait a year for him to get up to scratch, but... He was planning our futures the second he walked in, most of which seemed to centre around renaming the band Oi Oi Saveloy..?.. profit. He was genuinely nice though, hope he sorted something. Finally, a drummer audition in the current originals band. A week or so of talking between BL and drummer on joinmyband sorting out mp3s and organising a date. When the audition rolls round the drummer arrives, sets up his cymbals, then tells us he didn't have time to learn anything. Annoying, but the drumming is weird timing and technical so we give him the benefit of the doubt and ask what songs he knows so we can jam along if we know it and hear him play. "I don't really know any covers". In a last-ditch effort to salvage anything of the evening, we suggest putting on a simple enough song that he should be able to muddle through to some extent (it was something like buck rogers by feeder) - "yeah I don't really play anything I don't know." We then try to figure out why he even bothered answering the ad as we watch him awkwardly pack away his cymbals and leave, having not played a thing. Even more awkwardly, 2 days later he served me and my girlfriend in a shop in town and pretended he didn't know me after I said hello. People are odd.

The last couple of years before retiring I squeezed a double pedal under my desk, with a bass drum trigger pad. I would spend the working day doing stuff (in fact, very little, being the IT Boss, so delegating what little needed doing, as all had already been done...), whilst pedalling away with rudiments, basically much like snare exercises. It lasted for over a year before the Director asked me, politely, to desist, as he felt it gave the wrong signals to some of the staff. I was getting quite good at double paradiddles, flams and the like, but complied for the sake of peace. It's a pity that the relative expertise developed in this way has not, as yet, evolved into a workable addition to my playing with the full kit. Occasional 'blast beats' (the climatic ending to RATM's Killing In The Name Of', for instance, and some moderate success adding triplet 'patters' to Buckley's 'Grace'), but not really at ease for much else. Old dog, new tricks, I suppose...

Yes, that'll be me then. I'm not currently with them, apart from a one off this weekend at Tunes in the dunes, the wonderful luke Palmer has been the bassist for the last few years, and yes he plays a squire....very well. I also played a squire for most of my time with them, an extremely playable red CV precision which had a great relic job done by Al Knight, I later installed a darkstar copy pickup called a nu-sonic made by a guy in Brighton, stuck on some TI flats, left them on for four years, and there you have it...... I later had a copy made by Al, in white with a matching headstock. The amp was indeed a GB streamliner 900 through a barefaced super fifteen, with the FOH signal split through a REDDI and a Sansamp VTDI. The Squire will be at home this weekend though as I'll be using a recently acquired JMJ mustang..... what a killer bass ! Anyway, I have to say, it's very nice to get a mention on these hallowed pages. Cheers John Lee-Man, we should get together for a bass pint, i'm in Notts, as I think a few others here are. A pub based bass bash if you will.

If it helps...

I should not come here, too GAS inducing. I have zero Vigiers, but I do have 3 Bogarts which have a very similar "feel", 80's modern, graphite galore, great tight sound etc. I just really dig the shape of the Passions.. want one...

Nothing to do with speed, but the difference in sound is clear. I've seen good bass players switch between pick and fingers between songs, or even mid-song, to get the right tone or attack. I can only play with a pick (right elbow RSI, limited use of my fingers) so I've explored that a bit and it's striking how much difference in sound one can get from different picks. Stone sounds different to wood sounds different to resin. Sharp sounds different to rounded sounds different to blunt. Atm I'm mostly using sharp hardwood with my electric fretted main squeeze, sharp stone with my flat-strung fretless, and blunt resin with my fretted acoustic. And they're rather lovely things...

I usually build through necks and always physically draw the key neck angle points full size, and always using the actual bridge intended to be fitted. I measure the bridge saddle at lowest and highest, mark the neck angle fulcrum, then the fretboard and fret height, the planned action height and set the neck angle to allow some wiggle room either way. As it happens, with the Schaller bridge and my thickness of fretboard and fret-height, the neck will be zero angle: Then I can cut the slot: Once the body demarcation veneer has been added, this will be spot on. Because the angle is zero, then I don't have to allow for the apex that normally the fretboard end has to be sunk into. You can see here above the pencil line on the maple of how thin the neck will be cut to. And finally the components in their respective positions: Tomorrow should see the backs prepared, the neck blank cut to basic plan and side-view profile and then the backs glued to the neck....

just come in from seeing the Ramonas, both the guitarist and Bass player played down strokes all night, I couldn't do it, but it captured the essence of the Ramones

Hi Pete, Agreed to a degree. A dedicated sound and lighting tech would be considered Overkill for bar and pub gigs by most. I'm spoiled as a result of my personal situation. Our band leaders husband happens to run our sound and lights. I will say bringing in sound & lights separates us from our competitors and gives us a more professional sound. But most bar bands are just fine without it. We also probably use more pedal effects than most bands. You do some pretty cool stuff with today's pedals.Like sending presents from my phone. Blue PS: New Live CD is finished

I don't use my 63 P-bass on gigs. Much as I would like to, it's just not feasible in my main band at the moment, and ironically not so either when I dep with others in pubs and stuff. I do use it sometimes when it's viable / safe, e.g. - got a pal's birthday coming up soon which if I'm asked will be ideal for me to play it in the 'house' band ( will take a spare along in case anyone I don't know fancies a blast after a few too many sherberts ). It kinda goes against the grain a bit for me really, as everything else I have basswise gets used at some time, and I'm not a big fan of keeping stuff that doesn't earn it's keep so to speak. It's just that along with it being quite valuable, its also very precious to me as it belonged to an ex-bandmate who passed away, so I'll never part with it and feel honour bound to look after it and hopefully play it too.

Most gigs I use my ‘good’ gear but occasionally we play rowdier pub gigs (my favourite gigs as it happens) and for those I use the cheap stuff. I’m not worried about stuff getting damaged necessarily, but playing eyeball to eyeball with an up for it crowd means that inevitably beer can get spilt, mic stands can get knocked etc. I look after my gear and don’t abuse it, but I’m not precious about it and if it gets dinged in the line of duty then so be it. I’d just rather the cheap stuff got dinged than the expensive stuff.

Not sure that’s necessaryily a bad thing, some basslines sound much better as all downstrokes, particularly alt rock, punk, metal etc. It’s a subtle difference but a significant one.

Excellent. Any effort that entices hipsters to part with stupid amounts of cash should be praised 😉

Same bank here, my daughter had similar and was refunded and then had the refund withdran because the bank's insurance company for these things decided it was her fault because she'd provided her details to the company. Our nice adviser gave it all back again and a bit more for her trouble but that part is another story.😊

Similar, I became aware of John Entwistles playing quite early and developed a liking for the rhythm sections of many bands but it was Alan Lancaster's seemingly simple bass lines that made me sit up and think "I can do that!". It was only later on that I realised that he was actually a better player than I first thought, to this day he is one of my favourite bassists and along with John Coghlan in their day they were a powerhouse of a rhythm section

Although a very late starter myself I didn't pick up a Bass until I was nearly 40, there are 2 songs that I used to love the bassline too, the first that grabbed me was Blue Turk from Schools Out by Alice Cooper also Moondance by Van Morrison must have a thing about walking basslines both cracking songs there are many more but they were the first 2 that started the ball rolling.

Don't worry the weather here is terrible too, and I've had my fair share of warm beers! Mike does great work, and his shop is awesome if you ever get a chance to visit. But yes definitely check out Marco's stuff! We have a few artists in the UK, and we are hopefully shipping a couple out to Sandy at the Great British Bass Lounge this month, so I will keep you posted!

Eppy Rock?

A full crossover really isn't called for, as this isn't a sub/midbass arrangement as you have with PA. In order to make best use of it I'd set the sub low pass between 200 and 500Hz, whatever sounds best. There won't be any phase issues between the sub and the 112s with the sub only working that high, it's only above 800Hz or so where phase interactions between different drivers operating in the same pass band can cause more harm than good.

Thanks dude, pleasure to deal with you too!

You'd need McMillen's MIDI Expander then (or equivalent)

Enjoy.

A proper "bass" pedal board should always be a more reliable option for what you want. However if the Behringer FCB1010 will work in the way you want, then it will be more versatile since you can attach any Midi Note Number to any foot switch and not be limited to a single octave.

Good Stuff indeed..! ^^ Nice 'hats', too. With a touch more production it'd not disgrace a NIN album. I'll not declare it an automatic 'Winner of the Month', but the track that beats it will have to be very good indeed..! On another note, I may have to dip out this month. I've started, but Stuff is getting in the way (not feeling well doesn't help...). I may yet squeeze past the post, but don't hold up the voting waiting on me.

The E string certainly shouldn't sound dull. Glad you like the NYXL as a general rule! Drop me a PM, we'll get this sorted. Adam.

Maybe, but all too often insolvency makes it unlikely that any real money gets clawed back.

For me it was " Lord of Light" by Hawkwind from the album Do Re Mi... Eternal thanks to Lemmy.

She's a keeper @TorturedSaints

Of course. Everyone would just assume it's a Harley Benton with a Fender Decal on it. 😁

I was about to do a deal and sell my Tanglewater Elite via FB as someone had posted that they wanted one - deal had almost been finalised although no money had changed hands and Mrs Saint said 'oh, don't sell that bass, it's got lovely wood grain on it', to which I replied 'I'm just about to buy another one and this one won't get played'. She then said 'sell it to me and then you'll still do one in, one out' (she doesn't play bass). I had to message the chap back and say 'really sorry, the deal's off' and explained why - he found it quite funny as well. Having said that, Mrs Saint won't talk to the former drummer in the band, as he bought a new drum kit and wouldn't confess to his wife that he had bought it, so it was stored in my house for 2 years. Eventually after veiled threats from Mrs Saint about bonfires, he had to sell his old kit, and pretend to his wife that the one at my house was mine and that he was buying it . . .

For studio work also consider a quality mic pre with instrument input: I picked up one of these secondhand. The 'gain trim' feature gives superb warmth/grit/fuzz/drive tweaking, plus of course you can use it for a quality vocal take too! https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/dizengoff-audio-d4

We always advise people to follow the safety advice posted in the marketplace. Did you report any of these con artists, because we deal with every single one and often act as a go between and resolve issues for people.

Yeah never leave anything in a car, it’s a recipe for disaster. My girlfriend left a scruffy old bag in my car last summer, couple of hours later, window smashed, wallet gone, other contents scattered all over the local park. British towns are absolutely teeming with opportunistic smackheads, and supporting a £200 a day habit is no laughing matter. Anything that looks like it can be traded for heroin will get snapped up in no time.

Love Blue Turk ! In fact almost any of Dennis Dunaway's bass lines on School's Out are great.. Luney Tune and Gutter Cat vs The Jets in particular. ☺

Years ago I was in a band who rehearsed at Idle Cricket Club near Bradford ( we called ourselves 'Idle Hands') and after the rehearsal we'd go into the clubhouse for a drink before leaving. We were 10 minutes and in that time the guitarist's guitar, amp and fx were all stole out of his side window which was broken by a brick. Some time later he managed to get some of the gear back. Consequently I never leave my gear in the car, in fact even when loading after a gig I put all my stuff in the car and go straight home. if I'm going to be chatting after the gig the gear stays within eyeshot and then gets loaded in as I leave. Sorry if this sounds sanctimonious but leaving gear in your unattended car is a calculated risk, especially if your face is well known.

Tweeted and Facebooked as Basschat.

T-Rex were awesome. Gary Savile Glitter on the other hand?! 🙄

Hey @thebigyin noooooo need to apologise mate, and definitely don't feel bad - I was jesting with ya I've published something like 700+ videos on YouTube over the last few years... just by the law of averages, some will likely be crap, lol. Have a great day man, and seriously, no need to apologise at all. S

Welcome Ian As this is a UK forum you are required to pass a test on knowledge of tea, biscuits, cricket, haggis, welsh cakes, warm beer and moaning about the weather! I see you are in Seattle, the home of my favourite luthier Mike Lull. Having said that the Marco basses look interesting - any UK stockists?

In the 16 years that I've been a member of Bassworld, Basstalk and Basschat buying and selling kit or selling cables I've never had a problem. I even had a BCer send me a Sadowsky Metro from Poland without payment until I had checked it out. However I recently advertised for something I wanted and received a PM from a just registered new member who wanted my email address so they could send details and pictures. I declined and suggested they put them in the PM. I've heard nothing since so it pays to be wary.

Bought a new set of the Retrovibe "Vintage" pickups recently, decided to fit them to my Bass Collection Californian. All was going well, until I realised that the neck pickup is bigger than the original, and expanding the existing hole would be very messy. Some time ago, I bought 2 sheets of pearlescent plastic (black & white), with the intention of making some new scratchplates. I completely wasted the black sheet, made loads of mistakes, and they were resigned to the bin. The white sheet was untouched, until now. Third attempt, started slow, taking my time, looking good, until I realised that I'm not left handed. The air turned blue for a moment or three. D'oh! Fourth attempt. Start slow & taking my time again, looking good. Made sure it was the right way round this time too. Some time later, I was left with a new scratchplate & TRC that I was happy with. Big grin. Fitted them last night, new neck pickup fitted perfectly, had to make a couple of minor mod's as I went, nothing too drastic though. Definitely need a new soldering iron. neck pickup fitted, sounded good, switch to the bridge pickup, sounded thin, something wrong. Take the strings & scratchplate off again, and the earth wire is loose. Resolder that, put everything back together, restring, plug in, and boom! Good to go! The new pickups sound great, quite "zingy" (the new strings help I suppose), and the new scratchplate & TRC look good too.

Welcome Ian.

Cheers, my firts post and new pickguard.

I couldn't agree more regarding the neck width of Bass VI instruments. I have a Squier Bass VI and the neck is narrow even by guitar standards (it's certainly narrower than all the guitars I own) and that's the main reason why it doesn't get very much use. I had a look at the Music Man Silhouette Bass (it's not a very exciting looking instrument IMO) and according to the specs the neck is 44.5mm at the nut - where did you get the 47mm figure from? Also it seems to be marketed as a Baritone Guitar rather than a Bass VI, even though at just under 30" the scale length is about right for E - E stringing. However with 2 humbuckers rather than 3 single coils it appears to be voiced more in the Baritone range and it probably won't sound much like a Fender/Squier Bass VI, or your Revelation Bass VI. And so is it worth getting a custom Bass VI made to your specifications? Well given that a new Music Man is going to set you back around £1,700, probably yes. Where about in the world are you? Here in the UK there are several custom builders who would be able to make something suitable for you. It is important to find a luthier that you get on with and who you can trust to make those decisions that you know little about, in order to get the right instrument for you. My normal advice when picking a luthier for a custom instrument is to find someone who is already making something very similar to what you want. However in this case I think you may have to be even more trusting of your chosen luthier than usual. There are a couple of things that you should be aware of. Firstly any commercial custom luthier who is any good will be busy and you are probably looking at a build time in excess of 12 months. Secondly with a 52 width at the nut you are most likely going to need custom pickups to accommodate the extra wide string spacing and a custom bridge as well. That will all add to the cost and build time. There is one other route you could consider. Here on Basschat we have several talented people building their own instruments and sometimes instruments for other people. I would check out the work of Andyjr1515 in the Build Diaries section. Finally I don't think that this section is the best place for your question. I'd have asked it in either General Discussion or Bass Guitars. If you want to get the thread moved, click on "Report" on your OP and ask a moderator to move it for you. HTH