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HB PB-50 - v3.0 Becomes v4.0... *AUDIO CLIP* You'll be pleased to know that this will be the final reincarnation of this HB PB-50 Precision Bass. Yes... I know I said that last time - but Shoreline Gold, though a very nice finish, isn't really my thing. My thing is basses that are white. Or cream. Or aged Oly White. Or yellow, basically... you know what I mean. I was particularly taken with the new Player Series 'Buttercream' P bass - hence this refinish and reworking - saving myself £649. This one has a custom handmade Herrick dual-coil pickup in it - and very nice it is too... warm, taut and punchy, with the mid-range push typical of a 57-type split-pickup, but in a 51-type four-pole format. It's a beast... check out the audio clip. https://www.herrickpickups.com/ The previous version 3.0 bass is here. Now read on. Body refin in TV Yellow nitro Pickguard in Acrylic White Fender American Deluxe Bridge, Top-Loading or Through-Body Herrick Dual-Coil Telebass '51' pickup overwound to 11k ohms CTS solid-shaft pots, Chiclet cap .047uF, Switchcraft Jack in cats-eye side plate Fender Chrome '51' Pickup Cover Fender Tug Bar Fender dome-top knurled control knobs with grub screws Wilkinson WJBL 200 tuners La Bella 760FS Steel Flatwounds 45-65-85-105, Through-Body Stringing Is this really the final version..? I hope so, because I just don't have the time (or disposable bass tokens) for any more finishing shenanigans... I thank you!

Just getting through the post show let down after a very busy week.I was playing in the orchestra(yup, we had strings) for an amateur production of "Chicago" and although it is a slimmed down and cleaned up version of the Broadway show and is referred to as the "High School Edition", the music and orchestrations are for the most part exactly the same as the Broadway music.Luckily the musicians(14) are experienced players who have played many shows and some play in bands I am in and did a fantastic job with some very demanding music. Listen to the movie soundtrack if you want to get an idea of the level of playing demanded.Last week was three days of rehearsals and three shows.Of course the band had rehearsed a number of times before this. I was a last minute addition to the band when some extra money became available and I was asked to play...are you ready...tenor banjo!Almost 40 years ago I was very busy gigging with Dixieland type bands in Toronto but I haven't really played any serious banjo music for a long time so the last couple of weeks were real a real workout for me trying to get back some of the licks that I needed for the show and to get back into reading a banjo score instead of bass music. It was a great experience to do the shows and I had a fantastic time playing some good arrangements with excellent musicians.Three nights of full house with standing O's for cast and orchestra all three nights.On top of that I got back into playing banjo and even had couple of little solos in the show which I managed to play OK. I guess the point of the story is that if something that sounds interesting is offered to you,go for it because you might not get another opportunity like it again. Swing band rehearsal today playing bass and also a few Dixie tunes on banjo.Love it. As I have said on here before, we are so lucky to have music in our lives and be able to share it and have fun with others when we are playing. I have been gigging for 56 years and still get a thrill.I better go practice now...

One of our gigs last weekend was at a pub whose landlord, Phil, used to own a different pub. We used to play regularly for Phil at his previous pub but the new owners cancelled all the bookings when they took over. At last Saturdays gig two minibuses turned up full of locals from Phil's previous pub who'd come especially to see us, a thirty mile round trip. Money in Phil's till and two fingers up to the new landlord at his previous pub. We were delighted to see them

And we forgot the great Carles Benavent with Paco de Lucia (everything was played fretless !!!) He even played with Miles Davis and nowadays, he's been playing with Chick Corea... Listen to this and his amazing style of playing :

It depends what kind of look you’re after. I originally planned to clear coat and polish mine but in the end I just applied the amber nitro and left it to age and wear naturally. I lightly sanded with very fine paper, 2000 grit I think, to smooth it. I’m happy with it.

I have listened to a bit of Joe Bonamassa and I don't quite understand why he is the big thing; no doubt he can play but it all sounds a bit blues by numbers. Robert Cray is a far more interesting guitarist imo. Also has a great voice.

Most of what is happening now is what I call "smooth blues" which is main stream blues for the masses. Like Joe Bonamassa and Gary Clarke. Blue

OK - slightly different answer to my earlier post. The single cut above, which is actual Camphor, wasn't actually very holey. As such I got away with just creating a slurry by sanding with wet and dry but using Tru-oil as the wet (basically a variation of the 'slurry and buff' approach). Also, the slurry is the sawdust of the predominant wood - and this camphor was similar hues all around so filling small voids with that lighter slurry didn't detract from the darker burl This one below, was Camphor Laurel (it is actually a type of laurel as far as I understand) which was holey like yours: And this one, yes - I mixed ebony sanding dust with epoxy and filled it with that. This gives a true black fill of the voids: This one below was the same Camphor Laurel, but this time I did a tru-oil slurry and buff. Bear in mind this is not full gloss finished, but you see how the lightness of the slurry tends to soften the burl effect: So, I would say for maximum effect, mix epoxy (Z-epoxy would be my choice) with a decent amount of a very dark sanding dust, for a lesser effect, you could slurry and wipe. Or - you could opt to leave unfilled, as I have for @Len_derby 's very recently finished burl poplar lightweight bass:

An option would be or could be rather, mix epoxy with black powder paint and really bulk it up with brass or bronze dust to give it a polished metal effect. There was a furniture maker on the Scottish borders who did that on Elm burr table tops and it was sensational. Just found a video to give you an idea

The real deal!

Mind set - interesting. I was thinking that a few weeks back. Turned up to do a festival on a pretty big stage and the sound man took one look at the pedal train nano and the K10.2 and said "er, is that it? where's the head and cab?" After explaining, he mumbled something about weirdness and plugged into the through port on the QSC. Afterwards he wandered over and said he liked the bass sound very much and found mixing the FOH bass much easier as there wasn't a massive big cab blaring it out which he had no control over. I had my onstage monitor, rest of the band was happy, soundman was happy. It's a mind set.

@jrixn1 - the quality of the venues you play are much better than the ones I do!! There's no sawdust, puke, spilt beer or blood anywhere!

@jrixn1 - good to hear your experiences. So then, agreed, your best rig ever? And by some long shot I'm guessing? The speakers in PA cabs are just far better than the ones found in your standard offerings... and with the DSP, any inadequacies in the cabs are catered for digitally. What's not to like, right?

I've been working as a volunteer at my local Drug & Alcohol service delivering groups. I decided to run a group where the members would learn to play "The Chain" - easily recognisable, not too difficult to play. I took in two basses and an amp. A number of the group had a go - remember that recovery is about perseverance and obstacles as is learning to play bass. One of the group was left handed so I was given the challenge of playing left handed - you know what? - we take our normal dexterity and muscle memory for granted - I was making loads of mistakes...if I practised left handed I think I might get the hang of it but I got reminded how difficult it was when I started. Playing bass is a lot harder than you think...

I ought to do you under copyright laws using an image of my missis without her permission LOL. but I suppose I would have to sue 98% of wales.

In the loud band, when I owned Bergs I used 3 112 cabs, then a 212 and 112. Now I'm using BF cabs I always use 2 SC's or lately 2 Two10's. The guitarist uses a Fender Twin which he sometimes links up to second combo. I could use 1 cab on the "regular" gigs, it's loud enough, but I've used 2 cabs (BF, Bergs, Mesa Boogie, Ampeg) on most gigs for many years because 2 just sounds so much better.

I agree FireDragons or Ddraig Dân 😀

A bit of extra sawing, carving and lots of sanding this weekend has resulted in this. You can clearly see the saw marks on the angled side but, like I said before, I've made it a few millimetres over-sized so it should sand out.

FireDragons sounds great!

crazy

Two more jobs - soldering the wires and fitting the strap buttons. However, took the advantage of a little bit of cloud (not often in the UK we say THAT!) to take the arty-farty shots - taking photos in full sunlight is not an easy thing to do! Before those shots (and forgive the self-indulgence!), someone asked me why I've started scooping the back. Two reasons that can be seen in these two shots: It takes out a LOT of weight. Just look at how much wood has been removed - and this is a relatively thick body this time: It allows a superslim transition of the neck to the body. Again, this one has been made a little deeper (this one is 30mm at its minimum - my last build was 25mm where the body was basically the same thickness as the neck!) but still retains those pleasing lines at the transition. I've also left the transition relatively modest starting with a taper just past the 13th fret - I can always get the surform out if, after he's had a proper play with it, @Len_derby wants it slimmer further up Anyway, enough of the technicals - here are the fancy shots: As always, many thanks for sticking with yet another tortuous thread and for your kind words and encouragement - always HUGELY appreciated Andy

We call them 'paid rehearsals'

Does that count as a log in trouble..?

It depends what you mean by modern. There are people doing the same kind of thing as the ones you mentioned, and doing it really well, and there are people with a modern take on it. How about this: Maybe more rock than blues, but Band of Skulls are my current favourite

Guitarist in one of my bands recently discovered Colter Wall. Young guy with a very mature voice. We've been covering 'The Devil Wears a Suit and Tie' in our set recently. It always goes down well. I tired to post the link but it didn't work. I'm just getting used to a new computer! I might try again later. 🙂

Thumbs up from me, 👍...some funky chops you have there sirrah!

Very nice work. I congratulate you sir.

Ed Sheeran - the early years. I actually bought the single of this & 'me and my mini' in the 80s. A massive influence on my bass playing.

I was playing through a Nexus SL and matching cabs at a rehearsal studio recently. I have to say, I really like the tone and the headroom. I wouldn't have any issues going out gigging with such a setup. In fact, I've gigged with a lot worse that's cost a lot, lot more. I used to have a LC15R for guitar too. At the time, there was nothing to touch it as a small guitar valve combo that actually sounded decent. Things have moved on now - the market has opened up for low wattage guitar amps... but for me, the LC and VC combos were punching way above their perception.

Forgot to mention I sometimes use an Eden EX112 with my CMD 121P, it stacks nicely (same footprint). At 300W at 8 ohms it is a punchy little cab. OK It is clearly not in same league as MB n all, but is half the price and a pretty good cab for just under £200. Might be worth a try out before you spend double on MB or quadruple on Barefaced, Vanderkley, Bergs, Mesa etc Cheers

It sounds amazing and looks really cool too. Great job all round!

If you've never been to his shop, it's quite the experience. I went down there to try out a couple of basses. What did he plug me in to for amplification? A 1963 B15.... lol

There was a period in their history where they were a bit underpowered and mismatched speakers, especially in their combo range, resulted in a reputation for farting out at fairly low volumes. Personally, I owned the G120 1x15 combo for a lot of years and loved the sounds I could coax out of it. It just wasn’t loud enough to gig with. I did play a gig through the Nexus head and 8x10 cab at a multiband event and was blown away by the improvement, albeit at a slightly different price point 😂

Every Laney bass amp I've played, in rehearsal rooms and at gigs, has sounded great. I do believe their lack of kudos, is merely due to brand snobbery. I've owned many top brand amps and cabs over the years and laney holds it's own with all of them.

Actually, you're both wrong. The timbre I used was poplar

Is there a limit to the Internet where we must conserve threads by only commenting on or creating constructive topics? The only positive thing I got from the 'performance' was in taking some comfort in being certain they won't be taking any gigs from my band.

There’s a clip somewhere on YouTube of the excellent Derek Forbes of Simple Minds playing I Travel, just to show us how it’s done... It looks as though cold drinks may have been taken prior to the recording of the clip!

You would have loved my old workshops, two large old cowsheds converted and a third as a showroom/woodstore. we had a machine room and a separate bench room which was really comfortable apart from when someone used a router, EEK! The machinery was all 1950s Wadkin all re manufactured to as new condition and was stunning to use, very heavy solid cast iron and no vibration, talk about being spoilt A far cry from my apprenticeship days of hand planing 24" Elm boards from say 1 1/2" down to 1" in an old shed. Lovely as it was I think what I have now is better suited to making basses, thankfully many of the skills I learnt as a furniture maker are transferable to guitar making or certainly the mechanics of it but there are a lot of things that are very different that I have yet to learn or gain some experience with. Thankfully this is only a hobby now and not a business otherwise I would be bankrupt in a month at the speed I'm working at. Like furniture making, anyone can make the stuff to a high standard but the real skill is in making it to that standard quickly, a pressure that thankfully isn't on me Anyway, a picture of something I made a few years ago, sorry about the quality it's a photo of a photograph. The cabinet was quite big and made with shop cut 3mm veneers of Indian Rosewood and East Indian Satinwood with Sri Lankan Ebony for inlay stringing and glazing bars, the rope twists were hand carved from solid Rosewood

I just have a feeling that there isn't a sub £1000 amp out there that will match the DB751 sonically. Lighter yes, perhaps even more tonally flexible, but if it sounds the way you want then anything else could be a backward step. It's really easy to advise others to spend their hard earned trying our own personal favourite but the OP is already at the top end of what's out there. If weight only and not expense was the criteria the only amp I would suggest purely on other people's reports and reputation would be a Bergantino B|Amp with and programmed for matching Bergantino Reference series cabs of the OPs choice.

Grace and Danger from John Martyn. John Giblin plays so tasteful and so beautiful on that album.

Yep, this! Ha! 😀 To the O/P, would you be willing to pop the chassis out and take a pic? It may be DFA control..

The Behringer version of the SM58 really is amazing for the money. You can get a pack of three in a case for around £30, honestly give an SM58 a run for its money sound wise. I've had mine for years, backing vocals, and they've been brilliant.