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Ten strings sell but who's buying? 💀

All the more headstock to smack mr mustaine with The punishment due? 😂

All of it. The HX software models are (IIRC) 4 to 6 times larger than the old tech. Far more detail in the modelling process. Apparently down to modelling each individual component in the signal path rather than just trying to model what comes out of a speaker.

All finished and back together, just a quick little project 😀

Hi all. I’ve just put together this little home rig and I’m super pleased. I purchased the empty Ampeg mini stack cab first, then picked up two old Trace Elliot speakers on EBay that used to live in a 1048 TE cab. Finally I took the plunge and purchased the Hotone Thunder Bass head. The whole thing sounds amazing with my P basses and the tone is superb and would make a great recording set up too. Super pleased with this rig and the head has a surprising array of tones. Cheers all

I'll be playing a favourite venue on Sunday. It's a festival held in the centre of a local small town between here and Swindon. Faringdon has held its annual 3 day Follyfest for some time, the Wirebirds will be making their sixth consecutive appearance there this Sunday, when we bring the festival to a close. We don't get paid to do it, parking is a pain, but the audience is always great, and there's a good PA and a well organised team to run everything. The summer wouldn't feel quite right without our annual pilgrimage to Faringdon.

These basses, contrary to my initial misgivings, sound very good indeed and the light weight and new contours promise a much more ergonomic Stingray. However, I don't like black hardware on a traditional 4 string Stingray. I'm not keen on ebony fingerboards either. Or sparkle finishes.And the white ones are the wrong shade of white to go with the roasted maple. The overall reaction to how these basses look has been very positive, but i am struggling to find one I could live with, to be honest. I don't like the bridge, either. No Stingray really looks right without the big old-style mute bridge. I will still probably buy one, anyway. And then not be happy with it.

In a previous life, I worked as a sound engineer at a venue in the UK. It would have been mid 90's when a band turned up with four keyboards and a drummer with an electronic kit. As usual, I gave them time to set their stage and then wandered over to cable up. I remember thinking to myself, they're just sat around here relaxed and they haven't even bothered to bring their amps on stage..! This was my first real introduction to IEM. They did their own mix on stage and required only one mic for chatting to the audience, no vocals for the songs. It was one of the easiest gigs I've ever done. I went on stage during the soundcheck (having turned off FOH) and the only noise was the drummer hitting the pads. Quite surreal... And no mike bleed from coughs, sneezes and farts...! Getting back to the thread, I've been using an amp and vocal processor for a couple of years now. I haven't used an amp onstage for years. I recently bought a Line 6 module for amp sim and use it with either my Bose array pa or an RCF powered cab, the ART 310a. I can easily switch from acoustic to electric guitar. OK, time to fess up, I dont play bass.!! It's been a revelation to me, much easier to pack in the car and much more consistency at the gig. It's a million miles from you guys with Kemplers and Helix, but it works for me. Great thread by the way..!

Boards of Canada. loving the moods of it

I got the bass back from Laurence Dixon (The Bass Place, Herne Hill) today. He installed a Realist pickup (at my request, and in addition to the existing one), replaced the bridge with an adjustable (again at my request), shaved & profiled the fingerboard to match the new bridge, sorted out the twin soundposts so that they are correctly positioned and work properly, and did some corrective work on the end-pin structure. His work was every bit as good as Clarky told me it would be, and the bass is instantly far more playable and more comfortable to play. It also sounds noticeably better. I wanted the Realist since the existing pickup arrangement did a great job of picking up the sounds of the strings and of the slapping, but disguised (almost completely) the sound of the oil-drum. The Realist picks up far more of its sound from the resonating body and that means that you can actually hear the aluminium. All I need now is to run the two outputs through a blender and I will be able to control how much oil-drum the audience hears. The adjustable bridge allows me to switch between a rockabilly setup and a blues/jazz setup at will. The rest of the work was, frankly, remedial. As I mentioned before, Dave Gartland is not a professional DB luthier and he doesn't claim to be one. The bass as delivered had a few flaws which were easily fixed (well, "easily" by someone like Laurence), plus one which it is stuck with. As far as I'm concerned, it is now fully giggable and I'm looking forward to doing exactly that. I'm also expecting a fair bit of trepidation from any sound engineers who have to deal with it ...

My offer was accepted. Personalised orange bass on its way for mr orange.......

My favorite place is a small bar called Aribas. Here's why; 1. It's a great sounding room. Low ceilings and carpeted flooring. 2. The bar is right next to the spot we play in, no stage. 3. The crowd is primarily made up of live music lovers. The average age is probably 65. These folks were probably Hippies back in the 60s and love the vintage 70s based blues & rock we play. I love the place. Blue

'Frolicking' comes across more as a triplet, don't you think? I've heard that some people think us bass players are a bit weird. Can't imagine why. Edit: Douglas beat me to it. See, that's two of us think it's a triplet so we must be right.

Voted. I may as well produce certificates for everyone, right..? (... although, to be fair, they'd be merited...)

My work here is done. 🎸🔊🙂

The HD500X is a country mile behind the HX models though.

No. This one.

To be fair, there is a nut.

Thanks everyone. Going to get some D'addario pro steels today and see how it goes...

Arguing over string choices, is this TB?

I don’t listen to much classical music, mainly due to my own lack of knowledge. I like what I like, but it’s such a broad umbrella covering so many genres and sub-genres it’s difficult to know where to start. I feel the same about jazz to some extent too. So I’ve been exploring and last week I came across Vaughn Williams’ ‘The Lark Ascending’, which I think must be one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever heard. Hearing it led me back to Górecki’s Symphony No.3, which I am familiar with and is similarly enthralling.

It’s the drums that make you tap your feet, the bass that makes you swing your hips. To my knowledge it’s only Penguins that tap their feet as a come-on.

Yes, I remember the endless debates about Geddy Lee switching between his 4001 and his Jazz, and how he clearly unmistakably used the 4001 recording tom sawyer, as it sounded so much like it and he used it in the video. Until he came out and said it was recorded using the jazz.

Jamie, when I read your OP the first thought in my head was 'Oh No, not another bass solo post'. So having scanned your playing I am glad I did. Your playing is fine but you fall into the trap of projecting the bass (guitar) as a solo instrument. The bass is so much more important than that. As everyone here knows, the bass links up with the drummer to create the foundation for the singer and other musicians (guitarist?) to perform. A solid foundation or groove is what gets people off their seats and onto the dance floor - it makes them want to dance. In a band situation, each musician has a role to play. It might be hard for a bassist or a guitarist to accept but their function is to support and make the singer look good. Of the two mentioned, the bass is the more critical for the reasons listed above. Queen (the band) are a typical example. The band supported Freddie - even the guitar and bass solos and playing were only used to put further emphasis on the front man Freddie. The band were and are fine musicians in their own right but they knew that they could help make the sum of their efforts to be greater than their individual playing. Take a young child's jigsaw puzzle for example. Four parts to assemble the picture, but the picture is only fully revealed when each piece is in the correct position. Take away one piece and the picture collapses. Likewise take one piece and emphasize the colours using a painting set, and the picture has lost its wholeness, its balance as one quarter is now brighter and more vivid than the other three pieces. Just because a musician learns a technique, does not mean that he has to use it unless the song requires it. And searching for a song to use this technique results in the other band members learning the song to accommodate the other musician. Which is not conducive to a good or great overall performance by the band. We have all heard examples of this - the guitarist learns a song because it has his new solo in it.......... Please don't read this post in a negative fashion. I am not criticizing your playing. Rather the idea that the bass is or could become a lead instrument. If the song requires three root notes plus octave, nobody will sack you for playing those notes. It might be boring as hell but TBH a lot of playing is repetition. Repetition can become boring but the boredom is reduced if the dance floor is full of people swaying and dancing to the music. People hear the singer and the overall band sound and react accordingly. They may not pick up on the subtleties of bass playing but they will feel the groove. And they will want to dance. What more is there to ask for?

Hello Peter, Saw you first playing with The Shortlist many many years ago, and then with Buddy not quite so many years ago at Wilbarston Village Hall (rather posh as village halls go). Special Kudos for building your own basses!

Marco Bass Guitars TFL5:

In 55 years I've never been in the habit of cleaning strings, however using alcohol wipes is something I plan on trying. Thanks Reggaebass Blue

The Helix is crazy good. Especially the amp sims, the small details make it really emersive..!

Sibob, I finally got it to all work last night. I am happy to say, it was through no fault of the Novation kit or software but a fault of an incompotant operator of Logic Pro X (i.e me!). Thanks for the support and now is all good (or at least it will once I learn to play keys)

Not this one, by any chance..?

I don't sweat much and wash my hands before every gig. I can't remember ever cleaning strings. I change my strings every 12 months, whether they need it or not. That's enough maintenance for me. I don't particularly like the "zing" of new rounds. My DR Lo-Riders have been on since last Christmas and are just coming into their prime.

I find it's better not to s**t on them in the first place.

what about p455w0rd?

Thanks for all who contributed to my thought process. I picked up a s/h NY121 last night in virtually new condition. First impressions are really good. Thanks to @Sparky Mark for spotting the cab for sale on Gumtree. The guy who was selling it had bought it to go with his 1x12 combo but found he never really needed it - ironic or what!

I've always liked orange or strong yellow against black I like black. Any highlight colour looks good against black.

I've taken my empty case to the car declaring "just going to the shop for parts for this old thing......." also used "this? this? my dearly departed former bandmate's widow said he always wanted me to have it if he died" yes, I have no shame

He's sending me some "ideas" with keyboard bass and drums on... Hopefully he'll be happy when I liberally smear my attempt at his bass-line with envelope filter, bass synth and bass whammy, and play it all in a P-Funk style in straight 4:4 On The One. Perhaps I'll take my platform boots to the next jamhearsal!

His UK bass player is none to shabby either @mybass 😎

fender P = Fender J= Ricks=

This is quite simply, the most important part of bass playing.

Masterly

This was exactly the reason that I sold my one. You have to have it so loud to get the GK growl that it's too loud - the 700RB was easy to get the growl from

Mikan is a great guy to deal with. I’ve just sold a jazz bass to him, really a great communication, everything went to the best direction from the beginning up to the end of the transaction, really recommended! alberto