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Rare-as-hens'-teeth lefty Eminence, with massive thanks to @Happy Jack for his generosity and organisational skills in a. ordering it as a pressie; b. having it secretly delivered to his little sis in Pasadena; c. flying both of us to Pasadena on holiday, and collecting the parcel and taking it with us on the flight home. Since it was packed in a golf club case, I was none the wiser until we finally opened the parcel at home in London. Kudos. The bass is NOT as red as these photos show, despite my desperate attempts at colour correcting in Photoshop. It's more of a brownish-red tobacco colour. I feel I have finally graduated from beginner's upright to a slimmer version of the real thing! 😄😍

Hi Those of you who follow my threads will know two things: My workshop is TINY I absolutely HATE routers Well, based on MrsAndyjr1515's assertion that I fill every room in our house with my c**p already, the first item is unlikely to change But I ought to do something about the second one - if only because there still are certain things I have to use a router for and, hand routed, they remain the messiest and most risky operations pretty much of any of my builds. So, with a short break between actual builds, I decided to rethink my cellar / workbench arrangement and ask the question of whether there was any chance of all of getting a small router table in there. And I've just done it and I am so, so pleased with how it's turned out. The research and thinking process was long and painful (especially the thinking bit ) This is what I ended up with: Anyone who has also looked at tables will know that it is a complete minefield of partial and/or ambiguous information of what each option will do or not do, how portable, how big, what routers they are compatible with, what guide rings they are compatible with, what comes in the box and what is extra, how heavy, how easy to disassemble, how stable, etc, etc.. I also had a requirement to be able to easily store it in a very small space when not in use and small enough to be able to use it in the narrow standing space in front of the workbench And this latter requirement knocked 90% of the options out. So a bit of lateral thinking. Was it madness to consider using the folding stand from my £12.00 (yes £12 !!!! from Maplin, god bless em and RIP) lightweight workmate and do a 'bitsa' job on the table itself? Could I use my Draper router fixed base (on the right in this pic) that - against all odds - actually does fit into a so-called universal sub-base: ...and therefore be able to still use it as a hand router with the plunge base and remove it easily for storing the table and changing the router bits. And the answer was yes. Not cheap, but I think meets all my requirements. And - if early trials are anything to go by - SO, SO, SO much safer, more accurate, easier to set up and cleaner than hand routing. This photo was taken immediately after rounding all eight sides of a test piece. The sawdust in the tracks were from an earlier tryout without the vac attached. The rest of the chips - ie none - were what were left after the cuts: Can't tell you how chuffed I am

Is this another example of the necessity of correct punctuation..? Hmm...

The other week a fella wanted opinions on the Peavey T45. Being an honest soul I chipped in that the T45,like the Sarzo, was a great looking bass but sorely lacking in the tone department. The single humbucker T45 is 1 vol 2 tone set up and would've been better wired parallel 2 vol 1 tone IMHO. You'd need to rewire the pickup to get parallel and I don't have a spare so other options were needed. Being a fan of Warman pickups, that decision was quickly made 4 wire MM humbucker. Spare Peavey Foundation body would finally see some use 😎 First snag was the 2 pickup Foundation body, I'd need a scratchplate big enough to hide the pickup cavities.Printing off a Stringray plate showed the trouble,tight to neck heel exposed the bridge pickup/moved back to cover the holes and it was shy of the neck heel. OK I can live with shy of the neck heel 😀 Pearloid plate arrived yesterday,as did the Warman. Dropped the pickup into the plate then marked pole positions on masking tape. Popped a neck on the body and run 2 wires from bridge to tuners. I looked into pickup position/frequency response,sweet spots etc but the bottom line was the pickup position would be decided by the plate hiding holes and lining up with strings. Plain sailing followed 😎 Routed out for pickup,wired it up,fitted stings, took a photo. Then decided a maple neck would look better so took it apart again 😂

Was always quite proud with how this came out, a playthrough of an old electronic/dubstep band I was in. You absolutely need headphones or decent speakers, listening on your phone or laptop speakers? Don’t bother pressing play . There’s no bass sounds on the track, all me! The verses are just OC-2 (-1 Octave, no direct) and this slow gear effect on the ME-50B (basically a volume swell). The synthy ‘choruses’ are all tapped on my fretting hand so my right hand can operate the Hot Hand for the enevelope changes. So that’s a Source Audio BEF, OC-2, Orbit CoPilot Fuzz & the ME-50B for some chorus and the whammy bits at the end of the phrase. Worked nicely live. Basically every modular bass synth sound is Envelope filter, fuzz, modulation and pitch in some variation. Si

Well Darren sold his 🍌M and then bought a replacement(!)**. That kinda told me it's a pedal worth investigating - 'cos there have been MANY pedals that have crossed Mr Gisser's pedal board, most have come and gone and very few stayed! [Aside: the only pedal I've ever done that with is my Zoom MS-60B - bought my first one back in 2013 when they first came out...and I'm more convinced than ever that they're probably the single best value for money pedal on the market, particularity with the advent of the Tone Lib editing software!] I pulled my weekend's effort into a crib sheet for future reference, which I've attached in case this might be useful to you (if you do decide to get another one!) or any other BCers who might be interested in this pedal. At the moment it seems to be quite complementary to my Markbass SS in the sounds it produces, so I can see a place for both of them on my pedal board; besides the octaver on the MB SS is surprisingly good (both in terms of tracking and also having an octave up). Having never owned an OC-2 but in the knowledge that, together with @Sibob, you're our BC expert on those ancient emblems of glory: the third BM clip I uploaded is how I imagine an OC2 would / should sound like. (The clip is not a million miles from the "full filter" sound on my COG T16 v2 which I recently moved on and whose place the BM has taken on my board). I'd be really interested to hear from you how close that third clip is, if at all, to the classic OC-2 sound? (And please do feel free to upload a clip so we can hear them side by side). Bananana Matryoshka.pdf [**Edit: and has sold it again now. Lol!]

I was tempted , but i decided it was too obvious Carry on Christine - the world is watching these incredible axes

My turn to make some belated contributions to the thread. Here's a couple from my Markbass SS: MB SS (1).WAV MB SS (2).WAV

That was what I was afraid of.

That was aimed at Jack.

That's a voluptuous pair of volutes you have there. (I like a volute)

Not really, and it's back with its current owner. I'll see if I can grab it again. Here's some other general pics:

Whereas I'm a Yank...nuff said.

I bought it yes! but I obviously didn't know it was stolen until after Received it! --As I said I will give a full report once it is finally sorted so no more silly accusations please! Will.

No, he's a footballer...

And before anyone asks, yes I paid full Duty & VAT as we passed through LHR. First time I've ever walked through the Red Channel.

Hahahaha! No. I'd look at owning one in the same way that I'd look at dating a supermodel. Having wet dreams about one is okay but living with one is totally different.

Don’t broadcast it, I want to increase my chances of winning!

Well; you try getting the strings taut without one, it’s a right pain!

Here's a pass with the OC2 with just the -1 8ve on for reference. This is the chorus groove for a dance-pop tune. Nowt flash but I love the way it's stable and has the super synthy sound esp. on the 8ve figures. OC2 boy chorus.wav

A weekend of two halves... Friday night, played a really good show in a poncy winebar in Northampton - the sort of place where the bar prices are so high the band sits in the car park with a carry-out, no free softs etc. The money's not great considering the amount of money going over the bar - we packed it out and they were hammering it. The upside is we always get a couple of private. full money bookings out of it. Saturday night we played the Eager Poet in Neath Hill MK - this is a new place for us - a strange, modern MK pub with an unusual crowd who turned out to be really great and welcoming once we'd got in there. This was a gig we'd got through the Breweries' manager/licensee network - play a good show one pub, they talk about it and call you for theirs. Then you get a rebook etc.etc. We went down well though I personally couldn't hear myself as our dep keys man (piano player) was playing over my bass parts (wrongly). So Saturday won on welcome, Friday on music. First pic Saturday - Second Friday

Nice. That should do nicely :). Enjoy.

You can cross a shallow river quite safely in a pickup

I've seen a few on the Interwebz. My BSX is an older stick model, but it's still hollow, has a faux bout to rest on my gut, and at least it doesn't use one of those awful tripod stands. Out of the various EUBs I've played the Yamaha Silent Bass I tried at NAMM a couple of years ago felt and sounded the nicest, but it's very expensive and pretty much just as clunky as a real one to pack around. I've been playing a friend's AUB at a local house jam most weeks for the last 18 months and, as expected, the urge to make room for a nice one at home is pretty strong these days. The Gollihurs are great people to deal with; very knowledgeable, good prices, and no BS.

What a lovely looking instrument. Enjoy Silvia.

Limped into the workshop again today for a couple of hours. I just roughed out the back of the necks to a flat D, I'll finish them off to a C either tomorrow or Tuesday. My hand is sore as well after rubbing on my crutches while I'm walking so it's causing me discomfort while using hand tools; not a happy bunny on the whole at the moment

I didn't know he worked in a zoo.

A 2013 15" with an i7 processor and 16Gb RAM would cost about £850... That's a 5 year old laptop... I could get a brand new laptop with the same spec and a 3 year warranty for about £900! Or I could buy an Asus z370 TUF motherboard with i7 7800X 6 core processor and 4GHz speed, plus Coolermaster Hypercool fan, 2x8Gb corsair RAM and a 500Gb Samsung SSD for £869 from Scan. Then I'd just need 20 minutes to slot it into the case!

I dont like any of it , including the bass.

Ah yes, that's the J.R. Hartley signature model, isn't it?

Today I picked up my new custom zoot bass from Mike Walsh and... oh my! firstly, the workmanship is stunning. Every aspect is top drawer. It was great to be able to specify the exact neck profile and radius of the ebony board and mike absolutely nailed it. Although I decided to do unlined on the board facia I’m pleased I got lines added to the top of the fretboard to give me a helping hand. The ebony board is so thick too! Really makes it sing. its fitted with a Noll 3 band active preamp and amazing pups from Harry Haussell. The neck is a 70s jazz and the bridge is a music man with a jazz coil sitting between the two mm coils. The amount of switching options is ridiculous... it’ll probably take as long to get to grips with the electronics as it will to learn to play it in tune! 😂 if you’re thinking of getting a custom build do yourself a favour and have a chat to mike!

Love the security...! That made me laugh out loud.

Thanks mate.

Hehe....... I think I originally meant the purchase of them, on here........ I certainly know now........!

The Grecian 2 Cromwell Road, St Andrews, Bristol, BS6 5AA Hundreds of times, and it opens until 5am. If you’re in Bristol the Grecian is an establishment that needs no introduction. A freshly cooked pizza and (proper) chips for just £5, kebabs and a whole host of cheap but delicious produce. Been going here 20 years, and the veggie options are brilliant too. Perfect for a post-gig bite. Amazing! http://www.greciankebabhouse.com/bristol/

Somehow missed this along the way. Great transition! I agree also with the maple neck - very classy

Eww. just kidding!!

Those anti-bacterial foam hand sprays are excellent to wipe grease and sweat off the hands before playing. Leaves no residue so your hands are crystal clean, at least for a while. Doesnt need water or a towel. Spray on - rub off ( matron ) This will do more for your strings than waiting till they're full of hand sweat and oil and trying to clean the strings after the dirt has wound its way into the windings

The Warman MM style pups are monsters, I`ve had several including 2 in my Westone Quantum and I`ve just put a 5 string version in a deco HB 5 string ray copy and it`s transformed it.

Above the puppets too 😁

Custom built in UK or Germany prices...

We call them 'paid rehearsals'

So I contacted the website when I saw the post about having info. Seems its good news! Obviously we aren't all as fortunate to have such wide exposure available to us but great to hear he'll get his bass back! If it was your tip off, great work @2x18!

Prices will get worse when poor little UK is left out of the big trade deals and the Orange Dipsh1t starts swinging his tariffs around more. Lovely.

Two things. Sire V7 five string. I was expecting good things, but oh my heavens what an instrument. It looks great and sounds better. Talk about bang-for-buck, this thing has it in spades. The only Jazz-style bass** I've ever played that I preferred was 3 grand's worth of Celinder. I've tried a pukka Fender Marcus Miller sig 5-string (4 times the cost of my V7) and it wasn't even close. Behringer BX600 combo. OK so I wasn't expecting it to be great as such, but it does punch well above its weight. I bought it more as a home practice tool than anything, but it's become my regular chuck-it-in-the-car rehearsal amp. It easily keeps up with my 12-piece soul band, horns and all, and only starts to complain if I get really daft with the B string. Other than that, it's completely brilliant, especially when I consider that I paid 30 quid for it. ** note that I am not including my Shuker J in this, as it's not a traditional J-J configuration.