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Feel free to use this'un if you want. One of my favourite photos of me ever, mainly because you can't see my ugly mug

You didn’t read the post, did you 😂

You might be over thinking this. Bass has a support role in Blues (old and new) so just get a good sound and play well. Listen to Pino, Carmine Rojas and Sean Hurley, and you'll hear totally different sounds and styles. I'd just use my go-to 5 string active jazz bass with rounds and my regular Aguilar/Barefaced rig. What you play will be twice as important as what you sound like. More importantly, find a drummer who knows the difference between a 4 on the floor Texas shuffle and a Purdy shuffle and can play an interesting pattern on a slow blues.Then youonly need a guitarist with a brain and a singer without an ego. . . good luck with that search!!

Finally got mine flight cased up. After recently adding a wireless I wanted a plug in and go set up. Had the helix 6 months now and absolutely love it. I don't use many fx but do use the built in darkglass od pedal lots and love how easy it is to switch basses between songs and just step on a setting ready for each one. Both me and guitarist have ditched backline completely now. Helix and IEMs all the way baby!

Feel free to share this one of me:

A 5 string for blues? Sacrilege. I reckon I could do a whole set on the E string alone.

Here’s my whole family of cheapos. All get gigged, the white PJ and the black J regularly. Together they cost less than half of what my Fender Jazz Deluxe cost.

Just bought this for £50 Made In Japan Hohner P bass, all original apart from the screws on the scratchplate! Any Info On these chaps? Really plays well!

I’ll sleep on it. Been one of those days anyway so maybe I’ll feel different in the morning. It’s a right come down when you get all excited and then it doesn’t work tho. Proper downer on my evening after a long and quite stressful day working. Either that or I’ll get a refund and buy a TE Elf for the sheer hell of it.

Have you got another one where you aren't blinking?

I realise that now. Lots of people like peas and I don’t... Personally I’d have a wall of valves, an old P-Bass and a chequered relationship history if I was regularly playing blues. I have two (just missing the P bass).

Recently, i was fortunate enough to be able to visit Stephen Chown and try out various basses and effects. After a trip to visit family down south, i went to see him in Bristol. The office is housed in a Victorian bridge arch, which certainly beats most offices. After a while messing with basses and pedals, i brought up the point of me making some short scales. Within ten minutes, i had two chowny swb necks in my hands. At some point, a chowny swb with a carbon top will exist (watch this space) Anyway, cheers to Stephen for allowing me to attempt an swb replica, i recommend chatting to him if you ever get the chance, and hopefully visit him in Bristol again soon.

You know what, I really miss lojo in threads like this. He would definitely have had something interesting and thought provoking to contribute. Sadly missed 😞

That sounds fair to me Lozz, especially given that half the song is likely to be in the energy level. But in a covers band it doesn't matter whether you're learning Brown Eyed Girl or Sweet Child O' Mine ... the rest of the band will expect you to learn the right bass line and get the song structure right, if only because they know that their audience will expect that. In that context, being able to hear the mistakes so that you can correct them becomes quite important.

I would say all your thoughts are bang on - 57 with maple / 62 with rosewood etc. Maybe someone with both decided to swap them over or something?

Scale length is an irrelevance unless you have a general preference for a particular scale length irrespective of the number of strings. What is important is the construction of the bass in particular the neck and how it attaches to the body and the strings that you choose. Strings are tricky things. IME what works well on one bass doesn't necessarily work at all on another, and also IME most budget (sub £500) 5 string basses come with terrible low B-strings. Unfortunately the level od construction required to make a decent 5-string bass comes at a price and generally unless you get a second hand bargain you are unlikely to find anything really satisfying under the £500 mark. The cheapest decent 5-string bass I own cost £700 and it was only that price because it was an EOL model that had been reduced from its original £1700. Go to the Gallery and play all the 5-string basses you can get you hands on including those that are outside your current price range and you'll find what suits you and what doesn't. Don't buy something you don't really like just to test it out because that's all you can afford. AFAICS most people who buy a 5-string bass and then give it up do so because the bass wasn't very good in the first place. If you've tried lots you'll get a feel for how much you need to spend to get something you will be happy with, and if you can't afford it now put off your purchase until you can.

You may #Repost anything on my own Instagram https://www.instagram.com/DanVeallBassist Just tag me in the post. There's always loads of bass related stuff there which could be of interest. I'll post a few high res pictures / posts here later.

I prefer using my fingers. OK, I'll get me coat...

Most 6x10's deliver a fairly distorted sound and don't have a flat frequency response. A lot of relatively cheap drivers in a portable cab means that the speakers are technically underdamped and give an all enveloping warmth at around 120Hz as well as extraordinary efficiency. Modern fashion calls for a flatter, less coloured response. That's not inherent in the technology but that's what you'll find in a lot of commercial offerings, so it's kind of true but not for the reasons most people think. I use 12's, One does most of my gigs, up to a couple of hundred people and it can go as loud as pretty much any drummer. If I take two it can be overwhelmingly loud, I don't like overpowering bass but after a mild argument with one drummer who kept asking me to turn up I did, to cut a long story short at the end of the first set he complained about not being able to hear his own snare drum. So yes they are loud enough and will give you a huge sound but it's likely to be a bit different from what you are used to. Ignore the comments about neo speakers. Neo magnets are more powerful for the same weight as ceramic magnets but they are just magnets. You can use the extra efficiency of neo to make a lighter speaker or a louder one, or one with a longer throw for extra deep bass or even get a little of all three but there's no neo magic, they are still just magnets. In the end you need to listen and judge them on that. Barefaced are making old school sounding cabs with modern drivers using their 10" units, they may be worth having a look at.

Here's a pic of some of them. I really must get a family pic of the lot...

Small rooms by their very nature nearly always have terrible acoustics, that’s a fact. Gig venues are generally larger and thus less susceptible to some of the worst issues; but they can still sound crap. Acoustics are reliably unforgiving at the best of times. PS: The idea of a drummer going full tilt in a room the size of a domestic garage is plain crazy to me. Makes my tinnitus go wild just thinking about it. Some of you guys must have thoroughly trashed hearing. I SAID SOME OF YOU GUYS MUST HAVE... oh never mind 🙄

'Old school' drummers (I'm one...) can use brushes (very, very old school, which give a totally satisfactory 'thwack' when handled properly...), and/or 'hot-rods', an excellent compromise between the brush technique (admittedly a bit different to sticks...) and ornery sticks. They, too, can make quite a din, but one has to really work hard for that; normally they're very positive as a feeling, but produce less volume. Of course, real drummers can play well, even hard rock, without excess volume, but that's another can of worms, I suspect.

Just got the Zenith back. All I can say is OMG. It's gorgeous. Simon at GUS has managed to fit a 22 fret 5 string neck to a 21 fret 4 string bass and you'd never know. The passive EMG's and greasebucket tone mod sound lush with a threeway switch and wired in series and parallel. The piezo only has a volume pot but it's got a hidden secret. Instead of being battery run it's powered by a capacitor that takes only 1 minute to charge and this will last 16 hours. I've put the original brass bridge logo on the headstock instead of where it should be. In my opinion it just looks better on the headstock (it looked good on the original rosewood bridge but now that has been made larger it looked out of proportion and 'wrong'). Anyway, I know I didn't do anything to convert it (unlike some of the skilled people on BC I would have just ruined something that, in my eyes, is probably one of the best looking basses I've ever laid eyes on), but I knew what I wanted and luckily had one of the finest luthiers on the planet just down the road from me who managed to transform my thoughts into a work of art

I had to put my foot down with the band about rehearsals. We were in tiny rooms, shoddy kit being pushed to the max, ears ringing for ages after. We now pay more to use the big studio rooms in the same place so we can play at low volumes but with real clarity. Nobody has ringing ears and the practice is far more productive, so though we pay more we are actually getting value out of it now. Why do all rehearsal rooms stink of damp??

You have some fine taste in music Bubinga5. Always loved this album, along with D'Angelo Brown Sugar and Tone Toni Tone House of Music. I think those three albums all came out within a year of each other... Happy Times. We bumped in to Maxwell at Fresh and Funky when it was at Hanover Grand, what a dude!

I’d reject that - for a brand new item I’d rather it just worked as intended without any user intervention or messing about..

Thanks all. I bit the bullet and got 2 2x10 cabs and 600w head. Even just 1 Of those cabs will be better than my current amp thanks all for your help. Wouldn’t have made the right choice with it

Definitely go with the white!!

If it was me, and a three piece, I’d go for a Jazz bass for a richer/fuller sound. With keys in the band then I’d go for a Precision with either flats or rounds to make sure I could sit easily in the mix. I’d see nothing wrong with going a bit more hi-fi in a modern blues context, though. Sounds like good fun - I’m a little envious!

Ah, no, :D I use a variety of rehearsal rooms all over the place with different bands. I may not love most of them, but they all work... The Hartke was very disappointing. I think the only worst combo I've tried locally is a Trace Elliot combo, a 210, at the Groove Tunnel... ugh... although I know that one it's just probably just been badly abused.

This. Don't know why sellers don't organise their own courier, it's easy enough via ebay or via interparcel. The hard part is packing it all up.

Another +1 for that Jazz here too. Looks great in Black, with Maple board, blocks & Binding The Orange P bass looks pretty good too

A wizz round the PCB with a solder iron together with copious amounts of switch cleaner seem to have done the trick - thanks for the advice!

I've not read through the page, but you may find your answer here: http://www.21frets.com/squier_jv/jvprecisionbass.htm Apologies if you've already looked at the page...

Surely the guitarists spend 20 minutes noodling aimlessly at full volume while you're trying to talk to the drummer?

The book is currently available in the UK through Amazon's third-party sellers: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/1513461427 The Amazon listing gives a "Look Inside" the Kindle version: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Classical-Contemporary-Studies-Bass-Guitar/dp/1513461427/ref=sr_1_1_twi_pap_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1534236777&sr=8-1&keywords=Rob+MacKillop+bass Any questions, ask away. Cheers.

Well, I love my BH800.

Music should be enjoyable, there is absolutely nothing wrong with a band being primarily a social activity, as long as that meets everyones expectation - IME it can go a bit wrong if there is a mismatch of ambitions and some members want to hang out and others want the band to be booking loads of gigs or working hard to push the musical boundaries. In working bands it is possible to have situations where everyone can play to the standard needed to deliver your service and they are all easy to be around as human beings, but the need to get paid means that sometimes you have to work with people you don't really like just to get the job done - bit like most regular day jobs. If you are enjoying yourself, just appreciate it and ignore any naysayers.

Only four years ago so not so interesting a story - my still most loved GMR 5, in easy arm's reach right now. I went into Promenade Music in Morecambe knowing only that I wanted to play bass and wanted a 5. Gary spent two hours helping me choose, and wouldn't let me buy until he was sure I would be happy with it - which I am more than. Still grateful to him! My grandson - just turned 5 - is obsessed with guitars, and most loves my Aerodyne. I kind of hope he'll think of it as his first bass (he was not quite 4 when this pic was taken). Anyone else would have to prise it out of my dead hands, but if he does grow into a bass player it will be his 🙂

Maybe to you. I enjoy gigging and I would rather play a cover of a decent song that everyone dances to than a poor original to an empty room. The thrill for me is playing something the audience like. Much happier being a jukebox

Don’t think I have a number one bass anymore. I have a bass I gig more than the others and basses that would be tough for me to replace but none are sacrosanct. I keep thinking of selling the 3 non-cheapies and getting something really special but I doubt I’ll ever go through with it. Ironically my main gigging bass is nominally the one of lowest value (the Mustang on the left - the Jag is no longer resident).......go figure.

I think my postman is starting to dislike me. Not a huge fan of the vintage tint but at £29 for a neck with block markers I can deal with it. Still waiting for shielding tape to show up so I can continue work on the bodies.

When I work up this morning, I didn't think, "Today I'm going to buy a tube amp!". And yet, here we are. 💸

Stripped both bodies and gave them both a wipe down. I was originally planning to refinish the yellow one but then I thought “how many yellow basses do you actually see?” It’s a pretty unusual colour that I think I can pull off with right pickguard etc. Having taken the pickguard off the blue one, there’s the added bonus of some nice ageing to the paint in the exposed areas. Unfortunately this discolouration also shows that there was at some point a sticker in the arm contour area that has since been removed. No big deal though. Both bodies have a few small nicks etc and I’m not going to the trouble of repairing any of them. To me, Fender style basses always look better with a bit of wear and tear to them.

I'm up to a personal best of three at the moment, having dropped down to zero earlier this year. I've got a Stingray, a Jazz and a Westone Thunder which I'd like to soon supplant with a Precision to complete that Leo Fender trinity thing. I know I only need one bass, but I reminisce about all the basses I've sold over the years (usually because I was skint). Fortunes dictate that I am allowed to collect... for the time being. I'll sell them all eventually with the usual tinge of regret.

I'm relatively new to bass and own 1, if I ever find any music that requires notes that aren't on that one I'll buy another 😊