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I believe the kids use the term “goat” to describe their greatest of all time ?😂👍 today I went to promenade music in Morecambe to try out a few amps, namely an orange little bass thing….. so I’m playing away when a guy comes in, tells me it’s sound great and we get to chatting….. the guys lovely but somehow something a little bit “out there” about him told me he wasn’t your average punter…… I somehow had a feeling… We talked a good while, he listened in to me trying out amps, then he asked me to try out a trace elf and 2x8 cab for him, to which I said oh sorry for hogging the booth please , be my guest and jump on and have a go….. no he says, your doing great and I’d just like to heat you play it… I played, he asked for a little slap (which it’s been a long time since I’ve done that these days) so I obliged….. poorly 😂 sounds great he says, I’ll have it…. I switch back to the orange and carry on, he comes back in and asks about / complements my palm muting tech, as I thump away a’la jamerson style ,which was nice….. any way…. I came out of there and we chatted a while longer……. And bands, music , stuff…. What’s your name he says, I’m stu, pleased to have met you ….etc then he left…. Guy in the shop says, you know who that was right? only turns out it was stu zender! only my all time favourite player and total inspiration that got me playing bass all them years ago! I mean, I hammered that early jamiroquai stuff when I was younger and allthough I don’t get to play that kinda stuff with my band these days, it deffinaitly made me the player I am today… and for that I am eternally grateful.. i left shortly after and by chance seen him again outside , he was having a smoke outside his car before he left….. I went over laughing , he knew hahaha…. Gave me a great big hug and offered for a Selfy pic! we talked some more, such a nice guy he was…. Without sounding like some kinda teenage groups I had to tell him or more so thank him for what he did on that first album EOPE all them years ago….. he was chuffed to see me happy which was great….. so, if you happen to hear his next album, he’s recording it at home and using that trace elf….. I’ll listen to it, and I’ll smile to know that the bass I’ll hear on it will be coming from the amp that I demo’d for him ! #best day ever. 😂👍

Ancienne Belique in Brussels last night was amazing, the biggest stage I've ever seen! Lunch in the canteen before load in was great. They had guys to help with the load in, and everything was put onto a section at the front of the dance floor that rises up to stage level. Sound check was faultless and then we got to chill for a few hours and enjoy some of the local beers. Dinner was awesome too! The set flew by. We seemed to win over the crowd, all except for the very front row who were all clearly camped out waiting for Steve Ignorant to come on. Their grumpy faces amused me anyway Ace set, loads of compliments, and loads of beers afterwards! We're on the way to Amsterdam to play Melkweg tonight

I bought the plans for the Omni 15 TB ages ago. I then cut the wood at the beginning of this year and promptly moved onto another project. (basschat mk3) I finally pulled my finger out and finished the "wheelie bin" this weekend. I loaded it with 2 x Beyma SM212 drivers, an Alpha 6CBMR and an APT80 I couldn't decide on a finish, so ended up with good old decoupage. I've done a few cabs like this now. I knew I kept all my Beano comics for a reason. Fitted wheels and handles on the side to ease transportation along with sprung handles on the side. The crossovers were the hardest part for me, but I eventually cracked it (thanks Stevie for supplying me with the necessary parts) So - How does it sound? Good - very good. I started with some pre-recorded tunes and was really impressed with the balance of the 3 "sections" of the cab. The bass is deep and full without sounding boomy, honky or muddy. The mids cut through really nicely. The closed back alpha sounds great. The APT80 adds plenty of sizzle if required. Great for slappers or if using as a PA cab. I tried it with my TC Electronics BH550 and with the EQ flat the cab sounded really "equal" - nothing seemed too harsh, too loud or too quiet. It doesn't seem to need many watts at all to reach respectable levels. I would imagine a 30-50 watt all valve amp would thunder through this. The build was fairly straightforward. The mid range horn construction is probably the most challenging part of the woodwork. I found that building the cab in 1-2 hour sessions was beneficial. Reading the plans plenty of times before getting started really helped too. I'm yet to use it in a rehearsal or gigging situation, but I will report back once I have. Positives Self built - Great sense of achievement and finish can be customised Can be built with different user options / drivers. Info listed in the plans. Big, full sound Negatives Heavy - but.....you can't have everything can you? Not sure of total cost - I got the parts together over a long period of time, so it doesn't seem as painful on the old wallet. I had the Beymas already, so that helped. Fairly easy to load into vehicles thanks to the wheels. Stairs are the only issue i've found so far It's probably overkill for most of the gigs I play, but I imagine that larger events or outdoor bookings without PA support would be right up this cab's street I've tried it with a P Bass and a Jazz and it really does sound very good indeed. Every nuance of your playing is there for all to hear! (is that a good thing?) My fab missus made me a retro denim patch cover for it too. Groovy! I will update this post once the cab has a few gigs under it's belt. Cheers Jon

Here you go @JohnDaBass I wasn't particularly proud of my build. It was a bit messy, but I managed to correct and salvage as I went along. Driver is an old delta 12lf in the pic

There's a few threads around focusing of companies that do things poorly (and these threads genuinely very useful!) But in the interest of trying to promote 'good news' I thought I'd start a thread where we can mention companies that do things right or that go above and beyond. (If such a thread already exists then I shall gladly take my lashes). So, my first nomination is Pinegrove Leather. Maker of fine Leather items, mostly straps and whatnot. I own a few Pinegrove products, most recently was my purchase of a rather funky bright orange and black 4" padded leather strap that was in their 'special offer' section. After I bought it for an already heavily discounted price due to a few marks on it, Rod (owner) contacted me to say he'd noticed a few additional scuffs that he didn't capture in the photos, he gave me the choice of a refund or a bit more money off. I happily accepted his offer of a bit of off the top and the strap arrived 2 days later. Honestly, if Rod didn't mention the few minor scuffs, I'd not have thought anything of it as it was advertised as having a few minor blemishes anyway. It goes to the honesty and integrity of Rod and his business. Absolutely excellent products made here in the UK, fantastic craftsmanship and top notch customer service too. Definitely worthy of a shout out. What other business are worthy of a 'doing things right' shout out? It'd be good to hear about other such instances!

Doctor Doctor ～ UFO

Impossible to have a thread like this without mentioning Ashdown.

A pub we've played a couple of times before, really small and challenging to set up in. Before we started it was prety much at capacity (that's not a huge number of people!) Went really well. At the end we finished with Purple Rain and everyone was singing along to the wo-oh-oh-ohs. Never had so many people doing the rounds to say how much they enjoyed it and even buying us drinks. Even the landlord came and congratulated us all. Nice 😁

I wouldn’t have recognised him in those glasses either 😄

Btw...thanks Wonky. Your thread has had me listening to EOPE and TROTSC on repeat for a few days! Been a while but I can still sing every bass note and horn line! Those albums are so ingrained and internalised...been great opening that memory box again! Cheers!

That's very kind of you to say so Chris. I always adopted the attitude that I would treat my customers in the same way as which I would wish to be treated as a customer. In my former Corporate life I was always told that "Customer is King". It seems that this is lost on some of today's businesses.

A cliche it maybe but here is mine. ‘62 RI CIJ 1999-2002, unable to be more specific with the serial number. Purchased in 2008 from Far Eastern Guitars for £465. Not sure if it is the US or standard model and in any case I’ve put a SD Quarter Pounder in. Pure P bass, always fancied a year of birth P bass but an American one was out of budget!

At the very least, a strongly worded letter to The Times.

Decoupage isn't that hard to do. Quite theraputic actually. It's VERY time consuming, but I just sat watching tripe on TV whilst cutting out the individual bits. I used MOD PODGE glue. Not cheap, but works very well. Paste it onto the back of the snippet liberally and then stick on. Then cover the "good" face of the snipped with plenty of glue. Don't paste an area and then whack them on - I did this and it ended up "lumpy" with air bubbles. The glue darkens the paper to begin with, but lightens as it dries. Once covered, I then applied a couple of coats of the glue to really seal it well. It's easily repairable, individual and you get to peel the glue bogeys off your fingers when you've finished 😁 I did a pair of jack 10's a few years ago along with a rack mount sleeve. I think that's where I got the bug

Yes, she married me. and then I woke up

So I have joined the group with my new NS Wav5. Been playing it tonight, and enjoying it (apart from I can't do too much as I sliced my finger open yesterday). So what are good starting learning resources? Videos etc? Great things to learn etc? Mostly playing with the fingers but I willl try the bow stuff. i have a bow, it came with a chinese violin that cost about £20 10 years ago, so not great, but until I know what i need, it will do!

Despite my generally modern choices of instruments, I also have one. It's great as a reference point or when I want something uncomplicated to learn new material on. but it very rarely leaves the house (had it 7 years). 2005 MIM with Nordstrand NP-4.

Just checking I was right. I nearly spat my tea out when I saw Gibson mentioned in this context of companies that do things right

Checking my french bows (which are all different lengths) the hair ribbons are 59cm, 58.5cm and 55.5cm - my personal favourite in terms of balance and handling comfort is the shortest of the three(which a 3/4 I believe), but I like the sound of the middle one better. Bows are a very Goldilocks proposition, what works best for you is going to be determined by your physiology, your ambition and the type of repetoire you favour - to start out, the most important thing is that the bow has good quality hair on it(some budget bows use artifical hair which sucks), and you have fresh rosin(Nymans is my go to). Normal practice is to start out using the same grip as your teacher - it is possible to change at a later date (two of my local fellow DBers have switched from french to german grip after decades of playing and found that this alleviated age related shoulder pain issues) Do get a teacher if at all possible - the input on what you are doing right/wrong in the beginning will save you a lot of time in the long run.

I once went to a shop event where Billy Sheehan was the guest of honour. As he walked in I was trying to play one of his tunes... and I completely frakked it up. I was mortified.

Just finished repairing a serious crack on a Corvette $$ headstock. The crack was barely noticeable when I purchased it. In fact I only noticed it when removing the tuners to repair the scratches on the front of the headstock. When I removed the tuner though, I saw that there was a significant chunk of wood that was coming away from the headstock. That actually made the repair easier and more effective though as it allowed me to lift up the chunk and inject wood glue using a syringe - this allowed the glue to impregnate the area fully thus affecting a complete repair. After clamping the area and allowing 24hrs for the glue to cure, I sanded back the whole rear of the headstock to remove any glue residue and smooth out the area. After that it was time for melted Warwick wax to reapply the finish. Then a few coats of non-melted wax and the repair was complete.

There is something elegantly simple about a 3TS Precision with a tort scratch-plate. I’ve been on a long and winding bass journey over the years. I really enjoyed the diversity of other types of basses (including some active ones), but I keep coming back to where I started. You can’t beat it.

You Fool No One - Deep Purple

I am even more grateful that playing bass as a semi pro allowed me to enhance my income togerher with my day Job. There have been times when I was unemployed, that playing became my only income and allowed me keep my head above the water.@JohnFitgerald is at peace with his decision. My last bass before I retired from playing was an an incredibly well finished NYC sadowsky, which would have looked lovely in a display case or the like. Not for me. That bass got gigged 2-3 times per week for 10 years and has the battle scars to prove. Nevertheless I got an excellent price for it when I moved it on. I have never developed a sentimental relationship with guitars and have a rule that if there is an item in my home that doesn't get used over a 12 month period, the off it goes.

He was with Alembic at the time.

You can't go wrong with Discover Double bass - lots of beginner focussed stuff from getting your stance and left/right hand technique sorted, through to walkng bass parts, scales etc.

That's a great story. My equivalent is that years ago I was playing at a jazz funk jam in Cambridge with a drummer mate of mine. A guy gets up and asks if he can play a bit of guitar. No problem of course. Anyway, this bloke is seriously good with such fantastic feel and groove. Afterwards I said to my mate 'He's a bit good. Do you know if he's in a band?' 'Yes' replied my mate. 'He's Rob Harris out of Jamiroquai.'

Oh I don't know, send them a rant with an angry 'why did this only last 36 years??' message and maybe they will send you a new one

Congratulations! There's loads of stuff on Youtube. Discover Double Bass is good for LH/RH Technique, and there's a lot of quality stuff around walking bass on that channel too. I like PD Bass too, and there are a few really good videos from Cole Davis. He has a method of using open strings as jumping points in scales and arpeggios to spread the shape across the neck (as BG shapes don't work so well any more). I found them really useful. John Clayton has some cool stuff covering the basics, just filmed on his phone by the looks, but the content is quality, and I like Yuri Goloubev's shorts too. Mr Sunnybass does great playthroughs, and his lessons look really good... except they're in Italian, so I don't really know. I've been using Ireal pro for play along tracks and chord charts. I was always pretty happy with the standards strings, to the extent that they're still on there, but I bought a Ninomute, which adds thump and kills that fretless style 'mwah' in the middle of the neck. At 50 quid they're a bit of a fosters-take for what they are, but it does work well. I'd fashioned mutes myself before I got it using various things, but this does do the trick. Recording direct into the interface (in the Hi Z input) with the tone full off and the ninomute on, I get a sound that's close enough for me. *Edit* - I also found that when playing, the dots on the board weren't useful in the lower positions, It messed up my body position to crane round and look at them. I got a hole punch and some sticky backed, fluorescent, sign makers vinyl and put dots on the edge. Happy adventures!

It was posted above, but this was it. No longer mine.

Really cool he liked your playing enough to buy an amp by how good you sounded. If it had been me he probably would have said, "Oh for f***s sake give it 'ere..." 😆

Holes drilled for some ferrules to make the top look neat The veneers have also been glued to the front and back of the neck blank. There are three templates shown here; one for the outline shape, one for the inside shape and one for cutting the neck pocket.

I reduced the thickness of the top and applied a couple of braces to maintain the strength. I'm looking to use a leftover bridge from another project for the piezo. I've also started looking at the position of the jack socket and where the strings are going to come through. I drilled a hole for the volume/tone pot (thinking of stacked pot for this). I've also looked at the headstock and made it a little bit mor compact but sticking to the basic shape I've used for all my recent builds. I've also shaped a sound hole as such in the upper horn.

My main gigging bass …

If you want to try arco, a violin bow isn't going to cut it - violin resin and the physical properties of a violin bow are scaled to the physics of violin strings which are pretty thin and low mass. If you compare cello bows with DB bows side by side, the physical differences are still quite pronounced - arco on DB is challenging and rewarding in equal measure, better bring the right tools for the job if you want to give it a proper go and give yourself the chance of getting decent results. A big mirror is really helpful for feedback on what your bow is doing relative to the strings.

A Bitsa Build is a great, great way of starting to understand: the basic geometry and mechanics of a bass; the things that matter; the things where you can take major liberties without affecting anything. You also start to realise (eg with your headstock example) how much of what lots of us see as 'the right way' or 'the right look' is simply what someone did 50 years ago that happened to work OK. Welcome to the slippery slope

I’m going to big up Guitar Guitar. I saw that they had a second hand acoustic guitar (yes, I know) in Epsom. This was my old, local store, but is now over 500 miles away, so I used the telephone to enquire about it. Expecting a, “Yeah, it’s a good one that, do you want it?” I instead received, “I haven’t played that, do you mind hanging on and I’ll give a quick play.” A short time passed and the chap returned and gave an honest appraisal and was still playing (or at least someone was) it when he returned to the phone. One of the things he pointed out made me decide to pass. Picking up the phone to the seller (providing it isn’t a generic call centre) often brings good results. I remember having an issue with my Vax cordless vacuum cleaner, I phoned Vax and they talked me through a few tests, decided the motor was at fault and sent me out a new assembly straight away. I wouldn’t hesitate to buy another Vax product now.

Just to add more fun to this is the issue of getting and keeping 'the tone / my sound' at home, small rehearsal, recording and war volume (if this is possible). Throw into this the effect of room acoustics and the situation gets even more complex. You could of course have a linear pre amp > pa amp > some FRFR (or what alludes to be FRFR) speakers. Once you get it into the room use a DBX driverack and autoeq at the volume you will be playing at (where will you place the mic for autoeq'ing is another complexity). Everything will be really flat (if the kit is doing what it claims) until the audience fills the room. Replace the linear pre amp with your pre amp of choice (Helix, Sansamp, whatever). Will it sound any good in the context of the band is anyone's guess. At this point I am losing the will to live so I will just plug it in, pray the guitarists are playing at a sane volume and tweak my eq until I get something I am fairly happy with. @dclaassen summarised it all very nicely for me.

Picked up my first short scale Here she is with my old smoothie, a US of A Musicman Stingray with roasted maple neck. It’s got the factory round wounds on it atm (EB slinky’s) which I love but I’ve got some labella short scale 42-100LTF I got sent by mistake awhile ago so I’m going to try them and see how she thumps. Absolutely love the tones from the passive circuitry, but still capable of that classic stingray growl if you dial it in. At 30” it feels tiny, but so easy to play. well chuffed.

I really like Andrea Goldsworthy who is probably best known as being part of Paloma Faith's touring band. As can be seen/heard in the below video, Andrea is totally on it. Great feel for a groove, she's got the look, she play's DB, she's the complete package IMHO. EDIT: She's also a really nice person, which goes a long way in my book.

Mmm, no Divinity Roxx? Although Teen Town doesn't go entirely according to plan, she bosses it like a pro pushing into an extended jam and then going into Rapper's Delight. EDIT: I note she was mentioned in SBL's video.