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So... some of you fine folk may remember how some 2 months ago I went on a rampage to sell my stingrays - simply too much money on gear when I had to recover from windows we replaced at home, and a bathroom renovation...! ... Resolved to sell the 'rays with pain in my heart, replaced by American Original series Fenders, P and J - how great are these basses? I was thoroughly impressed and managed to cash in a grand to ease things on the bank account. Being back in this forum (9 months hiatus to stop selling and buying!) I let my hair off and replaced my rig without much investment... Ashdown ABM 600 head and a mighty Barefaced Six10 - from an Eich T900 and a Big Baby 2. Fast forward the bathroom is done, the windows are paid and I had sold a couple watches so I had more than I needed and then I saw this Ray Special... In the Cruz Teal that only came out on the first series and that I so dearly love...! Out of what I wanted to spend, but received an offer on eBay and then I started to consider... I messaged the owner and he was happy to let it go at the last offer minus fees, pretty much the same price as you see on the regular MM Stingrays these days so I had to pull the trigger. Some crazy 6-7 hours to remind me why I hate driving to Manchester and 320 miles later I got home, set him up, waxed the neck, hydrated the board... et voila... Very, very ambivalent collection right here, Jesus even if it's only been a couple months I missed the stingray tone! Don't get me wrong, the passive Fenders are just brilliant and plan to keep using it... but there you go, a story that started sour selling my most beloved basses managed to come back even better than it started - to happy endings! Ander.

I know that my problem with multiple purchases of music gear is just that - a problem. I have always sought to fill the hole in my life with outside 'stuff', with quick fixes. Addiction and unhappiness have driven much of my existence and despite repeated attempts to find a more enriching solution, I fall back into old habits. It goes something like this. I'm miserable, triggered, angered, hungry, lonely - whatever - so I blow money I ought to be saving or using wisely on whatever is my obsession right now. Instant buzz mainly because it's a rash act. Excitement throughout the wait for the arrival of the latest superfluous purchase. Excitement when it arrives. Anticipation of its first proper use. Put it to one side and look for the next fix.

Last night's gig was a local fundraiser. Inoffensive background straight-ahead jazz required, so we prepared a set list full of ballads &c. and invited a vocalist to join us for them, thinking our clarinetist could play the heads of any instrumentals, take various solos etc. The usual pianist was unavailable so we had a dep. guitarist. He sounded like a proper jazz guitarist but was inexperienced (2nd time playing in public) so was only willing to take solos on two tunes. A mere 15 minutes before starting we got a message from the clarinetist that he hadn't felt well during the day and thought that he wasn't up to it. But, by padding things out with bass solos and the vocalist playing a baritone horn (almost left behind as she thought it wouldn't be needed) for heads/solos we managed to get away with it. The audience were pleased, so it must have been a success.

If it’s your hobby/pastime/ interest and you have the money I don’t see a problem with it, my life is based around bass and reggae music ,and I’m constantly browsing basses , if I see something I like I buy it and if it turns out to be not to my liking I sell it, good harmless fun I’d say and quite fulfilling when you get a nice one

And I also blame Basschat 😁

Psychology of collecting basses is much the same as the psychology of collecting anything, all collectors justify the need for multiple items ranging from "I need this one because it'd different to that one" to "It'll be worth a fortune one day" but ultimately it's all driven by that little circuit in our brain that drives us to seek out and accumulate resources. It was a very helpful circuit throughout millions of years of evolution, it's often quite expensive these days

My Ashdown Studio 15 gets better with every gig! Only 25 pounds! A blessing for this 72 year old!

Ahh Dopemine... she's an elusive and cruel mistress, forever moving the goalposts.

Hey everyone, I got my first Sandberg yesterday, I'd been looking for a passive jazz with a flattish finger board radius and this came up on eBay. It's a California TT passive in matt black with blocks and an off white scratch plate, actual matt black rather than the black stained natural on the configurator. After a moment of thinking the bridge pickup was broken, I turned all the controls right up, not realising that they were vol, blend, tone, I'm blown away by how good it is. It feels incredibly well put together and has the burp and clang that I wanted from a Jazz type instrument. Also it's much more comfortable than the traditional Jazz shape.

Mods - I should say I have already posted this in the 'Share Your Music' sub-sub board of the Recording sub-board, where unfortunately no-one much goes or seems interested - so if this post qualifies as spam, please delete the earlier one! This represents my first go at a 'proper' music vid - I've done lyric videos and slideshow-y montages before, but this is the first time I've used green screen, recorded performance & outdoor footage/still images & tried to make something coherent out of it. Disclaimer - the drone footage isn't mine (free-to use stock from the excellent pexels.com site) so any occasional illusion of professionalism would be that of the talented videographers whose work it is, not me! Video was recorded using my little Canon SX720 compact on its HD setting, all the bits & pieces were bunged together with Shotcut, which (as someone whose previous video editing experience was limited to Windows Movie Maker) was easy to get started with & pretty intuitive to work with, and let me do pretty much anything my limited imagination came up with. Anyway - I think I'm pleased with the result, given the obstacles of poor equipment, dubious aesthetic sensibilities and general ineptitude I have tried to overcome. It was fun & stressful in equal measure and I'm not even too horrified at my own ugly mug gurning away while I pretend to play bass! A bit about the song. This is a bit of a musical departure for us, and despite playing/programming the instruments on the song I consider myself a distant second-fiddle as far as writing it is concerned. Basically my partner-in-crimes against music sang it to me, & said "can you make the guitars sound like Stuart Adamson?" Doing so was an absolute pleasure as Stuart was a huge influence when I was learning guitar & starting to write songs back in the early 80s. For that reason the Yamaha SG and the Strat in the video are what I used in the song - however the bass you hear is an Ibanez RS924 Roadster, not the silly thing I'm waving around on screen! I also used a Riverhead Unicorn headless (with flats) for the chordal intro. Song was recorded using Reaper & mainly Reaper plugins, guitar sounds courtesy of ToneLib GFX, bass through a Behringer Bass V-Amp Pro, & drums are the MT Power Drumkit plugin. Hope you like it!

Ok, finally got my act together and re-shot video, after the first version I did had technical issues. Then re-edited, and uploaded, etc. This one focuses on the Lusithand preamp. I like it a lot. Kudos to Nuno for sending it to me to try it. It's staying in for now unless someone else can convince me they get the 'grit' it provides. I'll get to adding video timestamps tomorrow.

Hello and welcome! Have a badge

There's been a bit of 70s funk/soul revival going on in the pop charts for a few years. Bruno Mars and Lizzo among others have been mining the decade for inspiration. I tend to think it's mainly a positive thing, at least it's bringing the spotlight back onto things that sound like real instruments even if it's all actually done on a synth and a laptop.

The more I play basses (with some kind of aim), the less I buy them. The instruments become less important than the music (and importantly, the company in which they are played). Funny that. And reassuring.

To be fair, the majority of new music doesn't half sound like music that's been done 1000 times before,albeit with an extra doo wah diddy or slightly different instrumentation or (God forbid!), a different key. Anything that is seriously new and completely different tends to scare most folks so much that they turn into a sort of pitchfork- and torch-wielding mob, advancing on the evil monster and shouting "this isn't music!" and "the kids nowadays don't know nothing about a proper choon!".

^This is my take on it, too. I'm fortunate in that I love a rummage around on ebay or at auction houses and have quite a collection of many weird and wonderful musical instruments now. I guess it is compulsive behaviour but that's in every enthusiastic hobbyists nature. The only 'problems' are finding time to get around to playing them all and storage space.

Yup same. Years of revolving door with basses. Trying to make myself happy as a bassist by changing gear basically. Years of keeping the same 6 string guitars, which I play at least one of them every day. Only picked up basses when I had an upcoming gig. So I’ve stopped gigging bass and flogged them all bar a GoldTone micro bass for my own recording. Never been happier. But nothing wrong with having kit you don’t play if it’s not causing you difficulties in other parts of your life.

The Wheels On The (Replacement) Bus Go Round And Round - nursery rhyme

Boom. Hit the nail on the head with this one. This is exactly the same as me. As soon as I regain some mental equilibrium and feel more positive about life I shed all the superfluous crap. What’s funny is that the gigging instruments always remain the same - I just accumulate then dispose of other things. It’s all pretty harmless and I’ve never lost money, but viewed from the outside it’s entirely pointless. US Fender Jazz for the good gigs, Squier P/J for the rough ones and 66 jazz for recordings. Been the same for years.

I use this.

I didn't know Cleartone Conversions were selling B stock? That bridge! 🤪

I set "Shape of You" by Ed Sheeran as my 7:00 alarm. Now I wake up at 6:00 so that I don't have to hear it.

I’ve just picked up this morning a super light Ashdown Studio 210 combo. I already have a lovely Ampeg B200r combo but it weighs about 70lbs/32kg and we just started rehearsing in a place that has stairs. No thanks. Saw this the next morning on eBay. Usually sell new for about £550 but managed to snag this s/h for £180!!!

Threads about owing multiple basses and similar pop up like undesirable rodents invading our gardens. So here is another one. Although I don't own too many bass guitars but in my opinion there are more I use. In past couple of years I played mostly guitars and drums as they provide a better satisfaction. Bass is only used nowadays,IF, I record a song. So why do I have the need for multiple basses? One , I rarely use, the other I only bought as a " must have it" at the time going through crisis. Another, was a bargain and with further pick up upgrade it sounds and plays like a top of the range bass. Another , I totally modified, painted, it's the most comfortable to play with. So, taking a step back looking at them, I could probably sell three and make a decent amount and buy one I'm after. But I know deep inside that I would regret selling them, but they don't get used! Anyone in a similar position? 🤔

For me being there is nowhere near enough new music recommendations on BC.Should be another section for it....Love this. Anyways this is cool as always its Mr Harris, so you know what your getting. Anyone know who his bass bass player is. Im thinking its Adam Wiles.?

Nightporter - Japan

They are nice and I enjoy playing them which encourages me to play more which is good for me in many ways. Fundamentally they bring me pleasure.

Very nice, I think a P/J/MM is the right trio and it’s really nice to have one of each

When they were called "Lightwave" I owned a Sabre FL4-string semi-hollow body with both fretted and fretless necks. I like the Lightwave idea a lot. However one of it's main selling points that you can use lots of different strings was a bit of a non-starter when I discovered just how much set up adjust meant would be required every time I made a major change to the string type, so once I found a set I likes (the first ones I tried after the set that were on mine when I bought it) I stuck with those. Setting up was both a mechanical and electrical procedure - firstly you had to align the pickups with the strings and then tweak the output of each individual string via trim pots inside the control cavity. However once you'd get this right the tonal response from one string to another was very even, so well worth the effort. I didn't much like the action and intonation adjustments thought as they both requires slackening off the string to perform. By the time I'd got my bass set up how I liked it, the stings had been tightened and loosened so much they might as well have been secondhand! However I believe that the bridge/pickup mechanism has gone through at least one more iteration since mine (I had on the Mk2 version) and may be a lot more user friendly now. The version I had also had piezo pickups (called ice-tone IIRC) which added an extra dimension to the tone but also on the hollow body a lot of handling noise, so when I did use this I kept the level low. The final thing to consider its powering it. Again this may have changed with the new models, but mine required an external PSU to charge the battery inside the bass which connected via a non-standard socket. Also because I imported mine directly from the US it came with a 110V charger that required a step-down transformer to make it work. However you could play the instrument whilst charging it so even if you forgot to charge regularly so long as you had the PSU you were OK. Having said all that if I found myself in another band that need fretless bass and I could find a 5-string that looked as nice as my 4-string did, I would definitely get it. If you have any specific questions post here and I'll do my best to answer, bearing in mind that a lot of the quibbles I had with my bass may well have been addressed by now.

Warning: If you get sent a link to listen to the new Ed Sheeran and Elton John Christmas song, don't open it. It's a link to listen to the new Ed Sheeran and Elton John Christmas song.

There is, once a month, some very new music that appears as a pinned topic on this forum. Various styles , some unrecognisable , but very often quality stuff . it appears to get pitiful attention from the majority on here ☹️

Is that Slough?

The HD350 is a great amplifier! I've had the pleasure of reviewing most of the EBS amplifier range and there are certainly a few that particularly stick out as favourites, but you can't really go wrong with any of them. In fact, I have two sat here right now that I am reviewing for Bass Gear Magazine! So, keep your eyes peeled for those reviews. The TD650 was in my top five amps of all time for many years and it only recently got bumped down the queue recently by none other than the 802. That is a wonderful piece of engineering! Congratulations with the purchase, they sound great turned up!

Mmm, Doobie Bros. Think I’ll dig out What Were Vices Are Now Habits.

True. The less I play, the more the bass acquisition madness kicks in.

Rather a long time since I've done any work on this (or indeed done much at all; serious bout of depression following the impact of the fire and some other life affecting stuff, but it's clearing). I stumbled across another audio unit called Proteus so will be referring to this as BOME until a better moniker comes along. I've done some playing over the past couple of weeks and I think I have closed out on the tech stack for the BOME prototype. Hardware Raspberry Pi 4b - I have one that I salvaged from the fire and whilst they are in short supply at present, this should hopefully change in the next few months. It is a cheap unit and well documented; it also supports the software stack I have selected. HiFiBerry DAC+ADC Pro - This is a good quality, reasonably priced, Pi add on board to allow stereo (or two mono) audio input and outputs (Again something I was able to salvage from the fire). It is supported by the software stack I intend to use. Touch Sensitive Display - This will allow for configuring BOME without needing a computer to do so (Tho BOME will also be configurable using a web browser) Rotary Encoder/Switches - Used to supplement the touch display when configuring BOME as well as tweaking pedal settings on the go. Footswitches - To allow handsfree control of BOME whilst playing; select defined pedalboard layouts, activate/bypass 'pedals', load setting snapshots, activate tuner, etc Expression Pedal In - Allow connection of a 1/4 Jack TRS expression pedal to control pedal effects. Pi Pico - A low cost microcontroller that will be used to interface between the Pi and the various input controls; It will offload some of the load from the Pi as well as providing some capabilites the Pi does not have (such as ADC for the expression pedal) USB Host Port - Allow the connection of a USB MIDI Device to control any plugins. USB Device Port - Allow connection to a computer to allow BOME to act as an audio capture/playback device. Software Elk audio OS - This lies at the heart of BOME. It is based on linux (so allowing the use of linux capabilities and development tools) with some added goodness: ElkOS has a realtime element that interfaces with the HiFiBerry Audio card that has an extremely low latency, this means that the likelihood of experiencing audio artifacts like jitter or dropout is significantly reduced Elk Sushi is basically a DAW and allows for the use of both LV2 and VST3 (linux based) plugins. Sushi hands over all responsibility for the user interface to BOME, allowing for both touch panel and remote web control. BOME-APP - Bespoke code running on the Pi that ties everything together and provides the logic and user interface for BOME. BOME-IO - Bespoke micro-controller code running on the Pico to make the various switches and controls available to BOME-APP. With my 3D printer still being out of service (The fire melted most of the plastic elements and I've yet to replace them) I resorted to a heath robinson approach using cardboard and duct tape to construct a prototype enclosure. Currently 250mm wide (constrained by the spacing required for the footswitches) 140mm deep (Driven by the 5 inch touch sensitive display) and 60mm high, not counting the knobs. I may lose one of the footswitches to allow me to reduce the width to 195mm, but I'm going to run with this setup for the time being. Thus far I have been able to assemble the Pi, HifiBerry and some audio in/out; install the Elk software; configure a pedalboard with both a MIDI synth VST3 plugin and a guitar f/x chain using LV2 plugins for a compressor, chorus and room reverb; with a bass guitar plugged in and a midi usb keyboard attached I've been able to play both synth and the bass, driving a bass combo cab ... and it sounds pretty good! I've been able to use an app called Open Stage Controller running on my laptop to send OSC commands (A bit like MIDI but much richer) to change pedal plugins settings over a WiFi to the BOME unit. Next to start on the BOME-APP, to allow web based management of pedalboards (A set of effect plugins connected together), pedals (An individual plugin that provides a single pedal type of effect such as compression/overdrive/chorus/reverb/etc), connections between them (Virtual equivalent of patch cables). In parallel to this I need to start looking at how to achieve as many of the same capabilities using the onboard display and controls, Elk does not provide any display libraries so I need to figure out how to incorporate them to drive the touch screen as well as accepting input from the rotary and foot controls. S'manth x

And it’s done! The electronics worked first time! Which has blown my mind! My first ever attempt at wiring active electronics (other than idiot proof emg and East!) The set up is spot on, and it’s even lighter than my other SR500. The sound isn’t as good right now as the strings I put on are an old set, and the artec preamp isn’t as good as the stock one - but it’s not that far off!! I’ll keep an eye out for a better one to go in now it’s all together ill need to make a better back plate too. At the minute it’s a rough one cut out of an ice cream tub lid and wrapped in vinyl!!

How effective is the memory foam? Does it just ensure you don't forget which key a particular song is in, or does it enable you to remember all the notes you need to play without any mistakes?