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Finished!

Resurrecting this thread... A couple of weeks ago I had a mad weekend and bought three basses; I only intended to buy one, but I went to the shop and whilst we were looking for the case for it I spotted a Hohner The Jack project and picked that up too, then when I got home I found that my spotter bid had also won the auction for a Westone Quantum in need of some TLC, so I ended up with all three. Hohner The Jack The Hohner The Jack had a bridge mech missing, no strings, and dead electronics, and looked like this. I managed to acquire a replacement bridge and used it as a donor for the missing parts; the remainder went onto another project (see later). So, I gave the instrument a light polish, completed the bridge, and put on a set of Status strings: I put in a battery but it didn't light up, so I set about finding a fix for it. Coincidentally I found someone selling a The Jack with a twisted neck, so I contacted them and agreed a price to buy it, pending confirming mine didn't work. A couple of days later I got to spend a bit more time on it and I plugged it in; lo-and-behold it worked (both passive and active)! So, it looks like it's just the LED; apparently not an uncommon issue with these, but I can live with that. So, I've ended up with a rather nice bass for not a lot. Westone Quantum A few days later the Westone Quantum arrived; the seller kindly agreed to post it to me, as I had a change of plans from my intended drive to collect it. It looks like it may have been overpainted from blue and it needs a back cover for the control bay, but it's kindof cool as it is. The headstock has a serial number. (And yes, I will sort out those strings!) So that's a nice one for the collection. The rest of the headless bridge... So, after using the bridge for donor parts for the Hohner The Jack, I used the rest of the unit on a headless doubleneck which had a cheapo "Overlord" one on it. The bass neck is now pretty good and it has quite a nice deep resonance to it. I've got to do a bit of work on the guitar half, replacing the pickups (I'm pretty sure those are not really EMGs!), sorting the nut (it's too high, so pressing the 1st fret makes it out of tune), and the "Overlord" bridge's trem mech is poop so it's only usable in the locked position.

Not surprised, very similar look to my first Cazpar 4 (see below with the other 2 I've had). They're wee gems and generally under-rated it seems to me.

Finally got this in my hands yesterday. The sale was agreed a week ago, but we needed to arrange a meet up. 2016 American Vintage ‘63 Reissue in faded sonic blue. The tort guard is a Fender guard but not the original, however the original is included. 8lbs 15 oz. It had La Bellas on it, but really heavy ones, so I’ve swapped those for some La Bella 760FLs. It needed a truss rod tweak to reduce the relief even after fitting lighter strings, some saddle adjustments and the pickup height. It’s now playing really well, very low action with no fret buzz, and sounding great. It has a piano like clarity unplugged which is really noticeable compared with my other basses, very resonant. I’m get used to the wider nut width and I think it will be fine. I’m really looking forward to taking it to rehearsal next week. Cheers, Rob

Do you make enough money to live on? Professional, if not, amateur. Some professionals are average players, some amateurs are amazing.

Here's mine; parallel loops in the Line Selector for Synth, Sub or Synth & Sub with a sprinkling of filter / trem / delay / reverb afterwards for a bit of sparkle. I play primarily weddings and functions covering funk / soul / motown / disco / pop / dance

Not our best, however I'll post anyway. New Years Eve at The Barley Pop. https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1149239815962581&id=100000222668845&sfnsn=mo&mibextid=RUbZ1f Blue

Good idea - we’re all taking pitchforks for the six string traitor, right?

Bigamy At Christmas - Tony Ferrino

Nothing says ‘new baby’ like a new bass. Its a celebration and an investment in your legacy and their inheritance. I’d go big to be honest.

I was looking for a a part and found a fretless Jazz Bass neck I must've bought a while back, so I decided to go ahead and see if I could make up a bass. I'd like a MIM Jazz body for it, but in the meanwhile I've acquired a fetching purple Squier PJ body to be getting on with... I managed to find most of the required bits in my parts boxes, though I'll probably get a Fender Hi-Mass bridge for it (they seem to work well with a fretless and flats). The J bridge pickup is leftover from putting the neck one onto a Cowpoke bass, so that was fortuitous, and the P is an I'm not sure what, so will have to see. I think I've got a set of knobs for it and probably pots. I'll probably spend this evening bolting the main bits together and will then look at the electronics.

Don't Fear The Reaper - Blue Oyster Cult

Very disappointed by the quality of replies to this thread. 1. You need a backup exactly the same as what you already have. 2. You also need a backup that is different just in case you play some songs that require a different tone in the future. 3. You also need a backup exactly the same as the bass described in 2.

Simple, tidy, light and ample for what I need. I build a main sound patch for each song using the ms60b then have the option of three "live" stomp pedals with the B3. Topped off with a HB wireless pedal on a Warwick Rockboard. The whole lot probably cost less than £250

IMO a back-up instrument should be the same as your main one. Failing that it should play the same and be capable of the same sounds to the point where you could and would be happy to play the whole set with either.

If you like your tone as is then it's a done deal. Backup Stingray.

Of course. And burning torches

Jan 2023 update:

Before buying a board work out what order you want your pedals, and how accessible each one needs to be from a performance PoV. IME anything that needs to activated mid-song is best placed on the front row where you can activate the foot switch without worrying about inadvertently hitting another one. Save the upper row(s) for pedals that are either always on or those that only need to be turned on and off between songs.

Thanks everyone. Really appreciated the support. I'm going to go for it 🤦‍♂️

The problem with Later series 11 to 943 is that it followed a formula of octogenarian that never-was-much-in-the-first-place, 2 or 3 nerdy indie bands armed with four chords, a token soul chanteuse, some worthy 'world music' combo and a weirdo of the week. This has been topped off by Jools' brief and uninteresting wide-eyed fanboi interviews.

Crosstown Traffic - Jimi/Green Cross Code Man

All of the above. Routers along with planers are probably the most dangerous tools in the shop and when they bite they run away very quickly.

I just peeled of a bit with a vegetable peeler and rubbed the root straight on. If the surface of the root dried out a bit taking another slice off to get a fresh surface to rub the juice out of. I have now done two coats of finishing oil and its looking good so far. The oil has just tamed the brightness down a bit as expected. I am happy with how its going especially for a Bitza project. While its apart the next step is to graphite paint the cavities. I usually use copper tape but this time bought some Rustings paint for the job to see how that goes

I’m way late… NYE was a private party at our mate Malc’s place, Langtoft Fen, way out in the flatlands. Great: a captive / friendly audience and we had them dancing all night. Good sound too, even if I do say so myself. Even with plugs I was ringing after 9-12:15 with a couple of breaks. A little three piece gig this coming Saturday, just back line and a vocal mon. Looking forward to it, haven’t played without a second guitar and keyboard for ages!

Maybe a G&L Kiloton? The same but different.

A bass is a bass is a bass. For most repertoires, in most bands, what the audience hears, and what most band members recognise, is the bass. What model, make, year, colour... These details are quite a way down the list of 'Things To Worry About'. Get a 'spare'; that's a Good Idea. If you come to need it, as a spare, it'll matter little whether it's white or black. I'd suggest the '50s 'P', as a change and variant, unless 'your' sound in the band mix is heavily dependent on what your Stingray sounds like. I would doubt that, but I'll admit the distant possibility. A bass is a bass is a bass. That's my tuppence-worth.

For setting up my first time I followed the approach in these videos by Elixir, which are really clear (sadly in imperial measurements). Having said that, I have tweaked things a bit in string height to allow for my playing style. After all of this I then fiddle with my pickup heights to get a nice even sound/volume across the strings. I've found that a sort of warbling/throbbing sound means the pickup is to close to the strings (I think the magnet in the pickup starts to pull too strongly on the string) S'manth x

British power...

NYE pub gig. All good. Friendly drunk crowd, three sets including a couple of new songs, got paid, everyone happy. Used a biamped rig because, well why not? Bugera beast handled bottom and low mids via the TE cabs and the TC Electronic handled mids and tops. Split the effects from the Ampero. Sounded massive.

I was just getting pics of my 32” scales for that thread and decided I needed an updated family shot for my shorties. Left to right: ACG Mule fretless ACG TKO Classic Conway Instruments Taranis fretless 5

It will, but it has nothing to do with power, everything to do with voltage. The amp puts out the same voltage into any load. (A good thing that is, because the actual impedance isn't a constant, it varies with frequency, so if this wasn't the case every frequency would be at a different level.) If all else other than impedance is equal, which it never is, with the same voltage applied the cone of the 4 ohm driver will move further than the cone of the 8 ohm driver. This results in a 3dB increase in output. There can be tone differences as well, because all else isn't equal, including but not limited to inductance and moving mass. As for the perceived increase in dynamics at high levels, that's also voltage related. An amp's dynamic response suffers when it's pushed close to its voltage output limit. Using a lower impedance driver gives more voltage headroom from the amp, which gives better dynamic response. This begs the question 'why not always use low impedance drivers?'. The answer is that the lower the impedance the higher the current draw, which can create its own set of problems.

I bought a Db in 2018 and really am enjoying the experience. I got a local tutor and one of his tips was ' don't try to play it like it's a bass guitar' or you can develop problems with your hands that will affect your electric bass playing. I'm still in the beginner stage but done a few gigs. Hope you continue to enjoy the db.👍🏾🎶 My DB is a fairly weighty EUB and i find it a challenge to play it standing up without feeling the weight on my left thumb and arm. Is it a good idea to use it on a stand or seated or would i be getting my muscle memory associated with that and then be stuck if i forgot my stand or stool?

I'm out already! Couldn't resist the Stagg EUB that was on sale here. Picked it up today. I blame @Paul S

Markbass CMD121P, nice little combo that punches way above its weight. I used to use mine on its own in a band with 2 basses, 3 gtrs, keys and drums and it was plenty loud enough. And there’s the option of adding in a matching extension cab - NY122 - if ever needed.

I agree. The point of the show should, however, be presenting a decent output rather than giving Jools' band a regular paycheck. It used to be a show that had sets by musical legends and introduced new talent. Trotting out Ruby Turner every year doesn't really fit that bill no matter how good she is.

Gigrig do it. But they aren't cheap. And unless you are looking for some really complicated systems you can do it yourself. It is easier than wiring a plug. The assembly is part of the fun - and it has a real world advantage: you get to know it, inside out. So if there's every a problem you know how to fix it or at least get round it until the end of the gig.

Yes for sure. Never look up to answer someones question when using any of them. It drove me crazy how many people would throw away the push sticks I used to regularly make in the work place. Like they think its not manly to use them Ah we forgot bandsaws!

OK, so I am not a luthier or anything but assumed it was customary to take a bass to bits when painting it? Instead of slopping over the jack socket, pickgard, pickups, bridge cover (gold ffs?) neck etc etc. Then not painting the bits your 3" brush couldn't get into. Jeez.

IMO, if you're playing in a "professional" band (weddings, corporate gigs, theatre etc) then your backup should be 90% the same. If you're doing originals or the pub circuit get whatever takes your fancy.

Great night last night on our band's home turf. Sold out night and people dancing right up to the stage. Fewer ropey moments than usual (mental note: after practising for weeks solely on a J-style bass, a warm-up is advisable before launching straight into using a P-bass for a gig...) and we went down a storm. Home by 11 for pizza pockets and ranch dip with Mrs Greg! Had to use my Barefaced Two10S vertically for space reasons and I think it sounded slightly better to my ears, as well as being jeans-flappingly loud!

Caution - picture heavy post here. Not quite the Maldives but a nice little pub in Sunningdale. I thought it would be good to get some pictures of the setup progress.......

Nice little gig in The Maldives. They flew us out here from the UK, put us up on full board in a swanky water villa for 3 days and then decided that they only wanted us to play for 1hr. Highlight was looking out across the dancefloor and seeing Peter Crouch and Jack Whitehall dancing together. Nice big sound system too. 20221231_150612.mp4 VID-20230101-WA0012.mp4

Well, I love it. The only thing I don't love is the brown bit by the end of the neck, would it have killed them to make it blue?