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PJB m-300 PJB 6B

Hello all, I’ve been itching for a gold paisley something for ages, and recently I’ve been wanting a 51/68 style Tele Bass. So I thought I’d stick those two ideas together! 💡 I’ve done 3 parts builds that I’ve sprayed myself, and 10 scratch builds. As well as copious amounts of spray work for neck breaks etc. So going all out doing some stuff I’ve not done before on this. Never down paisley, and never done any bursts, so should be interesting. This will be a fairly long on going project but thought I’d start a thread as I’ve been buying some bits. I got this body in Black Friday deal so this is the start. The neck and some other bits are on their way from Allparts. So if your a tele/precision bass, or a paisley fan then watch this space. 👍

Glorious, just glorious. Why did I wait so long? It brings a joy to our kitchen that has been absent since my family decided that Heart FM was their preferred station about 5-years ago (I know, but some battles are not worth fighting). And the songs I'm hearing that I'd forgotten, I even heard one of my old bands from 1984 the other day (a reliable sign of quality curation if ever there was one). And the basslines? Seems the editorial policy is defined by the two questions 'Is the artist credible?' and 'Is the bassline creative?' Love it. Renewed my faith in the BBC 👍

… in Cambodia. DKs

You rang? 🙂 OK, interesting thread... Yes, Haydn wrote 104 numbered symphonies - there are various other bits and pieces making the grand total anything up to about 110... but 104 is the standard list. 104 is known as the London symphony, as that was where it had its first performance and it's fun to play. I was playing Haydn 6, 7, and 8 at the weekend in a workshop - great fun and there are two bass solos in there... Okay, suggestions of 'what' to listen to.... There are good suggestions above. I always sit someone down and I do a musical history tour to cover of the various genres and try to find a style or period that someone likes. Loosely speaking, the music falls into various time boxes, bear in mind these often overlap in time by a lot...: medieval (pre 1400); renaissance c.1400 - 1600; baroque 1600 - 1750; classical 1750 - 1820; romantic 1820 - tricky... roughly 1900. You've got impressionists writing in late C19th (not romantic) and Richard Strauss writing up until 1949. Anyway, styles explode in late C19th. For 'easy listening' the baroque era is good. It splits into three roughly 50 year periods: early (1600), middle (1650), late (1700). Late is where your well-known composers are: Bach, Vivaldi, Telemann, Handel. Music of this era has a strong structure with a bass line that is controlling what is going on. Suggestions: JS Bach - Brandenburg concertos, Orchestral Suites, harpsichord and oboe concertos. Organ music try the trio sonatas And less well-known items such as the toccata and fugue in F. Vivaldi ignore the usual suspects and listen to concerto sets like La Stravaganza or La Cetera, or the Concerto di Amsterdam. Telemann wrote a lot... his Tafelmusic (table music) is good. Handel try the Concerti Grossi - there's the opus 3 and opus 6 sets of those, the 'concerti a due cori' are fun (wait until the horns come in...). English baroque composers include Avison, who was from Durham. Early baroque tends to be dominated by French and Italian composers - a lot of good recommendations in earlier posts. The Monteverdi Vespers are fun to sing. I will write a couple more posts covering different periods. If you want the 'heavy metal' department of classical music... then you're looking at things like Wagner (Entry to Valhalla from Das Rheingold), Siegfried's Funeral Music etc, Bruckner (symphonies 4 and 7 perhaps), Tchaikovsky symphonies 4, 5, and 6. Big music with tunes - Dvorak symphonies 7, 8 and 9. Really big orchestras - Mahler. Possibly symphonies 4 and 5. I'll write more later...

Just in case anyone is interested, here is a couple of projects/parts builds I’ve put together and sprayed up.

For a one-off concert have you considered sourcing a bass out there? Either through loan, hire or buy and then resell. From what you’ve said above about only you and the singer travelling there must presumably be some technical and musical infrastructure in place out there for the concert, and maybe the rest of the band? Therefore people around likely to have a bass or can access one easily. It’s the solution I went for playing in the Netherlands and I’ve done similar in return for bands coming to the UK.

I wonder why you ask? I wasn't clear whether you are looking for something to work on in your skill set or if it the job you aspire to? Or maybe you are just musing? Let's be clear, the hurdle for a working session musician and a covers band are the difference between Olympic qualification and entering the parents egg and spoon race. You can already do much more than I can and I''ve been gigging in covers bands every other weekend for years. Learning 30 songs by memory playing four to the bar and the root note in the right places gets you an awful long way. Listening and responding to the rest of the band helps a lot too. I take it seriously and practice daily and try to be professional in my attitude but technically I don't offer much, fortunately I've not been rumbled yet Being in a successful touring band is a matter of luck, no disrespect but most of us here could probably learn the whole of the Rolling Stones (insert almost any band you like) back catalogue and go on tour playing it but weren't there when Keef and Mick were growing up. To be a session musician or a professional gun for hire you need to be good, either good at one thing which you will get hired for or with high level musical skills. Growing up my best friends father was a classical musician, he played French Horn variously for the BBC Symphony, Philharmonic and the LSO and incidentally for the Beatles (on Rubber Soul) He practiced lots, hours a day, every day, he treated it like a job! He probably had a lot of talent too, had studied since a child and was a really personable man. The big skill most musicians miss though is enterprise, you aren't going to join a band unless you get out there to find other people to play with. Look for the ads, answer the ads go to auditions, prepare for auditions, say yes to playing with other people. Go to gigs and talk to people. Advertise for people to play with you. Hang around places you know the local musicians hang out or find out where they go if you do. Start your own band. Be flexible too, the chances of you meeting three other musicians whose taste exactly matches yours is close to zero.

Wow, that's a huge spread of music you don't like!

Yeh, it is a no-brainer. Ive been on the hunt for a Fireglo 4003S for some time to do a V63/RM1999 replica but I simply refuse to pay the money being asked for 2nd-hand Ricks so when this appeared I was on it like a tramp on chips. The Fireglo is actually darker than the main photo; this is more like it:-

After many years of wanting to go, I was finally able to go to The Gallery in Camden this morning to gaze upon their wares. As luck would (not) have it, I'm down in Hemel Hempstead this week for a course with work. I found out last night that despite what I had been told, the course has been moved to Wednesday and Thursday so it left me and a colleague with a day to kill. Naturally, we went to check out The Gallery. Luckily, I knocked after finding their front door locked (smart practice, I think). The wares inside are stunning. A gorgeous Maruszczyk near the door that was quite Esh-esque in spec. A Moon in Larry Graham white with a matching Maruszczyk tribute hanging across from it. I had a chat with John Chapman who seems a very nice dude and was happy to entertain some conversation on bass. Down at the far end of the store I was absolutely drawn in by the Alembic Stanley Clarke they had in at £6500. The finish on that has to be seen to be believed. Even more rare was the bass next to it, a Wal fretless six string on hold pending sale at £12,500. Looking at it, I was wondering if it had been the one that Littleeal of this parish used to own. There can't be many of those around. Whilst I don't think Wal are 'all that', it was really cool to see such a rare item in store.

Thanks. Yes, it is a Ken Lawrence Chamberbass (built in 2000). Here's a pic of the bass without the ramp. Trying to keep everyone in this thread happy. M. M.

Working For The Yankee Dollar - The Skids

A difficult one to call, but I think my favourite is .......................... And one of the best covers of Deep Purple's Highway Star is ..........................

Did not know ramps were no longer a thing. Don't be a ramp hater-player. Be a ramp-facilitator. 🙂 M. M.

Vole over Beethoven - nearly everyone seemingly

I've modded pieces of foam with a lollypop stick glued to the top or bottom (depending on how you place it) with a bit extra at the edge to make removal easy. I reckon you could make a similar T shaped piece of wood to glue a chunk of foam to which would fit under the cover and leave a little tab to grab for removal. You could even use a tonewood lollypop stick and retire on the proceeds. I want 50%.

I have just got hold of a 2014 Fender Rascal. They were not made for long and are short scale; a bit like a 4 string BassVl. I wanted it because although short scale, which I like, they are not small - the bridge is not at the end of the bass. I am very tall so some SS basses look daft on me. I also wanted a bass that worked for palm muting and playing with a pick and this is ideal as you adopt a more guitar like playing position. Although I also play “finger style” I use other things for that and this should work brilliantly in my 60s band, especially since I have now changed strings to LaBella black nylons.

Life Is A Minestrone ～ 10CC

That made me chuckle. The answer to that question is a whole can of worms best left closed, an era of my life that is well behind me, one I'd be happier to talk about had anything I played, wrote, or even wore - especially hairstyles - possessed any quality or merit

Kissinger Fool George Michael

It was a sad day when Shaun Keaveny left the breakfast show.

I have ramps on both my Ibanez Prestige SRs for many years now, still use them and still like them a lot actually.

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In fairness to Quincy Jones, he's never heard me.

Just a cheeky plug for my bands new video. We have changed are name to Erronaut. Hope some of you like it.. and yes that is a bass wah in the middle of the song

Get a Hofner. It's like playing nothing at all. I had to get rid of mine because it was so light and delicate i thought i'd crush it with my playing.

My rigs. Most gigs I'll use the two 210's or a lone 212 cab, but outdoor gigs I'll bring the bigger stuff.

It turns out that this was a gateway bass... I've ended up buying also a Gold Tone ME. The Gold Tone has a 23" scale. I wasn't sure that 3" would make a huge difference (stop sniggering at the back!) but it feels substantially easier to play, and the lines do help. I'm happy on unlined fretless with the usual 34" scale basses, but the 20" Uke required a lot of focus. The 23" Gold Tone is a little bit easier... and it turns out that getting used to it helps me when I go back to the 20" Batking. The Gold Tone is also a nicer sounding bass, but I still like the Batking too. It has a bit more of that double bass-like 'thump'. Build quality is not much better than the batking, to be honest, but it sounds and plays really good [1] and being solid body with a bolt-on neck it would be very easy to modify/fix. They're really simple instruments. [1] Initially I was not terribly happy, as the E string was a lot quieter than the others. It turns out the saddle was not sitting properly and when pressing on it I'd get a 'pop'. Pressing on the saddle and plucking at the same time showed me that all I had to do was ensure the saddle pressed well against the transducer below. I was going to return it but the fix is simple and those saddle transducers cost less than a tenner (yup!), so no great loss if I messed it up. As a quick test, I put a small piece of plastic between the string and the saddle and that fixed the issue entirely. There are similar reports on Talk Bass with this kind of transducer on various other brand basses. It looks like cutting the thin strip between the offending saddle and the rest is usually enough. It seems a lot easier than the hassle I had with DHL last week to get the bass delivered... so that pushed me towards keeping it. Not ideal after spending over £500, but I'm really fed up with Evri and DHL so I'll fix it myself. I'll try to get some kind of discount from the seller instead... fingers crossed.

I remember going into a guitar shop around 30 years ago and a £900 4-string WAL was hanging next a £800 Tune Bass Manic. One is now worth £thousands while the other worth £hundreds. If only we knew then what we know now?

Nice work. I nearly bought one of these back when they came out. I’ve always loved the mish mash of different bits from different things, as it were. It’s not the one that flew straight out as soon as it went into Rich Tone Music a few days back was it?

Nods … I really love the lightness of my Hohner B2V headless, but sadly my fingers struggle with its 34 inch scale so I’ve got it up for sale to help fund a a shorty. S’manth x

I've always said my Spirit headless will be the last bass to go.

Thanks. The Fender Jazz Bass was made in 1974 and I've had it since 1992. Here it is with it's original pickguard, thumb rest, bridge and pick-up covers.

Hohner B2B is bolt on. Also has passive with PJ pups, not EMG which sounded more organic to me. It was always my preferred model. Finding one is another matter, of course.

Bass -> Stomp -> PA -> In-ears Or (band depending) Bass -> Stomp -> Small monitoring combo/PA

This. It's just not on brand. They would have done it by now if they wanted to. If FMIC decide to do one then I would expect it to be under the Charvel or Jackson brands instead. They take more risks with designs there. But even then, 6 string basses must only be a tiny percentage of total bass sales. Might not even be worth tooling up.

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….and the vintage Jazz! A fine selection!

Me too! 😂 It’s coming from Allparts. Used them before and they are great necks and their qc is usually pretty good so I’m hopeful.

Currently planning out an ampless setup. Stomp XL on its way. Currently thinking "Bass > HX Stomp XL (with Tech21 dUg in loop 1, Darkglass Alpha Omega Photon in loop 2 with presets MIDI controlled) > PA/IEM (and possibly an amp running a homemade shaker platform)". I may go "Bass > HX Stomp XL (with Tech21 dUg in loop 1, DIY TS-50 preamp in loop 2) > Darkglass Alpha Omega Photon (with presets MIDI controlled) > PA/IEM/etc." depending how the TS-50 and MIDI control of the Darkglass turns out. I've too many amps knocking around so there may be a cull there and just replace the lot with something FRFR, probably QSC. For personal practice I'm just using a single studio monitor at the minute and it sounds excellent.

My set up has a few routing options depending on whether I’m DIing from the zoom or the boom avenue, or running out to a pair of headrush 112s from the sonicake switcher. Mostly it’s run using a (bloomin expensive!) custom made multicore signal/headphone cable so the signal goes into the Sparrow DI (only switched on if I’m running a passive bass) and the out to the zoom for all the signal processing. From there it’s on to the horse EQ (again only used to subtract v low and hi frequencies if running to the 112s, otherwise it’s also off.) Then to the boom avenue preamp for punch, and DI out to the desk. But the signal splits at this point from the boom ave’s 1/4” out to the caline EQ which is for keeping my IEM signal as close to foh as possible so I don’t don’t make per song eq changes on the bass that might sound strange out front, here I can tweak what I’m hearing without affecting the FOH. From there the signal goes into the Rolls PM50 where I receive my monitor feed. The headphone section of my multicore cable goes in there and allows me to mix my own level against the rest of the band as I wish. I can also use a wireless and single headphone cable if I prefer, or Di straight from the zoom and use the boom ave and EQs for iems. Or should I wish, I can stereo out the zoom into the 2xfrfr speakers and run stereo, or take a mono out and use the other monitor for fold back, or a single speaker using both channels, one for bass, one for fold back. But mostly It’s run ampless as seen. It’s a very flexible, yet simple set up. At present, the board is all housed on a squashed up Harley Benton spaceship 60xl for portability. When festival season comes around and it’s all getting chucked in a van day in, day out, for protection, I move the whole lot over onto a much larger Pedaltrain in a flight case. I forget which model, but it’s big!