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Fretless Sterling Ray 34... Don't see many of these available. I also think this one was professionally defretted, I can't remember the lefties being available fretless. It has only arrived today but so far my thoughts: the fingerboard feels lovely, I think it's some kind of ebony. The neck profile is a bit slimmer than my US Stingray. Flatwounds sound great on it, I thought I'd need rounds of some kind but there are decent strings on it right now. Bad points: The machine heads feels a bit flimsy, will need to see how it settles. Also the preamp and pickup is nowhere near the league of my US Stingray. More discovery to be made after work

Nice little venue in Manchester, good sound and engineer, and we played pretty well, but the audience weren’t into it. I wheeled out the Yamaha RBX A2 5, which sounded fantastic, ace low B, so I’ll defo use that again. My TCBQ500 via a house Warwick 4x10 sounded decent, and so easy to walk across town with just the bass and head in a rucksack.

Before @cetera jumps in… Big Horizon were fantastic at Pizza Express Live - Holborn in London last night. A lovely evening of Yacht Rock, 70s West Coast pop tinged music. These guys are absolutely top of their game (which explains why the spend most of their time backing megastars on tour). Great set, great playing and what a fabulous voice Iain Hornal has! They did a couple of Jeff Lynne’s tunes (an obscure ELO one - Four Little Diamonds, and Handle With Care by The Traveling Willburys). As Jeff Lynne’s backing band for the last 10 years, they paid tribute to him and the unfortunate way the tour ended with him being too unwell to continue to his big Hyde Park retirement gig. Wonderful evening! Lee Pomeroy was a highlight, of course but watching him mangles my brain because all the strings and fingers are in the wrong place. Fab to see Gary PB and Costas there too!

My EUB / Guitar set up as of last week, a friend made me a silly offer on the MOOD so there's an empty space at moment, been thinking reverb maybe (after Echobox). Starts at the MINI on the top right and works left, then Onward to Meris X (bottom right). Some pedlas may look a bit wonky, only 3 have velcro at the moment. Its desk top use rather than floor, makes editting easier on the fly. Sounds f***ing awesome!

This is my whole current collection: Modulus BassStar 1989 Squier Precision 1983 ESP/ Vox Humana 1987 Modulus Funk Unlimited 2008 Fender Jazz Bass 1965 Fender Mustang Bass 1970 Fender Vintera Bass VI The BassStar and the Squier (equipped with La Bella flats) get the most use at the moment at home. When my band will restart (hopefully next month) the Funk Unlimited will be the first choice. I'm still downsizing, but would also love to add a 34" Modulus Quantum 😁

Thanks, it’s a little darker than it’s bigger brother - also Starry Night finish.

My circular saw proved capable of cutting a triple layer sandwich (once I set the cut height right). I used a different cutting pattern as I was cutting a maximum of 610mm - first a cut across at 300mm, then a second and third at 376mm. After that, I stacked the three pieces and cut at 276mm twice, so a total of five cuts. First, I made the sled - I'd glued and screwed a length of batten across the panel, and just cut across using that as a guide. Then I clamped up for the first cut, and found that when I'd just nipped up the fixing bolt for the blade that my definition of nipped up and the instructions definition of nipped up are different. Once rectified, off we went. The first cut is the shallowest. After that first cut, I was able to use the piece I'd just cut off to rest the other side of the circular saw base on. Another cut the same and then I stacked the wood. And at last got to the final cut. I still have to cut out holes in the front and rear.

Last night (Darren was hiding in the corner).

Tried a new rehearsal space with the originals band tonight. Tea, coffee a fridge with milk and cans of pop. Even a packet of choccie buscuits. Played a Warwick Gnome through a ~12" Orange speaker, sounded ok but when I gently boosted middle and cut bass it went very brittle and odd, so I set it back where I found it with a fair bit of bass boost. Gain and master both low. Decent electric drum kit (dodgy cymbal feel apparently) so we could keep volume down. Less space led us to a good sound. Apologised for going increasingly ott towards the end of a song that starts slow and speeds up, but that was liked. It's a three chord fairly slow number (66bpm) so getting more intense and doubling the tempo (bars don't get shorter, we just put in more notes) halfway keeps it interesting. All enjoyed it.

Fixed that for you!

All of that is no problem

A little tease. Wasn't sure about which Chameleon patch was more accurate when I made them yesterday (I need to go back with fresh ears). FI4 tease.mp3

When using short scale strings, the E string always sounds somewhat dead and disconnected from the sound of the other 3 strings on my U5. Yesterday I used an old long scale E string strung-thru the body, and what a massive improvement!

Cheers for that, just purchased one 👍🏻

Yep, Big Horizon were fabulous. Great to see you there Trev..... Gotta say that Lee Pomeroy and Donavan Hepburn are a seriously tight rhythm section... wonderful to watch and listen to!

These are on sale on a daily deal at Guitar Guitar for £849

A much more accessible chart today. The complete Steve Rodby part for the tune 'Afternoon' from the 2002 Pat Metheny Group album, 'Speaking Of Now'. I am hearing it in a gentle 12:8 because of the triplets throughout. Could be 6:8 or 4:4 swung triplets. https://bilbosbassbites.co.uk/afternoon-pat-metheny-group/

My exes, original '55 on the left, Fender Custom Shop (ex @AndyTravis) on the right

This advice offended one Basschat member so much that they left when I gave it. But it’s true.

Potential Walnut control plate finished for @HeadlessBassist walnut jazz bass build. Just waiting for his graphite neck to land and the assembly will begin!!

ok i briefly have the whole lot out of storage together so i took a quick pic! ...so rare to have them all in one room these days on account of the wife..

My Rics..

Thanks Stub. Herea link to us performing Ohio last year.

I've been dreaming of picking up the double bass for a long time, but had been writing it off for various reasons. So imagine my surprise when my wife organised this for a big birthday this week! Currently renting for a few months to see if we can live with it, but I now can't imagine a world without DB... it's so addictive and rewarding! It seems playing cello as a kid, and fretless bass for a long time has helped get me started, but there's so much to learn!

Battens already cut to length and drilled. My circular saw proved capable of cutting a triple layer sandwich (once I set the cut height right). I used a different cutting pattern as I was cutting a maximum of 610mm - first a cut across at 300mm, then a second and third at 376mm. After that, I stacked the three pieces and cut at 276mm twice, so a total of five cuts. First, I made the sled - I'd glued and screwed a length of batten across the panel, and just cut across using that as a guide. Then I clamped up for the first cut, and found that when I'd just nipped up the fixing bolt for the blade that my definition of nipped up and the instructions definition of nipped up are different. Once rectified, off we went. The first cut is the shallowest. After that first cut, I was able to use the piece I'd just cut off to rest the other side of the circular saw base on. Another cut the same and then I stacked the wood. And at last got to the final cut. I still have to cut out holes in the front and rear.

Anagram and Wireless on a PT nano back of the stage. Front of the stage a cheap midi footswitch

Im glad that melted plastic whale shaped single cuts won't be something you'll be doing! The less of them the better. It was mainly just about say changing electronics. For example, Hamers are (mainly) DC35s and a EMG BTS system. They did a few explorers and if one were to want something more akin to that than say Gibson type pickups. That was really where I was going. Or wiring the dual outputs more like a Rick with one being stereo and the other mono as another example which if the bass remained passive isn't that difficult. Frankly, I think your work is fantastic and were I to be in the market, I'd definitely be up for ordering from you.

Fancied a short scale so picked up this Mustang CV today, new pick guard turned up for one of my Teles too

I think we need always remember that for most of us the audience will never know. Use what you like, what gets closest to the sound in your head when in the mix, but don't get too hung up on it. You're the only one will ever notice.

All my builds are in fact custom jobs. But they have to be Brooks basses. I don't build 1:1 copies. Nor do I have a desire to build fantasy shapes or amoebic creatures 😉 I am not an electronics wizard. So I don't offer to build custom circuits. I did work together with an effects builder for a weird bass a while ago. But I will not go that path again. But using pre-amps (like EMG or Bartolini) that are readily available is no problem.

Steve Rodby is one of those super annoying bassists that play only the right notes at the right time. Sarcasm aside, I'd love to be able to play that way, to make the instrument sing.

Looks (and sounds) like an absolute beast! I had to stop and admire that bridge design - very clever way to get that many strings into that space.

After seeing his work so far, it seems nothing is impossible for him. I would say: very custom!

To be fair, that particular piece of kit has to be a good 40 years old. Model A or B, btw?

My Stingray acquired a little brother this morning. I think the previous owner has had the fingerboard professionally replaced, and a very good job has been done too. Hardware and electronics are not great but am hoping I can pickup some secondhand upgrades. Update: I am told by the previous owner it was bought as new in fretless. Lovely stuff.

A sturdy pair of boots and he should be fine. Tell him to grow a pair and get on with the job. 😂 Seriously tho i hope he recovers soon and wish him well. Dave

So i eventually succumbed to this......

I can promise you all this - if I ever get to do an international tour outside Japan I will definitely buy both an actual key synth, a MXR and FI4vip and take them all around the world - comparing them for all my basschat fans. You'll then see at least one of the three in the for sale section here post tour. This is my solemn promise to you all.

Jonas always said that the 36v premap was modelled on a Neve board - which he apparently favoured for studio use. The sheer voltage wasn't for outright volume but headroom, or clarity of signal at higher outputs. Why that mattered so much to Jonas at that particular moment, I'm not sure, but if you look over his career you'll see he was always very interested in tone and the sculpting of his sound through his gear. His signature gear like his Sound of Sweden basses or his Warwick amps were always unique in some regard, in accordance with what Jonas wanted at the time.

I regularly see the Hamish Stuart Band/360 band and his bassist is Steve Pearce - a top echelon session player and one of the best bassists I have seen live. He uses one of these. Mic'd up but you can still hear it.

Gig last week. Sounded very 'Rick-like'.

I’d say the absolute opposite, synth pedals are for bedroom players or as a compromised solution for gigging where you can’t / don’t want to use an actual synth. Look on pro stages, there’s a lot of synth bass, not many synth bass pedals.

Congratulations and welcome to the (addictive) club. The best advice I can offer is get help with hand / body position before you start to bake in problems that can even result in permanent injury. If there’s no tutors near you, then there’s some great advice for free from Discover Double Bass on YouTube. That said, I’m sure your cello experience will come in useful 😎

Dang, that's got to be worth a few bob. Tom's Guitars is a great little shop that has carved out a nice little niche. Tom Smith specialises in weird and unusual second-hand instruments, unique and interesting things that fit in well with a vintage/craft market like Greenwich. It's not an approach that would work in many places, but I think the high footfall he gets in that spot makes it possible to find someone for all his odd 1960s East German guitars, electric bouzoukis, 80s shred machines, etc. I think it helps that he gets a lot of bored blokes who have been left dangerously unattended while their wives are off looking at the market's excellent selection of jewelry, fancy soap, handbags and antiques. I sold a home-built baritone guitar on commission through the shop last year – the sort of instrument that would have sat for years on ebay or in most shops. Tom shifted it in about three weeks.

I picked this up cheap because it's in a bit of a state and I felt sorry for it. It's not a particularly common bass around these parts, so I figured I could get it back to being hale and hearty again. It's pretty dirty - the tuners are green in places and I had to wash my hands after stringing this bad boy back up - boak! But that's just dirt. The main issue with this bass is the neck pickup. The coil windings have been... interrupted shall we say. Thankfully most of the coil is intact, the break is pretty close to the beginning/end of the coil so I'm going to try to unwind it slightly back to good wire then solder it back up and see if that works, failing that I guess I'll need to get it rewound. A wee project for the weeks ahead. Its mostly cleaning and polishing, the pickup to attempt to repair, and maybe some finish repair on a couple of nasty chips in the neck finish. Dunno if it's worth a build diary, so I'll probably just document my progress here. FWIW, the remaining pickup sounded pretty decent in my wee Laney 30W combo in the office here. For all the dings/dents/scuffs/scrapes/lacquer cracks, the bones appear to be solid and it feels quite nice to play. I think with a bit of work this will end up being a fine counterpoint to my BB1200.

So, I've made a start at restoring this bass (or at least minimising my chances of catching ebola from it ). The pickup is with an electrical technician at work to see if it the coil can simply be reconnected, we got talking about it and it turned into a "give it here" type situation. This suits me - he's got much better equipment than me (much finer and temperature controlled soldering iron, magnifier light thingy) and well, it's his job so he's less likely to make an arris of it than me. As for me, I've dismantled the tuners and put them in a cola bath to try to clean them up, remove tarnishing etc. I've made a start at polishing up the tuner bushings (E string done in the photo). Going to do them in situ rather than pop them out - I dislike press fit bushings at the best of times and these old things are in there nice and tight. If I pop them out then there's no guarantee they'll go back in as nicely, so they're just getting polished as best I can where they are.

1985 Yamaha BB1100S My old Mexican P bass was rather uninspiring after having it a few years so I replaced it with this and its really nice to play and sounds great. Huge tonal range