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Not last night, actually sunday. We had a gig at a pub in a local beauty spot (which considering I live in Yeovil, there aren't too many!), it was the day at the end of all the holidays. It was going to be a pain to get in. Turned up just after the singer so followed them in round a corner and parked by the building, as well as we could. Had to carry everything through a door that people were insisting of standing in the way of, but it was their party so couldn't be too annoyed at them. There was a tiny width of stage, and there were already a load of guitars there as apparently there was going to be a couple of people playing at our half time. We had to move the stuff as there wasn't enough room in general! Anyway, we started and people were dancing from the start and they moved all the tables out of the room which was good. Did the first hour or so ending with whole lotta love that we haven't done for a while. Then we had a break and a lot of food from the party, while the public event of what appeared to be people singing to a backing track with a guitar went on for half an hour. Not sure why there were two guitars and a bass though! Anyway we went back on and it went well, very interactive crowd, although towards the end of the night they started tailing off as the party had been going since much earlier, and the snow was making people think they should get going. Was much easier loading again though due to the lack of people and tables, but there was a fair bit of snow. This beauty spot is the top of the hill, I was going to go the normal way down the hill, but the drummer said I should go the other way, through the villages, which isn't steep because of the weather, I didn't think it was really necessary, but driving out of the car park after the singer, on a very gentle slope the car antilock hammered. The singer was going the other way so I followed, it was a very slow journey home considering how short it is, but got there! Heres my corner, nice and cosy. This was actually 8pm and completely dark but the camera decided to just lighten it up. Thats the road. Just before load in Just before we started.

Well after about 6 years amp-less just using a powered speaker and Helix Stomp/couple other DI pedals, i recently moved house, bigger detached no neighbours to worry about so decided to treat myself. After much deliberation decided to go for the Laney as it ticked all the boxes for features I wanted. It came down to The Ashdown studio stack or this. very very impressed, the Amp is not dead the King returns, straight out of the Box all set at 12 sounds amazing on both channels couple tweaks and got the sound i want. I was worried 500w would be too loud but getting great sounds at lower volumes with plenty to crank if i ever need it. Real amps are just so responsive (or at least this is) I had to pinch myself my playing (even after 3 weeks off on holidays) was just so Dynamic. Sounds and plays just like you think an amp should. Real amps vs Modellers could be a separate threat.

All the credit should go to all the people who did this before me. I didn't do anything clever but just followed other people and make my own mistakes. There's an awful lot of help here, freely given, for how to make it and make it work well. You don't need lots and lots of specialist tools, it can help, but a lot of people have found cheap and easy ways to do it. (That's a compliment BTW). I will be doing a second cab, and it will be made slightly differently as I have learnt what works and what doesn't. I may list all my mistakes so you can learn from them, but that might require a lot longer thread. For anybody who is thinking of building one, do it. Enormous satisfaction at the end which is nice, but you also get a good insight into what's needed. If I can do it anybody can. Rob

Got hold of some black M3x30mm screws, countersunk for added stealth... Added a couple of M3 nuts to help keep it in place. Then fitted it to the bass... Amazingly, it fit first time! There's not a lot of room to wind the pickup down further, a mm or two maybe, but it's at a good place and I'm just happy I didn't have to howk out some of the pickup route for the humbucker mounting lugs. Gave it a quick test, and after I swapped two wires (because it oddly came with the series join out of phase?), it's working as I expect. Sounds pretty good in cans. Will record some clips over the weekend.

Looks interesting... not seen this shape before. Great sounds too - just get past the metal at the start...

Another update from me… Some tweaks to the setup of pre-amp, compression and drive. Signal chain Tuner>Comp>Pre… I then I have a signal split Pre-amp DI out>CabM+>FOH/IEM and Pre-amp 1/4”out>Genz4OTF>LDP>Box ofWar>Thumpinator>Amp Box Of War - this is a custom shop version with the mid switch which fills out the scoop / fattens up the low mids from the 0700 to 1100 position but isn’t much use to me personally dialling it above noon. I keep the mid-switch engaged and am enjoying the thick muff tones which grew up listening to in the 90’s grunge stuff. My guitarist doesn’t really use much dirt live (he’s a cowboy chords kinda player) so there’s scope for the bass to do the more driven sounds in songs like Zombie and 7 Nation Army. LDP- boost and drive. The drive is a pretty solid sounding unit with bass specific touches and does the low gain to a moderate gain sounds we can appreciate on the gig. I like it set to low ish gain for character. The DEEP switches are engaged on both sides and they add a pleasant bump without getting muddy (I’m guessing around 100hz). The Boost side comes after the drive and is really good on its own to put a touch of something on the basic overall bass sound. I have the Tone knob rolled back for taking some of the zing out of my jazz bass in tracks like Proud Mary. Winding it up over noon can liven pick playing and I use it a lot finding it can be a really satisfying always on and versatile tone enhancer I.e turning the tone down completely for a warm pillowy sound which isn’t as muffled as turning g the bass tone control fully off. I dig it and it’s a pretty cool looking black and gold unit which I prefer to the older more industrial look Rodenberg used previously. API TranzFormer Cmp Wonderful sounding unit from studio giants API. It has the API output transformer and is a VCA style comp which can often translate to a faster punchier style of compression. The unit definitely has a colour to it from the transformer and that was part of the appeal. I have another VCA style comp which is great maybe a bit more transparent but the API ‘colour’ is real nice! In front of the tube pre amp it is adding its own thing and lifts the whole pedalboard. There’s some preset switches for attack and release so if these aren’t enough control this may not be the unit for you but there’s no denying the pedal adds something by being switched on and imparting it’s own vibe. It’s actually really straightforward and looking forward to gigging with it tonight. The blend is nice as you can push things a little more and hear that comp working but dial back in the clean to keep things juicy. I'm usually a one in, one out type of person but glad I nabbed these when I did and like I say looking forward to this board over the coming months for the live shows.

I'm so pleased that you like it. I've used mine at rehearsals with a moderate drummer and a Gnome sitting on top. With a second cab you should be able to gig with most bands. I hope other people are inspired by you to give it a go. Well done Rob

Ive got just the right suit to match if you wanted to borrow it 😁

It's done! It will be with me next week, pics to follow once it lands

The more I played, the more i liked the cab. The Gnome (which is technically a bass amp) suits it very well for both bass and guitar. I don't have any experience with other small amps so can't comment on the Elf but suspect it would be equally nice. Putting a bass through it, no compression or any pedals sounded great. The gain on the Gnome does make a big difference. It's far better than my Ampeg practise amp RB-108 but it's about twice the price in parts alone with the Gnome. I'll put some pedals on it as well as try it with some modellers, a Tonex and a Mod Dwarf. I'd like to get the Gnome set up with as flat a respective as I can. If I put a microphone into a Mac and ran Audacity would that be a good way to check the frequency response or would there be other recommended ways. It's great to have the Gnome attached on the top or the back as it's basically a small but loud combo. Hopefully a small and decent quality speakon cable will be coming soon. I showed it to the other half and she said how small but perfectly formed it was. The children (19 and 16 so not really children) thought it looked like Lego as well. Definitely a plus. Rob

Here's a black n blue bass that I just completed.

Exclusive at Andertons No idea how limited 'limited' is. There's also a few guitars in the same finish, it looks like the Jazz is the only bass offering. https://www.andertons.co.uk/fender-player-ii-jazz-bass-guitar-lavender-haze/

Definitely 2 of them... Since selling my 1994 Blue TRB6 as a poor mature jazz student to someone on this site in the mid-2000s (that subsequently sold it on a few times and unable to trace), I still massively regret it to this day. I bought it from Chappells in Milton Keynes as a 16 year old after working and saving for a long time. Every so often I look for it, but I've accepted it's likely locked away in it's case somewhere but hope it's being enjoyed by a young bass player somewhere. However after this one came up at Bass Bros I knew I had to try it. I've had many basses over the years but none have ever felt so natural to play. Maybe 10 years of formative learning on an instrument is ingrained in me. So this one was same year albeit different colour. Still, in immaculate condition. Think it was Cairobill's? Although it seems to be like buses...a Black 96 TRB6 also came available. Tbh I wish I could keep both but reality is after losing job last year (FU tech industry) I recently also had to shift my KS Burl Burner which in any other circumstance I'd still have. But man, I got 3 kids to feed... So going to play both for a bit and decide which one stays and which one goes... To this day I'm convinced there is no better value for money and sounding 6 string that these OG Japanese Yamaha's.

Hi all, I’ve been playing bass for many years across a range of settings, mostly on electric, and have followed Basschat for quite some time. I’ve picked up plenty of useful insight here over the years, so it seemed only right to finally join in. Happy to contribute where I can and always interested in hearing how others approach things

Thought it'd be a good idea to start a new thread for this one, as there's more to organise/discuss.

I purchased one of these too, for a first try at double bass. (No shipping hassle as I'm in the Netherlands like Bax shop, so the huge f*cker arrived the next day already.). As already had been mentioned in reviews, the action from the factory is very high and needs to be worked on. I took about a cm of the top of the bridge piece and reconstructed the curving and slots. I also lowered the nut slots a good bit. It plays a lot easier now, though I might lower the nut slots another bit in the future. The stock strings are high tension steel strings, of which the G broke when tuning. Bummer. But Bax is sending me (backorder) a complete new set to replace that string. I'll keep the set as a backup though, as I invested in some Presto nylon strings with a looser feel. They're easier on the fingers too. Once set up with the light gauge Nylon strings and playable low action, I really enjoy fiddling around with it. I can't compare the sound to other double basses as I have no reference or anything, but it sounds decent to my ears. I'm still finding my way on the fingerboard, but it's fun to find out positionings by ear. Once I have more spare time I'll search for some YouTube lessons to get the basics right. Funny thing, how an electric bass neck feels in you hand after playing a db for a good hour. It's a full blown tooth pick experience. Fat baseball bat profile precision bass necks don't exist anymore to me.

First place for me goes to my Fazley jazz bass. It just needed a small truss rod tweak and the frets could be polished, but it was a bargain at £63. Honourable mention to my Spector Icon and Sonicake Pocket Master. My pocket master has meant I've done a lot more practice since I've had it. And I think my Spector will come into it's own when band practice resumes next week. I need to tweak my next Newtone order though. The same gauge strings don't work between my Dingwall and the Spector. A bit too much tension on the high strings and the low ones are a bit loose.

🎶 'So I said to Mrs Scrumpy, please bring me the pies She said "We've only had crumble here since 1969"' 🎶

🎶 What a nice surprise, bring your raffle prize 🎶

Just to add to this, I've used BD several times over the years, I've had nothing but great service! Always buy me strings through them, yeah I can save a couple of £ if i shop around but I don't feel comfortable buying from and online only retailer. With the demise of LGS especially in my neck of the woods, having a physical bass shop like BD is something we should protect.

Hi I will be downstairs again in my usual spot. Been going to the Birmingham show for many years and have always done it with my friend Haydn Williams a guitar builder. It is very helpful to have someone that can look after the shop if either of us has to leave. I will not be in the bass room upstairs so please drop by if you want to see what I have available to try and buy. Alan

Hopefully a limited run of 1.

Indeed, the rick 4004 5 string. most people would hate it for the string spacing, but it is just right for me.

I don't have one of these but there seems to be a simpler way which gives you better control. The Rolls has a built in DI splitter for the instrument. Plug your bass into the jack 'inst in' Your mic into 'mic in' Use the 'mic out' to send to the PA Use 'left out' to send your bass to the PA, 'right out' to send to your bass amp if you have one. Ask foir a FOH mix without bass to feed into your 'line input' You now have complete control of the mix in your in-ears and the PA is getting a clean feed of your bass and mic. The feed from the bass is isolated through a transformer and there are ground lifts on both feeds to the PA should you need to kill any hum p

So the final lists are here, all 500 songs. Its easy to see from the list below that it's all grouped around the 1970's, 1980's and early 1990's. This is borne out by the decades table for the whole 500 This is the list before the last 70 songs and now after the whole 500 songs The 1970's and the 1980's increased their percentage of the songs at the expense of the other decades. Basically more 1970's and 1980's songs in the last 70 songs today. The top band were indeed AC/DC who had the same song recorded 21 times but with different titles (joke joke). Five in the top 50, so 10% of the top 50 were AC/DC. Their average position was 187. Second was Led Zepp with 19 and an average position of 203 Joint third on the list with 18 were Queen (average position 302) and Black Sabbath (average position 229) The average year of the top 10 was 1981, songs 11-20 average year was 1978, Songs 21-30 average year was 1976, Songs 31-40 average year was 1983 and Songs 41-50 was 1980. The oldest song was Chuck Berry - Johnny B. Goode, 1958, which only came in at 418 (travesty IMHO) The newest song was Shinedown - A Symptom of Being Human, 2022, which came in at 259. There were only 50 songs this millennium and their average year was 2008. I make no comment on the quality of the songs (apart from Chuck Berry), I am merely your humble scribe and data analytics person. Enjoy Rob

Placed an order Friday am and it’s already been shipped, excellent service

I stand corrected! With my poor eyesight and a small laptop screen it looked like it said Indonesia. Doh.... lol!

Perhaps somebody on Basschat is local to you who can help with the cutting? My knowledge of the East Anglia area is zilch so can't comment. One option might be to clamp or screw down a length of straight wood on the inside of where the cut should be and to slowly cut through with a hand saw. That's how it used to be done anyway. If you go off the edge, at least it's on the waste side of the wood. That's one of the most difficult bits, the others (to me anyway) are cutting the large hole for the speaker and the port hole. I used a cheap trim router, but it could be done using a small hand saw. I am very happy to print you off the port pipe for nothing and post it down. If you are concerned about making a mess the speaker hole, I can also print you a little cover for the edges to hide any mistakes, that's the thing below. Its amazing what you can hide if you try hard enough There may be other options that people can suggest. If you were closer, you;d be welcome to come round and do it here or take some tools off to try. Rob

What a fantastic place to live with a music culture second to none, I'm jealous! Personally, I'd still keep the pedal; you'll probably make new contacts in Ireland with the skills to diagnose/fix it, and it could still prove an asset at home.

Some listings are on Andertons too: https://www.andertons.co.uk/search.php?search_query=ibanez mode No mention of projected weights. They look nice, and fill a gap for their product range. I would like to see the white with a matching colour headstock though.

Picked up this 6 string combustion from bassbros a couple of weeks back. Been a blast so far. Have a tortoishell pickguard on the way for it

Here are a few scanned pictures from this period ... A trade show @ 1983 / 84 Ashley at the trade show ... Me and Ashley in his workshop (@ 1983 / 84) Some Chieftains being assembled ... A view inside the workshop ...

with an absolute tw@t of a guitarist.... (spoken from experience)

Folks, I've started a new topic for the 2026 Bash. Let's continue discussions over there.

Oh, in case you were wondering what's under there, it's a Warman Drivetrain. I think I forgot to mention it. Keeping it quad core! £31! Insanity.

Five finger death punch are metal for people who don't like metal. Just a bunch of scumbag riffs that go nowhere.

Thanks, I hate it.

Not any more! The postage from the USA for the new badge was brutal, but this rig is all about the look of it, so it had to be done! In other news, our emigration plans have moved up a gear. I don't have time to fix the foot switch and I'll not really need it - so it's available here for postage:

Same with the Ozrics! Excellent gigs...