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New Old Joy Division Bass Day. Just received this 1977 (?) Hondo Ricken-faker, the model made famous by Peter Hook in Joy Division days (before he switched to Shergold Marathon 6 string and Yamaha basses). A few screws missing and signs of age but plays/sounds great and, importantly for me, weighs just 8.2 pounds. Sits nicely next to my Shergold Marathon bass, the Joy Division nerd that I am.

Hi Everyone - I'm certainly one of those bassists who kicked myself for not buying a Rickenbacker 4005 when they were initially available. I started in music retail in 1980 and worked for a Rickenbacker dealer, and had always had an interest in one of these wide-bodied basses. Little did I know at the time that Rickenbacker actually had some NOS models from the 60's still in inventory. The bass was discontinued in 1984. In hindsight, it's actually a good thing I didn't buy one at the time as I'm certain I would have ended up selling it - not because it wasn't a great bass, but because it would take me decades as a player to really appreciate this instrument. So truth be told, the first time I had a 4005 in my hands was about 20 years ago. It was a Mapleglo '66 that I played at the Guitar Center in Hollywood. Man, the shallow neck was fantastic! The bass played like butter, and was strung with flats (as it should have been.) The killer feel haunted me for years and it certainly became a quest for me to own one. As we're all aware, Rickenbacker reissued the 4005 as the 4005V ("V" for Vintage) in 2024 in 3 finishes - Fireglo, Mapleglo and Jetglo. However, I became aware very early on that Rickenbacker had made 2 in custom finishes - this was confirmed when Eddie's Guitars posted a Rickenbacker Factory Tour video early that year: The custom finishes were British Racing Green and Satin Autumnglo. Rickenbacker had done some special runs of models in BRG over the years (and made a few other custom instruments in this finish as well,) but to see a 4005V in that finish was amazing - I fell in love with it immediately! It would be several months before either of these basses would be available for purchase, but I was determined to continue the pursuit. In July 2024, the bass was eventually sold to a dealer and I purchased it immediately. The 4005V has the same wonderful shallow neck feel just like the original models built in the 60's. The basses come strung with round wound strings which (in my opinion) are a mismatch for these basses - their true character is revealed when strung with flats. I immediately removed the rounds and restrung with a set of TI flats which not only sound amazing, they have the low tension feel like the strings which originally came stock on new Rics. To me, this bass was screaming for gold plates: I'm happy to report I've been gigging with the bass ever since, and it fits wonderfully in the mix with my band. This is certainly not a bass for everyone or every type of music, but if you're interested I wholeheartedly recommend it.😀

My Rivolta Duocato arrived today. Unfortunately I had practice tonight so I had very little time with it before I left. I was slightly worried ordering it as although it ticks every box for my needs, I'd never heard of Rivolta and never seen or heard anything they've made. There's no reviews as this is the first batch of twelve made. Well the gamble paid off, I'm a fussy bugger but it is beautiful and flawless. Lovely woods, aged cream bound headstock, fretboard and f hole, double bound body with checker binding to the front, slim neck, lightweight, set up nicely, even arrived in tune from the U.S. It sounds great, although the volume control is a touch on the on/off side but that's not a big deal. I'll get some pictures up over the weekend. I'm one very happy bunny!

😈

Definitely out!

I just wanted to share a very positive experience I had with Ashdown, following purchase of a second-hand ABM-600 IV. The unit I purchased was used from Gear4Music. Unfortunately, it had a few faults... broken VU meter lamp and some distortion that shouldn't be there. To make matters worse, the distortion appeared to be intermittent, so when I returned it to Gear4Music they couldn't replicate the fault I spoke to Dave Green at Ashdown Engineering service team to get some pointers and he suggested that I send it to them so that they could see what the issue was. Unfortunately the problem didn't manifest itself while it was with them, and it showed up again when I was using it, so I sent it back to them for another look. Within two days, the amplifier was returned to me fully working, with a complete set of replacement pre-and power boards. Of course, is working fine as it is essentially brand new. This unit was just out of manufacturer's warranty, so this work was done FOC as a goodwill repair. I think this is an exceptional level of service and care for end customer satisfaction that is very rare nowadays. I understand that Ashdown have repatriated their manufacturing to the UK from China, so they are in a position to continue to provide long term service and support for their products. I did choose Ashdown, because of their design and construction, having been burnt by a Class D amp that was unrepairable out of warranty because the repair process for the ICEPower module was to replace it, no component level repair was supported and the boards were obsolete!. If you want to get long term value and service out of your gear, bear this in mind. Anyway, wanted to share this with the Basschat community and thank Dave Green and Ashdown Engineering for their customer care and integrity as a company!. Best regards, Alex

Hey gang.. Some of the longer-term members here might remember that I play in the house band at Sunday for Sammy, a huge music & comedy show that - until 2020 - happened every couple of years at Newcastle Arena. We've had some amazing guests over the years... Mark Knopfler, Brian Johnson, Trevor Horn, The Auf Wiedersehen Pet cast, Johnny Vegas, etc. But then COVID happened. And then nothing... until now! After 18 months of planning by an amazing team, it all happens again next Sunday. Two shows in one day, with a huge cast, it's a massive logistical challenge. I've been working on the songs in my own time for the last few months, and rehearsals start in earnest tomorrow. In the meantime, the crew loaded in to the rehearsal space today, and we (the core band) popped along in the afternoon to set up and do line checks. Here's some photos - more tomorrow! Two J's at the moment - both with flats. I might switch one for a P. FOH is set up in one of the dressing rooms. Monitors. My drummer pal. Guitar village. My hangout.

There is absolutely no way that a bass guitar gets accidentally delivered to an auction house and then that auction house proceeds to list it for sale. "Oooh, look! Something got accidentally delivered. Let's list it." The whole thing stinks. I'll speculate that someone at the auction house is a fence and uses the business to move on their stolen goods that come in from a network of theives that include contacts in courier companies. The reluctance to cooperate might point towards this incident being just the tip of a large iceberg. If it's gone back into the Parcelforce system it will have a new tracking number, shouldn't it?

Decided to stick mine on a pedalboard. Gonna experiment with how long the power lasts!

That's bizarre. If you have a good reason to believe you've handled stolen property why would you hand the item back to the person/company you got it from, especially if the police are involved?

Does that mean I'm now getting more valuable then....

I have now had an email from Wellers saying it's still in transit back to the consignee and I should hear back early next week about getting it back. I won't be convinced until I actually receive it. I'll do an update next week. Interparcel and Parcel/Force are doing a criminal investigation into its disappearance, as are the Police. I'm not going to give up o this and will continue to make as much fuss about it as possible. The fact is, when I dropped it off at my local Post office, I had it bleeped and got an drop off receipt, but the tacking didn't automatically update. it never did. i think a PF employee spotted this and decided they could steal it and sell it - just my though.....

Ashdown are a very special manufacturer and Dave is an outstanding guy 👍

Different players, music styles, gigs and venues all have different needs. What works for you may no work for another player and there is nothing wrong with this. It doesn't make you more right or the other player more wrong.

Sorry to report I have had a terrible accident. I accidentally drove to Camden tonight and bought a new gig bag. The old one was very tatty. Unfortunately the bass I had ordered to just try out, also accidentally left the shop in the bag after I accidentally paid for both of said items. A terrible state of affairs. I now have 4 basses! I am practically a hoarder now.

For anyone who's interested, I posted a video on YouTube all about 4005 basses (including the 4005V models) in 2024:

Well I ran my first open mic night yesterday at the Legion in Broadstone, Poole. I knew that one of the best Open Mic'ers around was on holiday, and although I have been pushing it for three weeks, I have not had much interest. I used my new Wharfedale Typhon 8AXFs and a single Citronic Casa 10 Sub. I mixed it through my A&H CQ20R mixer using two mics, one a Sontronics Solo, the other was a Behringer BA85A. Two feeds were also connected for instruments. Initially the sound was odd, then I realised that the LH top was set way down on the speaker, and it came to life. There seemed to be no performers present until I said that people could sing to a backing track. One of the lads got up and said he would get his guitar from the car. He told me later that it was a fluke that he had his guitar in the car, and he had not heard that open mic night was happening. I was shocked when he walked back in with an Acoustasonic, and he proceeded to play 6 songs, showing some real skill on the guitar. Later, another chap said he came, although he had almost lost his voice. Both he and Acoustasonic man said that they would be back next month. Finally, a few people got up and sang along to backing tracks. So although the attendance was small, I am encouraged that younger lad said he would bring his Dad on Keyboards next time and Chris, always good for playing as long as you want, is back next month. I am looking forward to it already.

I looked at the seller's profile; a 'proper' gigging bassist who has sold some very tasty gear in the last couple of years! They knew what they were selling but possibly misjudged the value... well it sold in under 1 hour and the description actually said that they'd take £800 for it but no less... as if! LOL

My large pedalboard:

I'd assumed that it's a neck-thru bass but in case not - and the Status website suggests it's not also - surely the best bet is a new neck, won't cost a whole not more than a refret and far lower risk?

Aye... sorry, everyone. Being in an Eagles tribute band will do that to you. I need that bridge pickup for some of the tunes. That's a 2017 American Standard, and it's blummin' lovely! OK - that's four days of rehearsals over... I'm knackered, but so far, so good. It's a great batch of songs, but inevitably the trickiest tune of the lot has had a late-in-the-day key change. As a non-reader, it keeps things spicy. We're in to the Arena tomorrow night to check lines & monitors, and have a couple of run-throughs before a day of full production rehearsals on Saturday. There's 13 in the band: Drummer (founder member of Lindisfarne), Keys (Ex-Dire Straits, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton), Keys / Violin / MD (Ex-Sting), Guitar #1 (Ex-Tygers of Pan Tang), Guitar #2 (Ex Arctic Monkeys / Last Shadow Puppets), 4x Brass (Including The 1975's sax player), 3x BVs (including the lady who sang 'I'll Do Anything for Love' with Meat Loaf) ...and little 'ol me. I'm on double-duty - I'm also responsible for the content on the video screens, which is nice as I get to make sure the visuals closely match the music. I'm looking forward to it all coming together. There was a segment about the show on the One Show on the BBC this evening if anyone's interested. Here's some more pics!

Even high quality brands have to deal with physics.

First coats of clearcoat today which is toning down the red nicely.

I did my first singing open mic last night. Not sang in public since I was wearing shorts and did "Where is love?" from Oliver in the school play. I did two songs of my own, "Blues ain't no good to me" and "Another lonely man". Sadly I didn't do "Where is love?" in my best Aled Jones voice as various structural body arrangements shortly after the school play, meant I could no longer hit the higher notes or quite a few of the lower notes either. Never sung with a microphone, never sung whilst playing a guitar and never in front of a crowd. So popped my cherry a number of times there. Thankfully they were gentle and of the six people who did things I was the only one with original material so that was a slight bonus. People were very nice afterward. A Sennheiser E935 is now winging it's way to me. Not making that mistake with a mic again and will practise an awful lot more. I didn't bomb but I did learnt a lot. Rob

Dave and the team are great. I had a wide boy 500 head that I stood on it`s end after a gig in the Hard Rock Cafe in Glasgow, I turned my back and heard a thump and down it went. Gubbed. Spoke to Dave and I sent it down to them, they repaired it and sent it back via TNT and wouldn`t take any kind of payment so sent them some sweeties. I would still use an ABM of some description but having to lug about the band pa means I have a Rumble 800 but Ashdown`s service is second to none.

Yep I’ve decided to go for this approach, some bits - the parts to me that stand out - I’m doing note for note, mainly verse, chorus and some rundowns, the rest I’m near but keeping to the feel.

Blimey that takes me back - Eric's was such a small intimate venue, it was being in someone's living room! (a very dark, very sweaty one...) I was right at the front of the stage but don't recognise the back of my head. Amazing gig; the energy of the band and the raw angst coming off Ian Curtis was absolutely electrifying. Nice to see the old members notice too: OMD were pretty much the "house band" at the Uni Students Union back then - Echo & the Bunnymen, Wah Heat! and The Teardrop Explodes were frequently there too. Great days. Funnily enough was clearing out some stuff the other day and found my old membership card. Sorry for going off topic - I've never personally had great experiences with Hondos, but this is clearly a pretty special one to have.

Try fresh boxers or slips, my friend.

My small pedalboard:

It would be worth talking to Parcelfarce to see what the situation is from their end.

Direct from Canada 🍁... -- https://www.broughtonaudio.com/product-page/resonant-filter-equalizer So the cool thing this does is let you have a boost in your EQ, immediately followed (or preceded) by a steep cutoff. This can be also be achieved using digital effect like the HX Stomp by combining multiple filters, but to the best of my knowledge the RFE is the only analogue, single-box solution on the market. I couldn't get a head-on photo without shadows or reflections, so here's a bit of the stock one so you can read the labels: Aaaaaaaand here come the graphs... First the high pass filter: Yellow: minimum resonance (-3dB) 7:00 on the dial Green: medium resonance (6dB ish) 12:00 Purple: maximum resonance (15dB) 5:00 Left trace: minimum frequency (25Hz): 11:00 on the dial Middle trace: medium frequency (80Hz): 6:00 Right trace: maximum frequency (190Hz): 1:00 The mid filter: Yellow: minimum resonance (-15dB) 7:00 on the dial Purple: maximum resonance (15dB) 5:00 Left trace: minimum frequency (200Hz): 11:00 on the dial Middle trace: medium frequency (750Hz): 6:00 Right trace: maximum frequency (2kHz): 1:00 And the low pass filter: Yellow: minimum resonance (-3dB) 7:00 on the dial Green: medium resonance (6dB ish) 12:00 Purple: maximum resonance (15dB) 5:00 Left trace: minimum frequency (330Hz): 11:00 on the dial Middle trace: medium frequency (1.5kHz): 6:00 Right trace: maximum frequency (20kHz): 1:00 But what does it sound like? Bypassed: A1 bypassed.mp3 All controls at "default" (12:00 resonance, 6:00 frequency): A2 default.mp3 So what you're hearing is a small bump around 80Hz, with lows beneath that rolled off. And small bump around 1.5kHz, with highs above that rolled off. The mid filter's not doing anything here. And after some twiddling until it sounded nice: A3 adjusted.mp3 High pass at 1:00 resonance (7dB), 7:30 frequency (60Hz) (all values approximate) Mid at 10:30 (-5dB), 5:00 (800Hz) Low pass at 1:00 (7dB), 5:00 (2.5kHz) Bypassed with a plectrum: B1 bypassed.mp3 I forgot to write down the settings here, but it's an example of the odd, characterful sounds you can create: B2 adjusted.mp3 Bypassed with flats, a foam mute, and a Poundland Jamerson impression: C1 bypassed.mp3 The RFE can be used to mimic the way old-school speaker cabinets often had a frequency peak right before they started rolling off the lows and highs: C2 adjusted.mp3 High pass at 3:00 resonance, 7:30 frequency Mid at 1:00, 9:30 Low pass at 12:00, 5:30 Which gives an EQ curve like this: It's pretty cool! As I mentioned, this kind of thing is easy enough to achieve in the digital realm, but there's something very direct and satisfying about having all the physical controls there to be fiddled with. It also works great with guitars, and can be powered with higher voltages in order to take line-level signals - there's probably fun to be had combining this with synths.

Probably depends on who the person/company you got it from actually is, if it's Parcelforce then perhaps justified as he could argue it was sent to him in error by them and that the owner needs to resolve this with them who he'd paid to deliver it? But why would you not return calls or talk to Police. At present it all smells a bit wrong doesn't it........

Update regarding Wellers Auctions, Guilford and the stolen Limelight bass 00315 - I've still not got it back. When the bass was first spotted on Wellers Auction site I phoned up first thing the following day and it was withdrawn from sale. I spoke to Andrew Snelgar he said he would get the bass back to me. He then emailed a little later and said he wanted to return it to the consignee. As this was the person/company who may well have been involved with its theft, and also trying to sell it, I said no, don’t do that. I heard nothing back. I emailed again stating how uncomfortable I was with his suggestion. Again nothing. Eventually I spoke to him a few days later and he informed me that he had returned the bass to the consignee. He said I would hear from them in a few days regarding getting my bass back to me – nothing. He also ignores all my phone call and email. I recorded both phone conversations with Andrew – The Police have both these recording The Police are now involved and I have a crime number.

I'm struggling to find a decent vanity shot of the bass before I dyed the board, but the first shot below should suffice. The board was quite light brown and (for me) didn't really fulfill the all-black look I was after.

Two sets plus songs for encores/spare I think. I remember learning all of them although it was rare the have more than a badly recorded tape! We used to take turns having the Dire Straits song book.

That's lovely - another triumph for the thread that pretends it is not encouraging the most extravagant and unneccessary purchases! 🙂

I've had two Powersoft units for a long time; the one I bought from @Acebassmusic was a replacement for one I sold in a fit of absent-mindedness during Covid. Wonderfully light (in context!), totally reliable.

I’m a session bassist with 20 years of experience, currently based in Da Nang, Vietnam. I’ve decided to put my two main workhorses head-to-head to see how they handle different grooves. In this video, I’m comparing: 1. Fender American Elite Jazz Bass (Ultra pickups). 2. Custom Made Music Man 5 HH (with a unique Solid Rosewood Neck). Signal Chain: Both basses were recorded through my Kemper Player using a legendary Avalon U5 profile for that pure studio DI sound. Watch the comparison here: I’ve included on-screen TABS and Notation for both, so you can see exactly what's happening in the pocket. I'm currently working towards my 4,000-hour goal on YouTube, so I’d love to hear your thoughts on which bass sits better in the mix for you. Does the rosewood neck on the MM give it that extra 'snap' you'd expect? Cheers, Igor"

Asda sell them

The first band I was in, about 86-88, - Drastic Action - the BL was obsessed by Dire Steaits although he thought he was Guitar George... do we did several Dire Straits covers with no lead guitar! Testament to how good the songs are of themselves. As well as Sultans we did Six Blade Knife, wild west end and Down to the Waterline.

a little bird...... the question i would ask rob is are the grooves cut deep to accept frets or are they just for the lines?? A phenolic (sometimes called Richlite) fingerboard can definitely be fretted, but it behaves differently from traditional woods like rosewood or maple. Phenolic is a dense, synthetic composite material, so there are a few considerations: Key Points Durability: Phenolic is extremely tough and stable. It resists wear better than most woods, which is why it’s often used on fretless basses. This toughness also means it can hold frets securely once installed. Workability: Cutting fret slots and shaping the radius is possible, but you need sharp tools and patience. The material is harder on saw blades and files than wood. Fretting Process: Frets can be tapped or pressed in, but some luthiers recommend using glue (like hide glue or CA) to ensure they stay seated, since phenolic doesn’t compress around the tang the way wood does. Existing Lines: If your bass already has fret lines cut into the phenolic board (common on fretless instruments with “lined” fingerboards), those grooves can be used as guides for installing actual frets. The challenge is whether the slots are the correct depth and width for fret tangs. If they’re shallow or narrow, they’ll need to be recut. Tone & Feel: Fretted phenolic fingerboards tend to sound bright and articulate, with a snappy attack compared to wood. Some players love this clarity, while others find it less warm. Risks & Considerations If the fret slots aren’t properly prepared, frets may not seat well and could pop out. Phenolic dust can be irritating when sanding or cutting, so protective gear is recommended. Once fretted, the instrument loses the smooth fretless feel that phenolic boards are prized for, so it’s worth considering whether you’d prefer to keep it fretless. If your lined phenolic fingerboard already has grooves in the right places, it’s not an “issue” to fret it—it’s more about ensuring the slots are cut to proper dimensions and using the right installation technique. Would you like me to walk you through the specific steps a luthier would take to convert a lined fretless phenolic board into a fretted one?

This one is going with a mint green pickguard…

Would be good to hear an update on this after all the effort that was put in by quite a few on BC. Dave

IME the whole point of amps that can drive 4Ω loads is not that swapping your 8Ω cab for a 4Ω one will make it louder but the fact that you can run two 8Ω cabs which if done properly will give you twice the driver area which will be noticeably louder,

I might read the above like: Two speakers from the same manufacturer that look the same but have different impedances are two different speakers. Depending on the amp it is hard to say which speaker is really louder. Lower impedance may be harder load for the amp and therefore higher impedance cab can be even louder.