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I’ve had this for about a month now, it’s a seriously amazing bass. With the exception of a very brief period in my first year at university, I’ve been playing six string basses for at least ten years. A lot of the players who influence what I do are playing fives tuned E to C, so I thought I’d try it. Apart from a bit of jazz, I mostly play solo stuff, which this is perfect for.

Never heard of them before, no idea why. Superb playing, enjoy!

I see this years Download turned into the usual mudbath, why do people go? massive queues, way overpriced drinks, sanitary conditions that would shame a 3rd world country, miles from the stage ( and if you do get anywhere near idiots think it's good fun to throw pints of fosters) and iffy sound depending where you're standing, and that's before the lottery with the weather. I wouldn't go to Downpour of Glastonbury if you gave me a ticket. The only reason I'd be there was if I was playing, and that's about as likely to happen as finding a sub £5 pint of watered down lager

Back from a week in the Scottish Highlands. 7 hour drive back but the first thing that I saw, despite being completely kn******d, when I opened the door was @TheGreek 's bass and it made me smile Today, I've been stripping back the test stain and doing the full stain on the neck, followed by a couple of coats of Danish Oil. It'll take a couple more to fully seal the wood and the stain and then I will 'satin' it with a very light slurry-and-buff. Then it should be just a case of transferring the electrics, polishing up the frets and reassemble. The plan was to stain the neck to a similar depth of colour of the unstained wood body with a colour tone different but complimentary to the top and back. In that the final finishing will soften everything a touch and the neck will end up the same satin look as the body, I'm quite chuffed with this. What I'm particularly pleased with is that - certainly in real life - it looks more like a well cared-for original rather than a full blown contemporary makeover. Excepting last minute surprises, ETA is that it should be all sorted before the end of this coming week.

I think this is beautiful.

You only need one guitar??? Doesn't that depend on how long you want to keep your fire going?? Go on...chuck another one on...

Is their sound or what they play? If it was just their sound you'd able to tell from a single note, but I bet no-one here could identify any bassist from a single note, so the note choice and phrasing must be equally if not more important than the sound itself.

Done my first gig in 20 years yesterday, outdoor stage at a local Highland games festival, doing some covers. Strange sort of experience as the weather was very, very windy, cold and the audience was about 50 yards away in a beer tent. Still, done now and we have a gig a month over the next 4 months, so it might just be worth doing.

None. I need food, water and air. Everything else is an indulgence. You only need one pair of shoes, one jacket, one knife, one fork, etc. Who lives their life like that, though? Soon, we’ll all be dead so do what makes you happy and don’t worry about what other people think.

I got this from @stewblack I hope he doesn't mind me using his 'before' pic: This is the non-active version. read any review of a 1A and people will say 'I use it with the active switched off', because these basses come from before the days of active-optimised pickups that sound weedy when used direct. It's definitely a bass, the old strings sounded dull, I replaced them with new Elite Stadium stainless and it sounds much nicer but still doesn't sound bright. The output is very high too so I suspect these pickups have LOTS of windings - they have a reputation for sounding more like a precision than a precision. I haven't done much: Generally cleaned it all, including the crud off the fingerboard (acetone) which I then oiled. Most cleaning was with 'grip filth' wipes although it wasn't very dirty. Lots of dings and varnish worn through in a couple of places. Took the bridge and knobs off and eventually got the lacquer off with an overnight soak in nitromors. Then pickled in vinegar and salt, then brasso, then Windsor and Newton lacquer (which will come off with white spirit). One intonation screw was snapped sort so i replaced them. Evidence of a different bridge before the old one put back. The three non-brass screws seem to be replacements for sheared off screws so teh brass-colour ones i put in as replacements woudl only go in at an angle to avoid the stub of the old screw , ho hum! Added a couple of straplock buttons, then fitted the elite strings. I could see the marks from where the bridge used to sit, used these a a guide and took little effort to get decent action and spot on intonation despite rather worn frets. Bootiful and a lovely blast from the past.

One more than I currently have.

It’s highly unlikely that I’ll ever have 3 Mustangs in the pack again, so for the brief period that this is the case I thought I’d grab a quick pic...

Some patches for you (in attached Zip) Green is based on Mike Dirnt's sound in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwVKj3whFcs Duff Slap is trying to get a tone like Duff MCkagen circa Velvet Revolver Blood FST started out trying to be a sort of Royal Blood thing but then went a bit 'Satan's fairground Organ'/'Choir of Angry Robots' DrFkenstein is basically the sound of 1970s blacksploitation movies. And some Guitar Sounds too! Stangry is an attempt at ST Anger Period Hetfield Gun is a Slashy cocked-wah solo tone. There are screenshots of Zoom Guitar Lab for each in the folder too. Have fun!Basschat.zip

middle aged is young to me

Not a Spector design but this is by far my favourite super Jazz with Aguilar pups and pre:-

Erm... Worried now It is very white though

Peter Hook is pretty unmistakable

Spectracomp - cheap, unobtrusive but gives that nice fatness

I think it was his "Compression 101" post - https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/30431-is-a-compressor-of-any-real-value-in-fast-rock-music/page/3/?tab=comments#comment-1148269

Update on this work of art! This pic is from a while ago, only just got round to putting it on here. The bass is really taking shape. Chris and Al doing a great job!

@Bobby D has 3 preamps with DI’s for sale on here right now, one being a Sadowsky......

This looks great. It's a very similar colour to my SB465, both the top and the staining.

Tech21 DP3X is the nuts. You want cheap as chips and bombproof 1st Gen Hartke VXL (normally around £50 second hand) with great sounds, Not my cuppa but some of the Darkglass pedals have DI outs - out of all of them the AO is easily the best. Two Notes LeBass Aguilar Tonehammer For a straight DI box you could go REDDI or Khan to enhance your sound. My vote is the Tech21 DP3x for having it all in a tiny package, so good I think @Dood did 2 reviews on it!

Pete mentioned above about checking out Gary Karr (highly recommended) Somewhere on YouTube there is a video of him in his front room playing the Rachmaninoff piece, 'Vocalise'. I think it's the last of the romances he composed (14 in all). It's stunning. Very moving the way he plays it on the Bass. I believe he was 73/74 when he played it and still had his chops together. A couple of wobbly bits, but a lovely sentimental performance.

Tort on black works for me, but then so does white pearl. Only one thing for it.....fight!!!

My much loved mojo machine. Not much of the original finish left on it.

It’s why I love the Rebellion Festival - 200+ punk/Oi bands over 4 days, INDOORS! All stages have decent loos and the drinks/food in there whilst not cheap is ok, and being smack in the middle of Blackpool town centre all your regular fast-food establishments are within easy walking distance. And they say us punks/skins are the stoopid ones!

Must be a young persons thing. Not for me either. Dave

Saw them on that tour at Glasgow. Was hugely impressed by Max Webster. Bought the album and their bass player was a great player as well as a bit of a showman.

I'd completely forgotten about this Max Webster ('Flex Lobster') track. I saw them supporting Rush at Hammersmith, they were promoting A Million Vacations. Good band.

I think coffee table legs on this bass might be a mod too far!

Beautiful job. I have a soft spot for all things Westone Thunder

I won’t argue with your points, but that tone is still that tone. It is a classic design but not without its faults and tonal limitations. The Hofner Beatle type bass and Gibson EB3 are also classic designs that are really not going to achieve the ‘suitable for any genre’ nature of Jazz and Precision designs. People don’t buy Rickenbackers, or Hofner Beatle basses and expect to be able to play them with the ease of say a Dingwall, Sadowsky or Spector or for them to deliver the same variety of tones. People don’t really buy Rickenbackers if they want a bass that is going to need to cover number of different styles or tones. They just buy a Rickenbacker bass because they want it to sound like a Rickenbacker bass. They are always going to be marmite basses and the way that they company operates also makes them difficult to root for on forums such as this.

I think I might have just solved the decent looking badge conundrum for us too

I dunno where you woz taught, but I woz always taught, a guard on a 'burst Jazz has gotta be tort!

Jean jacques-Burnel, the one, the only

Yeah, Danny’s tone is instantly recognisable. Pino’s fretless playing is also unmissable for me. Mick Karn’s is another. Perhaps it’s an unfretted thing.

To be fair, it is a signature model for a player who made his name (to the extent that underground stoner bassists who play tuned down to C can make their name ) playing the old style 4001s. It was hardly going to be a massive design change in terms of ergonomics and features. It is a bass designed for a specific player who really likes the original classic design. It is no different than the numerous ‘signature’ Fender Jazz and Precision models which are barely any different from Fender’s normal line of Jazz and Precision models. it is strange though that Rickenbacker have never ever bothered to try out an entirely new bass design. They pretty much found one bass design in the 1960s and have pretty much stuck it ever since, warts and all (and there are a lot of warts). Also, the green inlays are basically kind of an in joke on the basis that Al Cisneros smokes a lot of weed.

If it doesn't need to be specifically a Fender, the Lakland Skyline 44-64 Custom is a P bass with a J pickup at the bridge and a J neck.

Edit: looks like this discussion is gearing towards 'all Ken Smith', so I modified the title accordingly! Good morning! I'm late with this, as I bought the bass now few weeks ago already - however! It would be a crime not to share it with you all I have a strict rule of 1 in, 1 out, and I generally only own 2 basses at a time (if not just one sometimes), AND I only have GAS attacks once every 6 to 8 years, so when that time comes, I GAS hard I present to you my latest purchase, this time justified as a birthday present to myself: a beautiful 2004 Ken Smith Black Tiger BSR6TN! Specs: Neck: 5-piece Laminated Aged Hardrock Maple & Bubinga with Graphite-Inlaid Bars Fingerboard: Macassar Ebony with MOP Top & Side Dots & matching Macassar Ebony Headstock Overlay Body Wings: 3-piece, Bookmatched Rare Figured Black Walnut Top, Walnut Back & Tiger Maple Core Hardware: Gold with Dunlop "Flush Mount" Straploks Pickups: Smith Custom Bass Humbucking Pickups Electronics: Smith B.M.T. 3-band 18-volt EQ Circuit with adjustable DIP Frequency switches for Bass, Mid & Treble with Pickup Blend and Master Volume Control (push/pull Active/Passive) + Series/Parallel Switches String spacing: 18mm Scale: 34 Finish: Classic Hand Rubbed Dutch Varnish over Stradivari Gold Oil Pretty much the most comfortable and fastest neck I've put my hands on, and it has an awesome character. Will enjoy spending the next few hundreds of hours getting to know her better! Happy times!

I can’t tell you why (because I don’t really know), but I’d go for the bottom one - MM at the neck, J at the bridge.

Went to IoW a few years back, luckily I was working so had back stage access, and in and out via artist entrance (which still had sniffer dogs checking everyone 😮). Was so glad I could get away quickly - it was horrific. Crammed with not particularly chilled, friendly festival types,.Sound bleed coming in to the big tent from the Radio 1 Introducing stage only a few metres away, noise from a huge bungie ride, and the bar/club directly opposite, all of which could be heard onstage. Just glad I wasn't playing. Loved Bishopstock - blues festival that only had 10,000 capacity and one main stage.

Sponsored by British Gas?

Nice! White for me, although I'd be tempted to get a mint green one 😬

We once auditioned a drummer who not only had the fancy drummers gloves, but special fancy drummers shoes. On seeing this, the guitarist muttered to me; "this guy will either be amazing, or totally shite" Guess which he was...... Back to OP - 17 basses, but the slightly worrying thing is that I have a different strap for each one

Never ever, under any circumstance should a pearl scratchplate be fitted to anything other than a Hofner. 🙂