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This is where we're at, all sprayed and waiting for the two ebony ones to harden This is the surface as is now before sanding back, thankfully they came out pretty good in the end

Joanna is complete apart from a new nut and a bit of fret levelling, it's been a useful test bed and is shaping up to be a good bass. I had a spare neck and pretty much all the hardware sitting around so it's used up a few spare parts.

Jule Amps Monique tube preamp inte Vanderkley Spartan with two Hypex power amp modules, 2 x 800 W RMS in 4 ohms, then into an AccuGroove Tri112L... I haven't tried with my big TKS 2126 cabs, but I doubt it'll be worse...

I’m a huge fan of this series, but I only just came across this episode and it blew me away. Such a lovely groove.

Nope. Post Brexit I'd probably make a point of buying foreign gear

Apart from the handle (which I should be getting screws for soon), I'm calling this finished. Here it is at a festival gig last night. Outdoor marquee gig (festival) with PA support so no extension cab needed. Was more than loud enough for monitoring on a largeish stage.

M Del Var's map updated:

Alan’s almost finished, and he’s done a stupendous job as always. Stunning

Whilst we're on the subject of geography & hats, my guide to headwear of the British Isles... SCOTTISH HAT IRISH HAT WELSH HAT NORTHERN HAT PEAKY BLINDERS HAT SOUTHERN TW*T IN A HAT

For the avoidance of confusion I lay before you a map which indicates the location of the North of England.

Correct. It's an Americanism, because they're a bit thick and forget the first bits of words. Hence "neighbourhood" becomes "hood" (after becoming "neighborhood" because they can't spell either), "parent" becomes "rent", "suburbs" becomes "burbs", and "magazine" becomes "zine". American independence was actually a way of increasing the average IQ of the British Empire.

https://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/arts-entertainment/wedding-band-decides-time-is-right-for-one-of-their-own-songs-20190706187214

Mrs Deedee bought me a Peaky Blinders style titfer a while ago which I may well decide to model at some gigs in the future. This decision will ultimately hinge on the position of my ever receding hairline weighed against the odds of the band turning into a northern Village People tribute band as a result of my selfish hat wearing. 🤔

None of them are that good, due to the flat shape and dirt getting constantly trapped/building up around the bridge and strings. Also, its quite easy to get your foot stuck in the cut-out.

I'm glad you asked. Musicians have for thousands of years worn hats. Thucydides remarks in book IV of his 'Pantechnicon': "Οι μουσικοί όλοι φορούσαν φρυγικά καπάκια. Θεώρησαν ότι τους έκανε να φαίνονται έξυπνοι, αλλά μοιάζουν με Smurfs" (trans: The musicians were all wearing Phrygian caps. They thought it made them look smart but they just looked like Smurfs) Lyrist and Flautist in Phrygian caps serenade man with stick The practice persisted down through the ages but the most influential manifestation of the musical hat came to pass when jazz musician Lester 'Prez' Young saw a wide-brimmed pork pie hat in a shop window and thought 'That would be a nice change from my customary straw boater which is looking a bit past it if I'm really honest'. That night Young wore his new hat to a jam session at the house of his friend Dexter 'Moondog' Van Buren*. Young's hat excited widespread approval, Van Buren observing: 'Ah mo gits me a hat like ol' Prez hyah, mebbe gits me sum jelly-roll too, Dad'. Lester 'Prez' Young with hat Young's hat became such a trademark that Frank Sinatra bought one and upon Young's death Charles Mingus composed the song 'Goodbye Pork Pie Hat' ** Subject to a certain narrowing of the brim the pork pie hat has remained pre-eminent among jazz head wear, outlasting trends such as the beret, the turban and the snap-brim fedora. The pork pie's high visibility among musicians noted for their technical prowess has made it an obvious choice for ageing pop and rock musicians no longer able to trade on their fading good looks or bodily tautness. The pork pie hat says to the audience: 'I may be a wrinkly old geezer who can't get it up but by Christ you will respect my chops and say stuff like "He's playing better than ever. It's called maturity, y'see" ' For older bass players the pork pie is not simply optional; it is essential. Nobody cares about bass players anyway and the older bass player is in the worst place of all: a non-entity with one foot in the grave. A pork pie hat adds a tiny hint of zing where none existed hithertofore. That is why bass players wear hats. Possibly / no / no / yes / possibly You do not need to acquire a hat. In fact, I would counsel a contrarian stance and advise you not to acquire a hat. But if you must get a hat either commit yourself 100% to the pork pie hat or seek out exotica such as a Native American War Bonnet or a U-Boat Commander's Sou'Wester with Kriegsmarine insignia You're entirely welcome. * Dexter Van Buren was an emigre middle class college lecturer from Croydon, England and given to affecting jazz patois. ** Mingus composition story is true.

Well Yamaha do mention that the strings are as above, so I’d be surprised if they do have a custom set on them. Since i posted this motoring I think ive got the ultimate set up for me and this bass now. I just cant stop playing it. 2.25mm on the E and .013 neck relief. No buzz unless i really dig in, and only on the E string, ive found I’m playing a bit lighter with this bass anyway, so its all good.....more than good in fact.

A few more little jobs done today. I'm just finishing anything that may cause scratches etc. before I get round to the final sanding on the neck. Drilled the holes for the neck and cut the neck screws down in length as they were long enough to go all the way through the fretboard. No idea why but one of the screws decided to snap! I was quite lucky as there was enough showing in the neck that I could remove it carefully with pliers. Any less showing and it would have been a nightmare of having to drill it out..... The screw came out without too much fuss and, most importantly, without causing any damage or scratches. I had another screw which I trimmed then fitted the neck. I've also made the cavity cover template a little tighter fitting so there is a little less gap around it (wasn't masses around the original, I'm just being picky!!) so I'll make the new cover tomorrow.

I was looking for a good Music Man for a while, that needed to have a lacquered neck. I don't like the oiled ones as much.. Today I went for a drive to pick up this 30th anniversary model! Its such a beautiful bass... Tommorow I'll be done with the set up and give it a spin. I haven't heard it with proper fresh strings yet, but it sounded great already with dead rounds. So I guess flats would sound great too. First I'll mount a set of fat beams for full Stingray aggression

Now there’s a bold statement! In other news, my Dingwall Super P is having some work done at The Gallery in Camden (replacing the original tone knob with a Tonestyler) so the BB735a has been promoted to “main bass” position. Just been playing it for the past half hour and my god - I’d forgotten how good it was. It still has the stock setup and strings as it played so well out of the box...and I’m in zero rush to change anything. The action is actually slightly higher than I would have it if I were setting it up myself but it just works! The Dingwall better watch its back I’m currently in the market for a passive 5 string Jazz and, to my shame, I was actually contemplating selling the BB to raise funds. Not gonna happen now. The Yammy is going nowhere in a hurry.

Nice map! A bit of detail added. 👍

They could use a hacked PayPal account. My advice is whenever selling via Gumtree, only ever use cash on collection. They come, they try it, inspect it, pay cash and leave. Always have someone else in the house with you too.

Here's your answer! Well played, Mr. Clarky.. I'll do something ASAP.

Now *that* is what I call a blog post. Sort of Mr Abusing after anger management. Probably just wants something about bass in there — can we shoehorn in something about Alfred-Lord’s secret double life as a gypsy punk single-bassist? Or maybe Armitage plays cajon?

This intrigues me as I feel the direct opposite about gloss necks. Playing them makes me feel like I’m wading through treacle! Goes to show, different strokes for different folks.

“UK Prime Minister makes alternative travel arrangements after refusing to use Eurostar for crunch Brexit talks”

My black 1991 SB-1

That's because there's a DR distributor keeping price high in UK. Probably cheaper to buy Abroad.

This is a question all about setup and nothing to do with the bass itself.

Superthunderstingcar

Alas, i fear I'll be grazing my nuckles on the inside of my coffin lid by the time the post becomes vacant. Plus, I suspect that in these more enlightened times the Powers That Be would prefer to appoint someone more relevant to today's society than an ageing reprobate like myself. My guess is that it will be that Diseased Rascal chappy (I may have misheard his name but you'll know the one i mean. Stocky cove, fond of hats, appropriately enough....)

The guitarist in our acoustic band did a gig in a metal WW2 ARP helmet and another gig in a proper army pith helmet. If you're gonna wear a hat do it properly. Oh yeah, I forgot about the Fez!

Come on, this is bass chats Needs a new bass, cab and amp

I think this fella is great. Just cracks on and has a great selection of basses too. I particularly love the sound of the T40 Peavey he uses on this one:

Nah preamps are great fun

Honestly those countersunk angled bolts are not massively new tech or voodoo hoodoo, actually the same principle applies to the straight 4 bolts with a lag screw principle. The body hole is slightly overdrilled so the screw does not bite, therefore when you tighten it, it pulls the other object (neck in this instance), into the body. It’s used all the time in other applications

Just bizarre! I have just checked over my 3 basses with them on..... no rust. And the “freshest” are a good 3 months on the bass. QC issues or something in a certain batch perhaps?

Doesn't anyone on BC actually like "rehearsing" simply for the fun of it? My current (covers) band is almost gig ready, we are improving the songs we know and adding more material, but even if we weren't I'd be happy to meet up and just play. Last rehearsal started with the drummer asking wheter I#d prefer to play throughh the whole set list or work on specific songs - I could see the benefit in both but we agreed to work on specific songs anyone was having troble with. Started with a new song which everyone had learnt. Rough around the edges but not bad. The singer worked on singing without referring to lyrics The drummer had been working on adding fills The guitarist wanted to work on the endings of a few songs I worked on BVs - only he second time I've tried, and fills on a few tracks We stopped for a break midway through, and jammed a new song suggestion at the end. Best rehearsal we've had for a while even though we had no clear plan because we all came aay thinking we sounded bettter after the session than before. I should add I do not practice at home. I work on learning songs, or adding fills but playing bass along to pre-recorded track is deeply dull. If you are gigging weekly theres no need to rehearse but frankly I wouldn't want to gig every week.

As opposed to what they have now...?

Thought I’d do a quick update on my P34. Tomorrow is the first gig with it so this is just based on a rehearsal and 3 weeks at home. First off i love the tone. Its not quite as thick as my Fender P, but has a bit more mid poke, which is really cool. Ive always strived to get a finger tone, as i play mostly with a pick and don’t really like it a lot of the time. I can normally get close to sounding like finger playing with my BDDI, but this bass seems to get me very close without needing any effects. In fact i think this bass shines without needing my much loved BDDI. Ive always felt the need for a pre amp pedal in the past, but the P34 seems to not need it. The notes are all very articulate and clear, which makes me play better. The notes also all seem very well balanced volume wise, and ive started to use the higher frets on the E string more. In the past these got a bit too thick and boomy. It sounds silly but i find i can groove better with this bass. Even the band said it made them sound better lol. I can now start to produce the tones and style ive tried to in the past, but without the compromises i kept finding. I’ve been struggling for two weeks to get this playing As good as when it arrived. Since changing strings it’s almost got to the point where when i sit down to play, i get the Allen keys and ruler out. Maybe I’m obsessing too much about the action, but my Fender has a 2mm action on the E, and I’d expect, maybe wrongly, that this bass can do it as well. In fact i put some EB Slinky’s on it and took them off two days later, they just felt very wrong. Ive never used them before though so its not a bass issues. Ive recently started using Pro Steels, which i love for thair tone and feel. Its probably more an OCD thing, but most of my other basses can get a 2mm action, yet this one struggles, even though none of the frets are high. In fact i cant find any faults with this bass at all, so i guess its just me and i will settle down. Same strings on my 425, Fender P and P34. The 425 ive not really bothered with, it plays fine and i dont think ill be using it much anyway. The Fender wont get used much as ive found a better P bass now. I notice Yamaha suggest 3mm action at the E/12th. Thats pretty high for me, but i can settle on 2.25mm. one slight concern though, is the truss rod. To get a decent bow in the neck, say .013 - .015, the TR nut feels like its not even gripping. Its not rattling, and if i turn it th either way its working fine, but it just feels very loose. Never had a TR that felt like this before. I’m hoping its ok, and my one fear is the relief will change on its own. In fact I’m starting to think it is, and thats why i keep adjusting the bass. At the moment though its spot on and i played it for a sold 3 hours last night. I’d love to say ‘this is the one’, and once i get over the setup issues I’m sure ti will be. Ive never had such a perfect tone from a P bass. In fact I’d say there is a bit of that jazz snarl in there, and thats just from the neck pup. The one big negative is the finish on the back of the neck. I really hate it. I much prefer gloss, as i tend to slide my hand rather than just move it. Poor technique probably, and Its not that i cant play it, but i find its very sticky. Ill probably get it glossed at some point, but for now ill live with it. Anyway, the feeling is i made the right choice getting this (thanks again Bas), and i has rekindled my interest in playing again. Gig report to follow tomorrow. Its at the Hampstead summer festival so a good starter.

Game changer! That is all

With his more than passing resemblance to Fred; mystery-solving pal of Scooby-doo, I'd imagine him driving one of these.....

Amazon ripped off a group of disabled kids in an after school group,I help out with. The kids had spent 18 months raising money by collecting cans, making and selling badges etc etc. Amazon screwed them for £150 and when trading standards got involved told them they were too big to sue and sadly trading standards said they probably are. There is nothing in this world I need desperately enough to use those scumbags.

glad to hear. But it's not at rehearsal that they may play up. It's at a gig, with wifi for the patrons, big fridges cycling on and off, 100 punters' (hopefully) iphones , PA router etc . You won't know til you're out there, always have a cable at the ready , just in case. Even the best ones can run into interference.