Leaderboard

Available now: George Formby Sings Lou Reed's Greatest Hits When I put a spike into my vein And I tell you Ee! It's turned out nice again

You're all missing the obvious. You won't need any spares, because you look after your kit and you check it before every gig. What you need to know is which spares and tools will be needed by the rest of the band ...

I know it looks a little bit Rowan Atkinson, but this is the mod I did to the Stewmac binding channel Dremel tool. I used it on a previous build, forgot all about it for the top binding of this one and then remembered so did it again for the back binding channel. And yes, it's just a couple of strips of maple super-glued to the jig But the problem with the jig is that, with a top heavy Dremel on top, it is almost impossible to keep the tool vertical - there is no datum. And if it isn't vertical, the channel comes out either wrong dimensions, or out of square, or both. All these couple of sticks do is make it easier to see if the tool is vertical as you go round the dished top and back. And then, like the top binding documented a few pages earlier, I ironed it on again. And yes, that's a bit weird but, for me, it works. For both the top and back - this is the best binding job I've done on an acoustic so far: And a bit more sanding to do, but the tail stock detail could now be completed: And then, all of a sudden, it's time for final sanding and application of the finish

NBD - it's arrived! 😀 Spector Euro 5LX Having taken more of a shine to my mid-range Spector Legend Custom than I was expecting, my appetite was definitely sharpened for one of the higher-end models. When this one came up at 'sale' prices at Andertons, I found it hard to resist! Mine has a quilted USA maple top and the body is alder with a walnut strip in between the body and the top. The neck has a 3 piece maple construction. EMG 40-TW pups, as mentioned above, and 2 band EQ, but with pull selector on both individual volume controls to switch from humbucker to single J. Very quick initial thoughts: Not particularly ever been a quilted maple person, but I could definitely get used to this. And the sculpted back on Spectors is a real treat. Liking the tonal palette of humbucker / single J options, although I'll need to be mindful of the volume change when switching between the two if I am doing this mid-set. I'm immediately drawn to solo'd J bridge for a more aggressive tone and either humbucker for fulsome punch: the humbuckers aren't shy retiring types by any means in the terms of their output! My two Spectors definitely bring something different to the party compared to my Yammy PJs or even my Ibby SR Premiums. And although selling a Squier Bass VI to mangoT has turned out to be an expensive pastime, I can't say I'm regretting it 😊 ... and I hope you'll excuse one more belated pic, just wanted to capture the walnut strip between the body and the top which is a really nice touch. Amazing how differently the camera records the colour, depending on the light!

I returned today, to one of my old, favoured bass places, Promenade Music in Morecambe. Used to go there every few weeks but hadn't been for 2 years. Anyway, Gary's still working there and is a great bloke for loads of friendly, knowledgable chat and a cup of tea. Had a hankering for another 4-stringer and after some discussion, we more or less narrowed it down to 3 basses. A Marleaux Consat Custom 4 (used), a Fender Flea Signature Active Jazz Bass, in Satin Inca Silver and a Musicman Stingray Special, in Chopper Blue. The Marleaux is a superb bass, with a classy, hand made feel and quality woods. The only part that didn't impress me was the pre amp, it just didn't seem to deliver, to my ears. I was a bit dubious about the Flea Jazz but I have to say, I think it is a great bass. I reckon Flea told Fender to take a JB and make as much like a Stingray as they could. And they've done a bloody good job, IMO. Very solid and resonant, really well built and a rather good pickup. The only changes I'd make would be a 3 band EQ, instead of 2 and a slightly wider string spacing at the bridge end. I would have been very happy to bring it home with me but as the title suggests, the winner was the Stingray Special. Now I already have a standard 2014, EBMM Stingray, with a single HB and 3 EQ, that I reckon is great. So why get this as well, other than the usual excuse of permanent GAS? To me, there enough differences between the 2 Stingrays to give enough of a different playing experience. The Special has a slightly different pickup, with Neodymium magnets and an 18 volt pre amp, to deliver even more bassy goodness. The gorgeous, roasted maple neck feels a tad narrower, with slightly more rounding off, of the rosewood fingerboard's edges and lovely stainless steel frets. The tuners are definitely nicer, with a more 3D ergonomic, comfy feel to them and the body is rounded at the neck heel to improve one's upper fret playing experience. Also, overall the bass is a little lighter. So does all this make the Special better than my old Stingray? Probably yes but I do so enjoy my older model, it's not going to be left on it's stand. I really like the Chopper Blue coloured body, with the pearloid white pickguard, black pickup and chrome hardware. This is a pretty bass and definitely feels like it's got all the iconic, classic aspects you have to have in a Stingray. Yet it's subtle improvements feel like a natural evolution, with no revolution needed, thankyou. I'd test driven this beauty through a rig very similar to my own and so am looking forward to the next band rehearsal. Specifications: Model: StingRay Special Size: 13-1/2" wide, 1-5/8" thick, 44-7/8" long (34.3 cm wide, 4.1 cm thick, 114.0 cm long) Body Wood: Select Hardwoods Body Finish: High gloss polyester Bridge: Vintage Music Man® top loaded chrome plated, steel bridge plate with vintage nickel plated steel saddles Scale Length: 34" (86.4 cm) Neck Radius: 11" (27.9 cm) Headstock Size: Only 8-3/4" (22.2 cm) long Frets: 22 - High profile, wide, Stainless Steel Neck Width: 1-5/8" (41.3 mm) at nut 2-1/2" (63.5 mm) at last fret Neck Wood: Select roasted maple neck Fingerboard: Fretted - Rosewood Neck Finish: Gunstock oil and hand-rubbed special wax blend Neck Colors: Standard – Natural with finished headstock Tuning Machines: Custom Music Man, lightweight with tapered string posts and ergonomic clover design Truss Rod: Adjustable wheel - no component or string removal Neck Attachment: 5 bolts - perfect alignment with no shifting; Sculpted neck joint allows smooth access to higher frets Electronic Shielding: black plated aluminum control cover Controls: 3-band active preamp with 18 volts of headroom; vol, treble, mid, bass Pickups: Standard - Single Humbucking with Neodymium magnets.

Full disclosure: This bass was sent to me by Glarry Music. We were in discussion about advertising and I wanted to try the product beforehand. They sent me a bass to try in return for a review on Basschat. The Glarry GP bass retails for an incredible £72.99 with free shipping. Yes that's right - this bass costs about the same as an effects pedal or a couple of packs of strings. It can't be any good, surely? Maybe OK for a beginner? I had to try one for myself to see just how bad a bass in this price range would be. Glarry GP in bright yellow I have had a few Precision style basses over the years, and my first bass was a Squier Affinity Precision Bass (now apparently only available as a PJ) in blue. P basses are often associated with beginners; they're cheap, simple and fit in with all sorts of music. That's why many seasoned players end up going full circle and purchasing a more expensive 'boutique' Precision years later. Someone new to playing bass may not have much money to spend, not knowing whether they'll play for long, and with so many other demands on finances - so one might assume a cheap bass is the way to go. I'm going to argue this can be the case, but with some exceptions. The paintwork is flawless The bass arrived in a triangular cardboard box with a styrofoam insert holding the bass. Included are wrenches for the bridge saddles and truss rod, plus a 1/4" jack lead. Although the lead is cheap and rather thin looking, it's a nice addition. Indeed, Glarry sell a pack including an amplifier for £104.99. This looks like the ideal starter kit, doesn't it? Immediately upon picking up the bass, I could see how well finished it appeared to be. The bright yellow paint was even and flawless to my eye - and the fit and finish of the accoutrements seemed every bit as good as I expected. The body is incredibly light, making the neck feel heavy, however as a whole the bass only weighs 3.05kg with the balance point being around the 15th fret. After tuning up I decided to have a quick play to see how it felt 'out of the box', which is how many beginner players would use the bass. I don't remember ever thinking about action or truss rods when I started playing; it wasn't until much later that I started to tinker and get any bass playing better. As some have pointed out, those hard won early battles against high action and poor setup allow us to later appreciate a finer instrument and may even help develop our playing early on, but with budget basses being so well made these days, it's hard to argue now that someone should put up with something poorly setup. The trouble is how the player would know that their instrument can do better. The attractive headstock As such, out of the box, I found it difficult to play. The action was quite high and there was some back bow to the neck, choking out the first two frets. The strings supplied were steel rounds which felt about 0.045 standard gauge - they felt a little rough and there was some 'chorusing' on the E string which I've had with dud strings before - however, the bass was playable; it had a decent output and I'm sure a younger me could have lived with it like that, no problem. Often at Bass Bashes I play someone else's bass and find the action way too high for my tastes, so I think my own preferences should be ignored from this perspective - I should think someone more used to a higher action would have found it perfectly comfortable. I did wonder if it would be helpful for the bass to come with a brief setup guide, but that could appear daunting and I suppose most people would be able to find out some basic tips online if they were so inclined. My own worry would be that some people might not realise and it could put them off playing. The tuners are where the cost cutting is most evident Let's start with the top of the bass and work our way down. The headstock, bearing the quite stylish looking Glarry logo is unfinished maple, as is the back of the neck. It's generally smooth to the touch but has a very slight roughness, though the back of the neck feels great. The tuners are fairly poor quality - after a little grease they started to work more positively but they are quite rough and stiff to turn, especially when stringing up from scratch. Once you're in the right ballpark they seem to hold the tuning well and adjustments are easy and accurate, but their stiffness really gave me a workout as I strung the bass up and down whilst I adjusted and dismantled the instrument. I should have bought a motorised winder! The fretboard is a dark rosewood. It's quite a thick slab and it looked very dry, with small pieces of fluff stuck in the grain from where it has been presumably wiped down during construction. I gave it a liberal application of Planet Waves Hydrate which really helped the look and feel of the board. The neck itself is quite rounded and fairly deep which took a little getting used to but familiar to many with a 42mm nut. Worth mentioning is the fretwork - it's extremely tidy!! No high frets I can detect, not yet at least - and although the fret ends are cut a little roughly they can be easily addressed. Before - a bit dry! After - looks much nicer! Action post shim showing fret ends The neck joins the body in a conventional bolt on fashion. Here, there's a plastic spacer between the neck plate and the basswood body and a four bolt arrangement. I found the neck pocket to be too deep, so I ended up adding a shim to lift the fretboard up, allowing a lower action. Even by normal standards, with the bridge saddled flat on the floor, the action was quite high and I noticed how close the fretboard was to the surface of the body, almost more like a neck thru design. I'm not sure if this is normal or whether mine was cut a little deep, but I added a shim of about 2mm to bring the action into line. I should note that I also had to file the saddle of the G string down another 2mm in order to get a super low action - again, not something everyone would need to do. Neck with shim added I restrung the bass with Ernie Ball Cobalt Flatwound strings, 0.040 size, which instantly made it feel better and reigned in some of the uneven response from the round wounds. Worth mentioning though that the rounds that came with the bass are for sale at only £6.99. The Cobalt flats alone cost more than half the price of the rest of the bass. Worth mentioning and also noticed at this point was the nut - it was quite rough and had a few sharp edges which I removed with a knife and some sandpaper. Otherwise it seems to be cut just right and functional enough. The nut before tidying up New strings The precision bass pickup is a thing of great mystery - there are so many types, overwound, underwound, alnico or ceramic magnets, vintage or modern, poles or blades, you name it. The pickup use here is actually perfectly acceptable - it has a good even response which is particularly snappy in the treble range and though I think it lacks some low end, the output is decent and it has a truly authoritative sound. The pole pieces sit quite proud of the cover which I don't like the feel of because I keep touching them, but I've seen others which are flush with the cover so I'm not sure which is most common. The height of the pickup was a little bit low, and the lack of foam underneath or springs on the retaining screws means that can't be adjusted easily, and I'm not taking the strings off again to add some springs until I have that motorised winder! Electronically all seemed in order - it’s a simple wiring harness, the soldering looked quite neat and the pots are freely rotating and with a nice amount of resistance. However, after reassembling the bass (I removed the pick guard and removed the debris in the cavity and sandpapered off a few rough edges on the plate itself) I found the tone control no longer worked. After some poking about with a screwdriver I found the cap on the tone pot had one leg touching the wire to the volume knob - the post are quite small and the legs are quite close together. I probably bent it a little bit whilst removing the plate, so I bent it back into position and all was fine again. I'm not sure that would have been a problem otherwise. The Glarry P bass pickup The guts and wiring - would benefit from a little extra shielding And finally, the bridge. A classic 'bent tin' affair, with five bolts at the back but also an extra two at the front corners. The saddles are free to move side to side of course, but once strings are under tension it's stable enough. Adjusting the intonation was fine, but as mentioned I did have to file down the string slot on the G string as those barrel saddles are quite tall - but I've had to do that on all sorts of basses, not just cheap ones. Otherwise it's business as usual at this end. The bridge after adjustment My overall impression? I now have a super playable and excellent sounding bass which is great to look at, comfortable, light and CHEAP! I definitely recommend that you buy one if you're confident with doing setups or just want to have a play around - even for the painted body alone you can't say fairer than the price. Others have pointed out how these basses could be the ideal testbed for modifying, but personally I think it's just great fun playing such a cheap and cheerful instrument. Would I recommend one to a beginner? I think so, with a caveat - honestly I think once set up properly these make superb basses for beginners or otherwise, but they really do need some fettling to make them more playable, which ultimately might mean a beginner sticks with it. The trouble, as mentioned, is getting a beginner to realise that they should put some cash aside for a setup when they buy one - however with a test sample of one bass, I'm not able to judge how well setup there are generally. As mine had a little backbow on the neck I think a beginner would be reluctant to try and adjust that themselves. The sound? well, I know some magazines and reviews give a star rating but I don't think it's possible to judge the sound with stars - all I'll say is that this bass sounds great now, with good strings it has all the snap and clank I like from a Precision. You could say it's a little 'poky' sounding, but it has a really nice character and I really do like the treble response of that pickup. Soon I'll add some sound clips to the post but in the meantime, please ask away if you have any questions! Cheers ped

It's not superstition. It's just the fact that they are jam-packed full of evil ogres just waiting to grab you and suck your brains out of your nostrils. That's not superstition - that's just plain fact!

So true. "Have you got a spare lead, Dan?" "Yes thanks". "Er, can I borrow it?". "Where's yours". "Haven't got one". "Why not?". "I don't need one". "Because you know I carry one?" "Ummm" (shuffles feet). "Here you are". Later, at end of gig. "Got my spare lead?" "I'll just hang on to it until I get another". "Yeah, right. Let's have it." "Aww man. You're so mean" Etc, etc.

Sometimes these things are easier than they seem. I know on a technical note on the midi out on the GR-33 / GR-5 etc, uf you look at the midi out of those devices it isn't very good. Problem is the time it takes to convert a bass note is quite long, but to get rid of the delay you need to make a 'best guess' of the note. The GR-5 does this by picking a pitch and then as it stabilises what that pitch is it whacks the pitch bend to get it to the right note - it is very very messy. There is also quite a lag on the midi out compared to the internal synths which don't have to deal with midi. Also midi itself is fairly slow compared to the internal sound.. So by the time you have worked out what you think the pitch is, you start the internal synth, then you have to send out a note on, which is a channel number, note on message with pitch, note on velocity, which is 3 * 10 bits at 31250bps, or just less than a millisecond. Or if you hit 5 string at the same time, 5ms. ok for pads, less use for leads. And this is at the same time as doing everything else. So i agree, it would be good to have, but maybe this pedal is already fantastic value and maybe we hope for the next one for that

Whack!

For all I know they may have preferred this guy! He did play all the right notes at the right times instead of generally pissing about and trying to cram in as many fast runs as he can! Luckily I'm the band treasurer, so if they ever want to £47 kitty back they'd best be nice to me.

New toys in da house :

Probably why it is going to take so long

That looks the business - and certainly outshines some commercially built cabs. "What, you built that yourself? You're kidding me!"🤩

I’m imagining several dozen members of the forum, using this thread as an excuse for returning from the weekend’s bass show with lots of new gear.

Again, blatant self plug in the form of an update... The Achievers won the UK Blues Challenge in 2019! This means we'll be off to Memphis, TN to compete in the International Blues Challenge in Jan. 2020 and also Zaandam in NL in April. Thanks to @Teebs and @Raymondo who were attended in fine spirits! Great to see you Ray as always, and a pleasure to meet you in person Teebs. Cracking night of high-quality music had by all, and we're very honoured (and a little daunted) at the prospect of the responsibility of representing the UK overseas in the blues genre!

I don't mind a bit of bad boy behaviour from the stars but every time I've seen a guitarist so much as whip a shirt off down the Green Dragon, mid set halfway through that Stereophonics cover everybody seems to do, I've tended to think *(insert whatever words our spam filters would change right here)*

And for those of of a certain age (and purely for comparison):

ah, I’ve cracked it. Ive realised its not the frets, Its just the overall neck shape and size. See I realised with my P Bass my hand cups the back of the neck, it fits like a glove, so my fingers are free to move without my whole hand moving. With the P34 being a bit narrower my hand extends further away and so my fingers need to be curled a bit more, and the hand is more floating rather than cupping the neck. Some would say bad technique, and I’d probably agree, but it’s how I play. Its still a fast neck, but when I’m standing my fingers are curled even more. That’s where the lack of comfort is coming from. this also accounts for why I like playing 5 string, as the neck is a bit wider, but the sting spacing is normally narrower. Got a gig on Sat and I’ll take the P34. Might as well get a proper gig out of it before it goes.

Congrats on the new born baby boy.....

Strictly speaking, 'bass' is an adjective not a noun. When you tell someone 'I play bass' they shoudl ask 'bass what?' 🙂

I see why they call you Happy!

I ordered the book when this was posted and got it yesterday. Interesting introduction and clear explanation of all the exercises and I have started this morning with the upper body section and will continue on with the wrist/hand exercises, but it's easy and makes sense. After 27 years of work as a farrier/blacksmith as well as playing bass(EB,EUB,DB) and guitar and banjo, carpal tunnel and other issues have created pain, limited movement and numbness and this book looks like a very good resource to try and deal with these problems. I'm learning a lot about my body as I am working on the exercises and will post an update as I progress through the book. I'd be interested in hearing from anyone else using this book. Thanks for suggesting the book.👍

I'd never noticed before how much Bobby Sands looks like Mike Oldfield!

I can see where you are coming from and with a decent PA and Sound-guy, I agree. However most of us weekend warriors don’t have the benefit of a good PA and good sound-guys are even rarer. Our drummer runs the PA and usually brings two Mackie Thump 15s. In my opinion these are inferior to my bass cab, an early version of the Basschat 1x12. In fact, and again it is my opinion, any PA Top on a pole used without a sub. Is inferior, especially if the “sound-guy” is also playing in the band. I see a lot of semi-pro bands and in general, those that use backline sound better to me than those that put everything through an inadequate PA.

If only there was one of these for sale at a bargain price on here.. If only.. 🤠

Nice post, Ped. I'm afraid I'd have gone with 'the best thing about it is the colour - burn it.' I've a Harley Benton here (acquired off this very forum) that retails not far north of a hundred quid. I've changed the strings and can't put it down, it's not just 'good for a cheapy', it's a properly useful instrument. Strange how the beginner's market has improved by whole orders of magnitude, yet still manages to remain something of a minefield.

Did some quick pics of the cab in its current state before I left this morning. Just for fun.

Thanks @stevie When I started testing, I did set the controls to optimally flat to start off with, and proceeded from there with bass boost etc. The Bass Gear Magazine article is very helpful indeed, in many ways, and learning how to set the GK flat properly was one of them. I’m trying to recall if there was a modest bass boost or not when I was getting the driver to hit the grille with moderate volume when playing G or below. I can’t reliably recall, so will simply have to re-test, with and without a HPF. I added the extra 6mm batten in last night and re-fitted the grill today. I did a dry run before doing any glueing and determined that the grill would be a very close fit indeed after adding the foam. The photos above demonstrate that well; it is just about flush fit now. So I have 21mm of batten installed now with 1mm of foam. 22mm total. That should be plenty of space. I’m not sure when I can next stress test; I’m all tied up with looking after an unwell relative at the moment. I’ll do some controlled testing when I can and report back. I’ll also be more methodical when I test as well.

I keep a bike in the boot, just in case the car breaks down.

The rhythm guitarist in my band is a bass player in a couple of other bands, so we even have a spare bassist if we need one!

What are the 2032 batteries for ? Bass & strings Lightweight back up amp (currently EBS Reidmar 750) Leads 9V batteries for basses and pedals AAA batteries for my wireless system Spare fuses various sizes but def 13A. Various tools incl screwdrivers flat and phillips heads small and med sized heads, pliers, knife or Swiss Army style knife etc Headache pills (you just never know when a migraine might come on) Water Small hand towel for drying my hands and head and wiping neck and strings if its a hot sweaty gig. Think that's it Dave

Having to shim a neck to that extent out of the box is something Glarry may wish to address with their CNC machine!

Oh dear...apparently DPD are going to be dragging (I hope not literally!) something to my door this afternoon. I really thought I was just selling a Squier Bass VI a few weeks back and thinning the herd but I've now ended up on a Spector quest instead. How did that happen? Conclusion: be very wary of selling @mangotango any gear whatsoever, chaps; the consequences are unforeseen and it could just prove to be an expensive decision! 😂

I have a Sansamp di box in the bag with my leads, etc in case of amp problems. I've only had to use it once, but worth carrying just in case!

That looks like it might have been acoustically "interesting". What was it like? S.P.

A lovely wedding gig at Banwell Castle. Beautiful venue, lovely to play outside (well, in a tunnel!) too.

This is exactly the problem that Stevie addresses with the BC 1x12 design. By using the horn vertically instead of horizontally you hear more of the mids even end standing in front of the cab. https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/347017-stevie’s-12”-frfr-cab-build-thread-basschat-cab-v3/page/6/#comments

Can we please keep the Brexit stuff out of this thread? It's got nothing to do with the new single or the band's musical trajectory, it causes trouble and no one's got anything new to say. "Leavers" and "Remainers" alike: if you want to bang on about politics, please: either go somewhere else and do it or wrap your heads round the sentiment below:

This may possibly be the single-most British thing I've ever read.

I used both a fishman powerchord FX and the akai Unibass. Both do a 5th up / 4th down, octave etc. both do what they say and can sound good if a little artificial. The fish man was a little less artificial but a bit more flexible