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At the risk of sounding like blowing ones own on the most popular of bass forums, I bring you some news (which means a great, great deal to me) that I hope you will be pleased to read. I am super happy to have been invited on board and have joined the brilliant team over at Bass Guitar Magazine. To begin with I will be bringing you a column each month best described by BGM's editor in a recent social media post: "At the recent UK Guitar Show, a reader of Bass Guitar mag suggested that I run a monthly column devoted to solving bass players' problems, gear-related rather than connected to personal grooming or relationships, I should add. "A capital idea!" I said, and pondered who the right hack would be. Ideally someone who knows bass gear inside out, is an experienced writer, has the right facial hair and whose picture in the mag won't scare cows at 100 paces. I'm delighted to announce that the great Dan Veall is the chap who got the gig: you can read his first column on 10 Dec in Bass Guitar and 24 Dec in Bass Player. Round of applause for new bug Dan, team! "

Life has been hectic.. been setting up 2 new businesses and moderating on another forum.. Thought I’d pop in to say hello. Remember the fretless Uberhorn? After an epic repair job which basically involved a rebuild and refinish.. it’s on its way back this week as good as new..

I still do too! My Shuker Guitars custom 7 string is indeed tuned that way! It has clocked up over ten years of service and still going strong. Yes! Though you are absolutely up against physics and some technical thinking is required to get the best out of these very low tunings. Only recently I was "chatting" to someone in a Facebook thread who wanted me to believe that their speaker cabinets (described in the thread) were easily capable of producing the fundamental frequencies of the low B string at a volume equal to the rest of the frequency range. I didn't respond to the comment but I did go in to great detail why that wouldn't be such a good idea on stage anyway. So, here's the thing - very few speaker cabinets (for bass) can even get anywhere near those fundamentals - speakers will just flap about wasting energy (as heat instead) with no real volume, clarity or.. point. So onstage, I get rid of all the sub frequencies - the 1st and second harmonics and the equivalent note over tones are where the volume is. You still "hear" the note as being that low, but you rely on overtones (that are contained within the note) to get the quality, timbre and volume. So, an HPF on my cabinets. I don't use speaker simulations in my signal path so, it's an EQ'd DI straight out to front of house which is left to do all the heavy lifting. My usual gig this year has included a great PA with big subs and that would have done a great job of dealing with the full breadth of sound that this bass can deal out. (it was designed especially for the job rather than just strapping low strings on any ole bass to see what happens.) Finally FOH, well, to sit in the mix the sound gets tweaked some more, but the net effect is some really nice low frequencies that don't boom but provide depth. The low string isn't about being louder or bassier than anyone else, just like my keyboard players left hand piano register. See above. Yes, when done badly, low tunings sound ghastly, mushy, incoherent and not at all adding anything to the overall sound. Done well, it's no different from hearing a piano player "go low".

Well, since i sold my TE Hexavalve, i have been on the nose for a replacement (or a aQuatravalve) as i missed it so much. A couple of weeks ago a Hexa turned up in Lille France. It turns out its my old amp! Im close to Dover so Ive skipped on a ferry to pick it up. Its the same nice fellow i sold it to who is meeting me in Calais. He was on the lookout for a Twinvalve which I have so we are trading with some €’s his way. I SWEAR i will never sell the Hexa again! Cheers! 😁

That’s right Quilly... but if the strings come attached to a lump of wood and machine heads you are out 😂

Oh yeah. Absolute brain f@rt moment. I don't know what I was thinking. I told you it was a daft question. Oh well. I'll leave the thread here just for comedy value.

I was so pleased to see my old amp and olivier is such a nice chap too. He brought me some local beer!

She messaged me about my BB’s - thought she meant my Yamahas not my tumescent gonads. oh well.

Bet it sounded great over there too! More portable rig for this afternoons gig :

Affectionately named "Sally" by @Rich, this is my Shuker Guitars custom six string, enjoying over ten years constant service. I adore this bass! It has had a facelift and a fair amount of tweaking, but this one is always a joy to play. Other than my other Shuker bass I have, there are no basses that I have owned for so long. Insanely nice instruments and this one (and the other) are going no where!

Indeed, more F art than F sharp.

Sounds like a win-win to ms!

It's not that there's nothing I want. It's more that if I don't spend that money on getting the bathroom sorted I may very well find myself spending a lot more time with my guitars than I had anticipated next year.

Not sure I follow ... the Low B means that the step up to the E string is a 4th, the same as all the other steps. That's what makes a 5-er such a doddle to play.

At least he didn't call the book "Pegging".

Having recently missed out on a Hohner B2A, and not finding a backup to my Hohner Jack yet, I got these 2 on the left in the post today! Post your Headless guitars!

Just had an email arrive regarding this P bass. They claim it was made by Overwater but it's got Ibanez tuners, a Wilkinson bridge and they say they've removed a kg's worth of plastic finish! Has Overwater ever used these components on a bass? I don't think so. Anyone know more about this than me? The seller has 100% feedback! What gives here? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/254446216243?ul_noapp=true

That's how I use it, as sharing folders was creating trouble for some people with smaller storage.

This... I use WeTransfer almost every day at work. It’s not let me down yet. It’s also a good barometer of how “desperately important” something is, when the recipient then asks me to resend it a week later when the link has expired... 😐

Two that I made myself. And one I bought.

in for a penny....

How big are the files? WeTransfer does most of my heavy lifting. Up to 2GB is free.

That's a good point as Chris had basses made up to show Tanglewood what they could do so its possible it was one of those early designs for Tanglewood. Still made by Overwater altho the seller does state it was a custom order with Overwater. Weird one. Dave

"Sigh!.." “William, William, William!..." It's quite clear what you must do!.. The band is asking that you play “Devil" music and this is simply not on!! I assume that you wish to reside in the “Good Place" for all eternity after you have fulfilled your quota upon this blessed earth... You must simply tell your fellow band mates the following; “I recognise the suggestion to cover the Red Hot Chilli Pepper's version of “Higher Ground". You are all welcome to your own opinions and I, being only a man, cannot judge thee... " “However, this is clearly a Stevie Wonder song so either play that or GET THA F*CK OUT!!"... " “P.S. I will consider learning how to “Slap'a da' bass" as I could never rightfully call myself a bass player should I not be able to hit and release the string in such a motion that might leave a percussive yet tonal nuance that is both intriguing and sonically pleasing to the ear." Should your band request that you start to perform wearing nothing but a sports sock upon your genitalia you will know for sure that you are now in league with “The One Who Shall Not Be Named".... ..... ........ ..... ...... “ Flea!!! "....... Seriously though, do WTF you want!!! If you enjoy playing it, play it... If you don't enjoy playing it, who knows?... You probably will start to enjoy playing it!!... If you can't play it... ... well get that sports sock on and start learning!!! “BA, ba-da, ba-da, BA-Ba-BA-DA!!!" (That's the notes for higher ground, just in case you need to learn it...)

It's written on the headstock, it's an Overwater Design, so maybe a bass predating the Tanglewood era...

The Rumble amp is very bass heavy, especially in Vintage mode. But the Mustang and Rumble are a match made in heaven. 👍

Not all Overwater basses have the truss adjust at body end. Looking thru Overwater Gallery there are some headstocks that look very much like it plus the neck on the P Overwater had a black nut from what i could see. Couldn't see any standard P basses on their gallery. They either had the full 3 band EQ or 3 pots rather than 2. If the seller has evidence that it was purchased from Overwater it should list all parts used. Overwater will fit any parts you suggest rather than their own. Its totally up to the individual I'd be surprised if Overwater made a mess of any finish, their basses are first class. I have 2 off them. Dave

She started liking my comments...thought to myself “yur, still got it...after all these years” 🙄😂

Also, Overwater Jazz and PB's have the truss rod adjuster at the body end. If it ever did start out life as an Overwater, there's precious little of it left beyond the body.

I saw that @Jack had an RCF 12" sub paired with two RCF 12" tops, in a for sale thread, which looked great. I'll leave Jack to elaborate on what difference the sub makes to their sound when it's being used vs if they go tops only.

Basses are tuned in 4ths. Which also why a 6 string bass has a top C instead of a B. I know a 4 string player who always tunes low C F Bb Eb. There are so many different tunings being regularly used these days that you can use which ever one is comfortable for you.

Made a start on Weekend Rockstars last night very enjoyable and well written, looking forward to reading my way through the others. I'd been looking for ward to something other than the usual stuff I read, this is a very welcome change. Keep em coming.

We like this one a lot. The quality isn't great, but it definitely captures the moment. Taken at Dingwalls in Camden last December.

Doesn't look like an Overwater headstock to me. Wilkinson make decent, workmanlike gear, but I'm not aware of any higher end manufacturer fitting their gear as standard. It smells fishier than Mrs Bassfingers home made apple pie.

It was unbelievable. Kind of filled the room with bass without ever being too loud.

Well, if it was George playing, at least it would be a Wonderwall. Yes, I'm hanging my head in shame.

Hi Michael Nice to hear from you and I hope you're well. The Jazz didn't last much longer I'm afraid as I struggle with the body shape for some reason and always look line in shooting ducks when I'm playing one! I decided to replace it with a stunning 2014 Classic Ray which is in absolutely spotless condition. It's a lovely weight too. Not quite two matching pairs, but pretty close

Hello. I'm illy (or Ilana). I live in Oxford currently but I'm moving to Brighton shortly. I have two kids, 9 years and 4 years. Been playing since 1991... I'm old... I own two J basses and 2 Spector basses, all 5 string. I started playing 5 string 1992, first 5 string was a Charvel Fusion V. It's all I could afford at the time. I do being mum and music. Equally divided.......(I wish....) I use an EBS preamp into power amp and into two Markbass Traveller cabs. I also have an (Eminence loaded) custom 2x10/HF "Unicorn" cab. A Traynor SB500H for light, easy-handling if I do gigs and a TC Electronic BC208 and Traynor SB200H next to my bed, bedroom practice, of course. That's it.

Bloody guitarists! Coming over here taking our jobs! Somebody should build a wall!

Herebe us handsome chappies