Leaderboard

Apologies for poor response, Chris, I can't find anything from you since we spoke in 2017 apart from the beginning of July, I can see I didn't respond to that, really sorry! It was a huge struggle during the lock-down. I was doing everything, failing to keep up by quite some margin, even working 10-12 hours a day, Monday to Saturday, major intent - staying in business. (A lot of emails do seem to end up in the junk folder these days, mine as well as replies to enquiries and purchasers) I'm sure I can take care of your P-Retro BTW. As for the future of the P-Retro, I want to continue with it. We have lots on a wait list and I really like it as a product. The EQ circuit and circuit board design has been enhanced, we do have some stock of the audio circuits. The hold-up is the custom rechargeable system which required my time in terms of design and implementation. I've worked on several new schemes , settling on one that's compatible with the original but with a USB charger. Another important factor is getting the systems made. Previously we made virtually all ourselves in the UK, not easily viable at this point so we're looking to outsource the manufacture. We started talking to a supplier at the beginning of the year but C-19 put things on hold, back on again now. There's also the investment in various custom components, such as the special pots and battery cells which isn't entirely trivial. Another important point, before we put them out again, I wanted to ensure we have longevity of supply set up. I'd always wanted to do something a bit special for the P Bass, very close to my heart!

Very funny @Frank Blank 😂 I am assuming you remember that brilliant Peter Cook sketch years ago about the 'Jeremy Thrope' case, which had that genius line in it: 'a self-confessed player of the pink oboe' Going back on topic, I did O'Level music in 1976-77 and although it did have all that droney stuff about certain classical composers and their works, what I did get out of it was the understanding of the major and minor keys, scales, plus stuff about harmony and time signatures etc.. So when I first started playing bass in bands - and was learning to play the instrument using tabs as opposed to those there proper dots - I could at least with my basic music O'Level theory, understand what was happening with the guitar chords in the songs we were writing/playing.. I'm grateful for that I'd nothing else as it meant I wasn't afraid to explore bass lines beyond simple root note and 5th... Must admit, I also really enjoyed learning about how crazy and obsessive some of the famous classical composers were, and what unusual and sometimes sad lives they lived. It completely prepared me for all the weirdos that I then met later on in the music business! 😁

I was photographing this to put it up for sale today (don’t get the wrong idea - I’m fully paid up already) and I just can’t bring myself to let it go. It’s just a really lovely example. Looks stunning (much better in person), plays beautifully and sounds just like it should. The neck is as smooth as silk and it’s weight is very reasonable. I’ve never gigged it and I’m not sure it’s even seen a rehearsal space actually. Back in storage you go 😎. EDIT: It’s a PDN Neptune Blue by the way. Purchased from @BassTractor a few years ago.

In September 2018 I assembled a ’51.75 Tele-P Bitsa. See link. I was incredibly pleased with the outcome but found myself just using the series setting of the Jess Loureiro Pup. Having absorbed so many comments about the “Flea” bass and the positive views of the Sandberg basses I thought it might be an idea to add a Stingray Pup to the Tele-P. I own a USA MM Sterling which sounds and plays really well, so I was familiar with what I could expect from adding a Stingray Pup in the correct position. I took some advice from here and purchased a Warman MM style Pup. https://www.warmanguitars.co.uk/product/mm4-4-string-bass-humbucker-13-09kohm-4-wire-overwound/ Over the last year or so I have put together a ’52 P Bitsa and a Jazz bass Bitsa using necks from JinWan on eBay. I was so impressed with the Jazz width necks, bound fingerboard, MOP block inlays and gloss finish that I ordered a third neck for another ’51 P build. The first ‘51P neck had a perfectly shaped headstock but the second one had a more ‘bulbous’ headstock shape which was closer to a Telecaster guitar shape than a ’51 P shape. As I was “upgrading “the ’51.75 Tele-P I thought I should use the new neck as it looked much more like a Telecaster. I marked out the position of the Stingray Pup and ensured it was in the correct “sweet spot” 335mm from the 12th fret. As previously stated the body was originally a 32ins Squier Telecaster Bass which a previous owner had modified the neck pocket to allow for a 34ins neck to be fitted so the bridge had to be repositioned to provide correct intonation. I added a ‘string through’ bridge and rear ferrules. I ordered a new loom for the “God Father” of Tone our own @KiOgon which provided a 3-way Pup selection switch master Vol & master tone control. To be honest I did a pretty poor job of routering the Stingray Pup cavity causing some breakout of paint at the edges of the cavity. Maybe I will refinish the body sometime in the future? After assembly I was astounded at the variety of tones on offer from such a humble gathering of parts in this Bitsa. Firstly, the unplugged sound was vibrant, full and clear. The combination of the large body size mass of Basswood coupled with the extended neck pocket ( 6 neck fixing screws) and through body stringing made the bass really sing. Position #1 is the Jess Loureiro in it’s series mode, gives a powerful warm, clear, typical P Bass tone, Position #2 is both Pups in parallel and adds a huge amount of depth and mid drive. Probably my most favourite setting. Position #3 is the Warman Stingray on it’s own and is identical to that familiar Stingray sound. I was astonished how powerful, and tuneful the Warman replicated the Stingray sound. I am convinced it would need a real expert ear to differentiate in the blind test. Following @KiOgon recommendation I can only endorse his views , these Pups are fantastic value, powerful and sound identical to a MM Pup. Here are some pix of my TeleRay in it's new case ( curtesy of @Osiris} And one of the headstock with my poser decal!! protected with @Andyjr1515 wipe on finish method. The back of the headstock has a Sharpie signature again sealed.

Presumably with Randall amps?

Very happy with this bass!

My school did pretty well - in the mid to late 90's. I had one 25 minutes one to one bass lesson each week, from someone who turned out to be a bit of a local legend - George Lyle. I didn't know this at the time though. I learned a mixture of genres, though he obviously favoured jazz. I eventually learned pieces up to level 5 for my Higher exams. (A bit like a Scottish A-Level) Outside of this, the school had an orchestra - but played more interesting music rather than clasical standards. From rock numbers like Eye of the Tiger and Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, to accompanying the choir for a Queen medley. They also put on a musical at the end of each school year, and I'd inevitably be part of the band - being the both capable enough to handle the pieces and enough of a geek to want to! My mates would be on guitar and drums. In return, we'd sometimes be allowed a slot at Christmas shows or similar with our own band, where we'd do something like an Oasis cover. The year after I left and was a Uni student, I got a call from tthe head of the music department, asking if I'd play bass for their summer musical Grease, with about two weeks notice - they original bassist was struggling to get it up to scratch and pulled out. Some of my slightly younger friends were involved, so it was quite fun. My first paid gig. I think I got £50 for a matinee and two evenings. George

Already done mate!

Just as an addendum here, I probably learnt more about music from my mum and dad. There was always music on in the house; my mum (who passed away a couple of years ago aged 87); while she was a huge fan of The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Kinks and The Small Faces, her musical roots were Sinatra, Martin etc. She took me to my first concert (Elton John, Hammersmith, Christmas 1970-something), I took her to her last (Kiss, Wembley. 'I can't do this any more.') Until a few weeks before her death, I went down to the house and she was listening to Rod Stewart, Bon Jovi and had a copies of Quiet Life (Japan) and Destryoer (Kiss) in her car. Just because she was old, doesn't detract from the fact that she'd been listening to Bon Jovi 35-odd years ago, when she was around my age now. My dad loved soul and reggae, but his overriding passion was for Hall & Oates (which makes my head tilt, even to this day).

Bought a splendid little combo here a while ago. RM series, really, really good little amp and speaker. But the pots had become a little dirty. And I kept on and on meaning to give them a wash and brush up, but just never got a round tuit. Until just now. Well done Ashdown! After using your knob puller of choice (mine is the shaved remains of the handle off a long since dead kitchen utensil) you will discover, adjacent to the shaft of the potentiometer, a little hole in the fascia, just about perfect to shove in the straw on your can of Servisol Super 10. Squirt squirt, wiggle wiggle, job done. All made easier by Ashdown's little hole. It's good news week.

Mrs. Pook bought me a couple of my basses. That's what fills me with the most joy.

A SC that may sway?

Au contraire mon ami, a craftsman would use hand tools, all this electrical gubbins is for amatuers 😃 Ducks for cover!

Preferred the original tbh

I made a recording of the Riedel for anyone wondering how the Black Labels can sound. I appreciate a large component of the tone you'll hear is the valve amp this was recorded through, but it gives you an idea hopefully. Bass was used in passive mode. Sounds stonking if I do say so myself. Defiant Bass.m4a

-

Shell Pink slipper?

Art, like beauty, is subject to the subjectivity of the beholder's eye. It's doing no harm that I can see.

I have always used Interparcel and never had a problem, despite the wide range of different couriers they work with. The price is way better than the Post Office (even when it's Parcelforce making the delivery) and you don't need to leave the house - they come to you! However, I forgot the small print and didn't put a layer of card on the outside of my last parcel. Why? The bass was in a case and so better protected than any cardboard box. I also wrapped it in clingfilm so it wouldn't spring open. But, this breaches their rules. A fair cop. I had an invoice for ove ten quid as a punishment, with the chance to appeal. I did this explaining that I had secured the instrument in a case and it was a simple mistake. No dice. Cough up or else. I'm torn. It was my fault, a clear breach of Ts&Cs so I can have no complaints On the other hand I had already sold the bass at a 40 quid loss, nor had I charged the full amount for delivery. So another tenner hurts. I think it's a risky strategy to fine a regular customer for his first mistake though. A warning and 'we're not going to charge you this time' would have endeared me to the company, and deepened my loyalty. I have stated it was my fault so no need to remind me, I really just want to make sure others don't fall foul of this.

I know what you mean Dan, I keep looking at a Status but I don’t want to let any of the current stock go (yes, even the rick....). With gigs being cancelled as quickly as they are being booked (they’ve just cancelled the Farmyard rally in Helmsley on the 25th weekend that we were really looking forward to due to the covid spike) I can’t see any gas fundage for some time yet.

One accidentally pressed button on the desk and this band are finished.

I'll go first - the bass player is probably good at playing ghost notes😕.

Great colour on the Sandberg FB site

Ha. I loved them, their ergonomics, their 4-band, and their colours (a.o. the original Dargie Delight and the second Dargie Delight), but the Rays had a bigger impact on me. Here's a pic of your Ray showing its wood inside the blue. Not the very bestest piece of wood ever, but I liked it in total.

Wow! 7.5lbs! I bet you would still have that if you had bought it. It’s bizarre that they can very so much from such a small batch. My one is 9.2lbs. Just crazy. Poor Bongo’s. Always the bridesmaid, never the bride 😂 I bet, if it was anywhere near as good as this one. Back to the drawing board then. The next option was either the 30th I bought from @martthebass or the Sledge. I’ve had the 30th out recently and I doubt I’ll find another as good if I sold mine. The Sledge likewise and it’s the only Ray that’s wearing flats at the moment, so that’s staying for now. I really don’t know how this ‘thinning the heard’ thing is supposed to work 😂.

Our streamed set from the Punk 4 The Homeless benefit last Saturday... Drums programmed by me!

If the case is part of the sale, then it should be wrapped up in cardboard.

Today was a general shaping and preliminary routing day. I'm not going to get much routed until I decide on whether or not I'm going to fret the neck. If I do, then I have a simple jig set up to cut the slots, but not a suitable saw. I'm also terrified of cutting frets; on the bass building course I did last year with Jon Shuker, ie where I got the knowledge and confidence to do this build, I made a fretless. Therefore, I have no practical experience with cutting slots (there's also saw on rails at the Shuker shed which made it a doddle. I don't have one of these). Anyway, I started routing the control cavity. This didn't go fantastically well. I made a couple of gouges near the top which, as I was using my trusty top-guide bit, carried on for the full depth. Then my plunge router wouldn't drop low enough for the full 2.75cm depth, and I had to use my palm router. Far from ideal. Maxed out, it cut to the right depth (just) but as you can see, part of it must have been touching the edge of the cavity as there's a nice burn mark around the edges. Still, job done. and the burn should either sand out, or be hidden under the control plate. Then it was on to some body shaping. First up was the ribcage contour and arm rest. My first attempt to shape the arm rest with a No.4 jack plane were stopped by my shoddy workbench moving around far too much with the force involved. I ended up using the saw rasp for body jobs, and for some more general shaping as I wanted a softer, more rounded body than the standard Jazz. I'm a very petite man, but this was a bit too subtle even for me. I ended up making it a little more severe. This is around midway, after the saw rasp and then a good 80 grit sand to see how it was going to look/feel. And the forearm rest mid-shape. Is it wrong to love a woodworking tool? Because I love my saw rasp. The coarse side removes a good amount of material, while the finer side gives a great level of control. The marks then sand out pretty easily.

I can imagine a courier refusing a pickup if insufficent packing has been used, or using it as an excuse to refuse a claim after loss or damage, but I wouldn't expect it to be accepted and then have a fine levied - thats a new one on me.

My music lessons at school were pretty crappy too, but I wonder if it might be time to put a bit of perspective into the discussion. Like quite a few people around here I think, I was at school during the late '50s and '60s. Many teachers teaching music - or indeed any other subject - at that time had little proper training in the teaching of their chosen subject. After WWII, work had to be found for the thousands of soldiers being demobbed. Additionally, the school leaving age was in the process of being raised from 14 to 15 at about the same time so there was a pressing need to get people into the profession. (Teaching had been a profession that encouraged - though it didn't actually require - specialised training since the early years of the 20th century, but emergency powers to fast-track people into teaching were setup in 1943 and continued until the early '50s). Kids going to school during the '50s, '60s and '70s would most certainly have encountered these 'certificated' teachers, and even in the early '80s when I joined the profession, a number of my senior colleagues were certificated. Under these circumstances it shouldn't really be surprising that the teaching of music was patchy at best. LEAs acknowledged the importance of music education to the child's development, but had no real clue as to how to implement it. In practice, schools were essentially left to their own devices. The rise of popular music culture at about the same time was very much at odds with the classical training and/or interests and/or attitudes of the teachers standing in front of it, so it should come as no surprise that the two ideologies didn't see eye-to-eye. I'm not taking sides by the way, just trying to give a bit of perspective as to why so many baby-boomers are reporting such poor experiences. Even today (and without wishing to hijack the thread), music continues to be one of those 'difficult' subjects to really get right in education, especially with so many politicians and employers forever chirping on about the need to focus on teaching kids subjects that will be 'of use to them' in the world of work. I still hear people chuntering on about the three R's (actually I've never really understood that one: Writing starts with a W and Arithmetic starts with an A. What kind of educational example is that setting FFS! ). In a school where its importance is understood, and which can afford to devote resources to it, and be in the fortunate position of having teachers who can deliver it effectively to today's kids, and where there's a local music service staffed by properly qualified and experienced musicians to provide instrumental training, music flourishes (as do the students lucky enough to benefit from it). Probably also worth adding that for most musical instruments, a classical training is still the norm; and while I'm here, classical training is also still the norm for primary age guitarists (and bass is not taught at all at primary level to the best of my knowledge). It does no harm to remember that not every 12-year old budding musician wants to play guitar or bass.

Yes, the drive is on the amp. No effects, no modelling, etc. It’s a mid-90s Ampeg SVT-II Pro running KT88s. Tone settings as shown in the photo, and running into the BF 210S.

I agree. Modern cabs are generally better and certainly much lighter than some of the horrors we used to lug around 30 years ago. but I can't understand the need for amps that you can pick up with one finger. There is always a compromise with something that light and Class D amps just don't sound as good as the great hybrid amps of a few years ago that you can pick up for peanuts these days. If you put them in a lightweight rack it is still an easy one hand lift, so why the obsession with making everything unnecessarily light?

You are doing a decent charitable thing sharing its goodness

...and 'this' is also how much of a **** he'll give about you when he's done it.

Or “this is how much appreciation you’ll get whilst everyone thinks Weller is a genius”.

I had a chance this morning to fit the block inlays. Here they are being fitted and glued.

Possibly the witless and superficial BBC report fails to convey the nature of the composition, the project, the site, the rationale, the technical construction, the historical semiotics, the aesthetic precepts, the metaphysical allusions, or the implications for numerous modes of ambient or experimental music. I went to a gig once. Won't do that again. Eight quid spent, and it was over in no time with nothing to show for it. What a con.

Wardrobe :

I've been in a Mod/Northern Soul/Ska band for the last four years and The Jam usually feature quite heavily. Pretty much the entire pool of songs we compile setlists from is bass heaven. Some great basslines around in the 70s/80s mod revival period.