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No one cares about how you look after the finish, let's see some pictures man. 😁 Ha ha! That's a really good point..

Been playing drums for a few years and spent a lot on good cymbals which Covid has messed with big time so sold them and bought a sweet Classic Vibe Squire P bass for home noodling. How do they do it for the money...incredible workmanship and sounds, well, like a P bass. There's no doubt about it the balance of power is moving away from Fender, this thing is crazy good easily as good if not better than any Fender I've owned over the years and I've had a few. Surprised Fender allows it really.

Yes! During Lockdown #1 I worked exclusively on the E string. During Lockdown #2 I worked exclusively on the A string. During Lockdown #3 I worked exclusively on the D string. In the impending Lockdown #4 I shall work exclusively on the G string. In the Fifth Lockdown, I shall put everything that I have learned together to achieve total mastery of the bass guitar instrument. If there are any further lockdowns, I shall probably achieve world domination. It's easy if you have a plan.

I shall take a look at both, thanks for the tip! The marquetery beam is now planed down ready for the truss rod slot to be built on it, so a few gratuitous beauty shots are in order of the flattened side before it gets covered up: the next step i loosely tape the carbon rods around the double action truss rod, so that it will fit snugly, and get the positioning right on the neck: The carbon rods will run the whole length of the neck, over the body transition and up into the headstock a short way. this way theres no weak points along the neck where stress could build. The rods are then epoxied in place, with a 6mm wide strip of cabon between them. they're slightly narrower than tyhe beam, as i changed the design slightly to use the new woods, but i will re- veneer both sides so that its all perfectly flush before building up the rest of the neck blank. these things are stiff... like really stiff. as you can see the rods have 8mm holes down the middle, and i bought additional 8mm rods to go inside if i felt it wasnt rigid enough, but i now think thats not going to be a problem very pleased The first 8 coild for the pickups are done now, so i started building one up! Each pair is wired together in series (the little red wire) and then wired onto the PCB. ive removed all the standoffs and screws to give myself some more space. Then the next pair... and before you know it: all 8 coils, nicely wired together. i tested the switch and the DCR values are all as expected Next i start glueing the bobbin mounts in place. these are what will determine the height of each vertical pair, controlled by turning the black hex screw. this is done with a very small amount of CA glue, so little that i can easily take them apart with a sharp scalpel if needed. the magnets sit perfectly flush with the top of the bobbin mounts, giving nice consistent heights across all the coils. and heres one all together! nice and neat, and it looks like itll fit perfectly into the cover. ill save that treat for my next upload though here you can see how it all works. the vertical pairs are mounted over a brass standoff, and pushed up by a spring and some foam mounted beneath the coils. as the screw is tightened, each assembly can move up and down independently. the 4 holes in the pickup cover leave these screws exposed, so you just bolt the pickup in place and move the coils within the pickups to set the volume

....so a hell of a lot more sanding later, I tried some black stain (Crimson's water based Stunning Stains) as a reveal coat Quite an interesting purply hue to it, but that then all came off again... The yellower patches are where the panel wipe hadn't dried off yet. Either that it was my nose dripping in the cold ....and then a fresh coat of stain ...so that's where I am now. Am leaving that to dry/cure fully, then will be attempting a gentle sanding back to give a burst finish, then overlay some blue stain.

To be honest, if I had spent as much time actually practicing the bass as I have buying, selling and being on here, I would be almost as good as Pino! That`s Pino Jaconelli the local ice cream man.

My latest video on how different techniques can help to compose authentic sounding Reggae bass lines might be of interest to some of the bassists on this thread. I have put a couple of backing tracks at the end of the video to jam to. I hope this help some beginner Reggae bass players.

The point is, most bass players work within a narrow band of tone. Does the 80/20 rule fit here? It probably does, so 80% of the bass players (pro and semi-pro) are using 20% of the available tone. The differences in tone between these players is small but most are differentiated by what they play, not how they sound. Players like Chris Squire and JJ Burnell are in the 20%. They are way outside of the mainstream of bass players tones. Maybe that is what makes them stand out, but interestingly, their sound is not as widely copied as their popularity would suggest. There are bass players all over the world who got the gig because they were a mate, but I know of no bass players who get gigs just because they sound good. Good players get gigs, no matter how they sound, because of what and how they play.

I've been playing (modestly...) drums, guitar, bass, keys... for the last half a century (well, a bit more, actually...). I've always done so because I like it, and it interests me. I've played in bands, either pro, semi-pro, amateur or just mates, on and off over all that time. Now retired, I still play, and always will. 'Playing out' is fine, but, for me, it's not my sole reason for playing. Essentially, it's just because that's what I do. It matters little whether anyone hears it or not. Does a tree falling in a remote forest make a sound..?

This cab would not look out of place in one of those old vintage Trace Elliot brochures, where the product description would be along the lines of 'best used in pairs for a full range stereo gig. Richard Savage used 8 of these on the most recent Def Leppard tour. Slap players may benefit from using the optional 12x6 Mega Bright Box in order to bring out some extra highs.'

C'mon guys give them a break. It's a publicity thing. I see they are offering custom builds and designs too, maybe this started off as one of those. If Barefaced suddenly and unexpectedly offered an 8x15 we'd all be hooked into it. I'd absolutely love to play in front of that Grateful Dead PA even though I know it's 'all wrong' and would be completely blown out of the water by a modern line array. Anyone remember this Custom 8x15 bass cabinet - Amps and Cabs - Basschat Of course he chose speakers that would more or less work together, is that engineering? Who cares, it's a bit of fun, nobody here is going to buy the thing, but if we saw it in Metallica's back line???? Of course it's all wrong, those 8 speakers should be in a vertical line with proper crossovers and maybe in a D'Appolito alignment with the horns at ear level so the bassist can 'really' hear what they are playing. Think of this as like those giant figures on Route66 or the world's biggest pencil in the pencil museum in Keswick. If someone wants a custom 4x18 I'm up fr a commission

Sorry to burst your bubble, Martin has always been friendly and chatty with me also, even though he might just be passing through the shop whilst you’re served by someone else. I’ve never found him pushy (or any of the staff for that matter) and always seems eager to help. I was once trying out numerous basses and I felt one needed a truss Rod adjustment. There was no, “I’ll do it in a minute,” or, “Why do you want that done?” he just did it straight away, with no complaint. I bought that bass.

It looks big, I'll grant that. This is the kind of Frankenstein's Monster abomination that can only come out of a marketing department with no input whatsoever from an engineer. That was a common enough scenario in the 60s and 70s, but there's no excuse for it today.

I'm not sure if this is the best place for this thread. Maybe it should be in 'repairs and technical' so mods, if it needs to be moved, please feel free. Righty ho. Thats the housekeeping out of the way. A few years ago, on a whim, I bought a 1979 Washburn Scavenger. I believe these were the entry level tier of the Washburn bass range at that time, with the more esoteric versions being the Vulture, and the Eagle. Both wonderful machines, but it must be said, very rarely seen in this country. The impetus to buy the bass came from an old mate of mine, who had an Eagle guitar. Quite frankly an unbelievablely good instrument, so I'd sort of had this in the back of my mind for years. Then this came up- on ebay iirc- and the die was cast. Here is a picture taken the day after I bought it. I thought that the zebra stripe pattern might be a nicely ironic post modern comment on contemporary musical mores, but it just made me look like an over the hill refugee from a Poison tribute band. However, it played nicely and sounded absolutely great. I think the pickup is a dimarzio, but if it isn't, it sounds just as good as one. It languished in a case for a couple of years then I developed a need for a bass I can leave in my office, and not worry too much who messes about with it, and I thought: "Aha, the Washburn". So I retrieved it from it's case and decided that it would definitely benefit from a new look. I thought I might strip it and do a rattlecan nitro spray job in black. So far so good. The stripping went well, even though there was about half an inch of paint on it. Once it was down to the wood I was quite amazed at what I found. A lovely mahogany body with an ash (I think) top. So I modified plan A, bought a bottle of tru oil and got to work. Using the slurry and buff method I went through many grades of wet & dry, ending up on 000 wire wool and the end result you see below. A lovely looking bass with top notch hardware- albeit unbranded - which plays and sounds great. It is as heavy as a small star though, which is the only drawback I can find... Oh yes, one really nice touch...The original hair metal paint job was slightly iffy in a couple of spots, just bleed through I think, given the complex pattern, but as such the neckplate is stamped 'reject'. If this is a Washburn reject, I'll take the lot.

There’s always one “it’s all in the fingers” guy who thinks they can get a Musicman sound from a Hofner

Fender have been price fixing for years which has skewed perspective, partly why the big guys (them, Gibson, Guitar Centre) have been in so much trouble lately. Sire seem priced about right by today’s standards.

A friend at work introduced me to this. I use the term “friend” loosely. 😂

Picked this up a few weeks ago . Yet to clean and set up etc , as been busy . Excuse the rubbish photos

Lots of practice has meant that at the beginning of the lockdown I could not play a DB at all and now I am studying grade 5 material on one. Still, missing the boost gained from jam sessions etc.

Ive been putting off sorting my board for a couple of months now, mainly as I've been waiting on the return of a fuzz pedal which is failing to materialize. So finally got to it last night and it's about as tidy as it is gonna get with this setup. I would like to say this is the final one but I'm definitely not settled on the lineup so who knows what the next year will bring!

Over close to fifty years of gigging, I have played probably thirty different basses at gigs. Even the cheap ones worked fine.

Loving this! However, contains language many might find offensive... But you can't argue with the sentiment!

I think I auditioned for them on one occasion....... And didn't get the job!

I'm playing bass or guitar, for one to two hours most days. The most practicing I've ever done.

I got annual membership for Scott's Bass Lessons when the first lockdown started last March and found the combination of that and working from home with it easy to pick up the Bass for quick breaks has meant a lot of short bits of practice time when I wouldn't usually have been able to. The 'payers path' part of those lessons has been quite addictive working up through the levels. Having paid for 12 months membership has been incentive to make use of it, and to try and get through as much of it as possible in the time.

Martin bought my Thunderbird to put in the shop (note to self - sold it too cheap!) and when he came to collect he was really chatty, despite standing on the driveway with a mask on in the cold

And the winner is : IBTL !

Come on Bill, it looks great! Might sound rubbish, need three of you to get it on to the stage, and give the sound man no end of nightmares, but it looks great

I wrote a longish BB235 review in this thread a while back, also made some comparative comments on both. At the moment I enjoy the 235 more. I practise on it, it is the instrument I’m most likely to grab when I start writing a song, or just feel like playing something. The 735A gets playd at band rehearsals only, it fits the band in question (loud stoner/doom type thing) quite nicely. 235 sounds great played clean, or with some modulation fx, or a bit of dirt. Its electronics have a bit more hiss than the 735A’s but that is probably the only real fault I’ve found. 735A likes dirt and behaves well at loud volumes, with octave, fuzz, distortion pedals into Darkglass MT900, but sounds a bit... neutral, almost boring, when clean. It could be the preamp, or the pickups - or the strings: it’s had the same Rotosound Flats set on from day one, and I’ve just started thinking they might not be the ideal strings for it. I’ve used and loved them on both my BB1200S’s (and I very much wished the 735A would turn out to be the 5-string 1200S, which it clearly is not), but they don’t seem to fit here. Now, I’ve been waiting for my order of Ernie Ball Cobalt Flat single B-strings since october and when they arrive, I’ll be able to reach the final verdict. I hope. Love those strings on every 4-stringer I’ve tried (passive, active, fretless, fretted), going to set up both 5ers with them and see what happens. Guess I didn’t really answer your question here, did I?

Have you tried playing a few different genres of music to what you normally play lownote, only saying because I’ve been dabbling in a bit of funk lately and I would say it’s improved my playing, aswell as giving me another interest 🙂

Afraid if there was a poll, I would be another vote for "demotivated, can barely be bothered to play my instrument" On the upside I have raised a whole bunch of cash flogging basses on BC and am down to two that are gathering dust instead of 5 or 6

5-string basses are for people who can't play proper basses properly.

Compared to the Mex P I had years ago and even my current VM P which is nice its light and day...just noticed the body edges and arm cut are completely smoothed over as all American Fenders are/were....it all adds the feel of quality...not super light at 8.6 Ibs but I cant put it down the neck is kind of slick and comfy.....Anyway, just felt it needed a shout out. If the American Fenders are better, what ever that means then so be it...its definitely not worth the extra £1000 to me, no way.

I got my first guitar in 1959 as a young teenager and have been playing ever since. Much like Dad it's been on various instruments and from no gigs to full time. The last 30+ years I have been playing bass in a variety of jazz groups from trios to big bands and switched to DB and EUB about six years ago and was gigging with two bands before lockdown. In the last year I have improved a lot and am playing almost every day using sheet music and a huge collection of books I have accumulated, iRealPro, video lessons and playing along with recordings I have or other sources. I have watched a lot more videos(performance and instruction) than before lockdown and always find something to learn from them, great to have a resource like the internet, much better than "the good old days" with just records and books. My reading is much better and I feel more confident in my reading and my ability to actually play what I'm reading. Playing along with recordings (everything from pop, oldies, jazz standards and even big bands) has really improved my ear and I am getting much better at finding the key and chord progression before the song ends, well sometimes.😉 I have also been struggling with the bow on DB. I really miss the gigs and the rehearsals(usually 2 a week) and playing with other musicians and since I retired from my very hectic day job a couple of years ago music has been the main social part of my life until last March. I am a much better player than I was before lockdown and can't wait to get back to gigging, and at almost 75 I hope that happens soon!

I had a 79 musicmaster and it was dreadful, weighed a tonne, sounded awful with a tone control that was pretty much just there for decorative purposes and that dreadful bridge that these basses have, it makes me laugh when I see these going for £800-900 on Ebay

I keep thinking that this should be the perfect opportunity to sit down and hone my skills. Instead it seems I'm spending most the potential extra playing time gassing over guitars and basses on youtube.

I’ve been thinking about this lately. I barely played during lockdown 1.0. I was pretty annoyed at the whole situation and had the worry of losing my main source of income; whilst accepting it was necessary of course. I did a few weird socially distanced gigs and some live streams last year and was still kind of disillusioned with it. It’s only been the past couple of months that I’ve started playing regularly again and I’m enjoying it more than I have for a while. Doing some remote stuff for people and learning music that I enjoy and find challenging to play has been a nice change. I found it really difficult to get motivated to play, and the break did me good as now I’m excited to get the bass out again every evening.

Great looking cab, it might sound a bit bright with 2 tweeters 😁

You're laminating a bass out of matchsticks and then adding a double bass fingerboard to it? This is turning out to be an amazing project!

They need do a classic cobra blue with white stripe😆

I am not sure if this is in the thread yet.

I gave up worrying about tone years ago after seeing a bassist using a very fancy active bass in a big live production supporting a big name singer, he might as well have been plucking a chicken....awful muddy drone. The one for me now is an instrument that is light and comfortable to play..I almost dont care what it sounds like...all basses basically sound the same ...don't they?

I tend to cover those here...

once again I missed this, but it's repeated next Saturday at 1.45. Maybe we need a Sky Arts thread, where people can make recommendations before they come on edit, I think I'll do that

You can get ethernet to USB converters for about a tenner.

I believe there is a scientific law which states a pedal board will always be 1 pedal space smaller than you want it to be. So. Nice try D'addario, but you can't argue with physics.