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Showing content with the highest reputation on 31/05/21 in all areas

  1. Thank you for the various comments and feedback. My current instruments are a Fender 4 string J and a Sire Marcus Miller V7 5 string J. After a lot of internet digging, reading this site, YT videos etc. I had a lengthy e-mail discussion with Alan at ACG and this weekend I took a trip up to Scotland to visit him. I am pleased to say that a 4 string has been commissioned and I spent a challenging, but enjoyable, hour or two working out my choice of woods...
    6 points
  2. Due to the Covid-19 situation and severe back problems (67% officially disabled because of it) plus right shoulder injury (non-operable capsulitis from which, after more than 3 years, I will never fully recover), I'm selling all my basses over 4 kilos and also the ones I'm not really using. I've also considerably lowered the price for a quick sale. ACG Finn R Type Fretless 5 Custom Spec Level, November 2014. NO TRADE ! NON NEGOTIABLE PRICE ! Asking price including shipping fully insured with tracking number to your place in these European countries (ask for other countries) : Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France (excluding French overseas departments and territories), Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Monaco, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and United Kingdom : £1895 GBP !!! (new price is way more than £3000 GBP and some time to have it finished...) Shipping to United Kingdom is, of course, possible, but with an extra customs fee (VAT + other taxes + courier fee), because U.K. is now outside EEC. Fully working and in excellent condition. Here are the specifications : Body : black limba Top and back : thick flamed redwood with two black accent veneers Neck : set in with a small tone block of Macassar ebony, 5 pieces of, from center to external side, Macassar ebony, ash and wenge (asymmetrical profile and fast neck, think JP Basses or MTD) Fingerboard : thick (7 mm) flat radius acrylic impregnated Birdseye maple with a black accent veneer Positions : 26 with partial fret lines and Luminlay side dots Headstock : angled 3 + 2 shape with flamed redwood top and back and two black accent veneers Pickups : 2 x ACG FB humbuckers Preamp : Richter BassXX 3BP-CC (filter based) Controls : volume, blend, stacked bass and treble with active/passive push-pull, stacked mids (cut/boost + frequencies sweep), passive tone (only working in passive mode) Tuners : Gotoh Res-O-Lite GB-350 Bridge : Hipshot "A" Style Strings spacing at bridge : 19 mm Nut : ebony Strings spacing at nut : 9 mm Knobs : Richter-Warwick Scale : 35 inches Hardware colour : black Truss rod : one double action Finish : satin finish that has become shiny over the years Land of craftsmanship : United Kingdom (Scotland) Serial number : 0172 Year : November 2014 Weight : 4.680 kilos Action : from 1.5 mm under the G string to 2 mm under the B string at 12th position (can go lower, but was perfect for me) Will come with the original Hiscox hard case (2 keys inside), a set of Dunlop black Straplok (used) and the Luminlay torch. Non-smoking environment as usual. The bass has been fully set up professionally. It has received a new battery and has been fitted with a brand new set of La Bella White Nylon Tape Wound 750T-B-XL strings (50 - 65 - 85 - 105 - 135T). Certainly one of the best fiver fretless around. Top luthier build quality (Alan Cringean aka @skelf is in the top ten, for sure) and a sound to die for. The neck is a pleasure to play and the sound has tons of mwah. The original preamp was an ACG EQ-01 (there's a mistake on the website confirmed by Alan himself), then @Bass Wielder put a John East Uni-Pre and I removed it to put a Richter BassXX 3 bands preamp (filter based too, but with fixed frequencies except for the mids), which, to me, suits the bass better, making it easier to dial in the sound you want and having a full real passive path. The La Bella White Nylons are simply perfect for this bass (and any fretless, by the way) as they allow you to make very fast slides and also small accents with dramatic effect. There is absolutely no neck diving. I'm only selling it due to my health problems as it's really too heavy for my broken back. Link to this very ACG page : http://www.acguitars.co.uk/project/0172-finn-r-type-fretless-5/ Link to the Richter BassXX 3BP-CC : http://www.richter-ee.de/preamps1.html Link to the La Bella strings fitted : https://www.labella.com/strings/category/5-string-white-nylon-tape-bass/ What you see is what you get ! Look at the photos taken under different angles and light to see the excellent condition of this bass. Some very minor scratches and very small dings impossible to photograph, except for the two obvious dings photographed that were already there when I got it. Here is the link to the 45 photos in high resolution, plus some of the work in progress : https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1B8nKp4jd9M-0fXHwkpQAiz4FYEaeNpKr?usp=sharing Don't hesitate to ask for more.
    5 points
  3. So lets see if anyone is interested in this very rare fretless bass; up for grabs is an original Ibanez AFR A105F from the early/mid 90s designed by the great and late luthier Rolf Spuler. This design was all about ergonomics and playing comfort and it is the most comfortable bass you will ever play seated or standing. It also sounds incredible, I put Thomastik Jazz Flats on it and the sound is right on, singing and warm & full. Its got a magnetic pick up, bass/treble controls and piezos that can be blend in or played alone. The bass is in very good condition, always looked after, id say a 9.2 out of 10 with just some tiny wear on the back. The Fingerboard is in top shape, no weak spots or choking out, this bass is good to go. I will also include the truss rod tool and allen key for adjustment. Only around 250 five string versions were ever made and within these around 50 were fretless...so yes its a very rare bass. Ibanez is currently running a reissue on these basses with fretted 4 string and 5 string vesions. However these are made in Indonesia and have slightly different features. While being nice basses in my eyes they arent on par with the original ones. Fretless is the way to go with these. If I played more fretless I wouldnt let this bass go but its been collecting dust. Some Specs: Serial Number 515 made in 1992/1993 34 inch scale 19mm Spacing Raintree/Saman Wood Body Maple Neck Ebony Fretless Fingerboard Magnetic Pick up / Piezo Pick Ups Bass & Treble controls + Magnetic/Piezo Blend 3,7 KGs Shipped in hardshell case (its not the original one but does the job, and more importantly, is blueeee inside!) Shipping within Europe is no problem. Shipping to the UK is also possible, but it will be pricey. If you have any questions please hit me via PM. Thanks.
    5 points
  4. If you are happy getting a bargain for that reason
    4 points
  5. You should see the left one... All jointed and glued... fingers crossed!
    4 points
  6. I was at ACM a long time ago (13 years since I graduated 😮), but I wouldn't imagine that too much had changed... The academic and musical requirements weren't very high (compared to other music colleges or university music courses) and there definitely wasn't much jazz floating about; it's very much a rock and pop school. There was also a huge range of abilities within my degree class. Try to relax and enjoy it - as others have said, they want you as a student and the audition is just a hoop to jump through. A word of warning; I couldn't read music when I arrived and it was a very rude awakening - this is something that I'd start working on ASAP if you're still a TAB-only player. When you get there, make a point of finding the tutor whose playing/teaching is most to your liking and book as many 1-on-1 tutorials with them as possible; these will be worth more than the entire degree course in terms of getting you ready to be a working musician.
    4 points
  7. Nothing gives the impression of 'filling out' the sound without clutter quite as well as a walking bassline. If you walk between the chords of the song, it also helps to remind the widdle-meister where he's supposed to be.
    4 points
  8. Embrace the space. Improve the composition- bassist needs to listen to more Jack Bruce and less Adam Clayton. Build the sound and arrangement from the ground up so bass drums and vocals could carry the tune alone then the guitar is always an embellishment. Guitar player to be more aware of chordal structure and not just go off in a pentatonic widdle fest. Interact with the bass line, use double stops, and rests to give even more space to give contrasts of loud and quiet with the solo. Rests / silence are some of the most powerful composition tools. Not every thing has to be a wall of noise. SRV / Hendrix / Kings X etc etc all sound great with sparse arrangements.
    4 points
  9. Stray sunbeam creeping across my living room at the end of the day
    3 points
  10. I now think this probably started out life as a Vox bassmaster. https://www.vintageguitarandbass.com/vox/bass/Bassmaster.php
    3 points
  11. Agree....I have trouble waiting for the postman to bring me stuff though.
    3 points
  12. This occurred nearly half a century ago now. Yes, there's a bass (or several...) in every room, drums set up at either end of the cottage, and we trip over guitars, keys, cabs, PA stuff and more. We squeeze a little furniture in between the cracks.
    3 points
  13. Nah, the cheat line is clearly drawn at 13 or more strings.
    3 points
  14. When the guitarist starts with his solo I usually nip off, put on a baked potato, have a bath and I'll be back in time for his final orgasmic crescendo, where he's standing on a balanced spike, juggling 3 chainsaws and a double-handed highland sword, and is rubbing 2 Les Pauls together like Cockchafer beetles rutting in May...
    3 points
  15. There’s some good suggestions here but in my experience I’d say don’t be reluctant to leave things just as they are. Let the change in dynamics and sonic space work for you. When I hear a bass player suddenly getting busy or stamping on effects pedals during a solo I often think it shows a lack of confidence in themselves or the material they’re playing.
    3 points
  16. I have been looking at all the reviews on and off for the Argon (and Cobalt) 8. They make it hard to choose. I went to PMT last week, I went in to test the argon 8 I knew they had. There was a sign saying 'please ask a member of staff before touching anything", so I tried to find staff, found a guy demonstrating roland stuff, seemed rude to ask him but I did anyway, he said it was ok. tried to play it, no sound, just loud EDM. black lead went off to a mixer, where 8 black leads were. Found a slider to turn up that gave sound, after a few minutes I realised nothing I did changed that sound and it was a moog just getting midi from the argon. Found the argon in the end. Tried to ask another member of staff as he was going past if I could mess with their mixer, got to 'can I ' and got 'yeh, sure'. Turned the argon up, but couldn't really hear it well over the EDM. Stayed 10 minutes, more staff than customers, but not one of them asked so I left. Made an offer on a £400 one on ebay for £370, but rejected, then noticed Andertons had 2 B_stock, one at £400 which had damage to the case and one that was £416 for 'damaged packaging'. Don't care about that so bought it on friday. Came today - this is what you lose by paying £416 instead of £521: As you can see, the box is a little worn. I guess I will have to live with that Everything inside the box was perfect though.
    2 points
  17. produced: 02.11.2006 Made in Germany Description: Thumb BO, 4-string Natural Oil finish Ovangkol body Ovangkol neck Black hardware 2 Band EQ Pick up blend. Solid brass nut (Not a J.A.N) Fitted with Schaller strap locks (Will include both parts.) Currently strung with flatwounds. The bass is in good condition, there is some wear above the E string between the neck and the neck pickup, which seems to be common, also the MEC labels have rubbed off. It was set up last year inc fret level etc. If you require any more photos, please send me a message. I will include an Armourdillo Lightweight Hard-Foam Case and a tin of wax in the sale. £775 ovno. *SOLD* Collection only from TN12 Marden, Kent. I work between Tonbridge and Sevenoaks, so collection from there is also possible.
    2 points
  18. i like the look of this and I think I’ve seen it before , does it all look legit https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Wal-mk1-1992-four-string-Wenge-facings-/393371260034?_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49286
    2 points
  19. I'd not advise doing things this way. To each his/her own, of course, but I find it better to use just the stave, with no markings. As slow as it needs, just work out each note, say what note it is out loud (at pitch, if possible...), then find and play it on the instrument. At first, it's darned slow, but little by little, the association of the dots on the page, the name of the note and its sound work there way into the brain. Fifteen minutes a day, every day (or twice a day if really keen...) get it all engraved on the neurones, and there's no time wasted in writing down all those marks. It's the quickest, and surest, way I know, and has worked for me for drums, keys, bass and guitar. I'm still not a 'pit-man' sight-reader, but I can figure most simple scores out reasonably well. Get a 'clean' score of something and try it out, maybe..?
    2 points
  20. The Doors should have had only the same four musicians onstage as on the records, no extra hired hands allowed. Verboten. Also they should have all worn the same outfits onstage that they wore when they recorded their albums. And they should have been forced to eat three meals a day, every day, at the same time each day. A bit more discipline and adherence to the rules and they might have been more successful, who knows? And definitely 100% when Jim Morrison died the rest of the band should have replaced him with Elvis Presley. Personally I can’t stand Elvis but I think it would have been funny as f*** to hear him singing “L.A. Woman” or “Break On Through” or whatever. These painkillers are unusually strong, by the way.
    2 points
  21. Quick Nurse, he's gone full Trav again!
    2 points
  22. 2 points
  23. Sorry to hear about your back, I had similar trouble a year or so ago and you are literally scared to move once you've experienced the pain so I can appreciate you wanting to downsize. Looks like a good quality cab, GLWTS.
    2 points
  24. I did as well, certainly some interesting note choices. Very clever player.
    2 points
  25. Had to learn the Blues Brothers version of “She Caught The Katy” - he really was something special
    2 points
  26. I play have played, and still do play, in single-guitar/bass/drums lineups - some on guitar, some on bass. When I’m on guitar I consider it my job to maintain a suitably ‘big’ sound during guitar solos. Some of this comes from what I play e.g. chord stabs between notes, playing lines an octave lower, letting open strings ring; some from the guitar sound e.g. echo, fat drive/fuzz, volume boost. Some guitarists make the mistake of adding too much gain and not enough extra volume come solo time - what sounds great at home playing along with the original recording may be inadequate in a live situation. When I play bass in such a setup I rarely play differently during a guitar solo unless that is what happens in the original recorded version.
    2 points
  27. I'll set-up a thread to record progress and more details... 🙂 I opted for a 32" 4 string Krell (I am going to love being able to say "The awesome power of the Krell...." 👽) Spanish Cedar body with Purple Heart accent and Tasmanian Blackwood top. Five piece Ash and Purple Heart neck, with PH finger board. Pic is the wood selection
    2 points
  28. Not necessarily. That's often the case with 2nd order/2nd order, but not always. In any event it's prudent to test the system both ways just to be sure, playing a test tone at the crossover frequency.
    2 points
  29. I don't think that you have to fill any gaps. The problem with going full Jack Bruce under guitar solos is that it's almost more of a jazz style where you are reacting to the soloist and almost having a conversation with them, and a lot of rock players don't do that. They often just start playing busier for the sake of it without any real meaning. It's the same with drummers. Cream worked well because Jack and Ginger applied their jazz improvisation background in a rock and blues context and were reacting to what everyone played. Sometimes it sounds bigger to just play simpler, solid lines with good tone. Hanging out in the lower register, especially on 5 strings, can leave a big sonic gap in the mids, so it can sound fuller if you play in the lower midgrange of the instrument. Tritones are cool, but in this context it's normally better to use them as passing tones rather than playing them as chords (Unless you're playing a diminished chord ,in which case-go for it).
    2 points
  30. 2 or 3 years with the same battery. The light colored fretboard got darker with lemon oil. The tuners still hold. And during The Lockdown, it got played 2-4 hours/day. But still no problems or repairs needed! The strings I put on it already exceeded it’s price. It is a good practice bass and good enough for gigs(a very good amp will help). The Harley Benton bh550 is a good bass guitar.
    2 points
  31. Same for me in my old band, though it was the Tech21 Para Driver for me. In a 3 piece the guitar solos need to be worked out well so that they lift the song, with the bass staying largely where it was but maybe digging in a bit more, and the drummer using the ride cymbal stops the arsend of the song falling away. Having the bit of compression helps greatly as although you can dig in more the volume doesn`t really jump, just the amount of drive increases so filling out nicely. I also do a bit of Macca style note choice, same fret but one string down or one string up/two frets up, or some ghost notes on open strings, or maybe same string but either one or two frets down for one note here & there, it keeps to the original format if the solo is on a verse but just brings a little extra in. I`ve recently watched some live shows of bands like The Jam and Oasis, and on songs where they were originally recorded/played live with certain guitars (Rickenbacker for The Jam, Gibson 335 for Oasis) both have swapped on those songs to Teles for some reason. When the solos have kicked in it`s almost been like the band have downed tools for tea break, whereas before on live shows where they`ve stuck to the original guitar types the solos have really lifted the songs. So if one instrument lifts a solo, and another flattens it is it the solo arrangement that`s wrong or the instrument choice?
    2 points
  32. My CD of The Who Live At The Isle Of Wight tells me that when a guitarist shifts gear from good rhythm playing to second rate soloing, not even John Entwhistle and Keith Moon can fill every inch of the gap created.
    2 points
  33. This! Why would you feel the need to start flair playing whilst the guitar player was soloing? That would detract from what he was doing. Listen to live tracks from established three pieces and they mostly carry on with the natural rhythm.
    2 points
  34. I've pretty much covered in the other thread my 3 piece example...of course there are as many different band "sounds" as there are breakfast options, from sparse to wall of noise....but as Len Derby alludes to above, why desperately feel the need to change anything ?
    2 points
  35. The neck pickup is simply two of the Yamaha blade jazz pups added together with “some proprietary wiring under the hood” to quote Billy Sheehan. It may be possible to make one if you could get a couple of them and then check for wiring diagrams. Jon Willis on the Yamaha Attitude FB page is your man for that stuff 👍
    2 points
  36. Although it seems counter intuitive, being busier during solos works. Check out Jack Bruce during Crossroads or Tommy Shannon during Shotgun Blues (IIRC). There’s also the tritone/chord option. Martin Turner does some some full on, Quo type boogie on Blindeye.
    2 points
  37. Yeah, he’s a very underrated singer who worked with all the top bands and producers In the 70s and 80s, Check out the album ,Gunshot , the first track I think heard from him was on rodigans reggae around 82, he was around the same time as Hugh mundell , I’m sure Anthony did a version .This is a great one
    2 points
  38. Fancied a bit of Baroque Bassoon this morning!
    2 points
  39. Your performance piece is important, but don’t forget about other things they’ll probably test you on. When I auditioned for my BMus the performance piece was actually a pretty small part of the audition process. They were more concerned with my harmony and theory knowledge. There was a sight-reading test, an aural exam, and a written theory test. Playing wise they asked me to play two octave scales - I think they asked for modes too - definitely four note arpeggios. They were listening for how cleanly everything was executed, so if you play a five or six string make sure your muting is good. Just try and stay relaxed, and good luck with the audition.
    2 points
  40. The older Premiums were beautiful. Some great choices of woods. Really suit the gold hardware and I’m not usually a fan. And those Nordies ❤️❤️❤️ They sound even better than they look! Had a 1205 that went when I got a ‘Ray…. Am now considering flipping the ‘Ray for another SR, there’s some tasty ones for sale on here atm….
    2 points
  41. I’m with you on that ubit, I have to turn the radio off if he’s on
    2 points
  42. The Doors- Cant stand them. The Beatles- Same. Bruce Springsteen- Don't like him but I like I'm on Fire. American Pie- I detest that song in all its forms Rod Stewart - I hate everything he does (and says mostly) Everything else I pretty much love.
    2 points
  43. You can buy a tension strap that runs between the strap pins and gives you an anchor point for the second strap for basses without a horn. I got one when I bought my DuoStrap. https://gruvgear.com/products/tension-strap-option-for-duostrap
    2 points
  44. Restrung with Picato flats and ready to go! The edges of the bridge are pretty sharp, making the bridge cover "ashtray" something of a necessity... ... Complete with homemade weatherstrip mute Of course I had a little help as well
    2 points
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