Leaderboard

A Frank Blank list... Went to the Midlands Bass Bash Bought a guitar built by @Jabba_the_gut Left the Bash after a matter of minutes Now grinning like an absolute idiot

Thanks to @bagsieblue who knows I’m a fan… I have a dirty old Yamaha arriving. This story started 23 years ago (1998…) and I was a beginner of about 14/15 months. Every month my local paper shop go “Bassist” magazine in for me. It was great. My grandad Eoin paid the subscription. They ran articles - a sort of “readers wives” column. in the August 1998 issue it was this - And tonight…I’ve got one. Go me.

I have been playing now for a number of years but rheumatoid arthritis in the fingers of both hands mean I struggle to get a regular position in a band. I have my 2nd gig in two years in December! Notwithstanding that I had put together four bass guitars that I loved but lockdown meant I was playing less and less and almost gave up. I decided therefore to reduce my collection of four to one bass and just enjoy myself when I wanted to pick up a bass. Thankfully Mark at BD gave me a good deal to px all four. At the last minute I could not part with my MTD Kingston Fretless, however, so three guitars went in exchange for this absolute beauty: Dingwall ABII 5/3. Glockenklang pre amp (passive / active), Super Fatty II pickups. Walnut Burl top / walnut chambered body. Wenge fingerboard. Ghost inlays. 3 x series / parallel switches (no idea what that means, but they change the sound). This will probably be my last bass as I am genuinely happy with my Bergantino Forte HP / Barefaced Big Twin II and the Dingwall Super Fatty sound (My ABI also had these). The MTD Frettless is a bit of fun for me so stayed. Photos are the actual bass but are Bass Direct publicity photos. The basses that went were my Roscoe Century Custom, Dingwall ABI and Fender MIA P.

Here's the latest update, the pic was kindly sent by John today, only about a month now to go! Also , now i can see the darker thru body woods I requested that I have seen on 1 or 2 other Jaydee's... very nice!

Routed the neck pocket - scary stuff. I'm still a bit twitchy. It's not perfect but I'm quite pleased for a first attempt!

As some of you may know, I have been on the hunt for a Motown and old-school (rock) bass for quite some time. Well, the hunt is over as I recently bought this Fender American Pro II P bass in the dark night finish. Very nice bass. I especially like the smooth neck and the build quality. It was a bit difficult to actually find a Pro II in this finish. Couldn't find one in the UK. I eventually got hold of one on reverb, seller was LL Music Center in Belgium https://www.llmusiccenter.com/gitaren/bas.html The owner Luc was very nice and packed the bass super safely (double boxing). The whole transaction went smoothly and I definitely would buy from Luc again. As you can see from the photos, I added a Dark Knight hologram sticker I found on Etsy. I just could not resist. As I always buy and sell basses (this year, so far, I've bought six and also sold six), I got a replacement pickguard to protect the original one from unwanted sticker glue. The company is called d'Andrea and the pickguard is of excellent quality with perfect fit. I cannot notice any difference between this one and Fender's original one. Could it be that they produce pickguards for Fender? Would not surprise me. Anyway, I can recommend d'Andrea in case you are looking for a replacement pickguard. I got mine from Thomann. https://www.thomann.de/gb/dandrea_p_bass_style_pickguards_for_bass.html I also added a thumb rest. It came with two screws but I am only using one as I did not want to drill an extra hole. Still works perfectly as I am anchoring my thumb near the end of the thumb rest where the screw is. Finally, I changed the strings to LaBella 760 FS. I love these strings. They really help create the sound I had in my mind for this bass. So far, so good 🙂

Once again kudos to @jebroad for a great event. Numbers were understandably down but I think we all had a great time. @Frank Blank bass by @Jabba_the_gut was, as you would expect lovely to behold and play. Nice examples from @Manton Customs too, the Jewelry Quarter bas was something a bit different and nicely playable. possibilty he will run some build your own bass courses! Plenty of lovely basses to behold and try, one common thread - almost every amp setup was 'compact'. No shortage of bottom end the days of the mega-stack are surely ending. Cake of course and an 'everyone's a winner' raffle and much tea and coffee. Thanks to all and everyone for organisation and the generosity to share such grest instruments. There were rsther more people than my photo suggests but as Frank said it felt airy znd uncrowded. You might notice Jez's basses neatly arranged in height order. I spent most of the day resisting the urge to swap the middle two over to start an ocd crisis.

NBD… sort of. I got hold of this bass during the week and although I have picked it up to play I haven’t managed to really dig in and put it through its paces until today. The bass was dropped off to me by Paul (thank you) Paul has gigged it hard for 30 years and I feel very lucky he decided to move it on after converting to 5’ers The bass is a hybrid of top names. The neck is a modulus graphite non truss rod model from 1988 and is arrow straight with a smooth silky feel that’s just lovely to grasp. The body hardware is Music Man as is the pickup and 3 band EQ with pots dating 1982-1985. The body is a Roger Giffin who is a top luthier building for many top players. He was asked to make a body with a fancier top than was the norm for music man and he certainly did. I stripped the bass down this morning to give it a good service and set up to my liking. The strings were a bit dead and not a brand or gauge I use so a quick trip to Bass Direct and it’s now sporting a set of DR 45 - 105 fat-beams. It’s a string through model the first I’ve owned and I’m not sure if it’s that or the modulus neck or a mixture of both, when it’s on a strap the open strings just resonate through the shoulder more than I’ve felt before. I resisted putting it through the amp until I’d tuned it up and let the strings settle and tuned it some more, checked the intonation, still spot on and then pressed the tuner off… In the signal went through an empress compressor with a HPF in the side chain into an Ampeg SVT IIP preamp and a Bag End 212, what came out was pure bliss. With the bass and treble up full on the 3 eq, the mid pot set to centre ident a soft plucking Produced a deep rich bass but with highs clear and beyond piano like, almost harpsichord like. Rolling off the mids completely took the metallic crispness off but still sounded sweet and good. Digging in with some flesh muffled the bell tones and gave a punchy but articulate sound and with the treble rolled off it gave a full juicy thump. Is it a Stingray? Yes, yes it is, it looks like a Stingray, can sound exactly like a Stingray but there’s more, much more to offer with the graphite neck. Am I gushing? I am going to to get a luthier to shim the neck with a properly shaved piece of wood (no business cards here!) the saddles are almost bottomed out and I’d like the action a little lower but the neck is still super fast. It’s not light at 10lb but what the hell, it’s not diving with a 4” strap and I use all tube amps with cabs from the 80’s and 90’s so I must be pretty Hench 😂🤣 Dare I say it… I think I’ve found ‘The One.’

If only ... From ... ... to ... Dangerously close to Eric Clapton, now that I've got my glasses on. (... or it's time to change specs..? )

I have to say it's nice contributing to this thread again. Feels like a very long time ago I last was able. Big corporate beano in Bristol and the first time I've ever played with no back line. Very strange experience but it kinda worked. I have to say without the Backbeat I would not have enjoyed it. Seems to me to be able to hear myself well and with a pleasing bass sound I'd need a monitor so good I had just as well bring an amp and cab. However the band liked it (mainly because I arrived 2 hours before them and set everything up) and the audience loved it ... eventually.

Yup. said it before and I’ll say it again… it could’ve been great - there were opportunities while I worked for them (2003-2014) and they made crap choices. some great friends lost their jobs (again) today. a shame. A real shame. If the main man would’ve listened to me and a few key others In 2010 ish…but…nope. The guy who took the reigns was a really odd guy…he had no knowledge of MI sales and eventually it went belly up. They then got rinsed by KPMG (asset strippers) - and then a seemingly well intentioned local small time retailer got in over his head. Was never a “cool” place to work - but Jesus it made huge amounts of money. Huge. At points - it was amazing. Have made some of my best friends through working there. Hope the 48 can find something.

You wouldn't even know Pino was there sometimes, and that imo makes him so great, he just blends into any song without shouting bass, but still pulls out the class fills from that fretless stingray. . The years of music I've enjoyed from Paul Young are vast.As for Chaka well.. Its a great Bobby Womack cover imo.

For the exact same reason many cover bands play the same material - it is what the punters want. Believe me, I ran a small guitar shop for two years with no Epiphone or Squier product. Everyone loved the Godins, Arias, Gordon Smiths et al but didn't buy the b*gg3rs.

Not a bb… but erm…

Looks pretty good!

I asked about this bass. I said ‘Is this your bass?” Wasn’t expecting the reply “it will be in five minutes” 😂😂

NBD you say? Let's just say I was >extremely< disappointed to find a luthier there who is about a 30 minute drive away from home.... That could be detrimental to my financial well-being... 🤦‍♂️ It's not as if I don't have a music room that's got a piano, 2 viols, 2 cellos, 4 saxes, and 3 basses in it.....

Blanket vibes... ...and Kosmiche / Krautrock vibes Not ‘andsome, don’t care! 😂

Very nice. I've had (am having) a consolidation at the moment too and it's quite a cathartic experience which I'm hoping will ultimately be more rewarding. Good luck with everything

Documentary on Del Amitri tonight (Saturday) at 9pm.

Now this is a Yamaha bass collection!

Pretty much every gear thread on Basschat that starts “I need….” then 😂

Just back from BD where I picked up my new bass (look for NBD later today). I pxed three basses to do this (story will be in NBD). Mark overall offered very close to market price making it a very positive trade. Not only that but there were three other guys in there and we pretty much had drinks party without the drinks. Mark; the three guys and me just chewing the cud talking bass and stuff. If I did not have to leave promptly I would probably still be there chatting now. Another great experience and morning; not just for picking up a new bass.

A P-bass with a Batman sticker on the pickguard, and oddly mismatched pickup pole pieces?! 😉

It’s screaming for a modern reissue in funky colours

Second one in, and our first ticket do. Nice full room, felt just like old times. Band still isn't 100% match fit yet, but we'll get there. Next up - festival tonight in North Northumberland.

Because they all buy the same stuff 😉 PMT, Andertons and GG are also part of a buying alliance/group/consortium called "GAP": Is it time to start showing some of the big brands the door? | Music Instrument News That was back in 2018. Not sure if this is still the case though.

-

Despite not running through a full set for many months my blues/rock trio played a memorable gig at The Pickerel Inn in Stowemarket to a small but extremely effusive crowd, many of whom follow us and had come up on the train from Ipswich. We were tight, energetic and guitarist played with real passion.

I have three items of SWR gear I’d love to get hold of. A Baby Blue head and monitor speaker with the 2x8/1x4 set up and an Interstellar Overdrive. I used a Goliath and Big Ben set up years ago and the sound was sublime. I use bag end cabs after being introduced to them by SWR.

Well…back to an Ashdown MK500. Some more bits arriving tomorrow, I missed my old rack tuner and MK rig - the “Knight Rider” setup 😂

ACG, Kemper and GR AeroTech. Quite possibly the Holy Trinity of Bass, Amp and Cab.

Quick pic of the location for yesterday's Oxford University gig. My Jazz bass can just about be made out to the right of the 'stage'.

Ah the penny drops at last. Fanx

On my way - see you later!

Sometimes it's like launching a space rocket. You have done all your preparations but after T=0 all you can do is just watch it go. Oh, I also gave the electronics cavity the final touches. Next up is the cover.

Better pic

That's because the speakers of that era, both the ones we played through and the ones the recordings were listened to on, weren't capable of going low. Don't forget that the #1 playback system in those days was a car radio/CD player, and cars didn't have subs as standard equipment then. Even studios didn't have great sound. The Yamaha NS-10 and LS3/5A weren't exactly bass monsters, and while Altec A7s were big and loud they didn't really go all that low. Give a listen to anything from the 50s to the early 80s and there one thing you'll almost never hear: a low E. The inability of vintage speakers to play a clean low E above bedroom levels is what started me building my own.

I don't have cakes, but I have chocolates as raffle prizes, @nickmew's Phil Jones Double 4 shoebox amp, and a luggage scale for weighing basses.

This is brilliant news! Their hologram tour looks amazing from a YouTube feature. ABBA were, and still, are one of the biggest pop groups ever and I don't think they made a bad record. The first two new tracks are number 1 and 2 in the download chart (whatever that is) and blow all the current formulaic chart offerings out of the water. This 70 year old bass player is a very happy bunny to know they are back!