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An actual photo in full 2 bass glory!

Mine neither - I've got a 1970 TV logo P bass which weighs just 3.8kg, has lovely tight neck joint, slim B profile neck, no scrappy workmanship at all and sounds bright, loud and resonant.

He actually suffers from the rare condition Tweedfaciatis, where the facial skin takes on the appearance of a tweed cloth cap

My old 72 has a divot where my thumbnail wore into the wood.

To help me "get my groove back" after losing my gear in the fire, the BC family was wonderfully generous in helping me out ... it's all about the bass! I've received a couple of older Zoom effects processors and they are going to form the core of my signal chain (All the elements of the Phoenix Rig were gifted to me by generous BC members ... I cannot express how grateful I am!) The Zoom units are quite powerful in the processing they can perform and can sound quite good, however there are a couple of "challanges" to the way I setup the effects and gig. Configuring patches This is done on the unit using the small display and controls. I came across a free application called Tonelib that makes the process of building and configuring patches significantly easier; it's a funky bit of software! Selecting patches when playing Sadly this is suboptimal! With one or two footswitches, it is hard to go directly to a patch, there is support for scrolling through a list of patches but it is not ideal. After some research I found that a few clever folks had figured out that the Zomm processors accept MIDI commands to select and reconfigure patches and effects. And so I am building Stompz. It will be based on the Raspberry Pi that did not get baked in the fire. Yesterday I went into my makerspace and spent several hours starting the physical assembly. The enclosure is the back of an offcast of an outdoor light a bit like this Is is almost perfect for the job. I drilled and filed a few holes for the foot switches and an expression jack socket. Stompz has 5 footswitches, an expression pedal jack input and a small OLED display panel (I've yet to figure out the best way to mount this so it's currently just sticking out the top) It will be based on a Raspberry Pi that did not get baked in the fire and, apart from the foot switches, is made up of items that I have been able to salvage from the flat or are offcasts ... super economical! The finished Phoneix Effects Chain will look like this At present the only thing in Stompz is a USB battery that is powering both Zoom processors. The foot switches are laid out so that it is easy to press two adjacent switches, so from a UX perspective it will be possible to have 5 x Switch press 5 x Long switch press 4 x Pair switch press 4 x Long pair switch press. This will allow for some quite powerful manipulation of the unit during a gig, either turning on/off individual effects, selection of preconfigured pedalboard layouts and snapshots. The OLED display (I might add another as it is quite small) will display what Stompz is up to and indicate what each switch will do. Stompz connects to each Zoom using a USB cable, which provide both power and will carry the MIDI data; The Zoom MIDI message format is not officially documented, but there are various resources on the web from which I should be able to build a full list of available commands. At present I have successfully been able to change patches on a Zoom but I believe it is possible to reconfigure patches as well as the various settings for each of the effects in a patch. I'm hoping that I can do this without killing any audio tails as it will allow me to drive some of these changes using the expression pedal. With the two Zoom processors connected in serial the rig will support a total of nine effects in a chain; I'm toying with the idea of running them in parallel which might allow for some splitting of frequencies for different processing ... not totally sure how I would wire this up yet. I'll be writing some bespoke code to allow for: Defining the action of the footswitches. Configure/manage/select "Pedalboards" (A collection of effects and their settings used in a particular song) This will let me configure which effects I want to use and their settings and (hopefully) link the expression pedal to the desired effects. Ideally I'll be able to treat Stompz as a single effects unit and it will decide itself which effect to place on which processor. Configure/manage/select "Snapshots" (A group of the settings for all of the effects in a pedal board) Access to all of this via a web interface (Or maybe also a smartphne app) over WiFi. The idea is that I can setup my pedalboards and tune the settings as I desire in advance and save them. During a gig I can use the foot switches to select a particular pedalboard for a song and switch between snapshots as I play, to load the settings for the verse/chorus/bridge/etc. All of this will be run on the Pi which will send the MIDI commands to configure the Zoom processor units. With my EffektLada project (Now put on ice) I had intended to run a MIDI synth and sequencer on the Pi which could be driven by a MIDI keyboard; this will allow for the generation of sophisticed drum tracks as well as being able to produce the occasional "special sounds" that we have used in some of our numbers (Like shakers, cow bells, xylophone ... even some horns or organ snippets). I've a couple of salvaged microcontrollers that can do button/motion sensing and send MIDI over Bluetooth to the Stompz allowing for small handheld battery powered units to produce effects. This will require the addition of an audio output from the Pi so is definately a Version 2 or 3 feature. Other possibilities are to use Pi based effect plugins in the signal chain and even record on the Pi. Now the basic physical assembly is complete I need to wire up the innards and start designing/writing/testing the software to achieve all of this. Hopefully I can make a start on this later today ... I am starting back at work tomorrow and I need to sort out some shoes that will help me survive the 12.5h shift on my feet (I am so looking forward to being back bedside nursing, it feeds my soul) so my time will be constrained. Stompz may not look as elegant as the all in one systems from the likes of Line6, Moddevices or the current gen Zoom units ... but it will get the job done and then some and I will be able to craft it to behave exactly the way I wish, which cannot be said of an off the shel unit which are generally very configurable, but only in the way the manafacturer determines. And the things that makes it all possible is that the cost is mostly effort, the various elements have been donated by the amazing BC family, have been salvaged from the fire or scavanged from castoffs ... no significant financial burden and the time I spend to bring it all together is free! More to come ... S'manth x

Contouring done and neck carved. Woodwork complete. Electrics and finishing to be done and then it lands in my sweaty talentless mitts. Better get my chops up to speed 😀.

I'm Only Schuman R&B Man

Others in Brahms ～ Dire Straits

I have a lot of vintage Fenders myself and had even more through my hands over the years and without doubt the late 60’s early 70’s are my favourites. They just sound and play well, every one of them. Late 70’s aren’t in the same league imo. Pic of my sexy, well gigged 72 for you voyeurs 😂

It is not working ... yet. I am able to identify the pedals plugged into the Pi from my software. I'm currently navigating the various online resources to collate the different MIDI commands that the Zoom pedals use (They seem to have slight variations ... and are not officially documented!) I am working on the best approach to represent each Zoom pedal in a similar fashion to the user (As much as they are capable) and have started work on the web UI. I suspect it will be many hours of work to get it to a polished place to be usable ... but it is progressing in the right direction! NASA ... lol, this ain't rocket science Before I retrained as a nurse in 2015, I'd worked nearly 30 years in the IT industry ranging from developer thru to architect thru to CTO ... so I have a fair bit of experience to fall back on. IT was interesting, it paid very well ... but it did not feed my heart; nursing (Especially working in intensive care) is interesting, the pay is criminal ... but my heart is full! And this sort of project helps satisfy the geekette in me S'manth x

Is your guitarist in some kind of witness protection program with his face blurred out?

My 72 P

Gershwin Chaz n Dave

I think it's a bit unfair (and unkind) to look down your nose at cover bands. Growing up in the States, almost every band was a cover band, and originals bands only played to a very few, usually uninterested, souls. I think they are two different animals, both very valid. Cover bands love to perform together and get the crowd moving. I think originals bands a bit more serious and are looking for a different type of validation.

Was at a Jam Night last night, and the house bassist, a friend of mine, had brought his 77 Precision down. He passed it to me, and I braced for the boat anchor-weight, but blimey, if it was 8lbs I'd be surprised. And it played really, really well; I'd go so far as to say that it's the best Precision I've ever played (with the possible exception of a 63 I had a 5-minute go of about 30 years ago, but that's a hazy memory)...just goes to show there's good uns and bad uns of every year...

That's a bit unfair. Those who slag off, do so with feel.

Yeah, your needs are somewhat more complicated than mine. I generally turn up, set up (bass > amp > cab - no pedals), soundcheck, then… go for chips.

Unless those variables are what makes the sound you like. I don't like 'neutral', I actually like speakers/drivers that have colour (haven't established the exact shade but it may be purple).

I had a pair of Aguilar SL112s a couple of years ago and I was a Hartke endorsee too, so I have a little bit of background in each camp. I just felt that a pair of 1x12s was the way I wanted to go and once you get an idea in your head... Irrespective of the Hartke Hydrives I used (1x15/4x10/2x10 - sorry not the 1x12), I found them all quite bright and they suited my desired tone ('gritty/driven') so based off that, I wouldn't really expect a pair of 1x12s to differ from that significantly - it's simply what they do and they do it very well. I owned a pair of Aguilars, too - a bit of a vanity purchase - I just figured these would be a decent upgrade from a Barefaced Big One. To be honest, they didn't suit what I was doing. They were very hi-fi, quite a bit bassy and lacked a lot of the top end that the horns in the Hydrives (or the 6" Barefaced tweeter) provided. At the time, I just thought there was something wrong with them, but the horns were working in both cabinets, but the effect was very subtle. I sold them on. Right now, I'm running a single Darkglass 1x12. If I ever have the desire to go back to full time gigging/band, I'd probably get another one of these. It's quite lovely.

"This listing was ended by the seller because the item was lost or broken." I expect the bridge flew off under the strain. I hope no one was injured.

Budapest ～ George Ezra

I don’t believe it!!

Okay:

Maybe it was a provisional web page… 😬

🎵 "Well you can tell by the way I plane my curve I'm a luthier, no time for lurve. Music loud, and varnish warm My destiny since I was born And you can laugh, and you can say 'He hates routers anyway' (But I'm) Drillin' and a-chisellin, and a-sanding' and a-fillin' And Staying Alive, Staying Alive! Ah Ah Ah Ah Staying Ali-iiii-ive!" 🎵

Might be worth a punt if you're near Warrington, counterfeit logo and individual saddles screams AliExpress but can't remember seeing Dolphin copies on there. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/255722974825?hash=item3b8a46ee69:g:dLYAAOSwkH9jHzXu

The second bass of this type (I also confess to having built a 3 string version for mrs 3below). Aiming for fretless, 30.75" scale length and hopefully 7lb or thereabouts. Routing done before assembly this time, makes life much easier. Only 3 new mistakes so far, none of which are show stoppers. Chose to rout the preamp recess much more deeply in this version, then decided I did not like it. Sorted by inserting some wood strips and re-routing. I routed the the inner hole after the outer recess, it would have been much easier to do the inner through hole first. Routed a small clearance slot for the preamp cable on the inside at the wrong end. There are now two cable clearance slots. The above shows a rough idea of where this is going. I will use an extension bar at the back to move the strap anchor to a suitable place, not going for the 1lb of lead this time. A year ago I bought some katalox fretboards (harder than ebony and far cheaper). Tried planing this today with the electric hand planer. Not good, it cracks easily and the planer pulls divots out even at 0.25mm depth. Will get the Scheppach planer/thicknesser on it next which will do 0.1mm. Being idle I started to glue the box up without using my dowel jig. I had forgotten the joys of wrangling butt joints and wet titebond.

I Shostakovich ～ Marley/ Clapton

Too Hot To Handel - UFO

They really have a song for every occasion don't they? 🤣 Is it your band?

get Orff of my cloud. Stones

Just come across this - a TV programme from 71/72 of early YES (the Fragile period when Wakeman had just joined), following a British small hall tour before they went off to conquer the States. Bruford comes across as a bit of an entitled posh boy and Anderson is surprisingly down to earth, but fascinating stuff...

Exactly. That's the truth of it. I remember when I bought mine there was another identical one next to it but it was an absolute plank to play. Good and bad basses out there regardless of age, pedigree or any other perceived indicators of quality.

Pail Shelter ～ TFF

My "process" (or lack thereof) consists of: #1 - INSPIRATION I'm also the singer in what I call MY band, so many times music isn't what comes first in my mind. I have this text document in my mobile phone where I have all sorts of lyrical pieces, from mere hooks to whole verses/choruses. I usually know how they'll end up being, at least rhythmically, but most times I have the whole melody too. Only some times things start from a riff or chord progression I usually find while playing/trying stuff on my own. I sometimes record stuff I'm not sure I'll remember later with a simple dictaphone app in my phone, but that's really occasional, mostly with bass/guitar riffs/parts, as vocal melodies get "engraved" in my memory as soon as I write (and like) a certain set of words. #2 - DEMO Once I have sufficient material for building up a song I sorta' sketch a basic drum structure, directly in my DAW (Reaper + Steven Slate Drums plugin). I program drums carefully enough so that you can play along with a decent feeling. Bass part is usually the last thing I figure out. I record guitar first, then bass. Usually thru' Zoom boxes for a mostly baked in tone (one that's record friendly, so I don't have to tweak too much afterwards) and into a Zoom R24 I use as my audio interface (great preamps). Last thing I do is record my vocals, usually a lead vocal and 2 harmonies panned open. I usually record it all in one 3-4hr "session" at home, whatever isn't complete or missing I invent on the fly (very occasionally out of thin air, mostly rounding of previous ideas). #3 - MIX & SORTA' MASTER For about a week after I do the recording I intensively listen to it in every medium available to correct both the overall mix/sound but also musical details (mostly vocals) until I have something I really like. As soon as I do have it I register it online in SGAE (composers' union here in Spain, I don't get any money at all from my small time band, just do it for intellectual property reasons) and after that I can show anybody. I make sure the volume and overall "fullness" is there, so it isn't sounding too anemic A/Bed with comercial music (the most depressing aspect of most demos people share). This is my last demo (from some 4 month's ago). Guitar is a CHEAP Tele copy, bass is a 90€ parts Jazz I built a couple years ago, and both emanate from a Zoom G1Xon pedal (hacked with added bass FX). It goes thru' the aforementioned Zoom R24 as my interface and into a Windows10 + Reaper PC. Vocal mic is an old cheap AKG dynamic one (D65 model IIRC, probably have had it for 30 years) which I recently refurbished, capsule thoroughly covered with acoustic foam as its antipop filter, also thru' the R24. This song, along with 5 others, is yet to be recorded with my power trio soon. We have previously released a whole LP and an EP. This will be a new EP. Unlike in previous occasions, where my part would consist mostly of composing the vocals on top of music by our guitarist/s, this is all my compositions, all "pre-produced" with this "process". Despite who the author is, this is the level of detail we're used to. No time to lose in the studio, we need to get there with everything down, I like detailed demoing, even now that we're recording at our own studio. I also like to go in the studio with material not only learned but, moreso on vocals, it sounding like me, like it's mine. I hate singers (and all musicians, but singers are the most evident case) that don't put the previous work and end up looking like they're recording covers they don't quite know in the studio.

Blimey, oh for the old days when you just bought an amp to make yourself louder than the drummer! Surely 'flat' on any given bass amp is of absolutely no use or reference? All you need to have is an amp that when the controls are set in the centre position you have a basic sound that works for you when used in conjunction with your other equipment; that way you have + or - any given amount to tweak for room vagaries etc. Taking an amp and running it through spectrum analysis or whatever to find the reference to start from is meaningless if at this flat point you have one or more of your controls at a near max/min of its available travel. Plug in, put everything in the middle, if it doesn't sound OK/good walk away to the next amplifier.

But then what makes his bass any different from any other P-Bass?

At present my punky/psychobilly band, The Spacewasters will be playing at The Dublin Castle, Camden this Saturday 17 Sept, supporting Pussycat & The Dirty Johnsons.

No worries, Frank, at my age any kind of a parent is an unlikely, but welcome, surprise 😀

Blimey. That's provo-cative. He could dine out on that forever (obviously not, of course).

😘🤣

Vintage, anyone? Korean Jazz 24 Red Knob Dual Showman 4 x 12 Love the sound!

My DarkRay now with a matte black pick guard.

My 63 p