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I've had a bass since 1992. The usual lads decide to form a band thing. It was a precision (copy). That was soon upgraded for a westone precision type bass. Then when I started properly playing I got a USA precision. Played it for 10 years without playing anything else. Then when that folded I started a function band and it was precisions again. I tried jazzes along the way, but really couldn't gel with them. Then I got into tribute acts. Precisions again. Loads of them. Forever swapping. Tried jazzes again, and (apart from the flea jazz) just couldnt gel. I was also never ever ever really happy with my precision sound. Nothing wrong with it. But never truly impressed. Punchy on the E string, yes, but not rich anywhere else. Then after 30 years of p basses..... I bought a Harley benton double humbucker musicman copy. Absolutely love it. I think it's a fantastic bass. Every sound under the sun. Big, but somehow easy to play and clear sounding everywhere. Then over the last few weeks I got the even cheaper Harley benton single humber stingray copy. And once I'd whacked some better strings on and shielded it, it's gorgeous. Seriously fat and gnarly but controllable and warm. Where my precisions would be too fat and dull to really rip into some songs, this does it with ease. I've tried these with function band, tribute band and party band and it fits lovely and warm and clear across the scale. The precisions and jazzes in my hands where flat and subdued and sounded a bit lazy. I'm sure it's just my style (finger style) and nothing to do with the actual basses, but I can just not get a lively sound out of a precision or jazz. I sound instantly dull, despite fitting in the mix. But now with stingrays (all be it budget ones) everything come to life. So, it turns out after 30 years of playing and telling everyone I'm a died in the wool precision player - I'm not. It should have been stingrays all the way!

We had a good night last night: plenty of dancing and singing to 3 of the 4songs we did. The exception was “Everything but love” by Jaime Kyle. It’s a banging tune but I think the 4 of us were probably the only ones in the pub who knew it - now we’ve played it once hopefully a few remember it for next time we do it. “Price Tag” and “Perfect” (the one by Fairground Attraction) are good singalongs, and my bandmates covered my cock ups in “Perfect” well. I thought we might struggle with “You can call me Al” but we played it well and the crowd seemed to enjoy it. We had plenty of positive feed back afterwards. We performed for the 1st time with a band name: "In Progress" The video is less than 40s. It’s the only footage my mate took, but he managed to catch the bass solo in “You can call me Al” (not the original recording version, but something I could fit into 2 bars). You can call me Al.mp4

A few months ago, I watched a video of a guy designing and building a guitar/bass with a spinning round neck. He surprisingly got it to work! Now Charles Berthoud has got his hands on it. Not everyone's cup of tea, but you have to admire his ability to play his style on almost any stringed instrument.

That's probably what they're referring to... steel pole pieces and steel "keepers" (chassis?) with magnets charging those, rather than something like Alnico rod magnets as poles. Like Wal did/does with their pickups, as Pete mentioned early on in this thread: It's also how I do mine, with the English voicing versions having the thicker mild steel keepers and ceramic magnets that charge the and the pole screws (Original voicing construction is the same, but with shorter/thinner keepers and magnets, different wind count and wire gauge):

Played in Ramsgate last night with Verity Bromham. Had Kev Hickman depping on drums who did a marvellous job. I tried an XVive in ear unit that John lent me along with my rig. The engineer pointed me to an app to put on my phone and I set up my own monitor mix - bloody amazing. Journey home was a nightmare due to road closures, road out of Ramsgate was shut as was the M25, A1 and M1. Bolleaux! Got halfway home and realised I’d left my house and car keys at the venue. So I had to leave my car at Johns, get Del to go right out of his way to drive me home then wake the misses up at 3am to get in! Why the funk do I do this?!! Was a cracking gig though!

My first Sixth Form band did the classic burn brightly and then implode! The band split and the whole band reformed behind my back as a new venture. I had committed the cardinal sin of spending too much time with my then girlfriend, rather than hanging out with the group. We didn't speak for a couple of years but have all been mates again since the early 90s. I then tried a short lived band with the guitarist 20 years ago but with his impending fatherhood, he was the problem this time. Understandably. Fast forward to lockdown 2020 and we tried again. The plan was to jam some of the old songs from Sixth Form, probably once. We're releasing our second album next week. We've made several music videos, a film and played from Lancaster to Southampton and done over 50 shows together. Aside the sulking of Sixth Form, we've never had an argument and the relationship is stronger than ever. Last year, we managed to get two of the original sixth form band to come and join us for a reunion show. I have this picture framed in my bedroom. It will happen again. There's a lot for being older and wiser.

It very much depends on the wider context.....I have been in bands where: 1) a good person has quit immediately with no discernible reason then I would have reservations about having them back 2) a good person has quit immediately with good reasoning (family / work / life has thrown them a curve ball as it does) then yeah I'd consider them again 3) a time wasting, egotistical, "I'm better than all of you", narcissistic, over confident / undertalented, total twunt.....er, I'm not thinking of anyone in particular....honest! Then I would possibly pass on the chance. 🤣🤣

Maybe choose something people can remember. I gather this varies for different people, but personally I only remember The Gr'80s and Neon Yuppie Coke Machine from this thread. Kudos to @Chiliwailer and @2elliot for those.

Shim at bridge end of neck pocket . Business card or similar . 1/2 in or so wide and full width of pocket . Don't be led down the rabbit hole of full pocket shims , angled shims or horror stories of ski jump necks . Seriously , this has been done for years by major manufacturers with no ill effects .

I've been the proud owner of a Serek MW2 5-string and a Wilcock Malarkey 4 for about a week now, so I can finally answer this question. I'll outline the similarities and differences, though ultimately I don't think anyone could go wrong with either. First off, build quality is top notch on both (another user commented on sharp edges on the Wilcock but Viv seems to have addressed this). No high frets, no sharp edges, no gaps at the neck join (Serek is a set neck). The necks, aside from being a 4- and 5-string, are quite different. the Serek is a much deeper C-shape (don't know about the MW 4s), while the Wilcock is just a bit shallower than my JMJ, but doesn't feel like a toy. The Serek pickups are louder, which is to be expected from Nordstrands, but input gains on amps are a thing. I've found that the Serek can get a very low action with out any 'snap' (I prefer a medium action, so my 'low' may be higher than yours), while the Wilcock will get that 'snap' more easily. My only gripe about the Wilcock is I can't get the E string intonated perfectly (its 20-30 cents out), so I'm going to replace the screw in the bridge saddle. I don't think anyone would be disappointed with the quality of either instrument, the only thing that will push you one way or another is your personal preference. You can easily try a Wilcock at the Bass Gallery (that's where I first played one), Sereks aren't as easy to try out, though not impossible.

It also isn't very responsible as a manufacturer to not support a product repair at all. In the age of planned obsolescence and massive amounts of e-waste, surely helping out an amp tech to repair a product isn't the worst idea. And just reputationally, being that unhelpful doesn't win repeat/new business.

That you've started a thread about it suggests you see the red flags flapping but think/hope someone might come along and tell you it's actually ok to ignore the flapping red flags? flap flap flap We see them, too, even from here 😉 flap flap flap

Well it's obviously one better than Schaller's 3D bridge.

A Serek, a Wilcock and a JMJ walk into a bank and say, "We need all your money and don't short change us."

Back in the mid 90's I used to play a Friday lunchtime gig with some friends in a cafe bar in Hull. It was always a great time, especially if some or all of the guys playing didn't have an evening gig afterwards! One of the band knew Albert Lee, so when he was in town he persuaded him to sit in with us. Needless to say he was wonderful, and yes we did play 'Country Boy' with him too. Over the years I've been to many gigs where Albert was playing, including Eric Clapton, The Everly Brothers, Emmylou Harris, Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings and of course with his own band Hogan's Heroes, so I was a bit starstruck. He's a lovely guy, and now 80 years old and currently touring the UK! (Tahnia was the name of the ladieswear shop next to the cafe bar, not the band!)

Time is the 4th dimension, so I suppose that means it is somehow chronomatically adjustable, whatever that implies and however that is supposed to be useful on a bass. Maybe it insures that you always play in time, and can be adjusted to play respectively behind, on, or ahead of the beat? Or perhaps it just means that this bridge is compatible with all tempos and time signatures...

Dress up as sailors and call it "Aye aye, M80's!"

If he's a good drummer and everyone gets on with him then I'd probably have him back. It kinda depends a bit around his initial decision to quit too. He's admitted he made a mistake, but was there any specific reason he left in the first place? If there was and it's still an issue (eg. Doesn't like the set, too many/not enough gigs, doesn't get on with everyone) then he'll likely end up leaving again unless something changes. Life's too short to be holding grudges though, so I wouldn't say no just because he left once. If you don't have him back, what are your other options? That's another one to think about.

This is a new one (to me at least) Duesenberg Kavalier, 30.5" scale About £2k though but the Triton bass they make is pretty cool sounding. Not 100% sold on the Art Deco style but I like the body shape. https://reverb.com/uk/item/80823023-duesenberg-kavalier-bass-narvik-blue

No big deal really . You're still doing music at home . I'm happy experimenting with synths ,and pickup a bass once in a while , while trying to improve my recording techniques on GarageBand . Enjoy your new direction

All the time. Musicians drift in and out of bands all the time, for a variety of reasons. Generally situations change over time and what was an issue might not seem a big deal a couple of years later. If you need them, they can play and are not complete d1cks, then why not?

120 watts of Made-in-USA glowy goodness. Yes, it is heavy.

Mad drummer was sacked then singer and guitarist rehired him, against my advice, only for him to be sacked again mid gig. Yes he was that mad.

Hah! The guitarists in my band were gutted I had a request at all 🤣 Never had that before! Joel over at BassEmpi.re asked if he could interview me, and I eventually got round to it after waiting on some pictures. https://bassempi.re/horas-bassist-mike-on-crafting-doom-metal-with-cornish-witch-trials-lore/

Can someone on Basschat who has experienced ski-jump due to a non full-length shim on an instrument they own please post photos?

"Neon Yuppie Coke Machine" is genius, the clear winner of this thread, nothing can beat that name!

What has changed is that you now need to pay VAT on the fees reverb charge you when you sell something. I've unloaded a ton of my old gear on Reverb and noticed the fees got a bit higher when this new rule came in. I have never needed to supply a VAT number to reverb as I am also a private seller who isn't registered for VAT. I fear there's been a bit of a misunderstanding Brian, and you have been given misleading information from the support person where the canned answers they gave you didn't apply to your specific situation and were parrotted directly from their screen without being filtered through their grey matter. All you need to say is "I'm a private seller and I'm not VAT registered so I will have to pay the VAT on the reverb processing and selling fees" Here's an example of something I sold recently — A nice set of Gotoh banjo tuners that I had on my tenor guitar before I sold it. The tuners sold for £60, plus £5 postage The Processing fee plus the selling fee comes to £5.81 (£2.56 + £3.25) The VAT is 20% of £5.81, which is £1.16 The payout is £65 - £2.56 - £3.25 - £1.16 (Selling price plus shipping charge minus processing fee, minus selling fee minus VAT on fees) which is how they arrived at the £58.03 which was deposited into my bank account.

First update in a while - I've not been very good at documenting this one. Black/brown stain and first coat of hard wax oil done.

I clicked 'watch item' on eBay and I received a message from the seller with a special offer for this bass! Apparently it has 'got that lovely grumbly tone'. If only I had the spare cash 🤷‍♂️

Whilst doing a session replacing an existing bassline by someone else I remarked to the client, the guitars sound great by the way. ‘They should do’ he said, ‘It’s Dominic Miller.’ ’Aha’ I said suitably chastened. Struggling for a reply I went ‘and as ever Tom sounds great on drums’ thinking it was the producers regular skins man, Tom Hooper. The producer leaned over and said quietly ‘That’s Dave Weckl’ It won’t be a surprise to learn I was eventually replaced on the session by Pino Palladino. The client was on a huge ego spending trip and had no interest in a Hereford Hillbillies’ input into his project. I thought Pino did a decent impression of me as it turns out 🤣

I make necks for my Zoot bass range from Roasted Maple I buy in from my supplier in the USA. In the workshop when I cut through the bulk timber, the colour throughout is consistent with not lightness in the centre or anywhere else. However, when I clear coat the finished necks, the natural colour goes at least two times darker than the raw roasted timber. I have to say that the scratch on the headstock in the picture does indeed look to me to be a bit suspicious? Maybe they were trying to sell it as "Roasted maple colour tinted" and not the real thing? I maybe wrong, but I'm not convinced it's the real deal. Here are a couple of shots of what Roasted Maple looks like before & after. I only tend to buy in "Flamed Roasted maple" but the colour of the non-figured would be the same colours. I hope this helps.

A Serek, a Wilcock and a JMJ? I have short scale collection envy.

Good choice - I ahve an argon (the key one). Great synth. Modal are still a going concern though, they released new synths this year at namm, and their reps are saying it is just restructuring, so who knows. It would be a shame if they went as they have done some great stuff. They also release a carbon synth too. I am still tempted by a cobalt to go with the argon.

A decent (I'm referring to ability, rather than temperament, personality, etc, which you tend only to find out about over time) drummer will always be in demand, so it isn't that surprising. They get more offers than most musicians, so are more likely to be offski.

I think Mark has done an incredible job with this one

Our drummist got interviewed in the local chipwrapper last year. They didn't choose him to interview for a profile on the band because he's the most interesting band member (that would, of course, be me, the bassist) but rather because he's the only one of us that doesn't speak in grunts and punctuate each sentence with a small fart. Parp.

Here's the base with just the holes for attachments and in cross section The square holes are the recesses for nuts. The ones in pairs in the middle attach the aluminium backbone. There's a lot as there's a lot of stress and at the end of the day, this is 3d printed. The square holes on the edges are the possible mounting holes for pickups AND at the back for the bridge adapter. I have never used them as the six string had suspended pickups and at the moment, the bass guitar has suspended pickups or it will when I find the all of the pickups The rectileaner holes with an access hole are used as mounting holes to attach the sides of the guitar which are then glued. This is a quick and easy way to ensure that the pieces exactly align. 0.5mm out is easily noticable. This gets it down to 0.1mm (or better). Just had a quick look for 10mmx10mm extruded ally and found this dutch site https://www.makerbeam.com/makerbeam-900mm-1p-clear-makerbeam.html 20mmx20mm is far too big and I simply have no space. 10mmx10mm might work, but would require some significant thinking and re design work. Even 10x10mm would be difficult to hide, but if I didn't hide it and made it a feature that might be interesting. However after saying all that, a Lloyds type building where all the plumbing is on show outside comes to mind. Perhaps thats the style for headless bass version...? Highly functional, open spaces, very adapatable? I'm going to let that thought simmer for a few weeks. Rob

Played my first Wilcock over 2 years ago and finally placed an order last year. Arrived today. Its awesome! Only had a short noodle on it but its sounds killer, love the 'bridge' pickup, getting used the mudbucker, but overall it plays great and its PINK!

I now have two set ups....my live rig and my home rig. Home rig is an iLoud MTM with an ampeg sgt-di and a boss re-2. Sounds awesome, live rig is still the matamp. Really happy with both and having a proper plug and play set up now makes practice more accessible which is cool 😎 Really happy ✌️