Leaderboard

Take 5 minutes for a story about a very fine chap. Before the start of the pandemic I ordered a Moollon PV having been in Seoul to visit YJ and Andi Roselund at the Moollon workshop a few months before. I was really taken with the PV's tone. So the Pandemic hit and after working in a factory building respirators for the NHS through most of it I then lost my job. Not good karma. Sadly having paid my deposit I wrote to YJ and Andi saying that I could not afford to continue with the purchase and I heard no more. A few weeks later I saw a red PV up for sale and thought no more of it knowing I could not afford another one. 2 1/2 years later I got a message from Andi saying that YJ had not sold the bass it was still there available for me... Jaw dropping moment. They never got the email and YJ hadn't sold it - he kept it for me. What other maker would do something like that? I had in the meantime managed to get myself back on my feet and could complete the sale. Last week I took delivery of the bass I ordered three years ago. Delivered in pristine condition and sounding like a complete beast. I'm overjoyed to have this bass. I thought I had lost it and out of the kindness of YJ I do. What a bloody awesome bloke - unreal. The bass BTW is staggering, the low end is so deep but articulate and the higher register is thick like a short scale. Its ridiculously good, and oh the colour.. Red............ Red...... Red........

Always read the label on your amp head before washing.

Quite silly but amusing.

A huge thanks for all those providing suggestions and taking the time to post links etc. It reminds me why I joined the forum way back in 2007; it's such a helpful and friendly community. For those interested, I've gone ahead and placed an order for one of these Ibanez models https://www.ibanez.com/usa/products/detail/gsrm20_2y_06.html. Although it will take a couple of months to arrive I am sure she will absolutely love it! Whilst not available in first choice colour pink, purple has been confirmed as being a "second best colour" - so all good there! The plan will be to see how she does, then move onto a full-size body / weight / scale length version in a few years time; much like I did when I started the double bass around the same age. I will update again once it's arrived and I've set it up. Thanks again, Greg

Thank you everyone for your kind words and thoughts - it has really helped me get through the day...

Well…after a bit of a wait, and a bit of Wayne Carini style “it’s all about the chase” behaviour… A mate had bought a 70’s one on a whim and I was absolutely smitten with it…but he wouldn’t sell. Off I set on my little search…found via the Shergold owners group on Facebook. Original 1980 case too. its very clean overall with some edge marks. Not bad for 44 years old.

I love building guitars. I hate building jigs. It's a personality defect I know, but I resent having to do it. So I thought I'd show you a couple of my fuuuugly jigs, that seem to work just well enough that probably I'll never upgrade them. First is the top thickness guage. The guage itself was a cheapo from Amazon. A piece of scrap clamped above the table, and a piece of threaded rod going through a hole in my table. A plastic knob thingamy stops the top from getting scratched. I then write in pencil on the top what the thickness is at each point. It's pretty much a consistent 5mm, so I'm going to go back to the drill press and do another series of holes at just over 4mm. Which strangely is what I thought I did last time, but there you go. That's why you measure twice..... I should also say that pretty much everything I'm doing with this build is copied directly from Ken Parker. He's done an incredible series of videos called Archtoppery, which if you are interested and have a spare 30 hours or so, they are amazing. He's hands down my favourite builder, an absolute genius. Here if anyone is interested: https://kenparkerarchtops.com/archtoppery

As already advised, for speaker cables go to @Chienmortbb He has taken over from another Basschatter and makes cables from the highest quality components at very reasonable prices. Many brand names rely on snake oil to justify their high prices. These ones rely on reputation on here. I know which I trust more!

I bought this bass today. Luckily I live a bit nearer Perth (area) than perhaps most of you do. Absolutely zero issues and very good condition in general - the seller just probably isn’t a much of a gearhead compared to most Basschat people (he was a bit taken aback when I explained exactly how the controls work, though he had owned it for quite few years). I used borrowed Alembics on two Whitesnake albums and a few other sessions, and owned a new 20th Anniversary model briefly before finances became tight and it had to go.

Nice! The best colour for these — looks great! For a decent strap to go with it, I'd recommend the Perri's suede one with sheepskin pad (available from amazon) — I have a pair of these in blue and one in black to go with my JMJ mustangs and they are really comfy. She'll also need an amp of course...

Very true! What's that old British saying about 'not getting ideas above your station!'

This is often a BC way of saying "keep it simple cos that's the only way to do it that isn't blatant showing off!" 😁 I mean, there's all sorts of songs - Waterfront with its 1 note (though Simple Minds did far more complex stuff too), Rhythm Stick, School Days... But there seems to be lots of folks who are instantly turned off if music is at all complicated (Rhythm Stick excepted!) - this is why Mr Sheeran and Take That are multi-millionaires and Mörglbl are at best niche despite being completely awesome musicians. In the UK there's a weird sort of anti-intellectual thang going on; when I was a kid you should have heard the jeering from my 13 year old classmates when they discovered I'd read both the Iliad and the Odyssey. If a red-top newspaper ever reports anything scientific it's always prefaced by "Boffins have discovered", as if Boffins are a different species from yer average Joe and somehow to be pitied. I mean why would you tinker about with all this cleverness and not be watching the footie or enjoying the X Factor? The only sorts of knowledge that are acceptable under this scenario are an ability to recite every FA cup winner since 1921 or the exact exhaust valve clearance of a 1968 Ford Anglia. That's proper bloke stuff innit, not wishy-washy wet swot stuff! I blame The Beano...

Sorry, the engineer what now? 😳

We headlined at a gig tonight. Not a lot of punters, mainly the other bands there, but we had a blast. I think my right arm feels a bit sore from how hard I was hitting the strings. Home now and I've had some toast and the cat has had a good fuss on the sofa. Bedtime methinks!

Update photos on the build.

I know what it means in that context, but I enjoy a good fnar as much as the next punter

Just a warning. I bought this bass (https://richtonemusic.co.uk/fender-mustang-bass-1975-sunburst-hard-case-2nd-hand/) and had it delivered. When I tried to change to flats the increased tension necessitated a turn on the truss rod. Unfortunately, the rod has seized which either means it needs some pretty major lubrication or it's at the end of its travel. I pointed this out to them and they agreed to a rapid return. It was picked up yesterday and my refund was processed today. (Happy days) Unfortunately, they seem to have just advertised it for sale again without acknowledging the issue. They may have fixed it in the last 3 hours, which is great. But I'd exercise caution. Other than the truss rod it was a lovely bass, so here's hoping they have fixed it!

There's long been an anti-'intellectual' prejudice, not just the right wing press but across UK society at large, which doesn't exist across western Europe. Take opera for example. Here it's 'music for snobs' but in Italy (which I know best) it's for everyone and anyone. There there's no association between high art and social class. In France, which I've also lived in, there are living philosophers that are near household names. It most definitely is a British disease. Maybe it's similar in other anglophone countries I can't say. There you go, If I was overheard saying 'anglophone' in an English pub I'd get my head kicked in. As for 'boffins' that equates with nerd and geek in the UK and the US (or whatever the equivalent of boffins is) for that matter. Look at some English phrases e.g. 'smart Alec', 'too clever by half', these are perjoratives (now I've gone and done it). Going back to music, it's quite depressing too be reminded how Oasis and Spice Girls fever gripped the general British public back in the 90s a time when 'Jack the lad' publications like Loaded and FHM were go-to reading for males under 30.

Last night was the first rehearsal with the full line up, the rest of the full line up being the 3 backing singers. Sounding pretty good, gonna be fun when we start gigging 🙂

Must admit I`ve never really been one for asking studio people what they think of the material, if they offer an opinion or suggestion then great but otherwise I just acknowledge that they must listen to so much that that it`s probably seldom they hear something they really like. That said I do like to receive input on arrangements/playing etc, on our current album which is due for release in June the producer suggested a few things on bass which I did and they certainly add to the tracks, never too old to learn.

I've played for a long time, I got interested when I was a teenager back in the 90s. I had an old Italian bowlback (which I still have but find uncomfortable) and for the last couple of years a Sears catalogue Harmony archtop. I've also played octave mandola and now cittern. But I've just picked up this guy to add to the family, it's a Fylde from 1999, before the current Touchstone models. It's lovely to play and has good sustain across the range - not quite the type of woody punch you'd want for bluegrass but great for my mostly Scottish and Irish repertoire. I have D'addario EFW74 flatwound strings on there at the moment, I like how clean and round a note they give, without any clang on the bottom string.

Last night’s gig was one I never anticipated, wanted, but felt compelled and eventually pleased to do. My son died three weeks ago suddenly from a second heart attack a week after having stents for the first one, seems the surgeon did half a job. Julian was 46, three kids, fitness fanatic, my best friend, top DJ and drummer Today was his funeral. His widow had booked an acoustic duo for the wake in the local pub. However, the girl singer had to leave early for some reason; the landlord knew I played and pointed me out to the remaining guitarist/singer suggesting I might help, so as my gear was in my car I played bass and sang with him for the second set. It was good distraction therapy, busking 15 numbers I’d never played before with a guy I’d never met. Despite this glimmer of light in a dark, dark day I’ll never be able to rationalise why I’m still here at 74 to write this while he will never read it. Parents shouldn’t have to bury their children...

Our own sound & lights. We only travel with all that stuff for large premium pay gigs. Which isn't often as most of those gigs provide sound & lights. I don't know what any of it is. We're still paying for it. Daryl

A Little Easter Present... Not a Golden Egg but a Golden Face, replacing the Orange Juice.

NBD yesterday. Sire U5 fretless from Thomann. Quite a lot vested in this for me, as I sold two basses to raise the cash for this. Suffice it to say, it was worth it. So far I am very pleased with the little Sire. Others have reviewed the fretted U5 and as far as I can tell, this is identical save the black plastic inserts where the frets would normally go. It seems to be really well made for this price point. Fit and finish is spot on right down to the set up. It perhaps needs a bit more relief on the neck but that is easily fixed with a tweak of the truss rod. The neck has a lovely feel with beautifully rolled edges and an extremely thin matte coating on the back (gloss on the board). At the moment I can’t think of anything I would want to change on it. Even the OEM flat wound strings are good. They have a nice feel and suit the instrument well. I’m not sure what brand they are: not the usual D’Addarios, as they have blues silks at both ends and plain ball ends. Time will tell how the hardware lasts but it seems perfectly acceptable. The machine heads are identical to Northwest Guitars own brand vintage style, which are sold as an upgrade for Squiers, etc, so I am hoping they will last a bit. The bridge is chunkier than your average Squier ash tray and the ridged saddles are a nice touch. It can also be strung through. Unfortunately, it has an unusual screw at each corner mounting system, which makes upgrading a little less straight forward. As can be seen in the picks, it has a flamed maple top with edge binding and a plain painted brown back. It’s a carved top, which stops it from being a completely slab body. It gives it an arm contour of sorts but no belly cut. Viewed from the side the profile seems to do the reverse and actually bulge at the belly but it is comfortable on a strap nevertheless. Despite the maple top and binding it seems very light because the body is quite thin front to back. I haven’t had a chance to weigh it but I would guess around 7.5 lbs. I would certainly put this on your list, if you are looking for a short scale fretless. It is reasonably priced and nicely made. Bizarrely, it cost £40 more than the fretted version at Thomann.

92 years between them 🫣

A discussion about tuning that rapidly escalates into a fist fight - definitely takes me back to a couple of past studio sessions...

Apologies. Work got a little manic, but I'm back for part four of three – finishing with the finishing. I've tried a bunch of different techniques for applying finishes over the years, with varying degrees of success. My home workshop is just my garden – and it's not a very big garden at that – which makes using spray finishes unpleasant. In order to make a spray booth you have to tie a bunch of old sheets to trees, washing lines etc., and hope that the fumes don't get ignited by one of your neighbour's spliffs. (Here's a guitar being painted in what passes for my spray booth). This is no fun, and it also makes you reliant on getting perfect weather (low humidity, hot but not too hot, no wind to blow the sheets everywhere, no family gatherings on the other side of the hedge). Perfect weather isn't easy to come by in the UK, so I try to avoid spraying as much as I can. What I've settled on is a brush on gloss polyurethane lacquer called Mann's Extra Tough, which is designed for worktops and the like. My technique involves doing many, many coats of laquer and then sanding/buffing to a mirror finish. It's labour intensive, but the lack of fumes and overspray means it's easy to contain and you can do it inside. This was the view from where I sat, working from home during the first few weeks of lockdown. Every now and then, between nervously checking the news and working, I'd get up and apply a quick coat of lacquer. Here's the body and neck (finished with the same stuff and same technique, just with more masking tape), curing in my climate controlled hot-room. This is what it looks like once all the sanding and buffing has been done. Pretty good for brush-on laquer in an attic, I think. I'd added the copper shielding foil by that stage, which is a straighforward process of cutting & sticking and giving yourself hundreds of little cuts on your hands (like paper-cuts, except from something even sharper!). Here's the wiring harness from the old bass, twisted into a bizarre and stiff shape by 15 years crammed into a too-small space. I replaced some of these components – moving the active/passive switch from a push-pull on the volume knob to a separate DPDT switch. Here's a close of up its guts, mid-way through the wiring process. I'm not very tidy when it comes to electrics, as you can see. You can't really see it under the nest of preamp cabling, but there's another DPDT switch under there that switches the humbucker between series, parallel and singlecoil (in reverse polarity to the jazz at the neck). My original intention was for there to be four knobs (rather than the original's 2 plus 1 stacked). It would have had separate bass and treble knobs, with the active/passive switch also flipping the treble knob to work as a passive tone. That was why I moved the switch off the volume pot. However, I discovered mid-way through the build process that centre-detended 50k linear pots are surprisingly expensive, and decided not to bother. The fourth knob, therefore, is a passive tone that's only active whewn the preamp is switched off. I've used it perhaps three times, but it's nice to have. Here's the finished bass next to the carcass of the old one, so you can see the relative size and shape. The bridge is a Schaller, I think, with through body stringing and the tuners are the originals from the OLP. And here's a picture taken outside, so my crap camera could give you a better idea of the colour. And the back, showing the rather nice neck transition.

Just on the way home from a bloody marvellous Katy Hurt gig at the Fiddler’s Elbow in Camden. Was hot, was rocking, was great fun. Roll on the two Northern dates in a fortnight. And hopefully many more as the summer gets into gear…

That's an 8-32 x .250" undercut flat head Phillips, (not a standard flat head,, has to be undercut to work with the sheet metal thickness). https://www.amazon.com/Prime-Line-9000703-Machine-Phillips-100-Pack/dp/B07BP1MS6R/ref=sr_1_18?crid=1DQ4TL4MNKHQ7&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.ldnK2UJ5G4yXq98-9aA9OYGUckZkPsSTbM4j3L_FnhitcZohVR26UCeB7Q9V1JdNfuo5_CdT0RPoeTD8fZ4z-gh7zGKR9-XR4XWn66Xf3EjR_MGpw0Poj0Q1xbQ_MLjui9MSLG57B-P4ytrUsxV0fpSiE4pqOdMEEq1a77YcgqGS7_rv4lU2-LpW6vMXBGZa2LLia8C2MysAFFJTtHF02GXPb0SsoBD1RkE4kMOb_Jw.SQtrEJp6BScXhdLcn0dSH34lPQ3KCsRlh5DQ02v0gXg&dib_tag=se&keywords=8-32+x+.250"+undercut+flat+head&qid=1712262174&sprefix=8-32+x+.250+undercut+flat+head%2Caps%2C200&sr=8-18

I use the 50t and 2x10 for practice and think it sounds great 👍🏼

Excellent choice. My daughter got one of these when she was 8 and it took her all the way to Grade 8. (Nowadays she just raids my collection) 😀

Not sure I get that reference, Steve.. 🤔 There's been a lot of mention in this thread about how a bass players primary role is to 'play (or support) the song' , which is an assertion I pretty much agree with. But equally, as a listening, creative musician, you also have to 'play the band' as well... Only my opinion of course, but I think Entwistle's style and approach to bass playing and creating bass lines, played the band context he was in perfectly. His playing next to Keith Moon's, created something different, something that set The Who apart from other bands.. Not dissimilar to JPJ and John Bonham in Led Zep, for example. In both cases, those two rhythm sections had a unique approach that elevated the band's music beyond the norm, and beyond others - hence why we still talk about them today. Doesn’t mean we all have to like it, but I personally respect that level of creativity and ambition. On a similar note, I'm a huge fan of James Jamerson's playing. And his approach was something different as well - for example, the bass line on 'What's Going On' is a masterclass to me... But I think it's fair to say that what he played on that song isn't what 99% of other bass players would have played on that it.. Yet, it's (quite rightly) celebrated as a work of bass playing genius... Just my 2p worth of course. And there are loads of renowned bass players who 'I don't get', or like, or care for. But what I would say is that there's always something you can learn from those people that helps improve your own playing, or musical creativity, even just a little ...

Sorry for the delay in that! I have the bass here, but I've been snowed under with other reviews and poor health. I'm really looking forward to doing this one, it's certainly going to look bangin' in glorious 4K! - It's only a shame that YouTube compresses the poop out of my original footage which looks even better! I'll keep you all posted! I have some super nice gear lined up for upcoming reviews! I love this job SO much!!!! Dan

Seems like an oversight not to have guitar lab/Tonelib compatibility, and also no android app (although looking at the reviews of the G2 one in Play store, maybe we're not missing anything 😅). Hopefully they will address this. It's not an issue for me as I don't have any patches I want to port across. I also find the UI on the pedal simple to navigate and set my sounds up, so the lack of software support isn't an issue, however it seems like a glaring omission which will certainly put some people off.

Sorry. Got very distracted by the pants party…

Hello All, I would like to let you know about the excellent service I received from Jack at Jack’s Instrument Services in Manchester. I recently bought a 2nd hand Alusonic Django bass from a well known shop based in the Midlands. Unfortunately upon receipt the strings were dead and required changing, the result of this being an A string that rattled and buzzed quite badly. To be honest I should have sent the bass back but decided it would probably cost me money along with the degree of risk of sending an expensive instrument back by carrier. Upon searching google for a suitable instrument repairer I found Jack’s in Cheetham Hill, messaged him and he replied promptly telling me it was very likely the nut on my bass was incorrectly cut and he was confident he could remedy the issue. I dropped my bass in earlier today and guess what, Jack was spot on with his diagnosis. He was able to craft and fit a new buffalo horn nut which blended in perfectly on my black bass and carry out a really professional set up which resulted in the bass playing perfectly, not a buzz or a rattle in evidence. All for what can be described as a reasonable price all things considered. Suffice to say if you’re in or near Manchester and you need a bass or guitar repairing or setting up, look no further. Jack will be able to help get your treasured instrument back to its absolute best. Highly recommended!!

Aye... I think it's a shame that complex music isn't more widely appreciated and that incredibly simple little ditties make the money! In terms of bass this is illustrated in our band. We've got two bass players - me playing far too many notes and R, who's from a purely punk background, playing easy root note stuff. However, this doesn't work in all our songs so I've taught him some chords above the twelfth fret to do effectively rhythm guitar stuff. First time he did this live a guy in the audience who knew R from his previous band shouted "Oi! Flash W4nkr!"

I'm struggling. If I mention any names, it would really be because I don't enjoy the type of music they play. I like MOST music, although I'm heavily influenced by my mood. The bass playing I like best includes a lot of blues-rock playing, but that's probably because it's the idiom I feel most comfortable with in my own playing - I listen to someone like Leo Lyons (a jazz bassist who ended up majoring in blues rock) and realise with some embarrassment just how hard I try to sound like him... The fast, jazzy stuff (Jaco's more esoteric stuff, Joe Dart etc.) I struggle with, not so much because I can't play it very well, but because I don't get it musically so I struggle to understand where it's going and that takes away the pleasure in listening and the joy in playing (because if I try it becomes rote repetition if I copy or clichéd patterns if I try and improvise). I suppose my pet hate is the way straight eighth root notes with a few other passing and grace notes have come to dominate so much popular music - does that mean I should suggest Adam Clayton? The thing I enjoy in 60s and 70s pop music in contrast is that so many songs have creative bass lines that make use of so much more than root-third-fifth-seventh, for me it even makes some 'bubblegum' songs of the sixties worth hearing.