Telebass

Oh indeed. I personally think the obsession with all things vintage is a bit of a joke, not unlike when Eric Johnson used to obsess about the right carbon - zinc batteries in his pedals! Even he wised up eventually. Find instrument that suits you. Play it.

Precisely. Even the nagnets aging takes decades. You'd need a time machine to chevk on the sound difference, and then it wouldn't be great.

Or 20mm, whatever it is...

RIP, Mr Bruce.

A Fender 5, which has standard 19mm spacing, is quite wide enough...

Indeed, magnets age. They get weaker over time, abd this must affect the output. For a start, it must decrease a bit. If you then adjust the pickup closer to get more output, it will likely change the tone. Or if you were able to compare the sound, unadjusted and years apart, the magnets would account for most if not all of the change. Movement and drying of wood, particularly if the finish is largely gone a la Rory Gallagher, might also change things a little. But I can't imagine it having a great effect.

[quote name='five-string.co.uk' timestamp='1413484641' post='2578818'] Join the Musicians Union = FREE PLI + FREE Instrument Insurance + FREE Legal advice (Free = inclusive ) Very worthwhile joining [/quote] Agreed. Well worth it.

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1414132904' post='2586139'] I have absolutely no interest in making friends with anyone and have a general dislike of most people I meet... Unfortunately Mrs C disagrees and keeps trying to organise BBQs with the neighbours... great fun... sitting there all evening pretending to be interested in football... [/quote] I empathise completely. Even though you don't want me to and I don't want to!

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1414128542' post='2586125'] My best advice I have for anybody is this - Most musicians are self serving ass hats. Beware who you befriend. [/quote] This is certainly my recent experience. Was pretty reasonable up to then. But see CamdenRob ^^^

Yup. Regrets...where's that theory book?

Deficiency is the [i]name[/i] of my technique...

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1413975583' post='2584209'] Another one for the tried and tested "lower it till it buzzes then raise it till it doesn't" method of setting the action here... [/quote] Yup, me too! Pretty low, with flats, TIs on the 4s, Chromes on the 5er. Kingman acoustic a bit higher with 50-105 Fenders.

I've not yet got or can play my DB, yet I've had two tentative enquiries already! I really must do something about reading if there's this much work about! As well as learning to play the thing, natch...

That looks interesting!

I've used a Samson system for years with no issues, but that Sony rig looks sweet for the money. IIRC, there was a lot of love for those?

Sunk down to 4 while I await my first upright!

[quote name='BurritoBass' timestamp='1413804652' post='2582032'] The only mods I have done to my 2 Squiers (bar strings) are purely cosmetic because they are actually just really nice basses as they are. [/quote] Agreed. Although I did fit an SPB-2 to the 4-string.

As someone still struggling a bit with 5ers, I can see all the plus points. I've got one that I like now, which always helps, but I still find myself making too many silly mistakes of the 'whoops, what's that big wire doing there' type. No doubt I'll acclimatise. ..

Nice!

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1413834842' post='2582624'] I have a weekly gig that shows me how deficient my playing is but it is not my technique that is the issue (I occasionally find myself falling short of expectations but usually this is on soloing so any technical inadequacies are of my own making). Where I find my lack of experience shows is in harmonic knowledge. I 'know' what things mean intellectually (e.g. a maj7#11) etc but cannot always 'hear' things as clearly as I should and it shows in my solo lines. When one is playing alongside some of the people I now regularly play with (see the website linked at the bottom in my signature), one is inspired and devastated in equal measure on a regular basis! It is never the execution of ideas that is the problem, it is the depth of those ideas and how they relate to the potential of the music. This week's artist was heard to say that she was 'inspired' by the rhythm section. I was thrilled to hear that but, at the same time, was aware of what went well and what fell short of the mark. As I always say, this is a journey, not a destination. [/quote] We definitely need a 'like' button of some sort!

I'm just about to enter the world of DB. My 'medium' electric rig is a Markbass CMD121H. At such time as I aquire a pickup, this is what I will be using. Anyone any experience of this combo for DB? Markbass certainly promote that use for it.

Try and get a lighter bass. Although 9 and bit is not THAT heavy, going diwn to 7lb is like playing fresh air. Search!

[quote name='KiOgon' timestamp='1412777061' post='2571924'] Fond memories of the time - especially Crystal Palace garden parties, Pink Floyd in 71 & Yes in 72, going back even further the Hyde Park free concerts [/quote] Went there, did that!

May try one of the cheap J-tones for a starter- high impedance, so plug in as normal.