skej21

[quote name='yorks5stringer' timestamp='1416399884' post='2609745'] Speaking of Mark King, could you not ban "Slapping" from the Exhibitor Stands....? [/quote] How about giving every visitor 4 x 5 minute slapping coupons. These can either be redeemed for 5 minutes of slapping a bass... Or 5 minutes slapping someone who is slapping the bass. That would sort it out in no time!

[quote name='KevB' timestamp='1416396477' post='2609688'] Ep 5 - did I spot some serious Ric abuse around the 25 min mark? [/quote] Apparently that's the best sound it has to offer!

[quote name='StringPing.com' timestamp='1416307630' post='2608812'] D'Addario do have coloured ball ends, but some of their strings do have silked ends. These are D'Addario Chromes, apparently. Does that look similar? Here's a link - in one of the pictures we can see the coloured ball ends on the back of the bass - http://antebelluminstruments.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/c20022013-hot-rod-fretless-sting-p-bass.html [/quote] They also don't fit on the bass! What's that all about?! Surely you'd notice and take them back BEFORE fitting them?

[quote name='Sibob' timestamp='1416345531' post='2609320'] ACGs are their own thing, no point comparing them. They're fantastic, and whilst you can order a similar spec, it won't feel or sound like a Fodera, which is a good thing. I should know, I own a 33" singlecut ACG lol Si [/quote] Great diplomatic answer. You're going to need a bucket load of those to help you bat away the countless Fodera haters lol!

[quote name='bluesparky' timestamp='1416078822' post='2606703'] To cut a long story short, whilst continuing to further my musical education I came across a piece described as being an etude. Some dictionary definitions of an etude are: "a short musical composition for a solo instrument, esp one designed as an exercise or exploiting technical virtuosity" "a short composition for a solo instrument; intended as an exercise or to demonstrate technical virtuosity" "an instrumental musical composition, usually short, of considerable difficulty, and designed to provide practice material for perfecting a particular musical skill." Is there anything that you guys would consider to be a "bass" etude i.e. a classic piece of bass playing or a bass piece of considerable technical difficulty that you've had to study for ages to master and nail it note-for-note and that you're proud of being able to play - not necessarily in public, but maybe simply for your own pleasure? It needn't be a universally difficult track that everyone struggles with, just something that you personally have spent a considerable amount of time working on in order to master it. For me, When I was younger I had a book of Bach's solo pieces by Josquin Des Pres. After that I spent ages on Jaco's Portrait for Tracy, Led Zep's Lemon Song and then Jaco's Donna Lee. Currently (once I've taken the Trinity college exam I've entered and finally stopped having to practice YYZ!) I'm looking at the Yellowjackets "Man Facing North". I've always been a fan of the track and I know it's going to be a mission but I'm looking forward to working on it. I also have a book called "Excersises and Etudes For The Jazz Instrumentalist" by J J Johnson which has a wealth of pieces to have a bash at in future too. [/quote] Have a look at '60 Melodic Etudes' by John Patitucci. That's a great resource for stuff like this!

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1416140351' post='2607220'] A PLEK setup doesn't do anything that a decent guitar tech can't do, and for less money. [/quote] Unless the instrument is Plek processed during manufacture (such as Gibsons, Suhrs and Martins). Agreed that a decent guitar tech can do the same thing for less (if it is needed after purchase) but it's not always easy to find one...

[quote name='HowieBass' timestamp='1416136874' post='2607165'] You don't need any frets at all to get harmonics since you're touching the string with the fretting hand at the appropriate position for the harmonic rather than holding it down against a fret - you can get harmonics on a fretless bass (and slide them along a string too when you know how). AFAIK having the frets levelled/dressed will allow for a slightly lower action; it depends how bad the original fret dressing was at the factory. I've got two Squiers and have no complaints whatsoever. Finding the open string harmonics is all about accuracy; after which you have the technique of false harmonics... (which I've yet to master!). [/quote] Also, the Plek processing only dresses the frets and nut to ALLOW for a lower action. You would have to set up the instrument for a lower action after the Plek processing to have it playing to the individual player's taste. Plek processing does not automatically give a low action as suggested in an earlier post. Personally, every guitar or bass I've played that has been Plek'd (Martins, Gibson custom shop, Gibson Memphis Custom shop acoustics and electrics) plays very nicely and with a quick set-up adjustment to taste, is playing what I would consider to be my version of 'perfect'.

Screw the Plek! Use your fingers ;-)

[quote name='bassmachine2112' timestamp='1415179603' post='2597416'] I changed over to super bright steels and they are just what I,ve been looking for. Great feel and grip,no overshooting or almost reaching a slide if you get what I mean. Very good especially if you get the buy one get one free. I think they are aimed at the slap brigade but you get the slappy sound with a pick easy peasey if you want it,good dynamics,might not appeal to everyone if your after the thud flatwound experience but you can roll off the tone and they thicken up nicely. Had them on for over a month now gigs at the weekend and practice through week and still sound great,maybe better now there run in,played in.Very stable holding tune very well. [/quote] I've had mine for a while and love them too! The stable tuning is because they are pre-stretched :-) They also have lower tension than most brands and have a relatively high wrap ratio which means they feel smooth. I'm a total convert (and I rarely play slap, which they are designed for!).

[quote name='M@23' timestamp='1415645767' post='2602368'] My two S112 and LM3 are perfect for this. Use one or two cabs as required with a clip on tuner for an easy load in/out. [/quote] +1 At the moment I have an Aguilar DB112NT with a LMIII and I haven't found a gig it won't do (that doesn't offer substantial PA support!). I've ordered a TKS S112 without a tweeter and will likely move the Aguilar on and add another S112 and that'll be my setup. Lightweight, reliable and capable of all the gigs I'll ever need it for. Sorted!

Looks like the gear you've got is decent enough to get you going and the bass will last forever (as StingrayPete says) if you need it to. Aside from that, try not to spend too much time on bass forums. They're full of temptation and opinions, both of which should be avoided as often as possible as they are determental to actually learning to play! Spend your money on lessons and your time on the bass :-)

[quote name='strtdv' timestamp='1415427967' post='2600190'] Generally speaking neck profiles are a bit different, USA will have a 3 piece body compared to a 5-6 piece body on the MIM. Pickups are considerably different, I don't know what they are now but MIM's used to have ceramic bar magnets glued to the bottom of the polepieces. Finish is the other big area of difference, with Mexican ones having a thick polyester finish on the body, while American ones have a thinner polyurethane finish Hardware is nicer on the American one too. The Mexican ones are IMO great workhorse instruments after a pickup upgrade and can be bought pretty cheaply second hand. New prices on the American standards are a bit silly, I feel you'd do much better with with an used American deluxe or an American vintage reissue depending on what you want. [/quote] Not exactly true. In the Mexican factory, they are not limited to 5-6 bits of body wood. They have ZERO wood wastage in the Mexican factory, so they use as many bits as they have to in order to not waste the wood. You could end up with loads of smaller bits glued together and sprayed over.

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1415207464' post='2597917'] Tommy's just posted this pic on Facebook... mine are ordered :-) [/quote] I'll be getting one for my S112!!

This for me: http://youtu.be/6-W_f6KWHWA

If you think about the maths, the question is surely 'are companies other than Fodera charging enough?' If you think that a custom Overwater is between £2500-3500, probably £1000 of that will be costs of materials. That leaves about £2500 of profit and wages for the guy making the bass. Say the entire £2500 goes to the builder for wages, they would need to produce 5 basses a year just to make the £12k minimum wage. Now I doubt that a full £2500 from a build would go to the builder as profits would need to be taken too. So if the builder takes £1000 with £1500 staying as profit/rent/general business running costs, the builder would need to produce 12 basses a year to pick up a minimum wage salary. Now these builds have an average 6 month completion which means they would need to construct 6 basses simultaneously twice a year to get that minimum wage salary. For someone with such craftsmanship and skill who you are expecting to dedicate all of their time, service and skill to producing the bass that you've paid a lot of money for, you'd hope they'd pick up a better wage for their hard work than £12k. If they do, they either have to produce a lot more (which means either more builders/wages or that builder producing more basses - potentially compromising quality over speed of production!). The only other option is to increase the price of the instrument so that you can produce less at a higher quality with more time and focus for each instrument. That's the only way I can work it out.

[quote name='40hz' timestamp='1415218088' post='2598084'] I moved the rod counter clockwise, so to the right. Am I missing something here or just being unbelievably dumb? [/quote] Counter clockwise (12, 11, 10, 9 around the clock) is to the left, not the right.

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1407946162' post='2525628'] OK, I get your point ... although I'm not sure I am convinced that it's the string tension that's breaking (for example) Gibson headstocks. My son broke the headstock on his Epiphone Casino by falling over drunk on the way home from a gig. I don't think loosening the strings would have made any difference. Anyway, it's stronger now that it has been fixed. [/quote] I must have seen well over 2500 Gibson and/or Epiphones that have been shipped in either a hardcase, gigbag or just a cardboard box and not one of them has turned up with the strings loosened right off or with any damage to the headstock. I'm pretty sure if there were any proven benefits to loosening the strings off completely for transit, all of the big instrument manufacturers (Fender, Gibson, Martin, Taylor etc) would do it as standard practice but not one of them does IME... Seems like a worse idea to take the balancing tension of the strings out of the equation if you expect an impact of force. It'd be like removing the seatbelt from your car to stop it counteracting the movement of your body if you're expecting to crash!

Used Fender CS black tweed for a while but now use Planet Waves American Stage cables that I got for free! Bloody incredible and I'm never going back!!

This - http://www.cooperstand.com/buyecco-g.html

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1415130335' post='2597094'] I like the attention, you know even at the bar level, people love approaching musicians for a chat.You have all heard this one; [i]" I use to play in a band"[/i]. You know what I say about fun; [i]I have fun while playing, however I don't play for for fun. I play for money.[/i] You really have to understand that very few people get paid to do something they truly like doing. I remember some guy that worked in a retail store was telling me he loved his job. My response; [i]No You Don't[/i]. Blue . [/quote] My dad always used to tell me 'there are aspects of every job that you'll hate. That's why they pay you to do it!' I might dislike some of the dives I play etc but I understand that not many people get to do something even CLOSE to what they enjoy. I know im lucky so I just get on with it and count myself lucky that I don't earn money by doing something further removed from what I love.

[quote name='Hobbayne' timestamp='1414947040' post='2594935'] I paid £9.99 to have a delivery today (Sunday) and have checked the tracking number and they reckon they attempted to deliver it about 3pm but there was no answer and they left a card. Well I have been in all day and there was no knock on the door or card! Fume!! [/quote] If it makes you feel any better, I imagine the staff at guitar guitar will be feeling as frustrated, disappointed and annoyed as you that the courier has let you both down! There's nothing worse than delivering a high standard of customer service and care with the right product that meets the customers need and then have a third party (outside of your control), leave a poor lasting impression of the transaction with such poor service.

[quote name='tks.se' timestamp='1414773837' post='2593203'] Work on your cabinet has already started! It will probably be sent together with a few other cabinets to Bass Gear, so when the orders for those come in will affect waiting time. You'll probably see a picture of your cabinet on the Facebook page in about two weeks or so. [/quote] Thanks Tommy. I have other cabs I'll be using until my S112 arrives so no huge rush

[quote name='Paul S' timestamp='1414870144' post='2594254'] No food on the table = lose weight, plus you keep basses. Win/win situation? I reckon if you want a Precision because of the classic tone, keep the one that gives you a classic tone and sell the other one. [/quote] Also, if a bass 'plays like butter' then keep it and spread it on your toast in the morning ;-)