Ghost_Bass

I have the perfect solution for you. Just send me your strings and i'll return them back to you in 2-4 weeks fixed!

I would say to get a male/female routing template to cut the cavity and a block of wood prefecly in shape to fit snuggly together. Glue it down, apply a bit of filler in the joints and sand it all flush. should do the job very well.

Use whatever instruments that sound good for the band in live gigs. Looks do play a part in the band so, for photos and videos, you should use gear that looks the part. Gives the band a cohesive image. When you're rocking on stage the punters won't give a crap if the guitar is a PRS or a Les Paul, they'll be too busy enjoying themselves.

I was about 16, just started to learn a bit of accoustic guitar with friends at school recesses and jammimg along with them everytime we hanged out together, until three of my friends decided to form a band and asked me to join them. They told me i was going to play bass, i didn't even knew what a bass looked like in the flesh at that time. Best decision someone has ever made in my behalf!

[quote name='LewisK1975' timestamp='1487776566' post='3242750'] I think it's the fact that it's Sonic Blue. The comment was that it looks like a 'toy' bass, compared to a Fender. [/quote] Bring both to a rehearsall and let them find out wich looks like a toy and wich sounds like a toy bass... your bass is beutifull and has a vintage Fender vibe with that colour scheme (i'm guessing you have the original MoP pickguard). They are dumb to think this way, sound is king, i would have given them the benefit of doubt if you were using a Ritter, a Warwick, a Steinberg or a Warlock but a Attitude? At the back of the stage it looks like any other Fender bass...

I had to play it for a dep gig i did a few months ago. I only tried to get a close sound using my own existing gear, i got in the ballpark with the B3K used at a mid/low drive setting with the blend favouring the clean signal. Was enough to get me by. That sound is made in the studio and a blend of different signals, there's some valve goodiness happening in that distortion that may be dificult to obtain in a live situation without specific bass/amp/pedals/processing/compression/etc.

[quote name='Jean-Luc Pickguard' timestamp='1487198471' post='3238062'] I used to own a pair of ashborys - I tried a set of Road Toad Pahoehoe black polyurethane strings (as used on the Kala U-Bass) on one of them which didn't have as much of a double-bass tone as the standard Ashbory silicone strings, but they did seem to stay in tune a lot better. I also had a harley benton uke bass (actually went thought three of them due to QC issues) and didn't like the thundergut strings as they stretched and went out of tune all the time like the ashborys. [/quote] Thanks

This bridge was enough to put me off them. It may be pretty and retro looking but who wants to play with a guitar where you can't get your intonation straight?

For fretted basses i don't want flats, i need the zing and mids. In a upright they are a must have. For fretless basses it's a mather of taste and marriage with the bass in question. I had a fretless Blazer with maple fretboard and i found that i prefered the Half-rounds in it due to the extra zing and mwah i could get out of them. Looking at it i now believe that i am not a fan of flats, to answer the OP.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1487151776' post='3237466'] Relicing aside, how do these basses get in such a state anyway? Up until I sold it last year, one of my main basses was an Overwater Original made in the mid 80s. From when I bought it in the early 90s until I bought my first Gus some 15 years ago it was getting played at least a hour every day, taken to rehearsals twice a week and gigged every other week. I was careful with it, but never precious. I'm also a pretty "physical" player and energetic performer on stage. It might have picked up a ding or two on the way, but nothing noticeable without a close inspection. In fact the most significant wear was that the chrome plating had started to come off a couple of the machine heads. That's for a bass that was over 30 years old and had been well used for the majority of those years. [/quote] My thoughs exactly! I bought a Yamaha BB1000S a bit more than a year ago and it looks like it's straight out of the store hanger appart from some discolouration on the chrome in tuners and bridge. the funny thing is that that bass was built in 1985, so 32 years old! I can't see any signs of flaking/worn varnish anywere. The previous owner(s) took really good care of it as it also doesn't have belt rash or major dings appart from the cymbal marks in the headstock IMO, if a bass gets it's finish so worn out with use after a couple of decades lik ethose vintage Fenders it means that they haven't used a quality finish on the bass, and if they cut costs there then... btw, here's a few pics of the bass so you see what i'm talking about: http://basschat.co.uk/topic/299081-calling-yamaha-afficionados/page__view__findpost__p__3223389

[quote name='dyerseve' timestamp='1487067559' post='3236638'] Sorry but I disagree because there is much more to properly setting up a bass than just the action! 3 out of the 4 stages of setting up a bass have to be spot on with a setup regardless of how a person personally prefers to have their action set: trussrod relief, nut action height and intonation. Get those 3 stages done to spec then go nuts with the action to suit your preferences. Same also goes with pickup/s height and angle - something not mentioned in the series of John Carruthers vids i mentioned earlier [/quote] I don't agree. I also set up all my basses by "feel" and they're more playable to me like that. If i wen't with those videos/standard measures i would be applying relief in my necks and setting the strings at a certain height but i found that i prefer them straight as a ruller with a very low action wich is perfect for my playing style. You can't also stipulate a set pickup height as all of them have different readings and the desired tone for each player will come from a different set of heights. Using standard tools and measures is great for a professional setting up instruments, will get them in the ballpark of a good setup but for perfect fine-tunning there's no tool better than one's ears. My opinion is that everybody should know how to set up their instrument so they can achieve what they're after, a tech can't guess what you like or not.

[quote name='D'AddarioUK' timestamp='1486732287' post='3234180'] You are correct, they have been discontinued. [/quote] Good thing i prefered the ProSteels sound then Now don't you go and discontinue those too!

What are those black strings that come with the Kala u-bass? My uke came with the "regular" white-ish strings but i find them a bit sticky. I remember noodling with a friend's Kala and the strings felt way nicer.

Who gives a cr*p about what i think? People buy the basses they want to own, looking like they want them to. Just cut me of the list of potential buyers of a battered Fender/Copy, when you decide to sell them listed for the price of a much better sounding and looking bass...

[quote name='Graham' timestamp='1487077704' post='3236788'] I love that, apart from the white painted tuners, just why? [/quote] Not painted, they're made of plastic mimicking mother of pearl and tie up pretty well with the fb blocks

[quote name='sratas' timestamp='1487007285' post='3236216'] Great mod guys. Just let me say that the DI of the Walkabout is one of the best of the planet just as it is, after all the tubes and the mosfets. I'm not going to compromise on its fabolous tone. Just let the paid soundman do its tough job and enjoy, f*** the soundguy [/quote] The mod doesn't make the DI pre-EQ, just takes from after the master volume to before that. A lot of soudguys would be very upset with you if you decided to mess with your master volume on stage and that would influence the DI volume. at the same time you would be very concerned if needed to adjust your volume during the gig but knowing it would mess with the FOH mix. for me this was a design failure from Mesa, their new amps are designed diferently.

[quote name='TrevorR' timestamp='1487074174' post='3236734'] (...) So what is my guilty pleasure nominee? I see several folks are forgetting to add their own choices in, without which this thread kinda doesn't work. Well, for no other reason than having a hankering for one I've always fancied the idea of having one of these... No idea what I'd ever actually use it for, whether I'd get on with the 30" scale and a less dour colour would be nice. [/quote] I like the vintage vibe on the Danelectro's and they do sound good but i can't get past the body shape on this one... allways reminds me of this guy: My guilty pleasure bass is really a guilty pleasure as i don't need any more basses, in fact i have more than i need, but i would love to get my hands on one of these: would sit great in my Yammy collection

I bought a Fender Neoprene strap when i got a (very heavy) Stingray5 a few years ago but found it bounced a lot and could get distracting on stage. I changed bass for a lighter TRB5PII (wich is still on the heavy side but the tone is perfect to me) and bought a Minotaur Deluxe bass strap. It should be similar with the one OP currently has, it's 4" wide, leather, but it has padding on the inside. It doesn't make the bass feel lighter but it distributes the weight in more shoulder area making it easier to get through the gigs. I have a backup bass that's lighter and from time to time i gig it for a few weeks to rest the shoulder a bit. I rehearse sitting down so i only have to put up with the weight once or twice a week for a period of 3 hours, i find it doable for the sake of tone but would love to find a bass that sounds and feeles exactly like the TRB with a couple of pounds taken away (no, i won't be chambering mine ).

[quote name='bertbass' timestamp='1486812947' post='3234699'] It's called drum wrap unsurprisingly and a google search will bring up thousands of finishes. On drums it's held on with double sided tape and the tension fittings. [/quote] Thanks Bert, i'll look in to it.

[quote name='BassApprentice' timestamp='1486742536' post='3234303'] Can't provide advice but where did you see that bass? I don't need a Jazz but now I WANT one [/quote] It's on Sire's FB page. I think it's debuting after NAMM or something. [quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1486743826' post='3234322'] Like this? [/quote] Looks great, yep i think it may be something like that but without the tile vibe. Think of drum kits, they're made of wood but have a mother of pearl layer on the outside, is that plastic glued on top? Where can one find it? Can you imagine a bass with this finish??? [quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1486748842' post='3234364'] Hey GB, Nice bass that. The veneer is Quilted Maple. A nice one does really look great. I have a Warwick like that, but mine's solid maple. There's no reason why you can't do that with veneer though. [/quote] Hey Grangur, it really looks like a nice bass but i think you've missed the OP a bit Cheers

If it were my bass i would use a bit of cloth damped with alcohol. The finish looks like laquer so it wont stain the bass. Other products like naphta (lighter fluid), wd-40 will work fine. Even soap and water will do it but it will be faster with some kind of solvent to help.

Do any of you know of any mother-of-pearl veneers that can be put on a bass/guitar body, just like those beautifull coffee table wood tops i've seen on the build diaries by Andyjr? This idea came from seeing the new Sire models to be released: Seeing this jazz i thought to my self: "Man, this bass with a white mother of pearl body and matching headstock would be beautifull and would match the drum kit perfectly " So, do you recon there's a way to do it? A lined wood veneer? A plastic layer? Printed vinyl with laquer coat? I've already a white suit and hat on order and starting to grow the moustache

[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1486737947' post='3234255'] problem is all those guys have their own sound engineers who know what they should sound like, the rest of us have to use an in house sound man who has no idea (and probably doesn't care) what we want to sound like [/quote] That's why a nice friendly talk to the guy before setting up (pref. over a beer offered to him) will go a long way in making him understand what you're looking for and having him trying to deliver what you asked. The vast majority of techs take as much pride in their work as we do so they'll want to do a good job. I don't think many will take offence if you explain how your band's suposed to sound, it will make their job easier and in a few cases they'll even thank you for it. Though, if you find a tech that's not very friendly when you go to say hello to him just wish him a good day, offer him a beer if you feel like it, compliment him on his gear (even if it's behringer) and go away without talking about sound.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1486733084' post='3234191'] The thing is though and I know you are being sarcastic but sometimes that might actually sound better for the audience than the finely honed tone you've been trying to get just right. [/quote] Depends of the case and soundman in question. For me the tone has to reach the amp just like it's suposed to sound to the audience, the amp is there to make it sound louder and EQ is used to correct the stage sound, doing this you're making sure the same tone is sent to the FOH mixer. If one relies on the amp's EQ to tailor the tone its perfectly fine, just take a post EQ DI out of the amp if the cab is flat/uncoloured or just mic the cab for FOH. A good soundman is the one that doesn't EQ your bass to sound like A or B, the good soundman (and i've found quite a few of them) will only mess with EQ to get rid of resonances in the room and will respect your core tone. Of course this will happen if the bass player makes sure that he's sending his good tone to FOH. But there are also bad techs out there unfortunetly, in those cases just forget about FOH sound and enjoy playing the gig with your mates.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1486647096' post='3233506'] How would you reach the knobs on an ampeg head on top of an ampeg 8x10 all the way up there? [/quote] I could place it on it's side, it wouldn't make a difference in the noise comming out of it.. In fact, if i had an Ampeg 8x10 i wouldn't even bother to hook it up, no magic in the world could change that rumble in to a clean, flat tone...