bassbiscuits

I'm a lead singing bassist - I don't find it presents any problems really (unless you're getting into the realms of Mark King-level playing, which is beyond me anyway). I'm ok for any mainstream stuff that you'd expect to hear from a good rock/pop function band. I did play bass for a long time before singing so maybe the two bits of my brain work quite separately. I also swap to dep on lead guitar and lead vocals for about 20 per cent of our gigs and that's ok too.

I'd be annoyed in your situation too mate. We all try to divvy it up in our band, taking bits of the PA that we know we can store. As a result, our bass bins never seem to come out with us apart from the very biggest gigs as no one can be arsed to move them. It's only fair for you to ask the singer to take some, and ask the guitarist what his problem is.

Yeah I'm just over the parapet into my 40s, and i struggle with heavy basses which give me pins and needles in my fretting hand, arm and shoulder. A few years ago i needed a cortisone injection as the doc reckoned the shoulder joint was somehow pinching the nerve channel inside. Out of curiosity i weighed the basses on my missus kitchen scales - 4.15kg (9.1lbs) for a precision, 3.8kgs (8.5lbs) for another precision, and 3.9kgs (8.6lbs) for my jazz-alike. The difference between the heaviest and lightest is only about the same weight as a full pot of jam, but its really noticeable - i guess because the heaviest one also has the thickest neck etc, making it more of a handful all round. Unfortunately, the heaviest precision does sound incredible, distinctly louder than the two others. But i guess its easier to dial in more bass than to ignore shoulder pain.

Ah man, I can't believe the knobs aren't original. That spoils it for me.

cool! it looks lovely. mine's got the matching headstock thing too, which looks lovely. Its a sort of cream/yellow lightly aged finish with a tort plate. my first Sandberg but so far very impressed with them.

I had a shockingly bad Satellite short scale bass as my first instrument in 1986 (my brother had the equally appalling guitar version). I sold it the moment i'd finished paying it off. it cost me £60, and another £60 for my first practise amp (something called a Badger Piccolo. No, me neither). Anyway, about 15 years later i came across one in a secondhand shop, and a quick check revealed it was my exact one! (The various nicks in the paintwork etc from where i'd fallen over in the garden playing it). The guy in the shop insisted it was brand new and was asking £120 for it! What a clown.

I watched a Stones gig on telly a while back and the best sound Keef had all night was from a mustard yellow one of these in Gimme Shelter. Have always lusted after an LP Junior. Nearest I got was a P90 SG Special but i didn't really get on with it that well.

My first P bass was the one I still have - a 1970 sunburst one, tort plate, rosewood board, from Musical Exchanges back in the early 1990s. It was my only bass for a long time. Some oik stole it in 1999 but I tracked it down and was reunited with it, unharmed. It's been everywhere with me, and has done an awful lot of gigs. It still gets gigged from time to time, and is light as a feather, resonant and very cool. Occasionally it wears flat wounds for recording etc, but its at its thumping snarling best with a set of round wounds. While in my ownership its had a refret and a new nut fitted, but apart from that its as it was when i bought it (well with a bit less paint from 20 years of wear and tear and gigs.) About 10 years ago (around the time it needed the refret) I picked up another P bass secondhand which went on to become my go to bass (a 1995/6 USA one) for run of the mill gigs. But lately the old girl has been coming out for more gigs, and sounds divine.

Nice one sir - I got a passive TT4 too about two months ago. It's a lovely bass. Loving the block markers and pearl scratch plate on yours tho - are they a custom order? Have fun with it!

I was surprised when I first played one by the combination of wider neck and vintage size narrow frets, rather than the more comfortable modern medium jumbo frets. Mind you, many people get on perfectly well with small frets and vintage correct spec necks, so don't be put off, but be aware they do feel different to a standard modern USA version. Smaller frets etc make for harder work string bending etc if that's your thing ( it is my thing ) but for more trad flatwound thump you're not gonna have any problem. I adore the look of the 50s P basses tho, with maple board, sunburst and gold pick guard.

Ah nice one. I must admit I like my amps or cabs on the floor as part of the thump of the sound, so I've been hesitant to stick them on chairs it stands. But last nights gig was on a small stage area, and I was practically standing right in front of the amp, which seems to be simultaneously too quiet to hear properly and too loud whenever I dug in a bit! Needs to be directed a bit better somehow. The guitar sound itself is great (a fender HSS start into a Hot Rod Deluxe via some Mooer drive pedals) but not much comfort when you can't hear any of it properly!

Hello all, Does anyone on here use an amp stand of any sort to raise their amp and project better on stage? I've never used one but recenrly done a couple of gigs where I'm practically standing right in front of the amp and even tilting it back a bit doesn't really help. So does anyone use one, any recommendations on which are any good, and how the affect the sound? Cheers

[quote name='matski' timestamp='1438852378' post='2837923'] And magic mushrooms... [/quote] Nope - not my style!

[quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1438793480' post='2837436'] There used to be a legend round here about the Headless Bassman. On dark nights people would see him going round with a Steinberger then - poof! - he'd disappear into a pub. [/quote] Ha ha! I reckon I've seen him too.

ha ha what a genius thread - well done!

Depends what you're after. A lot of people swear by older instruments - a good one will have a really comfortable played in feel, the wood will have mellowed and aged nicely, the pickups may well be from a legendary period of production (i.e. PAFs in Les Pauls etc) any repairs or restoration will have been done professionally and the overall vibe and little details may well be exactly what someone wants, such as particular neck radius, body material etc. Then again, not all vintage instruments are great examples, and in that instance something like a custom shop or good accurate reissue will tick most boxes as reliable, well-made vintage replica. Something isn't automatically good just because it was made in 1968 for example. If it was a dog in 1968 it'll still be one now. I do think that new basses do feel and sound very different alongside vintage ones generally - older ones are often warmer, mellower sounding, tho each is different. Again it depends how important that is to you. And of course that £12,500 vintage bass is going to keep its value a lot better than a brand new £1,200 one. Horses for courses at the end of the day - an investment, an accurate reissue or just a good, standard, working instrument. There's a place for each of them.

UPDATE - the parcel has now been delivered to my house by my helpful neighbour, who is a Hermes employee. I haven't seen it yet but apparently its in good condition etc, so i'll check when I get home. However I still haven't heard anything more from MyHermes investigations dept despite both myself and the sender chasing them. I'm just glad its arrived. But suffice to say, they won't be getting any more business from me.

[quote name='the boy' timestamp='1438724797' post='2836782'] The most pertinent line in this story was "a few drinks and smokes". [/quote] Ha ha yes - sadly not that many drinks and smokes, and there were an awful lot of us who saw it too...! I'm not convinced what it was, but it was a bloody strange experience. Nowt since then tho, and that was over 20 years ago.

The other really weird thing happened to me and my brother when we were both kids, me maybe seven and him ten years old or so. We lived by the sea in South Wales and were often on the beach. One really sunny hot afternoon we were playing on the sand when my brother said: "hey can you see that massive man over there?" And sure enough we watched what can only be described as a man, completely black and spindly like a burnt match, with no features, walking down the side of the headland at the end of the bay. You could pick out the coloured clothing of other people on top of the cliffs nearby but none of them seemed to see this weird long black figure at all. Compared to them he must have been about ten foot tall or so, but completely black even in the bright sunshine. He silently strolled down the sloping cliffs and then disappeared from view at the bottom. It wasn't scary cos it was the middle of a hot summer day on the beach, but me and my bro remember it like it was yesterday, over 30 years later. Seriously weird. I'd like to add tho that I'm not particularly convinced about ghosts or the supernatural, largely because after 40 years on earth I've still not seen anything to make me 100% sure. But experiences like this do leave me scratching my head a bit.