bassbiscuits

NYXLs are v good strings, currently on my Yamaha. However I already blagged my current set in a raffle at the local Bass Bash last year so it would be mean to bag another free set, wouldn't it?

I used to boil my roundwounds occasionally, and it does help to give them a bit of extra life but not for long, and not more than once really before the strings started to look a bit sorry for themselves with shredded silks etc. However - if you look at Marlow DK on Youtube he does this thing of slackening the strings off and doing what he describes as 'slapping the sh*t outta them' - literally popping and slapping the slack strings to knock some of the gunk out. And it does actually work. A bit. I've mostly moved over to La Bella flatwounds these days tho so zing is not my thing. Interested in the Warwick Red Labels tho for my remaining roundwound bass.

'Back of the net' I believe is the correct term. Well done that man!

Yup - at 20 I was still at university, with two-foot wild curly long hair, gold earrings and bead necklaces and thinking I was quite a guy. So my priorities were drinking, drawing, playing music and trying to charm female students into bed, armed with sod all money, a bad hairstyle and a knack for drawing occasionally very cool artwork. I wasn't playing in any bands at that point - I'd been gigging in my teens but wasn't paying much attention to much at 20. Im 44 now, and all rather more realistic. I'm still pretty dedicated to playing both bass and acoustic guitar and can't go more than a few days without getting itchy fingers. I gig as much as I can around commitments of work, family and children, but I've got a bit more selective over the years and better at saying 'no' to stuff I don't want to do. I still manage the occasional artwork (life drawing sessions at local art college etc) and have found a new lease of life drawing cool things with my kids (robots, monsters and spaceships mainly). The hair has long returned to a normal shape and size. Still got the earrings, but the Tibetan shirts, incense and selection of global trance music has long gone...

Quite.

I don't think it was my bass playing itself in question - more his attitude overall to stamping his authority on his band by making sure I knew my worth. Idiot really.

I was the replacement bass player, and therefore the last member to join, one of my previous bands. They were halfway thru an album at the time, and I was really looking forward to recording some stuff. I played and sang on about three of the songs I think, and was eagerly waiting for the next stint in the studio to do the rest. I found out subsequently that the guitarist had decided to just play the bass on all the rest of the tunes and went and completed them without telling me, after booking the recording session when he knew I was on holiday. In fairness, I did leave that band - not as an immediate result of that, but it did give me a fairly good indication of where I stood.

I still get on with most people I've shared a stage with over the years. But im also glad im not still in a band with quite a lot of them! Where friendships existed before the band, they've survived the best. Some others were people I'd have nothing in common with beyond that particular band, so we've not really kept in touch.

Definitely agree with going secondhand. I picked up a used Yamaha BB604 for £200 which has become a main bass. Jazz pickups, active electronics and 24-fret neck make it very versatile and usual great Yamaha build quality.

Yes Si, very much so. I wasn't that bothered when I bought it as i wasn't sure it was gonna be a keeper. Now i'm sure it is, I'd be more inclined to splash cash on a proper bag.

My 2013 MIJ Mustang came with a standard Strat/Tele gigbag which the previous owner carried it around in. It's a tight squeeze at the headstock end tho and not wanting to scrap the headstock against the zip, i dont use it. I find that using a regular long-scale bag is fine anyway tho - mine is a Fusion F3 i think, which is quite rigid anyway so doesn't flop at the empty space at the headstock end, and has a velcro strap to hold the neck in place anyway. I guess some foam padding or bubble wrap would secure it in place if it was essential. I realise that doesn't answer the question at all! Just saying, that full size bags (which most of us will have at least one of) work fine in my experience. I'd rather put up with the extra space than try to force it into a smaller bag.

Well done on the move to Germany chap - hope it works out well. Hoping we can manage to keep the bass bash going - the couple ive managed to get along too were great, and been a great chance to meet other BCers.

Gibson and Fender are each sitting on a pile of awesome, classic designs for guitar and bass. Fender manage both to make both faithful representations of their classic models, and updated versions with sensible, useful amendments. Plus a product range spanning various custom shop, MIA, MIJ, MIM, along with the large Squier range to cover a lot of different price points. Gibson on the other hand haven't even regularly produced an accurate version of some of their existing models, for example the original EB basses, SG or LP Juniors or Firebird 1 guitar (or single pickup Thunderbird bass for that matter). The tweaks made have often answered questions no one has asked - the Firebird X, SG Zoot Suit, the robot tuners, the wider neck and lower frets of the 2015 range etc. Gibson need to concentrate both on making the best possible versions of their own classic designs (which merit the hefty price tag), and make sure the improvements/developments they make on more contemporary models are based on what players might actually want. For what it's worth the Epiphones I've played seem to have a closer take on that that Gibson ironically - models like the Jack Casady Bass, Thunderbird classic pro and the Casino Gary Clark Junior model I have are brilliant designs - sensible rejigs of classic models to make them versatile, affordable instruments.

Bummer. Sounds like they've lost their way a bit. Amazed how a company with such an awesome guitar making history can be ploughing such a strange furrow nowadays.

Same here - I traded in mine for a P bass eventually. After the arrival of grunge the pointy head seemed a bit much. Id happily use it now tho. Was a good bass.

I had a black one of these from about 1991-1994 and loved it. I gigged it loads and recorded a demo on it with my band at the time and it was great for the sort of funk/rock we were doing (think Saigon Kick, Extreme etc). Its a bass I've often thought I'd like to have kept. Well done!

I dunno. I taught some guitar a few years back to kids of various ages, and below about six years old the kids didn't have the same attention span or plain manual dexterity to be able to fret things properly, compared with say kids of around 10 and upwards. I started playing bass at 12 and even on a short scale bass that was quite big for me. My eldest lad is 6 now and even my small travel guitar is beyond him on a manual level.

If we are doing pics then here's my sole remaining P bass (currently). Its the first one I ever bought after I'd been playing for seven years. I've now been playing for 32 years so we've been together a while. This is onstage just before a gig at the Tunnels in Bristol a few years back.

I hear ya fella. That's why I sold mine. Lovely, but when push comes to shove I can live without it. The only thing I didn't like was the collossal neck dive: totally hollow body + 34" scale big chunky neck = terrible balance. I originally bought it shortly after a bad shoulder injury cos on paper it was quite lightweight. But the balance meant the whole of the weight was actually on the bad shoulder (the left one) anyway. Unless you own my actual shoulder you'll be ok.

I had a Jack Casady until a few weeks ago (sold it cos I'm skint) and it was a brilliant bass. The combination of hollow body, humbucker and flat wounds gave it a lovely sound that was part vintage thud but also bristling with harmonics and natural overtones.

Really? Yeah i can think of hardly anyone who uses a precision.... I'd list them here but there's probably so few.

I love P basses. I've had a few over the years, and currently just own one - my first, and oldest one. They are just right - I love the superior definition of jazz basses and the versatile range of sounds from active basses, but for me a P bass is always the one I come back to as it just sounds so right to me for the kind of music I grew up listening to. To me thats what a bass sounds like. With a pick and roundwounds, mine has a real boing and snarl; with flatwounds and fingers, its smooth and deep. I'm not a heroic bassist, just hopefully a tasteful, thoughtful player who does the job well, and an old P is just the right tool for me.