Jakester

I recently picked up a new (to me) bass which has a natural finish presumably using a poly lacquer. It’s had a hard life but most of the dings etc don’t bother me. However, last night as I lifted it out of its case and over some obstructions I managed to clatter the top horn on the corner edge of a stone fireplace, putting a big dent into it. The wood has been compressed and the lacquer cracked. It’s annoying me because it’s right in front of me every time I play the bass, and it’s the first big ding I’ve done to this instrument. In the past I’ve had some success in steaming dents out of furniture, but would that work here? Would I need to remove the cracked bits of finish first? If so, what could I use to refinish it? Clear nail polish? Superglue? Or should I just chalk it up to hamfistedness and resolve to be more careful?

I’m looking at getting an XR18 imminently and of the user reviews I’ve seen, there is a fair amount of praise for the mic pre’s.

Sorry, ignore me - was asking about payment but saw it was bank transfer.

Should there not be a nut on top of the pickguard to secure the pot?

Ah, I see - thanks! I was just worried it was about to explode or something...😂

Posted a thread selling a set of strings - but it’s highlighted in red and there’s a triangular warning symbol on it. Should I be concerned? 🤔

Thanks!

Thanks, I’ve not tried those, so I’ll take a look. Are there any particular brands you’d recommend?

My confession is I like dead strings. Properly played in nickels really float my boat, both in terms of sound and feel. That said, I just acquired a bass which has very played in strings, perhaps too much even for me. So I’m after recommendations for strings that don’t sound too bright from new. My go-to strings are Lo-Rider nickels, but having just put a set on another bass even those sounded too bright. Would Sunbeams be better? I don’t really like flats - the feel and tension are too much for me. Any recommendations?

Just bought a Yamaha bass from Harry - he was an absolute pleasure to deal with, very honest and open about possible issues (which weren’t for me) and there was even a choice of High quality rigs to play through!

I’ve done it on a (cheap!) fretted I converted. Fairly easy if you have a drill press. I bodged it with a hand drill and it all went a bit Pete Tong but nothing someone who knows what they’re doing couldn't sort. Just drill out the existing and fill (I used fines from reprofiling the board) and then drill new marker holes and glue in the plastic rod, and trim when dry. For an easy win, colour over the side dots with a black sharpie (assuming a rosewood/ebony neck) and stick on white dots on the fret lines. Or, mask off each side of the fret line and dab some tippex/white paint on to extend the fret line down the side of the neck.

I love gigging, it’s everything else that can be interminable! The endless rehearsing where the singer flaps about with printed sheets without ever learning the words, the half-hour pause where the guitards teach each other which part to play; lugging gear in and out of rehearsal rooms in pouring rain, the million texts/emails/WhatsApps about exactly what time we’re on, where it is, what we’re all wearing (for the tenth time). I do love it, though.

Love the sound of the old SWR combos - played through a WM and a Redhead on many an occasion and they were loud enough. Only concern might be weight - I seem to remember they were definitely old school when it came to construction. <edit> Sorry, that was purely electric, not DB, no DB experience.

I had this after a couple of hours of rehearsal on Saturday - I was alternating between bass guitar and EUB (which I’m still really getting the hang of) and we went into an uptempo Latin number and the first two fingers of my fretting hand on electric just locked into a claw, and nothing I could do would make them move properly. Managed to play root notes for most of it and it sort of relented. I think it was down to the fact it was probably the longest I’ve played EUB and I hadn’t stretched or really warmed up beforehand at all.

Battery in bass?

Glad that he’s rejoined, but not sure it’ll make much difference for me now. I loved their early stuff with Hillel and Jack Irons/Cliff Martinez - the Rollins-esque almost hardcore stuff morphing into the funkier UMPP and then into MM. BSSM remains their apotheosis for me - I basically learnt how to play music from that album - but I also liked One Hot Minute, and saw them on that tour. For me, Californication lost some of the swagger and funk and became far more melodic and introspective and its been that way since. I like some of the tunes off that and BTW, but Stadium Arcadium felt instantly forgettable to me (not sure I could name many tracks off it) and the transition to the ‘chugging verse, long note chorus’ stuff all felt really repetitive. I sort of feel they’re not the same band as they were - their career is one of two halves and I prefer the first. MHO of course.