casapete

I have a Dano Longhorn and a Precision Lyte, both of which get used regularly. My advice would be to get a short scale bass that is not too much the same as your standard scale job, so that when you play the SS you know straight away it is different from your usual bass. The Dano is so different from my Fender meaning I never confuse the two and can swap between them fairly easily.

Anybody any experience of these? They are the coated nickel ones. Just wondering how they compare to others like Elixirs and Ernie coated slinkies etc. Cheers.

Okay, simple question - do mics wear out? Had a couple of Shure 58 Betas now for quite a while , one of them say maybe 20 years, and was just wondering if they have a finite lifespan. Or is it one of those things where they deteriorate so slowly you just don't notice ? They both sound good to me, and are always looked after, never been dropped etc. Take the mesh/grille off every now and then and clean them, so look okay too. Any thoughts?

Last gig of our 2017 tour dates, at Cannock Theatre. Really cold to begin with, but sell out crowd were very welcoming and enthusiastic, and our tech guys did their best to distract us after finding various props. A fun night, and a good one to end on.

Average White Band at Leeds Irish centre. Original founder member/leader Alan Gorrie still fabulous on bass ( 5 string sunburst Fender Jazz ) and guitar, along with original guitarist Onnie McIntyre. Rest of the band superb as well, and they did most of their best known stuff to a capacity audience.

Mate of mine just got one of these , and got great results too. https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_sacat=0&_nkw=cassette+to+mp3&rt=nc&LH_PrefLoc=1

I had an LM 11 and must say I prefer the GK. Both good amps IMO though. The LM was okay but a little characterless for me, whereas the GK has a bit more output ( to these ears anyway) and just seems to sound a bit more old school.

Worst for me was probably battery issues with my first Fender P-Lyte . Hint of distortion for maybe 5 seconds... and then nothing. Not the easiest instrument to swap batteries on quickly, but taught me to change them regularly. Not happened since. When I played guitar years ago, my Vox AC30 caught fire in a workingman's club. Crowd thought it was pyros!

Quite likely you're right Blue. But then again, I do wonder sometimes if I were a technically more proficient player, would better opportunities have come my way? Maybe it's just how it was meant to be, but I'm certainly not complaining - never thought when I turned pro that I'd still be able to be doing it when I'm pushing 60. I also never forget (even when doing run of the mill gigs / deps etc) how fortunate I am, having done a few tedious day jobs when I was younger. Certainly made my decision to turn pro a lot easier.

Mine too. Often see players locally who are technically better than me, but have somehow managed to make a living from playing bass now for well over 20 years, so must be doing something right I guess.

Mine feels quite solid thanks, even on a cold day like this....

Saw them in Manchester earlier this year, absolutely amazing!

Agreed a decent strap will help distribute the weight somewhat , but it's still gonna be 13lbs on your shoulder whatever. Just imagine how amazing a bass would feel that weighs around half of it? Time for GAS / NBD.....

Yup, see my post above^^. Great lightweight basses that still feel like a proper bass despite weighing next to nowt.

I had a couple of US Sterlings, and agree with all you say , except for the weight thing. Maybe I’ve just been unlucky, but mine were not noticeably lighter than my Stingrays were, despite the smaller body dimensions. Great basses though, very underrated IMO.

Since an accident resulting in a shoulder injury, I can only play light basses now -the thought of a 13lb bass makes me wince! As you say, Danelectros are very light, but do seem a bit of a Marmite thing on here - loved or hated etc. My Dano Longhorn is probably around the 6lbs mark, and despite being a touch neck heavy (alleviated by a decent strap) , it sounds and plays great. Not a lot of tonal variation maybe, but what there is sounds good ,to my ears anyway. Quite surprised nobody has yet mentioned the Fender Precision Lyte ( clue is in the name...) . Made in Japan from around 1989 to 97, they are fabulous basses IMO. Slim jazz neck, PJ pickups / active and weigh around the 7lbs mark. Balance well with no neck dive too. Decent ones come up quite often for around £350ish, an absolute bargain for a well made Japanese instrument. I have 3 of them, and they make long gigs so much easier.

'Fast neck' - huh?

I had on briefly in the 80s, great bass. Mine was metallic red which was the only reason I sold it I think!

Only tried the Mustang out briefly in a shop, and was quite impressed. However, did have a Squier SS Jaguar for a while and thought it was great,especially at the price point. Sounded fine with the PJ pickups, and really light too. Rather foolishly sold it when I was a bit skint .

This exactly ^^^^ Standard Stingrays are just fine IMO, especially in natural as their bodies have usually been chosen for the best grain. Unless you really have GAS for the wackier finishes/options on the other two, I’d go for the natural 3eq one. A lot of people reckon the 2eq models sound better, but having had a few of both I’d say just ‘different’ really. The 3eq offers a wide range of tones, more than you’ll probably need but always good to have.

Great stuff and well done!