fretmeister

I quite fancy doing a bit of a Duck Dunn tribute bitsa, but there's not many sensibly priced Candy Apple Red bodies around so now I'm looking at complete basses. I will be swapping the neck for a Jazz type so whatever I get will need to have the right neck pocket. Any ideas? I know Duck was seen with a variety of P basses, but apparently Candy Apple Red was his favourite, with a maple board and that's why the very short run Japanese signature model was done like that. If I had the money I'd get a chambered Warmoth and have them paint it but that would be about $550 + shipping, Vat, Import which works out at about £550 including all that.

If you can find one then a Jim Deacon Precision is a perfect "try it out" short scale bass. Used for under £150, pretty light in weight - 3.6kg ish and best of all, the basic build is definitely good enough to warrant upgrading the other bits. I got my first one a few years ago as I just wanted to try a shortie. There was a bit of neck dive so I fitted some Hipshot Ultralight tuners which completely solved that. The vol and tone controls were pretty much ON/OFF cheap things so they were replaced, and as I don't like pickup polepieces that stick out I stuck in an Aguilar that I already had. It has turned into my very favourite bass. It has La Bella short scale DTF strings on it for that Jamerson / Duck Dunn thing. I love it so much I recently bought another one. It will get the same tuning head upgrade, but this time I'm going for modern tones. I have a set of EMG PJ-X pickups that will go in it. I'll get the slot for the J routed out professionally as I should never be trusted with power tools. The string spacing at the bridge is quite narrow at 16.5mm but it turns out I like that - but if you like wide spacing then it might not be the thing for you. However the advantage with that is that the neck stays slim all the way up to the top fret and that makes it very easy on the left hand. Nut width is 38mm and the neck shape is a pleasingly full C shape. Even if you don't like it you'll have no trouble moving it on. After I bought the cream one that was on here I had messages from 2 people asking me if I was going to keep it or going to sell again.

I am loving the La Bella LTF on my TT4. Sound ace, feel superb under the fingers. I got a short scale set for my Lionel and I’m not quite sure about them on that bass as they might be a little too flexible for the short scale but they feel so nice to play I’m torn! That bass also has relatively low output pickups compared to the fire breathing TT4. I have been planning a pickup change in the Lionel to a set of EMG PJ-X so I’ll leave them on until I do that, and then decide. They are definitely staying on the TT4 though.

New Moon for me too.

I have a BS2 and although I don't use it very often it is a lot of fun! I don't think I've ever written anything with it, I just get some drums going on youtube and waste a load of time!

Not on purpose.

Really? Mine is dead quiet unless I start mixing analogue and digital pedals.

I know what he's looking for. Employees. He just doesn't want to pay them.

Me too - I love flats with my EMG equipped basses.

Well... 1: Flats 2: Steel rounds 3: Nickel rounds 4: Nylons/Tape 5: Groundwounds / Pressure wounds 6: A set of those mad glow in the dark DR String Neons. Same again for Jazz and rays.

Great recording mic, not great live though.

I have an old Thomann / T.Bone copy of the Shure Super 55 and it's actually pretty good. Mind you I've never tried a real Super 55 but the internals are supposed to be very similar / the same as a BETA 58A. RRP is £265 these days, but Thomann have them for £205 https://www.thomann.co.uk/shure_super_55_deluxe.htm EDIT - Shure do a cheaper one that looks similar at about £155 - the SH55 too.

I've done a few and I've turned some down too. If it's free then there has to be something else for me. Could be as simple as me fancying playing stuff I wouldn't normally, or playing with a drummer I've never played with before just for the experience. The reason doesn't have to be as important as maybe getting into the band. Just if I fancy the craic I suppose. But then again if it's a Friday night and I want a curry then I won't!

What about swapping the mic for something he can't actually get in his mouth / reach with his teeth? Several colours are available

here's Axl Rose not being rock n roll at all....😜

In my nearly 40 years of performing I don't think I've ever seen a rubber or even plastic grill replacement that can screw on. I wonder if you can get someone to 3D print something? There are loads of one-off 3D print services available on platforms such as Fiverr. If you can find the proper specs for the screw bit then it could be possible. Or maybe get a used grill from somewhere and cut off everything except the screw bit and then glue a 3D printed part to that?

The metal is there to protect the capsule so whatever you find it will have to go over the metal grill. Otherwise he's going to end up hitting his teeth on the capsule and killing the mic. Bare in mind that the grill isn't just a thing slapped on the mic randomly. The shape and distance from the capsule has been calculated - that's why there are many different designs. Even the material is important. Something soft and rubber will resonate with his voice and in turn cause more / different resonance in the air hitting the capsule. It will sound different, and probably not good. He needs to change his technique. Get a cattle prod for rehearsals or wire up the existing grill to a car battery. He'll learn quickly enough!

Get him a headset like he's in 5 Star.

Urgh

Foam things are great. Especially when having to use someone else’s scummy microphone.

For me it all depends on the tuner size. For small tuning posts like on an Ibanez then getting the right scale is important as otherwise the fat bit of the string has to bend loads to get round the post and can snap easy - this is especially important for flats. But with big post Fender types almost anything will work as the bend radius is a lot more gentle. This is why it's dead easy to get strings for my 30 scale shorties with big posts and a nightmare to get strings for my 32 inch medium 5 string Ibanez with tiny posts. I think both your basses have traditional big posts so you should be able to fit most strings. That being said, for some brands the short scale ones cost the same as the others. Carefully search for prices though. Some places really take the piss with shortscale strings. Strings Direct charge £20 more than Bass Direct on La Bella strings!

Fitted some last night! Definitely needs 1/4 turn on the truss rod this morning. I like a low action but right now the gap between the strings and the frets is just enough for a few individual photons to squeeze through. I think I'm going to get a set of the shortscale ones for my Lionel as well. That's a really resonant bass that can sound a bit like a hollowbody so thumpier strings suit it well. It seems my journey to flats is nearly complete. I only have 1 bass with rounds on it now - a Jim Deacon shortie precision. I recently got that and I'll be modding it quite a bit when I find some money. I have another one that I've owned for a good few years that was modded too. Hipshot ultralights and an Aguilar 1960s wind P pickup. La Bella DTF on that one. Very Motown / old RnB sounding. I'll definitely put Ultralights on the newer one as well, but I might go super modern on the pickup as I've got a set of EMG PJX lying about.

My main amp is quite bright and so is that bass so these strings counter that very nicely. How long do you find the LTF last? I’ve had 5 years out of DTF before.

I put them on my Sandberg TT4 this evening. I cleaned them with isopropyl alcohol wipes first to get rid of the manufacturing stickiness. I’ve played for about half an hour and they sound very good. Certainly in the same ballpark as DTF but easier to play. Quite a chewy thick sound which is the sort of thing I really like. I think the truss rod will need a tweak but I’ll let it settle for a day before I do. So far, so good!