LukeFRC

I've got two starting point questions... You play a load of jazz basses in the shop... when you pick up the precision does it feel good not to have to think about the controls much cos it's only got two of them. If yes.... go for simplicity. So you go and drop £150 on a fancy boutique pedal, and it doesn't work for you... well you can turn it off easily. You can't with preamps. It's a ballache if you're one of those who can fit them yourself or an expense if your tech is fitting them. So know what you're trying to achieve before you try and to achieve it.

agree. I've written before about how a two band Glockenklang, and a Warwick Streamer Sg 1 are the most useless combination of things I've ever held in my hands. So it does matter. I love a buffered active blend. John East does them. My `Streamer has a John East designed ACG EQ-01 in it. 4 stacked pots though - I've had to learn the discipline of not fiddling. The original 2 band stingray preamp is an interesting design - no pots before the preamp and the volume pot controls the output amplifier of the preamp. Clever Leo. Current fave bass is a Sadowsky metro Will Lee. I like that preamp very much. Simple, easy to use. Turn the thing off and boost what you need (if you need).

I used Howard for a pickguard in jan. TBH I half remembered something had happened but went with him anyway. Did a good job and done quickly. While I feel for the OP .... If the fella did have a breakdown and everything all went wrong.... and then if he's getting back on his feet and earning a living by making the odd pick guard... that's not a bad thing for the fella. Though annoying for the OP. Which I get.

Grammy song of the year 2019: Childish Gambino “this is America” brit awards single of the year 2019: calvin Harris and Dua Lipa “one kiss” To to give one example.

It seems to be more of a thing in US culture of smaller one man bands setting up semi professionally and then things falling to bits. I guess in the UK we tend to be less entrepreneurial and people would probably keep it small scale rather than try and scale up beyond their abilities.

It depends which bands you allow into your canon....

Second, amp & cab modelling. I love this. I have a Streamliner 900, and I swore it would be the last amp I'd ever need. But, I'm having a blast just plugging into the FX Return on my amp and use it just as a power amp If you got a power amp that fit the bill would you then sell the streamliner? Or would you keep it as well (presuming no need for a back up?)

Also I’ll press the buzzer to say “repetition” on the “loosing money” phrase

There’s always someone who takes a joke too far isn’t there @Al Krow?

I reserve the right to put so many double negatives in sentences that they make no sense to anyone!

My philosophy is not to buy something that I wouldn’t complain if I got stuck with. Even if it’s just to try I work out the value to me on that basis, and factor in if I would be able to move it on into how much I spend.

Or a ray position with nice 2 band preamp...

No - I'm saying that the intention matters. There's a difference between folk who buy and sell to try things and will tend to buy cheap and try and get the most when they sell... and folk who just buy to flip for a profit.

given you've one 'perfect' bass then, the main question for the new neck is what can you do with it you would use?

DON'T SELL IT!

If you had got it in lake placid blue or some colour more like that I wonder if you would have kept it longer?

1 or 3 if you do 3 the main things I guess is working out what you want before you spend anything. You could have another jazz... the same or would 70s PU positioning be nice? What pickups? Active/passive? Heck stick a P pup in, or MM ... the problem with building something is that cost wise it can all add up, and bitsas almost never make the cost of even the secondhand parts back if sold as a bites. If you do your sums, and depending how much work you do yourself vs paying someone... but it might be as cheap to sell then neck and buy a secondhand bass you want.

that's a good point and one of the good things about Basschat. There's a price point, depending on maker, somewhere between £500 and £1200 where a secondhand bass doesn't really loose much value. Basschat is quite good in that a band of similarly minded bassplayers - with a general culture of helpfulness and not trying to rip one another off - can buy and sell and try stuff out often just for a little bit more than the cost of postage. I've tried everything on my GAS list now thanks to you lot and am pretty happy with the instruments I've got. That said I'm not sure I would buy unplayed any more (I used too), just because unless it's better than what I've got I've not interest (nor space) in having it. (When I say no GAS - There is a local bassist with a pre-EB stingray that is phenomenal, but not sure I'll ever justify the money he's (justifiably) after for it)

Some people are like you are Al, and ask lots and lots of questions on forums like this and researching and trying stuff before spending any money... Some folk just spend the money and take the risk of a hit... I used to be a bit judgemental about people who do the later, and then I realised that it's not my money, and if they could afford it then it keeps various smaller luthiers in business then it's a good thing, in the long run, for me. And of course there's often a bit of crazy thinking in people's sale prices, or they got it cheap and are flipping it or something. I was offered a bass for £1700 recently that the buyer had bought the year before for £650 on Basschat. They obviously think I can't use google to search the site!

So several years (5!) back I started asking questions about FRFR systems etc... except I didn't know that, I asked a question about how going into a practice at a church, the bass sound out of the HK DART monitor in front of me was one of the best sounds I had ever had. And was asking why, I think it was @stevie who pointed out that multiple amps a decent horn and multiband limiting would make a nice sounding bass tone with the payoff being that you would loose a lot of the bottom end. Interestingly a local selling group has just posted a couple of these up for sale for pretty cheap. I guess ex-hire. but very cheap. Quoted: 105db @1w/1m half space (whatever that means), Max 123db @1m (at 10% THD) +/- 3db : 80hz - 19kHz +/- 10db : 60hz - 22kHz How does their low end compare to something like the QSC K12.2? As in... not on the stats which I can look up, but on how will that feel to use as a FRFR cab? EDIT: Interestingly looking at the specs for the different settings for the K12.2 looking at a response graph that I found on several US retailers websites, the published specs for the K12.2 is on a "full range" setting which features a big bass boost between 60-100Hz ... DSP towards flat the -10db point is higher about 70Hz...

Do these GK amps work the same as the RB ones? On them to ‘warm it up’ you can Turn the volume almost full on and then use the gain to control the volume

Quilter’s 1x12 are also using the 3012 and look interesting.

I take the cable up my spine, the clip can go on my collar, the plug end can use a belt loop and (in my case) the wired connector can go in my back pocket - meaning any tugs will be on my trousers not the cable of my ears ... once it’s in place pick your bass up, I doubt the strap will affect it. the main reason to go up the back though is if eather earpiece falls out then it just rests on your shoulder, easily to hand to put back in. If you go up the front there is some risk it gets tangled in your instrument or is harder to find mid song if it drops out.

I splashed out on the larger metal cased Bournes for my last project bass. While being nicer to work with because of the size I didn't find any difference between them and Alpha or one of the cheaper makes in practice... I remember thinking this as I had problems with both of them. The nicer ones @itu is recomending are obviously different and a step up. Lin for tone and Log for volume works well. Biggest tip is to use an "MN" pot for a blend if you're using one - it means that at centre position both pickups are 100% as opposed to normal blend pots where the middle is each pickup at 50%. (though for a Jazz VVT works just as well and doesn't load the pickups as much. )

Really? I didn’t know that! Edit: I think I first heard the song heard about on basschat and the first YouTube video of the song looks like it’s him on a fretless jazz