fretless

Rabbie It seems to me that db mics are another "which are the best strings" type dilema ... One mic does not fit all instruments/style/strings/volume/etc/etc. My travels down this road have brought me (via sm57 under fretboard, joemeek pencil condenser mic, AMT s25B, various piezo pick-ups and Full circle) to a Nadine Ear Trumpets mic (needs 48 volts phantom power) which, as far as I can tell, does reproduce accurately the acoustic sound of my bass (carved old Czech hatpeg, spiro weich strings). That nirvana of "my bass but louder" ..............BUT ...................................... It is expensive AND proved to be utterly incapable of being used with my Markbass 12 combo at even moderate volume. I never sorted this out despite conflab with the ear trumpet people, use of fishman pre-amp, etc. I am not an electro wizard but I don't think the output impedance of the Nadine liked the input impedance of the Markbass. Since most of our work is in smallish venues we use backline for amplification and not being able to use the Nadine effectively was frustrating. Sending the mic output to the main board was fine on a largish outside gig and I was told by a muso I respect that the DB sound to the audience was very good. However, they also had a di feed from the Markbass into which I ran the full circle - so I really don't know what the balance was between the two bass feeds on the main desk. Did the same at a lower volume ( but quality venue) gig where everything was put through the pa by an experienced ( bass playing) tech and we had a copy of the individual tracks recorded - these sounded ok in the circumstances but once again I don't know how the bass was blended. I think it is so much easier for a pa person to use the full circle feed when time is short. I am now putting it through an AI amp just bought on Basschat so I have the full circle into one channel as backup, the Nadine into the other channel and I can dispense with the outboard 48 volt power supply otherwise required by the Nadine. Only one modest gig with the new arrangement so far but we have two or three more coming up in the next fortnight so I will be better able to judge results. On the recent gig we played I used the "Nadine" channel about 75%, Full Circle 25% and was please to hear a very unadulterated sound at an acceptable volume. I have not pushed the AI combo volume yet but should get about 600 watts with my upshot speaker added. The band plays swing and latin, two saxes, drums, guitar, bass , vocal so rock volume not required but it is a reasonably full sound. (Incidentally, the AI head has also worked fine with fretless and Jazz basses put through a markbass 15 cab - again, not seeking a trash metal sound !!!!) I'm off to contemplate if I really want to buy some pirastro perpetuals to add to my box of must-have strings .....................Double bass, the way to madness and poverty.

After a great deal of thought, this bass is not for me and the owner has asked me to post it for sale on Basschat. More photos and sale details on "for sale" section. Thanks for all replies and information. fretless

Battery present so it's an active version bass .........

Thanks Trevor Very helpful, will look at electrics asap to confirm passive/active, etc.

Who is Trevor ?

Elderly bass player has passed me a WAL 4 string, lined fretless to check out - pictures attached. He purchased Bass "second hand" in 1999 from Manson’s in Exeter - invoice to hand, WAL case. No on heel plate is PB 1287 Body looks to be solid ash Seems to date back to 1978/79 (?) - which will make it a very early model ? Confirm ? Condition of body/neck is excellent - Intonation seems spot on and set up is good, plays all the way up the neck without problems. Lots of pots and switches - would be helpful to know what each is supposed to do so that I can assess if they are all functioning OK ? ie 3 way toggle switch on lower horn, five rotary pots and three mini switches below the pickup surrounds ? Advice please ?

Rabbie A year in - are you still well pleased with pre-amp and how has it performed with more gigging time ? fretless

Suggest visit to decent luthier and get an examination and opinion - if something is seriously wrong it could prove very expensive to fix if the problem gets worse. Fretless

Had this issue for many years playing in a wind band and echo advice already given - definitely check pack to see if a string bass part exists - they often do. Found to only way to play Tuba parts successfully was to photocopy music, erase all bits beneath string bass low E and write them in again so they are readable for "us" - bearing in mind everything still needs to be musical, complete drag but saved lots of mental gymnastics in the middle of a performance - even more of a drag if it will be a one off !!! Note for next time .............. only agree to dep (for free !!) you are given string bass parts.

As above, it depends on the state of the older instrument .................. I thoroughly recommend you run any potential purchase past a decent luthier before you commit, you may do OK without this but a bad buy may prove expensive - as noted above ! My story relates to a Czech republic solid wood Gamba of unknown age but probably made between 1918 and 1940. Bought of a fellow basschatter in autumn 2011 AFTER I had seen it and spoken to the local luthier who had carried out some work on it and confirmed it was not about to crumple into sawdust !. It was playable and basically sound structurally but carried a fair few scars from the past - was very sensibly priced so I reckoned on some expense to come at time of purchase. After a years or so it went off to Martin Penning as there was a rattle from inside which I figured out to be a loose rib but am not equipped to remove top for access. Martin fixed this without too much trauma and attended to various other potential issues whilst he had the top off. I then had a more playable bass sans rattle ...........Around 2 years later the heel / "button" split ( it had been repaired in the distant past) - probably due to a bump in rehearsals. The MU insurance was very good and paid for the repair at Martins loft and I paid him extra to replace the fretboard - the existing one was chamfered on the e string side not radiused all round. With the back off for the button repair Martin also made good any other minor issues. Bass has been fine ever since - Martin checks it over and tweeks things very couple of years when I can get to him - it is played and gigged constantly. No doubt it needs looking after but no more than any BD. What's it worth ? Who knows if I would recover the original cost plus what I have laid out for fixing / improving things ?..................... It is considerably lighter than a ply bass and I don't swing off it - just (try and) swing with it ! Without a side by side test against the sound of any other DB I don't even know if the tone is just OK or better than OK. It seems good to me and I would consider buying a similar instrument for the cost invested if I needed to. Patrick (fretless)