muttley

There have been a lot of posts showing members' self-build, upgraded, pimped and generally "bitsa" basses. Since these are generally very impressive projects, I thought it would be a good idea to have them all in one place. Bring 'em on! [size=1]Sorry, I haven't got a bitsa of my own to show (yet).[/size]

Get the side dots moved at the same time.

I really like the SR series. Unfortunately there's no fretless option .

[quote name='Prime_BASS' timestamp='1332414159' post='1587861'] 1 piece maple neck [/quote] Hope you don't mind me asking, but why is this an important criterion? I understand the other conditions but this one seems a bit odd. Is it just to avoid lines on the headstock?

Thanks for the replies so far. [quote name='ezbass' timestamp='1332590098' post='1590362'] Sandberg? I know my basic is nice and light and extremely well balanced. This one on BC is a bit higher than your budget, but as all of the owners here will attest they're fantastic value for money. [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/163985-fs-sandberg-bullet-custom-fretless-l600-ono/page__hl__sandberg"]http://basschat.co.u...e__hl__sandberg[/url] [/quote] That certainly is a lovely instrument and I had already seen it in the classifieds. It is stretching the budget a bit though, plus I'd really like a bass with 2 pickups. The other thing is I'm not ready to push the button just yet. I'm waiting for some cash to come in so with the apparent shortage of basses that fit my requirements I was expecting my research to take quite a bit of time . [quote name='pete.young' timestamp='1332598837' post='1590513'] I have an SB320 unlined fretless that you are welcome to come round and try if you're worried about buying unseen. [/quote] That's very decent of you, Pete, and I may just take you up on that offer . What are Warwick necks like? I've seen the odd fretless come up for sale.

I currently own a Vintage V1004 fretless but whilst I like the way this plays I'm not really keen on the appearance and there are aspects of the fit and finish that are lacking and the pre-amp seems noisy. I want something light in weight that's not a Fender-a-like. Unlined is important - although I started on a de-fretted bass I played one recently and the incorrectly positioned markers confused me. Budget is around £500 (new or s/h). Is there anything out there that matches my requirements or do I have to increase my budget? Thanks .

[quote name='JakeBrownBass' timestamp='1332243430' post='1585308'] I can't write to save my life. That's why i play music. [/quote] Good for you. Play to your strengths (excuse the pun).

[quote name='JakeBrownBass' timestamp='1332242015' post='1585255'] Ah i got in before the rise in fee's so not quite as bad. It's one of the best music schools in the country, the music teaching is definitely better quality. [/quote] Better quality than the grammar teaching, I hope .

When I was 16, I probably worried about such things. Thirty years on, I don't give a stuff . There's music I like, ranging from Baroque to Heavy Rock, from Jazz to Electronica. I teach my children to explore different kinds of music, to try not to be closed-minded and to form their own opinions. There is good and bad in all genre, but it's all music so just enjoy what you like but don't poo-poo what you don't.

Or PVA. But again only a tiny amount so that it can easily be removed if needed in the future. Don't use cyanoacrylate (super-glue) as it has a tendency to bloom.

Sorry, should have read your sig . The reason for my post was I came across one of the low-end Ibbys at a local auction house (poss a GSR190 or 200 or similar) and it seemed a lot of bass for the 60-odd quid it went for.

Does the end result have to be a Fender-a-like? Surely there are lots of other inexpensive basses out there that would make a good starting point (eg Aria, Ibanez, Tanglewood etc).

For that sort of money I'd expect it to be in better nick. [size=1]IGMC[/size]

When I think of ZZ Top I always imagine BG and DH with matching instruments in loud colours (Ibanez?), not Fenders. But, you pay your money...

[quote name='Linus27' timestamp='1331389709' post='1572225'] Well, the biggest selling car of all time is the Toyota Corolla. I imagine that the Fender Precision is the biggest selling bass in the world. [/quote] But Deming's portrait hangs at Toyota HQ. I doubt that the people that run Fender have even heard of him .

I think jack plugs/sockets are the work of stan. Any connector where the hot can connect to something before the ground has no place in pro-audio. Add to this the fact that is [i]still[/i] commonplace to see them used for power amp outputs and you produce a solid case for them not even deserving to exist, IMO. Same with RCA phono, but that's another story. You can't even argue that they'll pop out easily if the lead is stepped on as wrapping the lead over the strap puts paid to that one (forgetting wireless for now). Sorry if this is a bit of a rant but they should have been outlawed long ago. Oh, and I don't like scratch plates either for the reasons mentioned above. And while we're at it, cheap flat (ie Fender-like) headstocks on basses that are far from it! I'll go back to work now.

Lovely. Fantastic job.

There's a Tanglewood on eBay [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tanglewood-Rebel-4k-Fretless-Bass-Mint-/370587779770?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item5648c0c2ba"]here[/url]. No idea if they're any good but it will be cheap!

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1329605730' post='1544902'] Bass solos? Nooooooooo! [/quote] I know. It's not what I chose the bass for, but there you go. Thanks for all the advice so far.

I'm a relative beginner and I'm working through the pieces in Rockschool Grade 4. Most of these pieces have short solo sections and I'm struggling a bit to make them sound, er, [i]interesting[/i]. Soloing is not something that comes naturally to me; shove a sheet of dots in front of me and I can play them. Varying/adapting existing bass lines I'm OK with. Coming up with something totally original doesn't seem to be my forte (yet) . I've seen that Scott Divine has some tutorials that may be useful. Can anyone suggest some other good background material?

It's worth looking out for second-hand examples. I got my fretless V1004 with maple top in near-perfect condition for less than £200.

[quote name='loki' timestamp='1329158364' post='1538138'] Yeah! Remember Mumbo Jumbo?! [/quote] Sorry, no. A bit after my time maybe. A couple of good local bands of the time spring to mind: The Waltons and Val and the Hep Snakes (this was nearly 30 years ago so I may not be remembering correctly). I mentioned the Consort as our band did a gig there once (shortly before I left the Island) supporting a bunch of self-indulgent Pink Floyd wannabes called the Last Straw.

Welcome, Scott. I was from the IoW originally. Remember the Prince Consort?

Get the Rockschool Grade 8 book and the ABRSM Grade 8 DB one. If the latter is adaptable to EB then play that. It will require not only playing ability but also arrangement and interpretation skills. Play on a fretless bass for added kudos. Also, I don't necessarily buy this RS is inferior to AB stuff. I have AB Grade 8 violin and I'm currently working thorough the RS bass books. My current RS Grade 4 bass pieces are a similar standard to my daughter's AB Grade 4 violin. Musicianship tests for AB are probably a bit tougher but OTOH RS has stuff that AB hasn't so it's horses for courses. ETA: Good Luck!

There's probably [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veblen_goods"]a bit of this[/url] in play too.