neepheid

My Guild B402-A smelled a bit rank but the fur inside the hard case absolutely reeked! An intensive course of Febreze seems to have done the trick but it was quite disgusting. The bass itself seems to have aired itself out a bit over the months I've had it so it's not so noticeable on the nose. It does have some lacquer crazing but who knows if the smoke caused that, it's 31 years old after all. Everything else was fine. I don't know if it's a deal breaker as such, but it's certainly a plus point to me to know I won't have to be in danger of passing out when I receive the bass for the first time

[quote name='munkonthehill' timestamp='1326527738' post='1498370'] I am swapping my jag [/quote] Bit early for April fools isn't it?

Use pub economics. Let's say you consume £40 in a night out (booze, snacks, wasting money in bandits, taxi, kebab, whatever). Take cost of desired item. Stay out of the pub for cost/40 nights and put that money aside instead. Assuming you only go for one sesh per weekend - if your desired item is £1000 the you'll be able to buy it in 25 weeks. That's less than half a year! Simples!

Same here - I love a slightly mid scooped EQ when I'm noodling at home, but I have to change that to boost the mids when playing in a band context. Doing this makes sure that the only sad face on the stage is on the amp

Video from our most recent gig, thanks to my wife for taking the camcorder along [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HRlW1ZOBas[/media] Probably not obvious from the video but the bass is my Gibson IV through a Hartke HA3500.

I'm not convinced on the merits of phase reversal. My Guild B402-A has a phase switch and the out of phase sound is thin, nasal and compared to the in phase sound - horrible. I never use it musically, and only flick that switch occasionally remind me how nice the in phase sound is My opinion is that series, parallel and coil tap are by far the most useful options, musically speaking.

[quote name='Horizontalste' timestamp='1326195212' post='1493495'] Is the a particular contact cleaner or are they all the same? [/quote] Servisol Super 10. Other switch/contact cleaners are available, but this is the one I use and trust. I cleaned up an entire mixing desk with this stuff, including some pots which were totally stuck and had to be started moving again with pliers

Courier-proof packaging without a hard case is possible, I've done it many times. It takes time, thought and care, three things that some people are unwilling or unable to devote to the task. The basic premise is to put the bass in a gig bag and then wrap it heavily/pack it tightly in as much bubble wrap, foam, scrunched up newspaper, polystyrene bits as fills the outer box to make the whole package tight without risking bursting the outer box. The trick is to make the whole thing one monolithic object - absolutely nothing loose or moving inside. Once that state is achieved I am confident of taking on all challenges when it comes to accidental damage. This is just my opinion and although it means little statistically given the small sample set (circa 10 parcels) I have 100% success rate in getting basses to people in the condition I sent them in so as far as I'm concerned I seem to be doing something right. Most recently I have been using Interparcel/UPS but have in the past used Parcelforce (until I found out about the insurance limit in the teeny tiny print for musical instruments, hard case or otherwise).

Not sure if contrary opinions are welcome in here but the neck on every Jazz bass I've tried has felt wrong. Too thin and strings too close together. I read that some people have switched from p basses and I'm struggling to understand why! But if you like 'em then you go right on ahead and play the Hell out of that Jazz bass

[quote name='Austin7' timestamp='1325770560' post='1487371'] Gibson basses are actually my favorite. For quite some time, I couldn't even tolerate Fender. A lot of this had to do with the fact that many years ago I had no choice but to use a Fender Precision at a gig. I didn't like it at all; I especially didn't like the neck which seemed really cumbersome to me. In recent years, I've come to like Fender better, but still prefer the deep, rich sound of a Gibson bass. Nevertheless, I see no reason to sugar-coat things. Gibson does have problems and I feel they view their basses as secondary to their guitars. The quality control that I mentioned also seems to be a big problem. In addition, although I do actually like the "muddy" sound even of EB-O basses, I recognize that many others don't. I think Gibson bass players will always be in a minority. Of course, that's fine with me. I just play what I like to play and like what I like rather than trying to win any popularity contests. Based on my record, though, it's highly likely that Gibson basses will always be my first choice. [/quote] I'm not arguing with you. I'm not one to sugar coat things either - I've already mentioned my disappointment with Gibson's recent output. Gibson's main problem last century was persistently swimming against the tide, but at least it provided us with a plethora of different basses to play. I agree that they seem to care principally about keeping those Les Paul and SG guitars flowing, bass just isn't their focus, and I don't blame them for that. More people play guitar than bass. Look in any (non bass specific) music shop and count the number of guitars on the wall versus basses. Fender probably care more about their guitars than basses also - look at the latest output (the Select models) - it's 5:2 in favour of guitars. I hardly think that this phenomenon is limited to Gibson, it will inform the output of any instrument manufacturer who makes both guitars and basses. (This is aimed at the world at large, not you btw) Speaking of minorities, I don't see why I should tolerate half-baked BS based upon regurgitated stereotypes and prejudices. I don't get a lot of Jock jokes said to my face (or even online come to think of it) for being Scottish, so why all the "if you sneeze near a Gibson, the headstock falls off"? It hasn't happened to any of mine. I'm bloody tired of hearing it. So you don't like Gibson basses. You may actually have played a few to form this opinion. Well done, I respect your right to that opinion. That doesn't give you the right to present that opinion as fact, crack jokes and be a dick about it. (This is aimed at you, not the world at large btw) Out of interest, which Gibsons do you have, or have played/owned in the past?

Gigging is the whole point of it all for me. Noodling away to yourself gets pretty old, lessons are intriguing and challenging but dry and clinical, practice/rehearsals are better, but usually carried out in a boxy room and there's no feedback except the (band) self congratulations when you get something working well. Only at gigs do I get the rush of adrenaline of knowing there's nowhere to hide if I mess up, to see the reaction of the audience, to interact, and to have a beer or two for my effort In the list you provided, probably 1 & 2. Next gig is on the 14th and I'm getting excited already.

[quote name='Austin7' timestamp='1325762475' post='1487136'] I don't know what their reasons are, but it does appear they have little interest in even trying to sell basses in mass quantities like, for example, the way Fender does. [/quote] You say that like it's a bad thing.

[quote name='leftyhook' timestamp='1325722435' post='1486812'] Hard to grasp. How can Gibson make some beautiful guitars like the Les Paul ( Iv'e tried some custom shop jobs, play like heaven and immense build quality) yet the basses....? It's like they have no passion for bass. A token gesture? [/quote] I've bit through my tongue. No passion for bass? A token gesture? Get right out of here. Gibson have come up with far more unique models of bass than Fender ever have. Go on, list them. I wouldn't be surprised if the ratio is in excess of 2:1. You can't accuse them of having no passion for bass, given the number of attempts they have made to try and compete with Fender. The 70s were a particularly fruitful time for Gibson at least in terms of variety. I will grant you that they haven't come up with many models interesting to me this century (yet) - they seem to have stagnated into an almost Fenderish regurgitating/rehashing old ideas habit - but companies with no passion for bass do not come up with the RD Artist.

No chance here, but good luck with your search.

Ach, dunno - it's all vague maybes and possibilities rather than outright wants. A physically smaller amp head maybe A bass made of some synthetic materials (maybe something with a luthite body or a ebonol fingerboard just to see what it's like) But if it doesn't happen then I won't be too bothered.

Sorry Gibson, I still don't like any of your bass output this century so far. The 80s Explorer had the wedge bridge, like a Schaller 3D but with an opposing wedge mechanism for string height instead of grub screws. Now we get the three point bridge? Gibson, I would ask why you don't come over to my house and urinate in my cornflakes, kick my cat and leave a turd on my doormat as you leave, but then I realise that there would be no need as none of that trumps the three point bridge. I know you're not going to read this, Gibson but please, please stop using it, especially when you're reissuing basses which never had it in the first place! Aaaaaand, breathe

I must be lucky - I get along very well with my drummer, both musically and personally. This is the second band I've been in with him. When I managed to secure his services for the band I am currently in it was a happy day for me. He's not flashy, he's solid and we lock in well together. We practice stuff that's giving us aggro together, just bass and drums until we get it right. If he has a fault he's far too modest and pessimistic when it comes to his playing ("I've forgotten it, I'll just wing it" - it always sounds good to me )

Reason? They're not Fenders.