tauzero

Just watching a TOTP from 1992 and Julia Fordham was on it. Her bassist was playing what I'm pretty sure was a headless 6-string (well, I'm sure about the headless bit). Didn't seem to be any particularly good shots of it though. Any ideas on identification?

I found it really funny when one sent a message to me which said something like "I would like to buy your {Oki Microline printer}. I will send you a cheque for £2000 for the {Oki Microline printer} and you can send me the printer and the money after taking out the price of the {Oko Microline printer}". Please, if you're using a template, take the sodding brackets out that surround {item name here}.

I'm in a couple which are in indefinite hiatus, and possibly in another one which I departed from the offshoot of.

"David only needed 8 strings"

That headstock is missing a "PCsGC".

There's a simple non-paying bidder process. I've used it on a couple of occasions when selling a car which the "buyers" never turned up for.

Fender. Well, someone had to say it.

Reminds me of one of the Doctor books by Richard Gordon, when he asks for references and one says "Dr Gordon has worked for me for six months, during which time he has discharged his duties entirely to his own satisfaction".

Isn't it blasphemy to presume to have knowledge of what God finds an abomination?

I can't make out the one starting with a V under D.R.U.G.S. (column 1), the one above Fugitive in column 2, (it seems to start with an L so presumably that's Lorna Shore), the one under Judas Priest and the one under architects in column 4, and I'm not sure if there's a short word before Nino in column 3.

Aliexpress this time, but I feel it deserves an airing. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005455484199.html "Classic bass guitar, tasteless bass". Well, it is a Precision copy.

E - sand all the rest of the finish off and go natural.

Tagging would be great if everybody did it, or even if 50% of people did it. It's more like 5%. Auto-generation of tags would be brilliant but, I suspect, unlikely.

At the risk of provoking another series of allegations about elitism and snobbery, I'd be in favour of a split between 4-strings and 5+ strings. Alternatively, some means of categorising and filtering like Bass Direct/BassBros/Bass Gallery have on their websites - number of strings, fretted/fretless, brand, etc.

Maybe the CNC machines to make them are gold plated.

Hooks on the bottoms of pedals, loops on the board. I think that's the general way.

They produce rather nice guitars for the money. I have an electroacoustic classical, a 5-string fretless electroacoustic bass, and a (now discontinued, I think) Dullahan: which did need a neck shim to sort the action out but was otherwise great.

There's also the output impedance of the power amp to take into account. While it will be a fraction of an ohm, it still forms a potential divider with the speaker, and as the impedance of the speaker is halved by putting two in parallel, so the proportion of the voltage across the speakers relative to the output voltage is reduced correspondingly.

Evidently someone either splashed out or did a successful negotiation.

Well, I can tell you that among the lots was what was described as a Variax 700, but I knew it was a 500 and let them know, and they have adjusted the title accordingly. So I would think that if anyone could show it wasn't authentic, they'd put something to that effect in the description, although I have no idea how much checking they'd do into the genuineness of the item themselves.

The low B on my Kala U-Bass Sub 5 is fine - scale length 20.5 inches.

Despite a visit to Bass Direct today, I have emerged with my abstinence intact.

I've found fishing tackle bags useful for LED PAR cans and for a little handbag (wireless, short leads, MS-60B, A-B switch, capo, allen keys). Might be worth having a look in the fishing tackle section on Ebay.

A full-time musician.

Went to Bass Direct today for a play on the Cort and a chat with Mark, who I haven't seen for ages. There was both a green and a black one in there, the black had just arrived so I had a play on the green. Knobs and tuners seemed fine, the MK-1 Barts sound clean and clear. The treble control on the preamp didn't seem to do much but the amp and speaker I was playing through didn't have a lot of treble itself. The obvious comparison is with the Ibanez EHB series. The EHB's 1005 and 1265 only have multiscales or fretless (there was a single-scale EHB1005 but that has disappeared from Ibanez's current lineup), the EHB1505 is available as single or multiscale. Neck profiles are very similar. Quality is similar. The MK-1 Barts are superior to the BH-2 Barts on the EHB 1005 and 1265, and similar quality to the Nordstrands - they do sound a bit different so listening is advisable. However, as the Cort Space is £700 from BD (RRP is £750), and the Ibanez EHB1505 is £1370, there's £670 available for changing the pickups. The EHB1005MS is £1120-£1200 depending on finish, and the pickups are inferior. One trick that Cort have missed out on is putting a second strap button below the tuners, as per Status, Sei, Steinberger, or Hohner. This allows you to stand the bass up without worrying about damaging the finish. Still, it's something that's easily done at very little cost. Conclusion - if I'd not already got the EHB1265, my 2024 gear abstinence may have come to an abrupt end. If you want a multiscale headless, it has to be an EHB (or a Boden for £3k). If you want a single-scale instrument then the Cort offers similar quality and a similar feel for half the money, and no irritating locking jack socket. I might yet get one when they start popping up on the second-hand market for £400.