Rob MacKillop

Cheers, Aidan. Glad you like it! Play it to death! 

Do please give us updates on how you are getting on with this bass...I was contemplating that model myself. 

It's on its way to me. Looking forward to it!

I have to admit the 30” scale makes it great to run around on. It’s just joyful to play. 

Agreed!

Yes, I know what you mean. I absolutely love it. 

Pau Ferro is often described as being tonally between ebony and rosewood, and is very smooth to the touch, which is what you want for a fretless. 

Pau Ferro. Here's where I bought it, with some info: https://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Sandberg_VS4_Lionel_SCA.html

Bought new from Bass Direct, it arrived this evening. I did not expect it to be so good - I don't why I thought that - but it is really an incredible bass for the money: £1300. I swapped the steel strings for La Bella Deep Talking black nylon tapes, and they fit perfectly. Everything about this bass reeks of quality. The hardware is all very good, and the setup could not be bettered. Superb fingerboard, best I've had on a fretless.

I did wonder if a 30" string length would provide a good fretless sound, but it most certainly does. 

One dislike: described as "faded red", but turns out be more pink-red. I might consider changing that, though it's a big hassle to do so. But I'll definitely be keeping it.

Full name: Sandberg California II V84 Lionel Candy Apple Red "Soft Core Aged" - quite a mouthful. 

Pictured next to my theorbo...😎

I didn't know you could remove the tab in the digital version - good to know. I'd rather the tab wasn't there, but it's the only way to recover costs these days. 

They are. I've only done two so far, but will take on them all, I'm sure. 

Cheers, lowdown. Your kid must be good if he can play these pieces. 

Cheers, Dad (it's REALLY weird saying that!). 

And that is on a three-string bass, as played by Bottesini. 

I really love these studies by John Patitucci. You have to keep counting in your head, and keep your foot tapping - great fun. Being based on C Melodic Minor, this could also be played over an Am7b5 chord. 

The bass is new to me, from Bass Direct for half price -  a bargain. Stock flat wound strings, and going through a Phil Jones Double 4. 

Anyone else playing these studies?

A black and white bass deserves a b&w video...

Thankfully I'm fluent in both languages - standard and tab - but every day am thankful I put the time in to learn to read standard notation. Keep it up!

Good to know, Stew. I hope you like it!

On 30/03/2020 at 07:17, Brook_fan said:

I was particularly interested in  the Gilbert Isbin pieces, and I was not disappointed.  These pieces are terrific, and to my mind echo the great studies by Leo Brouwer for classical guitar.  Like Brouwer’s works, I feel that far from living their lives as just studies many of these pieces will be very welcome in concert halls and recitals.  The harmonies are delicious- I sure wish I could compose pieces this wonderful!  Thank you Rob, they have helped me reignite my love for my bass 😊

Robbie

Robbie, you've made my day! Year, actually! 

Hi guys. Thanks for all the positive comments on this book, which does seem to be doing well at Mel Bay. Any questions, just ask. 

Thanks for all the comments. Appreciated. 

Ah, I hadn't thought about the availability of strings...

Thanks for the comments, folks. First thing would be get a tech to check the wiring, as maybe the pups are good enough. I love the neck on this thing, and have Rotosound Black Nylon strings on - great dead sound! 

Here's a picture of the model I have. I love this Dead On 58 bass, but the volume and tone nobs do absolutely nothing - clearly the wiring needs looked at. That got me thinking that while I'm at it I might upgrade the pickups, possibly bridge and tuners too. Any suggestions for all of this?

Thanks, Woodinblack.

I fancy getting a 5-string, but tuned EADGC. Almost all the 5-stringers I see are for BEADG. I'm imagining a new nut might be required to get correct seating of the strings? I can't imagine bridge holes would be a problem?

Edit: I also wonder about string length. Do low-string 5-stringers have a longer string length than regular, and should ideally high C string length 5-strings have a medium to short string length?