simonlittle

I don’t regret selling my Hofner violin bass either. Sounded bloody fantastic in the studio but it was such an arse to play and, like you, I was worried I would break it all the time. Never once did I play it live but it made it onto a good few records over the few years I had it. Now happily replaced by a Wilcock bass which does that sound equally well and gives me loads more options.

Ah the endless joys of the mystery rattle! As @NickD said, could be one of many things. My bass develops weird rattles all the time and rarely can I pinpoint where they come from. They always seem to resolve themselves. It does help to have someone else listen to the bass and see if they can find it whilst you’re playing, because guaranteed you’ll never get your ear next to wherever the problem is…

Only the Yamaha SLB100 has the headphone socket. With the SLB200 or SLB300 you’d need something in between (headphone amp, audio interface etc). I play an SLB300 and it’s great for silent practice both arco and pizz. Usually plug in through my audio interface. Scale and feel matches my acoustic upright perfectly so everything is directly transferable.

They do if you put in a custom order. I suspect you’d have to go through a shop with the order as some of the options aren’t on the standard Configurator form, ie; pickup options and D-tuners.

Looks like they’ve tried to stain it with old tea bags…

The flame top Hadrien Feraud signature. As soon as played it in the shop I knew I was in trouble…

Good idea! Might give that a try. Pretty sure I have at least one spare set knocking about in a drawer somewhere…

I recently got hold of the Hadrien Feraud Burner that was up for sale at The Gallery and I love it. Been looking for a good five string with 17.5mm string spacing for a while now. It’s definitely the sweet spot for me having played Warwick fives for so long in the past. The Smith is a really good weight (just over 4kg) but it is a bit neck-divey; currently investigating wider straps to try to solve that little niggle. Just slapped some Dunlop Super Brights on it and it’s really singing. I’d definitely recommend checking them out if you’re after a really clean and fat sounding five-string.

I too had a similar situation with a Stingray. Had a lovely pre-Ernie Stingray that I played for years with the Divine Comedy. Lovely slim neck; so easy to play. But I could never get it to sit right in the mix. Certainly never recorded with it. Had a brief dalliance with Precision basses before eventually settling on a Sandberg as my main gigging bass. Had one made that looks just like my old Stingray and I love it.

@joel406That does look bloody lovely 👌

Even 50 hours of use shouldn’t result in the string coming apart like that. Either they were duff when they bought them (in which case they should have sent them straight back) or they were seriously mistreated on the instrument. Definitely worth trying a wanted ad on here, as @Burns-bass said. Not sure how common those strings are but someone might be able to help you out with a set

That would be a hard no from me too… Not worth potentially damaging your fingerboard or your fingers. Not sure why they’d even try selling strings once they’ve got to that stage to be honest

Presumably if only a few songs are in the original key (and thus back to standard tuning), the guitarist will need to either tune back up or switch guitars. Either way you have time to make a change too. If it were me I’d just retune with a tuner pedal. That way you can mute the bass and wack it up or down. Can’t take any longer than switching bass…

I had a similar conversation with them about a month ago and they emailed back yesterday to say they were now in stock. Really looking forward to trying the Classic V but it’s a bit late now as I’ve just bought a Ken Smith Burner which covers the same ground. Still going for a test drive though. Been wanting to get my hands on one for ages!

And here. I’ve got stacks of them!

As @Beedster said, being in London is a big help. There are a few places that could sell you bass for you on commission. Plus there are plenty of double bass players about here. Found myself on the overground with two others in the same carriage coming back from a gig the other night! A lot will depend on the quality of the instruments. It’s probably easier to sell cheaper ones as there’s a larger market. The better basses are best off in a shop where the right people are more likely to see them. Laurence Dixon’s Bass Place in Herne Hill is a great place to start. Bridgewood & Neizert in Stoke Newington maybe. I’d probably steer clear of the bass guitar shops for now as it’s generally the wrong customer base. Out of town you could talk to Thomas & George Martin in Banbury about more high end basses, or The Double Bass Room in Battle for more mid-range instruments. I’m sure there are other places. There’s also a good Facebook group for selling double basses. It’s international but there don’t tend to be many basses for sale in the UK so you could attract a bit of attention there. And of course there’s the mighty Basschat! Let’s see some pictures! 📸

They’re fantastic amps. Great choice 👌

The neck and fingerboard on my regular SLB300 both feel excellent. I’ve never played a Pro version (not even sure there are that many around) but I certainly don’t feel like I’m missing out. Plus I’m really not a fan of the gold hardware the Pro sports 😬 Having played both the 100 and 200 in the past, 300 is the biggest step up in both feel and sound. I always liked the SLB200 and was about to pull the trigger on one when the 300 was announced. Was very glad I waited.

It does indeed 👍