randythoades

Yea!! My first convert to the delights of mag... Good one Nugget. I can guarantee that after a few weeks of getting used to the mind set and tweaking some eq you will forget all about the piezo. The convenience will win through. And to add to Rabbie's comment, yes, the Presto's have a steel core but a nylon outer. They have a weird coating when you first put them on which feels a bit sticky and gave me a finger blister actually but after a week or so of playing it settles down and they feel very similar to the silver slaps I used before. I have used spiros too but the are really bright. Prestos have a nice dullness about them and you can get a nice rattle on the fingerboard if you do any slap (which I rarely do) but it does lend it an air of authenticity which comes across in the sound, especially compared to full steel strings. They are definitely not at all like gut or weedwacker type strings though.

Presto Nylon Ultralights. Feel very similar to Silverslaps, good thud, not too bright... as recommended by BobVBass.

Hurrah.. another topic to stand on my soapbox about magnetic pickups! I tried mixing piezo and Kent Armstrong magnetic pickup. A bit too much of a faff for the benefit it gave. Now just mag pickup alone. If you are going to use mag pickup at all you need steel strings anyway and that changes how the piezo sounds. No one notices and it is a rich bass sound that doesn't feed back. And with some careful EQ (reducing bass a bit and upping the high mids), I can still get close (ish) to my natural bass sound. I can send you some sound bytes that I recorded on my phone of my bass unamplified then with the amp on. It is not perfect but not too bad, especially in the mix. And literally plug into my regular electric bass pedal board of pedal tuner and DI box, take the feed from DI into amp for stage volume, XLR to PA for FOH and leave it at that, all set, consistent output, minimal setup time, all the levels and EQ preset on my DI box (Dr. J Sparrow). Just adjust volume on amp / PA and done.

I use a mag pickup and can play at insane volume without feedback, or indeed induce feedback like a DB version of Hendrix should I choose!! It doesn't sound like my bass overall but it sounds pretty good in the mix. If you PM me I can email you some mp3 of my playing with band if you want to hear. Rabbie is right though, even with mag pickup I tend to play at 'normal' volume with just a GK MB200 running about half volume into single 112 cab so only around 100w, just for my benefit really and DI into PA for both general monitoring for the rest of band and FOH. Easier on the back.

May not be a solution that you would consider, however, I have a Thomann European thinline bass. I got exactly for this purpose as I have young children in the house who moan about the noise of even playing my acoustic guitar. It has all h feel an appointments of a regular bass but the body is about half, maybe 2/3 of the depth. You still get a nice rich acoustic sound but not as loud. I can play along to cd etc at quiet levels and hear myself acoustically but it is not loud enough to pay acoustically with someone else on guitar for instance. I also have an EUB which I like to play but tend to choose the Thomann because I don't need to plug in to practice. Great value and highly recommended for around £500

The comments are correct about needing steel strings with magnetic pickup. I don't considerate it a problem but maybe not for the purists. I use Presto Ultralights which (I think) have a steel core and nylon coating. I swapped to these after using Silver Slaps. The Prestos come with a slightly sticky coating which seems to wear off over a couple of weeks and then they have the nylon coated feel of the Silver Slaps and a similar tension. I have tried Spiros too which I quite like, but they tend to be a bit bright and springy for my tastes. The Innovation Honeys do work too, though not a very strong signal as the metal content must be much lower. One I got past the 'my bass must sound acoustic and rich just like my bass' issue, the convenience more than makes up for it. Just plug into my regular pedal board with tuner and DI box, take a feed from DI to PA and rest into my lightweight amp and 112 cab for stage volume. I have had several comments about how nice my bass sounds so I think half the sound is (my bad) technique and half is visual in that it sounds the way you expect it to sound because you can see what it is...

Without wanting to start another big argument, I tried several pickups and dissatisfied with all of them, just never sounded quite right. So I thought, if I can't get the sound I actually want, why put up with the problems of feedback and preamps? Got a Kent Armstrong magnetic pickup and never looked back. Does it sound like a DB? Not particularly but no less than some of piezo / contact pickups I used. But no feedback, enormous volume should I want it and in the mix of our rockabilly band, can't actually tell the difference...

I am trying to do similar with a magnetic pickup and also either a Schatten wing pickup or Fishman BP100. I run both into small 2 channel mixer so I can control the volume mix (generally 80% mag pickup and 20% piezo) then run a mono output into floor DI then into PA. Not ideal but does work - after a fashion anyway. A bit of a clunky solution and if I am feeling lazy I just run mag pickup straight into DI. No-one seems to notice the difference except me though...:-)

I also use magnetic pickup and I use the Presto Nylonwound Ultralights. Really nice string, £85 a set from Thomann. I find very similar in tension and feel to the Innovation Silver Slaps I was using before but slightly more 'sticky' in feel early on. After a few weeks of use though you get used to it. Slightly softer attack and not bright like a steel string. Great for old school 50s rock and roll and jump blues with a jazz influence.

Welcome from another Wokingian! If you ever fancy a jam or need some help with something, give me a shout...!

Another vote for the Mackie Srm 150. We use them and as said above, really good for setting your own monitor level rather than having to do the volume that the guitarist needs. Great sound quality. We also use them at ad hoc rehearsals as the PA (and my children's parties)...

I am a recent convert to fretless. I love it and rarely play fretted now. I particularly like the way I can hear when I am not quite on and make small adjustments on the fly (especially when singing and can't look at what I am playing). With a fretted bass, if you play the wrong note, you are playing the wrong note. With fretless, if you play the wrong note, you can just slide up or down until you are spot on. I like the freedom.

I have the Zoom B3 and I play similar material to the OP. Great unit, lots of good sounds and great to plug into PA using one of the preamp models. I find though that I can vary the sound enough for my needs with the volume and tone knob and rarely use the effects so mine is sitting on the shelf unused. Good for the odd song that needs an octave pedal or fuzz unit and handy floor tuner. Must have an ebay clearout...

I really like the look and the colour of these, but active basses are not for me. Seems a bit pricey for a Korean Aria when you can get a Matsumoku made Japanese Aria for probably half that. That said, the Korean ones are generally excellent build quality and great sound I have had a few!

I really like this. Pretty quirky. I will keep an eye on it, a nice alternative to Hofner Club bass or Rivoli

I had similar issues when I started. I had this idea that I ought to be able to play all my favourite songs the same as the record and getting a bit frustrated. In the end I did as others have said and met up with a couple of guys who already played for a jam. Their advice which worked perfectly for me was to learn the notes on the E and A strings and just play along playing the root note until I was comfortable with the song then add a couple of extra notes until I was comfortable with that and add some more (and so on). It gave me the confidence to play a whole song and then used to look at and practice the pentatonic and major scales to add in the extra notes when it felt right.

I have just made the switch to fretless and have been playing it in a pop/rock/blues environment with no problem. I prefer it really. I decided to start after beginning the DB a year or so back and find it easier to play as I can judge by ear rather than sight where I am when singing. On the fretted bass I was often out by a fret but now can adjust as necessary on the fly. The band have not noticed the change as I play as I would fretted bass (with a pick and not much slide or vibrato) but I find it more comfortable to play.

Nice looking Westone Thunder II bass. I think this is the V3 which was the medium scale one. It looks very nice indeed and a good price if you are close to Yeovil. [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Westone-Thunder-2-Bass-Guitar-with-case-/261740444845?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item3cf0f23cad"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Westone-Thunder-2-Bass-Guitar-with-case-/261740444845?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item3cf0f23cad[/url]

I have had a CV tele and a CV strat caught up in the hype. They were ok but not spectacular. Great budget guitars, amazing for the money but the controls felt a bit weak so could do with being replaced if you were intending to gig with it. I moved both on and bought a Vintage V52 tele in butterscotch for £180. Just as good but not as sought after. If it were my money I would stretch the extra £80 or so and get a MIM tele, excellent guitars and in my opinion,a much better guitar, better woods, easier to upgrade and can be picked up second hand easily. A MIM can be a proper gigging instrument whereas the CV would need a bit more work. But great as a second instrument if bass is your main instrument.

I would just use the current setup for monitoring and DI into the PA for overall volume. Only expense maybe a decent mic lead or external DI box. I use a GK MB200 into an 8ohm Ashdown 1x12 (so only around 170 watts) which is loud enough for me even on half volume and DI the amp into the PA for everyone else. In my opinion it makes the DB seem really airy and perfect for me. Although to be fair, the drummer is considerate to the music and plays at a good level rather than smashing it to pieces. Can't hurt to try it.

Ouch. Nice looking bass though. Got an Aria TSB 350 here: [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-1980-Aria-Pro-II-Thor-Sound-Bass-Guitar-TSB-350-Japan-Matsumoku-/231448771243?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item35e36bfaab"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-1980-Aria-Pro-II-Thor-Sound-Bass-Guitar-TSB-350-Japan-Matsumoku-/231448771243?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item35e36bfaab[/url] £275 a very optimistic price I would suggest current climate, especially for one sprayed matt black and broken off strap pins.

I am interested in that cardinal bass. One of mine has a long crack in the neck, nothing extreme but it would be nice to find another neck and swap over the nut etc, and then keep spare pickups and things as parts.

To echo other comments. The prices of the MIJ stuff is embarrassingly low, definitely not a time to be selling. In the last month I picked up an 80s Aria Pro II TSB 350 as a backup to my existing 350 for just £101, and an amazing Aria Pro II 1981 Stratocaster for £67. I need to purge my collection at the moment but just not the time to sell.

I have done it a few times wit a dremel on my project basses. Much harder than it looks. Draw an accurate template on the body or on masking tape to stop the gloss varnish from splitting. I found that the best idea was to buy the router frame for the demel and do several small 2mm deep routs until you get deep enough. I leave about 2mm all the way round first then finish up to the line by hand. My best advice is TAKE YOUR TIME and do not rush it. Using the dremel I would allow say 3 hours to do the cavity to a good level. Similarly with the pickguard, buy a spare or a pickguard blank and cut it yourself using the same technique (although much quicker)