Kiwi

I would agree with that to a point but SWR, Warwick and Eden have all produced amps that were designed to make the most popular bass (a jazz bass) sound good. I know that because they make the one bass that was even more mid scooped than a jazz, a Ken Smith BSR, sound so scooped that I couldn't tell what note I was playing on stage. The RnB players out there pairing Smiths with Edens...I really don't understand how they monitor accurately.

In my experience, these are nice warm but clear sounding combinations: Musicman Stingray - Mesa Boogie Bass 400+, Burman Pro4000, Warwick CL/CCL combo Brittle sounding bass (hard fingerboard and super rigid through body neck, or bolt on graphite neck and ash body) - SWR SM400 Smith BSR/Fender Jazz - any Class D amp

Ped and I are not keen on a rant sub forum. Ranty threads get out of hand too easily and, in the heat of emotion, are subject to poor judgement. Besides which, there are loads of websites that cater for ranting and if that isn't tempting, there is always the option of your own personal blog. Stick a link to your signature if you like. I did a quick review of defamation legislation this morning (my time - 6:15am), this is what common wisdom suggests about defamation and the internet: [url="http://www.senseaboutscience.org/data/files/A_quick_guide_to_libel_laws_in_England_and_Wales.pdf"]http://www.senseabou...d_and_Wales.pdf[/url] [i]"[size=3]The internet has irreversibly changed the way we access and publish information, but with parliament last modifying our libel laws in 1996 and our current definition of a publication dating from 1848, development of the libel laws has not kept up. It may be clear to us that an investigative report in a newspaper and anonymous comments on a blog are very different in nature, but under current libel laws, both are held to the same conditions. Website hosts and internet service providers are forced to assume editorial responsibilities in the same manner as traditional outlets such as newspapers and magazines. [/size]"[/i] So I hope you appreciate why defamation is a sensitive matter online. Having said that, there is a private members bill going through Parliament which will change the level of liability for website owners in respect of posts by third parties. [url="http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2012-13/defamation.html"]http://services.parl...defamation.html[/url]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EbTCcig4oo I'm pretty impressed by this! I've made arrangements with Industrial Radio to demo a bass if I happen to be in Sydney, on the way to somewhere else.

I was going to nominate Chris Brown for the same reason but thought better of it.

I think there might be a copy of an interview he had on t'wireless about his experience of India (he was born over there...and his birth name isn't Gregg Burman either )

[quote name='lettsguitars' timestamp='1357991494' post='1931429'] Bollocks! 180 grit for frets is well over the top. 240 at the most for bad frets. If you need any more than that you need new frets. Also crowning files make more mess than anything else. A file with the wrong size slot will f*** you right up. All you need for fret levelling is a 24" straight edge to make sure your neck is flat in the first place, a flat piece of something (this much is correct). I plane a 6-8 inch piece of scrap for this. Tape off the board inbetween frets, Mark the frets with permanent marker, scrub (sideways) with 320 grit on your flat thing until there is a shiny crest on each fret. All that is left is to 'polish' the frets which also recrowns them at the same time. Starting with the 320 polish down one side of each fret and then back up the board on the other side of each fret. Repeat this step through grades of wet and dry 400 up to 1000 or more (or indeed less) depending on fret material as some require a finer polish than others. Finish with fine wire wool and you're done. I used to buff with compound but I do find that it is totally unneccessary. Remove tape and lightly clean up the board with wire wool. Fret levelling is a coupla hours work at the most and really very simple to do well. [/quote] You need to have some emery sandpaper attached to the flat bit of something! Also, I did a polishing and recrowning on my strat in 30 mins with a fret file to crown the frets rather than sandpaper. It's worth investing in the right one, but you may need some specialist advice on what the right one is. I haven't really needed to use marker because the way the metal shines gives a pretty good indication of what bits have been abraded, but its a good idea. Like Beer of the Bass, I also use metal fret protectors when using the file and they seem to work fine. Taping up can be time consuming too.

Adam Clayton - for the last 20 years. Pish easy job, raking it in...nuff said really. Doug Wimbish - what isn't there to like about what he's done? Ian King or Andrew McKinney with the James Talyor Quartet I' d love to be able to have the technical ability, versatility and finger strength of John Patitucci in the mid 80's to now.

[quote name='Skol303' timestamp='1357868764' post='1929934'] My musical development since joining Basschat has been MASSIVE! Seriously. I stumbled upon this site two years ago and got some great advice on buying my first 'new' bass following nearly a 10 year haitus in playing/recording. I was really struck by the friendly vibe and people here - I felt among 'mates' right from the start - and it was just damn refreshing to find a music forum that wasn't populated by egotistical d*ckheads (I'm convinced that bass players are an inherently friendly bunch… I think it's a product of the instrument itself and not craving the spotlight… but that's another topic). Since joining I've: - Managed my first successful de-fretting project - Have begun learning the basics of notation and reading (still slow going, but I'm in no rush) - Have grown sufficient balls to start singing and songwriting - Have more than doubled my musical output (thanks to Charic for setting up the monthly challenges!) - Have become slightly poorer (cheers to Dan Owens for the Morley Wah and Wooks for the OC-2 pedals!) - And I've been hugely inspired and humbled by some of the talent found on here - too many people to mention, but I owe thanks to the likes of Urb [Mike Flynn], Bilbo [Rob Palmer], Silddx [Nigel Dale], Captain Bass [Andy Saxton], Patherairsoft [Shep] and so many others for opening my ears to new stuff and inspiring me to practice till my fingers blister. You guys rock. So yeah. I'd say it's been pivotal in my musical development. And cheers to that! [/quote] Thanks very much. If you don't mind, I'm going to post that on our FB page...because...f*** it all, we sometimes need to celebrate the things we do well and derive some job satisfaction.

[quote name='risingson' timestamp='1357867298' post='1929924'] He was (is) a great player, I think there were plenty of issues with him and the rest of the band which led to his expulsion, I heard a lot of ego was involved [/quote] Chemically assisted egos were an issue after his departure, apparently.

I've gone backwards. Play guitar (badly) more than bass now and my finger coordination has suffered accordingly.

This should be on the BC FB page.

Well we've only had 5 responses so far and were discussing whether there was any point in taking it further. We'll keep it open if there's still interest.

Going to the Falklands seems a bit of overkill just to avoid Basschat. But welcome back!

[quote name='MoonBassAlpha' timestamp='1357407652' post='1922279'] 8 Ohmios! [/quote] Scorchio!!

And Lee Sklar added a p pickup to his old session mongrel because he felt the string balance was better. Nice to see some faith being restored in Denmark Street finally. Go Wunjos!

The band in question has definitely got industry credibilty. Good luck to whomever gets the gig, it'll be a doozy.

[quote name='fretmeister' timestamp='1357320544' post='1921055'] Having had all manner of composite 'boards I have to say the body is much more important. As a direct comparison - my Graph neck, wood body Energy (old one - no truss rod, very stiff) compared to my Streamline... the Energy is much more traditional sounding and a warm rounded tone is entirely possible, whereas the all graphite Streamline is much more modern. that being said, the difference in Stainless Steel and Nicket frets is quite obvious too. Zon boards are wooden but pressure treated to force resin into the wood. I like it a lot! But I'm not convinced it makes a huge amount of difference unless you are looking at a fretless. Body wood and pickups are a much more important part IMHO [/quote] I kind of agree. I've noticed the fingerboard generally affects attack more than anything. It probably affects lows but the higher frequencies are more directional so I've noticed them more. Pickups seem to be a bit like a blunt edged weapon. They generally have a single resonancy peak that can be adjusted up and down the frequency spectrum depending on number of windings, magnet strength etc. The treble response of pickups can also be dampened or boosted depending on how much resistance there is in the coils and how random the windings are around the coil. Lots of other factors come into play such as how even the windings are, thickness of the wire..so it becomes a bit of a balancing act. Body wood has a dampening effect in bolt on instruments if the wood is softer and less stiff than the neck. I'm still open minded about how much impact the wood in body wings in through body necked instruments has. I'd like to believe less but I noticed more warmth in the mahogany bodied Smith 5 I used to own, compared to the walnut bodied fretless. So...don't know yet.

[quote name='thisnameistaken' timestamp='1357320116' post='1921044'] You guys are crazy. The fingerboard is what, maybe 2 or 3% of the mass of a bass, and you're all freaking out about the effect it will have on the sound? This is a fretted electric bass we're discussing here right?[/quote] Well, before you crow any further, this is a neck [u]not[/u] a bridge. The relative mass of a fingerboard is irrelevant to how stiff it is. But don't take my word for it. Try a few bassses where they're identical apart from the fingerboard material. (I've tried Fender and Celinder jazz basses, Smiths, Musicman Cutlass basses vs Stringrays and Status basses) Note how consistently the attack differs between two fingerboard materials. Better yet, talk to a few luthiers about it...like Jon Shuker, Rob Green or Ken Smith, like I did.