geoffbyrne

I used to play with a keys player who also played a bit of guitar & bass - he always played the flipped. He told me that it was because he was the only corrie-fister (left hander) in the family & he had 3 older brothers who played guitar/bass. He learned to play (& he wasn't bad, but a much better keys player) by picking up his brothers' instruments thus saving himself mucho dinero! It might be interesting to find out if those mentioned above as playing flipped learned on their older brothers' instruments. G.

I haven't got one, but I used to (in the early 60's!). There were 2 body depths - mine was the thin & it was about 1.75" - I have no idea about the deep body - mayby 3/3.5". They tend to split in the longitude direction just above the heel, where it joins the body - as the end of the fretboard floats above the body. Check for quality of repair if it has. G.

I have a BBG5A which the Bass Doc modded with a fretless fingerboard & I swapped the pickups for the double-pole pups from an RBX375, so I'm not sure how valid this is, but I love it! It's a wee bit on the heavy side, but the tone from the 'buckers has that extra kick of mids that works for fretless. Usual brill Yammy construction & heavy hardware. It's the one that lies out all the time. G.

I've got one of these on my BB415 and it works just fine - looks good too. G.

It's how it used to be done - hence the 'finger rest' being in the 'wrong' position on old Fenders. Still do it when I want 'mwah' on the fretless. G.

I'm 67 & I'd be gigging and jamming at least twice a week if I could get a band..... G.

I have a Digitech Genesis 1 (I have 2 actually, plus a Genesis 3). Headphone out of laptop into 'Line In' on Genesis. Plug headphones into Genesis. Plug bass into Genesis - set up amp/cab/tone. Play track on laptop & play along. Genesis 1 is not terribly expensive on Ebay. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Digitech-Genesis-1-Guitar-Signal-Processor-/131276398492?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Outboards_Effects_MJ&hash=item1e90aedf9c http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Digitech-Genesis-3-GNX-series-Guitar-effects-/231317087234?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Outboards_Effects_MJ&hash=item35db92a402 The Genesis 1 is pretty straightforward, but the Genesis 3 (no idea what happened to Genesis 2) is a much more complex beast, being, in effect, a programmable Digitech GNX-1 Multi-FX in a manual box. We also use 2 xGen1 & a Gen3 plus electronic drums into a small mixer, with a line-in from the PC then a small Berhinger 4-output headphone unit. This allows up to 4 of us to jam silently. G.

'Unreliable Memoires' by Clive James. Don't read it in public - people will wonder why you are laughing. G.

Thanks David, I'll try it. G.

I think this sounds like the wiring I had in my Thunder IIIA Mk2: If I remember, the controls were (from left to right): Jack socket (Duh!!!) Active bass boost/cut Pickup Selection Active/Passive switch Passive treble roll-off Series/parallel switch (operates individually on pups - neck was a P type, bridge was 2 spool humbucker - both went into series/parallel simultaneously - i.e. you couldn't have bridge series & neck parallel) Volume/Phase (on a push/pull) My memory isn't great - the mini switches may have been the other way round. The series/parallel was, I think an 8 pole. There was certainly a huge variation in tone available despite only one element of the tone stack being active. Unfortunately I don't have a diagram or picture of the guts. The nearest I could suggest is maybe a John East P-type active circuit combined with a passive treble roll-off & vol. Just a thought. G.

[quote name='Myke' timestamp='1409532066' post='2540669'] My Yamaha TRB is 34". It's the older version with the slap cutout. The newer ones are 35" I think. [/quote] Ditto. Ibanez ATKs. G.

I had a B Bass (Jack with a headstock). It also had this arrangement of the battery box holding both a battery and a rectangular metal box with a screw adjustment. In my case, it turned out to be containing the pre-amp, and the screw adjusted the output up and down. G.

The lightest 5er I have is my Sterling by Musicman SUB 5. It's way lighter than any of my others except for my Yammy RBX250, which is a 4, but it's pretty light too. I've heard some of these SUBs are very light (i.e. mine) and some not so, so maybe worthwhile trying one? G.

A fretless with black nylons (No!! Strings on the fretless!!!!!) G.

In my experience, yes. G.

Swap the SD QPs into the Streamer & see if the sound goes with them. G.

No problem cutting through the mix with the SUB (or the ATK!). I can't remember having probs with the pre - just followed the instructions & it worked - but I've done more than a few & my soldering is OK. G.

The original pre, as you said, was pretty brutal. I put a retrovibe in it and it's still got a powerful output, but sounds much better although the volume is still pretty much on or off. It's pretty light - certainly the lightest of all my 5 strings and not back-breaking at the end of the night. I like the neck & the action is good for me - I have a light touch & like a low action, letting the amp do the heavy lifting. I do both general functions and also blues. Obviously it's more suited to general stuff, but I've used it for blues - zonk up the bass & cut the top by 7/8 - and it was OK. FYI I also have an Ibanez ATK300 (4 string) which I prefer tonally - it's more Stingray than a stingray-thing - but it weighs a lot more. I feel the build is a little better classier too. However I think the SUB is great value for money and perfectly giggable. G.

Haven't had any prob gigging mine. G.

I have a Stering by Musicman SUB 5 in all black with a Retrovibe Pre. Stingray for days. Also, pretty light. Good action. All I've done over & above the pre is put some Swedish Oil on the unfinished back of the neck. I actually have a trade ad in the 'For Sale' thread for this, but if my arm was twisted up my back I might sell... G.

Pity you don't go for active, as a John East U-Retro preamp coupled with DiMarzio Model J pickups wired in series would do exactly what you want. G.

Maybe be better to change the preamp? G.