geoffbyrne

When I played in a Blues band a few years ago I had a Westone Thunder IIb fretless I had strung BEAD - sounded immense, also had a fretted Ibanez Roadstar strung the same. This was because the singer tended to be stuck in the key of D....... G.

[quote name='guido21' timestamp='1359979351' post='1962727'] Thanks again to everyone for all the helpful input. It looks like Yamaha receives the unanimous vote. I had read other comments about the Epi neck dive but didn't pay much attention to it. [i]I have a Yamaha BB415 with a John East Pre-amp and a Jazz-type neck, a Yamaha BBN5 with a P-type neck and a Yamaha TRB1005 Fretless. Guess which I'd recommend? The BBN4, actually!! Also, the Peavey Millenium BXP, Cirrus BXP & Grind are also good value-for-money starter basses.[/i] geoffbyrne is there a particular reason you recommend the BBN4? Does that have a P neck? I was watching 2 of them on fleabay and both went for peanuts... [/quote] My BBN5 has a much wider neck (at the nut) than my BB415 - the comparison between the P neck and the J neck has some substance here. Now, I've never played the 4 string versions of either of those models, but I suspect they are proportional to their number of stings. I would go for the N for precisely the reasons you suggest -- it has a P-type neck and they are cheap second-hand. Mine's a cracker, although I've swapped the single-coil standard pups out for the humbuckers found in the RBX375 model as I had one of those originally and preferred the humbucking tone. [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v213/geoffbyrne/P1010063.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v213/geoffbyrne/P1010062.jpg[/IMG] G.

I have a Yamaha BB415 with a John East Pre-amp and a Jazz-type neck, a Yamaha BBN5 with a P-type neck and a Yamaha TRB1005 Fretless. Guess which I'd recommend? The BBN4, actually!! Also, the Peavey Millenium BXP, Cirrus BXP & Grind are also good value-for-money starter basses. G.

I'm sure there was an thread in Talkbass by Greenboy about this kind of thing which was very informative, but it was at least a couple of years ago and you'd need to do a fair amount of digging/searching to find it, but, if you know Greenboy, you'll know it's worth reading. G. Actually, here it is, and it was 6 years ago..... [url="http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f15/boutique-3-way-115-215-budget-336504/"]http://www.talkbass....-budget-336504/[/url]

I play all 5ers (I have 3) and for me, it's not really about the Low B (I often use the low D, but rarely go below) - it's more about the technique of playing [i]across[/i] the fretboard rather than up & down it. It enables me to figure out a way to play a song & then, if the key needs changed, it's easy to simply move that pattern up or down the fretboard. String spacing on a 5 or 6 is always going to be narrower than on a 4 - you have to deal with it or go back to 4s. I have a fairly small hand and I don't have fingers like sausages so that helps. Certainly, more amplification would help you. As you probably know, each octave you drop demands twice the power to maintain the same volume, so the low B needs a fair bit of power and suitable drivers to cope. G.

I'm a wee bit older, & my guilty pleasure would be Elkie Brooks. Saw her live in Barnstaple a few years ago & she was exceptional. (I might get to pluck her later........ ) G.

....I've been to that pub....... G.

Another vote for the BBN(-5) - here's mine on the right of pic with RBX375 humbuckers swapped in. It's with it's pals, the BB415 with U-Retro & the stock TRB1005 fretless. It cost me £80. G.

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v213/geoffbyrne/P1010062.jpg[/IMG] Need I say more? I also have a Yamaha keyboard & acoustic. G.

I had one of those - the only think I remember about it was its collosal weight..... G.

....and Coco Montoya......!! G.

MXR-80+ you can decide how the clean & fuzzed signals are mixed. G.

Thanks, Jon - put 'out of sight' by the Mods, then? G.

This gives me an "You do not have permission to view this topic" error. G.

Can I have this, please? Geoff

I find it very difficult too, but it can be learned. G.

If you're in the Midlands, Jon Letts near Leicester would probably help you out. G.

I suppose, at the end of the day, you just have to play as many different models and brands as possible until you find one that 'fits' both your body size/shape & what you play - and that goes for all of us. G.

Dunnit! G.

Depends if you mean competent.....or not..... G.

[quote name='geoffbyrne' timestamp='1356985611' post='1916168'] I'm depping with Wildlife at the Tudor Hotel in Airdrie - I've had a week's notice, 38 numbers - here's hoping!! G. [/quote] Gig went great - only fluffed one number - no' bad!!! Wore my 'Tesco Value Bass Player' T-shirt - went down well! G.

I'm depping with Wildlife at the Tudor Hotel in Airdrie - I've had a week's notice, 38 numbers - here's hoping!! G.

Peavey Cirrus BXP V - best neck I ever played. G.

Bump!

.....you just need to do the defretting now..... G.