Jean-Luc Pickguard

[quote name='ellie' timestamp='1324911076' post='1478402'] I went in a shop once and played four basses of the same type that all played differently. I picked the one I liked best! [/quote] A few minutes with a set of allen keys might get them playing the same though. A tiny variation in the relief on the neck can make a massive difference to how a bass feels.

[quote name='pete.young' timestamp='1324729751' post='1477384'] Hah! I'll have you know that crappy curly cables were the state of the art in 1973. I still have one somewhere, plus one that was half curly half straight, the ultimate in cable chic. [/quote] A curly cable from is an essential part of my 'lo-fi no-top' tone. My original 70s one was stolen sometime in the 80s at the Rock Garden, so I was ever so chuffed when I saw them for a fiver in Maplin.

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Tasty bass playing, but I'm unable watch the video for more than a few seconds without being irritated by that tit with the mic prancing about in his daft hat.

The metronome in Gibson's [url="http://www.learnandmaster.com/guitarapp/"]Learn & Master Guitar[/url] app goes all the way down to 1 bpm

[quote name='Johnston' timestamp='1324671379' post='1477003'] Is it just me or is there something very odd with the headstock. Can't quite put my finger on it. [/quote] I think the bulb on the end may be skewed/not quite round enough as well as looking far too new, having the wrong truss rod adjustement and an incorrect logo decal Below is what a real one looks like (well, a '72 - but close enough to a '75)

This 1975 thinline tele they're selling looks like a ringer to me [url="http://www.cashconverters.co.uk/auction-item/407151/fender-telecaster-thinline-guitar-with-stagg-hard-case"]http://www.cashconverters.co.uk/auction-item/407151/fender-telecaster-thinline-guitar-with-stagg-hard-case[/url] No bullet truss rod adjuster Incorrect pickguard outline gibson sized hubuckers rather than fender ones which would be larger 4 bold neckplate rather than 3 bold microtilt neckplate join between the layers of the body should be close to the back, but in the photo it looks central one big weird string retainer on back instead of six small metal ones 'F' hole looks possibly too wide The body shape looks wrong - real 70s teles have a squarer-looking top bout as it was cheaper to cut them out without the deeper curve that Leo designed and was reinstated in reissues. This appears to have the non-70s shape which joins about one fret higher. I've emailed & told them - would be interesting to see whether this promps them to do some research into the spec beyond looking up a non-original serial number.

If its not good enough for John Giblin, its not good enough for me.

Gwilym - exactly! nail -> head It makes me cringe when people talk about being endorsed as if they don't understand something they're in the middle of.

I know a guitarist who had his knob fall off during a rehearsal. Probably explains why theyalways pull those funny faces during solos.

My, that's one fugly muddyfunker of a bridge The blingy 1980ish precision elite had a faintly similar bridge - not too similar though as it had a regular size rectangular baseplate without the Harry Hill collar bits at each side

I have a few. The brown acoustic ADI21 preamp/DI thingy is fantastic for acoustic guitar and EUB. After trying many many compressors I found that the Green BLE100 limiter is my perfect compressor - I even have a second spare one.

Fender CIJ Mustang - looks OK in vintage white, but would be nicer in Daphne Blue. Needs vintage-style tuners with 'lollypop' buttons. 1981 Cherry Sunburst Precision - The Heavy Ash body weighs more than Eric Pickles 1971 musicmaster bass - topload bridge means that Thomastic TI JF324 flatwounds are too long to work on this bass & the last time I tried short scale LaBellas, the G was too short, so I have to use crappy rotosounds. Ashbory - looks silly

I have the acoustic version of the one in the original post. I only use it for gigs, but its ideal for my tanglewood acoustic bass. It folds up tiny, so fits in the pocket of my tribal planet hard gigbag/case

There' s no such thing as a best bass - everyone has different taste. Make sure you get one which looks so cool that you can't walk past it without taking it off its stand/off the wall & having a noodle. You can get a fantastic bass for under £300. If you can buy it from somewhere that specialises in basses and has on-site expertise for setting it up - or take it somewhere for a setup. Then learn how to do setups. Nothing worse for a beginner than to have an expensive bass that plays like arse just because the shop that sold it have no idea how to do a bass setup. - I should know - I had owned my first fender for nearly 20 years before I had the courage to take a screwdriver to the truss rod.

I have a few short scales. the Korean reissue Danelectro longhorn is great fun to play - especially when fitted with the flatwound strings LaBella make specifically for it. my '71 fender musicmaster - & my daughters one are fun for something with a vintage vibe, but the second hand price of these is just daft. I used to have a squier vista musicmaster. it was fun but weighed a lot ore than it should have and the neck was rather chunky. my CIJ fender Mustang is my go-to bass. it sounds like a precision - but more so. I got mine when the going rate was £300 secondhand. I've tried a squier Jaguar SS in candy red a while ago and loved it. I wouldn't be too bothered about the weak jazz pickup as the precision pickup sounds so good on its own. The neck was shaped just like my mustang - fast slim & easy to play, but with a fast satin finish rather than the gloss of the mustang. at £166 with the current rebate offer, I'd say this is the best shortie bass value at the moment. the only possible disadvantage I can see is that the top loader bbot means that my favourite thomastic TI JF 324 strings will be too long whereas they are perfect on the mustang.

Whilst my kids were watching it I blocked it out with Brian Eno's 'Taking tiger mountain' & 'here come the warm jets' going into my ears from my DT-150s

The experts on 'rays are on the EBMM forum. Perhaps you might want to ask your question there?

Looking at the suggestions already posted, I'm wondering whether taking the rubber bung off the endpin spike and harpooning a tennis ball with it might be worth trying? Perhaps along with plugging the f-holes

A secondhand one.

I want a candy apple red squier jaguar short scale bass. at £166 delivered it would almost be rude not to, but I've run out of hiding places and I think the missus is onto me. Also I don't have any money.

Daisy Rocks are great, although my stardust elite bass is [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Daisy-Rock-Elite-Bass-/270861119091?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item3f1094ae73"]on ebay[/url] at the moment as I have too many basses and not enough room or money. I'm kind of hoping it won't sell though. My daughters also have three daisy rocks between them - another bass the same as mine a pink daisy electric and a lilac wildwood acoustic guitar.

A Gripmaster may or may not help with left hand technique - I don't know, but that's not what I used mine for. It did help me with my right hand technique. I used to run out of steam halfway through a fast song we used to play at the end of the set and would get severe cramp in the hand. After using a gripmaster these problems went away as my fingers felt a lot stronger and I could play a lot faster and not run out of steam.

I have a CR5M - my tuners are of the fiddly variety - not very different to the ones on my thunderbird

Thomann do the gigbags - this one looks identical to the one which came with my CR5M http://www.thomann.de/gb/ns_design_bass_gig_bag.htm