Jean-Luc Pickguard

Back in the day I was a pick player. When I picked bass up again nearly ten years ago after ten years of not playing I was more into Motown & Stax & made a conscious decision to ditch the pick and only play with fingers. I prefer the control and articulation I can get when playing with fingers and pick no longer works for me. One of the songs we do is a fast version of 'get out of denver' which often used to cause my right hand to tense up with cramp through playing hard, fast & repetitive. I no longer suffer this. A few things I discovered by trial & error which helped me: [list] [*]I built up the strength of my fingers with a gripmaster [*]I turned the amp up higher so I didn't have to play so hard [*]I use a limiter so even out the dynamic range when playing softer [*]I use very light gauge, and very responsive strings (flats work for me: Thomastik JF324 / 344) [*]I worked on still getting it sounding aggressive without playing hard - ie the attack [/list]

I have a gt-6b. Its worth messing about with for an afternoon and once you've got your head around it, its pretty straightforward. I tend to gig with just a behringer limiter pedal for fx these days though - less to carry.

My back hurts just trying to imagine carrying that around.

[quote name='ianrunci' post='649071' date='Nov 8 2009, 08:07 PM']I had to finish off the set with one finger.[/quote] ...& I used to wave goodbye to my boss at the end of the shift like that

not this Les Patterson?

[quote name='wesfinn' post='649518' date='Nov 9 2009, 11:26 AM']it's a form of cramp. its when you play too hard or too much and lactic acid build up forces your tendons to contract. used to happen to me all the time, i went to the docs about it and he just said not to play so hard. havnt had the problem in years now. just had to change my technique a little and not press down so hard.[/quote] That has been my experience. I since changed to using TI jazz flats and turned my amp up & use a limiter (cheapo green behringer pedal) I let the amp do the work and play with a much lighter touch. Haven't had the dreaded hand cramp since.

I have small hands being underheight (for my weight) I have no problems playing my 'big boy basses', but my most comfy bass to play and my first choice to take to gigs is my CIJ reissue Fender Mustang. [attachment=35842:mustang.jpg]

I bet the ugly stick snapped when it hit that bass

I like the difference a badass II made to my jazz, but when I also tried it on one of my precisions it seem to lose some of the punch and I preferred the original bent tin one.

Without the tension from the strings the truss rod will be pulling back, so that has to be loosened as well. Without any tension front or back the neck I would imagine (but cannot prove) that the neck could more likely to go twisty if the temperature or humidity changes.

One ripoff gig I did was presented to us as a charity gig, but was actually just promotion for a pub that was changing its name and wanted wall to wall coverage in the local paper. It was pretty obvious that the charity angle was just tacked on to get people to donate their time for free, the mayor to turn up and the press coverage. It was a long way from home, we played a storming set and the promised pints & petrol money didn't materialise and neither did the promised paid gig bookings.

I went to a jam night the other week in Croydon. After I had been with my lot, I put my bass in the gigbag. The jam night organiser came up to me a bit later and told me there was someone that wanted to play bass with the next band up, but he didn't have a bass so could he borrow mine? I felt a bit of a ar5e saying no, but I didn't know this bloke from Adam, so I wasn't going to trust a total stranger not to scratch up my pride & joy. Perhaps people assume that my CIJ mustang is some kind of cheapo bass as its not as big as a 'proper bass'. Of course it isn't - the current RRP for a new one is £739.99. I almost feel like in future I should not go to jam nights as getting the skunkeye from this chap's bandmates put a bit of a dampener on the evening for me. Or maybe I should make a point of taking one of my weird little Ashborys instead.

despite what it says on the headstock its a squier afinity isn't it?

[quote name='skankdelvar' post='641859' date='Oct 31 2009, 01:39 PM']...It's like asking if one uses both one's feet when walking.[/quote] I always like to hop as much as possible.

OK they only person I can think of that deserves a signature bass (& doesn't already have one) is that chap that plays bass for obviously 5 believers & skunkeye: It'll be a fender custom shop 'new old stock' 1966 reissue mustang bass in daphne blue nitro, neck profile like a CIJ resissue, but also with nitro finsh. Aged pearl pickguard, string mutes & tug bar, hipshot vintage style lollypop tuners including a D-tuner. Original style pickup and passive electronics. Fitted with Thomastik TI-JF324 strings. Of course a silver tolex case would be included. A squier version of the above to the standard of a classic vibe with less bells & whistles would be cool as the starter version.

I like it on a jazz not on precisions - it makes them sound less like a precision. bent tin seems to give the attack more punch.

Not for me. Makes me appreciate the frets a bit more since I bought a fretless though.

Audience? I sometimes have a look around, but its hard spotting them sometimes.

[quote name='ezbass' post='637637' date='Oct 27 2009, 09:35 AM']A great range of amp heads and cabinets. I use my LMII with a Schroeder 1212L (4 ohm), they go together really nicely. The smallest, yet loudest rig I've owned.[/quote] Me too

Mustang just like my CIJ white one with aged pearl pickguard & tug bar but with lollypop tuners inc D-tuner and in california blue.

A small point (to the OP), but you might get more insights if you'd titled the thread 'what's the next step up from a squier' or somesuch rather than "Evening all....., ....a bit of advice needed" which gives no clues about the question you're asking. Someone who has just upgraded from their starter bass, so has recently researched the intermediate market may have skipped over the thread title without opening it as there would not have realised it was relevant to their experience. Also a bit of info on your budget, which squier you have currently, what you like/dislike about it would help. just sayin'...

Depends on what you like & dislike about your current bass, your budget and any number of factors. If your current bass is the basic affinity and you want something similar but better, you might benefit from having a look at the Vintage modified or Classic Vibe Squiers.

I used to have a MAG300. Sounded great with MAG115 & 210. I only changed to a MarkBass LMII & Schroeder 1212L for the size/weight advantage

I'm really into my CIJ mustang bass - vintage white with aged pearl pickguard, but I'd love to have one exactly like it but in california blue or an original 1966 one in daphne blue.

[quote name='Jigster' post='635297' date='Oct 24 2009, 02:15 PM']when people talk about flat settings, is that, for clarity's sake, setting to the middle of the dial, like at twelve o'clock or something, or using a stingray, setting to the indent mark on the knobs etc..??[/quote] It'll be the setting at which the knob has no effect. So a boost/cut knob will be set at 12 o'clock and a boost-only would be set to zero (fully anti-clockwise). I run my passive bass into the LMII with everything flat and tweak the magic VPL knob (or whatever its called) and the other magic one.