bass_dinger

When listen to James Jamerson playing For Once In My Life, I am astounded at how much music he gets out of just 4 strings. 

Thus, 4 strings are enough. 

I play a 5 string bass because that was what I was offered.  Also, I previously played guitar, and wanted my new instrument to be something different to whatever I had played before.  I wanted to force myself to think differently. 

That said, the B string was too poor to encourage me to play across the neck, and I did not initially grasp the concept that B string 6th fret gave me an F, as an alternative to the E string 1st fret.

18 years later, I am now using the B string to play across the neck, and have a new bass with a righteous low B (and C and D).  However, I still can't play like James Jamerson!

On 07/07/2023 at 13:52, Supernaut said:

GHS Pressurewounds and SIT Silencers. 

I have a set of SIT strings on my bass, not sure which type, but I rather like them.  

Smoother feel and sound than the Dunlop steels that I have previously used, and a rich deep sound 

7 hours ago, greavesbass said:

Nope 4 strings is not enough. All those Motown tunes and gazillions of 70's chart hits sound awful without that fifth string....he said.

This is a good point.   I have been learning classic basslines on my 5 string, and I have so far only found two songs that need a note below E.

Waterloo by ABBA, and Everybody wants to rule the world. 

Thus, I have the fifth low string but all the songs I play don't require it.  I would have to shift position away from the original artist's playing to be able to use the low B string.   Some songs lend themselves to that - the outro to You're my First my last.... requires a 12 fret leap on a 4 string,  but a 7 fret jump on a 5.

I have only ever played 5 string basses, and only in the past 2 years have I had the skills to play across the neck. 

5 string is hard, for me, in a 4 string world. 

I had previously used a credit card to resolve a fret issue, but @Baloney Balderdash's solution feels more satisfying.  I shall try it, next time

YouTube recommended this to me - a channel full of transcriptions of walking basslines.

When Oscar Petersons C blues jam is his 55th video, one knows that this is a serious source of information. 

On 02/09/2023 at 15:56, Cat Burrito said:

 

 

 

Mandolin and mandocello- all that folky goodness, and not a single beard in sight!

My mate Roger made me a mix tape of Shalamar, which spent a lot of time in my rudimentary hifi.

I wanted to buy Freddies vacuum cleaner from I Want To Break Free.  Present for the wife...

Here, a ukulele "threadless bass".

It made me smile. 

I found that matchsticks were too soft. I now use toothpicks, and glue them in - then drill the hole for the screw.

We have had Tonewood Guitar Picks. Next, Tonewood Tooth Picks.

1 hour ago, Smanth said:

Smanth With my small, light, battery powered gear ... Ibanez GSRM25 5 str sub short scale, Kala California 5 str fretless uke bass, MOD Dwarf, Boss Dual Cube Bass LX.

I was hoping to see your Harley Benton 5 string fretless - it was the one instrument that I wanted to see last year!

I will nevertheless be interested to try the ibanez short scale - and hope that you will enjoy the decidedly long-scale acoustic 5 string bass that I will bring along!

I asked about that blue colour and was told the following:

"It was a color I mixed up using blue aniline dye mixed into clear nitro to make the color"

Aha! I was late last year, but this year I will aim to arrive on time.

I will bring:

1. 1999 Washburn XB500 (twin humbuckers)

2. 1994 Washburn XB500 (twin single coils)

3. A Washburn XB925 in zebrawood (twin Bartolinis)

4 Washburn XB925 in bits.... (twin Bartolinis)

5. Boulder Creek 5 string (likely to be for sale)

6. SWR Workingmans 12 with the stepped front.

Hmmm... I will need a bigger car!

@Hamster - are we allowed to bring stuff to sell?

1 hour ago, Richard R said:

 

This, quick, before he changes his mind!

 

Had I asked him 4 months ago, he actually had a suitable neck in stock, that had been hanging around, unsold.

2 hours ago, AndyTravis said:

Image I’ve found - this blue burst was used in lots of literature for these basses.

 

not sure many were made 🤷🏻‍♂️

I am told that this was a custom order, and not a production model.

If we have a serial number, we may be able to find more information  - who ordered it,  when,  and even why!

3 hours ago, Andyjr1515 said:

 

 

And the third option - £1000 to make a neck???  Really???  Did he/she have a royal 'By Appointment to...' crest?   

 

@Andyjr1515, that's the same luthier that quoted the same price for fixing the truss rod on my green XB500, that you fixed for me.

@AndyTravis

I like the idea of putting some colour on the body - more than putting some Danish oil on it, which was my original plan. 

As for the neck, I have three options. 

1. Buy a twin truss rod, get a friend to route the wooden centre block out, and rebuild the neck myself. 

2. Get a local luthier to build a neck for me ,  at around £1,000.

3. Go to the person in America who designed the XB series. He still makes custom basses, and has the exact specifications of the original necks. He offered to make a new neck for $400.

I was concerned about CITES certification if I had a rosewood fretboard.  A maple fretboard may not cause an issue, however. 

I was also wondering whether to make this one into a fretless bass. 

1 hour ago, AndyTravis said:

 

This one, 928 🤤

@AndyTravis, is this your bass, or an image that you found?

Washburn offered a "denim blue" on a single humbucker pickup XB900, but I am guessing that this is a custom colour.  Actually, custom everything! 

The control layout seems to be standard, however.  Active/ passive mini toggle,  volume, bass, treble and midrange, and a panpot? 

Found the original seller's snaps. 

And I see that there is a layer of a third wood between the body and zebrawood cap. 

The Flame Maple xb925. 

1 hour ago, AndyTravis said:

 

This one, 928 🤤

Good grief  - I knew that the 8 string models existed, but I have never seen one before. 

I have also never seen a maple fretboard on any Washburn XB model.

Thanks for sharing that photo. 

I mentioned in my previous post that I was looking for an XB925, and found two in Hungary.  

I bought the intact one - here

However, the seller had a second one, in bits but complete, apart from three items.  A saddle for the low B string.  A positioning screw for the tuner. The truss rod.

The previous owner tells me that the two-piece neck had twisted, and he had removed the neck, and fretboard, and then the truss rod.   Steam the neck, twisted it straight, dropped a length of hardwood in there, glued it in, and waited for the neck to reset into the shape of the hardwood insert. 

However, he tells me that it didn't reset, and instead twisted back to where it was.

So, he offered me the bits - swamp Ash body, flame maple cap, two Bartolini pickups, and all the hardware, including what may be a Gotoh bridge and set of machine heads - for a low price.  

I said yes, and now have a project that is beyond my capabilities!  However, I am pleased that I agreed to the second bass, if only to save it from being broken for parts.

When I opened the case, it was like that moment when one finishes a box of Milk Tray chocolates,  and you then realise there is a second layer to enjoy!

Photos of my own to follow, but for now, I will share the seller's snaps.

I mentioned in my previous post that I was looking for an XB925, and found two in Hungary.  

I bought the intact one - here

Ho

For a long time I have been looking for a Washburn XB925, as an upgrade to my existing Washburn pair of Washburn XB500s (the first a green '99 with twin humbuckers and a stuck truss rod ; the second a natural finish '94 that I bought while the truss rod on the green one was being fettled).

The 500 series was made in Korea,  with the XB925 custom made in the USA. 

The XB925 rarely comes up in Europe, although there are plenty in the USA. 

However, back in June, two appeared for sale on a Facebook group for Washburn basses, from a chap in Hungary. 

One was intact, with a zebrawood cap, and two Bartolini pickups. 

So, I bought it!

The neck feels very thick and the sound is huge - the low B is deep and rich enough to make the Ashdown 12" bass cab fart.  The neck feels asymmetric too - thinner on the treble side?

It feels like the difference between a small hatchback, and an estate - more solid, more presence. 

I am pleased with it, very pleased. 

1 hour ago, TheGreek said:

A friend of mine is a cruise ship drummer during the summer and drives a bus during the winter. 

 

Makes a fair living out of both. 

He drives the beat in the summer, and beats the drive in the winter.