bass_dinger

Others: "I bought a new bass. I spent big money. I failed. " Thread inhabitants "oh well done! Share some photos. It's lovely!" Bass_dinger: "I bought a recorder. I spent £17. It's only Tier 2" Thread inhabitants "arghhh. Terrible idea, terrible instrument." To ensure that this thread is not derailed, I will find (or start) a recorder thread - and everyone can insult the instrument over there, instead! Bring your bagpipes too. https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/509120-the-recorder-woodwind-instrument/

In other news from Bass_dinger Towers, a setup followed a slight repair ( replacement neck and refinish) to this 2023-purchased bag of bassy bits... ....resulting in this barely-distinguishable-from-original finished article... Repairs and setups are within the rules, I think....

In basschat.co.uk, people are so relaxed that they sometimes don't even complain when others misattribute quotes to them. But they will mention it. It looks like in your post above, you have over-typed your own words into the field where my words were. Not a problem - certainly not here, in this rather silly and jokey thread. Really, I don't mind. However, it may be a problem with the basschat software, that allows users to amend what they are quoting.

Have you seen the price of a bass recorder!? Honestly, if I had the money to spend on a bass recorder, I wouldn't spend it on a bass recorder... The wonderful Just Flutes in Croydon list them starting at £250, up to £1,500. I will stick to sheet music from them, at least for now. But it's a great shop full of enthusiastic staff - and is located in a building that a friend of mine described as "Shakespeare's birth place".

It's a Yamaha! It's got a letter B on the case... It's a baroque-layout soprano recorder bought to accompany my grandson's journey into musicianship. Tier 2 fail, I think?

To me, a fundamental point of this challenge is to encourage basschatters to become better musicians by making the very best use of their existing kit, rather than seeking self-improvement by buying new stuff. It seems pointless having a wonderful instrument in one's collection, which is broken, unusuable and unplayable - and leaving you unable to improve your craft. So, if all it takes to get it working is a repair, and you will play the repaired instrument, then I say, go ahead. And, as the rules say, a repair is allowed.

No it's not!!

Thomann is perhaps like Netflix - tens of thousands of products online, but not the specific ones that I want. I wanted the Behringer umc404hd - originally out of stock for up to 6 weeks, and now a 9 to 12 week wait time. Amazon have just one in stock, for twice the Thomann price. So, I made do with my existing Xenyx 4 channel mixer, into a semi-functional Yamaha AG03 interface box. It takes up more desk space and I still need to buy a midi-to-USB cable. However, it means that I am still in the Gear Abstinence challenge - and I am still playing bass and keyboard, rather than looking for kit to "improve" my skills.

As someone who grew up in England, I have always wondered what " second grade" and "8th grade" means, in terms of age. People from the USA seem to use it as shorthand for their age. However, I have not seen any information online on how old an 8th grader is (probably because I have not looked). So, this is my opportunity to convert grade to age!

I would congratulate you on repurposing and reusing equipment. A guitar gig bag can also be used as a bass gig bag, so you saved your bass-budget, _and_ you are taking your bass to a gig. Spending less and playing more.

Indeed it is, as this cropped hamster head clearly shows... And the real thing..

I recently acquired an edge-lined fretless bass. How do I play it? Specifically: How do I improve my ability to pitch the notes correctly? What is "correct" - should I aim for Even Tempered pitch or the actual pitch? (I have already discovered that the 3rd of the scale sounds more correct against the Root when it is slightly flat) What slides work (from the 4th to the 5th? 1st to 2nd?) How can I get more "mwah"?

Came here to suggest the same thing. Surely someone has string tree in their Box of Bits?

Or that people out there want to see if this item sells - if it does, they know that they can offload their own similar gear for the same inflated price.

I have found a bulk pack of Slo-blow fuses for this amplifier, purchased from RS Online when I needed one or two spares. Realistically, I have more fuses than I can use in a lifetime of gigging. So, if you wish, I can let you have some. DM me, if you are keen. Robert

It's now on my wall, in the dull 40 watt glow of cheap lighting - a dark jade green in that light, but in a photo, it is more of a dark blue. Like the luthier said, it's one of those colours that change depending on the lighting. Also, because the slightly yellow maple cap colour combined with the blue stain, gave us a more green colour. The jade green is stunning - I am fixated by it. And the fingerboard visuals work too. I'm in love!!

Having waited patiently for a call from the luthier to pick up the finished bass, I gave them a ring this afternoon, to be told that they had emailed me earlier in the week! "Rob in your parts you were one control knob short So we need to find a suitable knob for the volume control - In a way having the volume knob be slightly different can be a good thing as it will be easy to locate whilst playing - did you want us to find a plastic or metal control knob? Also we have held off putting the truss rod cover on as the old one looked a bit scruffy by comparison , so we thought we’d look at options that would suit the bass well Sorry pic is a bit dark - we need better lighting in our front room" I picked up the bass this evening. First impressions are that the colours differ, depending on the light (much more turquoise and purple in real life, compared to the photos ); the satin finish is immaculate; it still smells like a spray shop (nice!); the g string feels very thin. The old truss rod cover is indeed too ugly to put on this bass so I will share photos later. Also, I seem to be missing the correct volume knob. However, when I played it, in the workshop, it sounded great - very rewarding. I was surprised at how I was able to hit the notes, pitch-wise. The edge-lines really helped, So, when I get back home, I plan to stop caring about authentic truss rod covers, and correct volume controls, and play the bass. Over the next few days, I will try to record some samples - although right now, my PC Interface has stopped working, and my preferred replacement is out of stock. I am happy.

£15 is very inexpensive for any intact stringed instrument. Slightly worrying that you have two balalaikas though, and in different string configurations too! If you tune in fifths (C, G, D) you are ¾ of the way to a mandocello, for which you will find a lot of music, and chords.

The correct answer is "every size, eventually." I know that our Nkush Kash player is counting "1 2 " for the clicks (and the shakes imply 3 4) but it feels subtly more funky and syncopated than that. Interesting instrument!

I have an audio interface - a Yamaha AG03, which looks like a mixer. No midi ports on the device, Last week, the AG03 stopped working properly - the bass guitar channel no longer produces any sound. And nor does the microphone channel (I am not sure if it has ever worked). However, I can still use it for stereo electric piano. So it looks like I need to replace the kit if I want to play bass (which I do). My favoured option for a replacement is the Behringer UMC404hd ( https://www.thomann.co.uk/behringer_umc404hd.htm ). It has 4 simultaneous input channels, multiple Outputs - and MIDI In and Out. So, the UMC404hd will do the job of both the AG03, and the MIDI-to-USB cable. Once Thomann have them back in stock, I will invest in one. R

I just looked it up, and it is indeed a cab - and very nice it is too! Congratulations on your new bass cab.

In this Challenge, the losers get a bass guitar, and those who win go without for a whole year. Congratulations on your new bass.

You should join anyway, and become the first person to fail before they signed up! Interestingly, cables are not listed in The Rules. So, perhaps they are indeed out of scope? So, the loyalty points were given to @SimonK without him asking for them. That's why I felt that they were a gift (or rather, a 'gift' - even I was doubtful of whether they were truly a gift of bass bits. Loyalty Points feel more like cash, albeit restricted to a single shop). I am loving this thread - it's like an episode of Crown Court, with lots of legal arguments, but nobody goes to prison if they are guilty!!

A good point - a true consumable has to replace something that is wearing out, or is already broken. If one has other items that would do the job (say, a blue 3m cable, even though a yellow 2m cable would be better suited), then perhaps one might use that instead? However, the decision seems to have been made regarding that particular cable, which was largely purchased with Loyalty Points (so, a 'gift'), earned in previous years (so, arguably not part of the 2025 challenge).

Hence the expression, originally "have a drum break, then have a kit-kat", but adapted and adopted by the Nestlé organisation.