martyy

Yeah that'll be it. Some other amps I've played, Markbass doesn't really drive, and an old Ashdown ABM that has a drive knob that doesn't seem to drive a whole lot.

I've never had the opportunity, bet it would be fun though. The only time I've had a chance to play through an all-valve amp was in the studio. I don't think anyone wants to move them anymore

I've never had the chance to play through one of them but I have used the guitar version and it could barely clean up at all! Would love to check one out.

I am happy with the sound I'm getting. Not really looking to change, just idly curious about what else is out there that can do similar, and why nearly every pre-amp and amp sim pedal out there goes big into overdrive and sometimes fuzz territory despite the fact that many real amps don't tend to bother so much with that. I think that maybe I just have it wrong and plenty of bassists are getting drive straight from their amps!

Yes I suppose that is true, however whether it is musically pleasing is a different story. Valve amps will sound good, but solid state don't tend to sound too nice with gain cranked, unless they are designed to (at least in my experience). My tech 21 amp is basically VT bass pedal with a power amp, and its circuit is designed to simulate valves. My TC amp sounds terrible with the gain too high, and my warwick amp just won't clip at all.

We got a desk recording from a recent gig, and when listening back I realised just how much I had the gain cranked on my tech21 VT bass head, it was much more apparent in the recording than it was on-stage. I really liked the overdriven sound and it made me consider deliberately going for more saturation in future. It also made me think about how few bass amps are designed with overdrive as a feature. The VT bass head can get very dirty, but what other amps are out there that are good at letting bassists crank up the dirt without messing about with pedals? It seems clean-only is the design goal of the vast majority of bass amps.

Looks great. One thing I can't figure out from the pictures, where is the active/passive switch?

Thought I would update this post in case it is of use to others. I got a finish that I am happy with. After I sanded everything back I: * Re-dyed the body with the leather dye * Used 4 coats of shellac sanding sealer (water based) to seal the dye, applied with a cloth. Dye does lift at this point, but not enough to worry about. * 4 coats of tru oil applied with a cloth, with 24 hours between each coat.

I'm looking for advice from any body finishing experts out there. I am attempting to finish a swamp ash body with angelus leather dye and crimson guitar finishing oil. I can get a colour that I am very happy with, the trouble starts when I try to apply the finishing oil... The oil readily dissolves the dye and lifts it, even after 4 or 5 applications. I've found that the dye dissolved in white spirit which is what the oil is based on. So I sanded back and for a second attempt I tried to seal it post-dye using shellac sanding sealer, using my own spraying equipment. Result was a splodgy finish that did not seem to help with the dye bleeding problem anyway. Any good advice? Different oil I can try, or a better way to seal? My spraying skills/equipment is clearly not up to scratch so a hand-applied approach would be better I think. This is the bass as it is now, sanded back and dyed, awaiting my next attempt!

Some really helpful comments here which sent me in the direction of some basic technique videos.... Turns out I've been doing all the wrong things when it comes to left hand. I have a lot to unlearn. I have been putting my palm on the neck and squeezing/clamping the strings down all this time. Apparently that is a no-no 😃. I've spent a little time trying to get it right, so far it feels even more exhausting but hopefully something will click. Thanks for all the pointers folks.

It's all the left hand.

I have seen this sentiment often! I have played many gigs with my torture device, I'm in my 40s now, I just find it hard to believe it'll be possible in 20 or 30 years..

I should say as well that I was originally playing bluegrass/country. I remember buying the bass from Thomann and telling them that at the time. Probably why they set the string height high. These days I'm more interested in soul verging on jazz I suppose.

I'm based in the Belfast area. A fiddle player friend of mine took the bass to a fiddle maker about 10 years ago and he took down the bridge for me which helped a little bit, but I get the impression that bass is a bit of a specialism and it would take an actual player to understand the work that would need to be done.? I have always had spirocore mediums on which I understand is quite high tension. I have lights ordered but I suspect that will only have a moderate impact. I think the fingerboard has too much relief but can't be sure. Maybe I just need to man up!