uk_lefty

I don't see why you'd spend more than 79p on a pick in the 90s and keep using it forever. This one does me fine...

Wunjo do a great set up on basses you buy from them. Want it down tuned half a step? No problem. Want the lowest possible action without buzzing, OK, easy. Aside from that buying a Sire from Thomann that came perfectly set up. I bought a Fender electro acoustic six string from Gear4 years back and the action was all over the place, even though there's a hang tag claiming set up was done in the factory it didn't seem to have had any help after then.

Is that a Roadster?

It's a Japanese 1975 reissue.

Got the Aria already!

Forgot about Wals, I do t ha E expensive tastes! The whole concept of Midi just melts my brain, I don't get it, I just know string go twang.

True. When I bought my Stingray I didn't think it would be out of place in an 80s setting.

If a jazz bass and a Spectrum ZX were to have a love child.

That was the Yamaha I was thinking of! Love the shape!!

I think I'm quite 80s so far... Although the Warwick fretless and the Hohner are no longer with me.

I'm cooking up something in my mind that may become some kind of custom build, maybe. I love 80s music and have an 80s band starting up. I've owned the Hohner B2A cricket bat bass, I've got an 84 Aria Pro II SB ELITE-1, but what other bass designs from the 80s are very much of their time? There's a Yamaha bass with pointy bits, the Kubiki X Factor bass... Others?

Love it. My feelings exactly.

I've come across two problems with my Stomp, hoping someone can help... I downloaded some free patches. Some are OK, some are rubbish, but the overall volume output from these varies massively and I can't resolve why. Ideally I'd like all my patches to send the same volume to the amp, and then when I use something for a boss like the tube screamer then I can set the boost, its just getting that base level right I'm struggling with... Anyone using an expression pedal? I bought a Nexus as a recommended cheap pedal. Not fully up to speed with it I think, I'm not getting much range from it when I use it on different effects types. I bit the bullet and have a separate bass wah on order but I like the idea of using the expression pedal for the intensity of some other effects like the flanger, just can't seem to set it up that way. When I engage the expression pedal I just get this annoying "EXP 1 Active" "EXP 2 Active" message flashing up and very little influence on the sound.

My experience is that not a single one of them can be trusted fully. It's pot luck. What I know for certain is that intermediaries who find you the best deal will never, ever, not once, stand up and help when things go pear shaped. Their only use is to find a courier who will take stuff over length or weight that your usual provider won't and for getting a good idea of cost. I'll never book through one again because the standard answer when they fail is "the service is not guaranteed". Taking your payment immediately is somehow ALWAYS guaranteed. It's a very unfair contract.

My singer has one, one of the red trim 90's (??) ones. Does the job live, gigged his about 5 years back and would use it again if I needed to. All the bass and volume you can need at 150w, easily good enough to gig. Also look at some of the older Warwick amps, I had a "sweet 15.1" or something, 1x15 speaker, plenty of volume and lovely sound. Not light but had side handles so easier to carry short distances or longer with a mate.

Mick, how dare you!!! I'm only just starting my mid life crisis!!!

Hi Kate Firstly, hope your recovery goes well. My mum fell and fractured her arm really badly and had wore work fitted. The recovery didn't go well but she had a second op and has recovered a lot of movement and strength that she thought she'd lost forever. So hang in there, it might take time but don't give up! To answer your questions... I think us lefties are more adaptable to going to RH. I am only truly left handed for writing and playing musical instruments, but if you asked me to play cricket left handed I'd do better than most RH people going lefty, but us lefties grow up in a right handed world. I think it's doable but would potentially be very slow of you're not naturally already quite ambidextrous. Secondly, look on ebay for the Hofner and similar copies. Almost zero weight and a nice short scale too. Also, lovely lovely Beatles tones!

Agreed. One of my guitarists often boasts about his fourteen guitars. Problem is most of them are cheap rubbish. He should sell off 12 of them and make sure he has two or three good quality and reliable instruments for the bands he's in. And reliable amps and pedals. IMO of course.

Either accept the quirks and limitations of one bass, go with it and make it yours, your core sound, and really bond. Or have a fluid attitude to it, buy and sell within the limits of space or budget and play within that trying new stuff out just to scratch the itch.

Here's a bass I can never sell.... My 1984 Aria Pro II SB Elite 1, bought it as a wreck, did it up, enjoyed it but then had second thoughts. Sold it on Reverb, DPD lost it in their system. Buyer got a refund after three weeks. A week later the bass arrived with him. He re packaged it and dropped it at a depot to ship back to me. I got it back with the knobs missing and electronics not working. I got a Kiogon loom in it and new knobs. It plays like a beast, the wiring really brings the best out of the pickup. Great. I want a new expensive bass so this has to go. Its been for sale on loads of sites just waiting for an 80s mad Aria loving left handed bassist. This, thus far, is the bass I can never sell.

One step ahead. He'd already provided the pots, we've had a discussion on it and best way is to adjust the body somehow.

Well this is frustrating isn't it?! The screw holes for the bridge were not thick enough, no screw holes for the strap buttons and I needed to drill a new pair of holes for the strap buttons, as well as new screw holes required for the tuners... So I've got the drill out! First things first, held the screw up against the drill bits to make sure I've got the right width then set about widening the bridge mounting screw holes, fitted the bridge. Strap button screws are the same width so they're drilled and the strap buttons are on. I'm feeling good about this. 1/4 inch hole required for my series/ parallel switch so I look up the measurement in mm, attach a correct wood drill bit and drill it out. Frustration strikes. Existing pot and jack holes are not drilled wide enough, so out comes the file. Then disaster number two... This bass has no pickguard. Therefore the pots need to come through a piece of wood, not a few mm of pickguard. I think I need to remove some material from inside the control cavity so that the pots, switch and jack can all protrude enough to then be screwed on securely. I have no clue how to do this!!!! Aaaaaaaaargh!

Know what you mean! Almost everything seems to be out of stock and I've got the proceeds of a bass sale burning a hole in my pocket.

Sad to say it but RHCP again. 2012 in Knebworth, awful. No energy, no excitement and no vocal from FOH. Josh Klongerhoffer just didn't belong in that band either. Flea tried his best to generate some excitement but it just came across a bit sad. I thought maybe Anthony was ill but the mp3 of the gig had good quality vocal, shame the sound crew didn't want those who'd paid to be there to hear it. I should add the t shirt I spent 35 quid on was not worth 35p. Logo printed off centre, far too small and shrank more in the wash, logo deteriorated within weeks. Ripped off.

Yes. Live at the Roundhouse, his last ever gig.