NickA

Same with ancient violins and modern masterpieces... you'll not tell the difference really. I was reading about the "Davidov" Stradivarius cello...it's priceless; it's owned by Louis Vuiton ( of the handbags) but available to Yo Yo Ma, but he usually plays a Montagna. Previously it was owned by Jacqueline DuPre, but she found it unreliable and switched to a modern cello. Old bows won't lose value, modern bows usually will ..simply because they don't really improve with age and because you can replace them with like. I've got 7 cello bows at the moment, I only need two and would happily sell the others, but no one really wants them. all the more important to buy something you really like and keep it forever! As for pre CBS fenders ..load of bollix; just buy a new one.

Thanks for the responses. @Bremen I'll PM you. That Moukey MSc1 is seriously cheap and does loads. It doesn't say it has a digital input (so may not double as a laptop audio interface). I guess it does, in reality. No internal battery though, so it needs to be connected to a pc or usb PSU. The ashdown tone pocket appears to be the same as the moukey - the usb socket says "recording out", but the description says 48k/44.1kHz "for both playback and recording"... So maybe it does the biz. Needs an external PSU tho. Now I used "laptop audio interface" rather than "guitar headphones amp" as a search string, I've found lots ( eg Audient Evo4)... the pjb is still looking the most versatile due to tiny size and internal battery, tho annoyingly, even the newer HA2 still has a crappy usb micro socket.

I've had a pjb bighead ha1 for years, bought as a gizmo for silent practice, but ended up serving as a dac for my laptop, a headphone amp for my hifi, a tiny preamp used with a powered cab ..... and occasionally for silent practice. A true Swiss army knife of sound. BUT, the mico usb socket has broken free of the internal PCB. It's all surface mount so way beyond my soldering skills to mend it properly. I've fettled it so it will charge, but can't make the digital Comms stuff work ☹️ May need a new one. I'd assumed someone other than pjb would make something similar, but HiFi headphone / dac devices generally lack analogue inputs so you can't plug a bass in, or are analogue only so can't connect o a laptop. Is the pjb big head really so unique?

People selling stuff will always persuade you to spend more! And there is no doubt that a brilliant bow will get the most out of your bass ( I'm sure the £7000 arcus S9 would sound ..even..better than my £1000 S3 ) . When trialing cello bows even my tone deaf wife could hear the differences and we both preferred the same one. But it's diminishing returns when you could spend the money on the bass. Meanwhile, I'm in the process of helping my mum sell my late dad's 'cello, which is with an expert restorer and will eventually sell for up to £100k ( it's what pro's instruments are worth these days, plus "bragging rights" antique value). The restorers were shocked that dad's best bow was that (not brilliant) £3k one and that he usually used a £1500 dorfler. They expected he'd have a lovely antique to go with the cello. However, the very best modern bows don't generally top £8000. You can spend £25k, if the guy accepts your commission, to have something custom made by Benoit rolland and have a bow like yo yo ma uses on his £3m Montagna and priceless Stradivarius! Set a budget, try a few, expect to go a bit over budget. But most of all get something that feels nice, is in good condition and makes a sound you like.

I used a basic wood bow for years before upgrading. My current bow is worth £1k and the bass is worth £6k to £10k. No way I'd ever spend £5k on a bow for it. If I were a much better player with a £25k bass and really in to my classical playing I might shell out £3.5k for a lovely Andrew McGill bow. Antiques aside, the very best modern bows are around £8000.... so I really doubt that 30 to 50% figure. You can get something perfectly ok for occasional use for under £100.

On your fingerboard? Doesn't the wax gunge the strings up?

How far does 9ml go? I'll stick to vodka, that's £12 a litre not £50 ...and you can drink what's left, if you're desperate😁.

I used them for the cello bows. Worked well. My bass bow came from bass bags, they loaned it to me for a month, but had to order it in specially. Caswells had stock in hand. Bowspeed in Bristol are another option.

I used to think bows were unimportant ... then I tried a £1000 one instead of the basic wood one I'd had for 30 years, revelation. So then got to thinking about my cello bow which I'd had for 45 years. I got a shop to send me 6 bows around the £1000 mark ... all better, all different. I decided to buy a carbon arcus T4 which out performed the wooden bows at that price. But back in the shop I asked to try the £1300 T5; not just incrementally better but definitely better so I bought that .. I didn't dare try the £1600 T6. Now I'm wondering about trading my £1000 bass bow in for a better one. They really do make a difference. And they need to be suited to your bass. A dark bass might need a brighter bow etc etc ...and down the rabbit hole we go. What makes a "good" one is what feels best in your hand and makes the sound you want. And that may change as your playing develops. Beware of fancy woods and precious metals, they put gold trimmings on good expensive bows as a signifier that it's one of their best; but putting gold on a bow doesn't improve it, just ups the price. Rules of thumb: glass fibre bows are rubbish. Cheap carbon bow's a bit better, basic "Brazil wood" bows better still, then fancy carbon bows eg from coda and arcus will match or beat any wood bow at the same price. Then bespoke hand crafted Pernambuco bows from a reputable bow maker ... You're talking £3000+ now. Also bragging rights antique bows from tourte, tubbs, hills, sartory etc ..you're paying for rarity as well as quality then. £10k anyone, £50k? I have right now a gold mounted hand made Pernambuco cello bow that was my dads, valued at around £3k ... it's horrible with my cello.

Use the contents as a solvent and fill it with decent malt whisky 😁

Dolphins are special. Took mine out gigging last night and realised I play my Wal a bit too much. Lovely neck, excellent ergonomics and a sound that's clear as a bell. Indicating once again that there is no ONE dream bass.

Are they handed? The symmetry suggests you could play it either way. Tho I guess the strings would be back to front for you, so the nut and bridge would need adapting .. but not too hard to do?

..to clean my fingerboards! Too boring as a drink, tho we usually have a bottle around for my wife to splash in soft drinks ..to make them more interesting!

I just use vodka.

We use them at work permanently on charge where possible, if the power drops out the jackery takes over. We have a set of solar panels for outdoor work away from a socket. We used to use lead acid UPS devices which weigh a ton, have noisy fans and provide backup for minutes not hours...awful things.

Rating and power draw are very different. A 350W pa will probs only draw 50W on average. Plug your pa into the jackery 240 and see what its LCD says about power usage ( add 5W or so for the power used by the Jackery itself). Multiply that power figure by the number of hours you want to play and that's your required Whr rating .. or try it in a rehearsal and see how long it lasts. If the 240 lasts 30 min, then the 500 will last an hour etc.

Conversation off line with another bass chatter..... I tried powering my pjb rig from a jackery 240. The 150W flight case only draws around 25W and even the 250W pb300 only draws another 25W. I could play through the flight case all day. These class d based amps draw next to nothing. The 1kWh jackery is seriously heavy and expensive mind ... then again, so is a petrol generator. No need for a busking amp, buy a lithium battery pack and use your usual rig ( unless it's a 4x10 powered by a valve amp ).

Plus 1 on that Sandberg. Before I folded and bought my fretted Wal 5 string I tried a load of 5 string basses and tbe Sandberg vm was the best all rounder; heck, they even got the p pickup the right way round! A super flexible quality bass. The Wal's bottom B is better and it's a lovely thing to have etc, but the Sandberg is £1800 available immediately ( could have had one for £1400 from Wunjo) whereas the Wal is a saga of hunting, waiting, bidding, loosing out to someone else and then £5000+ to pay.

Superb bits of kit. We use them for work, powering up test kit when there's no mains or the mains goes on and off. They do all different sizes ( and prices) too. Had one confiscated trying to get it on a flight tho ... Battery too big :-(

"Every Jack shall find his Jill and every Jill her Jack" 😉 (..which I thought was shakespeare, but isn't.)

My thoughts exactly. It shouldn't be an issue, but it is rather ick.

I am extremely happy with my fretless wal custom. Though it would be nice if it were walnut or Wenge not maple faced ... and though the sound is great, the ergonomics have room for improvement. I wonder what a through neck Wal would be like ..it would have to be Ken Smith style complicated in construction to avoid maple and hornbeam going right through it..and a longer finger board would be good to have. A fretless 4 string mk3 Wal might do it. Someones earlier suggestion of an Alembic with Wal innards might be spot on. Though my own attempts to make something with all the merits of a fender jazz, a Warwick dolphin and a Wal custom did not create something better than any of those (well, maybe better than the fender).

I have some history with viols.. " early music" was a "thing" when I was at primary school and we got to play recorders along with a viol consort. My next school had a cupboard full of cornetti and crum horns, a recorder consort ( praetorius, holborn, Byrd etc) and a chamber orchestra for Bach and Vivaldi. Since I inherited my dad's bass de viol (a student six string) I've been chatting with the doyenne of UK viol playing, Alison Crum, who turns out to know some people I know and several my brother has played with. I have all the background and none of the ability! 😂. Roll on retirement and I'll spend a morning a week on viol (a day on cello, a day on classical double bass, a day on jazz double bass and a day on electric..half on fretted, half on fretless) and get back to grips with the old alto block flute... not enough days in the week sadly. Neither cello nor viol have been played in weeks.

Add two strings, strip the frets above the 7th one. ...... and no I can't play it; too many instruments, not enough time. And the tuning is weird...and the clef even weirder.