NickA

My first "decent" amp was a Cobra .. 60W I think. Compared to the other affordable amps available back in 1983, such as the Laney ones (awful), and Roland Cubes, the Cobra was clear and punchy and still just about portable. I was mighty pleased with it at the time. The EQ push buttons were vicious though and sitting near it whilst trying to learn slap bass lines off level 42 tape cassettes is probably the major cause of my hearing loss! In a few years time everyone will be slagging off MarkBass ;¬)

Ok. Double basses also have different scale lengths. Usually between about 40" and 44". BUT, there is another defining measurement, which is the note you get when your thumb hits the heel of the neck and your first finger is opposite your thumb .. it will usually be a D or an Eflat ( but may be somewhere in between). Hence D neck or Eflat neck. If you are used to a D neck, then play an Eflat necked bass, you will find yourself playing sharp when your thumb hits the heel. I never knew basses were different in this way unit someone played mine and said "oh, Eflat neck".

Ah yes, well, strings ........ local luthier looked at my bass and said: hmm helicore hybrids; you should swap those for a set of Evah Pirazzis let me show you (a very expensive) bass that's fitted with them. A snip at £214 a set to you guvner. They did feel nice (as did the bass) but I don't suppose anyone else would tell the difference. Playing the right notes at the right time is doubtless more important (though my former Jazz tutor says "there are no wrong notes, only opportunities": this does not apply to classical music). Got my popcorn ready ... off you go ;¬)

Nice to know I'm not the only one (who plays a 44" bass and doesn't care where D is)! I didn't know such differences existed 'till I went to the Double Bass Bash the other year. Refreshing after all the bollix we hear about "what's the weight", "what's the string spacing", "what's the fingerboard radius" in certain other threads. I think we can conclude ... it really doesn't matter.

Good thread. Mostly supportive of Eflat. Also mostly quite old so perhaps not with latest fashion. I was trying a D neck 3/4 bass the other day (41" scale) and it felt fine. My bass is 4/4 (8/9 at least) with nearly 44" scale; a D neck on that would be hard work in 5th position. Frankly, I don't mind and reckon I'd easily adapt to either. So still bemused by the popularity of D necks.

I notice a fashion for "D" necks .. to the extent that a bass dealer I talked to says he's been asked to modify the odd bass to D before someone will buy it. My own bass is Eflat and when I bought it ( some time back!) the matter wasn't something that mattered or got mentioned. Likewise 'cellos have E and F necks and anywhere in between, but it's never mentioned. I like the Eflat neck on mine as it puts my thumb in the same place relative to fingers as I use in other positions and a bit of rotation makes an F or a G harmonic easy to reach. So .. tell me people, why are D necks the bee's knees and Eflat necks worthy only of modification. Who is playing what and how much does it matter?

Few £100?? I spent £180 this week on just a new end pin! Very nice new end pin mind .. and neatly fitted; but that full refurb is on the back burner again!

Lovely baß Phil. Just what I'd like to own .. swell back and everything. I doubt many of us on here would have the ability to do it justice ( not me I'm sure ). Does Martin make his own extensions ?.. that's much less ugly than the usual ones.

Yes I'd noticed that. Same thing I guess with DI into a PA system. If we're looking for a clean / accurate sound then just play through big HiFi! More kit to carry than a pjb flight case or an ai coda tho.😉

Talking to the owner of bassbags about this thread today. He reckons pjb come out better overall than ai codas, even for just double bass ..so he's now stocking pjb almost exclusively ( has a good collection in the shop now ) - of course there will be a commercial element involved! Lower price point certainly and work well with electric ( gentle electric that is, doubt any metal heads or other valve lovers would be impressed). On the other hand I've heard PJB's support is dreadful ( never needed it mind ). Got to try both and see!

Phenomenal for double bass .. at a price (£1600). Someone brought one to the last double bass bash and it was hard to see how something that tiny could sound that good. Has quite a big amp (600W) and a 10" (down firing) speaker in it. Lots of knobs to twiddle too (useful stuff like high pass filters and phase reversers). Never heard an electric bass through one though.

Tis true.... if you buy a bass from a reputable dealer, they will set it up however you like, undoing whatever the last owner had done if required. Orchestral basses do generally have a higher action as it allows you to dig in more with the bow without the strings clattering on the fingerboard. My bass is set for jazz but I play in an orchestra too. Discussing this issue with the bloke at Thwaites, he said to stick an adjustable bridge on it, crank down for jazz and up for classical. I never bothered, just bow with the low action ( the bass is loud ). Meanwhile, another bassist in the orchestra has such a high action, she can't play in thumb position at all.

Looks great. You must be well chuffed with that. 😁

Surely if it plays better it will be worth more ..... Am I being naive? Seems unlikely that a very high action is what a pro would want either; I've played a few really good basses owned by pros or set up in a shop for maximum resale value and they all had a nice (easy) action. My own bass is rendered playable by its low bridge and raised fingerboard. Go for it!

... what were they then? 🤔

Now now .... sent on a "re-education and training" camp; surely!

Wow! Will you be taking commissions after this one is done?

Allianz are very expensive ... but they do pay out and there is no excess. Not the same as when that were British Reserve and genuinely knew about stringed instruments, but still the most knowledgeable available.. I was going to drop my insurance and just cover any repair costs myself ( only one claim in 30 years ). Then a neighbour had all his guitars nicked from his front room.... Going to look at new moon next year tho.

They're amazing value because for some reason ( fashion? overproduction? ) they don't hold their value from new. You can get a late 1990s German built Warwick for £1500 that has the build quality of something costing twice or more that new. My 2001 dolphin pro 1 was £1600 Inc shipping, but would be £5k new I think. The ( waxed, wenge or ovangkol) necks are lovely. Superb fret work. MEC pickups a bit thin sounding to me, need some bass and treble boost, but that's easily dialed in. Lovely clear sound. I note that the German " team built " basses are not a bad price now either. ( £1500 for a streamer LX4 at bass direct just now). So no need to buy an Asian made "rock bass" really. The sound is, "distinctive" however and, in an age when band leaders often want the dull thump of a precision, not to everyone's taste.

Put a schaller 3d bridge on it if it the alignment bothers you.

The perfect number of frets is no frets at all 😁. Despite which, I have a dolphin pro 1 with 29 and can't frankly fit my stumpy fingers into the top few. Also a mk 2 Wal with 24 and though perfectly accessible (despite the bolt on neck ) I only use them for noodling. For most mortals an octave and an extra fifth is enough. There's also a theory that fewer frets make for a better slap tone ( if you admit to being into that ) Depends entirely on what you play.

The narrow line between madness and genius!

I'd have said carpal tunnel and a need for more stretches plus maybe a visit to a physio ( I once had the same from typing at a computer all morning then eating lunch with chopsticks ... Lived in Seoul at the time). But if Phil says bananas ... who am I to argue. Try eating bananas!

My fingerboard fell off. But the bass had fallen forwards onto the floor. What gave way was the wedge that was between the maple neck and ebony board; the wood split. The mender said the wood of the wedge wasnt seasoned enough. No Biggie, just get it glued back ... and ask why they think it fell off. Doubt your humidification and careful transport regime are to blame.