NickA

I have a little Phil Jones BIGHEAD - truly pocket sized yet so much more than merely a headphone amp. It has an aux in and a bass in so you can mix backing and your playing, some basic tone controls and adjustable gain and volume. You can even use it as pre-amp into a powered amp or PA system. Also a USB port so you can use it as a sound card on your PC (or Mac ) for digital input and output. Rechargeable by USB, works for several hours.

Not me. Sadly I have spent this year's (lifetime's?) bass budget. The speed with which my offers were rejected indicated that ebay was set to automatically reject anything below the starting price; no counter proposal was offered. The buyer was quick and happy to answer questions though. I read that talk bass thread (https://www.talkbass.com/threads/portland-oregon-area-scam-artist-busted-warwick-dolphin-5-string-found.1102385/) which talks about the stolen one (which was serial 64556 before the scumbag filed it off!) This one's 64555 and the serial no is visible) - they are indred extremely rare, estimates ranging from 2 to 5. The colour put me off a bit frankly as I'd have preferred another brown one ... nice wenge neck tho (mine is ovangkol) and I doubt the maple affects the sound much - possibly a tad brighter? Ebay is a crap way to buy quality instruments as it's so hard to get to see and try them without agreeing to buy. I might message him saying "put the damned thing on Bass Chat .... with some higher res photos". A good look at it might confirm it's worth a deal more than £1400 (my 4-stringer cost more than that).

Ha, too late. It was still up when I posted the message. Maybe he just realised someone offered more than his new starting price (offer now withdrawn and all funds very much spent)

This unusual maple and wenge dolphin pro 1 5-string: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/202689141122?ViewItem=&item=202689141122 has been listed for a few weeks; I nearly bought it just to get a decent 5-string (it would also go nicely with my 4-string dolphin!). Originally up for a "too much" £1700 (no bids), then listed again at £1600 (I offered, £1350 which was immediately rejected, then tried £1550 with the same result, still no bids). NOW relisted at a more reasonable £1500 (less than my last offer). Wait 6 days and it might be £1400; at which point, a decent price I would think. The buyer says its Serial number 64555-99 So 1999 - a bit too early for the Warwick online data base. Anyway - I've ended up buying something else (for a lot more money!) ... so this is still up for grabs. Kind of wish I could have TWO new bases, but erm ......

Great graphic; says it all really. Tho raising the height involves quite careful shaping of those hardwood spacers which have to match the curve of the instrument's belly very closely ... which is why fitting a whole new bridge IS a pro job (lots of thin bits of veneer might do it). That "flat section" on the fingerboard is a "Romberg Bevel" - my 19th century German bass has one as does my 1890 french 'cello (and my dad's 18th century english 'cello - which pre-dates invention of the bevel, so presumably the finger board is newer). It is just a way to give a bit of relief under the bottom string so that you can bow it REALLY hard without it hitting the finger board. I think they are dying out with newer higher tension strings and also purely Jazz players often don't have them as they don't need to bow much. So it's a common feature around the world. The boosey and hawkes I learned on initially also had a bevel and said "made in china" inside - it was horrid (partly due to being half size), but they aren't all bad. Could also be eastern european - but that bright orange varnish speaks china to me. Anyway at £400 it's no rip off (!!) especially with a nice new bridge and sound post on it. When I said I wouldn't spend £500 on it, I really meant "wouldn't spend £500 on WORK on it. It will be fine for starters I'm sure, but if it's hard work getting a nice tone out of it, don't blame yourself entirely - a £5000 bass would make a nice sound more easily :¬)

.. and so you should, and so should I .. in theory. .. and don't spoil it with flats. Dull thuddy things. This is purely my personal opinion as a lover of coffee table style boutique basses endowed with zing and twang ... .. and which I know is very unfashionable and quite unacceptable in modern popular music ... and perhaps why I don't actually own a Sandberg or a Precision (though keep trying them, as I feel I should). I have compromised on one bass with EB Cobalt flats which feel as nice as the best round wounds and actually sound very good .. even to me ;¬) I'm kidding ... the sound you want probably does demand flats. Thomastic Jazz Flats? I'm told they're pretty good too - though at the price, they should be.

Plus one for a Sandberg. California vm. Has a p pick up reversed for less mud and a Stingraystyle humbucker if you want a bit more bite. Think you can even turn off half the $ to make it into a jazz bass. Also beautifully built and a good price. The perfect sound will be in there somewhere. Bit ...erm ... Is " anodine" the right word? Lack of personality .. bit BMW, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

I also thought "cheapy chinese" but didn't want to sound insulting! So thanks to Burns Bass for saying it out loud. I wouldn't have spent £500 on it either. Not sure I'd spend £500 on my 1880s carved German one for that matter! However, as that money is already spent, you may have a decent bargain beginner bass that someone else overspent on! The action doesn't look that high to me. It has to be a lot higher than on an electric bass because the longer strings move around a lot more. I've pushed my action lower than recommended (for arco) by sawing off the top of the bridge; it's now much easier to play and has a lovely mwah sustain; BUT there is one note (luckily on an un-used quarter tone) that buzzes and when playing LOUD arco with my local orchestra (eg Weber's Oberon Overture) the strings are a bit "slappy" so I have to take care. I might buy an adjustable bridge one day. Anyway, what I mean is - go easy. You can always lower the action, but you can't bring it back up! If you still want a lower action, you don't really need a pro to do it .. just start by cutting the slots a bit lower with a needle file, mm at a time, until you like the sound and action, then saw or file the top down to match (the strings should be about 1/4, or a bit less, of the way into the slots); take care to keep the bridge profile "as is" which should more or less match the fingerboard curvature (I scribed round mine using a Jenny Odd-legs caliper inherited from my Grandad before getting the saw out). Oh ... and when taking the bridge off to do the final sawing down ... put the bass on its back and lift the bridge very gently - or the sound post might fall over and is a bugger to get back up. Anyway, no need to obsess about where it came from; just enjoy the experience and when you get the hang of it, think about trading up.

It may not be the neck as such; but the fact that a particular neck uses your wrist in a particular way and has given you a repetitive strain injury. The alternative neck (maybe) puts slightly different stresses on your wrist and doesn't exacerbate the RSI. I had something similar (on my plucking had though) that caused 10 - 15 minutes of bass guitar playing to make my wrist hurt (for hours) and I was waking up with a hand that barely moved. Thought I was getting arthritis in my right hand. Sorted out by a physio who gave me some wrist mobility and stretching exercises to do ... who also said, don't stop playing, just take regular rests, don't over do it and keep doing the exercises. £60 well spent (and cheaper than replacing my basses!) - if I feeling it coming on again, I stop playing and do the stretches for a bit. In fact, the root cause was not bass playing, it was my wrist resting on the table whilst I typed; bass playing just irritated the injured "soft tissue"..... Dont lose hope .. it will get get better.

forget it.

The BG 400 is great. Especially with a c4 cab underneath. Bit more "zing" than the briefcase and flight case, heavier too, but then, it has the full 400W inside it.

One for @SpondonBassed here! https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Steinberger-XL25A-5-string-headless-bass-guitar-rare-vgc/223514699862?hash=item340a83a856:g:2RIAAOSw8CJc2toW Anyone remember that film Subway with Isabelle Adjani and Christopher Lambert .. in which an impromtu funk band played after hours in a music shop ... one of these. Beloved of Jamaladeen Tacuma (aka Rudy McDaniel ) too. Spirit of the 80s. Tried one in in that Bass Centre shop in London once - bit bland to be honest, but very clear and clean.

Hmm they're none of them very loud. The Fenders I tried were nice to play but very quiet indeed. I ended up with a Tanglewood partly on big size and big volume but it's still near inaudible when anyone else is playing. You might need a little battery powered amp (a Roland Micro-cube for instance) to be heard ... at which point, may as well plug in the electric! Of course the real solution is to get a double bass!! I remember that band Fairground Attraction had a Mexican Guitarron which they did use for acoustic busking ... but they are HUGE. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guitarrón_mexicano

Well, I'd just assumed it was you @jazzyvee, adding to the extensive collection :¬)

Though who knows the going rate for warwicks. I watched a 5-string stage 1 on ebay for weeks whilst it sat asking £1400 with no bids, timed out and then got re-listed; then he upped it to £1600 and it sat for weeks and weeks again before being withdrawn forever. I'd have felt a bit mean offerring the £1000 - £1200 or so it was probably worth .. but wish I had done. You can see people's points especially if they'd paid £5000 new. Fantastic value 2nd hand for beautifully made instruments. You didn't buy it @binky_bass .... for £600 or something did you? 🙂

Great story. ... always pleased to hear of money heading to ACG. Maybe I'll roll by BD and offer them £800, as that's the going rate ;¬)

Now:http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Warwick_Streamer_Stage_II_5.html I'm going away to base my pension fund on well considered bass flips. To be fair I'm not certain it's the same instrument; but could easily be and 1500/2300 = 53% up is not a bad return. If it IS the same bass then the original Gumtree seller will be a bit sore. Wish I'd seen it when it was £1500 :¬( - but it wasn't up for long,

NO. No Bass is worth that much money. FFS you could buy a proper 17th century DB for that kind of cash ... or a decent second hand Audi ... OK, so maybe it is worth it .... to someone who wants the bragging rights. Rather order three spanking new custom specced Wals though.

Very nice! Please come to the next double bass bash!

Just have to think of the EUB as a third instrument that sits between an electric bass and a double bass; it isn't really either but can be a good thing of itself. @owen brought an NS Design EUB to last year's double bass bash and I really enjoyed playing it. No fiddling with pickups, no feedback issues, choice of magnetic and two kinds of piezo pickups. Great thing. I think it was a CR5M, costing £3,300 new though, so I suppose it ought to be good. @jazzyvee brought an alembic (magnetic only) one the to the midlands bass bash (see pics on that thread).. also a lovely thing and almost ... just almost .. like a double bass; uncanny alley for bass players. Given sufficient space and cash, I'd buy one (http://www.basscentre.com/ns-design-double-bass/ns-design-cr5m-upright-double-bass.html. Might not go down to well at orchestra tho. Anyway - to the original question. The bigger scale ones feel good, you can really dig into the strings and give them some welly producing a great attack and a interesting sustain due to the weight of the strings - an additional hidden advantage being that getting your finger in not quite the right place doesn't affect the tuning too much ;¬). My double bass is 43", which is a bit big for my tiny hands, but I like the sheer heft of the beast. Anything bigger than 35" is going to demand you learn 124 (aka simandl) fingering anyway, so I'd go the full 40".

That enfield with the huge "super 8" pickup on it? I had a go on that - got lost amongst all the knobs and switches. There were lots of sounds available with lots of very subtle differences between the 15 pickup combinations, plus blend and tone pots ... but I couldn't find one that really hit the button. Maybe need to go on a training course. However, the other bass the same person brought (bright trans-red, with a set of J pickups AND a P pickup between them) had an AMAZING sound. Can anyone remember what make its pickups were? Something american I'd never heard of. ... and he's selling it for only £1850!