NickA

I didn't know that! ... tho they will make you a new one if you ask nicely (and pay through the nose ... 5400 euros! any takers?): http://shop.warwick.de/?&lang=en&modul=shop_new&site=shop_overview&&ctree=D0746768001321517432A47035|D0780229001321517432A47059|D0784276001447163111A217|D0974340001340950964A224&modul=shop&site=article_details&article_id=D0686327001472733749A4&article_category=D0974340001340950964A224&collection_id=D0813280001455897857A2227& I do love the clear bell like tones of my own MEC dolph, so would probably be disappointed. Had real trouble playing people's 5-strings at the Midland Bass Bash on Saturday anyway.

Yes very bad pics. My 2001 4-string MEC / Ovangkol body & neck / ebony fret-board) dolphin was £1600 inc flight case and delivery (missed yours Kev and another didn't come up!). £1750 doesn't seem bad for a 5-string Boire one I guess ... depends whether you prefer the Boire / Bartolini or the Ovangkol / MEC version (can't say as only ever played the MEC ones) .. but been up for 2 days and no offers yet. Tempted to go and look.... but really, shouldn't.

RARE 5-string broad neck, boire body, wenge neck and bartolinis ... and it's only a few miles away from me. And I spent all my money on a four string dolph that I now can't bear to part with. Please someone, buy this and save me. if it goes for just the asking price it is a bit of a steal ... I think. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Warwick-Dolphin-Pro-I-5-String-Bass-Guitar-1991-No-16-Great-condition/152550162108?_trksid=p2047675.c100011.m1850&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D43781%26meid%3D5e2ea21ff46548ef84eacf254295780b%26pid%3D100011%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D7%26sd%3D172020634700

[color=#0000ff][i]"I can't remember who the Dolphin 4 string belonged to" ... [/i][/color]MINE! Bought from Stance of this forum, at the end of last year. It's weird due to its un-inlayed fretted ebony fingerboard (no mother of pearl dolphins - thankfully, I think they're a bit naff). Stance said he reckoned it was a pro shop special for someone who specially wanted an ebony fingerboard. Conclusion of my fellow bass bashers is that it was built as a fretless .. (there is a little shim under the nut, the frets are not the Warwick "hidden" kind and not bronze either). But whoever did the conversion did a mighty fine job of it as it's perfectly in tune and very easy to play; and why anyone would convert a fretless dolphin to a fretted instead of just trading it .. I don't know. I have to say that your own basses are pretty special (and unique to boot) .. so any jealousy is in both directions ;¬) ... Oh the joys of meeting other bass nerds

yup thanks all for a great and friendly afternoon. ... and given [color=#0000cd][i]"..... I never ever let anyone play my basses ..." [/i][/color][color=#000000]Extra thanks to JazzyVee for letting me not only see, but touch and EVEN PLAY both the alembics (that black Europa is pretty much the only fretted bass anyone would ever need... ever... tho it weighs even more than my Wal). [/color] [color=#000000]..confusion over five strings, three pickups and fanned frets on that Dingwall !!!! For a fretless 4 stringer of 35 yrs this one did my head in.[/color] [color=#000000].. excellent Mesa amp and cab (as I found they should be when I got home and checked the book price!!)[/color] [color=#000000]Even got a go on one of these http://www.innerviews.org/inner/tacuma/tacumaheader.jpg (the Steinberger, not Mr Tacuma):[/color] [color=#000000]And what WERE those nice flat round strings on the shiny Shuker?[/color] [color=#000000]Thanks for organising. Now have to learn some new tunes for next year![/color] [color=#000000]Cheers all.[/color]

Naked, definitely naked. Looks much better .. and also it means the whole finger board is the same material, less likely to wear unevenly and start to buzz. My first fretless was a rosewood fretted one with the frets pulled out and some epoxy stuff stuffed in the fret slots - it buzzed from the outset and got worse as time went on. Why would we be looking at our fingerboards anyway (ahem!) after all when reading music (as is usually the case) on my double bass or 'cello there is no way to see the strings at all and we've all been taught to play looking straight ahead. THIS is the aim in e-bass playing too as we can then see music, other band members! and (heaven forbid) maybe an audience too ... so yes, I admit to ego as well as aesthetic bias. On the other hand, on a db and cello there is this useful heel where the neck ends and the body starts: when your thumb hits that you are in "4th position" and your first finger is a 5th higher than the open string. The octave above the open string is an extended third finger. Helps keep track of things. On the electric bass there is an AWFUL long way up the fret board to go without any reference beyond sound as to where you actually are (especially on the one with 26 frets) so it's easy to get lost without a few dots at least, especially during position changes of more than a whole hand (ie when finger substitution no longer applies). So I think we can allow the odd glance. I do love that (zebrano?) Wal with the little lines along the edge .. THAT I think is the ultimate solution, and come the day that I can justify a new Wal from Electric Wood, [b]that[/b] is what I'm having :¬)

Put a series parallel switch on my Jazz (ish) bass, out of interest. Doesn't make it more bassy really, just a) louder and more "solid" .. Jazz to Precision (sort of) . Could be this particular bass has a pickup coil to coil fault - ie not all the windings are working. A bigger capacitor will take away more treble, but won't add more bass - what yr actually doing by increasing the capacitance is dropping the frequency above which the volume is reduced. Could also, possibly, be that one pickup is wired in back to front (pos to neg).... does it sound even more bass lite with both pickups turned up full? Really worth trying some different pickups. My vote for dark warm tones is Kent Armstrong .. far too treble light for me, but kind of warm and comforting.

Wow that went cheap!!! He could have traded for it more at bass direct I think. Saw Dean playing a Wal in 1985 with the Eurythmics :-). Not this one tho.

It was indeed a Trace hotbed "back in the day". I played briefly in an electro-folk band that looked like we had Trace sponsorship .. the stage glowed green with it all! The shop at the top of the Osmaston Road that now is Rattle and Drum, was previously Play It Again Sam and before that was .... erm I forget.... used to be stosh with Trace Gear. At one time it was a fantastic 2nd hand gear exchange too. I bought my trace combo (new), my Wal and a Yamaha BB2000 from there over the years. Now it only really stocks new mainstream brands (Fender, Ashdown etc). Hey ho.

Chances are you will NEVER KNOW. It's one of the joys and mysteries of the Double Bass .. and any antique instrument. My own bass is fairly easy to pin down as it has "the mark of Markneukirchen" on the back and fits the fashions of the 1880s, but no one can tell me who made it ... Markneukirchen had lots of makers in the 1880s, so who knows really. Take my 'cello (which has a label "J B Colin Beare and Co" inside). I took it along to a very reputable valuer in London (a Mr Charles Beare - no relation apparently) who span it around and declared "quite nice, German isn't it?" (it's French). Next chap said "probably a J B Colin as no one would bother to fake one" and the final one who said "Oh yes definitely a J B Colin, has all the right shape and purfelling, but the varnish is a bit german" .... and this is a 'cello that SAYS "J B Colin" in it. Mind you, my dad had an old Viollin that said "stradavarius" inside it; it wasn't of course .. he sold it for a song; turned out it was quite a nice German violin from the 1900s and probably worth a couple of thousand. You could take it along to Turners or Tofts and ask for a valuation and they might be able to tell you something about it .. but the next place will say something different! Just enjoy the ownership and playing :¬)

Hi .. I'm going to come along to this. Never been to one before, sounds fun. Space in the car from Derby if anyone needs a lift ... space for some basses too if I leave by double bass at home. I can bring any or all of: A Wal fretless, a (slightly odd) Warwick Dolph, a double bass, a TINY PJB amp (flightcase) and a LARGE Trace Elliot combo (if anyone wants to buy it!) CU there

... true; and a bowed note is always a little sharp anyway cause of the additional tension on the strings. (watch a tuner when you play pizz)

E A D G .... seems like a waste of a finger to me. The scale is smaller than an electric bass so four fingers working a fifth is about right. Try using three finger tech on a cello tuned to forths would be hard unless you have extra thin fingers :¬). Anyway .. that aside ... 'cellos are pretty strong. My dad's delicate 18th century cello is strung (to my horror) with quite high tension Larsen steel strings. My JB Colin and Dad's Benedict Lang are made of sterner stuff and could probably take a lot more tension (tho mine has thomastic dominant synthetics). I always found the 'cello to be a bit "not right" for Jazz .. not deep enough to hold the bass line (would have to be an octave above a double bass .. surely) and a bit too soft to be a solo instrument .. the Ramsey Lewis Trio had a 'cellist tho, Antonio Forcionne performs with a 'cellist sometimes (I prefer it when he plays with a bass .. especially if it's Kai Eckhardt) and David Darling of course .... think they all use standard 'cello tuning tho.

There's a whole thread on this. Started with jazzyv asking if a DB would fit in his BMW 7 series and ending with us all agreeing a DB will fit in anything. Got my DB, stool, music stand in my skoda citigo yesterday. Reckon I can fit an electric bass and my PJB flightcase amp in at the same time!!

My last set of strings cost £130. But that was 13 years ago. £10 a year is much less than I spend on guitar strings. As for getting good Arco .. on ANY strings .. use horse hair not synthetic. Use LOTS of rosin. Push hard enough to get the spring vibrating then ease off a bit. The closer to the bridge you bow, the louder and richer the sound, but the harder it is to get the sound out. Start at the bottom edge of the finger board. Take care to bow exactly across the strings, if you scrape the bow diagonally or rock it back and forth in an arc, you won't get it to sound. Those harmonics are always an issue, takes practice and care to get the bassy fundamental out. Enjoy.

The Roland microcube is remarkably good for the size, weight and price. Lots of different sounds and some of them quite good. SO nearly bought one a number of times. Rumbles are very light for the power and size but having only lifted, not played, can't really comment. The ash down equivalents aren't bad either ( so long as the awful octave halver is OFF). my sub 20lbs pjb flightcase is a lot better in terms of sound quality and giggability tho - pretty much a proper full sized amp in a tiny light box. Depends very much on what yr budget is and how anal you are about that "hi fi" sound quality ( me = doubtless too much ;-) l

Where did you find a three string bass?? Thought they'd all been converted decades ago. My own German bass was allegedly built as a three but has been a four for at least 60 years. You could convert to normal machines?

Bloke who sits next to me at orchestra has a k&m, bike saddle style seat in memory foam = very comfy. Adjustable foot rest = useful. I have one of these [url="https://www.bassbags.co.uk/product/double-bass-stool-with-back-rest/."]https://www.bassbags...ith-back-rest/.[/url] Whick is ok and was much cheaper, but was actually designed for playing keyboards ... Seat padding bit soft, foot rest bit high, never use the back rest. Sturdy tho. K&m if you can afford it.

My gp12 combo (15" 300W) of the same age is up for 300 and unsold, so 200 is high for a gp7 head with no cab. They are extraordinarily loud and clear for the given wattage and very tweakable, plus I suspect the heads aren't done justice by the cabs. Not very fashionable but a lot of bang for the bucks..

Just bought Mark's PJB Flightcase ... all the info I wanted quickly supplied and a cheerful handover at a place of mutual convenience. And the amp is pretty much "as new". Only regret (maybe) is that tea-drinker got the PB300 before I noticed it, as I'll bet that is in mint condition too ;¬)