NickA

... 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 ;¬)

[quote name='petebassist' timestamp='1485524449' post='3224624'] johnnigel Hi, I'd be very interested to hear how you get on over at Thwaites or Caswells. [/quote] Tim Toft in Stone? I like them better than Turners. Their bass mender is very good indeed and all their instruments are well restored and set up in a nice room where you can try a few. Range from old ones to brand new "European Finished" ones. Not a HUGE stock like Thwaites have these days but a nice range.

Low action, high tension strings ... a nice bass also .. a lot is in the right finger action .. none of my orchestral bass friends make a nice pizzicato sound because they pull their fingers straight across the string and generally too close to the end of the finger board ... makes a satisfying PLONK that suits those symphonic drops of bassiness. For jazzy growl it helps to play higher up the fingerboard and to sort of slide your finger diagonally across the string using the side of the finger not the tip. Danny thompson has it, Eddie Gomez has it in spades; I THINK its the same thing Jaco Pastorious does on a fretless electric. Pickups usually destroy it but I found I can get close using my realist sound clip .. and a decent soft sounding amp with a bit of an EQ smile ..... oh the endless pursuit of a particular sound :¬).

Still waiting for photos JacksonBass :¬) guess you're too busy practicing.

I did wonder ;¬) ... as a result I've learned lots about romberg bevels, string height recommendations and scoop - I'd no idea they were different for Jazz and Classical. I guess I have a "jazz scoop" but it works fine for classical (at my level, anyway). Trying out basses in shops tho, I often notice that some just don't pizz very well, which I'd always put down plainly to string height and string type. Live and learn.

Wouldn't get too fussed about that slope you mention on the E-side of the finger board (it's called a "romberg bevel" apparently - see here: http://basschat.co.uk/topic/70746-the-flat-angled-part-of-the-fingerboard-under-the-e-string/). Mine has one despite its "jazz setup"; never been an issue.. and the action is still 8mm on the E. Looking at album covers - I see Alec Dankworth doesn't have one but John Pattitucci does! Certainly don't avoid buying a bass simply because it has one. High tension strings, incorrect neck angle and too high a bridge, on the other hand, have caused hard work in the past. As the action at the end of the finger board is correct (6 to 8mm), then if the "hard work" is in low positions, then possibly the nut is a bit high (on mine, the gap between strings and board at the nut is less than the thickness of a credit card), if the hard work is in high positions then there could be too much "scoop" (aka "relief") in the fingerboard (on an electric bass you'd just tweak the truss bar, on a db sadly, it has to be planed out, then the finger board angle corrected by insertion of a wedge between the finger board and neck - which is not a job for home!). I was having trouble with thumb positions a while back; I was told the nut could be lower, the scoop reduced and and the finger board angle raised up to the strings to lower the action - but fixed it all by dropping the bridge height (and doing more practice). The bass is bassically a high effort instrument to play - which is why we do "hammer finger" exercises and stuff to strengthen up the muscles that drive the fingers. Half position always hurts IMHO (short fingers and a big bass don't help)! Practice, sadly, is the answer - and getting out of low positions to where the stretches are smaller and the string tension lower helps too. Supposed to be practising myself RIGHT NOW .. back to it!!