solo4652

[quote name='Paul S' timestamp='1487672334' post='3241624'] I read a quote somewhere, something like - 'some bands rehearse until they get it right, we rehearse until we can't get it wrong'. That is my favoured place to be. Not always possible but if I feel under-rehearsed then I don't enjoy the gig as I am always waiting for the inevitable train wreck. And for me it is all about enjoyment so I begin to question what I am doing there. [/quote] There it is, right there. Paul S says in 3 lines what I clumsily said in 3 paragraphs.

I do loads of home practice to learn my parts and I sort of pride myself on arriving at rehearsals well-prepared. Trouble is, not everybody has the same attitude. When we make mistakes and then agree on changes to address them, I make notes so I arrive at next rehearsal having incorporated those changes into my playing. I expect everybody else to do the same. But they don't. Result is same mistakes continue to be made, even though we've agreed what to do about them. Result is a bassist (and drummer) who rapidly gets fed up. Bands could easily make do with fewer rehearsals if members bothered to make notes/pay attention to rehearsal recordings. But often they don't and, for me, that means I can't relax before a gig if I feel that a band is under-rehearsed and just about to go on stage and repeat all the same errors. Train hard, fight easy.

In the past two years, I've gigged the song at least 50 times. No effects whatsoever - simply chose the P bass, cranked the gain a bit more than normal and pushed the low mids on the amp EQ. Unless you're a tribute band, that'll be absolutely fine. It's a party chant after all - audiences generally want to dance to it rather than listen closely to the bass tone!

Are we including cheesy 80's power ballads? If so, then [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_zHQ6kFuQ0"]www.youtube....h?v=b_zHQ6kFuQ0[/url] Good grief - what a voice.

[quote name='mikegatward' timestamp='1486732157' post='3234178'] My band have just started to cover Human - simple song but fun to play [/quote] Yep - same here, although we had to shift the key for our female singer all the way from Bbm to Ebm.

How about Jimi Hendrix's flat: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-34647637

Affleck's Palace in Manchester? Online, too. My son used to get all his punky/goth/skate clothes there. http://www.afflecks.com/

https://www.gumtree.com/p/guitar-instrument/rockburn-bass-guitar/1215255593

Just stumbled across this today. Same two chords throughout. Smooth bluesy/jazzy feel, with lots of scope for vocal harmonies and acapella. Sort of a trip-hop/blues vibe. A cross between Morcheeba and Fleetwood Mac, maybe. [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pz40jDUSKnY"]https://www.youtube....h?v=pz40jDUSKnY[/url]

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Update I've replaced the wiring loom with a drop-in pre-wired one with CTS pots, Switchcraft jack socket and some sort of Russian green capacitor thingy; [/font][/color]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Precision-bass-upgrade-loom-CTS-pots-/252745893325?hash=item3ad8d445cd:g:NLQAAOSwmc1XPNzc [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Bit of a struggle to squeeze it all into the control cavity - I had to pare away some of the cavity shaping with a craft knife. Worth it in the end to get rid of the unreliable jack plug and the scratchy pots. Also, the barky nature of the Entwistle PBXN's seems to have been smoothed out. Giggable? - Hell, yeah.[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]So:[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Bass + Entwistle PBXN's + new wiring loom/pots/jackplug = £107. Extraordinary. [/font][/color]

Thank you Grangur. Did as you said, and it all worked. That's after I discovered that the new CTS pot shafts were bigger than the old pots shafts, meaning I had to drill out the pickguard holes. The bigger shafts meant the old knobs didn't fit but, luckily, I had some from a previous bass that did. The new capacitor is bigger than the old one and that meant I had to cut away some of the compartment walls with a craft knife to get it in. The new pots and the jack socket are larger than the old ones, so yet more craft-knife fettling of the control cavity. After I'd found a plaster for my cut finger, I managed to cram everything into the cavity and screw the pickguard on. No sound at all. Off it all came and I found another loose wire, so more ham-fisted soldering. What a bloody faff - it's only taken me 3 1/2 hours, and that's with a pre-wired "drop-in" loom! Anyway - got there in the end.

I'm replacing the wiring loom in my Harley Benton Shorty. The red wire that connects the two pickups was hanging on by a thread, so I'll re-solder that. The white signal wire from one pickup currently goes to a lug on the volume pot and the black earth wire from the other pickup currently goes to the volume pot casing. I've had the pickups out to replace the foam underneath but I can't remember which way round the pickups go. Does the one with the white signal wire have to be the front pickup, and does the one with the black earth wire have to be the rear pickup? Also, I may have rotated the pickups 180 degrees while investigating the foam. There is "PB4" on each pickup which reads the right way up if viewed from the neck end of the body, but would be viewed upside down if viewed from the bridge end. So - which way round should the pickups go, please?! [attachment=237280:100_0904.JPG]

If I remember correctly, the Entwistle PBXN's dropped straight in with no mods needed to the body rout or the pickguard. Mine's strung with Staus Hotwire halfrounds.

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]HB Shorty is ridiculously good for the money. I bought it primarily to see how I got on with short scale. I'd read that the stock pickup was weak, so I bought some Entwistle PBXN's at the same time and BassBunny of this Parish put them in. That means I can only really comment on the HBS with the Entwistle pickups. I find the bass very comfortable to play. The body is a little smaller than the Talman MB-30 I had and the HBS hangs a little more neck-up, even with a shiny strap. It's a bit lighter than the Talman too. The HBS was a bit noisy when I first got it, but the Entwistle pickups, plus aluminium shielding inside the cavities sorted that out nicely. I wire-woolled the back of the neck to get it baby-bum smooth. It certainly does a classic P-thump tone. The Entwistles are pretty hot. With tone pot rolled a little back from full on, I get a full, rich P tone that still has quite a bit of mid-range punch. Not woolly or indistinct at all. Being a P bass, it's a classic "one-trick pony" and you probably won't get it to sound like a jazz or a Stingray. I don't play slap, but I'm pretty sure you'd struggle to get a clanky slap sound out of it. When I bought it, my main bass was a Yamaha BB1024. I took the HBS to band rehearsal (pop covers) and I was amazed when the guys said they preferred the HBS . [/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]The HBS convinced me that short scale was the way to go to cope with the Arthritis in my neck and arm. I bought the Ibanez Talman MB-30, thinking it would be my main bass, with the HBS as back up. Well, no. The HBS turned out to be a little easier to play, so I sold the Ibanez and bought a Fender Japan FSR Mustang. The Mustang is my main bass, and the HBS is the backup. Very different sounds - the Mustang has a brighter, punchier sound. First bass I've ever had where I've found myself turning the mids [i]down[/i] on the head EQ. The neck of the Mustang is pretty skinny compared to the HBS. The HBS neck is appreciably wider and deeper front-to-back. I'd have absolutely no hesitation gigging the HBS. [/font][/color]

[url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Squier-Silver-Series-P-Bass-1993-1994-MIJ-By-Fender-/391679269547?hash=item5b31e75aab:g:F~0AAOSw44BYfim1"]http://www.ebay.co.u...~0AAOSw44BYfim1[/url]

http://www.astrings.co.uk/instruments-bass-guitars-4-string-fender-fsr-mustang-bass-japanese-vintage-white-0253900541/dp/7535

Westone Spectrum ST with an interesting body crack http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Westone-Spectrum-ST-Bass-Guitar/322393129216?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D40860%26meid%3D02c8c1e38ff7459fa6f6c71156882231%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D6%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D292001183115

The "aha" moment for me was when I swapped basses with somebody recently. He played my cheap back-up bass and I played his expensive gig bass. He's a better player than me, and sounded damned good on my cheapie. On his expensive bass, I sounded like I always do. The reality struck - "If you want to sound better, you need to practise more". Of course, there are reasons other than "sounding better" for changing your kit. If GAS gives you pleasure and you can afford the time and money involved, then rock on and enjoy it all.

https://www.gumtree.com/p/guitar-instrument/vintage-musician-copy-bass-in-the-corner-of-my-spare-room-for-the-last-decade-time-to-go-/1210611434

The MIJ arrived this morning. First impressions from playing in the dining room through my small practice combo; The Mustang neck is certainly narrower than the 42mm neck on my Harley Benton Shorty. Not only that, the Mustang neck is thinner front-to-back. Overall, it's a distinctly skinnier neck on the Mustang. I've played about 10 songs on it, and I've been pleasantly surprised how quickly I seem to have adapted. Slightly sticky gloss finish to back of neck. Might have to very gently wire-wool it at some point. No biggie. No body contours on the Mustang. An unexpected bonus is that the bass doesn't sit as close to me. The neck is pushed away from me a little, meaning I don't have to turn my head so far to the left to see the frets. Less neck strain fro me. Too early to say whether the lack of a forearm contour is going to be less comfy for my right wrist. We'll see. Bass hangs well. No neck dive at all with a wide suede-backed strap. Compared to my HBS that has Entwistle PBXN pickups, the Mustang sounds very different. The PBXN pickups in the HBS are very hot so, unsurprisingly, the Mustang sounds more refined and quieter. I was not expecting the toppy tone of the Mustang - it's one of the very few basses I find myself turning down the tone pot. Not a traditional P-bass tone. Nowhere near as thumpy and bass-y as the HBS. Will need quite a different EQ set-up on my gig rig when I get that out. UK_lefty (post no. 4) was right to ask whether a Mustang needs brightening with a J pickup - quite the reverse, if anything. I just hope it won't sound a bit too twangy in a band setting - this is the biggest question mark for me, and one I had not foreseen at all. And that's with Status half-rounds on the Mustang (and, indeed, on the HBS). Fit and finish seems all-round good. All screws tight, unmarked creamy body colour nicely set-off by tortie pickguard. Pots, jack socket all quiet in operation. Slightly cheap-feeling plastic knobs. I have some chrome ones upstairs that will probably fit. No electronics hum. I'd read that some people had had problems there but, so far, this one's behaving itself. I'm not feeling the need (yet) to investigate cavity shielding. So - a good first couple of hours with the Mustang. Band practice on Saturday, so we'll get a clearer idea of how the toppy tone sits in a band mix. Work in progress. I'll report back after a couple of band sessions.

No bids. Relisted.

[quote name='Trueno' timestamp='1484309851' post='3214541'] I'm tempted to get the mij one right now... my japanese Mustang (in fiesta red) was truly the one that got away... I should never have sold it. Never tried the mim, but I don't like the j pup or the bbos bridge. [/quote] They're very thin on the ground now. A lot of net surfing yesterday uncovered just three new ones in the UK. I bought the one from Soundpad in Barnstaple. Music Warehouse in Norwich are showing two on their website: https://musicwarehouse.co.uk/products/fender-fsr-japan-mustang-bass-vintage-white

Eeeek - Just bought the MIJ. That means I'll need to sell my Yamaha BB1024 to make room.

[quote name='Evil Undead' timestamp='1484226181' post='3213688'] The MIM doesn't actually have a wider neck, it's an error in the specs. it's jazz width [/quote] Hi Mel! Really!? All the shop websites report the MIM nut width as 42mm. I'll see if I can find out more via Fender's website. Edit: Quite a bit on Talkbass about this. See Post number 210, complete with steel ruler in place showing 1.5". https://www.talkbass.com/threads/new-pj-mustang-at-summer-namm.1230121/page-11

I'm trying to decide between these two Mustangs. Possibly leaning towards the MIM because it's PJ, and has a wider neck. Has anybody played both? http://www.richtonemusic.co.uk/products/fender_mustang_bass_pj_olympic_white.asp?gclid=CIKyxML3utECFQ2eGwodZmcGNw http://www.soundpad.co.uk/guitar/bass-guitars/fender/fender-japan-fsr-mustang-bass