linear

@mcnach Did you try out the Thunderbrown strings? I'm curious to know if they really do give a more upright-ish tone than the usual uke bass rubber band twang, and if they are grippy like the white aquilas or slippy like the black road toad strings.

I've been waiting for this for a while now. It will be interesting to see the price for something that really should have been built into the pedals in the first place, instead of their weird proprietary system. It's fantastic that it is powered from the pedal though, well done to them on that point.

Couldn't have been any easier. Paid money and a well packaged mic and accessories very promptly arrived at my door. Was kept up to date throughout. Excellent.

😀 I don't know why I wrote it like that. "Next time I change the strings" is what I meant.

Thanks. This is reassuring to hear at least. The drum track I mentioned was at very comfortable living room levels, from a 10W practice amp no less. Still, perhaps I should just forget about this until it presents itself as a real world problem. I did read somewhere that the way the pickup is mounted/supported can have an effect. It's not inconceivable that the foam beneath the pickups has gotten a bit squishy on all three of my basses. I may take a look next string change.

Practising with a looper, I started with a blank loop just to set the loop length and discovered my bass was picking up the drum track coming from the amp. I went through the whole signal chain checking the patch cables etc,and it's definitely the bass that's causing it. Bass straight into amp and playing music from my phone over the pickup confirmed it. Tried my other basses, and they all do the same! Is this normal? They are cheap basses, although one has a genuine Stingray pickup fitted. How do I fix it? Do I even need to? It's not seemed to be an issue so far.

Thank you. Now that you explain it, it seems blindingly obvious that this is how you do it, but it wasn't obvious to me, so I'm glad I asked. I've got a suitable file on the way in the post, and I managed to dig up a good video that goes through in detail the method you described, so I'm looking forward to giving it a go.

I once encountered a guy like that, although he was in tune and a good player. After his set I watched him wander off into the night, carrying his bass by the upper horn. I must admit, I was a little bit jealous.

Inspired by the Quo thread, I submit 70s era Alan Lancaster as having one of the best haircuts in the genre. I think we can all agree that this is pretty damn good; magnificent, but restrained, entirely appropriate for the song - but is it great? Who, past or present, has done it better? And yes, this is definitely the worst:

He's alright, but he's no Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.

I have a number of basses with high frets that prevent me from getting the action as low as I would like. I plan to get some luthiery tools so that I can level them myself. In addition, I'd quite like to be able to have what I need to do a full fret level in the future, but it's not an immediate concern. My first question is: what tool is appropriate for levelling a single fret. I assume I could use a shortish fret levelling file, but how short? Crimson Guitars sell a 3" spot levelling file, but also a 6" file, which I 'think' I've seen them use to do a full fret level instead of a beam. So I guess what I'm asking is, buy a 3" file for the single frets and get a beam further down the line (expensive option,) or get the 6" file and use that for both jobs? Second question: what's a good way of getting the neck straight? I've seen some people suggest those notched rulers aren't so useful, as they work on the assumption that the fretboard is perfectly level. But, if you use a straight edge on the frets, surely you need the frets to be level? - just as an addendum, I realise that if I want the best result I could take it to a luthier, but these are all cheap basses, and the aim here really is to learn and practice the skills rather than the outcome.

Some people can recognise humour when it's there.

I hope they're all paying for their drinks, because once you get that lot set up in the Dog and Duck there won't be any room for the punters.

The point at which the words 'this is not a democracy' emanate from a band members mouth would be the point at which I intimate that if that is indeed the case, then I'd better be getting paid hourly for my time, signed contract, all gig/practice expenses covered, and I certainly won't be providing any gear beyond my bass and cables. And then I'd pack up my stuff and leave.

Class BB

I quite like this one. It's memorable, easy to say, and looks good in written form. It's not cheesy, and doesn't sound like the name of an improvisational comedy troupe. Having the word 'book' in there will trigger unconscious associations in your clients with booking, professionalism, and maybe the marriage register that you sign during the ceremony. If there's a little inside reference for you in there, then so much the better. Only downside I can see is possible associations with Mao's little red book.

How dare you, sir. Next you'll be telling me moussaka is just an overly complicated lamb casserole.

But then you could just make it out of any old materials, and I definitely fight better with a really expensive stick.

Actually, I've brought my own - artisanally made from swedish mahogany and kiln roasted fightwood. The guy who constructed it assures me the blend gives better reach at mid range. He charges an extortionate sum for these, but he's been making them for thirty years without ever taking a break, so I've no reason to doubt him.

Just wanted to check: I haven't read a single post in this thread, but I assume the conclusion was that tone definitely doesn't come from wood? I mean, anyone who has spent more than three minutes of never ending research with a bass guitar would have to be pretty daft to think otherwise, right?

Yea, I had a trawl back through this thread and couldn't see it. I'm sure I saw it somewhere though, as I remember liking it a lot. I have a white BB414 which, many moons ago for a gig, I stuck a big strip of velcro on so I could attach something to the front. After the gig, I just left the velcro on there. I thought it looked cool. I tend to leave my basses out on stands too. You can probably guess what's happened. Years later I went to remove the velcro and yes, there's a lovely rectangle on the front of my bass now where the velcro blocked the light. So, I'm thinking I might get a pickguard made, and I'd like it to look like the white one I remember seeing on basschat, which I am now starting to suspect I may have dreamt.

Can anyone remember when someone posted a pic of a white BB to which they'd fitted a white pickguard instead of the usual black? Not sure if it was in this thread or another. I've been trying to find it, without success.

An alternative approach is to have a weird looking bass and really spectacular jacket. Then you can play like you're having a good think about which horse to back at the 3:30 from Kempton, and people will worship you for it.

As I understand it, the issue with the 'hot' preamp only exists on the first gen, Indonesian made basses. It is fixed in the China made ones, and of course in the more recent ones where production has been switched back to Indonesia. It's worth remembering that the stock pickup in the SBMM SUB is significantly different to the classic MM pickup. It's ceramic, has different sized pole pieces, more windings (I think); mine has a bar under each coil. The preamp is not a classic MM 2 band, but one specifically commissioned for the different pickup. I found mine to sound pretty horrible at first, but discovered that if I started with the bass and treble controls at zero, bringing up the bass gradually to where it sounds right and then bringing in the the treble, fine tune from there - I was able to get a really nice tone. Basically, I pretend the centre detents aren't there. The bass has a MM flavour all of its own, and it's one which I think some people may actually prefer.

Mine is 4.150kg on my kitchen scales. It's a little neck heavy, noticeable on a slippy strap.