geoham

On 15/05/2021 at 10:17, DarkHeart said:

I took a Vintera Jazz in on a trade with a snapped rod last year, bass itself was immaculate so I guess it must have had similar issues as the op`s P but the previous owner wasn`t as gentle!

Interesting! I bought a Vintera Jazz from PMT last year to replace a 20 year old Jazz that was nicked from my car. It arrived in the original, unopened Fender box, so PMT have presumably just received it then shipped it right away - I did have to wait a few weeks for stock. I'd assumed that a £900 bass would have a basic factory setup. It was without a doubt, the worst set up bass I've ever bought. In particular, the truss rod was WAAAY off, like no tension in it all. You need to take of the neck to adjust it, so it was a proper pain to resolve - I easily had it off half a dozen times trying to resolve. I can see why someone could get impatient and overdo it! 

Now it's set up, it's a great bass and gets plenty of use. 

I'd owned three Fenders before, and they were always set up well - though these were bought in person, so I guess the shops must be to thank.

I've bought new Harely Benton basses in the past that at least arrived in playable condition. Likewise, I have a Lakland that arrived very well set up. There's no reason why Fender can't get their act together.

George

Looks great, like a stealth bomber!

I have one in white with the NTMB pre-amp and stock pickups - it's a great bass.

Sure you won't be trying to sell this for too long, good luck!

I went through a phase of taking a two or three of basses to gigs and swapping more frequently than I should! We normally play 2 x 75 minute sets.
An active five string with roundwounds for transposed songs that took me below low E, or needed a bright modern sound. A Jazz with flats for a more classic sound. You get the idea...

These days (as of my last gig 14 months ago...), a single bass more than often does the job. The active five string really can cover all the bases closely enough. I sometimes take a backup, but I've never needed it. When I do, I'll always give the backup a few songs - mostly for my own amusement.

We have added two fretless songs since we last gigged, so taking two may be a necessity if these stay in the set.

George

I use the model of the Binson Echorec (Echo Platter) in the Helix and get fairly close to the live version, though there's definitely two very distinct bass parts on the original record.

This video is VERY entertaining, and may also be helpful!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKFJsxEMHMQ

Hermes are the only courier I've ever had problems with. Royal Mail, Yodel, DPD - all fine. Some examples:-

• A super-king size duvet lost by the driver. (Must have fallen down the back of his seat or something...)
• A case of beer 'delayed' on a Friday afternoon - after getting to 'out for deliver' stage and about 10 minutes before the deliver window. It was supposed to arrive within 24 hours of this, but here we are six months down the line
• An overpriced designer handbag going missing after being scanned in to the local depot

On 06/02/2021 at 21:06, Ltsal said:

I’ve got myself the Ibanez EHB1005MS as a first 5 string Bass. I wouldn’t say it’s the cheapest option but it’s a amazing Bass and the B is amazing. 

I had to look that up.. very interesting looking beast!

7 minutes ago, deepbass5 said:

I originally made it as volume tone  - volume tone.  I have since changed this to volume Pan, Tone Tone. It is easier when playing live .

I also wish I had now gone with a Music-man control plate, for more flexibility to later tweeks, but wanted to keep that "double up" theme which the two Tele plates would portray.  Just added this as you do need to have a good practical firm idea of what you want.   sometimes being too different is not good and you realise the big boys have probably been there and now make basses to what works best.

I've going for a fairly simple P-bass... can't see me going too off-piste from a typical design. Perhaps a high-mass bridge and Schaller straplock buttons, nothing too wild!

21 hours ago, deepbass5 said:

Hi Guys

Did this course 3 years ago now, took early retirement so treated myself.

I am hands on with most DIY,  and working with wood ?? but I had never used a router either so that was my main fear.

I did the 3 person course but it ended up with just two of us so was quite good for the individual attention we got during tricky bits.

Jon had two body blanks previously glued ready for us. You then have to apply template and draw your body shape onto that, e.g P bass or Jazz but nothing stopping you bringing your own template design along. then yes to the band saw then the bench to file the contours.

I wanted a 5 string reverse P bass with double pickups so there was an extra cost for the Pups. so you do have flexibility within the time restraints. I also requested body wood of Ash and padauk fingerboard, revers head stock

The other guy did a straight 4 string jazz. in Alder with RW board

It is pretty full on. we both stayed in the same B&B within walking distance. so 9 - 5 each day and Jon orders sandwich deliveries of your choice lunchtime and you can eat and work through etc.

Mine turned out better than i could have wished very please with the neck which was a concern as I am fussy.

I walked out with a playable bass so good result, cost wise course was then about £750 so with B&B extra pups evening meals in pub and fuel was about £1200.

But it is the learning experience you are paying for.  worth doing Great guys up there.

 

 

Really good feedback, thanks. That's the most unique P-Bass I've ever seen!

3 minutes ago, verb said:

Was that recently and about the course?

Yes - in the past couple of weeks and about this course.

11 hours ago, verb said:

Has anyone been in contact with Jon regarding the course recently? I emailed him just over a week ago and haven't had a reply yet.

He responded to me almost instantly via email when I contacted him.

8 hours ago, Hazza2004 said:

I've heard murmerings that  you can adjust the truss rod on the vintera 60s by removing the scratchplate rather than the neck, is this possible? do you mind checking if you can?  I'm really sorry for being such a pain in  the behind by asking this and completely understand if you're not willing to.

I don't have the time right now, but you probably can. There's actually a small notch in the scratchplate that suggests you can do it with the scratchplate in place - but I had no sucess personally. However the scratchplace is a three-ply and quite thick, it looks like removing it would expose enough of the screw head to be able to turn it.

It really did frustrate the life out of me setting it up at first. I must have had the neck off half a dozen times or more to get it just right. I was probably being far too cautious with how much I was turning it at first though. 

George

On 27/12/2020 at 17:08, Hazza2004 said:

Also how have the 60s basses been set up out of the factory? How much adjustment have you found to be required?

I realise I'm very late to the party here...

I have a Vintera 60's. It's a great bass, but the factory setup was without a doubt the worst I have seen on any bass I've ever purchased. I've had US Fender, Mex Fender, Lakland, Squier, Ibanez & Harley Benton... nothing has been as bad. Basically, it arrived with the strings tuned almost a perfect full tone flat and with zero tension in the truss rod and the action set as high as possible. It was compounded by the fact you have to remove the neck to adjust the truss rod.

But stick with it and it's a great bass...

1 hour ago, Stub Mandrel said:

I'm trying to convince myself to split my 1110 combo into a 19" head and a 4x10 cab.

63kg is manageable for me though, especially as I've fitted castors, reading this thread makes me feel it's a bit special and more reluctant to start butchering....

I don't think I'd get a 63kg cab in the pubs play, never mind the half-mile or so trek from wherever I can get parked!

12 hours ago, MacDaddy said:

 

Do we?

Normality is austerity and growing inequality and the lack of government action on climate change. Normality is Billionaire wealth increasing while homeless people die on the streets. 

Normality is never being able to afford to buy a house, being saddled with a lifetime of student debt, and zero hours contracts.

Normality is the problem.

I do agree with the sentiment here, and agree that society needs to change fundamentally. However, the pandemic has made this much worse in my view.

Inequility has been made much worse. Those at the very top - Jeff Bezos springs to mind - have increased their wealth hugely. Those in low paid jobs, like retail or hospitality lucky enough to still have a job are largely furloughed. Furloughed workers earning above average wages are having a tough time too, given the 80% of £2500 before deductions cap. A take home of about £1660.

Businesses of all sizes are going bust at an alarming rate. Many self-employed tradesmen, taxi-drivers etc are struggling to make a living. All while the biggest companies continue to operate, having been handed an effective monopoly in the name of social distancing. I can't buy my son a game for his Xbox at the local independent games shop, nor go clothes shopping. But I can get just about anything I need from Tesco or Amazon.

George

Some of those 'Recommended Configurations' seem rather excessive.... where do you need to be playing to need two 2x15 cabs and two 4x10 cabs? I suppose it's okay if you have a team of roadies and a stadium sized stage. It's quite interesting how it's all powered by a 400w head! I wonder how a modern class D with twice as many watts would compare?

6 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

They are "weird and wacky" US band who were briefly interesting about 20 years ago.

You should hear their version of Dark Side of the Moon. It takes a special kind of weird and wacky to cover a concept album that is regarded by many as one of the greatest records ever from start to finish!

2 minutes ago, chris_b said:

If you stagger the closing times you create a tidal wave of everyone from shutdown area #1 heading for a few more beers in shutdown area #2 etc. You're not going to get away from the bottle-neck which ever way you try to plan it.

If you mean a mandated staggered closing time, then yes, I'd a agree - although limiting capacities should control this inside the pubs at least. However, if pubs close when it's right for them then it's less likely to be a problem. When a pub is closed at 8 or 10, then that's when the majority of folk will leave. Contrasting with my local (pre lockdown) for example, it opened until 1am at the weekend., but another pub along the road only open until midnight. You'd have a few coming in from the midnight pub, but it got gradually quieter from around 11 anyway.

The other risk of early closing is that people have got in the mood to socialise and drink, and will be more likely to invite folk back afterwards. It's less likely to happen at say 1am, folk will be ready for bed. Mostly!

1 hour ago, PaulWarning said:

you are entitled to your opinion but the figures suggest something different, we went through the summer with schools shut and pubs open and the virus was under control, as soon as the education system went back, boom. You can't blame the cooler weather either, otherwise places like India and Brazil wouldn't have a problem

I agree that the obsession with having the schools 100% open for the new term was at least partly to blame. I live near a secondary school, and you should have seen the local takeaways, parks etc at lunchtimes. I know younger folk don't suffer symptoms as much as the older generation, but surely that puts them at high risk of being asymptomatic spreaders. 50 teenagers crammed around the door of the local kebab shop (which only allowed in one at time!) is basically the same as 50 households mixing. A more blended approach would have made more sense, particularly for those old enough to do their schoolwork from home without parental supervision. I suspect primary schools were much safer anyway, since they are smaller and kids don't move around as much.

However, I feel that universities is where the real problem came from. Students coming from every corner of the globe being crammed in to student accomodation - then being made to work remotely anyway. While those from some countries may have been required to isolate , it was basically unenforced. I do strongly believe that not having a proper quarantine process for those arriving from overseas was a huge mistake - have a a look at how New Zealand handled this. 

1 minute ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

I think there are pubs, and there are pubs. I've seen pictures and videos (from people I actually know, not click bait) of city centre pubs and whole streets absolutely heaving in-between lockdown with people drinking and partying, and not giving two s##ts about any kind of distancing. 

Any pubs allowing this type of thing should have been absolutely hammered.

However, the governments need to take some responsibility for the crowded streets. Mandating that all pubs closed at 10, 8 or 6 forced everyone to the streets at once. The usual approach of pubs closing at different times, and many folk leaving well ahead of closing time would have made much more sense. 

4 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said:

The pubs and restaurants were not to blame, it was the Mr and Mrs Silly Billy visiting them that forced the government to close them down. 

If we agree wearing face masks in public and keeping our distance  from others works, it’s obvious why places like pubs and places selling booze were shut. 

Its not the government, its people not giving a toss, and this is more likely to happen when you have had a few drinks. Pretty bloody obvious IMO.

I'm not sure I agree. The pubs and restaurants I visited (which admittedly were very few and in the afternoon) were very well managed and seemed low risk. You had to be sat at a table, and couldn't order from the bar - table service only. Tables were well spaced with plastic screens in some areas. It made it very difficult for those not giving a toss to cause problems. It was certainly more controlled than people having drinks at home instead - and while this may be technically banned, it's absolutely still going on.

I firmly believe hospitality was used as a scapegoat. It's been effectively closed down in Scotland since October and infection rates have done nothing but continue to rise. 

To be clear - I'm not suggesting that pubs should be open now - the situation is far too serious at the moment. I'm stating that (in Scotland at least), hospitality was basically the key focus of the tier system and the October 'circuit breaker' with little evidence to support it. The awful death rates being reported now suggest they powers that be got it wrong.

On 13/01/2021 at 21:22, BassBunny said:

Realistically the hospitality trade is going to be the last to re-open and I think May is very optimistic.

The government do not appear to like pubs/clubs which is surprising considering the tax revenue they generate.

In the North West the leading 5 breweries proved hospitality was probably safer than anywhere. When pubs were about to shut again in November after only a few months of being released from lockdown 1, the 5 major breweries put a report together that indicated from around 8 million customers there was not 1 single case of reported transmission of the virus.
The pubs in my area did a fantastic job and all for what?

I'm absolutely convinced that closing pubs and banning booze in restaurants was all about optics rather than there being any proven risk. Simply, the government need to be seen to be doing something to combat the rising infection rates. Pubs were an easy target and an easy sell to the public.
After all, they're a luxury. Some people won't follow social distancing etc when drinking, and even at the best of times some folk consider pubs a nuisence. Especially those who choose to live near them then complain about this noise!

Regarding the actual data, when hospitality in Scotland was closed for two weeks in October (still ongoing!), the evidence document provided stated something like 20% of all people testing positive had visited a pub, restaurant or cafe in the seven days preceeding the test. This was presented by many as hospitality being responsible for one in five cases. Clearly a bit of a leap.

I'd have been interested in the percentage of the general population who visited a hospitality venue in the same time period. I suspect it would be something like 20%...

50 minutes ago, casapete said:

Sounds harder than it is - works really well in most circumstances!

I'd cause all sorts of confusion signalling one-up for Sweet Home Alabama!

2 hours ago, Doddy said:

Rather than different hands, it's normally fingers up for sharp keys (1 finger= G, 2 fingers=D etc.), and fingers down for flat keys (1 finger=F,  2 fingers=Bb etc.). You don't see it as much anymore, but it's common with old school bandleaders. It's easier to see 4 fingers point up and know it's in E, than to mouth E and have half the band mishear and start in a different key.

My band would need a few lessons on music theory first!

27 minutes ago, Nail Soup said:

So do you start with two anonymous  blocks of wood (body and neck) or something that is already somewhat body/neck shaped?

Looking at other folk's pictures and comments relating to the use of band-saws, I assume you are cutting blocks of wood. Which slightly terrifies me!

8 minutes ago, Rich said:

When I took my bass back to Jon a few years ago to have some Delanos retro-fitted, I made a long weekend of it and stayed over at a B&B farm down the road -- I forget the name but it wasn't far from the Blue John caves. It was fabulous. Your plan sounds like a great idea, and just thinking about it makes me pretty jealous.  
Oh, and take plain Hobnobs rather than chocolate ones. 

I'll try and find that B&B and check it out. We're not entirely sure on accomodation yet, but we'll definitely need something as we're coming from Glasgow.

We may stay at one of the Landal resorts - I think there's two within a 30 minute drive. These are basically detached lodges with hot-tubs, with a restaurant, bar etc on site. The thinking is that if there are still some restrictions in place, then our partners have somewhere spacious where they can relax during the day and we can all enjoy in the evening. Although it is a tad expensive.

George