JapanAxe

Played at the Square Chapel in Halifax with Dire Streets, having depped with them on rhythm guitar the night before. Near enough a full house, and a very appreciative audience, including Mrs Axe (who took these snaps). The D-Roc sounded great through my ampless setup, and considering nobody is trying to look like Mark Knopfler or any of the band, it would be hard to argue that the D-Roc looked 'wrong'. Plus it almost matched the drum kit...

This came to me already fitted to a bass I bought but I've decided not to use it as I generally take out a 5-string too.

It is designed to replace a low E or B Hipshot Ultra-light tulip-style tuner with a 3/8in string post (the part that the string winds onto) and a 9/16in headstock hole. This style of tuner is used by Roscoe, Skjold, Dingwall and others. NOTE - not suitable for 'reversed' headstocks with all the tuners on the bottom of the headstock.

There is some marking around the screw hole (see last photo) and the original countersunk mounting screw was lost so I have sourced a suitable matching replacement - in fact you will get 2 so that you have a spare (you can't use the domed-head screw from the original tuner).

Bass Direct sell these new for £115 plus delivery so let's say £65 delivered in mainland UK.

If you need to check any particular dimensions, drop me a line and I will do my best to help.

My main and best ever amp head is the Demeter 800W head. I also have a lovely EBS which has been for sale for yonks but I’m not exactly sorry that it hasn’t sold! I have a Markbass Nano head for a backup.

On top of that I have a couple of DIY heads that live in my home studio / practice room.

Recently I’ve been doing some tribute band gigs in theatres with no amps at all. That can be fine but it depends a lot on good in-ear monitoring.

39 minutes ago, BassAdder60 said:

Yes 100% this !!

My pet hate is singers standing behind music stands with the words while they read the song and make an emotionless attempt at singing !! 
 

Or you tell them you are a rock band and then they ask if you cover Adele or Amy Winehouse lol 😂 

Without wishing to initiate another music-stand-related pile-on, I wholly concur with the first statement.

Regarding the second, there is definitely a thing where a band will consist of a bunch of middle-aged men who want to play dad rock, fronted by a much younger woman who wants to sing pop. I’m always amazed the these unhappy alliances last beyond the first attempt at a rehearsal.

I just pull the cable through a bleach-free surface wipe, then dry it off with a clean bit of rag.

I have this book and have had so much value out of it.

21 minutes ago, Jean-Luc Pickguard said:

Jaco only needed four

 

     ...ducks for cover

What makes you think that hiding behind some ducks will protect you?

11 hours ago, paul_c2 said:

No..........you need somewhere to rest your thumb when playing the other 4 strings.....

Unless you don’t.

If you play with a fully floating thumb, the side of it rests against the strings below (in pitch) the one you are playing, thus damping them.

I forgot to mention the weight, a svelte 3.77kg or 8lb5oz.

The Dire Streets BL has raised no objection, so I will likely be rocking it when I dep with them at Square Chapel, Halifax, on 22nd July.

1 hour ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

What do you mean?

 

I think my question is pretty clear, if you could have a custom distortion pedal made that would fit you exact preferences for bass distortion what would it be?

 

...

 

I was actually joking, or thought I was - that's one very specific set of specifications!

39 minutes ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

So what would the ultimate distortion pedal of you wildest dreams be?

 

Mine would be a standard Rat, but with a Vintage/Turbo mode switch, and a post gain stage adjustable Bass boost/cut control, a standard Metal Zone, but with a 3 way Mod switch, the 3 mode respectively being original stock, the Keeley mod, and the simple no soldering cut couple of components out of the circuit, Simple Dog mod, and a Clean/Dry section with a 1 band semi parametric EQ (that is a wide range frequency control and a boost/cut control) and an adjustable LPF, all blendable in parallel with a separate volume control for each of the 3 sections, and just a single on/bypass footswitch. 

 

Yes but could you be a bit more specific?

7 hours ago, Machines said:

Welcome to the club. Had my 5 string since last April and it is my main gigging bass. Always gets compliments on its looks and sound.

 

A keeper.

 

 

 

I never thought of standing it up like that - should be quite stable.

1 hour ago, Owen said:

None in the country at the moment. There are new ones coming later in the year. Why do I even know this?

Bass Direct are still showing 3 in stock, in Matt Vintage Burst, Matt Metallic Black, and Metallic Aqua Flake.

NBW = New Bass Week, as it is 7 days since I bought it.

I've been a Precision devotee for some years now - a good P does 95% of what I want from a bass guitar, so I had ended up with 2 actual Precisions (a '73 and a RI '63) and a Dingwall Super P 5-string. The other 5% is what you get from more than one pickup, and/or a bridge pickup on its own. Jazzes never did it for me though, and I recently started looking in earnest for an alternative. I'm not drawn to active circuits either, which narrows the field considerably.

My shortlist included the Dingwall D-Roc. Bass Direct had 4 in stock, which dropped to 3 even as I watched, but then one came up on BassChat so I arranged to check it out and duly purchased it from the gent known on here as @Jimryan.

The following day dawned with a serious case of buyer's remorse - had I blown a considerable on something I didn't really like? Then I got it out to play again, and all such thoughts swiftly evaporated. I have spent some time fettling it to suit my own preferences, which involved filing the nut slots, fitting new Elixir extra-long strings (I didn't care for the Paysons it came with), and making adjustments to the truss rod, action, and pickup heights. I spent some time at home getting used to its range of sounds and how it responds to my playing.

The major wow happened when I took it on a wedding gig last night - Demeter 800W head into BF Super Twin. Not only did it play effortlessly but it sounded phenomenal in all 4 positions on the selector switch. Those different sounds cover all the main bass pickup 'food groups'. You can get an after-market replacement switch to give you 2 more options, but tbh I think Sheldon has nailed it with the ones he's chosen. The extra tension in the low E (with a scale length of over 36 inches) meant that I could play notes on it that I would normally choose to fret on the A string, with no flub whatsoever. A friend asked me 'Is it as punchy as it looks?' and as I told him, 'punchy' is definitely within its repertoire!

The position of the strap attachment points means that it balances perfectly, and the head end is not uncomfortably hard to reach. The only downside is that the bass-side part of the lower bout sticks out where you don't expect it to, resulting in the occasional clash with (a) my cab and (b) parts of me. I've included the second photograph in an attempt to convey how sparkly the finish is - it's as sparkly as a very sparkly thing on World Sparkle Day. More so under stage lighting - we're talking Sparkly Mc Sparkleface here. The eagle-eyed may notice the absence of the black striped vinyl 'scratch plate' - that was removed before I bought the bass, a modification of which I approve 100%.

I can barely wait to play this live again - would it look out of place in a Dire Straits tribute?

Some slap bass in the right context sounds great and I wish I could do it better. A bit of a problem for me is that I usually play quite lightly finger-style, and slapping comes out a lot louder, so then I have to think about a limiter to rein it in. First world problems eh?

What I don’t care for is the slapping that is often used to demo bass gear. Sadly, much of this sounds to me like a filing cabinet full of scrap metal falling down a fire escape.

Shotgun by George Ezra - it’s just Baby Shark.

Dakota by the Sterophonics - ruined by seeing crowds of drunk punters singing it to each other.

On 04/07/2023 at 22:25, LowB_FTW said:

A nice cup of tea.

If I'm feeling particularly good that day I may have a biscuit or two for dunking as well.

 

Mark

This. Not too much milk. I’m usually singing (at least BVs) and a warm drink helps to relax my throat and vocal cords. I almost never drink alcohol on a gig as it kills my concentration, plus I’m usually driving. Drugs? I shared a very weak spliff with a load of my Mum’s friends in 1978, that’s the full extent of my dabbling.

Picked one up used on here and spent some time setting it up to my liking - NBD thread to follow after this Saturday's wedding gig!

Yes.

2x Fender Precisions (original 1973 & RI 1962).

1x Dingwall Super PZ5 (their take on a 5-string Precision).

1 hour ago, SteveXFR said:

 

Is that code for wasted?

It’s sometimes referred to as the ‘flow state’, but it’s not drink that’s flowing - in fact intoxication is highly detrimental to my playing.

The best gigs are the ones I barely remember because I’ve been ‘in the moment’.

99% of the time I drive to gigs and rehearsals. Occasionally I travel to a gig in a band van. Even with provided backline, or going direct, I need more stuff than I can comfortably carry in one go.

On a handful of occasions I have managed to get to a rehearsal on foot or on my push bike.

1 hour ago, Downunderwonder said:

No doubt. I guess the MC didn't introduce it properly or the couple weren't fussed about doing the whole 1st dance thing or it was a bunch of rednecks and that's how they do it in them thar parts.

No, I wouldn't have described any of the guests as rednecks, just a lot of love in the room ❤️

7 hours ago, Downunderwonder said:

That's why you start off with a slow one for the B&G, then bring in the bangers.

We started with what they requested, which was Brown Eyed Girl.

Last night was a wedding celebration for about 150 in a massive marquee with a proper stage, out in the wilds of Wiltshire. We were well looked after with a place to change and a meal in the bride’s family’s house, and whatever we wanted to drink. I played my ‘73 Precision (recently fitted with rounds for the first time since I’ve owned it) through my Demeter head and BF Super Twin, and it sounded fantastic as you might expect. I finally got to set up my own IEM mix properly and that’s a game changer.

The crowd loved us, in fact the bride and groom barely got in a couple of steps of their first dance before just about everyone piled onto the dance floor.

I’m just about recovered now!