Skinnyman

I love this site

Bought Herman's Juno synth from him. Easy communication throughout, he drove some distance to meet me and the synth is in superb Nick, just as advertised. An easy, simple transaction with a thoroughly decent, pleasant and reliable chap. Basschat at its very best, deal with confidence

Wow. Looks like I was lucky just to have a sticky neck!

[quote name='markstuk' timestamp='1482964129' post='3203846'] Which means that they're not consistent with the formula or application of the neck finish.... :-) [/quote] You make a fair point :-) The finish on mine was certainly consistent. Consistently cr@p 😀

[quote name='markstuk' timestamp='1482963511' post='3203837'] This sort of QC put me right off ricks decades ago.. unlike some of folks who complain I actually struggled with a 4001 for over a year :-) [/quote] I'm not sure it's solely a QC thing, I get the impression that it's down to the finish they use (cellulose? Poly?). I'd heard that they need to be left out to "breathe" but that had no effect on mine - hence the attack with the scourer. I know that Ricks can be a bit of a marmite bass - and they're probably seen as terribly passé these days, but I got a good one (paint finish not withstanding) and although I may have shagged the resale value, at least I have a bass I can now play for a whole gig. And in combination with that Ampeg.....wow. Just, like, wow

Some years ago I bought my dream bass - a fireglo Ricky 4003. OK, not to everyone's taste but I've lusted after one for a long time... Fantastic bass, just "fits" nicely and a tone to die for. The only problem is that it suffers from a sticky neck and after 20 minutes playing, the finish on the neck turns into glue and it becomes deeply unpleasant to play. I've tried a few things to fix this but nothing worked and for the last few years I've ended up using other basses to gig with and the Ricky has ended up languishing in its case (which I appreciate is not going to help the neck 'breathe' and cure the stickiness). Yesterday I realised what a waste this is so I grabbed a scotchbrite pan scourer and gave the neck a thorough rub down. And bingo! Rehearsal tonight, and it played like a dream. And I used the studio's Ampeg head and 8x10 fridge.....what a sound..... So I now have a new bass. It has a dull finish to the neck, but it plays like a greased otter in a bath of lube. They will have to prise it from my cold, dead fingers to get it off me. I am in love all over again....

Thanks everyone. Some really good pointers here. I'll try and distill this down to two or three key points to try out on Saturday. I really want to get this right as we're back there on new years eve so this weekend gives me chance to try out ideas.

I'm after some advice from the live sound gurus among us.... We're booked to play a pub soon and, having played there a couple of times before, we've found the acoustics challenging to say the least. The building is an 'L' shape and the band area is at the bottom of one of the legs of the L. It's normally the darts / pool room and is connected to the rest of the pub by a narrow archway. The rest of that leg is taken up by the bar which runs along one side of the leg and the other leg is seating and dining. So where we play is effectively cut off from the rest of the pub by the archway. The ceiling is low and the walls are bare so sound gets reflected back into the room where we're playing. We normally set up at the bottom end of the leg and put the PA speakers (vox only) either side of the arch, firing into the pub. Vocal monitoring is a pig as the room is prone to feeding back and the monitors have to overcome the guitar amps and drums which are playing at volume in order to be heard in the rest of the pub. I'm wondering if there's a better set up? Should I set up the guitar amps in front of and pointing at the guitarists, so that they become their own monitors and then Mic them to put through the PA? Should we try and set up oriented across the room and just "play to the room" and effectively ignore the rest of the pub - not even try to be heard out there? Or is there anything else we can do to get the on "stage" volume down to a reasonable level and still be heard by the rest of the pub? Apologies if my description is a bit vague but I'm sure many fellow bass chatters must have encountered similarly challenging venues and could give me some pointers on how to get a reasonable mix? Thanks in advance

[quote name='bassace' timestamp='1479648844' post='3178073'] I don't know what all the fuss is about. I thought Tapestry was very good. [/quote] PMSL

[quote name='FinnDave' timestamp='1479641139' post='3177994'] Been using mine for about 3 years now, and remember the 'remoteness' for the first handful of gigs, it soon passes and the earplug level becomes normal. [/quote] Good to know, thanks [quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1479641218' post='3177996'] Imagine if/when your hearing sounds like that when you have no plugs in? [/quote] Indeed - which is why I'll persevere with them

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1479652744' post='3178125'] Right! I'm done with my "christmas tree" plugs that reduce the sound but sound pretty naff, so much so that I find myself not using plugs when I think the onstage sound is low enough... but the thing is I'm still closer to the drummer than I should if I'm going to spend so much time exposed to that . I want a set of ACS Pro17... their graphs seem just right. What's the process? You contact them, sort through them an appointment with a local audiologist to get the moulds made... and wait a couple of weeks, or something along those lines, right? [/quote] Basically, yes. Order online via their website choosing the options you want (I got corded and had my name lasered on to them. Although, in hindsight, that may not have been necessary. I mean, who else's ears would they fit, right?).They send you a voucher which you print. Make an appointment with a local audiologist (I used Boots) - ACS have a list on their website. Give them the voucher, they squirt stuff in your ears, let it set and then they remove it to send to ACS. Wait a few weeks (I think I waited about a fortnight). Enjoy

First gig with the PRO17s last night and they were...., well, not quite what I thought. First the good. This was a CIU club with a stage, low ceiling and strangely muffled acoustic. Guitarist's amp right behind me and turned up to usual. Drummer to my right hitting everything in sight with gay abandon. I don't think I could have done the gig without the earplugs. I took them out for one song and quickly shoved them back in. They were completely comfortable to the extent that I didn't really know I had them in. Other than the noise being turned down, that is. I could hear everything well. Even my bass which, without the plugs, was being drowned out by the guitar. But the odd bit (I won't call it "the bad") is that everything felt a bit......, meh. I'm not sure how to describe it. Just everything was a bit 'remote' and the songs sounded a bit flat and lifeless to the extent that I found myself overplaying to try and drive some life into them. I'm hoping that this is just a combination of me getting having to get used to the plugs and the strange on-stage sound we had at that venue (friends in the audience said the mix and volume were spot on so clearly it was just the onstage acoustics that were horrid). Everything else about these is perfect, I guess I now just need to get used to the way that the band sounds while I'm wearing them.

[quote name='FinnDave' timestamp='1479554260' post='3177405'] Make sure you know where you put them at all times, you'll soon reach the stage where you won't rehearse or gig without them. Can't tell you how many times I stopped on the way to a gig to check they are still in my gig bag! [/quote] Noted, thanks 😀 I'm paranoid about forgetting stuff as it is so this will only add to the stress! I got mine with the cord and clip so hopefully I won't lose them straight away. Although I am resigned to losing them at some point....that's just the way my life goes *sigh*

Just got my PRO17s and first gig with them tonight. They were great at rehearsal this week - it's like someone fitted the drummer with a volume control

Hmmm, good call. Best to be sure there's no problem.....

My two penn'orth I've bought a few things from Bass Direct over the years and I like the place. A lot of shops you go into, there seems to be an immediate assessment of whether you're going to buy or just "waste time". I've never felt like that in BD. they just let you get on with stuff. If you want to know something, you have to ask. If you're happy on your own, they won't hassle you. As to prices, well they're not GAK. But then again, they specialise in pretty esoteric instruments at the top end of the market. Given the massive investment they've got in the stock they hold, and given the comparatively small target market they're selling to, I don't mind if they hold firm on their prices and if they're a few quid more expensive on some things than the big internet discounters. And I agree that his pictures paint the guitars in their best light - but i don't think that's too unreasonable given that he is running a commercial enterprise and his job is to present his stock in the most attractive and appealing way that he can. So yes, you absolutely should go and see them in the flesh. They're aren't many places where I can go and sit for an hour playing some unusual and exotic bases without being hassled to make a sale. Sure, I'd like to have Mark's full attention when I want it, but he's a busy man, running a small shop in a very difficult trading environment so I'm prepared to cut him some slack. And at a time when every high street is becoming homogenised, when independent traders are disappearing as the chains and the high-volume internet discounters push them out of business, when exchange rates and business rates are on the up and margins are getting squeezed, I'm very glad that shops like Bass Direct are still trading. Just my opinion. Your mileage, as they say, may vary.