bassmayhem

My old beloved Jazz Bass I bought second hand in 1982 has undergone some dramatic changes through the years. It started as a black maple neck bass. I took off the horrific lacquer and had it more or less just wood filled/plain wood for a lot of years. It was the heaviest s.o.b. out there, causing a slipped disc and back surgery for me. Some years ago I had a new very nice body made for it, chambered, with "tiger eye burst". But - I made a mistake: I didn't tell the luthier I wanted 70's bridge pup position, so it was a beautiful wall warmer for some years. Last year I bought a super nice single piece swamp ash body with 70's routing from www.guitarbuild.co.uk and today I let the old friend out in the sunshine again. No lacquer, just heavily Danish Oiled and polished, Hipshot KickAss bridge, the Swedish Lundgren single coil pickups and completely shieded and grounded. Even the pole pieces are grounded, so no buzz when touching them. Faraday cage, kind of... Well, here is my old friend, my first ever bass, revitalised and reincarnated... It is the same bass as in my avatar, but with the beautiful body, that now has a fretless neck...

Whichever bass, I like number two...

Stainless strings are somewhat obstinate compared to nickels. It sounds like you want that bright tone, so I may have to disappoint you. Looser tension means by law of physics lesser brightness and "twang". If you want to try REALLY low tension strings, try the Thomastik Jazz Rounds! They are however a bit different from other strings in some aspects: - First - the gauges: .029 - .043 - .051 - .068 - .089 - .116 from high C to low B in 34" sets. That makes them really floppy if you "dig in"... - Second: the tone is very... organic and natural, I find no better way to describe them. No shrill treble, a nice full mid with a lot of "wood" in the tone. Not really the twang you may be after... - No string for traditional slapping. Finger style playing with a LOT of fffummmmph, if you "loosen the grip"... - It takes some adaption of playing style, softer right hand touch, but you are rewarded with a tone to die/kill for. As long as you like the tone. They sit very, very well in a band mix. http://www.thomastik-infeld.com/sites/default/files/catalogue/bass_guitar_2015.pdf

I had one for sale a while ago, but in Sweden. Customized wih a cabinet in smoked oak... Sold, I'm afraid... The little Quilter BassBlock 800 acts very valve-ish compared to other solid state amps. 1.7 kg isn't wrong either. You can attach that one to their own cabinet and cover the front with whatever vintage cloth. I used that amp for everything from acoustic upright to downright metal. Listen to this demo:

What is the most important thing, that it sounds old or looks old? A friend of mine who plays in a Beatles tribute band use a MarkBass combo with Vox speaker cloth on. Just for appearance. Find yourself a nice sounding "top loaded" combo and change its clothes. If the sound/tone is a main thing, well, you can always add a nice preamp in front... Or: get a Peavey VB-2: the most underrated fantastic all valve amp out there. Sells for coffee money...

I got a Voodoo Lab Mondo that works nice. For the gearheads out there who want to power up a small city there is this one, with misspelling and all: Dimentions: 50mm x 357mm x 84mm Power input: switchable 230V/110V Technical specification: Section Voltage setup Max current draw I – VII 9V DC 400mA VIII – IX 9V DC 600mA 12V DC 350mA X 9V, 12V or 14V AC 1300mA XI 9V or 16V AC 1300mA 9V DC 1300mA 12V DC 950mA XII 9V or 12V AC 1300mA 9V DC 1300mA 12V DC 300mA XIII – XIV 9V DC 500mA 12V DC 330mA XV – XVII 9V DC 800mA 12V DC 700mA 15V DC 570mA 18V DC 440mA 20V DC 350mA 22V DC 270mA 24V DC 180mA XVIII 1V – 22V DC 1100mA 23 – 24V DC 750mA XIX 5,2V DC 2400mA This should define the term over-kill...

Yes, it is.

My new custom overdrive has arrived. All in all it is two complete Nightfall units, with all controls on each channel, and the possibility to use A or B or cascade A into B. Also switchable via stereo tele jack from my Boss ES8 switcher. Sounds very nice!

Well, if you can cope with a class D amp that weighs 5 kg/11 lbs, then try the Vanderkley Spartan. I use mine for everything...

Try the tiny Quilter BassBlock 800...

Well, you know... If Leo didn't do it that way, it ain't correct. Just ask the reactionists... 🤩🤩🤩

I had a Mighty Mite Jazz Bass once. It had a solid koa body and a maple P-bass neck. It felt very... convincing. I sold it many years ago to a friend who equipped it with a 70's Jazz neck, but the beauty got stolen a few years ago... 😥

Compared to the hollowbody beauty above, my short scale is somewhat simple, yet a nice piece of candy... Fender Pawn Shop Bass VI, I got it in a trade two days ago. Nice piece! Makes a fine contrastb to my other "real" basses...

I am looking for an amp bag for my Eden WT550. I don't want to rack mount it, neither in a hard rack or a rack bag, I want to keep the weight and size down. They are difficult to find nowadays, the Eden bags. No need for an original bag, some tips about other bags that fit the amp are welcome. If you have one for sale - or know where to find one - just send me a message.

Dingwall Super J5