Norris

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='1299829' date='Jul 11 2011, 12:42 PM']Also - try dropping the pickups a bit. As you go up the neck, the strings might be getting a little close which will kill the definition.[/quote] Thanks for that one. I generally play the Jazz with both volume controls at about 80% - never flat out, so maybe it's the pup height. [quote name='Vibrating G String' post='1297921' date='Jul 9 2011, 01:45 AM']I've found for me thinner strings give me more useable neck. Too thick and the tone starts falling off after about the 5th fret. YMMV[/quote] I always use Ernie Ball regular slinkys (50-105), so the strings are not exactly fat - and they sound fantastic on my T-bird (which I do have volume at 100% most of the time).

I've been playing in bands since 1985 - summer season at Butlin's Skeggy. Highs Back in the 80's/90's playing in pubs packed so full you could faint and not hit the floor (like my wife did once!). You just don't seem to get pubs that full any more. Playing with Geoff Downes at a festival when his usual bass player went awol (with Jack Daniels?) Being in such a tight band that on several occasions you all do some accent/phrasing you've never done before - at exactly the same moment Lows The point at which I realised that the drummer I had been playing with for 10 years had slowly turned into a complete & utter ar*ehole A wedding night where only the bride & groom turned up Being so skint on a cheque pickup gig that the barstaff had a collection to buy us a pint at the end of it A few fellow musos 'playing the last chord' way too young

I bought a brand new US standard Jazz several years ago, played it constantly and thoroughly enjoyed it. Then more recently I bought my Thunderbird and have played it ever since, the Jazz hardly getting a look in. Several people who come to our gigs have commented on the Thunderbird, saying how great it sounds, especially further up the neck compared to my Jazz. I hadn't really thought about it before, but they were right. The Jazz seems to lack clarity & definition above about the 5th fret, whereas the Thunderbird is a pure tone monster anywhere on the neck. So, is this something that could be corrected, or is it inherent in the bass? Would a new set of pups help? I'm reluctant to change anything on the Jazz, as it's still 'factory' with barely a mark on it. It has had a decent set up, but is otherwise unmodified. It just seems such a shame for it to sit there in the case, but I'm unlikely to choose it over the T-bird at the moment - the T-bird sounds so much better. Should I just stick the Jazz under the bed until it's 'vintage' and worth a packet no matter how it sounds?

My (ex-Clarky) Thunderbird has 'Nigel Tufnell' levels of sustain - and I like it that way. If you're playing a ballad (e.g. Still Got the Blues) and hit that last power note, it's great to still be there when the guitarist has finished with all the mega-widdling and to have enough volume left that you can damp it gently off at the end. On a side note, I used to have a sustain pedal. I've never actually used it on a gig, as it was a great way to get screeching feedback after a few seconds. It used the guitar signal level to light an LED, and had a pre-amp controlled by a light-dependant resistor. So the more the signal decayed, the dimmer the LED got, and the more boost from the pre-amp. And when you didn't play at all, it sat there loudly hissing. It was complete rubbish really

I once SOLD a bass because the other band members convinced me it kept going out of tune. This was long before digital tuners were quite so commonplace. After several gigs where we were well out of tune after about 1/2 hour of playing, I finally part-exchanged my beloved Rickenbacker 4002 for a 'modern' Aria Pro-II SB 1000. This bass also regularly 'went out of tune'. Then I discovered that the guitard kept his guitar case at home behind his sofa, snuggled up next to the frigging radiator! I've never forgiven him & bring it up at every available opportunity. I never really did like the Aria either.

Ha! My very first bass was a Kay SG copy - VERY cheap & cheerful in transparent red plywood. I wonder whatever happened to it.

Manicman Skint-ray

Beautiful!

Back in the late 80's our band was part of the lineup for a large barbeque-style gig. The 'stage' was a lorry trailer, but it did have decent lighting & PA, etc. I was standing backstage waiting to go on and watching one of the preceeding acts - about half a dozen chaps doing a 'balloon dance'. They were all naked apart from a couple of small balloons each. I got chatting to a bloke standing next to me, both of us agreeing that the dancers were crap and that the performance was money for old rope. We spent a good 10 or 15 minutes in much beer-powered criticism. I found out later that I'd been talking to Dave Edmunds

Alternatively, you could always grab an old 50's/60's number and rock it up a little. We have great fun with Del Shannon's Runaway. It started as an off the cuff lark about, but has now become a permanent member of the set

[quote name='SteveK' post='1245313' date='May 26 2011, 10:42 AM']Buy ... a boss octaver![/quote] Someone was selling one cheap at work a few months ago and I snapped it up. I've still not played with it...

[quote name='thumbo' post='1245403' date='May 26 2011, 11:40 AM']Just got done reading Keidis' autobiography ...[/quote] That's a very good read. More downs than ups, but then that's probably likely when you have had a serious habit like that.

I have done a lot of reading & theory in my youth (grade 8 trombone - orchestras, brass band, big band, etc. ), but not really on the bass, so now I'm rather rusty. I've not really needed it since I stopped blowing and drank beer instead

I'm happy with what I've got since buying my T-Bird off Clarky (750-1000 range ). I still like to look, and if I was to buy a bass it wouldn't be an expensive one. I'm not really into high end basses, so am happy with the Gibson/Fender stuff I've got (Aria is still mid-restoration). I'd love an Ampeg rig, but can't justify the cost/size for the gigs I do - the Peavey/GT-6B combination does all I want it to & fits in the boot of the car. I'm looking for a few cheap ultra-budget home studio bits, but that's about the extent of it. I'm also happy with all my stuff, so not looking to sell any of it either at the moment. Of course [b]if I save a bit of gig money[/b] and see a [i]really [/i]nice Ricky going for reasonable money, I could be GASed [color="#696969"]Hmmm... five stringer... EUB... precision... telecaster...[/color]

This [i]is[/i] a joke site ... right? Left over from 1st April? [quote]In 1961 Billy Wyman created the first fretless bass guitar by converting a Japanese fretted bass when he removed the frets.[/quote][quote]The first manufactured fretless bass was the Ampeg followed by AUB-1 and Fender.[/quote][quote]Amongst its most astounding achievements, Rickenbacker is credited with offering the 1st fretless bass.[/quote] ... and the Ibanez page reads like it was lifted straight from one of their catalogues

We were booked to play at a wedding. So we got there, set up, sound checked and waited for the guests to arrive. And waited... And waited... Around about 10 o'clock in the evening, we finally played... to the bride, groom and two other people that had turned up. (No, not even the parents of the couple!)

I'd save the Thunderbird & use the US Jazz to beat the flames out

My Peavey Databass amp. I bought it second hand about 15 years ago. It's just had it's second replacement BW speaker in it - the old one having worn out the stranded wires from the connectors down to the coil. It is light enough to carry around, small enough to pop into the car boot, and at 450W loud enough for any gig I've ever done (and never had the master volume above half way). A fabulous amp that has paid for itself time and time again.

I have just traded with mattyfunk13 - a straight swap of my multi-effects pedal for his condenser mic. Matt has communicated well throughout, and the mic arrived, very well packaged and in excellent condition as described. As the distance was too great to do a meet & exchange, Matt was happy for me to send the pedal once I'd received the mic, which he sent special delivery. Altogether a very smooth transaction with a trusting and trustworthy chap - thanks Matt.

I've had an early SB-1000 since the late 80's. I played it hard for many years, then dumped it in the loft when I bought my US Jazz. Last year it came out of the loft and was in such a poor state, it has gone away for complete renovation. Currently stripped back to bare wood, it is waiting for a good run of dry, warm weather for it's respray. Then, back in with the original (and still working) electronics, and a new set of gold plated tuners (to match the cleaned up brass bridge & nut). Then we'll see if I like it more than when I threw it in the loft all those years ago! [color="#696969"](and no, I'm not even going to consider any offers until I've had a play with it)[/color]