CamdenRob

35 minutes ago, steantval said:

...hope you get well paid gigs.

Sadly not... I play originals and there are usually more people on stage than in the audience 😕

This topic has been done to death (which doesn’t usually stop us doing it again on BC 😕 ), but it obviously depends on how you like your strings to sound.

Arguably making the biggest difference out of any component of your overall sound, not surprisingly it’s different strokes for different folks.

Personally I love the zing of brand new strings. Rich, bright and harmonic. Whilst my stings may not sound dead for a number of months after they stop sounding brand new, I still prefer the fresh on sound.

I don’t change them every time I play obviously, but if money (and the dubious ethics of discarding that number of strings) were no object I would 😊

For now it’s new ones for every gig and every 2-3 rehearsal (few more on the fretless) if I don’t gig in between. Which is a less daunting financial proposition now I’ve switched to Newtone Diamnonds from TI Jazz rounds 😕.

Fresh set of strings for each gig for me.

...each rehearsal as well if I could afford it 😕

6 minutes ago, edwn said:

@CamdenRob I've been looking for fretless and recently noticed Thomann had a fretless contra in stock now; they don't seem to come up very often ... https://www.thomann.de/gb/marleaux_contra_5_fretless.htm ... just in case you wanted to sell your car or kidney or whatever 😊

 

Yes if that had six strings one of my kidneys would be in trouble 😕

I was thinking I’d go for a fretted six. I’ll have to see where we are with the exchange rate around April time when it’s time to consider the yearly bass purchase 😊

P Basses give the standard bass sound. Tried, tested and time honoured. 99 times out of 100 it’s what an audience (and a studio engineer) wants to see / hear. IMO a American Fender P is still the yardstick to judge anything else against.

Ive been through a few. Every time I don’t have one I keep telling myself I need one, as they are the classic bass. Then I buy one and it sits unused as I never use it in preference to my other basses I prefer the sound of. Then I sell it and the cycle begins again...

I think if I was trying to make a living from playing bass I would have one as they are just so much what people expect to see.

2 hours ago, Al Krow said:

Just two Wals - quality over quantity!!! Jazz 5 will be from which maker, if you don't mind my asking?

Those Marleaux basses do look really good, although I've never had the privilege of playing one. Saw a couple in the FS and you know how it is with creeping GAS, it gets you in the end... 😄 

I’ve only recently become aware of the Marleaux Contras. Can’t paste an image on my phone sadly, but the Contra #19 on their gallery page with black hardware instead of gold would be something I’d very much be interested in 😊 I’ve never been a huge fan of single cuts (Brubaker 6ers being the only exception) but I just think they look wonderful.

Incoming Jazz is a Fodera Emperor Standard Classic in black/maple... build is due in around a month 😊

Talking of creeping GAS. I tend to suffer more with extreme and sudden bouts 😕 like last week when I nearly bought that patchwork Wood and Tronics from the marketplace 😕... I’m a lost cause...

I have and use two. Fretted and fretless Wal sixers.

Got a Jazz Five landing in the next month or so as well, to give me a more classic option for some studio tracks.

Currently thinking next years purchase will be a Marleaux Contra 6 to add something a bit different to the stable.

Looks like I may have to ship this (reluctantly)... I have retreived the case for this bass from my parents loft so it will be shipped in this case which I will wrap externally and then hope a courier doesnt smash to bits along with the bass inside... 🤔 Its a rather fetching thomann tweed one with a red lining reminiscent of a 19th century smoking jacket.

I will ship via interparcel and will need to schedule a weekend or evening pickup as I'm out at work during the week. It's looking like this will cost around an additinal £50 so £550 all in shipped. The old stack knob control plate also does not fit in the case so i will not be able to include it.

UK addresses only initially and its still much my preference to arrange a handover in person

I took up bass because I was the least cool out of my group of mates when we were 13 and wanted to form a Death Metal band. 😐

I once spent five minutes frantically faffing with my amp, bass etc (with the sound guy) to try and work out why I had no signal (having been fine in the sound check). It was at the start of a short set on a multi-band night. The rest of the guys had to wait for me, whilst offering the audience some terribly awkward banter (as you do when you’re 15).

After the full five minutes someone in the audience politely enquired as to whether the absence of a cable between my bass and amp may be the issue... 😐

That was pretty embarrassing... 😐

Could make a day of it though and fire up a bbq in the car park... 🔥 

52 minutes ago, Frank Blank said:

I think I make that a full house...

@hiram.k.hackenbacker

@CamdenRob

@Wolverinebass

@fleabag

...this means three in the back though and @FinnDave on the subs bench in case anyone drops out, agreed?

I shouldn’t go really, although it does sound like a fun trip.

Ill wait to see how much the one I’ve ordered actually ends up costing 😕

... although it’s going to be gone by then isn’t it... probably to someone from this road trip 😕

Sounding like you might have to hire a bus 😕

1 hour ago, Frank Blank said:

Let’s go get it!

1 hour ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

At the very least we should go there, play it, take photo's and then tell Rob just how flipping' great it was 😂

If I go with you two I can tell Mrs C some bigger kids made me do it... 😐

54 minutes ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

Yes, it is rather lovely 😀

 

That’s the one 😊 I couldn’t t post the pic on my phone...

The tort is the only reason I didn’t go for it in the first place... wonder if I could get them to swap it out for black 🤔 

I’d end up taking home that White Emperor standard classic 😕

I have a black one (preferred colour) reserved from the next batch arriving at everyone’s favourite German music retailer in a couple of months time. But that gets more expensive by the day with the slide in the value of the £ 😕 with every £100 my reserved one gets more expensive, that white one looks more attractive 😕

I’ve looked at going a few times on the train from London but it looks a bit of a hike from the station... Could get a cab easily enough though I suppose.

How many basses can you fit in the boot?

I have an M80 but it’s pretty heavy, sits a bit high on the back for my liking too. Makes it difficult getting on buses, tubes etc.

Also the bottom of the bass doesn’t sit quite right at the base of the bag. It pushes out slightly at the front bringing it in front of the most padded bit along the bottom edge. Put a scuff in one of my Wals when I put it down on one of those knobbly bits they have near the edge of tube platforms as a result... 😡 

Next time I’ll get a Vertigo. Looks like it’s got a good solid rubber boot type thing on the bottom.

3 minutes ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

I wish I could be that disciplined. Some years ago I decided I would only spend on basses what I earned through gigging, but as the gigs kept coming in, things got a little bit out of hand. One bass a year sounds much more sensible, but I could still burn through quite a bit with that rule in place though. I think I would be better off in terms of space to keep them in 😀

Well it is a plan rather than a steadfast rule... 😕

With you on the space issue. I live in a London shoebox and space is comically limited... My poor parents have all my hardcases etc in their loft 😕

I have a setup that give me what I want and I have disposed of everything else. Doesn’t stop me GASing for new basses though... I’m really interested in bass gear, it’s my hobby so I don’t mind really.

Said to myself I’m going to order a bass each year (funds permitting), so that’s the current plan. Who knows though... could get bored, sell it all tomorrow and take up fishing instead.

If I have the money I just buy what i want. I don’t worry about trying to justify it to myself let alone anyone else.

No matter how many times it gets asked though we still haven’t decided which bass is best for metal... 😐

Got Sadowsky GAS now... 😕

Whats the deal? Order direct or through a dealer? Build time etc?

There are a lot of splits in our little world of electric bass. Fender aesthetic/non Fender aesthetic; active/passive; handmade/CNC etc... One of the big ones is; built to a price point / not built to a price point. With Sadowsky falling into the later category, it’s fair to assume they are a step up from anything in the former. Whether they are better than anything else in this category (Wal, Fodera, F Bass, Alembic, MTD et al.) is purely subjective personal preference.

Horses for courses and all that 🙂 I’m way more interested in gear than I am in someone else’s playing.