martthebass

1 hour ago, Eldon Tyrell said:

Will do. However, it took me years to find an EBMM SR 4H in natural with 2EQ, maple fingerboard, a nice wood grain and arm and body contours, so I hope that I do not have to sell it anytime soon. It plays extremely well and I really like the sound of the 2EQ. I know with EQing you can also get the 3EQs close to it, but I am a plug and play kind of guy, so it is a great bass for me. Great build quality too.  

I once had a 1990 Ray as per this one but in white.  It was a peach but sadly I joined Basschat and after 15 years with this beauty I decided to move it on in a fit of GAS.  The worst thing was I sold it to buy a Warwick.

The shame.....

It doesn't look too bad, if you're worried about any naked wood just get a very small amount of wax and gently rub the affected area this should seal it nicely.

On 22/08/2022 at 14:58, ezbass said:

Well, the shorty ‘Ray is pretty much a Sterling without the preamp. It has the series/single/parallel selector, small body and a 38mm nut with.

Sadly not close enough, I love the ceramic pup and 3 band pre on the Sterling - it makes the bass.

11 minutes ago, meterman said:

I just missed a Mikey Way signature Mustang, it was only €130 😮 The ad came up on a local site just as I was coming over to the UK. Would have been a train ride away for me but for that price I’d have done it. So they are still out there at bargain prices occasionally. Love my CV Mustang but I’d have had this as well though.

 

Cheapest I've seen them in the UK in recent times is £400-450ish.  Somebody got a good deal there.

Just seen this posted by the Circle group on FB

28 minutes ago, BCH said:

Did MM ever make a short scale USA Sterling?

 

Not that I'm aware of....if they have I'll be having one.

14 minutes ago, Deedee said:

I do love ‘Rays but I must admit, I’d be at the front of the queue if they decided to produce a Sterling with Stingray neck dimensions.

I'm still hopeful of one day finding a Stingray Special with Starry Night finish, around 8.5lbs, with a Sterling profile neck.....😂

8 hours ago, Duarte said:

Always good to see some sterling love 

Always surprised that you don't see that many around when it is clearly a much better bass than the 'Ray (ducks head).

I’m down to 2 now but the ‘Squier’ has done about 200 gigs with me now. It’s like a pair of comfy slippers. Don’t try a JMJ.....it’ll make you want to buy one big time.

Mustangs can be addictive Chris 😂😂😂😂

An outdoor gig in the blazing sun yesterday. We knew it would be a challenge but 33C is definitely not conducive to strutting one’s stuff. The stage wear was significantly pared down and the Glam wigs were omitted, it was so hot on stage that the singers platform shoes melted....

Fortunately it was a short drive home but I did sit in the car in full aircon for a good 15 minutes when it parked up.

36 minutes ago, Old Horse Murphy said:

Thanks  it's figured walnut apparently. I must admit though, I prefer the grain on your one. 

Some of the earlier one's had a very 3D chocolaty brown figured walnut, I think OutToPlayJazz had a couple like this.  

Sadly this individual strikes me as the type of person that will not stop this predatory behavior until he is forced to do so.

He's not a musician, he's a parasite.  

I'm amazed any other 'musicians' will play with him...I certainly wouldn't.

2 hours ago, geoff90guitar said:

I’ve just bit the bullet and ordered a Gator GC-ELEC-XL Guitar ABS Case from Amazon for my CIJ Mustang bass. I’ve been comparing lengths and I know I’ll be cutting into the padding a little maybe just for the strap button.

I use one of these cases with my 2 Mustangs if they need to go into the back of the van.  Sorry no picture to hand; the headstock compresses the padding at the top of the case a bit but there is still material between the headstock and the case shell.  It's generally a good snug fit.

Schallers on 3 of my basses (Status, MM and G&L) and Grolsch tops on the 2 Mustangs.  I just have one strap equipped with Schaller and swap it to whichever bass I'm using.  On the Mustangs I just leave the straps permanently attached to avoid fiddling about.  In terms of Schaller pins I've used both OEM and 3rd party and not really found a difference - just need to be careful which screws you use - I generally use the ones that came with the bass rather than the pins to make sure things are secure enough.

I think this topic is cropping up with most gigging bands WH.  We normally do a set rate for gigs within a 50 mile radius but thoughts on charges for next year are a consideration if fuel doesn't drop soon.  WE will honour existing (I think we have 15 or so booked into next year) but will have to look at increases for next years from now on which we know could be difficult for some of the smaller venues.

That's a shame but I completely understand and appreciate where he is coming from.  Glad that I managed to get my CW sig last year and had a chance to chew the fat with Rob.

I'm a firm believer that 'Ilkley Moor Bar'tat' should be adopted....

Very nice Dan, I know I don't get on with P basses long term so I've let my head rule my heart on this one.  Sure it won't be around for long mate.

2 hours ago, dmccombe7 said:

I get sore fingers / water blisters after almost every gig and i've tried playing lighter and its ok but songs dont have the same feel when i play like that. The audience have commented on it. They can feel the energy in the band (punk band). 

Think the big problem for me is i practice at home with a light touch so by the time i gig again usually every 2weeks my fingertips have gone soft again. I've started to practice harder at home to see if that maintains the hard skin on my fingertips for the next gig / rehearsal.

It was ok when i was either gigging or rehearsing every week it never seemed to be a problem but that was pre-covid.

Dave

I play pretty much exclusively finger style, also with a heavy touch on gigs.  I usually leave the nails a little longer on index and second finger to help but it doesn't always work.  I can play with a pick but for some reason I don't feel as connected and enjoy it less so that becomes an 'emergency technique' only.

These really are great basses and that’s a great price. Really packs a punch in a band setting.

4 hours ago, dmccombe7 said:

I found when i got abck into playing 12 yrs ago that many guys had that approach including myself. As the band progressed the attitudes changed and went through stages of 

1. would play for nothing and at short notice

2. would only play if they broke even

3. would only play for a minimum fee

4. started looking for better paying venues

 

Not saying everyone has that outlook but i did find that attitude change with 2 different bands 10-12 yrs ago.

 

Is it possible to find an existing, gigging band that's looking for a new bass player ?

Think you may have mentioned before about the lack of musicians in your area which is always gonna be a hurdle.

My bands are both well spread out.

New guitarist in Glam band is 75 miles and 1:30hrs from me. Takes approx 1hr to 1:30hrs for us all to get to rehearsals in Glasgow. 

Cant remember how far you are form main towns etc.

I use FB, Join My Band, Bandmix, Gumtree to find other musicians altho both bands i'm currently in have been word of mouth thru friends.

Dave

Think I'm of a like mind to you on this Dave.

The Glam Band I'm in could probably do 3x the work we do but over time we've spent more time looking at better venues (not always the best paying) and reigning in the distance per gig as much as sensible.  In terms of cash, none of us are 'bread-heads' but with recent increase in expenses (especially fuel) we have had to start taking a pragmatic view on gig prices even if this is at the expense of the number of gigs.  Sadly for pubs there is generally an upper limit (which is why I guess we are doing more function/club work now) but if it's out of our normal area we sometimes end up pricing ourselves out of the market to keep to a sensible £/person after expenses.  

@casapete That's about as light as they get.

6 hours ago, Woodinblack said:

Then the disco - I think they would have been much happier with the disco without us interrupting, and I think so would we.

Generally that's the reason we shy away from parties/weddings/anniversary do's.  You just know a good portion of the audience would prefer dancing to their preferred genre and the band is just getting in the way.

My main bass was a 2 band Ray for about 15 years.  I'd be the first to admit that sometimes I really didn't gel with the on stage sound but as soon as I went FOH the sound was spot on in the mix.  I moved on to a 3 band after a while and unlike some I preferred it as I could adjust the mids to give a more balanced sound to my ears on stage.

Soundwise I don't think the Ray is a bass for all seasons, I guess it can get close with judicious eq-ing but for something where I want a more mellow passive thump I use a JMJ Mustang and wouldn't see the point of trying the get the Ray to sound like that (anymore than I could get my JMJ to sound like a Ray).  These days I don't currently own a Ray and have moved over to a US Sterling which is, to my ears, a Ray on steroids if run series; I prefer the smaller body and the jazz style neck profile. 

Regarding the pickup and thumb placement, I never gave it much thought but resting my thumb on the pup ended up feeling fairly natural to me.