Marc S

Me again! Lol I don't know the BC'er selling this one, but there's a Squier VM in the marketplace http://basschat.co.uk/topic/307489-squire-vm-fretless-jazz/page__p__3330555__hl__fretless__fromsearch__1#entry3330555

As Grangur says - Shop and Luthier are two different entities. Some shops may have, or use the services of a good luthier, but it is indeed hit & miss.... re changing scale lengths - yes, it can prove a challenge. I started out as a bass guitar player, but now I play Double bass, fretless, and I own a short scale fretted and a medium scale fretted too. If I can do it - so can you lol The one I'm having problems with atm, is a Kydd "Carry On" EUB which is short scale 30" so that might be better suited to a bass guitarist or short scale player who wants to try their hand at DB / EUB. Again, I haven't spent much time on it, but the more time you spend, the more you adapt. As others have said, when you convert a fretted to a fretless - the dots are in the "wrong" place - BUT be careful with this. I have a Fretless Jazz which is lined and has the dots in the same place as a fretted bass. In fact, I've previously had 2 lined fretless basses which have been the same. Maybe that's pretty standard for a lined fretless? Anyway, I once tried a fretless with dots in the (ahem) "correct" place... and it confused the hell out of me! If your neck ends up as lined - perhaps you are better off with the dots being in the usual place? Give it some thought, and if you can - try a few basses. Any nearby friendly BC members who would be willing to let you try their fretless if you promise to bring biscuits? Here's another thought for you. Fretless basses may be more tricky to sell on, should you decide it's not for you. It's a more limited market after all. Could you try to find a second-hand fretless neck to fit one of your existing basses? That way, you stand to lose less dosh, as you can always swap the necks back to sell on, or just sell the neck again? My first fretless was a rather lovely, and inexpensive Squier Vintage Modified Fretless Jazz. I bought it for not much dosh, and sold it on again for around the same money... In fact that VM Squier was rather lovely. I only sold it on cos I converted a US P to fretless (by buying a lined fretless neck on here) The neck was a straight swap and the P was absolutely lovely. But in truth I preferred the Squier, as the 2 J pickups seemed to suit fretless more. Sorry for the life story there - but I think it illustrates that a £160 s/h fretless bass can be as good as any other. You might even spend that de-fretting (and maybe de-valuing one of your fretted basses) I know it's having yet another bass guitar around - but fretless is different. You could always sell one of your fretted basses on, to make space or restore "domestic equilibrium" lol EDIT: TO be honest, I now have a rather lovely Fender Japan Fretless - but that Squier VM was almost as good. (the Fender is valued at 3 plus times the cost, but in reality it's not 3 times as good) wish I hadn't sold the Squier to "upgrade" but I do like my Fender Japan

Yes indeed Dad3353. I think Blue's point was that we can all learn stage presence, but not everyone wants to, or needs to have as high a "profile" as, for instance, some lead singers might..... Some bass players will happily stand at the back, next to the drummer as has already been pointed out, and for some this is fine. I've been in that position in the past, and been in some bands where it may well have been frowned upon if I tried anything else! lol How many bassists are out there who've had a negative experience of a more noticeable "stage presence"? I wonder.... Sorry if that looks like I'm trying to hijack your thread Blue - but is there sometimes a downside to improving this?

I've previously posted links to those basses, when talking of taking a spare / backup bass to gigs. They look really neat & compact - though I'm not sure how comfortable I'd find playing one, as b714s says above Wish I had chance to try one though.... Surely Mrs S can't complain about me packing one of those for our hols?

Blue, I agree that you can "learn" stage presence - or at least something akin to it To those of us who don't really have it - it may just feel like you can't learn, because there aren't so many books, guides and youtube videos... or if there are, we don't tend to seek them out. We are probably too busy seeking out the equipment reviews and step by step learning of some song we have to cover in two nights time! lol From seeing peoples photos of me playing, I'm definitely not smiling enough - my concentrating face is way too serious. At least I know this, so I'm trying to rectify that, or I'm conscious of it when I see someone pointing a camera at the stage. Photos and videos of you playing live are a good way to help you realise how others may see you I also know I spend too long looking at my fretboard, and when I'm playing DB, I spend too long looking at the fingerboard on that too - more so than looking at my fretboard - as position on a DB is more critical (without the frets). again, I'm aware of it - I just need to keep thinking about that when playing live. Incidentally, dancing & prancing around the stage is obviously not as easy when you're playing DB. There was a discussion thread on here somewhere, where DB players talked about it being essential to "dance" with your DB Another aspect of stage presence, or looking professional. In one of my bands (Elvis tribute backing band) - the band all wear the same clothes. Black trousers, black shoes, and black shirt with gold "buttons" down the sleeves & around the collar.... Several people who know the band members, or had seen us playing before we adopted this "uniform" mentioned that they think a cohesive appearance makes the band look "more professional" - Obviously, this works best for a tribute act or similar, and wouldn't be a great look for everybody - but a dress code can sometimes also help with stage appearance

It may indeed be thought of as subjective by many. But turning the bass control down can help Of course, that will depend on your bass, your strings, amp, and what other instruments are in the mix etc I find I'm sometimes over-keen to cut the mids. As we're so often stood very close to our amps, we can hear things differently to those stood some distance away from the amps. I've even noticed that in a medium-sized rehearsal room, if I wander over to speak to someone else (long lead permitting) my bass can sometimes sound quite different... When playing Double bass, I, like so many, tend to turn the treble and mids down (treble, more so usually). But I've noticed that if I have the bass control set a bit too high, the bottom end can sound very "boomy" and not as well defined as I'd like.

I developed tennis elbow, due to all the squash, tennins & badminton - yes Tennis Elbow can be really painful. Didn't have the injection in the end. I just stopped the racquet sports for some time. Eventually it went away and I was able to resume. If you do play, make sure you put extra grip material on the handle of your racquet! Good quality grip at that - it's sometimes caused by over-gripping..... I had a problem with my foot which required a steroid injection though. The injection was right into the heel of the foot, and it was painful. I had to rest my foot for a day or so and not put any weight on it. Problem was, it didn't work so I ended up having shock-wave therapy. The needle was like someone sticking a nail into your heel - the shock-wave was like someone pumelling the sole of my foot with a mini pneumatic drill! I kid you not... I'm sure the injection into your arm will not be as uncomfortable, and I understand that steroid injections for T.E. are far more effective. If you do end up needing shock-wave, again it shouldn't be as bad as it being on the soles of your feet! All this aside - I'm also finding heavier basses are making my neck & shoulder ache more. So I'm moving over to lighter weight basses, and have recently discovered why people pay much more for nice, soft leather straps - they're much more comfortable lol Best of luck with it - I know tennis elbow is horrible EDIT. As Phil notes above - exercise is an essential part of getting older

[quote name='Rumple' timestamp='1498642328' post='3326019'] I like the PJ configuration to, my fretless and Yamaha both have this layout, apart from a Stingray I don't get on with one pickup basses, I always miss the J pickup at the bridge. To start I'll probably change the strings, wiring and pickups if I can find something nice secondhand, I'll also look at removing the finish and logo from the headstock. [/quote] Just wondering whether the pickups are pretty much "standard" size - so it would be an easy swap? Or whether they're a bit smaller than usual? If you do ditch those pickups - keep the covers, in case they're the only ones that sit straight back in the pickup cavities, without further routing.... Are you just removing the finish from the headstock? i.e. are you keeping the finish on the body? I think I'd be tempted to keep the finish & colour on the body - but maybe try some self adhesive decals on it.... Some wacky design or other!

Hello and welcome, from someone nowhere near you - I'm in South Wales Ey oop, or hwyl fawr

Hey, congratulations - BIG congratulations Top gig to get. I saw Wilko with Norman a few years back, at Cambridge folk festival Both of them and their drummer were on top form... I really enjoyed the set Norman is still a superb player - I'd be thrilled if he had to borrow my rig Enjoy the gig, I'm sure you will

[quote name='leschirons' timestamp='1498683144' post='3326380'] Surely you take spare basses so as your wife is not left at home looking at all the basses that you said you needed. [/quote] huge LOL

[quote name='6feet7' timestamp='1498638807' post='3325986'] At our last gig my active bass packed up (new battery just died), amp head died and one head to cab speakon cable must have had a poor connection too (so cut in and out)........ I always take spares and have never had an occasion like that one, but if it can happen once it can happen again. [/quote] Wow! Talk about "bad luck" - I've had a string snap (admittedly years back) a cable just suddenly give up, and a battery in an active bass suddenly die - despite it being fairly new. A local bass playing pal had his pickups die, in a fairly new bass too! My son's first 5 string suddenly started cutting in & out (electrical fault). As you say, if it can happen once, it can happen again - just bad luck... or was it good luck / good practice, that you had plenty of spare gear. I'm sure many would have just gone straight into the PA, but as I've mentioned previously, I usually carry a really tiny spare (EA) head with me....

[quote name='MoJoKe' timestamp='1498056327' post='3322253'] Would you think of turning up without a spare cable? I have been playing live since 1978, and I have never NOT turned up at a gig with a spare bass. Wouldn't even dream of it.......Whether the audience is 10 or 10,000, there is no excuse for having to stop a show because of a breakdown..... This is a no brainer subject. [/quote] A good pal of mine runs a lot of open mics & acoustic sessions. He always carries a spare everything (pretty much) He knows a lot of venue owners, and knows them really well. His argument is that if a band member couldn't play due to equipment failure, then that band would never play that venue again.... Another pal of mine witnessed some ugly scenes when his guitar electrics failed mid-gig. The crowd were all up for it, and dancing when his guitar gave up the ghost - they started getting quite aggressive during the extended lull. Luckily for him, a mate who lived not too far from the pub nipped home and loaned him his guitar. The landlord wasn't too happy though, and refused (rightly) to pay them the full fee, as they'd only played just over half the agreed time.... All this talk about "spare cars" "spare deps" etc is nonsense. These are things that you can never plan for (aside from AA membership, of course) But you CAN carry a small, lightweight spare - just look at the link below. There really is no excuse. Sure, you may never NEED the spare, but there is peace of mind knowing that you have a backup bass. That may indeed make me, and others who carry a spare bass a bit "OCD" - fine... but you only need one failure of electrics / pickups etc to potentially spoil your chances of not getting repeat bookings... Equipment failure & string breakages may be rare, but they can happen. As Woodinblack says - "[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]It doesn't take any extra effort to throw an extra bass in the car does it?" Especially when they're as compact and light as this - it really is no additional effort.....[/font][/color] [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Anygig-AGB-Full-Scale-Length-Portable-Traveler-Bass-Guitar-Black-Brown-Cherry-/142321952968?var=&hash=item21230ca8c8:m:m20SrJEO2chUpjhTpep9_VA"]http://www.ebay.co.u...2chUpjhTpep9_VA[/url]

[quote name='Rumple' timestamp='1498305813' post='3323748'] Latest addition to the 32" scale collection, colour aside it's a nice bass, action is low, the neck is slim and fast, one sharp fret end, sounds OK, I'm really glad I bought it as it's no toy and will make a great project bass. [/quote] I've seen those basses on ebay. Though it's not my favourite, actually I quite like the colour. Great that it's a P/J as this is my preference in pickup arrangement these days Just wondering what projects / ideas you have in mind for the bass? Pickup upgrades? Electrics from Kiogon? New hardware? - please tell

I forgot to add btw - one slight difference in a P/J P bass, and a P/J Jazz, is that of any given make / brand / batch the smaller body of the P should normally weigh slightly less than its' counterpart Jazz body. I never used to understand why people asked about the weight of basses - but now my joints, arms and shoulders ache more, this factor has become more important! lol I haven't seen many factory built P/J Jazzes around. I have a Short Scale P/J Jazz - but these are as rare as hen's teeth

[quote name='hamfist' timestamp='1498200211' post='3323044'] It sounds like ergonomically, you don't have a great preference, so it'll come down to sounds. A Jazz cannot do the P "sound", not really even close. But IMO a PJ, with both pickups blended gets pretty close to the Jazz sound. And, of course, they both have the same bridge pickup for that one soloed. For me, I cannot do without the P sound, so it has to be a PJ. But if your main sound is the Jazz bass, both pickups blended, then its probably best to go for a Jazz. As for longevity, I truly don't believe there is any difference between any of them. PLay a load of basses and choose the best one. INdividual basses of the same model do vary too. You can get individual cheap affinity squires that sound better than some MIM Fenders. [/quote] I now have 2 P basses which I've had converted to P/J's, and I'm really sold on the sound and flexibility. I play in several bands, who are quite different from one another, and different with respect to what they like or expect from my sound and from how my sound "cuts through". I find I can always cut through with a P/J, I get a nice P sound, with as much of a hint of Jazz "burble" as I want. I can also get a very Jazz-like sound, with a hint of P (if you know what I mean) - indeed, it's quite tempting to keep twiddling combinations and levels of both pickups - and it can annoy guitarists too! My fretless bass (I only play fretless occasionally) is a Jazz, and oddly enough, I prefer the tones I can get from that, to the Fretless P I used to own. So for me, a fretted bass should be a P/J - I've not tried a fretless P/J but I think I'd prefer a fretless to be standard J/J. Re the comments about getting a P sound from a Jazz - I've owned several basses of both persuasion and I never quite got a P sound from a Jazz. The closest I managed was with my Roadworn Jazz - the pickups of which I swapped for an old set of DiMarzio 1980's / early 90's pups, which sounded amazing. You could probably get pretty close, as Conan says above, with a decent neck pickup (like my old DiMarzio's) solo'ed and maybe a preamp and/ or EQ pedal - but I suspect it wouldn't be as obviously P bass sounding as JJ Burnel produced on those early Stranglers LPs. JJ and his sound was one of the sounds that attracted me to bass btw

I've heard of dodgy solder joints in the electrics of both passive and active basses playing up. Though such an occurrence is indeed rare, it could happen to anyone, and I rather not take that risk, especially if someone is paying for me & my band to entertain their crowd / audience. Given the current weather, I'd be surprised if this heat didn't affect electrics for someone too. Also known one incident, and heard of other people's pickups just going dead mid-gig Any reason is a good one to buy a backup bass surely MikanHannille?

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1480949471' post='3188294'] Providing there`s room I always take a spare along. In fact I`ve got a bass on the way to fill that position as I don`t like taking two expensive basses out with me, so the incoming is a Squier which will be perfectly good as a backup. [/quote] My thoughts are exactly the same - I've got two "expensive" basses, for the best gigs / functions and a couple of cheaper basses for "certain venues" or a cheapie as backup I know not everyone agrees with taking a backup - but Murphy's law can strike at any time I used to take just one bass, Way back when I could only afford one, or we only had one driver or one car which had to transport the whole band and all the gear (yes, that happened, and I don't know how we squeezed in! lol) But back then, I do recall a dodgy solder joint meant no output on another bands' bass, and a broken bass string, and several snapped guitar strings - all of which resulted in bands sharing guitars & basses I think back then, we were all younger & poorer, and guitars were relatively more expensive - so perhaps we were more willing to share gear. Come to think of it, I played more gigs where we were one of 2 or 3 support bands, and we all just seemed to use the "main" bands bass amp etc - all amicably pre-arranged with a phone call Any emergency borrowing of guitars all seemed perfectly acceptable PS. I even carry a spare amp head these days! Sounds daft, but it's an absolutely miniscule, Euphonic Audio (EA) 2 channel 550W head - smaller than many effects units at about 7" x 5" x 1.5" - and it sits in a little storage compartment of my car. I could get it in the glove box! I kid you not Lol Anyhow, herein lies another ++ tale for taking spares. A couple of weeks back, we played a school fete, and our violin player was told he could plug into the DJ's mixer. We get there and there's no spare input on said mixer! So I swapped heads for the EA and plugged him into my 2nd channel..... sorted in 2 mins