JazzyYama

It isn't a bass, but I thought I'd give a brief update on the Santos Series C-40SCE Deko. Seemed to have a few dings on the body (splinters of wood rattling around inside), but cosmetically ok, looks nice. At least one of the frets wasn't fully down. I decided to try a preliminary set-up - the neck was fairly flat (with a very faint kink in the wrong direction) so tried to adjust the "two way truss rod" to give a slight bow - this seemed in fact to only offer adjustment in the direction I didn't want, and ended up succeeding in only removing the nut from the end of the truss rod. Given the neck pretty flat this wasn't fatal though, so I tuned the strings up to pitch to see if it might help and it is more or less playable. I'll try and record the sound, interested to hear what the fishman sounds like.

Thanks for the updates here, I chanced my arm with the nylon string - I was surprised to see it had a truss rod too. Has anyone found any of the decoration only items to be totally unplayable yet? [i]- I now see the comments about neck weirdness, oh well, lets see what happens[/i]

I seem to remember that he played on bbc2 on[i] later with jools holland[/i] at least once. That sort of exposure can do wonders for a band, look at imelda may for example

[quote name='Vinny' timestamp='1398462783' post='2434507'] Check out the documentary 'Plus...Tubular Bells' he talks about his bass playing with Kevin Ayres. [/quote] cool thanks!

There is a track I quite like the bass line on, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhH7pNZn17Q Is this a good bass line, I guess it maybe too busy for most people's taste?, how would I approach creating or playing a part like that? I'd like to have a go with this kind of approach, is it simply based on well known patterns or a bit more improvised? Any hints or tips from the world of theory or whatnot to getting this sort of effect? I appreciate this is kinda vague post, but just grateful for any pointers of how to go from being someone that knows where the root notes are, to playing parts like that.

I really like my Korg Pandora, and the Pandora mini could be worth a look at

I've got one of these 5 string beasties - very impressive it is too - the main reason I went for the 505 rather than the 305 is seems like much better quality of pickups.

[quote name='jezzaboy' timestamp='1385980764' post='2294199'] Touch wood and all that guff but I have gigged mine a few times and had no problems with it. I use it every night in the house as well through the headphones but can understand the lack of confidence once it goes pop. [/quote] I think it was the pop, plus the product safety recall combination (on a different product of theirs) that did it for me - http://www.tcelectronic.com/bh250/bh250-product-recall/

I bought one, worked for a day then sparked loudly from the back panel - decided it wasn't for me. I'm always nervous of gear with volts in.

excellent stuff, went to see her in concert at the start of last year, cannot fathom why she didn't become a global superstar.

I found this suggestion in a forum regarding shielding the power supply in a Fender Bronco 40 amp to eliminate hum: http://forums.fender.com/viewtopic.php?f=44&t=84174 I hoped there'd be a few people experienced in working with amps here that could advise whether this at all sensible or worth doing? I notice a bit of a hum, I think the earth wires in my house aren't that great as I've had noise problems with other amps in the past but would love to find a safe solution.

[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1383522797' post='2265551'] Wonderful. I remember buying a ticket for a choir seat at the Festival Hall and being a few feet away from NHOP. What a treat and maybe that's (from a purely selfish point of view) one of the things i love about jazz is that i paid 7 quid for that seat while up the road people were probably paying 10-20 times that to listen to some old farts banging on about some old brick in a wall. [/quote] Aye, it is wonderful there are so many great musicians around. I remember feeling very lucky going to a small jazz cellar bar late one night on a day that the lincoln centre jazz orchestra were in town playing a large concert hall, and several of their players just turned up with their instruments for the joy of playing. I do feel a bit depressed when you see the level of skill and dedication displayed by some struggling jazz musicians compared to the rewards on offer for tv talent show contestants

I'm just gonna sit this down over here and contemplate the subject of the thread... [url="http://www.youtube.com/embed/hOA-Xh40-M8"]http://www.youtube.c...bed/hOA-Xh40-M8[/url]

Got a Yamaha p-250 - weighs about the same as a small car, but awesome bit of kit imho.

No closer to making a decision on the amplifier yet, but have to say, I'm absolutely loving the guitar - TRBX505 feels like a really well put together instrument.

toys arrived. first impressions Yamaha TRBX505 is pretty good - really nice fit and finish, only slight downside is as you would expect I guess a bit of a loose B-string. Amplifier really disappointing however, on switching on the TC Electronics BG250, there was a pop and sparks from the back of the amp! I am returning that therefore, and my quest for a decent (and preferably safe) amplifier continues. I understand that from time to time you might get a particular faulty item, but looking at the safety recall on BH and the experience of some other uses, I dont think I would like to risk another TC product

I just wanted to thank everyone sincerely for their patient advice on this thread. I have ordered a bass and amplifier and will upload a picture or two when I get a hold of them. I can't wait!

[quote name='pete.young' timestamp='1381220454' post='2235827'] OK, someone has to ask - why do you think you need 5 strings? Without wishing to incur the wrath of the 5-string community (hey, I mostly play 5s myself), I'd have to say that life is a lot simpler and there are many more choices with 4. If I wasn't playing in a band with a singer who needs the pitch of songs dropped below the 4-string range, I wouldn't bother with 5s. [/quote] well, i think you are either the sort of chap that appreciates a big bottom, or you are not... i think the five string is a good balance of playable string spacing and a reasonable amount of notes available at each position. Other than a fewer number of basses being available i don't see much downside to adding an extra string. I can cope well with 6 on a standard guitar so why not?

Thanks very much for all your advice, really helping me explore my options and raising things I hadn't thought about. So far I think the TRBX505 really looks great. I'm not sure if i'll be able to find it in stock somewhere to try out though (I'm in Scotland so I might have to take a flyer on it. I have only a couple of worries remaining with it: [b]scale length[/b] - it seems to be a 5-string with 34" scale length - will this mean a pretty annoying slack 5th? [b]nickel hardware [/b]- with my sweaty mitts, I did wonder if this can be liable to causing allergies or wearing out or anything - anyone experience of this? [b]Amps. [/b] The TC BH250 looks pretty good (ignoring the safety issue product recall :/) - however, the manuf website seems to suggest 2 2x12 cabs would be needed, and that looks quite expensive as an option. Why don't they list 1 2x12 cab as an option, is there some issue with needing 2 cabs to cope with power output? The BG250 1x15 combo looks really inexpensive in comparison (as low as 250) - would i only lose a bit of oomph? Noticed there are some excellent deals available on [b]Marshall MB150[/b] at the moment (also around 250) - I appreciate lower output, but is that sort of combo worth looking at at all in terms of tone/clarity? EDIT - I now notice it doesn't have a tweeter, so reckon I wouldn't like so much the missing high frequency response

[quote name='alembic63' timestamp='1381102870' post='2234488'] Check out the Squire 60s classic vibe jazz bass, for just over £300 it beats the pants off basses 2 x the price, you can put the £200 you save on the bass and up your budget for the amp to £600 .. [/quote] Nice, but I can't seem to see a 5-string version?

[quote name='Jellyfish' timestamp='1381096005' post='2234395'] As far as the amp goes, perhaps look for a[b] TC Electronic BH250[/b] and pair it with a nice 2x12 cab. [/quote] Great advice on the amp, never thought of getting amp/cab setup - how would a 2x12 compare against say a 1x15 - which would be better for cleanest sounds or is it more about where you are playing etc.

Ok I've played guitar for a few years and I just can't ignore the fact that I prefer lower frequencies I'd be grateful for any good suggestions advice about buying my first bass and amp. [u][b]Guitar choice[/b][/u] [i]Budget for bass:[/i] 300-500 [i]Type of bass:[/i] 5-string fretted [i]Sound: [/i]Fingerstyle Jazz sound with best tone available for £ [i]Preferred brand:[/i] Yamaha, but would consider anything reliable What I've looked at so far: [b]TRBX305 -[/b] the tone options seem a bit gimmicky [b]TRBX505 -[/b] looks pretty neat, need a bit of shopping around maybe to bring within price range [b]RBX5A2 - [/b]love the idea of a lightweight construction, but the thing looks like something plasticky from the 80s Are any of the above realistic choices, or is there something better out there for the type of sound, or would I be mad not to think about going fretless? [u][b]Amp choice[/b][/u] Probably looking at something solid-state and medium powered, ideally a really flexible amp suitable for bass/keyboard/jazz guitar - does such a thing really exist? Budget around 400