NancyJohnson

It's a case of look-at-me syndrome. We're all guilty of it. I suppose it's all about how we're wired; I've never really been the type of person who has any desire to follow the pack insofar as instrument choice goes, but I do like to use well set up instruments that look good. Knowing how you want to sound is the primary thing, a very high percentage of [your] tone comes from amplifier and outboard kit, not the guitar itself.

The colloquial 'we' spend an absolute fortune on 'improvements' on instruments; bridges, machines, pickups, preamps, nonsense about 'tonewoods', neck materials, frets. And so on. We worry about neck profiles and width of nuts. Poly/nitro finishes. Years ago, owned a Mustang bass. To my delight, under the chrome pickup cover was a Stratocaster pickup. It sounded perfectly fine. This my friends was a turning point for me where aftermarket upgrades are concerned. The only reason to replace any hardware is if it's broken, missing or doesn't work properly.

Here comes the voice of reason. For assorted reasons, swapped out a fair few pickups in my time, irrespective of the maker/cost etc, the end result is that all of them sound more or less the same. All this nonsense about growl, vintage warmth/aggression can be dialled in from your amp/outboard gear. Any nuances from pickup to pickup will be lost in a full-band context anyway. Your listening audience don't give a toot about your pickup choice either! Go with the cheapest or the ones that suit your visual aesthetic. Even better, support small makers, like Josi Warman.

This video popped up on my You Tube feed yesterday. I've shown little interest in Harley Benton products (but I suppose at the entry-level price point(s), they're probably a decent option if you're looking to build/customise something). Instrumentwise, I'm no fan of the headstocks, but they do mention a Firebird model, which could look nice if it had the bound Jaguar neck on it with blocks on it (that features in the 25th Anniversary models). Anyhow, bass stuff is from about nine minutes. There's a nice prototype EB2 style thing; the headstock looks decent (no bits missing), don't really like the look of the machines - cloverleafs might look nicer. The travel bass is interesting!

I've got Ged2112 DI and a the Dug Pinnick stomps, have tried both into the effects return (with limited success tbh). I suppose I'm not really interested in throwing ££ at more hardware. Looking for a one box solution.

I think I need some dirt, it's a fundamental factor in the tone I'm chasing. I ran a Sansamp RBI into a poweramp for years, the only reason for downgrading was that I was just sick of the weight of everything! If Tech21 rolled out an RBI head (like the old VT Bass), I'd be in.

I've been running a Darkglass AO900 (into a pair of DG 1x12s) for about two years. Absolutely no issues with headroom, weight, portability, although I would say it took some time to actually form any kind of bond with it and more than any amplifier I've owned previously, it seems to respond very differently to anything I plug into it (which is a bit of a b*llache). It's very aggressive and I'll admit that the Alpha/Omega overdrive voicings are difficult to keep under control. I'll admit I love what Darkglass are doing generally. Now then, questions. Should funds allow, I'm thinking of moving the AO900 and going with a Microtubes X900 or Exponent, from the online content I've watched (although very stylised) probably the X900 may suit me better. I'd appreciate if there's any X900 users here that could offer a bit of honest input. Desired tone for me is kind of Geddy Lee clank; the AO900 isn't delivering that, and I'm wondering whether the X900 will deliver something more controllable. I'd like to do a side-by-side comparison. Anyone?

I used to have a Mustang bass and it fitted a standard (Thomann) guitar gig bag. It fit nice and snug and honestly, there was absolutely zero need for any kind of neck padding.

Jeepers. That website is horrific, any interest in these strings dissipated seconds after opening that link.

We're on a holiday break, rehearsal this Friday afternoon; I've not played a note since the last one, nearly a month ago. To be honest, I prefer not rehearsing every week, losing the desire in that, it's absolutely zero fun. We all know the material backwards and I see little point in it. Frontman uninterested in doing new stuff and pretty much forbids jamming.

Outside of music, most signings have been fun. Jasper Fforde was an absolute hoot, likewise Ben Aaronovitch. Bette Davis mentioned I was very tall, Nancy Reagan asked if I'd come far, Stephen King was thoroughly miserable and didn't even look up, Bill Bryson used to live around the corner from me in Egham recognised me and was very nice. All better than being bitten on the arm by Tommy Lee.

I've had the book on pre-sale before it actually had a title (someone posted the ISBN online and boom there it was, 'Untitled Memoir'). The ticketing price is laughable; irrespective of your choice of bookstore - Amazon is retailing this at £27.00 (still too much IMO) - but possibly having to fork out another £80+?? Does this include drinks and canapes? Nah. I realise that Ged has god-like status in some areas of the bass playing community, but elsewhere, I can go and do an event with authors I want to actually meet and greet, for less than a fiver or free. Ben Aaronovitch, Farnborough Library 31/10/23 - £2.00. Jasper Fforde, free.

I've been asked for set lists a few times - this was times where I was doing 100% original sets; it was at the same place we used to play, a council owned arts centre in Bracknell, so I suppose they're just sticklers for officialdom and form-filling. God know what the council have done with the forms containing song titles like 'Brain Eating Zombies', 'Mailorder Girlfriend', 'Suitcase Pimp' or 'Disco Tek Dancing'. Probably using these to try and create a profile on us. Elsewhere? Nah.

I couldn't bear to be in a covers band*, I've seen a few too many and well, I find the whole experience kind of awful. Everyone who knows me knows this is my stance. *That said, detest playing covers too - but don't tell our singer. Half our set is stuff that our he had some success with in the 1980s/90s, plus Suffragette City and Did You No Wrong. I'd honestly prefer to do more original material. Occasionally, I'll get a comment that something isn't right and I'll just mutter something about having no point of reference (mainly because I've not actually listened to any of it). Take it as you may, if you don't like what I'm doing, then sack me; it's not like I'm making £££. What I'm playing is a country mile better than what's on the originals.

But what quantifies 'lower quality bodies'? The Flea models aren't plywood, they'll be jointed, maybe two/three-piece bodies; Fender don't pancake bodies. Uncertain how they're glued, but there wouldn't be anything particularly horrific under the finish.

The nitro finish should come off with (lots of) acetone and a cloth. The fear would be what is actually under the nitro and/or what Fender have primed the [Flea] body with. Personally, I'm really not a fan of these mass production Signature model guitars (did a gig years back where two different bassists turned up with Fleas), much better to make one in your own image.

There's a lot of good people on here that'll be more than happy to do the control plate, and to make it even simpler you could go with a quick connect mechanism to hook up the pickups. Easy peasy. You've mentioned elsewhere that you have '£900 waiting'. This is easily doable. Easily.

That's actually a prototype Gene Simmons Model III. The Double Axe. Limited run, 150 I think, $12k. Apparently he played something similar for a few minutes at a Wicked Lester gig in 1971 and Gibson's thoughts were, as everyone is harping on about the lack of Grabber and Ripper reissues, they'd just go straight for the money grab, because 'Kiss fans are stupid, have deep pockets and will buy any old crap'.

Have you not thought about just doing it yourself? If you want a Fender Jazz bass in a specific natural finish; (many) parts are readily/easily available online, including wired control plates if you're not confident with a soldering iron. It's really not difficult!

To my delight, Alkaline Trio's Agony and Irony (finally) appeared on Spotify in the last few days. Took the opportunity to rejig/recompile my AT playlist to get everything in the right order and chuck in the Past Live, Matt Skiba and Dan Adriano solo projects as well. Had it on shuffle all day. Love it.

The Gibson reissue was a dog. See thread elsewhere. I suppose - well, to a degree - I was just expecting to see an upsidedown version of the IV; light in weight, fast in neck and bright tonally. I don't really care for alphabetical profile categories, but the neck was fat'n'chubby, tonally there was zero brightness, just mud and it weighed way more than the IV. I used it for about ten minutes at a little gig just a few days after I got it and changed back to my old white Thunderbird for the remaining 30 minutes of the set. Never used it in anger again. I noodled on a modded Bach for a few minutes and it was everything that I wanted the Gibson to be. Lovely neck.

I don't know where Gibson's head is at to be honest and I'd say with some certainty that they clearly don't frequent the various bass forums online. They're ultimately a Les Paul reissue business, or just lazy enough by putting Slash's name on anything. From a Gibson bass perspective, players don't really want nonsensical Rex Brown or Gene Simmons Thunderbird IVs (or EBOs); there's clearly more desire for faithful reissues of the Thunderbird II, plus Rippers and Grabbers. Hell, they missed a trick not making some 20/20s three years ago. More colour choices needed, ditching of the three-point bridge etc. The only reason Gibson reissued the (frankly awful) non-reverse Thunderbird about ten years ago is because Bach had a lot of success with their model (which was pretty close to Gibson specs and ultimately customisable) and they could probably sniff some profit.

Pretty happy with the kit I own but circumstances/priorities elsewhere have overtaken the desire to acquire anything else. In reality, I probably need to get rid of stuff. Earlier this year, work reduced my days and my wife quit accountancy taking a less stressful (and lower paid) job; reckon compared to 12 months ago we're down about 35% on our take-home income. We have a slow moving garage conversion project going on, so we throw £400-500 a month towards that; getting that finished overrides any musical purchases.

I picked up a late 70s Aria Primary Bass (pretty decent P-copy) in Gumtree job lot a few years ago. £50. It needs a lot of TLC, but fundamentally it had good bones and it's a decent player.