Heket

For me, the feeling of the vibrations of the strings through to where the upper horn touches my chest coupled with those deep low notes is one of the best things about the bass. The music goes straight to the heart!

I just joined a ukuele band too, although they're a hobby group that meets once a week, not signed to a label or anything like that. I'm playing my P-bass at the moment but will mvoe on to my U-bass soon. I have a semi-acoustic Kala, fretted. I'm really keen to try a solid body one though, and I remember seeing some at last year's London Bass Show. I'm finding the A string a bit off in intonation but that's only happened recently so perhaps the string is a bit iffy. It's really fun to play and has a great sound, plucky, deep and mellow. Play one for too long and your bass guitars will sound thin afterwards

[quote name='stef030' timestamp='1449357271' post='2922955'] the very same bass [/quote] Interesting! With mine the string holes in the bridge are too tight, I had to fight to get even super slinkies through, god knows how they got the existing strings on there. Then the edge of the nut chipped off on the B string side from stresses with the string. I could still play as the slot itself was undamaged, but I got it replaced. Also the nut that holds the input jack in place is forever loosening, I can never get it tight enough. I am a total weakling though, so that might just be me.

Just out of curiousity, which Yamaha fiver was it? I just bought a TRBX505 and had a couple of quality issues with it.

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1449074495' post='2920586'] As a music fan I would always check out a band if they were on in a pub I was visiting... .. but then again that's mostly because i'm not very friendly and prefer listening to music than talking to people [/quote] Lol, that sounds familiar I'm friendly but not very loud, plus I don't drink so whenever things get a little lairy I'm usually off to the dancefloor/music area. We don't have an awful lot of live music in my area but it's better than some places, especially rural parts. I know one place does a fortnightly open mic, there's a blues club which books gigs for Saturdays and a couple of the pubs on the high street do live music weekly when there isn't football/seasonal parties/other events. And yeah no, if any partner tells me what I'm allowed to spend my time on they can bite my shiny metal hi-mass bridge. I don't have kids though, which helps.

People always say how getting out and playing with others is the one thing you should do, and these "boys night out" outfits are doing exactly that, whilst still making time for family and other interests (yes, other interests are a thing ). Does the "you must play with others" ideal extend always to "you must gig with others", I wonder? As with just about any other activity there will always be hobbyists and workers. Both are getting creative and expressive input, it's just that one makes a living out of it. Honest question, if rock is on the decline, what do you feel is on the upswing? What's "new"? Pop or indie stuff? Electro genres? Any music that gets people dancing is good surely, so what about disco and funk?

Finger lump could be a cyst. Definitely see a doctor, for assurance even if there's "nothing" wrong (if there's pain there must be something!). And just as an awareness thing, I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis when I was 22. You're never too young for anything - take your symptoms seriously.

Hey Tobie, that's great to hear! I'm most likely soon to be getting a TBRX505 as my first "cheap" fiver. I went into the shop intent on deciding on a BB425 but on testing the TBRX I found I really enjoyed the tone. I wonder what the differences in tone are between the 3 series and the 5 series? Guess I need another trip to the Yamaha shop.

Agree completely with Delberthot. Just last week I was sitting in the Yamaha shop comparing these 2 basses (the 5 string versions). I particularly agree with the points on the powerful pickups and the differences between the 2 series. I had to check with the salesman that the 425 was indeed a passive bass, very powerful pickups. The difference in sound between the 425 and 1000 is quite marked, with the latter being a lot clearer and with more treble. Personally, yes, I would have paid the extra. Funnily enough though I ended up preferring the TBRX505 but eh, horses for courses Oddly enough the guy dealing with me didn't mention that the 1000 series was being discontinued, as I wasn't buying a bass there and then I thought that would have been good for him to slip in there.

On a side note, if you want an amp that doesn't disturb anyone you could give the Yamaha THR series a go. They are digital modellers with 2 X 5" speakers and small enough to fit on your desk. With it I can play amplified but as it's tiny with tiny speakers the sound doesn't travel far. It still sounds good though. Don't expect to get any sort of volume out of it, but that's not what we are after here. They are not cheap but go give one a try. A bonus is that they function as an easy recording amp, just plug it into your USB socket and go. I originally got mine for guitar but love it for bass. You won't get as much use out of the models, but the other features are still just as useful. There's a Yamaha shop in London if you go near there, otherwise I've seen them in plenty of other stores. They're not advertised for bass at all, but they are suitable.

Don't alter what you're playing according to what scale length you're using. You may feel like you're tripping up now but that will very soon pass, especially with such a small difference of 2". I've just had 2 months of exclusively playing a 21" scale bass, whereas usually I play 34". Think about that for a change in size! I'm just making the transition back to 34" but it's not much to think about, my hands still know where to go, my only issue was with new songs learned totally on the ukulele and realising I can't stretch quite so much on the bigger bass. Now, changing the key of a song (which is ultimately what you are suggesting) every time you change bass [i]is[/i] something to think about, especially if you ever wanted to improvise something. I'm pretty sure buying a cheap 34" should be easy, if you feel you'd be better with both the same scale length, heck you can get new ones from Thomann for ~£100.

I have the fretted because I wanted to get something to play as soon as possible (was going crazy not being able to play a full-sized bass) and I've never played fretless before. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the intonation is pretty good, having heard many horror stories about it. It's about as good as my other basses/guitars, besides my P-bass which is nigh-on perfect. It's a funny little thing. I've been playing it exclusively for 2 months now and today I tried my P-bass again for a quick noodle. I found myself feeling a little dissapointed as the P-bass sounds thin and clanky compared to the fat, warm sound of the ukulele when plugged in. I have the Kala Rumbler, which is their entry level one. I did not go for another brand as the Harley Benton one is bigger (in body, not scale) and I wanted small as possible and the Luna one is pitched an octave higher. I didn't see any other brands and the Kala at least I could try in a nearby store. Here is a video of me playing it. Please excuse the playing, I made it for feedback on another site. What you hear is the the ukuele being played through my Fender Rumble picked up by the camera mic. I have others when using the DI if you're interested. Judge for yourself the uprightness of the tone. [media]http://vimeo.com/130233183[/media]

I love sunburst and hate any finish that isn't transparent. I like to see the wood. I don't like the type of sunburst that has almost a clean stripe of red between the black and the brown though. Not keen on green burst either.

No one else use volume control to control the level of distortion? I only play at home but that's what I use the volume on my SUB for, it being super hot and keen to distort. Or is that just a left over relic from my heady metal guitar days?

You look familiar.. Nice to see you here Steve