peted

Got my copy after work yesterday. Read about a third of the mag last night and enjoying it. The missus asked if I'd like a subscription for my birthday if I'm going to be buying it regularly. Score!

I've got a provisional day-pass from the missus. Result! 01. Silverfoxnik: Roscoe Beck V, Wal Pro2e, BC Rich Eagle, Fender Jazz V Deluxe, plus my recently acquired Eden Metro Rig 02. Merton: Status Retroactive, Mikey's Singlecut Fanned-Fret Prototype, LH500 and Barefaced Vintage 03. OBBM: StRay5, MB F1, UL212, something else. 04. Hamster: BFM Omni15 tallboy, Barefaced Compact, Fender P with Thumper & Villex PTB 05. Alex Claber: '87 Warwick Streamer, RIM Custom 5 with 36" scale and Q-Tuners, Avalon U5/QSC PLX3002, GB Shuttle 6.0, Barefaced Compact, Big One, Midget, Midget T, maybe Big Baby. 06. Johnnylager: Spector Euro 4LX, KSD Jazz, LH-1000, Barefaced Big Juan, DHA Custom Shop VT2-Twin-EQ-Bass with Tech Tube valves & whatever other effects I have at the time. 07. Happy Jack: Lightwave Sabre VL, Hofner 500/1 (1964), Hofner 500/5 (1959), PJB Bass Buddy + headphones. 08. MacDaddy. Custom Shuker (hopefully!) and possibly Hamer Blitz or Iceni Zoot. 09. Stingrayfan: G&L Tribute L2000, Yamaha BB614, Hartke LH500, Warwick 4x10 10. Chris B 11. Cetera: Pre-Kramer Spector NS-2, Wal Mk1 Fretless, Fender/AllParts 70's Jazz, Tech21 Landmark600, GenzBenzNEOX212T 12. Andyonbass. ACG Recurve, ACG J-Type, Pair of BFM Omni 10.5's 13. Waynepunkdude Fender Jazz, SX P Bass, DHA-DI-EQ & Ampeg SVT 5 Pro 14. Jakesbass Alembic MK5 Deluxe, German Blockless Wonder 1880 Double Bass (and the '78 Jazz if anyone wanted a go) 15. 51m0n (& Plux if he's not gigging): Bergantino AE410, MarkBass sa450, Focusrite Compounder, Roscoe Century Std V, (If Plux isnt gigging) Berg HT210, HT115, Hartke LH500 16. Floyd Pepper - Markbass LMK, Bergantino HT112 & EX112, Stingray '91 2eq, Lakland DJ4, Stagg EDB, Epiphone Jack Casady and a Fender '54 RI Precision 17. davidmpires - Markbass F1, Barefaced Compact, Spector Euro LX 5, T-Bass by Status 18. peted - Warwick Thumb BO 4, Hartke HA3500, BFM Omni 10, Aphex Bass Xciter, Shuker Singlecut 6 fanned fret (if it's ready by then, but I'm not holding my breath) 19. Platypus - Alleva Coppolo Jazz 5, Celinder Jazz 4 fretless, Tecamp Puma 1000 + a cab of some sort. 20. Prosebass - Current Builds at the time, Hofner S7B, Laptop , sequencing software , + amp and cab 21. Monz - Stingray 5 (la bella flats) Matamp GT200, Simms-Watt PA 100, Matamp 8x10 + Whatever else I have bought buy then 22. Alien - Schecter Stiletto 4, Peavey Grind 6, Hartke HA7000, Alien Audio 2x10 + other toys. 23. EssentialTension: Lakland Skyline Decade, Fender Tony Franklin Fretless Precision (and who knows what else) 24. silddx - Warwick Corvette $$ 4, Warwick Corvette Standard Ash active fretless 4, POD X3 Live, (I am praying I won't have it by then, but I will bring the Kopo Lina fretless 4 if I do!) 25. Phil_the_bassist: MMSR5 w/JE preamp, Sandberg Cali JM, Steinberger synapse5 w/ extra pup, various fuzz pedals and envelope filters, whatever amp I happen to own by then. 26. Stingray5 - My StingRay5, StingRay fretless and Tune TWB-6 plus any other basses in my signature pic if people let me know. I also have an Aria AMB-50B acoustic bass if anyone fancies a go? Could also bring my GT6-B. Plus ('cos it's small) a BLX-80 combo. And some cans...? 27. Urb - 1 x Sei 5 String Single Cut - 1 x Sei 4 string Jazz bass - EBS and Boss pedals 28. dave.c - Spector Rebop 4DLX EX, Spector NS2000-4, Gibson SGZ,Hartke LH500, Hartke Hydrive 410 29. WalMan - Wal Pro1/Custom conversion, G&L L2500 US, MarkBass CMD121H, Epifani 1x12 (not the neo one but I can't remember the initials just at the mo), Bass Pod xT Pro, Marshall SuperBass 100 head 30. Bottle - Ibanez ATK-305NT, Gallien-Krueger MB2-500, EBS Pro-line 4x10 31. Nancy Johnson (Paul) - Waterstone TP-12 Tom Petersson 12-String bass. Tech 21 Landmark 300/Ashdown MAG 4x10/Ashdown MAG 1x15 32. Beedster: Fender, Fender, Fender, Fender, Fender, Fender..and Markbass! 33. Moos3h 34. pete.young: Burman Pro 4000 and a Dean Bromberg B2, which has an unusual Piezo bridge pickup 35. coasterbass: Mesa 1x15 RR, Mesa 4x10, Ampeg SVP and Eden WP100 preamps 36. sixshooter: 55P bass Sonic Blue Relic, 59P bass original Sunburst, 59P bass Custom Shop relic Mary Kaye, 79P bass original but upgraded Black, Modulus 6 Oteil Burbridger 37. Jean Luc Pickguard: couple of Ashborys, an NS-design CR5M & danelectro longhorn 38. Deaver: El Maya or the Prosebass Humbucker Fretless 39. Jack London: GK1001RBII and Simnett 40. ped - Vigier S2 fretted/S3 fretless, Roland Vbass, SWR 4x8/1x15, noname 1u poweramp if it doesn't explode beforehand, phone, keys, wallet Molan, i've replaced your entry.

Makes me think of a Status Streamline crossed with a Musicman Bongo. I likey Top job!

Can't claim experience because I've only played 4 strings, but my knowledge of Warwick basses says that the Warwick bridge on a 5er also has trouble with non-tapered strings. To that extend I believe that Warwick Black Label strings have a tapered B to make sure that it fits over the Warwick bridge. I'm planning on putting Warwick Black Labels on my impending Shuker 6 string.

[quote name='Mikey R' post='557564' date='Aug 1 2009, 06:25 AM']Hey Pete, did you get any new photos through?[/quote] No, haven't had anything through yet. I'll probably give him a buzz in the next couple of weeks to see how things are coming along.

I don't normally like singlecut bass with similar proportions to a Les Paul, but that looks great! More photos here would be much appreciated.

Still just a couple of copies of the Janek issue in WH Smith Chelmsford Has anyone not on subscription got this month's copy yet?

Sounds like you've successfully defied the laws of physics! I suppose you could just double check the distance between nut and saddle, and 24th fret and saddle to make sure that the bridge is actually making the string longer.

WH Smith in Chelmsford was still stocking the last issue when I popped into town on Saturday just gone

[quote name='simon1964' post='543549' date='Jul 17 2009, 08:23 PM'][attachment=29119:guitars_010.JPG][/quote] Holy Cr@p! That's an amazing Thumb bolt-on! I wouldn't have believed that it's on its 3rd owner, it looks mint. Puts mine to shame They are amazing, aren't they?

Very nice indeed. I'm sure Mikey will just be polishing the skills he already has on the Shuker build course next week.

Nicely done. If it plays well and sounds good then it can't be wrong.

I have to plead guilty when I first started out playing 12+ years ago I would go into music shops to try stuff out with absolutely no intention of buying, let alone having the available money to buy. I was far too shy to ask the 'adults' running the store to try something out. Of course my junior years meant that I failed to grasp the concept that the store were accountable for the instruments and any wear-and-tear they were subjected to on the shop floor (especially in my sweaty greasy pubescent hands). It's all different now and I've got all the confidence and appreciation to ask someone if I can try out a bass and wouldn't contemplate doing so without permission. I've also usually got a few years over the sales assistants too! Having worked in retail I think one of the ways you can perhaps break down that barrier between staff and public is to engage them before they've even stepped 5 paces into the store. If they're told explicitely when they enter the store that they need to ask to try something out then they've got no excuse. I don't think you'll ever stop kids from trying stuff out when they've got no money to spend. You can only hope that they carry on being musicians when they finally get money to fund their hobby/profession.

Well done, much kudos to you. I'd love to start working towards my grades but I've got to get lessons first

I played a mid-price Tanglewood and my Warwick for a few years tuned C#G#C#F# (drop 'D' with a further semi-tone down on all strings) using 105-85-65-45 strings and a 34" scale neck. Had no issues at all, but it's worth trying a few different brands of strings as tension can vary even at the same gauge. I had no problem with Warwick Red Labels and Elite Stadiums. I believe that bassists such as Ryan Martinie from Mudvayne tunes his 5 string bass to G#C#G#C#F#, which is pretty mad!

[quote name='51m0n' post='539462' date='Jul 13 2009, 04:53 PM']Hehe you say that now, wait till you get about 35 pages in - the rhythms start getting properly mental. Expect your brain to be truly mashed [/quote] Yep. I've just had to go back to Exercise 9 from 16 as I totally lost the plot trying to play along to a metronome instead of the CD. Found that I was relying on the bass part of the CD too much somehow. I'll second Bilbo in saying that you really need a lot of patience to stick with it. I can only get in 15-30 minutes an evening once the littl'un has gone to bed and I'm starting to think it's going to take me a year to get the basics!

I've had Dunlop straplocks on my heavy Warwick and they only failed once and I think that was because I hadn't clicked them into place properly before hand. They're great but my other basses use the Grolsch bottle tops and they do the job just as well as the Dunlops as long as you're not constantly removing the straps. If I ever get another bass which hasn't already got strap locks then I'll just use Grolsch bottle tops or shower washers.

This is also true of the old Hartke HA3500 heads. Mine makes an 'click' noise after a few seconds and the sound fades in to match the volume dial. Been like that since I bought it so assumed that it's the norm. EDIT: will also say that the HA3500 has parallel solid state and valve pre-amps so I don't think it's the valve warming up. Must just be a large capacitor charging or something.

I have found that the longer I've been playing bass, the lighter my playing has become. My playing has gradually got a lot faster with practice and my fingers are a lot more co-ordinated. I've also found that as I've progressed over the years I'm in bands that play much longer sets and found that if I play with as much force as I used to that I very quickly get cramp in my hands and fingers. The percussive fret thing isn't necessarily bad as it adds attack to the notes but should be avoided if it doesn't sound musical. The best advise I can give would be to practice playing for the longest sessions possible and find a finger pressure that you feel comfortable with and allows you to play without getting too tired. I'm sure when I first started to have lessons I was taught that I should be gently plucking the strings, but I find myself now either pressing the strings across the fretboard, or even slightly towards the fretboard and allowing them to 'bounce back' as my finger releases them.

[quote name='51m0n' post='537113' date='Jul 10 2009, 11:23 AM']I have the same book, its an excellent starting resource. I'm not too bad at the rhythm part of it, but damn they get tricky in there![/quote] Agreed! I'm up to the pages where they start to mix 8ths 16th notes with rests and it gets very intense. I've also done a couple of exercises with dotted notes and ties but I keep losing the plot. I'm taking it reasonably easy as I'm hoping that my old sight reading is locked away in my brain somewhere and I'll get some kind of recall moment I have flicked through the rest of the book and notice that the rhythms become drastically simpler when they start to introduce the different notes. Just got to get through the rhythm first half of the book unscathed.

I concur. The MEC 2 band in my Warwick Thumb BO when EQ'd flat is quieter than the passive Seymour Duncan Quarterpounders in my Precision. There's a fair amount of boost available by turning up the bass and treble knobs, but that might not be the best sound coming from the bass. If you're after a hotter signal then you'll be after a replacement pre-amp or some kind of gain pedal between the bass and amp.

I used to do a bit of reading music when I had recorder and piano lessons in my youth. Completely forgot how to sight read and can only remember the acronyms used to work out what notes are where. I'm currently working my way through a book titled 'Simplified Sight Reading for Bass' and it's brilliant. Starts out with just the rhythm and learning what different patterns sound like. The first half of the book is purely rhythm based and I've been playing a 'D' constantly for the last couple of weeks The pace of the book is great and I'm definitely learning as I go. Comes with a CD which has the first example from each page on it and am enjoying playing along to it. I'm tempted to skip forward in the book to the parts where you start learning the notes on each string, but I have resisted so far. Would love to get into some kind of amateur orchestra/big band when i've worked my way through the book a couple of times to get the practice in. Anyone got an idea where these types of bands advertise?

That is a very smart and neat rig there Mert. I'm very envious

Still no photos, but an email update. [quote name='Jon Shuker']The bass is presently being sprayed, I've put the barrier lacquers on and its ready for polyester now and then the black![/quote]

If I'd have known that Warwick were going to release a singlecut shape based on the Thumb then I probably wouldn't have ordered a custom bass last October. Oh well. Secretly I'm hoping that Warwick either ruin it or make it hideously expensive (very likely based on their last price hike).