peted

Very nice indeed! I knew that yours would be ready well in advance of my Shuker More photos and sound samples please!

w00t! Epic 20 month build you have there

My first bass, a Japanese Squire Precision, which I could never bring myself to sell but I'm not a fan of the P sound. Had it pimped by Jon Shuker.

I think that you might have to somehow change the voltage or current going to the valve to get it to distort but I'm not expert! Perhaps there's a valve that is naturally a higher gain which will overdrive without any mods to the amp itself. I swapped the stock Sovtek which came with my Hartke 3500 out for a Groove Tubes Mullard and can at least tell you that there is no tube growl, but the sound is lovely and clean.

My problem is that if I ever had more than 3 basses I would probably spend all my time swapping basses and not actually practicing. The most i've had at any one time is 4 (all 4 strings, one fretless). Now I'm down to 2 with another being built. I've bought 7 basses total in my 12 years playing (which is quite reserved by BassChat standards). If you can afford it then why not? I'd love to get to a point where one bass does everything for me, but I don't think that's possible. Maybe one and a backup/spare.

Currently I'm working on finding time to practice I've learnt all the songs I need for my cover/tribute band so I'd like to get to working my way through all the books I've bought in the last year (The Bass Bible, Sight Reading, Bass Chords, Bach for Electric Bass).

+2 1530

I was an incredibly shy 'loner' when I first picked up bass in my teens. Though at the time I was keen to face my fears and put myself forward for as many activities which put me outside my comfort zone as possible. In a moment of madness I signed up the my school Public Speaking team and ended up having to give speaches in front of my school (complete with red face, extreme sweatiness and stuttering!). My first gigs were also extremely painful but the adrenaline rush was as addictive as it gets. I would stand there rigid with my eyes transfixed on the fretboard in the panic that I might play a wrong note or catch sight of the audience and forget how to play. I've also been fortunate in my work as I've been an IT Trainer and had to stand at the front of a classroom full of both work colleagues and strangers in the UK and India. They usually start with me being incredibly tense and nervous for the first 10 minutes before I manage to calm down and relax! I've found that you have to be realistic and really ask yourself "What's the worst that can really happen?". As long as you've prepared yourself by learning the songs then you'll actually find that your audience is actually very sympathetic. Generally there will be people out there in the audience who will give their hind teeth to be in your position and will have great respect for you regardless of any mistakes you make. I say go for it and jump in with both feet, facing your fears head on to proove that they are unfounded. If you're going to meet up with other "gig-virgins" then rather than share each others fear of playing in from of crowds you would be better off meeting at open mic or jam nights and talking to the performers to find inspiration to get up and play (plus the opporunity will be there right then to start playing).

I'm biased in that I'm a big Warwick fan, but you're comparing apples to oranges with Warwick and Fender. I would have thought that a Warwick Corvette or Streamer in any combination or the right Fender Jazz would fit your requirement list. Fender are the traditional workhorse basses and a Jazz is versatile enough to be a must-have for session players. A Warwick will definitely stand out look-wise from a stock Fender and in my opinion have that punchy throaty sound (especially that Thumb bass). As you've narrowed your choice already my best advice would be to try both side by side and make your own decision BTW, what is it about the Jazzman which is making you sell it on? I've played my mate's Jazzman and it was a really good example of a Warwick and very versatile. If there's something specific about it you might find that Warwick aren't the basses for you after all.

[quote name='Rimskidog' post='524193' date='Jun 25 2009, 10:38 PM']Here's mine. It's a very early one. Has no serial number. It's been suggested to me that it may be the original Namm show model: [/quote] Wow! That is a gorgeous Infinity. Is it one of the original Limited editions (I think they had an Ovangkol neck), or the newer one (with a maple neck)?

Have you had any updates?

My Warwick Thumb BO 4. I wanted a Warwick for years before I managed to save up for this one. It's the epitomy of the way a bass should sound as far as I'm concerned and feels like it plays itself. The only reason I'm not getting another Warwick is because I fancy a few features which aren't available from them (though they are planning to release a Singlecut design in the next year).

I shouldn't think you need to develop a physically demanding technique to play (pop) bass. It's far more important that you develop traits such as: Professionalism Punctuality Playing in the pocket Adaptability Improvisation Reading Music I'm no pro-musician but have respect for those that are, even if they're not playing a million notes a second and slapping and popping all over the shop.

My highlight of the event. Visiting the Warwick booth and playing a custom Thumb bass through one of the huge Hellborg rigs they had setup. [attachment=27511:140620094223.jpg]

If you like the Line6 sound then get their amp head: It's the cabs which make the most difference when it comes to weight (as they are huge and ungainly to start with!). Team up that head with a nice lightweight cab and you'll be onto a winner.

Wow. Great playing and a great bass. Congrats!

My band have done this a few times round the singers house. It's a great way to practice without annoying the neighbours, but I found it quite fatiguing concentrating on a headphone mix all evening. I have vents in my headphones so I can wear them for longer periods without my ears getting hot and uncomfortable, but still had to take regular breaks. I'm all for 'silent' practices and look forward to them. They are far more practical than the amplified ones and probably the closest I'm going to get to simulating the use of In Ear Monitors for a while.

Hilarious. Great find and thanks for sharing.

I believe the SVT2 and SVT5 have the same pre-amp, but the 2 is valve power stage and 5 is solid state. If you weren't pushing the SVT2 to high volumes then you'll probably get a similar sound out of the SVT5. If you liked the sound of a cranked SVT2 then you'll probably miss a lot of the warmth of the valve power stage.

Eude has a Shuker singlecut 6 with a 33" scale which he seems to have nothing but praise for. I'm sure he'll be along soon, but you could try PM'ing him in the meantime...

If you're going to do a big tour then I can recommend: Barhouse, Chelmsford, Essex (http://www.barhouse.net) The Twist, Colchester, Essex (http://www.thetwist.co.uk) Chinnerys, Southend-on-Sea, Essex (http://www.chinnerys.co.uk)

I went yesterday and found it very disappointing compared to last year. It was about 50% of the size and missing a slew of manufacturers that were there last year (Ashdown, EBS, Overwater, Fender to name just a few). Though I still enjoyed myself none-the-less. They must have relaxed the sound limit as it was very noisy which made the experience fatiguing very quickly (imaging 1000s of musicians all widdling at volume simultaneously!). The only way to rest the ears was to go to the loo or leave the venue entirely as even the promenade outside the exhibition hall featured a college band stage. Gear I got to play on: * Warwick Thumb 4 custom through a Hellborg stack - VERY tasty, but then it really should be at the ££££ price. My buddy couldn't believe that there wasn't a single valve in there and the sound was to die for. I can see what Jonas was saying about getting that valve poweramp sound using an output transformer on a solid-state power block. * Peavey Cirrus 4 custom (Trace Elliott green finish) through a Trace Elliot 7 band head and 8x10 - Only popped onto this stand because I saw the 8x10 wasn't being used and ended up staying there for quite a while. The Trace amp sounded great and I was very impressed. If I could get the same sound in a light-weight solution I'd have been sold on the spot. * Flea Bass 4 through a Gallien-Krueger MB2-500 and GK 2x10" - I hate the look of the Flea Bass and think it looks really cheap and tacky, but was surprised to hear that it actually handles itself quite well. The MB2-500 wins the smallest, lightest amp award as it is *tiny*. Don't know if it was the cab they had hooked up but the low end seemed quite loose and lacked the definition that I'd have liked. I think the head would make a cracking backup amp. * MTD 4 through the MoMark demo rack and MarkBass 4x10" - The MoMark rack broke soon after it was turned on for me to demo and I couldn't flip between the different modules. The guy had to 'reboot' the whole thing and got it working. They EQ, VPF and VLE are quite effective, but I couldn't get away from the wooliness of the sound. I'm guessing that this was due to the cab rather than the amp, but the technical problem at the start didn't endear me to the brand. Got to listen to a demo of the TC Electronics Rebelhead and associated cabs and was very impressed. The bass was a Warwick Thumb 6 and the mids were nice and burpey, tight lows (not trouser-flapping, but very present in the band mix) and musical highs. I've had my eye on this amp to replace my existing Hartke 3500 and hearing it in person has re-affirmed this decision. I'll be looking to make the purchase next year once I've finished paying for my custom bass and my band should be getting paid gigs.

As long as you can tell one end of the bass from the other I'm sure you're more than qualified to play in a band. I might have been practicing with lessons for about 6 months before I started to play with other musicians.