Osiris

I'm considering buying another bass, due to a damaged never in my wrist I can no longer play anything above 30" scale for any length of time without pains and cramping up so it has to be a short scale, no more than 30". I currently own 2 Mustangs so have the Precision-esque tones covered and so I'm thinking about something jazz bass like, but trawling about online it doesn't look as though there is much choice. Budget is around about a grand, maybe a little more for the right bass. Preferably passive too as I prefer the warmth of passive pickups to active ones. There's the MARUSZCZYK Elwood which looks like a perfect candidate. The Maruzythingy website has a configurator where you can spec pretty much whatever you want, it offers shed loads of options for customising everything from colour to fretboard radius, pickup types and so on. The only thing making me hesitate is that I know virtually nothing about the brand, are they well regarded? I also seem to have a vague recollection of there being concerns over them in the past but can't remember what those concerns where, if any. There's also the Ashdown short scale Grail bass. Despite having Ashdown on the headstock they're made in collaboration Dan Lakin (I think that's his name, anyway, the guy who set up Lakland) and was released a couple of years ago and what little I can find online about them is all positive. But nowhere seems to have these in stock at the minute, possibly another victim of Covid? There's also a couple of Reverend models that look interesting but again it's not a brand that I'm particularly familiar with but online opinions seem universally positive. In the past I had a 30.5" scale Warwick Corvette which sounded great but even that extra half an inch made all the difference (as Mrs Osiris can testify) in terms of comfort and playability for me so that was moved on. Plus I was ambivalent about the looks. There was also a short lived Fender jazz (possibly a PJ configuration IIRC, Chinese made, I think?) that was around £300 new a few years ago but used prices seem to be double that now. Not sure that I want to spend that much on what was a budget instrument in the first place unless it's something really special and not just rarity pushing the prices up. There's also the various short scale Stingrays but having had a go on the lovely @Adee's short scale American built jobbie they're definitely not for me. It was exquisitely built but I just can't stand that weird nasal midrange thing that Stingrays are known for. Is there anything else out there, 30" scale, jazz-ish inspired - although I'm open to other options, around the £1000 mark?

I fitted my preferred string gauge 50-105, they are a full size set of D'Addario Nickel strings and - IMO - have really brought the tone to life. I should probably say that despite having tried several different brands of flats over the years they're just not for me, I don't like a bright clanky bass tone at all but I do like the bass to sound clear and defined and these strings give me exactly what I want. There is, of course, a lot of people online who will tell you not to fit full length strings to a short scale bass but I've been doing it for years and haven't had a single problem, no broken strings, no intonation problems. Not one. It works for me but maybe not for everyone 😉

These are superb basses as everyone says! But I highly recommend that you string it with rounds instead of flats, seriously! They come fitted with flats but although it sounded great there was something in the high end that I was never really happy with but once I switched over to rounds it just sounded right, like a precision in the mids and high end. In comparison it sounded choked with flats. You can get a flats like vibe by backing the tone control off but if you want clarity and definition to each and every note then rounds are the way to go.

Oooh, I like that, and I don't even like Stingrays Out of interest, what are the details of the Mike Lull?

I'm another one who's had mixed dealings with Bass Direct over the years. Mostly good, but my last dealing with them 4 or 5 years ago was selling an amp through their commission sales, long story short, the owner claimed it sold for much less than we'd agreed - not that he'd consulted me on reducing price - and it took weeks of chasing to get my money from them. And it was quite clear from the phone calls and email exchanges that he really couldn't give a toss, he couldn't even spare a half arsed apology. Prior to that I'd bought 3 basses, an amp and several odds and sods from them, spending more than 5 grand with them over the years. But I have not spent another penny with them since and don't intend to ever again. I get that shops can't get it right for everybody all of the time, and different people expect different levels of customer service, but there do seem to be a few too many BD disgruntled customers given their size. Regarding @binky_bass's opening post, anyone who's ever been to their current premises knows it's a pretty tiny lace, albeit brimming with stuff. For someone to have left the office, checked their shelf of used pedals and returned to the office would quite literally have taken a few seconds, 10 at the most. That's really not asking too much, is it?

Not an injury as such but I'm prone to get occasional unexpected nosebleeds, it's a genetic thing on one side of the family. At a gig around 20 years ago my nose started bleeding mid set on a gig. A girl who I knew in the audience, rushed up to me and stuck a tampon up the offending nostril which I proudly left there, plus the blood down the front of my bass, until the end of the gig. Oh to be young and stupid again

A quick update to my last comment. I've just got off the phone from Jimmy after it turned out that the speaker cab I'd sent him had been damaged in transit. He'd already had the speaker replaced - his tech had diagnosed that the cab had been dropped which had dislodged the magnet which had killed the speaker - but was an absolute gentleman about the whole thing. He was philosophical about the experience and put it down to being one of those things. He was even gracious enough to turn down my offer to cover half of the additional unexpected costs. Basschat is full of decent people but how many people are truly that gracious when things go wrong like this? It gets banded about a lot on some of the feedback threads but Jimmy is an absolute credit to Basschat. Don't just deal in confidence with Jimmy, deal in absolute confidence.

Jimmy bought a cab from me and it was nice easy sale, he paid promptly and let me know once it had arrived safe and sound.

There's always one, and it's usually me. And this is no exception I had a set of La Bella's come fitted with a short scale Warwick Corvette and I couldn't take them off quick enough! I don't like bright bass sounds by any stretch but the La Bella's were devoid of any definition, just an non-descript, woolly thud. The closest analogy I can come up with is when the elderly couple next door (we live in a semi joined onto theirs) turn up their telly up really loud and you can hear something but can't make out what it is, it was like that. No punch, no clarity, no life. And no amount of EQ'ing could get a usable sound of them for me. 10 minutes later they were off the bass for good. My JMJ came with factory Fender flats and they were much better, there was more clarity and definition and you could recognise different pitches and notes which I couldn't do with the La Bellas. But I still prefer rounds and once I'd fitted my favourite Nikel D'Addario 50-105's to my short scales they all feel like they have much more life in them, the audio equivalent from going from VHS to 4K HD without bothering with DVD or Blu-Ray in between.

Quick update on this, I ordered some of these, https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/122740864851 M5 size (5mm as I understand it) and they are perfect for what I need. They're a very snug fit but reassuringly so, I ordered 20 yellow ones as I expected to lose a few when out gigging but I can't see them coming off unless deliberately pulled which is unlikely as the loose daisy chain connectors are now cable tied to the underside of the board. They're also now beer proof too - at least I hope so. So thanks again to @MartinB for pointing me in the right direction

You ought to get onto Spector's marketing department with this, it sounds like they're missing a trick, "That delicious Spector growl - it sounds like there must be something up with your amp" 😀

The Super Siamese Twin, surely?

Cheers, that's exactly what I'm looking for 😃 Maybe half a dozen or so, a couple to use on the board and some spares in case any go missing. I'll probably order a job lot of 10 or 20 from the eBay links above.

The closest thing I can find online is these, but haven't been able to find anything in the UK yet. https://www.amplifiedparts.com/products/cable-cap-power-all-insulator-caps-barrel-connectors

Cheers folks, I like the idea of a sleeve, would some heat shrink tubing work? Just thinking that it'd probably last longer than some electrical tape.

Wasn't sure how to best title this but I have a question about a couple of unused outputs on a daisy chain. I've put together a small utilitarian pedal board powered with a daisy chain*. I've tidied the cabling up and the unused outputs are on the underside of the board, do they need to be covered to make them waterproof, or more accurately beer proof, as the board will be gigged? Or do they need to be shielded in any way? Or are they OK left exposed? Does it even matter? Any thoughts, folks? *It works fine for my needs, there's no noise or any need for an expensive isolated supply.

Just received a cab from Clarky, and all was great. He was an absolute gent to deal with from start to finish.

Just received a pedal board with a power supply and a shed load of patch cables from Patrick and it was a quick and easy, hassle free transaction. All was quickly delivered and well packaged. I'm happy to recommend him as a sound guy to deal with to other Basschat users.

The steaming turd icon by the input socket should make this an essential purchase for everyone 💩

I'm not concerned as such, more curious. But the question still stands should you care to indulge me. For the record I have bought a tuner and cable this year. Neither good nor bad, just purely functional.

Not trying to be an arse here, at least no more than usual 😃, but is this a case of cause and effect? Or more accurately effect (no, not pedals) and cause? In that if you didn't spend so much time buying gear that - and I may be wrong here - you seem to be buying with the intention of not actually using, plus the time spent selling it on afterwards, then you might actually have the time to use the gear that you currently own? * *Smiley to show that this enquiry is good natured, albeit I am genuinely curious to know why you buy gear and then don't seem to use it as I buy gear and then put it through its paces both at home and out on gigs.