Frank Blank

Oh lord, the SWB-1 Pro... Man that bass looks right up my rue!

Yes, I’m liking the Mustangs, thanks for this.

So, having gotten used to my Taylor GS Mini-e bass, in fact I am unable to put it down as it is more addictive than crack, I have come to realise that the vast majority of my bass playing woes over several years stem from my small hands vs. full scale bass necks. So I’ve decided to sell up all my full sized basses (Godin A4 and my new Aerodyne that’s barely a month old) and stick exclusively to short scale. I’ve been looking at a Gretsch G2220 but as I am a novice in the world of short scale basses I thought I better see if anyone has any recommendations or ideas. I have the Taylor and I’ll be getting a second as a back up but I want a short scale electric bass and as it will be my only EB I’d like as good quality as I can get... Whaddya think?

Thanks Dan Dare

Cheers Tubster.

Thanks so much for this.

So I have very recently purchased an AER Basic Performer. This has a far more complicated set of controls than my previous extremely simple Fender amp. Despite running the obvious risk of revealing myself as an utter fool, I feel this is the perfect place to ask anyone here to explain the various controls that I don’t understand. Obviously I can just plug in and see what happens but I’d rather do that with a little knowledge first. So here is the list of features/controls I don’t know... DI pre/post 24 volt phantom 9 volt phantom Notch filter/frequency (I think a notch filter is something to do with feedback?) ...any pointers/explanations you can give would be hugely appreciated. Here is a diagram of the controls...

Sorry, you were probably just doing that as I asked...

Got any pics?

Fender Jazz, all the way.

I have just recently moved to using acoustic basses exclusively. They have the right sound for the music I play and there is just an alive feeling I get from them that I don’t get from any other kind of bass. Having said that I find myself agreeing with most comments above including the apparently negative ones. I have... Taylor GS Mini-e Bass Godin A4 Fender Kingman ...I have attempted to play the Fender in an acoustic jam and despite it being the loudest ab I’ve ever played and it being fitted with very bright strings it just wasn’t loud enough an I was playing it hard! I was satisfied with the sound reaching the short distance to my ears but nothing of note reached anyone else’s. The simple fact is that they do need amplifying, and yes, they are expensive if you want a good one unless you get the Taylor but then you have a short scale. Imho the Godin is an unparalleled acoustic bass but again, useless unless amplified. I rehearse in a normal sized room with one other acoustic guitar player and both the Godin and the Taylor need amplifying even in that minimal situation, the Fender cuts through but, again, even in that situation I have to play it hard. I don’t necessarily agree that the simple option of having to amplify it negates the reason to have one and use an eb instead, but, again, unless you get an expensive one you might as well because you won’t get that character and tone. Then if you decide to amplify it you are into difficult water again because to get the best out of them you need a acoustic amp really, I know people say just use a normal bass rig but it doesn’t cut it, really you need that acoustic amp and you can lay out a lot and it won’t be able to handle it. I’ve just sold a Fender Pro 200 because, as lovely as it was with an acoustic guitar it couldn’t reproduce the tone properly. After years of trying other amps I ended up (two days ago) with an AER, I knew I’d end up with one because they are kinda faultless at reproducing the bass tone accurately, I thought I might find a cheaper option but nope, AER it had to be. So I’d say I can’t see an option to jam with a large group of people unamplified. I think I’ve banged on at length here without being any help.

Here’s mine. Fender Jazz Modern Player modified with a fretless neck, currently on sale on here btw...

My perfect bass rig, finally achieved this morning after thirty-seven years of searching... Godin A4 AER Basic Performer Taylor GS Mini-e Bass

I use open strings a lot. It has become part of my... (trying to think of a descriptor here that doesn't make me sound like an ar$3) playing style*. I particularly like to hit an open string that clashes with one of the next note/s I land on, I like the dissonance of notes that clash but dissonance is something I like in music generally so I try to incorporate it in my playing a lot. *I failed in the 'Not sounding like an ar$3’ thing, there, clearly.

Norman Watt Roy - what a dude.

I think that’s the key, apart from sounding exactly right for the music I play, they are just really good fun to play.

That’s for sure, it’s definitely going to be a love or hate divider.

I have played bass ukes and the Taylor is, imho, hugely superior. I will be playing it at gig volume tomorrow and will let you know.

Yesterday morning I purchased a Taylor GS Mini-e Bass and having played it all day (because it’s more addictive than crack) I think I can categorically state that I have found my perfect bass. Obviously it wouldn’t have cut the mustard in the thrash band I used to play in but now I play in an acoustic duo and having tried a Fender Kingman, a Takamine GB30CE a Washburn AB10 and 20 and a Godin A4 I had never found a bass that suited both me and the style of music I now play. Firstly I have quite small hands and fingers so the Taylor is a revelation to play, I have always (why I started this habit I don’t know) written most of my bass lines on an old classical guitar and sometimes had problems transposing those bass lines across to a standard size bass. The Taylor is so easy to play, I find myself consistently ‘making’ some runs and complicated parts that were 50/50 on other basses. Also, despite having played bass since I was 24 (I’m now 54) I had never been fully satisfied with the amplified sound from any of the basses I’ve owned, both electric and acoustic, so having played the Taylor for a while and loving its tone unplugged I was nervous to amplify it in case I couldn’t reproduce the same delicious sound. Well I needn’t have worried, with all the controls on the amp at their middle setting the bass sounds glorious. So, essentially, I’m just posting this in case anyone is considering purchasing this bass. It’s a hefty chunk of change to shell out on such a unique instrument so if I can answer any questions about it or you want to try one out outside of a shop environment then let me know. I thought I’d ‘found my brand’ with the Godin A4, beautiful bass that it is, but for me, the Taylor, smaller, lighter and so glorious sounding, has trumped it. Now I’ll need to sell one or two (or maybe all) of my other basses to get another Taylor and because now they will just be gathering dust!

+17 for Mick Karn, one of my favourite bass players, as you say, well under appreciated. It's a good point, would he have existed without Jaco? His influences were so peculiar and left field I choose to think he would, but then, Jaco did change bass playing fundamentally. Ach, who knows, just great to remember that wobbly Wall deliciousness. Japan on the drive home then.

'Sunk Costs' perfect. The title of my autobiography, there.

I don't really understand virtuoso players like Jaco, it's like watching someone type incredibly quickly but what they write is incomprehensible, to me anyway. I always think the playing should serve the song and the song not be a platform for virtuosity but then I'm an old punk so solos and such leave me cold. JJ Burnel is about as fancy as I want and he managed to play beautiful impressive bass lines that always served the song. Jah Wobble is my ideal he found peculiar grooves and once in them he barely moves, restraint and subservience to the groove is where it's at in my book.

I agree with Lownote12, it does take more time and don't beat yourself up because things don't happens straight away. I have just bought a Fender Aerodyne mostly because it's so light! I also wholly agree that playing with other people makes a huge difference but the best advice you'll get on here is persevere, just keep going, you'll feel some days that you just can't do it or you'll watch a video of some virtuoso and it'll make you want to give up. DON'T give up. I've been playing for 28 years and I'm now 54 and I'm only just feeling like I have a playing style that I'm happy with but I've had a gas the whole time. Just keep playing.

I agree totally. I have attempted to sell two basses on here, both with modifications, both Fender Modern Players, one with a fretless neck put on and the other with black hardware installed. Both were modified by an excellent luthier but they were nonetheless still second hand and tampered with. What in my eyes is a pleasing modification, even one I consider to be an improvement on the original, might make it, in someone else's opinion, a dog. Just because I have invested money in mods does not necessarily mean someone else should shell out for them, in fact quite the opposite. I wouldn't pay for a modified bass, fair enough to modify your own to your personal spec but no one else is going to dig it quite like you do.