fretlessguy

Well! Glad I am not the only one! I do, however, enjoy eating a good roast, but only occasionally. It really is an enjoyment to post here. There is no better dry wit and humor than what you find in the Isles. Perhaps being bassists are strange to others due to our organizational skills and rather deep satirical senses of humor.

Well, being the only American here that I know of..........It is now time for me to speak. As for talkbass, I do not belong to a single club. I implore the thought of clubs, societies, fraternites and such because they drive wedges between people, or at least some of them. I do post at their site on occasion, although as for American sites I prefer activebass and worshipbass. The average person in the streets being aloof and distant......you must have been visiting a larger city or metrpolitian area where people are suspicious of everyone else due to the crime problem, and for many that's how the original cultures they came from were like that. As for Serbs....the only one I have met was one hot babe. She was gorgeous. I have nothing against Serbs, except those who have committed atrocities. 95 % of all Americans travel outside their state annually I live in an area where three states meet and it is not unusual for me to be in at least 2 of the 3 if not all 3 every weekend. I have been to Canada, Mexico, The Grand Caymans, Beileze. I have also been to all of the states except six, and I plan on seeing them before I die. I have been to Alaska, but haven't made it to Hawaii yet. Americans love to travel and run up the credit card while they do. Yes I own guns. It is legal here. Just target shooting .22s and one other. I used to shoot competition before my eyes needed bifocul glasses. If someone breaks in my house intent on doing us harm, he is in for trouble. If you have to depend on the police to get there within 20 or 30 minutes, it could be too late for you and your family. I will not go down quietly. I have no machine guns and have no interest in owning one. I may not agree with my neighbors from the British Isles on everything, but the ones I have met personally and here as well seem to be very hard working and honest people. Very friendly and willing to chat on about everything, and very intelligent. I hope to make it there and see the sights and meet some of you someday. Bassists are almost always the organizers and level headed of the band clan. Strange? Yes, but no worse than others. Kindest regards, Doug

I would probably go with what bass ferret said. There is a light gauge 5 string version set of the Hartkes that I like and have used them before and was quite satisfied. Currently my two fives have on both of them a Fender set of 7250 light gauge strings (.40-.115). Hartke and Fender make both sets in medium as well, if that is what you prefer. Hartke does not have a stellar reputation for thier strings here in the states, but I found them both punchy and long lasting.

Cheers for the info FG I saw Lucida Guitarrons quite cheap but I'll mail the lone star guys\1 And Aargh who is Hobgoblin?? Any info appreciated! [url="http://www.hobgoblin.com/ukhome.php"]http://www.hobgoblin.com/ukhome.php[/url] Hope this helps, FG

Yes, those guys are no slouches. They have been playing for a while..... The guitarrone is tuned ADG on the bass courses, and then there are three nylon strings tuned ADG as well, only an octave higher (sorry, no E.) Normally, they are played by plucking both the string on the lower course and higher course at the same time, creating an octave effect like a twelve string guitar. The fellow in the video appears to be playing it more in the style of an upright bass fiddle. Amazing, considering how high the strings are off the fingerboard on that animal. It is quite large, being several inches thick. playing one, as a Mexican gentleman told me, is like wrestling with a gorilla. It has a 28 inch scale and is fretless. I do not know where you could get one on your side of the pond, but it is probably not impossible. I know that www.larkinthemorning.com carries them here, but they are extremely expensive from them. Keep an eye on the U.S. ebay, they pop up from time to time there. lonestarguitars.com makes them in Mexico, so you might email them to get the name of a dealer in your area. Good luck! Doug

Since 2000 I have had arthritis in some of my fingers and one of my shoulders. Playing a short scale has been the saving grace of my live playing. I used to make fun of people who played short scales, but I don't any more..... I think the bass is quite handsome. Granted, my Epiphone Allan Woody has the same colors as yours, and I didn't like the gold either. However, I do like the comfort of not having to stretch our my finger so much and hurting. I have gotten used to the maroon and gold now, and it looks much better.

www.juststrings.com has the widest assortment of doubleball sets I've seen.

"I think that's a third pickup, maybe for hum-cancelling duties?" [font="Arial Black"][/font] Yes, you are correct. I am not quite sure (other than the obvious to eliminate hum) they did it this way, but maybe to keep the single coil sound and bite.

Aren't basses just wonderful? You can't have just one.......

Mark- I think that the variable here is that the performance was being recorded. I can tell you from the three hats I wear (I am a bassist, soundman, and recording engineer) that what settings and sound you use in a live situation and what is used in recording are two different animals. The bass guitar is one of the most difficult to record instruments. It is generally easier to work with a clean signal, although I have recorded with a bassist who had rows of effects, it's just easier to do it that way. What is necessarily good sounding live does not always translate well to recording. It is hard for me to imagine trying to play, record, and run the sound at the same time, so my hat is off to him. I cannot read his mind as to understand why he did it that way, but chances are he had enough faith in your tone to use your amp for the room you were playing. You would be amazed how many "live" CDs are recorded with signal sent to seperate enclosed speakercabs with mics underneath or behind the stage for the actual recording, to have the effects added later. It allows the musician to overdub in case of mistakes. An entire Jethro Tull live album was recorded this way around 20 years ago. The last few times I saw Rush, they had even dispensed with having amps onstage. I hope it all works out for all of you, and that the gig sound and the recording sound turns out really great. Doug

You could: Be happy with what you have by modifying it. Sell what you haven't used in the last 3 months. Must not really need it...... Find some really poor young urchin with no money who wants to learn bass and give the equipment to him/her. As someone else said, quit reading bass blogs like this one, but more importantly, quit looking at online sales. Quit going into music shops. Go feed the birds at the park instead. Practice. Go gig. Do you have children yet? Go ahead and have 3 or 4. That'll take care of the G.A.S. money! Doug

Go acoustic.

They are fast becoming a collectable here. From time to time you can find them on ebay for usually about $250-$350 USD . A very solid performer with huge passive pickups. However, I must warn you that they will weigh as much as the vehicle you plan to transport them in to the gig. Doug

Nice bass. I always liked the explorer look. When you said it would be your drop D bass, did you mean DADG or DGCF? I have done both tunings and like them both.

Clive- Not to set you straight or argue. You make some interesting points. As far as a shorter scale having an "inferior" tone, I would be inclined to disagree. Granted, some of the shorter scale basses are usually weak in the lower end. I would say this is more likely due to inferior build quality than length of scale, since most short scales are of the student variety. I have an Epiphone Allan Woody (30 inch scale) that can really punch out the low end. Well made short scales can sound as good as a long scale. There are some tonal differences between the different scales. I would not say one is superior or inferior to the other. Tension, despite the scale, tends to go up with the longer scale an lower with shorter ones. However, I had a Danelectro Longhorn, that when dressed with D'Addario short scale XL nickels (.45-.105) was still very high tensioned, so I went to a .40-.95 set of SITs to get the tension down to something more comfortable to play. String tension of a particular set will have an over all effect on the tone as well. As for your question, the only 32 inch scale I ever owned was a Fender Stu Hamm urge bass. It had a very good tone on its E, more than average, excellent in my opinion. And yes, there will be differences between an open E and the E at the fifth fret of a five string B. I do not find its tone inferior or superior, just different. The feel of playing it would be different as well. I would, at least in theory, think a 28.5 inch scale tuned E to C would have less of a tension and a slightly different tone. But, why don't you go ahead and build one? That would be an interesting bass. Doug

I currently own nine basses. I use all but two fequently, so it would be hard to pick just one. But, if my house catches on fire, I would grab my 5 string Carvin Bolt fretless on the way out the window or door. I enjoy playing greatly. It growls, has a great presence on the track when recording. It is as attractive (antique violin burst with gold hardware and an unlined ebony fingerboard). There is nothing on the bass I would want to change. I really like the push-pull volume knob which changes it from active to passive tones. The bass was ordered from Carvin a few days after the passing of my father. I named it Kenneth after him (I name them all, which may be strange to some of you, but it is a habit of mine). So, the two will always be linked together.

Hi Doug Welcome! So you like prog rock? - just for you, - enjoy Hamster WHOA! Great video, Hamster. I had no idea Curved Air had any that existed. I'll have to get on the tube and check the others out. I was never all that familiar with them, other than a "Best Of" collection I bought some years back. I know that Eddie Jobson was a member in the group's latter days. Did you notice the Dan Armstrong/Ampeg see through bass the fellow was using? They were as heavy as a load of bricks. Wierd looking. Thanks very much for the bit of history. fretlessguy

"Hi, and good to see another Christian on board, hides under table and waits for the flack!" Thanks, psycoandy. I will tend to discuss all things bass here. I realize that it is a bass site and not one for discussing religions, nor bashing thereof. However, my playing of Christian music is part of my experiance, just as much as playing any other style is for anyone else. Hopefully, if someone has an issue with it, or wishes to discuss theology, I will be glad to discuss it thru e-mail or PM, and not here in a blog. I am looking to have a pleasant time with everyone here, that is, if I can understand English/Scottish/ Welsh/Irish slang and figure it out! Once again, thanks for the welcome. Doug

Glad to see there's another Marillion fan around. Pete's playing is one of the reasons I started learning bass Thanks. I think Pete is one of the unsung heros or the bass world. I have enjoyed Marillion through both eras (both Fish and Steve Hogarth). This may upset some, but I do like Fish's singing, I prefer to listen to Steve's. Their Cds are hard to get here, and I usually order them online. Shame on me, I haven't bought the last two new ones......

If you are going for a classic mwah sound like Jaco's, then you need roundwounds. For more of an upright bass fiddle tone, you need flats. Some time ago, when I first started having arthrits and joint problems, I decided to go to a light gauge string set. My local guitar tech (who is also a bassist) told me that lighter gauges have a more pronounced "mwah" sound. I think he is correct. If you are not sure you are ready to change strings yet, then take it to a reputable guitar repairman. Doug

Hello! how do you play football in one of these? Easy! You put a jersey on over it with the number and name, then proceed to smash each other silly! Say, does that suit come with air conditioning and heating?

Hi Marion- nice to have some American ladies on here. Tell us a bit about yourself Ha Ha! Check out my post and read very carefully! Wrong gender. Cheers, Doug

A very nice bass. I wonder how much longer the SX folks and Rondo will keep them at their current prices considering how popular they are. Enjoy!

Pet Sounds is considered by many here as THE American album of that era, and in someways comparable to the Beetles White album. In a Bass Player interview from a couple of years back, Brian Wilson ( the main writer and bassist for the Beach Boys) did credit Carol Kaye for playing several of the bass lines on the album, though Brian wrote them virtually note by note.

Thanks to all for your welcome. Yes, I am big YES fan as well as a classic progressive fan. Other classic and current Progsters I listen to are Marillion, Kansas, Steve Hackett's solo stuff, and an American outfit called "Spock's Beard", which is probably THE American prog band going right now. They have a fantastic bassist whose name is Dave Meros, who is our answer to Chris Squire. kennyrodg: The avatar doesn't bother me. I am sure Jesus has a sense of humor (I hope). Mic Mac Moe: I agree. In all of the things about basses I like, none are as beautiful as an unlined ebony fretless neck. Mmmmmmm...good! ste_m3: Nice Bongo. And I don't mean a drum.