JoeEvans

I had a job once in which I had to sit in on loads of job interviews as part of the panel, but I wasn't really the key player in making the decisions - I was there more to ensure consistent and correct process. It was a fascinating experience. What jumped out is that there's always a specific situation going on for the employer that the new person will have to step into, so that the employer always has a strong idea of the kind of person they need, but the interviewee doesn't and can't know any of that.

It made me much more relaxed about getting interviewed myself. You can't know what they're after, so you just need to present who you are and what you can do in a clear and friendly way, and if it lines up with what they need then great, and if not then there's nothing you can do about that. We turned down loads of great people because they weren't quite what was needed - no reflection on them at all.

How about this, from an amazing bassist too?

https://youtu.be/PBg-ukRUJuQ

I use an ART Tube MP preamp for double bass, which has no EQ but somehow makes the bass sound a bit warmer and fatter. I just go straight to PA from there, and any EQ needed is done on the desk, or in small venues into my own Turbosound ip300 active speaker, which has basic EQ.

It's the best sound I've ever had on db and I've come to the conclusion that the less there is in the chain, the better, for my bass and my taste.

Whether that would work for EUB I can't say, depends how good the clean sound of the instrument is.

You only have to carry one upstairs to get a vivid insight into the invention of the electric bass.

The OP's teal strap would look great on a fairly pale natural wood finish. What's that you say? Why yes, I suppose my ACG would be a good example of that kind of finish, since you mention it.

Well that's a wholesome and heart-warming story.

33 minutes ago, Richard Jinman said:

I think this is a great idea, but I guess my point about pricing is really a question about resale value. If I drop £5k on a secondhand bass (not an inconsequential amount of money for me) it would be good to know I’ve paid a competitive price for it. If you buy a 70s precision you’re pretty confident it’s worth circa £2k - £3k for eg. But DBs (magical A strings notwithstanding) seem to be a free fire zone. 

I guess what I mean is more that in my limited experience, basses tend to get priced reasonably accurately according to the level of magic - how easily they speak, how rich the tone is. I suppose that's because you don't really get basses with amazing tone and sensitivity that are made of low quality materials by a poor luthier - to get a bass that's amazing to play requires all the other ingredients of high value to be in place. So the magic is a pretty reliable indicator of the quality of a bass as measured in more tangible ways.

In more practical terms, if you spend £5k on an older bass and it's got a nicely flamed maple neck, ribs and back; swell back; ebony fingerboard in good condition; closely-spaced, straight grain on the front; no gaps, cracks or rattles; no slumping or distortion of the front; the right action high up the neck for your style of playing; AND it sounds and feels lively and delicious when played side by side with a good selection of other basses at similar prices, then you're not being ripped off. 

[I know there are loads of amazing basses that don't have all those features but for confidence in valuation they are helpful]

I would strongly recommend a visit to the Double Bass Room to play a whole load of basses one after another and get a feel for the differences. If you work your way around 15-20 instruments you can get a real feel for what you're paying for, and what you have to pay for what you want. His prices are reasonable too although you might need to do some set-up work if you bought one there. When I bought my bass there he just brought me the odd cup of tea and let me get on with it for a couple of hours, and it was an invaluable learning experience.

Many years ago when I was just playing bass guitar I wondered about buying a double bass, and went into a shop to try a few. The first one I tried was about £10k. I twanged a note, the whole thing resonated sweetly in my arms, the room seemed to fill with rich, beautiful possibilities, the sun came out and the angels sang. Then I tried a £1k one, which was what I could actually afford, and it went 'thunk', and I walked out of the shop and went back to playing electric for a decade or two. 

Or to short cut all of the above, pick it up, pluck an open A, rate the magic from 0 to 10 and value accordingly...

I guess the things I would look at would be:

Quality of materials

Design - shape, size etc

Detailing of craftsmanship and construction

Condition

Accessories - strings, case, any bits and bobs that come with it

Terms of sale - warranty, offer of trial period etc

And of course feeling under the hands and sound.

Fretless is a bit of a pain for chords, especially higher up the neck where a smaller inaccuracy of finger position corresponds to a larger inaccuracy of intonation (as a proportion of a whole tone, if you see what I mean). The general plan is a good one, though. I'd personally probably go for a 5-string E to C, I find 6-string necks a bit bulky for my own taste, but that's up to you...

The yellow blob on the body of the bass is a sticker, since removed...

Is the string tree really necessary? For a bass with good, straight alignment between strings above and below the nut, what would happen if you just took the string tree off?

Zettle is a good system too, as mentioned above the fees are irrelevant compared to the extra sales you'll make.

All these systems keep online records of sales, so you could run the money into a band member's personal account in the knowledge that there's a record of all sales to ensure fair sharing of income afterwards.

PRICE DROP AGAIN - £400 posted

Keen to move this on now so down to £400, posted, in its snug and nearly new gig bag.

I bought this thinking that a small headless bass might a nice thing to have around; I've since bought an ACG that does the same job so sadly I have to part with the Ibanez.

The Ibanez Axstar is a fairly rare beast in the UK. In my opinion it's one of the best wooden small bodied, headless basses of the era, similar to the Yamaha BX-1 in quality.

It's pure 1980s in looks, it could be a prop from Total Recall or some similar 80s sci-fi. But the body shape is extremely ergonomic - it hangs in just the right place when standing up with no neck dive, and it also sits comfortably on your lap, unlike many basses of this type. Access high up the fretboard is superb.

From the original brochure, the bolt-on neck is 3-piece maple, fretboard is rosewood and body is basswood. 34" scale. Twin passive humbuckers and a fairly chunky and industrial bridge and tuning mechanism. With worn-in strings, you basically tune it about once a month, if that - it's incredibly stable. You can use standard 34" strings. The truss rod turns smoothly and does its job.

The neck is pretty skinny, 17mm string spacing at the bridge tapering to 11mm at the nut. Weight is just 3kg, because it's got such a small body, but it feels very solid and well-built.

It's evidently been played a lot since the 80s and the body has quite a few dings and scratches and one chip through to bare wood. I've tried to show this in the pictures. 

The sound is very fat and rich, with the humbuckers giving pretty high output. There's a volume control for each pickup and a passive tone control - in all honesty the tone control isn't dramatic in effect. It would be perfect for 80s funk, but with the treble rolled off it would also be superb for reggae / dub, it's got this huge, solid sustain to it. It would be an absolute beast played with a pick for metal, with some distortion.

I'm selling it with a good quality, almost new gig bag from Thomann which makes for a very neat, small package. You could take it as hand luggage on a plane just by paying for a large cabin bag - in the case it measures 109 x 29 x 13cm, whereas Easyjet allows up to 117 x 38 x 30cm for a large cabin bag.

Happy to post it for £20, or collect from Bristol.

Here's someone playing one better than I would, and giving a good impression of the tone. 

(Kris Novoselic + Mark King) / 2

That's the most tasteful bass ever.

That's the very start of a beautiful natural aging process that people pay a fortune to imitate...

As Beedster says, a good set-up would be a solid start. Even tiny things like a slight adjustment to nut height can make a big difference to playability and sound.

Then maybe do a bit of research on strings to see which ones might suit your usage, and buy some secondhand strings on here to experiment with.

If you're genuinely looking at other basses, the Double Bass Room is probably the best place in the UK to try a room full of basses of all shapes, sizes and ages at the lower end of the price spectrum (ie £1k to £6k).

My problem is that I can't really stand doing anything creative that I don't love, and which doesn't include lots of actual creativity. Alongside that, my tastes are not exactly mainstream. If I was technically amazing I guess I might have scraped a career as a jazz musician but I'm really not. But that's ok - if I don't depend on it for income I can play purely for pleasure, and it's a constant source of pleasure for me.

I think I might be inclined to get it planed into shape and see how it fares - it might move more, in which case a new fingerboard will be needed, or you might get away with it.

If it was mine I'd probably plane it myself, which might well turn out to be a bad idea...

Is the warping only in the fingerboard, in the unsupported section that runs clear of the neck? Or is the neck itself bent or twisted?

For bass especially, playing with other people is incredibly important. It's like the bass part doesn't hold meaning on its own. So I'd recommend finding someone or more than one person to play with, as the best way to make progress.

Based on my recent experience of buying a used one, I think anyone with a good budget should at least consider commissioning a custom ACG. $4k will get you anything you want built, popped in a really good case and shipped to the US, with change for a party when it arrives.

Fender have got themselves into a weird situation where there most desirable products are the ones they made 50+ years ago, or ones made now that are as similar as possible. If I ran the company I think I'd set up a team of weirdos somewhere to make short-run limited edition instruments with really experimental styles and hardware, then focus on quality control, new finishes, and general perfection in the core range.

Just now, Jakester said:

 

Sorry, that was directed at Owen - I misread his first post and thought he said he was using compression, but he said he's going to experiment with some compression. 

You made a good point though, lots of people use compression on bass. I just like a very short, clean, simple signal chain straight into a good PA for double bass.