neilp

Does this have a HF horn? And what does it weigh?

Thanks

If you want an arco string, for me there's nothing to touch D'Addario Kaplan. Lights are just perfect on my bass. Rich, complex sound, great focus and projection and they speak easily too. I've been through Flexocor Original, Evah Pirazzi and Bel Canto but I won't be looking any further. Kaplan Lights it is, for all my bowed playing except the stuff in solo tuning. For that I use Helicore Solo - also D'Addario, and also fantastic, but totally different.

Simpleton's right though, most of the sound comes from technique

3 hours ago, bassace said:

Double basses are now down from 4 to 3, having just sold my Martin. And then the aim is to get down to one as there is a massive clearout in the house in anticipation of a downsize. Still too many amps though, as nothing seems to be selling at the mo.

I manage fine with one double bass, but it only has to do orchestral and chamber music... What amps do you have?

I own 3 basses now, having sold one recently (fretless Jazz that I bought cos I thought I wanted one. I was wrong). The Aria and the Wal will never leave me. They're inextricably bound up in the way I play. The Cort is a really really good fretless bass, but if something more interesting came along, I might part with it. I can see me acquiring another fretted bass, just to even things up. Don't laugh, but I think if I do it will either be a Ricky or a T bird, just because I've always wanted them. Collector? Nope, they all have to earn their keep.

BUMP and price reduction. £120 is a proper bargain. If they don't sell for that I'll keep them. Not like they take up much space!!

22 hours ago, Al Krow said:

Different opinions are very welcome - no one has a monopoly of Truth. 

The fact that you've been playing bass as a pro or semi-pro for 35 years gets nothing but respect from an amateur like me.

Not wanting or needing a 5 string is entirely valid - you know better than anyone what works for you.

Saying that all 5 string basses lack punch and are difficult to amplify, is just plain wrong though, particularly from someone who has 35 years pro or semi pro experience! Have to say on that one, the "herd" have it very right when they say the opposite. Seriously - just pick up an used passive Yamaha BB 425 which costs all of £250 and play it through a decent rig and tell me it lacks punch! Dunno where you're based but if you're ever over in East London, please do pop in for a cuppa (or something stronger) and feel free to try out any of my 5ers through any of my rigs and see if you still feel the same.

I may well do that! I haven't played every 5 string available, and I won't, because I don't like the cumbersome feel of a neck that wide. My experience, though for what it's worth, is that most instruments that produce fundamentals as low as the bottom B on a 5 are hard to amplify effectively. Yes you get the rumble, and maybe a bit of transients for attack, but there's some clarity lacking that is hard to get - IN MY OPINION. I'm more than willing to be proven wrong about that, but that's not the deal breaker for me. I just very much prefer playing a 4

I wasn't going to bother, because it seems like we're not allowed opinions about subjective issues unless they fit with the herd. I'm not saying 5 strings are bad, I'm saying I don't like playing them and 99% of the time they are ENTIRELY unnecessary FOR ME. When was the last time a punter came up to you and said "I'm so glad you used a 5 string. It frustrates the hell out of me every time I hear 'I Think We're Alone Now' played without the low notes"? 

I've been playing bass as a pro or semi pro for nearly 35 years, and I feel no guilt in saying I neither need nor want a 5 string.

On 14/07/2018 at 12:28, thepurpleblob said:

Nah - I think you're wrong. What I do think is that 5 (and by extension 6 string) basses have a lot more variation. There are, effectively, de-facto standards for the 4 string (Mr Fender's creations) but these don't exist for the 5-string basses. Although I can't prove it, I'm going to suggest that's it harder (== more expensive) to produce a good 5 string than a good 4 string. Really, the E-G strings shouldn't be any different from a 4 and the B is what sorts the men from the boys. After sifting through quite a few 5s, you should come and have a go on my Yamaha TRB5 or my Lakland 5. They took some tracking down and the Lakland (USA) was a lot more expensive than I might have liked.

I'm glad you've found something that does it for you. I have too, and they all have 4 strings. I'm perfectly happy with them, and every time I've tried a five, I can't wait to get back to my basses. That's me, not you. I'm happy, hope you're happy too....

I really don't have any interest in spending time playing 5 string basses. I'd rather be making music than struggling with kit I don't want or need

On 14/07/2018 at 11:37, steve-bbb said:

can we safely assume you have not tried enough 5 or 6 strings in that you seem to safely make this sweeping generalisation

i'd agree that a great number of lower budget 5s and 6s may not have a very satisfactory low end but from experience of owning an early 90s TRB6 i can assure you they are anything but that which you claim - try one out when you get the opportunity, they are a bit rare now but if you get the opportunity you will be very surprised

Nobody listens on the internet do they? I think that's something nobody can argue with. I don't like playing 5 string basses, and the ones I have played have not satisfied me sonically. Given that I don't like them, and have no regular need of one, why would I spend ANY of my time trying them? If you like yours, great, go to it, you're not wrong. When I need one, I borrow a Stingray, which is OK, but I don't enjoy playing it AT ALL. Have your view, it's all subjective. I'm not wrong any more than you are.

13 minutes ago, chris_b said:

You have so few gigs with the old band. Doesn't look like you'd have many diary clashes.

I'd stay and be in both bands.

This. Playing is good. More playing is better

I don't particularly like 5 string basses, I've never found one that doesn't feel awkward and unwieldy to me. I find the sound pretty unsatisfying too, in the main. No punch, difficult to amplify. In the double bass world the answer is simple - a C extension lets you keep your 4 string and have the low notes when you need them. To be honest, in bass guitar world I don't really come across the need very often. If you're making music for your audience's benefit, they won't notice or care. It's not very often a line just doesn't work on a 4 string. If I really need one, I borrow it. 5 strings are not progress, they're an alternative, and one I don't particularly enjoy. Your view may differ. Doesn't make either of us wrong.

I have a rack mount Korg which is first class, and I also have a couple of Pitchclips as backup, which clip to the back of the headstock with no problems. For classical gigs I use the Android Boss TU3 ap, which is just as good as the physical pedal.

Where are you? Best bet is to ask the local string teachers who they use, or if there's a pro orchestra anywhere nearby check with them. I either send mine back to the genius who made it, or take it to a guy in Brighton. I wouldn't use anyone else, and certainly wouldn't send it to anyone I didn't know personally. There's so little difference in cost between a great rehair and an average one, find the best you can.

If you need to name it, call it what ever interval it covers, for example a double stopped minor third

If the quality and sound are anything like my older B4FL, it'll be  a great bass

Bump

In perfect condition. Fitted with an East J-Tone preamp (original electronics included), and a newish set of Fender flats. Nice action, nice neck, plays really well and sounds like a fretless Jazz! I bought it on a whim, and its lovely, but hasn't displaced either of my other two fretless basses, so it's surplus...... I might be able to find a gig bag for it, if a classy bass for that price isn't enough!. Might consider a swap for a T bird! Don't ask why.......

A Hercules double bass stand. Folds up for storage, so unless there's a bass on it it takes very little space! Holds the bass securely, off the ground so you can leave your endpin extended. Also has a bow hanger - I'd never use such a thing, but you might. In immaculate condition, all the foam is still good, paint too. I can deliver within reason, or pack it for a courier.

Just about to put a Hercules stand in the classifieds if anyone wants one

It's almost the reverse for me. I played a gig the other day and on a whim took my Squier VM fretless Jazz. Never gigged it before, and spent the whole night thinking "why am I playing this when I have so much better at home in their cases?" ....

In the classical world, there's no such thing as "too nice to gig". Granted, there are fewer drunken punters, but I know violinists who sit in the pub post-gig with a £50k instrument on the floor next to them. 

Look after your gear by all means, but instruments are for playing music, and music should have people listening, and the people listening deserve the best you can give them.

Led Zeppelin 2. The Lemon Song, then Ramble On. Almost everything I love about music right there in those two songs.

I have a nice Squier VM Jazz with an East J-Tone preamp that I might be persuaded to part with. Bought it on a whim and really like it, but I have a fretless Wal as well as the Cort, so the Jazz really doesn't get played very much. Immaculate nick, nice bass.

For sale a set of D'Addario Kaplan Solo strings, set to suit a bass with a C extension.

Solo tuning, so from low to high - D(F#), B, E, A

They were on my bass long enough to get nicely played in, incredible sound. Clear, bright, smooth and rich at the same time. Selling because my bass prefers slightly lower tension strings. Unfortunately there is only one way to find that out!

Set cost over £340 new, and as I said, literally just played in. If you need a set of top quality solo strings, you won't find cheaper.

The words "attributed to" in my book almost always mean "there is absolutely no proof to this assertion, but I want the Fairy Dust of a Cremonese maker, and the scroll looks vaguely right"

I'm sure it's a magnificent bass, and worth a lot of money just for that. Amati though? Who knows? And if you don't know, don't claim it.

Gary Karr's bass, now thought to be French, was amazing, but REALLY hard to play...

There's something about the finish, the contours and proportions that just say "60s Czech plywood" to me.

Oh, and by the way, there is a great deal of debate - to put it mildly - whether Hieronymous Amati ever made any double basses. The Karr - Koussevitsky bass (which I have played!) has been dated to after H Amati's death, and that was claimed for years to be the only existing Amati bass. If anyone were to try to sell a bass as an Amati, they would have to have utterly bomb-proof provenance. To my knowledge, such a thing doesn't exist.