neilp

Cover it with a blanket.

I'd never buy double bass insurance that doesn't include cover in unattended vehicles

Of the bass guitars, the Wal is and always has been my dream instrument, But the double bass is special just because of it's age, patina and soul.

From memory, for a value of approx 20k, I'm paying around 180 per year. Allianz

I bought myself a Christmas present (unplanned!) of a lovely 1980 Aria SB1000 fretless to go with my fretted version. I'd guess the value at £1k, more or less, which probably takes the total value of my gear to around £23k if I include the double bass and bows, amplification etc

I think all insurance companies will say the same thing, that you need to take reasonable precautions to secure your equipment when it's unattended. It's not reasonable to expect any insurance to cover equipment that is unattended in an insecure (unlocked) location. Man up and take some responsibility. Might mean you have to stay out of the bar. If we all make enough fuss, venues might start to provide this kind of facility.

Country music hasn't established itself in this country because it's the wrong country. The language, the harmonies, the cultural touchstones are not ours. Not to mention a lot of the instruments. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of country music, and thoroughly enjoyed this series, but it will never be mainstream here because it just doesn't connect in the way it does in the States.

Thanks, yes, I knew that, and they're both 1980, which is nice. I was just wondering if there is any finer detail to be had. Not the end of the world, I'm a player not a collector. The fretless will be getting a good setup and then be out on a stage in the South East very soon!

Not normal, but even a small knock on the end of the fingerboard can do this. Not a huge deal to repair...

Bananas are the answer. I grade the challenge of a gig by the number of bananas. These days I often turn down a 3 banana gig......

Last time I saw Jerome, he glued up an open seam, fixed a small crack in the back and adjusted the sound post, all for the princely sum of £60. Always helpful, always happy. Lovely guy, does great work

Does anyone know how to decode early SB serial numbers?

The fretless needs the nut cutting down a bit, but sounds great, plenty of mwah. Wondering whether I need the Wal now.... Seriously, I'm chuffed to bits. Always wanted one of these, GAS killed for good now.

I've owned my 1980 Aria SB1000 since 1986 ish, and I've always had half an eye open for a fretless twin for it, with absolutely no joy - until last week, up it pops on flea bay. Same wood, similar condition (not quite as good as the fretted one, but very good), plays great. It had to be done......

I've owned my 1980 Aria SB1000 since 1986 ish, and I've always had half an eye open for a fretless twin for it, with absolutely no joy - until last week, up it pops on flea bay. Same wood, similar condition (not quite as good as the fretted one, but very good), plays great. It had to be done......

Jerome Davies. Top man, lovely guy and a player himself. Google him, he's near Cranbrook in Kent. The only luthiers I let play with Meghan are Jerome and Martyn Bailey

I've just acquired a Crafter fretless acoustic bass guitar - does anyone have any experience of flats on a bass with a pin bridge like these? Slightly concerned that flats won't go round the corner without breaking.... Neil

Don't start down that rabbit hole! Gear obsession is strangely common amongst bass players. My other half is a pro violinist and a completely brilliant musician. What rosin does she use? "No idea, whatever that stuff is". How much? "as little as possible, only when I absolutely have to, I hate it"

Please tell me that's a joke

Good man! Stick to your principles

There are loads of teachers who can teach German bow. There's no point switching if you have put the effort in to make a start, and if you have a bow you like. I play French bow, but only because that is how I started. I tried German for a while at college, and it was fine, but I was in the reverse position you're in. I was just past Grade 8 and starting to think about my Diploma,and the work to get to that standard with a German bow would have been crazy so I stuck with French. My advice would be to keep going with what you have, it sounds like you have a long way to go before you reach the limits of your potential. Oh, and if you ever want to audition for the Berlin Phil, you will HAVE to play German bow!

When I was a student at RCM and playing in youth orchestras etc, I took my bass on trains, underground and buses, and carried it walking. Now i'm an old, lazy man I have a Merc E class estate to carry it for me. I have to be honest, I wouldn't take a gig that I couldn't drive to, and all of the various wheeled contraption scare the life out of me with what the shock loads are doing to my near 200 year old bass, so I carry it rather than wheeling it, and I have a K & M folding stool. Not much help, sorry! N

1978. John Paul Jones' playing on Led Zeppelin 2 and 3. Still for me the finest all-round musician working in the popular music world.

Chances are it was built the way it is now. Mine is what is known as a "blockless wonder", albeit an early and high quality one. they were built in thousands in Germany/Austria/Bohemia in the 19th and into the 20th century. I suspect they were cheap then, and a bit disposable, and only the best of them have survived. The blockless construction makes it very difficult and expensive to reset the neck, so a lot of them end up with a wedge. Mine has a beech neck, so in order to strengthen it for modern strings it was planed thinner, and a parallel slice of maple added, with the wedge on top of that to give the right overstand and bridge height. A very famous American Luthier very sniffily told me it should have been "properly" restored, but it plays beautifully, sounds amazing (right at home in the CBSO bass section on one occasion), and I couldn't possibly afford to replace her with a "properly" constructed bass that sounds or plays as well. A well-executed neck wedge can be the making of a bass....