Doctor J

Bold, because that's the way they always operate. The turgid regurgitation we have become accustomed to has never been the philosophy of most Japanese manufacturers, thankfully. Go through the catalogues of the likes of Ibanez, Yamaha or ESP over the years and you'll see they continually refine their offerings. They build a spec for a few years, at most, and move on. This year's SRs are very different to the ones of 10 years ago which, in turn, were very different to 10 years before that. Some companies embrace change, some just used to. I love that a manufacturer as big as Ibanez are always prepared to move on and offer customers something genuinely different for the brand. The other side to that, of course, is that if you liked something they made in the past, chances are your only chance is to trawl through the second-hand market. The Affirma is the first bass I can think of them re-issuing but, even so, the time might still not be right for that design.

Super Furry Animals - Guerilla It's got everything in there and somehow makes it all work.

Do you have a line out from one of the rigs? Just run that into the second rig.

I have never measured action in my life, I go with what feels right for that neck and fret combination. I like it high enough that the note is clear and true when I play soft to medium, but low enough that I can summon up some grit should I want it by digging hard. I think, by most standards, I err on the lower side of action, based on the setup of instruments I have bought, however, the first thing I do with any bass I purchase is level and dress the frets and, most importantly, dress the nut slots so the action isn't ridiculous at the first fret. Choking notes with stupidly low action is silly, but having the action higher than it needs to be to get clear and true notes seems odd to me. I don't want to have to fight notes out of the bass, we're in the same gang.

Unless the postie magics up in the next hour or so, I won't know if it's the best or worst but it's definitely the last of the year, an old Aria Pro II IGB-600. I started playing in the late 80's and I have a real soft spot for basses from that era. I'm really looking forward to checking it out.

When His Supreme Holiness St. Leo of Fender designed fingers, he got them right first time. Them he got them left, which were also right. First time.

It puts the “no” in ergonomics.

I hear things.

-10db 🙂

It’s hard, but it’s done and nothing can change that. If that’s how little they value you, well, you’re better off finding out as soon as possible and having these people out of your life. Let the negative rage go and move on. Believe in yourself. Use that energy to get something else going. F**k ‘em.

Nice. Make sure you have pad ready on your amp, it’s about to be violated in a most glorious way.

Garry Tallent from the E-Street band has been a Spector player for a long, long time.

Perhaps the question should be why some genres seem to demand a more conservative or unimaginative choice of instrument?

The weight and additional tension of the coil as it expands places unnecessary stress on the part of the cable which meets the jack, so you get constant flexing between the immovable and swinging parts of the cable which creates a break point dramatically shortening the life of the cable. If you hook it behind the strap (as one should) and through an cab handle you just move those stresses flex nodes somewhere else with the same end result.

I’d keep it, it’s a fantastic gesture by someone who clearly loves you a lot and worth a lot more than just money or some self-imposed rule. Don’t think of it as a bass, it’s an extended-range instrument which happens to incorporate some bass frequencies. Lose the low B, shift the other strings down, add a high F string and there’s something really different for you to play which is a lot more than just a bass, problem solved.

More of a Chubby Checker twist, I think 😵

Yep. That’s a “meh” from me. Shame, as Lakin’s MM + J design was fantastic, now he’s just redesigning the designed. Aside from the unusual string tree position (and I’m just curious wtf they were thinking) there is nothing of interest here for me.

Wood is organic material and, as such, every piece is different. One should never expect absolutes with it.

Intonating this one would be a lot of fun. As for the nut... https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Decurtins-USA-Hand-Made-Cherry-Jazz-Bass-Guitar-Exotic-Hardwood-Long-Scale-2/174128271902?_trkparms=aid%3D1110001%26algo%3DSPLICE.SIM%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D20160323102634%26meid%3D2576f821ac824fadbe73181572b5b8e2%26pid%3D100623%26rk%3D4%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D303260245395%26itm%3D174128271902%26pmt%3D0%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2047675&_trksid=p2047675.c100623.m-1

For many years all I had was my ESP 400 Series Jazz and a Rickenbacker 4003. They were simpler times with two lovely sounding basses. I still have the ESP.

I live in Ireland and have bought from the UK, Japan, USA, Germany, Belgium, France, Netherlands and more. Choice is limited here and I never would have played the variety of basses I have had I not looked abroad. Do a bit of homework on the seller and you should never have any problems which is why feedback systems are so valuable.

I did. I played 4s for almost 15 years before I decided to try more strings. I was thinking about trying a 5 and was looking at the SR3005 and saw the 6 was the same price so thought "Why not?" and went with the SR3006. It was quite a leap. I had to stop playing 4s for a while to really make progress with the 6. I still find moving from 4 to 6 and back again awkward. String spacing is a big, big consideration. The SR3006 had 16m string spacing which was great for the left hand, very hard for the right (I don't play with a plec). I kept with it as it suited the band I was in at the time. When that band folded, I went back to mostly playing 4s. They're just more natural in hand for me. The 6 is more difficult to play, harder for your hands to get around. Eventually I sold the SR as I wasn't playing it enough to keep to a standard I felt comfortable with. This year I fancied trying 6 again and got a nice deal on a TRB6. It has 19mm spacing, possibly 20mm and the neck is incredibly wide. I'm enjoying trying to get to grips with it but it's a really different beast from the SR. I find it harder on the left hand and more comfortable on the right than the SR. I don't think a 6 would ever be my primary bass, I'm too long playing 4s to really feel home on them. If I were starting off, I think a 6 would be a great thing to dedicate yourself to. There's so much you can do with them. For me, though, my hands and muscle memory are used to 4s so the 6 is a novelty item rather my number 1.

Elixirs all the way. Round and coated. Gimme zing over dull thud every time.

The BEX4 is a recent addition. Interesting instrument, for sure.