Doctor J

I put it in inverted commas so as to try not to give that impression 😉 If bass is it, that's cool but, for me, keeping musically active once I stopped gigging required trying not to see myself as a bass player, "just" or no "just" 😁 The way Alfie phrased his text resonated with me in a way that perhaps it might open possibilities for him to consider a world beyond being "just" a bass player... if you know what I mean 🤘

I think it's more to do with the other side, the position of the bridge. I had a PRS EB which felt like a short scale, despite being 34" scale and the horns weren't long at all. After really investigating, I thought it was because the bridge was right against the derrière of the body, which brought everything towards me. The bridges on Spectors and Warwicks are several inches deep into the body, which sends everything away to the left. The Sarzo Spector is utterly ludicrous in this regard.

I'm hitting 50, haven't gigged or been in a band in almost 8 years and have never been busier, or happier, musically. It has never been easier, or cheaper, to record, so that's what I do now. I challenged myself to be more than "just" a bass player, explore genres of music as whim and the winds blew me and to be open to trying new things, new instruments, sounds, ideas, whatever, just to enjoy the creative process and general musicality without pigeonholing myself into whatever way I saw myself previously. It's not easy, there's lots of work and learning ahead, but it's immensely satisfying. There are lots of ways you can still scratch your musical itch once you move on from just seeing yourself as a bass player in an indie band.

That was entirely the point 😉

If you're starting to record, maybe have a go at writing your own stuff?

Or does it lose zing because the body is not maple. Aaaaah, we enter the tonewood paradox!

Arrrr, a fine line between theme and gimmick, tharr be

If you want to see a queue of lads itching to make sure you know just how much they don't like something, and how they never ever watch it but need you to know that, just wait until it's Eurovision time again 😁

While the previous 4003 model also had dual rods, it was on the 4001 you needed to undo the tension and clamp the neck. The 4003 dual rods functioned as a standard rod would.

Another 91 Chaparral here. Fabulous thing altogether.

Get the kids to paint them before you put them on.

When this came out I was playing in a hard rock cover band and used to listen to it on the way to rehearsals. Beautiful fugging album. Timeless.

Ok, first problem, and it's a big one, is that the D and G strings are not held down by the string tree. This will change the attitude of the strings over the nut on a Fender style bass where the headstock doesn't lean back. Take care of that first. You should get a little more clearance over the first fret from the D and G. It's important, that's why the string tree is there. Second. It's time for truss rod to be taken out of the "setup" discussion. The truss rod is there to align the neck to your preference and counteract the effect of seasonal changes on the neck. It's not really part of a setup discussion. Ideally, your neck should never move but it's wood, so it does, and that's why there's a truss rod. There's an ideal way your neck shoud really conform to and that's what the truss rod is for. It shouldn't be part of the setup discussion, in my mind. So, what does this mean for you? Let's do some basic steps. 1. Hold down the E string at the first fret and the last fret. The strings, under tension, are pretty much a straight line and can be used as a guide to see the state of your neck. With the strings held down as described, you should see a small gap between the bottom of the string and the top of the 8th fret. This gap should be about the width of a business card. Less than 1mm. Have a look at the G side too. There may be slight differences. Adjust the truss rod in whatever way it takes to make this happen iwth a happy medium on both sides. Do this before you do anything else. This is the most important step. Get it right. Take your time. Looking at your video, I think you need to loosen the truss rod a bit. Do this but bear in mind that your final adjustment should be, like tuning, tightening up, so you'll need to go too far the other way and come back, if you know what I mean. 2. Once the neck is in shape, you can worry about the setup. 3. Setup is nowhere as complicated as people make out. Adjust the action to your taste and playing style. There is no right way. It's entirely personal. Me? I like quite a low action but I know lots of people who are the opposite. I don't measure, I go by feel. I like a little bit of fret grind. However, you know best how you play. Set the height of the strings to how you like it. Easy peasy. 4. Adjust the intonation. Depending on how you set the action, the length of the string, relative to scale, when open and when fretted can differ. That's where intonation adjustments come in. Get a good tuner. Play the open string and tune to pitch. Play the string at the 12th fret, if the note is sharp, adjust the saddle so you lengthen the distance of the string from the bridge to the 12th fret. If you're flat, shorten that distance. Easy peasy. You're best doing this with new strings but, even with old strings, this is worth doing. 5. If you do 1-4 correctly, you should never need to set up your bass ever again if you keep the same type of strings. All you'll need to do is tweak the truss rod twice a year. Once in the Winter and once in the Summer, to align it as in step 1. Once the neck is aligned, your setup should never really need to change.

In this troubling anecdote, it is the dude who has the overreaction, no?

When he's doing BVs call out if he hits a right note.

It looks like they were inspired by the Lace Helix with that one

It's a Fender Perlican. I'll get my coat.

They were shite.

@BCH Well, Christmas has come and gone, does that beaut live up to expectations?

Brutus are cool. For me it's Matteo Mancuso. This kid is extraordinarily gifted. I might have to try to schedule a trip to see the wife's family if ever he plays down Sardegna way.

Tell her you've got a new song for the setlist

It's an Ampeg VH-140C. Imagine a JC120 with a gain channel designed for the perfect, and I mean perfect Death Metal tone, at probably four times the weight. Pure solid-state insanity. Amazing thing, but still has the stereo chorus clean channel for some bizarre reason.

Every time you feel the ding under your thumb Give yourself a wipe, they've treated you like a bum 😉