Grahambythesea

Hofner club meets Fender Precision, not a happy matching!

You asked the exact same question I was about to! The short scale 5 string is of particular interest. I get the bit about needing long scale strings because of the length of the instrument but I still wonder what the B may sound like and does it suffer fro "wobble". There are a couple of demonstration on YT and it seems okay but how does it perform in the real world of a band ? As regards the other photo here,interesting, is the aging effect supposed to make it look like it's got woodworm? Otherwise it's a great looking instrument,do they do it in an unarmed version?

If I put a gold anodised scratch plate on my jazz, will stop it humming under fluorescent strip lights.....lol!

[quote name='Bolo' timestamp='1419537560' post='2640770'] I played this one at a local shop, lovely warm not mushy sound: [Img] http://www.themusiczoo.com/images/9-09-10/Duesenberg_Mike_Campbell_Bass_101115_a.jpg" class="ipsImage" /> [/quote] Sorry guys it just reminds of the awful 60s Italian made basses that look as though they are designed by an accordion maker. The paint job belongs on a souped up Ford Escort!

[quote name='MarkG3' timestamp='1457878064' post='3002563'] Fanned frets and obvious wood joins are two I really don't like [/quote] Absolutely agree. Judging by the number of votes for single cuts, the makers better drop them from their catalogues pretty quickly or risk alienating bass players forever! Is the Les Paul a single cut???

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1457616078' post='3000147'] Wings..? I believe he played a R*ck*nb*ck*r... [/quote] And much of the time a Yamaha BB something or other. Well I guess even one of the wealthiest musicians in the world will play something if he's given it for free!

Gibson EB2. Always thought I wanted one or an Epiphone Rivoli as all the good 60's bands used them but when I finally bought a 66 vintageEB2D I didn't like the neck profile or that ridiculously too powerful neck pickup. The "D" had the second weedy bridge pickup as well that was absolutely terrible. I still hanker for a semi but I'm really cautious now!

These newbies have definitely got an avian theme again. But whereas a buzzard is a magnificent bird of prey , these look like a couple of skinny pigeons!

Having developed a really bad shoulder, my Fender Jazz 5 string started to really hurt after only 1/2 hour of playing. I'd mostly owned P. Basses over the years and never noticed the weight. I also had a semi hollow Gibson EB2 which was noticeably lighter, well it should be with most of the body being air! But it was not the best balanced bass I ever had. The issue has to be having a body heavy enough to stop neck dive without causing shoulder deformation! I bought the Spector Spectorcore 5 string which seems to be a happy compromise and would like to try the Lakland semi hollow to see how that "weighs in". Any one any experience of it? I am also considering an Epiphone Jack Cassady as one of the few truly semi hollow basses which are long scale, pity they don't offer a 5 string version or a 5 string Gibson Midtown. I really don't get the brigade that claim you need the body weight to get the sustain and tone. These are electric basses and with effects pedals, eq etc you can pretty much dial up any tone you want!

I think there is an advantage. You can play higher up the neck but still get those low notes, but the finger stretch is a lot less. When you are adapting from 25inch scale to 34 inch the fret spacing at the head end of the neck can feel an uncomfortably long stretch.

Glad your sale went okay. I have twice sold and once bought instruments where it was cash and we met in a car park. Scary. But each time I have met really nice people and had trouble free transactions. May be the musician fraternity is just a bit more honourable than the rest of the world!

Probably not your taste but Kyle Eastwood. Totally knockout bass player on fretless, fretted and upright and he has an amazing quintet.

When I had a Washburn ea35 I used rotosound black nylon strings which sounded great and not dissimilar to an upright, it was a fretless model.

GAK & Richtone both have them, I don't think they ae rare, they seem to come up on eBay quite often. I have played one and don't think they are anything out of the ordinary, if anything they are a bit prone to neck dive.

If you want to get away from the Jazz body shape but want a jazz pickup, then if you would settle for the P/J pickup set up check out Spector basses. Depending on the size of your budget the Korean made Legends are superb for the money but the Euro LX BASS would be perfect.

I returned to fretless playing via a Spector Spectorcore 5. Also needed a slightly lighter weighing bass due to shoulder problems and the semi hollowed body is a good hybrid, solid enough to give some punch, no feedback problems but not so heavy as a normal solid. The set up straight out of the box was superb (much better than my US Jazz 5 which cost twice as much).

Easyjet have a specific policy for instruments with maximum sizes mostly aimed at accommodating orchestral instruments. The case must not exceed 30cm x 120cm x 38cm. I expect that would include a kala u bass but it excludes most guitars. It will be classed as your one piece of hand luggage so no bag as well, they are pretty strict on this and if the overhead lockers are full they'll bounce your instrument into the hold!

I'm not the most computer savvy person on the planet and I mainly use an iPad, but try as I may I cannot figure a way of putting photos on her. Can someone enlighten me. Ta!

whoops pressed the submit button twice!

Fenton Weill Contra bass (weird angles on this but played ok) [Can someone tell me how to photos on here I'd love to show this strange beast?] No name cheapie short scale copy of a mustang bass Fender Musicmaster 72 Fender Precision (3 colour sunburst) Ibanez Roadster Fretless (maple neck) 96 Fender USA 5 string jazz (crimson burst) Fender USA Precision fretless (Olympic white) 66 Gibson EB2D (sunburst) Washburn EAB5 electro-acoustic 5 string fretless Spector Spectorcore 5 string fretless Just got the 5 string Jazz and the Spectorcore these days and a load of acoustic guitars, octave mandola and even a tenor banjo!

Keep the Lakland. You don't have to play the 5th, but who knows, you may find another gig when it will be really useful. Having occasional hand pains I have found it useful to use the 5th higher up the board to reduce the hand stretch and reduce discomfort.

Spector Spectorcore 5 string weighs in at under 8lb (3.6kg) and sits very comfortably. I guess the other choice may be Gibson Midtown bass. I used to own an EB2 which was very light and I guess the midtown would be similar. The ultimate option is an electro-acoustic, there seems to be hundreds on the market, but I'm yet to find one I like. I sold my Washburn 5 string e-a bass as the neck was awful! So wide. Aging bones and muscles seem to be a real problem for bass players, I suppose no one ever thought R 'n' R would last this long and those playing it might be drawing their pensions!

I'm really pleased with my Spector Spectorcore 5 string fretless. The EMG pickup is passive and then there's an active Fishman piezo bridge pickup. However it all works through the active eq. Normally about £800 bit shop around, I picked one up new from a store in Italy for under £500 delivered.

I think Pete Young may be right about scale length, 35 ins greatly helps the bottom B. I have two 5 strings, a US Fender with 34 in scale and a Korean Spector with 35 in scale and guess which is the better? Flat wounds could certainly help they generally have a higher tension than round wounds, but beware you will probably need to adjust the nut to accommodate the additional string width. I found Chromes had a high tension, in fact too much for me but it's all a matter of personal taste. The trouble is you may have to spend quite a lot trying different makes and gauges until you find one that suits. At an average of £40 a set this gets a bit expensive! Good luck.

Owned a single pick up Fretless Roadstar, lined maple neck, played superbly but not a lot of tone variation. I replaced it with a Fender P Fretless which did have a bit more punch. Both were bought second hand, the Ibanez for £99 the Fender for £650. Was the Fender worth the extra, probably not! Don't own either now.