Burns-bass

Did a nice gig yesterday and just did a line check, then we ran through an entire track and adjusted levels on the fly. If it’s a gig where you can soundcheck before anyone arrives, I’ll run thorough all 4 strings top to bottom then a bit of James Brown. Turns put lost people don’t want their conversations interrupted by my noodling!

Hope it works out and keep us updated on what you do (and if you’re happy to share, what it costs). Reckon we’d all be interested.

Crikey, that’s quite extreme! As the expert above said you can strip and oil it, but this would change the feel of the neck (it would be bare wood, not a laquer), so you have to figure out whether you want that. Personally, I’d consider a refret and refinish and the neck would be as good as new. You can even leave the headstock as it is.

I’ve always done this. Run the string up from the bridge to nut between my thumb and forefinger. It helps to break it in a bit and stops it from slipping out of tune too often (to me, at least). An hour on some Chromes today and they’re ready for the gig tomorrow. (Blue Lagoon, Bristol if anyone fancies it!)

There are lots of great refinishers out there. Unfortunately, doing so would affect the value of the bass. So, if you don’t care so much about the value, then by all means! The best thing to do is to tell us where you are based…

It all depends on what you want to do. Some days I’ll spend an hour on structured practice, other days I’ll have a glass of red wine, stick on the WAZA headphones and have a play. The key to achieving anything is setting some goals. Once you’ve defined those, you can work out a plan to get there! Mine are all DB related (although that doesn’t stop me gigging regularly on electric bass!) Send me a DM as I can send you a book or two and you can see how you get on. I’ve got a few bass ones that were going to the charity shop.

Shame it doesn’t have the original case…

I’d normally say Martin Penning in Frome, but he’s told me he can’t work on anything until 2024! Bristol Violin Shop is really good, but that’s obviously a long way to travel.

I feel your pain. I’m a clumsy person, so I’m always worried about my Bryant.

I just plug it into the amp and use the tone controls to shape.

It is an iconic line and totally flamboyant. 21, eh? Cool.

You can sometimes pick these up cheaply, as people wrongly assume they have a Squier Affinity. They are pretty amazing from my experience.

Good luck. I had a problem with Amazon leaving parcels on my front porch and then driving away. I complained 4 times, but they continued to do it. I need a monitor urgently so went to Amazon assuming they weren’t going to be so stupid… 27” 4k monitor left on the doorstep and of course when I returned home it was nowhere to be seen. Entirely predictable and utterly useless.

This is great. I use drones for practice but perhaps I need to do more. No chance of 4 hours per day, but I’m pretty sure I can make some good progress in the time I have.

Don’t want to hijack the thread, but are they worth it?

This one is up the road from me. I can check it out if you'd like?

So, I’ve started 2023 with the dedication to DB I’ve never had before. I am lucky enough to have an hour of practice time at least 5 days a week (I work for myself, and work in a room with my basses in). I also enjoy the kind of stuff people don’t enjoy (playing with a metronome, doing the same exercises etc). My aim is to get out and gig as I used to, so I’m working on intonation mostly. I’m hoping to engage a tutor again, but I’d be interested in how best to structure my practice. Any experienced DBers care to offer any suggestions?

Yeah, it's good! Some older basses and guitars aren't on there. Someone on another forum asked them about it, and it's still work in progress.

I think British humour may not translate. Nobody here is judging someone, or would be critical about their choice. We’re just making silly points. If it works for you, have the confidence to ignore us idiotic Brits. Personally, I just couldn’t see this bridge sat on top of the hand carved Bryant bass I have. It just wouldn’t look *right*. But I’m definitely interested in how it would work on an aluminium bass. Can you share some pictures of your set up?

My gig for the evening got cancelled at 1pm in the afternoon. Lost £100 but didn’t have to go through the crap of loading in and out so that’s something at least.

People who operate businesses know all this. My wife recently bought an ex-display radiator that didn’t work. The guy tried the old “sold as seen” rubbish, which is nonsense. The business has to sell goods that are fit for purpose and if they’re not, I can demand a refund. I explained I’d charge the money back from my credit card and spend the next hour on every review site I could and emailing the local newspaper about their poor treatment of my wife. The law actually offers loads of protection, it just took me a while to realise that some companies will do everything they can to avoid their responsibilities - including writing misleading Ts and Cs: