Trueno

It's the phenomenon that changing something gives the illusion of progress. Best to spend your time practising the bass. If that makes me sound holier-than-thou, I'm not... I don't follow my own advice.

[quote name='gjones' timestamp='1478463086' post='3169229'] There is a certain age, beyond which, it is embarrassing to play, in public, in a dodgy band. Find a better band, with better musicians. [/quote] Absolutely this.

Funnily enough, I've just found a set of hardly-used flats whilst sorting through my accumulated "bass clag" drawer. I'm tempted to whack them on a bass and see (hear?) what happens. Have fun with your flats.

Personally, I find the overprovision of switches and controls to be a wonderful thing. Add the offset shape and it's a winner for me. I'm getting the first burblings of GAS.

Just a thought... I had a bass delivered to my place of work once, but it obviously depends on where you work. It may help with having a replacement delivered more quickly. Like others say, I've never had any problems with GAK and I'm sure they'll rise to the occasion. It's still crap when something like that happens, though. Best of luck with all that and hope you're sorted soon.

We also had a church organist as a keyboard player. Sometimes we would play Johnny B Goode in the encore. He would slip in some JS Bach in a solo.

There's something rather compelling about J&P twins. Lovely basses.

That is an object of lust. Great work.

Landlords/landladies who are passionate about music don't act like that.... it was just your bad luck, I suppose, and you can make more informed decisions in future. Personally I wouldn't go back. I remember we once landed a gig in a well known muso pub in Halifax (no, can't remember the name of the damn place). We thought this was a good deal at the time. When we got there, we discovered it was Wakes week or summat and the whole place had bogged off on holiday. We played to one man and his dog, but there was no question of being paid off or short changed. We did wonder afterwards whether the landlord was giving us a try out.

[quote name='Cato' timestamp='1477180575' post='3160421'] I suspect most of us do this to one extant or another. I've never really understood the 'count in'. I just start when I'm supposed to start. No conscious effort to count the beats at all. As to 'this is in F# minor' - it may well be, but beyond knowing where F# (or is it G Flat?) is on the fretboard I just play stuff that fits with what everybody else is playing. As long as it's not noticeably discordant with what the others are doing I reckon I'm winning. [/quote] Is that jazz?

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1477132301' post='3160018'] I`m pretty much in the same camp as those where their tone comes from pedals/preamps rather than the amp. I`ve got it this way so that when I play gigs with provided rigs I know that FOH is going to get what I want them to, as it`s always DI`d. My amp/cab are really on-stage monitors. [/quote] I agree. I have an EBS Microbass II. It went into a 12" Markbass set flat. DI from EBS to PA.

Interesting about the volume/blend/tone layout. As I've mostly played active basses with this layout I'd prefer it on my passive Jazz... but I have read, like you say, it's not the same... so I guess I'll leave it volume/volume/tone. Fabulous bass, by the way.

New drummer: yeh! I can learn the whole set in weeks! Two weeks later: I'm halfway through the first song....

It's better just to practise more and maybe strike out out in a new direction. ... but a shiny new bass is more fun. Who am I trying to kid?

[quote name='ras52' timestamp='1477039911' post='3159367'] My first band started out as guitar/bass/keys/drums/sax, we lost the guitar and added trumpet (doubling mandolin). Then we lost the keys and trumpet and carried on with just bass, drums and sax - and did more gigs with that lineup than the other two combined! [/quote] I seem to remember a band with drums, bass and baritone sax (Morphine, I think). They were really good. I'd love to play sax in a band with that line up.

Yes... keyboard players... Keyboard player: Do you want me to play the bass parts on this? Me: No. ....... The same keyboard player: Do we have to have the stage lights on... they're giving me a headache?

Singer: I think we should put some Swing in the setlist. Me: Let me know when you do and I'm outta here.

I'd settle for playing the top octave on the flute without bothering the local cat population.

[quote name='gary mac' timestamp='1476701961' post='3156360'] I regularly use the volume knob, it doesn't just do the obvious controlling of volume. [/quote] I did wonder "am I missing something". Does it actually affect the tone or anything? Another thing I didn't think about was a volume for each pick up, but that's a new thing for me since I bought a Jazz. Before that everything was one pickup or volume/balance controls. I'd still prefer a balance on my passive Jazz.

The volume knob on my bass... and every bass I have ever owned/gigged... is always set on max. I have a mute pedal on my ore-amp for muting between sets or tuning. If I want to plug or unplug cables I turn down the volume at the amp. Is there actually any use for a volume control on a bass? Am I missing something? I know guitarists can do fancy things with volume controls, but I tend to think the bass might even sound minutely better with a less cluttered signal path.

I think that the bubinga corvettes are fantastic instruments. When I bought my Thumb BO it was a close call between the Thumb and one of these (albeit fretless and 4 string). I'll be watching this with some interest.

Changing the neck is always an option. I put a status-graphite J neck on a Precision once. The p neck didn't bother me, but I wanted fretless. The result was great (until I discovered fretless Warwicks). If I can fit a neck like that, anyone can.