MrTea

I've been playing a few months and feel like I'm making some progress. I've got the Tod Phillips DVD and the John Goldsby TrueFire course (https://truefire.com/bass-guitar-lessons/upright-handbook/c1017) but wondered what other learning resources would be recommended. I also have the Rufus Reid Evolving Bassist DVD although I haven't got stuck into that one yet as I feared it may be a little beyond me at the moment. 

I know I should probably find a local teacher but time and money are both a little tight at the moment. I'm not too worried about genre - I'd rather learning technique then apply it to whatever I'm playing. Any recommendations? 

LS2 seems tempting as it’s so flexible but I still like the look of the Radial Bigshot I/O. I actually did this at my last gig with my wounded paw blender v4 but it’s huge and just doesn’t feel quite right for the task. 

I’ve hopefully a new EUB imcoming tomorrow which will soak up any funds so this may have to wait until I can pick up a ls2 or bigshot cheap. 

Don't get my wrong - the microthumpinator is great (I also have one) and I do like the size of the micromix. 

Thanks @jpj - the micromix looks like a pretty good solution as well but seems a little pricey and lacks any ability to mute either of the inputs so I'm not sure that's right for me. 

The Radial Bigshot I/O looks to be the best solution for me so far - the only thing I'm not sure about is the lack of LEDs on the black version to signal which input is active (there seems to be a black and a green version and I'm assuming the green one is newer?). I know as soon as you pick up the instrument it's fairly obvious!

Thanks. I like the look of that radial big shot. At the moment I’m compensating for volume difference by switching my Tonehammer off when I switch to upright. It kind of works but this looks like a good solution. 

Is anyone here switching between the two regularly on a gig? I'm getting to grips with the upright and I'm tempted to start getting it into the set for my Rock and Roll but wondered how are people switching between the two? Will a simple A/B switch do the trick? I'm currently muting with the tuner then switching the cable but I don't like it! 

Bonus points for cheaper solutions - I'm sure there are lots of nice solutions out there but I need to try and keep the budget down at this stage (still interested to hear though).

I'll take these if they're still available:

Building Walking Basslines                £5
Expanding Walking Basslines                £5
The Funkmasters                    £10

I'll drop you a PM as well.

£47.40 including VAT & shipping! That’s seems like incredible value! +1 again for Orange service. Glad you got it sorted. 

Well played. Well jealous ;-)

@bigmuff69 did you get this? I messaged the guy who said it was still available but someone going today to take a look. Interested to know if you saw it but decided against it. Cheers. 

Damn - saw this and considered a £400 offer but thought it would be too low! Well played! 

That sounds about in line with what I intended - I don't have grand plans (at least not initially). Really it's a case of reshaping the headstock. I've got a Wizard pickup on route which I'll probably stick in it along with some flats and a set up. 

Thanks all. With the help of @kodiakblair it sounds like I’m in good hands. 

Thanks @kodiakblair.

It's funny, I like 'players' guitars and have no desire to stick a decal on the headstock. I'm not fussy about the brand - if it sounds good and feels comfortable to play then that's all good. But that headstock is just a little ugly (IMO) :-) 

Thinking of taking the plunge with one of these but wondering how easy is it to reshape the headstock? Can anyone point me in the direction of a template? Are you guys doing it with a coping saw? Are you just sanding back the logo? Apologies for the newbie questions but even at £90 I'd rather not mess this up :-)

Pm’d

I bought a strap from Tomas. Good guy to deal with and great communication. Would  be more than happy to deal with him again. 

That does indeed look amazing!

Attempting to take the discussion slightly off topic how does the stock PB50 stack up against the Classic Vibe 50s? I'm GASsing for a 50s precision at the moment so interested to know if a new pickup and loom for example in one of these would give a better 'working' bass than the squier.

@andy67 - Good to hear.

My BT500 came back today well packed and wrapped in the box I sent it in. I've given it a quick blast and seems like the problems all fixed (I didn't expect any less). They've also helpfully included a service report listing the following:

Diagnosis of fault
Dodgy valve sockets, bad solder contacts, broken Active/Passive switch

Action taken
Replaced preamp board, set clock frequencies, tested

Considering I ended up paying less than 2 hours bench fee at my local tech including shipping in both directions I couldn't be happier. Thank you Orange for providing fantastic after sales service!

@andy67 let us know how you get on.  

Here's the update ... The head went back to Orange and I've just had an email from them saying that they've fixed the issue. Here's what they've said (I'm assuming that the issue would have required a little soldering and wasn't just a badly seated valve as I'd tried switching them out/reseating them a few times before I sent it to them):

Quote

The crackling in the audio was caused by a bad connection between one of the valves and the socket so nothing serious. I also noticed the active/passive switch wasn't working.
Since we don't have any of those switches in stock I've replaced the entire preamp circuit board in your amplifier. At the same time this gives you fresh valve sockets so you definitely won't have any problems with those anymore.
It would be unfair for me to charge you for the entire PCB just because we don't have a switch in stock so I'm not going to charge you for any of the parts.

I've paid them for labour and shipping but so far this seems fantastic customer service. I'll post another update once I get the head back.

I don't think I'll ever understand why anyone wants to stick a fake logo on any bass. Does it make it play better?! 

Thanks @dannybuoy.

I'd read something similar elsewhere so I'd already shot Orange an email. And right enough they got back to me suggesting to send it to them and they're sure they can fix it at less than a local tech could. I've no idea what the cost will be yet (it'll arrive with them this morning) but the very helpful chap at Orange suggested they haven't had to charge more than £100 for a repair on a OBT yet.

Fingers crossed. 

Nice to hear it went to a good home! I was also surprised it had no bids - regardless of the Big Country connection you don't see that many SWB-1s going 2nd hand and the starting price seemed reasonable.

I had tried swapping the valves and it didn't solve the problem. I may give it another go though. I'll also try your other suggestions .