Beer of the Bass

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1396131897' post='2410345'] The Jazz looks quite amazing - and at that price it would be worth me getting one and keeping it in a cupboard just to stop me from buying Jazz basses and selling them again because I don't get on with the necks! Yes, I know. [/quote] You could buy both a J and a P, swap the necks then sell the leftover P with a J neck to someone who likes skinny necks...

Here are some pictures of the bass in question, it has that big, detailed old-bass sound but it's really not pretty. In some ways I'm quite glad it's so rough looking as I would never have been able to afford a similar bass in better cosmetic condition. The case, pickup and strings would add several hundred to the replacement value, admittedly. [url="http://s1076.photobucket.com/user/MJBeer/slideshow/Double%20bass"]http://s1076.photobucket.com/user/MJBeer/slideshow/Double%20bass[/url]

I got the impression that the OP wasn't really trying to make a political point. It's just an amusing clip of someone making a fool of themselves discussing their musical tastes with a group of kids. I think everyone who regularly has to communicate with teenagers has had moments like this - you can never look cool, it's just not possible!

I'll get quotes from Allianz and Endsleigh, who I was already aware of, and try Newmoon too. I'll have a look at the MU also. I'm not absolutely certain what value to insure the bass for - it's a late 19th century German flat-backed bass with no makers name. It's all solid woods with plain maple back and sides, a grafted maple neck and the original hatpeg tuners. It's been extensively repaired over the years and has a terrible varnish job, but it's solid and stable and all of the repairs have been done competently. I have about £1000 in it (including what I spent getting a new fingerboard, bridge and soundpost done), though the last owner had it insured for £2750. Is it a common practice to insure for a somewhat optimistic amount like that?

I don't have any insurance on my double bass at the moment, and I need to get that sorted out, as I couldn't afford to replace it or have major repairs carried out if needed. I had a policy with Allianz a few years ago with a different bass but I let that lapse. Which companies would BCers recommend? Should I get a written valuation of the bass done before I apply? The previous owner of the bass had it insured for £2750, but I suspect that its market value may not be as high as that.

Ignoring the politics, it's still a comically cringeworthy attempt to appear "down with the kids" IMO. It's worthy of Alan Partridge!

[quote name='Dave Vader' timestamp='1395998273' post='2408727'] Jeff Healey. And they are Also good. [/quote] I'm also reminded of Herbie Flowers playing a Squier Affinity at the O2, while his much coveted early Jazz sits next to him on a stand...

Vibrasonic Chamber? That's a very fancy bit of marketing spiel for a great big rectangular rout! They're cool looking basses though, with that deliberately clunky 70s aesthetic.

Rickenbacker basses have narrow string spacing, as do Musicman 5-strings and their relations (OLP etc).

I do wonder how many amps are close to flat even at their nominally flat settings. For a while I had both an Acoustic Image Clarus and a Markbass LM250 head, both of which are claimed to be flat with the EQ centred, and they sounded wildly different from one another.

[quote name='pdw' timestamp='1395773842' post='2406159'] But those have a nylon coating, don't they ? [/quote] Yes, they do. Though they don't feel that unusual - I'd say that in terms of surface texture they're less of a jump from flatwounds than half-wounds are. If your criteria are smooth feel, low tension and still retaining some brightness, they fit those quite well.

D'Addario tapewounds have low tension and a sound which is flatwound-ish but at the brighter end of that. Perhaps those would do the job?

I think the softness is what annoys me about the AKG putty (due to the spreading and creeping), so perhaps I won't try the Schertler stuff. The AKG stuff is great for temporary use, but less so if it's on for more than a few hours.

Ah, for some reason I though they used this stuff, which is insanely priced for a small blob of putty! [url="http://www.themicstore.co.uk/problem-solvers/schertler-adhesive-putty.html"]http://www.themicstore.co.uk/problem-solvers/schertler-adhesive-putty.html[/url] If the ordinary white-tack does a reasonable job, I'll try some of that.

Since my current project is a low volume acoustic thing with a large chunk of arco playing, I find myself abandoning my piezo pickup (a Rev Solo II) and using my AKG C411 contact mic for most gigs. This attaches to the top of the bass with black sticky putty which was supplied with it. If I leave the pickup on, the putty has a habit of creeping, spreading out and making a black sticky mess which is a pain to remove. Is the expensive Schertler putty (I think this is the stuff you get with the Ehrlund) any better, or are there any other products which might do a better, cleaner job of this?

I reckon that the reason that neither Xilddx or myself have noticed saddle movement or rattle problems with the Hipshot is that both of us are using them on non Rickenbacker basses. These issues will be worse with the saddles set low due to the lesser back-angle. My bass has the strings further off the body than a Ric, so the saddles are set quite high on mine.

The brass one weighs a ton! There are no hollow bits in the casting, so that's a hefty lump o' metal. I have one on a home built bass, where it replaced an old Ric copy bridge. I think there was a subtle change in the sound when I changed bridge, though that could well be in my head. The attack of the notes just seemed very slightly crisper and brighter with the Hipshot. The main selling point for me is the ability to palm mute.

I wouldn't want to carry anything bigger than a small 1x12" on a bus. I use an EA Wizzy 10 cab for bus travel, it weighs 17lbs and fits in a cajon bag along with a micro-head, but if deep lows and tweeter region highs are a priority it may not be the cab for you. It doesn't get gut-churningly deep, but it's reasonably punchy in the mid/bass region, and it goes up to around 5kHz, so it's quite clear sounding but doesn't get sizzly.

Looks useful and less cumbersome than the bass mute. Would it be bad of me to point out the resemblance to one of these? [url="http://www.ecomenstrual.co.uk/shop/The_Washable_Crochet_Tampon.html"]http://www.ecomenstrual.co.uk/shop/The_Washable_Crochet_Tampon.html[/url]

A little more progress; I got hold of a 12" radius block and applied the radius for the fingerboard. Here it is at the start of the sanding - I made pencil marks all over the board so that I could see where material was being removed. Then on to drilling for the marker dots. I'm using 8mm black pearl dots, for a touch of bling. I then glued in the dots using CA glue and sanded them level. They are not quite levelled in this picture. I've also tidied up the headstock outline, but didn't take a picture of that. I still need to round the corners of the neck at the heel to match the pocket. Next I'm going to do the side dots and drill the tuner holes. Fretting will come after than, then I'll start profiling the back of the neck. It's slowly looking more and more like a neck...

My brother went to college with Rory, and I know his work is good. I'm not sure if guitar focussed luthiers always welcome double basses though, I'd have to find that out.

I need a couple of small things doing on my bass, and while previously I would have gone to Ken MacDonald, I hear he's retired nowadays. His work was always excellent and I wish him well! The work consists of re-gluing a seam between the back and sides, which is complicated slightly as it's at the treble side of the waist, where the back brace meets the side, so there's some downward pressure from the soundpost. I've attempted to glue this myself with hide glue and it hasn't held, so it's time to get it done properly. The other thing that needs doing is to re-dress the fingerboard slightly, in a small area under the G string where I'm getting some buzzing. I had a new ebony fingerboard fitted in 2008, and I presume the wood has moved a little causing the buzz. So this means I need someone with a good understanding of setup for Jazz pizz technique. Other folk I'm aware of who work on basses in Scotland are Bill Kelday in Fintry and Chantal Van Lierop in Glasgow. While I've heard good things about his work, Kelday is about a 50 mile drive from me. I use the City Car Club rather than owning a car, so 2x100 mile round trips at 23p/mile would add a fair chunk to the cost of the repair. So has anyone on here been to Van Lierop for work? And is there anyone else around that I'm unaware of?

I think living in a city centre and playing in originals bands makes a difference. When we do shorter sets at multi-band gigs, gear sharing or using the house rig make much more sense. Most of the sound in these venues comes through the FOH anyway, so the amp is primarily a monitor. Edinburgh is not very car-friendly, so if I can avoid driving to a gig I will. This is one of the reasons I sold my valve amp, as it wasn't getting gigged that often and when it was, the audience were hearing only hearing the DI in many venues. My larger 2x12" cab only gets gigged a few times per year at the moment (though it got more use when my band was hosting a monthly night), but I take out my small rig (EA Wizzy 10 and GK MB200) whenever we do the the smaller pubs.

I would say yes to "as good as" but no to "the same as", if that makes any sense!