Beer of the Bass

[quote name='crez5150' timestamp='1392392483' post='2368149'] If you've ever seen Clapton live he rarely says anything..... and looks proper miserable at the same time [/quote] I guess he's cut back on the stage banter since the infamous "Enoch was right" days! Possibly a wise decision...

[quote name='henry norton' timestamp='1392362715' post='2367737'] It's different enough - you're fairly limited when it comes to 4+1 headstocks anyway. If I can offer some unsolicited advice it would be to draw out your headstock sketches with the tuners drawn on too (not just the string posts) - it'll give you a much clearer picture of what it'll be like when it's all together. Looking forward to some more instalments [/quote] I've tried tracing out the tuner baseplates onto it to check that they fit, but haven't drawn on the actual buttons yet. I should probably do that. I haven't managed to borrow a router yet, but a friend has offered the use of their table saw to cut the channels for the truss rod and CF rods. That seems workable to remove the bulk of the material, but I'd still need to use a drill and chisel for the ends of the channels. Although I'm still somewhat inclined to keep searching for a cheap router... Everything after the truss rod channel I'm happy enough doing with the hand tools I have available.

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1392393180' post='2368167'] So it's basically an improved Orange Terror Bass? [/quote] I get the impression from their description that it's geared towards cleaner sounds than the Orange specialises in, and as it doesn't use a Fender type tone stack, it should be a little more versatile in terms of EQ. Transformer based DI is a sought-after thing too. So only really like the Orange in that it's a smallish box with a valve preamp and class-D power amp. I can't afford one, but it looks like a nice bit of kit...

Hmm, it turns out that finding a friend to borrow a router from is a bit of a stumbling block. I may have to buy a cheap one at this rate...

It occurred to me that Thomann list the top sellers in each category on their website, and they shift a lot of instruments. If you look in "electric basses" there are two Squier Jazzes in the top 10, but no Fender or Squier Precisions. That's just one retailer and not a huge amount of information, but perhaps indicative in a back-of-a-fag-packet sort of way.

Are they still using the B&C drivers (Italian made) in the Indonesian cabs, or is that part of their cost-cutting? Moving away from those would lose a lot of the appeal of the Markbass stuff IMO.

The size and weight do seem really handy too. Have you tried it with the Shuttle yet? That could be a very cool mini-rig for rehearsals etc.

Does the tension feel higher than Chromes of the same gauge?

I'd been wondering about Fender flatwounds, as they make about the least expensive set of five string flats out there. I'm on Status Half wounds at the moment, but they're a little too roundwoundish sounding on the top strings, so maybe I'll move those over to my fretless and try some more flats...

[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1392027230' post='2363645'] Unless they're being just as ironic. I suppose if you were to take it seriously, at least if your band confirms to all those old tired rock band cliches, be aware that they're tired cliches and revel in the fact. For god sake don't think you're being edgy unless you've taken that cliche to new levels like Mr Venom. [/quote] It's a very confused list though. Some of the "rules" are about avoiding tired old cliches, while others seek to enforce them. I might take some interest in a similar list from a noted performer rather than a journalist (like Captain Beefheart's infamous guitar commandments), though more as an insight into their way of working than as a set of rules.

[quote name='cytania' timestamp='1391541845' post='2358416'] Slade are a joke band. First they tried the 'bovver boys' gag and nobody got the joke. Then they tried whiskers, mirror hats, hemi-fringes and glitter robes and BINGO. Same music but a different joke (and I love Slade). [/quote] That's a bit harsh, don't you think? If you're talking purely about the visual presentation then, yes they were certainly having some fun there, but there's more to them than that. (Apologies for the derail!)

This morning I've been playing around with different headstock shapes on paper. I'm constrained by having large Schaller BM tuners which I want to keep, so they can't be too close together. After a couple of abandoned efforts, I realised that the lines of the Stingray 5 headstock are more elegant than anything else I could come up with to fit these tuners. So I've ended up with more or less a straight rip-off of the MM headstock, but with the little point at the tip rounded off, as I don't feel it compliments this body. I also realised that I can't draw a smooth curve to save myself, and I should have paid more attention to technical drawing in school!

I'm alarmed that this is described as having been a "worn" toilet seat before they refinished it. Surely you'd start with a fresh, new loo seat if you were building one of these?

I have a five string I built a while ago using an OLP neck. As the B string response has never been fantastic and I have trouble getting the relief right, I've decided to put together a new neck for it. I could have approached this by working on the existing neck, but I like a project! I've got hold of a neck blank and pre-slotted fingerboard from David Dyke, both are AA grade plain flat-sawn maple. I'm going to use a double action truss rod and a pair of 6mm square carbon fibre rods to help with stiffness. I'm working on drawing up some plans at the moment, and trying to decide between copying the Stingray headstock shape or coming up with something original. My next step will be to ask around various friends and see if I can borrow a router from one of them to do the channels for the rods. Here's the bass as it is at the moment, and my materials for the new neck. More to follow...

Fretless basses do tend to get a bit trashed in music shops, as they invariably come with roundwounds and then bassists (or guitarists) who aren't used to fretless come along and bend the strings sideways guitar style, scoring up the fingerboard horribly. I've seen this happen a few times, so I can understand why many shops would prefer not to keep them in stock.

When was it ever about following rules? Some of my favourite musical moments consist of people doing things that they "shouldn't" do.

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1391691383' post='2360194'] I think I'll stick with my "does it sound good to me? yes/no" approach. [/quote] Though if you were wondering whether it would sound better to glue your instrument to an empty plastic bucket or one filled with sand, the video might help. A valuable service, that is!

I just found that rambling and incoherent. I skipped through a lot of it due to that, but he doesn't appear to measure anything or present any objective data. He just messes about with it, strums it and declares "no resonance" or "just the same". Coming from a science background, I don't recognise any science going on here - it just looks sciencey due to the graphs on screen.

[quote name='skidder652003' timestamp='1391369753' post='2356395'] HI Folks so i really fancy getting a turntable again! Like a muppet I sold my Rega P3 a few years ago for about £150 quid on ebay and have regretted it ever since. Unfortunately my budget is a round £130 what with Christmas and everything. Does anyone have experience of a turntable at around that budget used price? I really fancy a Pioneer PL-12D, anyone got one? Or any other model for that kind of price? Cheers, Steve [/quote] I have the Pioneer PL-11, which I think might be the slightly older model. I don't know if I can comment much on it's sound, as the rest of my system isn't great and I haven't listened to a lot of different decks, but it's certainly solid and functional and has never given me any bother.

Stick some flats on it? That'll kill the twangy, modern sounding aspect of it!

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1391086405' post='2353051'] They amplify nicely when I hit the bass, as you saw But they don't seem overly microphonic. More than others, yes, but as long as they don't squeal I am ok with that if they sound good. However... wax dipping... I never had to do it and I would not know how to. Have you done it? [/quote] Yes, I wound my own guitar pickups and one for my four string last year. To dip them, I made up an 80/20 mixture of paraffin wax and beeswax, heated to about 65 degrees in a tub surrounded by hot water on the hob (like a bain-marie for melting chocolate), applying occasional heat to keep the temperature steady. The pickups (without covers) sit in the melted wax until the air bubbles stop coming out of them, then you take them out, wipe them off and leave them to cool. I've still got my tub of wax if you want to give yours a shot.

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1391079639' post='2352921'] I have found what others mentioned about the pickups "popping" when slapping hard. I had not noticed at home, because I only slapped a bit, and played fingerstyle all the time. I will try bringing the pickups down a bit and see what happens. I'm reluctant because it sounds so good as it is... but I'll mark the current settings so that I can go back if I want to. [/quote] Are they a bit microphonic, perhaps? If that's the issue, wax-dipping them would sort it out and it isn't hard to do.

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1390865284' post='2350811'] Well, it's a Jazz... so like a Jazz I used mostly bridge pickup alone, with a couple of times both pickups on, and tone always rolled off a little bit. There is only one guitar in this band, and one trumpet, plus drums and two vocalists... so it's easy to make the bass sit well. These pickups are quite meaty. I'm not a big fan of the neck pickups on jazz basses, so I tend to disregard it a lot... but the bridge one sounds very good. You get the mids-rich nasal tone that cuts through so well, but it's also fat. These pickups will stay in the bass. [/quote] It did sound just like a Jazz, didn't it? There's no way I would have figured it for a cheaper instrument by the sound in a band setting. (If anyone is wondering, I was playing guitar last night). Also, isn't "Jack and Danny" cockney rhyming slang for something I probably can't say on Basschat? What on earth were they thinking?

I enjoy fretless and play it quite a bit at home, but in my current band fretted just seems right so I'm not gigging fretless at the moment. I've never got on with roundwounds on a fretless though, even if I can think of a number of players who make them sound good. Of the strings I've tried on a fretless bass, I like Thomastik Jazz Flats the best, as they have great mids and feel a lot like a miniature version of my Spirocore double bass strings. Pricey though!

When I got my Rev Solo II pickup, it came with a short length of plastic tube to weave through the afterlengths and dampen the tailpiece vibrations. This does make a bit of difference when playing loudly, but a rolled up cloth wedged under the tailpiece worked a little better. I haven't used an Ehrlund, but my AKG C411 (which is also a soundboard contact pickup) just about scraped by with a moderately loud drummer though with anything louder I'd go for a bridge wing pickup and live with the less natural sound.