Beer of the Bass

Everything might have a price, but what I could get for selling my basses is so low compared to their utility to me, or to the amount I could find a workable replacement for, that I can picture very few situations where they would seem worth selling.

Bassists are often more receptive to features that weren't typically present on gear 40 years ago.

At the moment the basses I would never sell are the only ones I have. A 4 string bass I built over 20 years ago, now fretless, a 5 string bass I built later on, and my old double bass.

The DIY builds are too personal to me to sell, and would have hardly any market value anyway, and the double bass is as good sounding a bass as I'm likely to ever be able to afford, even if it's quite scruffy looking.

I haven't tested in any objective way, but from the guitar and bass amps I've tried different preamp tubes in (of the same type), it seems like the amount of difference is very dependent on the amp circuit and tube position. In the cases I do feel there's a difference, it's a subtle one. And there probably is a dollop of conformation bias going on too, which makes it even trickier to be sure about.

It's not something I have a need for at the moment, but a compact 1x10" with a properly done crossover and HF driver seems like it might make a very nice jazz gig-sized double bass cab.

11 hours ago, Jack said:

I mean, assuming for a second that you were already predisposed to making that cab, that would be a decently sensible (less ridiculous) way to do it. 

Yeah, I could see that. But it's hard to think over the logistics of it without getting into the old idiom of "Well, if that's where I was going, I wouldn't be starting from here"!

It occurs to me the acoustic response might be a bit hit and miss, since it's designed around a flat-top acoustic guitar style bridge and you're replacing it with a floating bridge and tailpiece. The bracing is usually designed quite differently between the two. Though with acoustic bass guitars the tone through a piezo might be more important than the unamplified tone.

15 hours ago, Chopthebass said:

I wonder if the cab has separate compartments? Just generally curious about this speaker cab.

 I wouldn’t want to move this around. Probably too long for any estate car!

With the front porting at the bottom, the only way they could be in separate compartments would be if the 2x15“ drivers were ported and everything else was in sealed internal boxes.

18 hours ago, mybass said:

Many (many) years ago a double bass repair expert called Neville Whitehead ( now in Australia) started putting double bass fingerboards onto Fender Precision basses. I was in his High Wycombe workshop getting my DB sorted and saw a Fender  P bass on the bench and enquired about it.....fretless bass was making its mark on bass players at the time.....the bass was being converted for a London player called Dill Katz. I immediately said I wanted one, went out and bought a P bass and Neville transplanted a fingerboard onto it. However, the radius camber of the board was too much for electric/me and it took a few visits back for him to tone down the radius camber, flattening  it to a more comfortable playing setting so you may find you’ll have to do the same. We used the stock bridge so string height etc wasn’t a problem. He probably thinned the underside of the f/board before gluing it to accommodate the thickness. Later on of course I had a jazz pickup installed by Kent Armstrong but that’s another story.

I wonder if he was using new boards, or recycling old ones? Since double bass fingerboards are often replaced when they've been re-dressed a certain number of times and the thickness becomes too thin for the job, re-purposing then as fretless electric bass boards would seem like a cunning idea.

21 hours ago, BassAgent said:

Another question: I'm going to try it on my Eich 112XS cabs of course, but a friend of mine offered me a 212 cabinet made from an old Supertwin combo, the 185 powerhouse from the 70's. It has the original Utah speakers in it and I was wondering if anyone as experiences with those speakers, and if it would sound decent with the Bassman.
 

If these were the size of a standard Fender Twin Reverb, that would be very small for a bass 2x12“, and if it's open backed like the usual Twin, then I wouldn't. It might be a nice guitar cab.

Ashdown seem to really prioritise effects loops. I've never had reason to use an effects loop, but on every Ashdown I've plugged into, it's right there on the front panel. I suppose someone must be using them, they've taken this approach consistently since the 90s when I had an early MAG tiltback combo.

With the chat about differences between onstage and FoH sound, I do think it's a useful skill to be able to make things work in a modest sized room with just backline and vocal/minimal drum PA.  While there aren't many times that would be the first choice approach, I do feel it's a valuable exercise in dynamics, listening and communication that I've learned some things from doing.

I've tried a couple of different guitar amps through my bass cabs which use the Eminence Beta 12. It would be workable for some styles, but I find them a little "polite" sounding, definitely lacking something at the top end that I hear with almost any guitar driver.

On 05/01/2021 at 20:55, StickyDBRmf said:

Gong! Although the new line-up is approoved by all PHP's...

Yeah, Gong would be a good example. Though the guys who form the current incarnation did make Daevid Allen's final Gong album with him, and had his blessing to continue as Gong so there's some sense of continuity there.

42 minutes ago, ead said:

Not sure what you are measuring here?

I like these trings and have them on my fretless basses.  My only gripe is the A string is floppier than the other three and could be a bit heavier to get a really good balance of string tension across the set.

Yes, I noticed that with the A string. I have the saddle raised just a touch to even out the feel.

I've had mine on for about 2 1/2 years now, so I'm used to them. But they did feel like a big step down in tension from 45 gauge Fender or Sadowsky flats I'd used before that. The high end brightness mellowed off after a few weeks, but they've stayed clear and they can growl in a midrangey way. I like them; although they took a little adjustment in setup and technique, they feel very musical and expressive as well as never feeling like hard work.

When I was at uni I used to rehearse with a jazzy drummer with a little Trace Elliot Boxer 15 1x8" combo. It wasn't the deepest bass but it wasn't breaking up either. So if the situation and other musicians are sympathetic to it, you might get something of use at least.

Oh wow, a US seller has the Club Ignition in green. If anyone over here had that colour, that would absolutely be the one!

I think I'm going to sit on the idea for a week or so, and if it still feels like a good idea then I'll go ahead and order something. At the moment I'm havering between the Ignition Club, which I'd order from somewhere in the UK, or the Ignition Violin Cavern model, which Thomann have at a very good price even after VAT/fees.  I have a slight preference for the Club body shape, but listening to people play them on YouTube, it seems like the Cavern pickup spacing might have some more useful sounds with that middle pickup, and it looks like a good location for a thumb rest too.

I'm sure this will have been covered in one of the threads somewhere, but does anyone know how this is working with Bax Shop? I thought they also shipped from the continent, but it's showing VAT inclusive prices in the shop and at checkout.

15 minutes ago, hooky_lowdown said:

If playing sitting I'd suggest the club bass. The violin has pointy bits along the sides which dig into your leg and are uncomfortable. For a thumpy sound you'll need flatwound strings. If on a budget I'd suggest Status medium scale flats, really good strings for around £20 new! 😁

Hmm, I did wonder about the ergonomics when sitting. I think I have a slight preference for the Club bass visually too, though it looks like finding a decent gig bag or case might be trickier.  I had noticed the Status strings are well priced in the short and medium scales, I'd be curious about the tapewounds too as I quite enjoyed some D'addario tapes a few years ago.

17 minutes ago, grandad said:

Well, they all sound a bit different & feel a bit different. There are so many opinions about the various models it must come down to personal taste and that means trying out various makes. My experience has been:

Epiphone - good instrument, semi-hollow.

Tokai - disappointing

Alden - OK

Hofner Ignition - good sound, lightweight, tuners are a bit iffy.

My 2 keepers:

Hofner contemporary - semi-hollow, good quality all round, detailed tone, strong pickups

Tanglewood - good quality, detailed sound with more emphasis on the mid's than the HCT. 

I always fit Labella 760FHB2 flatwounds and have learned to do a reasonable setup myself. Also,  it takes time to get used to the short scale and narrower string spacing.

They are, along with my Mustangs, my favourite go to bass.

Thanks for that. I think most of the brands other than the Hofner, I would probably consider if a used one came up at a particularly good price, but otherwise the Ignitions look most likely.

Having a little money sitting in my PayPal account from selling an amp, I've inevitably started thinking about something fun and musical to do with it. One thought that's quite appealing would be to go for a little hollow, short scale thumpy bass. It would be a fun sofa bass while gigs and rehearsals are off, and there are a few things where it would be an interesting change from my homebuilt 5 string. The fact they're tiny and don't weigh much seems appealing too.

I wouldn't want to spend more than the Hofner Ignitions, though I'd also thought about the cheaper Harley Benton. I'm not a dedicated Beatles fan (I like 'em, but they're not a central part of my musical life), so either a Violin or Club bass could appeal. So the options I'm aware of so far are; Hofner Ignition Violin bass (either the Cavern version or the standard one), the Hofner Ignition Club and the HB Beatbass. Any thoughts on choice between those, or other similar basses out there?

This looks nice, I like that they've done the checker binding and crushed pearl inlays. Dare I say it, but it's almost as if they're responding to the existence of cottage industry luthiers making re-imagined vintage Ric style instruments, by dipping into that market themselves rather than doing ye olde lawyer's letter!

On 19/01/2021 at 09:55, Reggaebass said:

Surely a 115 puts out more low end than a 112 , in my sound system days it was always 115s or 118s I never saw anything smaller, or have things changed 🙂

It still does (in very general terms), but it's fair to say a lot of good current 1x12" cabs can easily do the sort of job you used to need a 15“ for.

Mine has been relatively modest, given that it starts around 1993. Those in bold are still with me.

Ibanez Rickenbacker copy
-My first bass, it had been badly repaired and resprayed, and I only got a couple of years out of it before it folded in half.

Hohner fretless Jazz copy
-Played through most of my teens, the pickups were microphonic and I never got the neck relief right, so it wasn't great.

Aria TSB550 fretless
-A considerable upgrade from the Hohner. I saw my old bass for sale recently, now refretted, and I was tempted

Self built 4 string (using hardware from the Ibanez)
-Built in my parents' shed when I was 18, tweaked and refined a few times since then. Still going but weighs a ton

DeArmond Ashbory
-Fun but just too tiny

Fender Highway One Jazz
-Sold when moving house, wish I hadn't

Cheap P copy modified to 8 string
-Got some good use for a couple of years, but the neck couldn't take the tension long-term

Self built 5 string
-My current go-to electric bass

Harley Benton acoustic bass.
-Felt a bit pointless with a double bass around

And double basses/uprights;

Kay double bass (long-term loan)
-Nice bass, but I wasn't keen on the gut strings it wore.

Bassix electric upright
-Gigged this a lot, though it never played all that well

Blonde Chinese plywood double bass
-Functional, though I didn't love it

Old German double bass 1
-Lovely sounding bass, needed a bit more work than I wanted to put in

Old German double bass 2
-Slightly bigger than the previous one, in better structural health though scruffy, will probably be with me for life.