Beer of the Bass

[quote name='geoham' timestamp='1459691824' post='3018647'] I put out a 'bassist available' ad a while back, looking for a working covers band. I received a response asking if I could sing and would I be interested in joining a Police tribute! [/quote] That has to be the same guy who contacted me, and I wasn't even looking for a covers band!

My bass has held it's setup quite well since the last full setup 8 years ago (new fingerboard, bridge and soundpost), requiring only minor tweaks since then. For a bass which looks a bit patched-up it's a nice player! That was done by Ken McDonald, a local jazz bassist and luthier who has retired now. I was impressed at the level of understanding that went into it; he asked quite a few questions about what I was going for and what my pizz/arco needs were, then after the initial setup I went round to try it and he adjusted it a little more to suit my playing (a little more scoop under the E-string IIRC). At some point I'd like to do some proper reading on the subject (like the Traeger book on bass setup and repair) and learn a bit more about it. I've certainly noticed how crucial the bridge/soundpost relationship can be, as once my bridge moved less than 1cm further from the soundpost when swapping strings over, and I was surprised at how different the bass sounded.

There do seem to be a couple of different sorts of tribute bands - the guys who do the agency/function type gigs (who would probably do whatever there was a market for) and the enthusiasts doing it for their own amusement. I think I tend to enjoy the latter more, especially when they're decent musicians doing it as a bit of a side-project. Gumtree ads do seem to show up a large proportion of dreamers though!

I don't know what the Thomann basses come with, but I've played a couple of new Chinese basses which came with really cheap strings. Because they're made with a plain wire core (like bass guitar strings) rather than a flexible braid, the stiffness causes them to go sharp when bowing loudly or with firm pressure. Loud pizz notes come out slightly sharp at the attack, then return to pitch as the note decays. It tends to be more pronounced on the lower strings. Does that sound like what you're hearing? If you've got a set of those strings, almost any quality string will be a big improvement.

I'm in the habit of checking local musicians wanted/available adverts and noticed a pattern which strikes me as bizarre. Now, I have no interest in doing a tribute band myself, but I'd always imagined that when forming one, you'd start with the frontman or most recognisable member. Yet in recent months I've seen a Police tribute looking for a Sting, a Bon Jovi tribute with no Jon or Ritchie and a Guns n' Roses tribute with no Slash. Oddest of all would have to be the Dio tribute looking for a Dio, or the Nickelback tribute looking for a singer/guitarist, bassist and drummer (so who posted the ad?). Apologies if anyone local recognises their band in this, but I just found it a little perplexing. Is this a common situation in tribute-land?

The mute part is just the Jaguar guitar mute with different mounting holes. Apparently the Jaguar version is available separately and people have successfully fitted them to basses - there was a thread about it on Talkbass. It does require some drilling though.

[quote name='Gottastopbuyinggear' timestamp='1459446387' post='3016720'] Also, from the drawings it seems the baffle sits 30mm back from the front of the cab - is there a specific reason for that, as it seems quite a deep recess? I'd probably be thinking about leaving a smaller recess and then adjusting the port length to account for the additional volume if necessary. [/quote] I recessed mine 25mm, but I would definitely not go for any less than that for the reasons Phil mentions.

[quote name='stevie' timestamp='1459505148' post='3017151'] Having struggled to cut some holes with the cheapo hole-cutting device I recommended some pages ago (I notice that Beer of the Bass had the same problem - OK for a shallow cut but hopeless for more than that), I have been looking around for some proper hole saws. Unfortunately, they are really expensive. As luck would have it, our friends at Aldi are currently selling a bimetal hole saw set for under a tenner. Not only that, but they are currently offering free delivery to launch their online services. As this kind of set normally retails at over £30 (check on the Screwfix site), it seems like a bit of a bargain - especially as it contains a 68mm saw that should be perfect for fitting drainpipe. Have a look here: [url="https://www.aldi.co.uk/hole-saw-set/p/093008008220200"]https://www.aldi.co....093008008220200[/url] [/quote] The cheap eBay fly-cutter was passable once sharpened and carefully adjusted (I didn't get it right first time), but these do look much better for only slightly more outlay.

It occurred to me that I have another set of Spiro Mittels of indeterminate age, with knackered looking silks which came in the bag pocket of an old bass. They look like a 4/4 E with the rest 3/4 size. I'd hung onto them as spares but just assumed that the condition would probably be worse than the ones I'd played for years. Upon trying these, it appears that I have indeed killed the set I've been using, as the ancient spares are livelier and better sounding and just seem to have the thing that the set I took off lacked. They're not metallic, but just have clearer pitch and a generally sweeter sound. So that's interesting - I wonder what I did to kill the last set? Perhaps the alcohol soak cleaning method I'd used a couple of times was less benign than I'd thought? But I do at least have a functioning set for the moment, which is nice. I guess this set are the "good kind of dead" that people talk about.

That's a much better way of doing the baffle holes than my "freehand with a jigsaw followed by lots of cleanup" method!

I thought this was going to be similar to the "t shirts for bassists" thread. Would you wear a pair of Fender PJs?

Yes, it looks like the extra output in the lows is the main advantage, and unless I find myself regularly pushing that limit it would likely be a sideways move. Though if anyone within a few miles builds one with the Beyma, it would be interesting to compare them side by side to hear that difference in voicing first-hand.

Would a group buy save enough to be worthwhile? Looking at Blue Aran's quantity pricing, an order of 8 or more probably saves less than you would spend on posting the individual drivers out to everyone. I'm still keeping the SM212 in mind as a possible option for my DIY cabs (which have Eminence Betas currently), but I'd want to spend some more time with the Betas before deciding if actually have a need to change. If I end up in a louder band some time, that might tip the balance...

I like the James tone stack, and I reckon it can do almost everything a three knob fender tone stack does. I had a four channel Carlsbro valve head where I changed one channel to a fender tone stack and left the James stack in the other three. I ended up using the first channel less than the others. You don't get any particularly sophisticated midrange shaping - it's quite a broad-brush approach to EQ, but can sound good. It's also possible to mod them with a pot to shift the range of the whole circuit up or down and a switch to add a mid bump without turning down the bass and treble. I intend to play around with these options some time...

Is it just me, or is there a touch of Hayman 4040 influence in the look of these?

I've had parts from them several times and they've been fine.

It took a while, but I eventually got my last band to agree not to do battle of the bands gigs. Did you have to sell a set number of tickets too? Events with online voting are equally bad, I've seen more obviously crooked ones than ones which weren't!

There are a couple of companies who suggest that their strings haven't changed much over the years; Rotosound and certain LaBella sets spring to mind. I remember buying some old-stock Sound City rounds in the 90s that would have been 20 years old at the time, and didn't think much of them. In the double bass world, Lycon brand strings have almost mythical status - they were a popular string from some time in the 60s onwards, and guys from that era always seem to remember them as the best thing ever. I'm sure they were a revelation at the time, but whenever someone has posted about finding an NOS set, they're often a bit underwhelmed by them in comparison to their expectations.

I haven't got around to doing this yet (and I'm visiting family without my bass over Easter), but I think I'll give it a go when I get back. I had the impression that Stevenson wouldn't welcome bass setup work; a few years ago when I was looking for a bass, he said that he would do work on basses as a service to his customers but that he would not take on work if I'd bought a bass elsewhere. I don't know if that's how he does things or if he was just busy at the time.

What strings are you using? I've noticed this happening with the solid-core strings that often come on new basses, but less so with quality stranded steel core or synthetic core strings.

Looks good! The HPF and parametric seem like useful things to have. Do you include any sort of limiter to protect against overloading the module on peaks, or does the module have that covered?

When I say the bar is lower for bassists, I don't mean in terms of renowned musicians, but I get the impression that almost any bassist who can keep time and maintain the form can function at some level on most local scenes. Maybe not as first-call guy, and not on the best gigs, but they can function. I'm sure the learning curve is steeper for pianists or sax players for example. This would chime with the Larry Grenadier quote further up the thread.

I must admit, I'm not well versed in the current crop of jazz bassists. With a few exceptions (like EST) most of the albums I keep going back to are from about the mid 50s up to some time in the 70s or more recent music from guys of that era. So I love Charlie Haden, Dave Holland, Buster Williams, Miroslav Vitous, Mingus and PC (who between them span quite a range in terms of technical facility) but quite a few of the names mentioned I'm less familiar with. I guess that in itself is something to look at. I'm not one who is turned off by virtuosity, though I might equally enjoy a more limited player if they've developed a distinctive voice. I have sometimes felt that the lower bar for bassists might be to my advantage, but I realise this is lazy thinking! I do think that for me to be a straight jazz musician is probably not my niche - I love to listen to a lot of it, I could learn a lot from studying it, but somehow I don't feel those are my gigs.

I did this with a cheap Precision copy, plugging the holes in the headstock and re-drilling for an odd 5+3 layout with guitar tuners for the octave strings. It worked OK for about three years, then the neck succumbed to the extra tension and went banana shaped. But in terms of nut width and headstock room a P-bass could work. If you started with a better bass than I did, and veneered the front and back of the headstock to hide the plugs you could probably come up with something quite good.