PatrickJ

I picked this up from Bass Direct last month in a part exchange deal but despite my initial excitement I've not really bonded with it - honestly I just prefer classic Jazz basses in burst or black colours.

It's in fantastic condition and plays really nicely, East 3 band pre amp and pickups wound by Aaron Armstrong.

Collection or meetup only as this guitar doesn't have a hard case or gig bag. 

Full spec on the ACG website : https://www.acguitars.co.uk/project/0291retroj4/

Note, strap not included.

Boss SY-1 in as new condition, boxed.  Price includes UK insured delivery.

Bought about a month ago, fun to play with but I don't really have a need for it and would rather have a vintage chorus or offset the money against the cost of a bass I have my eye on. 

Home practice is through an audio interface and either headphones or studio monitors (depending on if the kids are in bed or not).

Perhaps a more obscure song than most but Fear of a Blank Planet (Porcupine Tree, not Public Enemy 😁) causes me severe discomfort to play to the point I just can't hold it together and my playing and timing just go to poop.

Lovely.. I don't like 5 strings but I'm still tempted!!!

1 minute ago, Andyjr1515 said:

When it's all done, I'll be wiping a trace of solder over the joints of the various pieces to make sure there's earth continuity (checked with a multi-meter).

oooff.

this is the level of attention to detail that gets me excited !!!

2 minutes ago, Hellzero said:

Practice, @PatrickJ, practice !

Yes, but there's always those little tricks of the trade to be picked up.  

1 minute ago, Andyjr1515 said:

Control chamber and hatch shielded.  Pickup chamber this evening

@Andyjr1515 - what's the art / trick in getting the foil down so neatly into the cavities.  I had to shield a precision shaped pickup cavity on a Sandberg bass and I could not get a neat job done of it like you demonstrate here.

I haven't heard of Blink 182 for years and years but they were very influential in that whole pop punk scene I was into in my 20's - I hope he makes a swift and full recovery.

25 minutes ago, TKenrick said:

I forgot there's a studio version - I actually meant this live one from 'Flood'. For me this is the most joyous expression of funk bass that I've ever heard:

Thanks @TKenrick.  I enjoyed that immensely.  So have you transcribed the full 20 mins ?

On 22/06/2021 at 21:43, TKenrick said:

For me it's all about making sure that my fretting hand thumb isn't in contact with the back of the neck, as this limits the range of movement you get - I feel like it's a whole arm thing rather than a case of wiggling the fingers.

I learned a lot from slowing down Paul Jackson's part on 'Hang Up Your Hangups'. When you hear a shake at full speed it sounds like there's lots of pitch variation, almost like a trill, but slowing down PJ made me realise that most of the time there are very few slides between the two pitches. I'll see if I can find some audio to back this up...

I'd never heard that song before but it's got to be one of the funkiest tunes I've heard in a looooong time

@Andyjr1515 - I love the birds motif you use! (well they look like birds to me)

On 23/06/2021 at 13:03, Bolo said:

*Hickory

Yes, this.

1 hour ago, MacDaddy said:

I think it's possible for a lyricist/author/screenwriter to write a story about characters, without necessarily sharing the opinions of those characters. 

I don't think it's necessary to agree with the sentiment of a song to perform it. Musical theatre is on my side here 🙂

Fairytale of New York is a great example of this.

On 21/06/2021 at 13:14, fleabag said:

I've deleted  Ebay's direct debit and my bank details via online banking.  Since i've decided to no longer sell on there, they no longer need access to my bank.

I'm a buyer only from now on

36 minutes ago, NikNik said:

Same here.

 

Me too, but what's the alternative?  I don't believe Reverb is much better and sadly the BC community is a limited market.

I had a very similar conversation to this with my drummer friend a while ago.

We were talking about what music we are comfortable listening to and playing based on the artist and their antics.

I think you need to stay true to what you believe and if you are uncomfortable you should speak up.  At least one person in a potential audience will be feeling the same as you.

1 minute ago, stewblack said:

I have one in an ancient Aria which a tech bought and fitted for me and its better than the original. Also bought a Kent Armstrong P Bass pickup to upgrade a Fender. Stupidly I sold in the bass with it in. 

 

Thanks for sharing Stew.

1 minute ago, bassfan said:

That’ll do nicely! 😃👍🏻

Agreed, they sound great.  I thought I was managing my GAs but those clips do not help at all.

15 minutes ago, stewblack said:

Totally agree with @hooky_lowdown

Have you first hand experience with the Kent Armstrong's stew ?  

Not the hand wound custom pickups that he's renowned for but the (Korean??) models for sale at WD Music.  Anyone have any experience with this range of pickups?

Background to this

I'm looking to change the pickups in my Sandberg PJ from the super clean Delano's to something more vintage sounding.  Both my Shuker and ACG J basses have handwound pickups from Aaron Armstrong.   I'm planning to swap the Shuker pickups (70s style wind) out for some Nordstrand split coils and I was going to reuse the J pickup from that in the Sandberg.  I contacted Aaron for some options for a P pickup to match the J.   He replied very quickly and obviously he could do something hand wound for me but he actually recommended one of these for about 1/2 the price: 

https://www.wdmusic.co.uk/electronics-c17/kent-armstrong-guitar-pickups-c100/kent-armstrong-bass-pickups-c101/kent-armstrong-hot-p-bass-pickup-alnico-magnet-enclosed-cover-p14226

Does anyone have any experience with them?  They seem very cheap compared with most of the alternatives out there.

47 minutes ago, Sarah5string said:

OMG that bass is amazing

I feel like it should have a maple neck and fingerboard ...

16 hours ago, AndyTravis said:

See how I get on tonight Pat - might send you a vid x

Thanks for the video lesson last night Andy .. even after 6 pints and a curry you can still bring the funk!

Sorry to hear about your experiences - I really hope USPS find your bass safe and well.

Honesty, in your shoes I'd be fuming angry about the situation built up from a culmination of frustration, disappointment and worry.   

It's obviously a combination of issues but ultimate responsibility is with the dealer your ordered from .. it's their responsibility to make sure it is built to your specification and delivered to you safely. 

Good luck, keep us updated.

Hi Guys ,

Looking for some pointers on how to play a specific technique that I can't seem to get sounding right.

Not sure on the proper name, I've seen shake and sting but it's the practice of wiggling your fretting finger between two frets to get that neat trill type effect 

There's a great example in Incognito's Closer to the Feeling just after the 20 second mark.

I just can't get it sounding that good - any tips / tricks?

@SteveXFR - I'm struggling with the same thing. 

I fear I've been rather oblivious to my timing issues but I've been recording myself more recently and realised that actually I'm a little more out of the pocket than I would have liked.  My biggest problem is I over anticipate the next note and play notes a fraction ahead of the beat. I glad I stumbled on this thread.

@TKenrick - I'll check out your video , I've enjoyed some of your previous videos so I'm looking forward to this one.

@dodge_bass- thanks for the book recommendation.  I'll check that out too.