Bloopdad1

Hi. Me again....! The Soundwear trolly isn't available any more (they were crazy expensive when they were! - no one bought one either). Once the bass buggy came out it took over. Its just so simple, indestructible and safe. I don't know many players that still use their bass wheel (don't even know what happened to mine? May be in the garage somewhere?). The problem was that it always rolled... You couldn't stop and relax, or stop to chat, every time you opened a door it would roll off somewhere plus to reduce the shocks of pavement gaps, gravel etc I would have to run it almost flat to cushion the "ride" which made it a right pita! Get a Bass buggy it's the new industry standard and not too expensive. Plus you can stand the bass up when it's on and relax. It's not always "on the move" that needs constant attention like a wheel. As I mentioned before my 200yr old £110k English bass ONLY EVER goes in the Soundwear. My other basses happily go in the excellent Tuff Bag (that should give you a clue as to how much better the superior protection is... 😁) I seem to remember during a phone conversation with the Tuff Bag shop that they marked up the package as gift (or repaired item) or something like that so I definitely did not pay any import duty, but it was something like £50 postage. Can't remember to be honest.. Definitely much cheaper than the SW. Ultimately its a tradeoff, top money, best protection but very heavy =SW. Lighter, more padding, better straps, (I think the zips are better too) cheaper =TB If you have a priceless bass that needs ultimate protection go for SW for anything else the TB will be perfect. If you want to have a look at my cases feel free to pop in for a coffee and a chat. (and if I can find my wheel you can have the little bugger as well!) Happy hunting.

Oh, and if you're wondering why I haven't mentioned Messina cases (the recognised number 3 best case) is that occasionally the stitching pulls out after about 3 - 5yrs...😉🤔

Cases are subjective and have various prices (obviously). The 2 standout cases used by most professional players are Soundwear (in Europe) or Mooradian (favoured by US players). Both have rucksack style straps. Soundwear =THE best case money can buy as agreed by most pros. Plus they were around £800 but are now around £600. Ive had mine for over 20yrs and it still looks new, no failures or tears etc (I go out 3x a week) and it's the only case I trust to put my 200yr old English bass in. Mooradian, bad news is that unfortunately they are now not being made but you can buy a Tuff Bag which are absolutely identical to my eyes with the addition of even more padding, extra handles and other improvements. (off the top of my head they're around £350??) You can contact Mooradian and they will make you a custom one-off (mega bucks) but general production has now stopped. The story goes that the Mooradian guy packed up but sold the pattern to Tuff Bag then they improved it. Lighter than Soundwear but it has the main zip on the "wrong side" - left hand side of the bass - but that doesn't take long to get used to. I have owned one for 5 yrs and its also like new - I use it to safely carry my big 5 stringer. (much cheaper than the Soundwear but you have to import one from the states) but the tuff bag (Mooradian) is actually easier to carry and load as it has more handles. Both cases I can whole heartedly recommend. Over the years I've seen many others fail, I'm sticking to the best 2 available. Recently a friend had her bass in a Julius and Roth case on back pack straps that snapped and the bass fell directly onto the spike pushing the block up inside the bass and splitting the front and back (it's currently being repaired at around £2900!!) as it was on her back she couldn't react to catch the bass.. Cases with built in wheels - don't do it! I've seen so many tears and rips around the wheel areas over the years plus they can snag and get caught (I've literally seen 10 - 15 students with split cases from the wheels - Tom and Will cases seem to really suffer from this after a couple of years or so. Get a "bass buggy" you'll never use back pack straps again - problem solved. (I'm not a Tuff Bag (aka Mooradian) or Soundwear fan boy, just that in 40yrs of playing I've not found any others that come remotely close in quality or more importantly security for a very expensive instrument) 4/4 case fits a 7/8 bass. Yes, there are many cases available but I can definitely recommend the Mooradian (Tuff Bag) and Soundwear. Let me know if you need any further information. Ta

Hi all. Feedback for Gareth. Just bought a very clean and well looked after (as new) Acoustic Image Clarus SL-2 amp. Lovely bloke, easy to communicate with, an all round gentleman. I wouldn't have any issues dealing with Gareth. Buy/sell with confidence. Cheers Graham

All ok now. Mail sent. (I tried this time from my personal email not work email). Thanks

Yes. And "[email protected]" as well? Mailer demon keeps bombing it back to me?

Hi Anyone know the contact details for Acoustic Image UK? I've been emailing Lawrence on the 2 email addresses I could find but they just keep bouncing back? I'm after Clarius SL advice (and price) Thanks Graham

Hi, yes keep at it. It'll be worth it in the end. The Hidersine rosin you mentioned often comes with student bass bundles and is sold in high street music shops. Unfortunately it's very hard and uses the same philosophy of violin/vola/cello rosin - hard, white, dusty, good for lyrical playing with a light touch. For around the same price I recommend students use something like Nymans or Pops. It's literally like tar! Super grippy and what many pro bassists use. You can really dig in and it'll practically drag your strings off the bridge! It's a real workout for your right arm.. Warning, as many bassists have found don't leave a pot of Nymans out in the sun or near a radiator!! (Or in my case, in a bass case in the back of a sunny car! 😂) One positive is that if you do wear a groove in the rosin you can easily melt it back level. Either way, you can use the Hidersine but you need LOTS of it and have a VERY good bow plus a good technique and light touch. Or use Nymans, apply it using fast, full swipes along the hair to melt it on the bow (don't do the violin/cello hard rosin thing!) and just go for it! 😉 Most important, have fun!

Umm... Not quite the same. Make sure you're using proper bass rosin (Pops, Nymans, Leatherwood etc etc.) apply the rosin in one rapid continuous "swipe" from frog to tip., the friction will cause the rosin to melt and adhere to the hair. (don't do that upper strings/cello thing where they rapidly move a couple of inches up their bow at a time scraping their hard rosin over the hair!) When done properly you can easily see the molten sticky rosin on the hair - apply too much and you'll have a sticky mess that'll rip your strings off the bridge!! (well not quite 😂 but you know what I mean) 😜 Remember never to touch the hair if you can help it... Don't tension the bow too tight (difficult to describe in words! Sorry). If you're seeing a puff of rosin you're using a hard violin/cello style rosin. You can certainly bow Dadarios <green ends are the hybrids, blue ends are the pure arco> Do not move the bow too fast, do not use all the bow at first. Add wrist pressure, relax your bow arm, relax your fingers and make sure the bow is 90° to the string and bow 2 to 3" from the bridge. Use the passive weight from your upper arm to apply weight onto the string through the bow... Breath out... Relax... Gradually draw the bow slowly across the string. If you're getting a whistling high harmonic you're either moving too fast, not gripping the string, not enough weight, wrong rosin/not enough or even using poor quality/worn out bow hair. Although not a pure double bass I could get quite a convincing sound from my NS CR4T and my Yam SLB100 (to about 85% of the sound of my 2 concert basses). Plucking is about 10% of what a bass can truly do... Arco is where its at! Unleash the bow, unleash a lifelong passion! Ex principal bass LSO... A perfect example of what a bass can do. BTW - Let me know where you can get a set of strings for £130! - they're all around +£200 these days (don't look at Eudoxa - they're £600 a set!!!) Remember, Best option is to get a teacher for a couple of lessons just to set you on the straight and narrow.

Such a shame. I ran an original Iamp600 back in the late '90s for over a decade. Superb amp, very warm and great for both BG and DB. Coupled with a pair of their legendary CxL1x10 cabs (3 way crossover, genuine studio quality sound). But boy was it heavy! EA will be missed (and of course SWR!)

Hi all. For info - Martin Penning in Frome (superb bass Luthier) has them and can fit and "tune" them up. I've recently played a gorgeous Lott model bass in Birmingham with one of these vernier scale adjustable posts. I was totally blown away by the sound that the bass that the owner attributed to this post (he's principal bassist of a prominent UK pro orchestra). The "tuning" is critical by spinning the extending/retracting wheel. Martin did this when the player was playing it so he could feel and hear the difference. Once the optimum pressure on the table is found then the telescopic post is locked off and adjustment wheel removed. It's very useful if the top pressure changes due to atmospherics, different gage/tension strings or changes in humidity/seasons. The bass is regularly played in the CBSO. I'm strongly considering getting one for my main orchestral bass as is my missus for her violin. (bit pricey though). Beware - One caveat is that as it opens up and increases the volume and projection of an instrument IF you have a wolf note (most basses do) then as well as the desirable tones it'll also "amplify" the wolf note!

Hi. Still looking? I might be willing to part with my Yamaha SLB100 (in your budget and not the£4000+ new price tag!) As you probably already know the SLB100 is the king of Eub's. Perfect geometry and is perfect for arco. I went for the 100 rather than the 200 as the longer body makes it more stable when standing and really digging in. It also has a Full Circle PUP fitted for a superb double bass sound in addition to the Yamaha electronics. Message me if you want want more info.

Ha! It was a great "thing"...really did make a huge sound and always made me smile. I suppose I could always weld up another one. 😁 Thanks for the comments.