BillyBass

Lovely looking bass, congrats. How heavy is it?

I took a Ray34 off the wall at Guitarguitar Newcastle, it was bloody heavy!

That's the worst bit. I've only been to Andertons once, I timed my journey so I arrived at opening time to give me the best chance of getting a parking spot out front. I was successful but as soon as I had parked and got out, other cars started sniffing around. I try to only go to shops that I know parking won't be an issue, at a certain time. Nevertheless, I really enjoy being in guitar shops, looking at all the basses etc hanging from the wall. I feel like a kid going to a toy shop just before Christmas.

I agree. I always get emotional listening to bagpipes, especially when watching repeats of 'Carry On Up The Khyber'

I read through a thread from a certain other bass forum from overseas and someone mentioned the 12th fret harmonic. I tried that earlier today and it worked much better than just plucking the open B and E strings. My issue does seem to be bass specific, though I haven't got another fiver to compare. I have also just ordered a Landlord FX 'Lock in' tuner to see if it is a tuner or bass issue.

Not a dim question, but yes, my Polytune 3 is set to 'bass needle mode'. The Polytune mini doesn't appear to have a bass mode or a way of setting it up for bass...I await enlightenment here. Works fine for 4 strings , The capital E is always there...but switch to my fiver and the E and B just show up sporadically, but A, D and G are always there. It's as if it senses its a 5 string and stops functioning well. I keep my fingers muting the B string and still the E won't show up when tuning the fiver.

I acquired a 5 string bass a few months ago and its now my main bass. I'm having issues with tuning the B and E strings, my TC Polytune won't show the capital letter B or E to aid tuning, though A, D and G tune as normal. When I tune my 4 string basses with it, there is no problem, E, A, D and G show up as capital letters and I can adjust sharp or flat as needed. I swapped the TC Polytune to a Polytune Mini and the same thing happens. thankfully I have a cheap clip on tuner that functions and I also use apps on my iPhone, though tuning with an app can't be done silently. Am I doing something wrong here? Is this issue specific to TC Polytunes? Or do 5 strings confuse pedal tuners? Help!

Markbass have a new 1000 watt into 4 ohms power amp. It seems to only be available from European sellers: https://www.bax-shop.co.uk/bass-guitar-amp-head/markbass-little-mark-vintage-amp-1000-watt-bass-guitar-power-amplifier?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=surfaces&gclid=CjwKCAjwp7eUBhBeEiwAZbHwkYNvu5oYsStvG1A2EyxCrUS6sd01rLeGZrqHTSttyN55TWZ1HGQSYRoCmqQQAvD_BwE It's a match for their Markbass vintage pre amp.

@shoulderpet and @Dov65 How does one access the truss rod on the Vintera basses? Is it proper vintage unscrew the neck from the body or is there hex key access somewhere that doesn't require dismantling the bass?

Sorry, I've not been on basschat for a while and have only just seen your post. If you haven't already binned them I wouldn't mind trying them out, but you did post the above 8 days ago! Thanks for the offer.

I realise the current E string on the bass I will detune is likely to be a 100, it was a bit floppy but not too bad when dropped to D so 105 might be good enough. @Ricky Rioliis going to send me a set he doesn't like to try as he thinks they could work well in D standard. I'll experiment with a few different gauges but I doubt whether 120 would be needed, I am not likely to need to drop down to C.

This has been quite informative. First of all, solo practice with fingers in E standard: I usually have the G&L pup in series when playing in E standard; I like the bite and the extra bit of heft. Sounds fine in split too but lacks a bit of oomph that the series mode gives (I am adjusting the volume when swapping between the two. The parallel setting sounds good also but is a bit more mellow; if I wanted mellow I wouldn't be playing a Kiloton. Fingers in D standard: I have a slight preference for the split over series as it can get a little bit muddy in series on the D string. Definitely not in parallel as it gets too muddy for me With a pick in D standard, I wouldn't use the split mode as it loses quite a bit of body, series and parallel both work well with a pick, slight preference for series. The string set I got with the bass feels fine in D standard, though the D string is a bit floppy. It's nowhere near as floppy as a D'addario 135 B string on my Charvel 34" scale fiver, but floppy enough for a bit of buzz that doesn't happen in E standard (I haven't bothered adjusting the saddles as I'm swapping between E and D standard at the moment). You might well be right about the E string being a 100 gauge; the ADG (GCF) strings have good tension in D standard; I'm thinking now that I would probably prefer a 40 over a 45 in E standard. To conclude, I think 45-65-85-105 would be good in d standard though I would still like to try a 110

Never mind about the strings, by the sounds of it I'm not missing much. I normally leave the toggle switch to the right, which is series, I think. I'll have a play around tomorrow and let you know.

I posted a thread about strings for a D standard bass a couple of days ago, it's had a few views but no answers. This section of the forum should be known as the dusty end! I've been experimenting/struggling with different tunings on a 4 string and using a 5 string for our cover band's songs. I'm tempted to leave one of my basses in D standard rather than detuning all 4 strings during a set. Consequently, I am considering using a set of 50-70-90-110. Yesterday, in rehearsal, instead of using a fiver, I detuned a 4 string to DGCG for one song and the strings the Kiloton tribute came with (I believe they are D'Addario 45-105s) seemed fine, however, if you think your set of 50-65-85-110s might be an improvement I'll happily take them off your hands.

I will be changing one of my 4 string basses to D standard. I'm not sure which gauges would suit this best. I'm thinking it would be 50-110? or maybe 55-115? I normally use 45-65-85-105 nickel rounds and on my 34" scale 5 string I have swapped the 125 its came with for a 135, which is much better. Any assistance would be appreciated.

I suppose there will be a limited edition of 500 or a 1000 and they will cost north of £3k each for a relatively simple bass. I won't be buying one but I'm sure the basses will have their fans.

The reason why I haven't succumbed to GAS and bought one. My GED 2112 may not do the SVT thing quite as well as the Bassrig (according to a lengthy post on Talkbass) but it does it well enough for me and it does it through my amp, or a power amp should I buy a dedicated one.

How incredibly professional. They are perfectionists I'm guessing.

That's a fair comment. We cover 'Interstate Love Song'. Not difficult technically but there isn't much pure repetition, the verses and choruses change slightly, just enough to keep you on your toes.

I have 7 basses, though 2 will be sold. I have only been playing bass for 4 years and I am still not sure just what I want, like or need. So I have single humbucker, twin humbucker, P, PJ and Jazz basses, 4 string and 5 string basses, active and passive, with a variety of nut widths. I am getting rid of a Yamaha BB, but will possibly replace this with an active PJ and will also get rid of an Ibanez...and then get a fanned fret or 35" scale fiver. I believe I will have to live with a bass and play it constantly, comparing it to my others to work out what is best for me. That's my rationale. Another reason is GAS, I like new basses!

This seems to be a very versatile bass. I think my next bass will be a D-Roc 5.

Let us know how you get on with D-Roc; I've been gassing after one of these for a while.

That looks like a slightly fanned fret bass, or is it just the perspective when photographed at an angle? I didn't think Fender did fanned fret stuff.

I also turned 59 a month ago. After buying my first fiver at the start of February I didn't touch any of my 4 string basses, until Thursday. I was really missing playing them and after giving in to temptation I'm really enjoying playing some of my 4 string basses again. So no GAS for the time being but the trouble with 4 string basses is that there are so many different options out there that GAS will come back harder I'm sure. And anyway, I like buying new basses, I'm not interested in rehab or getting a sponsor, I'm happy with all the enablers here on Basschat.