BillyBass

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!

On 07/04/2022 at 10:16, Machines said:

Some quick sound demos. All recordings are into a Zoom B3n with pickups in following order. 

 

1) Bridge

2) Bridge / Middle (Parallel)

3) Middle

4) Bridge/Middle (Parallel) + Neck in Series

 

Fingerstyle (Clean signal):

 

 

 

Slap (Treble boost on Zoom):

 

 

 

METAL (Darkglass Model):

 

 

 

 

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.

Yamaha BB434 for sale.  Black with rosewood fingerboard, passive 4 string.  This is a 2017 model, which has no dings whatsoever, it seems to be in perfect condition to me.  

If you have never played a BB before, they do a great P bass sound, the bridge pup adds a bit of top end to this if so desired.

Using the bathroom scales it appears to weigh 4.1 Kg, however, this may not be perfectly accurate; I weighed myself then weighed myself again with the bass a couple of times to get the figure.

Cash on collection.  I live very close to the junction of the M25 and the A1 and even closer to High Barnet tube station.  If anyone wants to try it out feel free to arrange a visit.

Any questions?  Please ask.

12 hours ago, Moving Pictures said:

I currently have an Ibanez EHB1005 that is ridiculously light. Sounds not too bad and is a joy to play. However my favourite 5-string is my Roasted Pine American Professional II Jazz V. It has a sound I enjoy more. It is very light and balances well on a strap. As far as I’m concerned it was a great purchase. 

 

 

 

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.

8 hours ago, admiralchew said:

Has anyone had any experience with the Crazy Tube Circuits Locomotive overdrive? Like JAM, CTC is Greek, as is my partner so I’m considering picking one up when I’m next in Athens. It’s got a 12AY7 tube in a fetching hot pink housing depicting a train. What more could a person want.

 

Looking back through the thread - JAM, Cog, Doom 2 - you guys have got great GAS taste!

https://crazytubecircuits.com/locomotive

400mA at 9v power supply requirement, that's not bad for a pedal with a real valve.  Most valve pedals are quite thirsty.

Paging @wintoid someone who works at Scott's Bass Lessons has informed me that the Next Technique Accelerator course is likely to be starting in May, possibly June, depending on how long they keep the enrolment period going.

I own a guitar.

In my defence, I didn't buy it, it was given to me by my next door neighbour.

Yes please

I agree with @Merton My RM800 is really quiet.

On 18/03/2022 at 11:31, ezbass said:

Which leads onto words like lieutenant and Loughborough (lowgahborowgah?  ) As far as I can remember from conversations with teachers with an interest in these things, British spellings and pronunciations are the product of deciding a language by committee, taking into account every tribe's idiosyncrasies and having every dialect represented in some form or other.

Our pronunciation comes from Norman French.  'In lieu tenant' i.e. when the main man isn't here, this one is the boss.  The Normans, and some other regions of France pronounced it 'liev'.  So the Americans aren't wrong to say "Lootenant". Not sure how much more Norman French there is in English still; 'warranty' for guarantee is the only other one I know.

The spelling of English has become standardised with the advent of dictionaries.  Prior to dictionaries, spellings were often regional, presumably following the local pronunciation.

Sorry, I'm one of those with an interest in these things.

6 minutes ago, Bilbo said:

Kermit Driscoll with Bill Frissel 

 

I thought this was a wind up but I googled the name and it's true! Kermit is more than just a frog from children's telly!

I have a 5 string:

Mine was a display model from Andertons, which was on a deal.  I've had it for a month and a half now.

Mine had no shielding/noise issues like 'Low End Lobster' had on his review model.  They are expensive for a Mexican Fender but they aren't a standard Mexican Fender, they have a better quality bridge, Di Marzio noiseless pick ups, rolled fretboard edges and all the flash colours.

This was my first fiver and I bought it to coincide with a time I would be spending at home while work was being done on my house, so I've played it a lot.

I like mine. It's a good bass for the money and I like the sounds I get from the DiMarzio Jazz pick ups and the pre amp.  Mine weighs about 4.5 KG or a bit under, ok for a 3 hour rehearsal.

There only issue with mine is that it is a bit neck dive.  This is my 7th bass and 1st fiver; it's the first bass I've owned with neck dive and I found it irritating at first.  Fender spent all the extra on the bridge , pups, gold coloured bits etc, why didn't they put on ultra-light tuners?  That would help.  I have decent 4" straps so I can live with the neck dive and apart from that, I like it.

The Damned always have a bit of a laugh live.  This was the B-side to 'Smash it up'. the weird sound at 1.37 was a bit on the 7" that you had to revolve the opposite way to your record player to hear it, which doesn't work without a turntable and stylus, of course.

I once saw them play a version of Ballroom Blitz, with Lemmy.  Dave Vanian changed the chorus to: 'Big, big, big big t!ts' whilst pointing at a chesty skinhead girl sat on something to the side of the stage (Electric Ballroom, Camden Town).  The support band for this gig was supposed to be Splodgenessabounds but they got banned as 10 days previously, while supporting the Damned at the Rainbow in Finsbury Park, Max Splodge received a very quick BJ from the girl that used to share singing duties with him-on stage.  Splodgenessabounds were/are a pisstake punk band, famous for the single '2 pints of lager and a packet of crisps please'

1 hour ago, keziahj said:

 

 

https://m.soundcloud.com/alu-folie-361410504/experimentpostambient?ref=clipboard&p=i&c=1&si=6179896A6CC2494CAF9F823DD2C0F61D&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing
 

 

No guitars!  I approve😉

8 minutes ago, Lfalex v1.1 said:

 

Aircon! 

I did look at this option.  For about £750 you can get 'silent' portable aircon units that would cope with the size of conservatory I have.  Mrs BillyBass doesn't like the idea but we'll see in July.

10 hours ago, Lozz196 said:

Although I had a Gibson Les Paul bass for a while I’ve always been a bit wary of neck through basses in case they get snapped/broken. Probably more indicative of the gigs I used to do than any short-comings of the instruments themselves. 

Sid Vicious preferred bolt ons too

22 hours ago, Paul S said:

I don't know about keeping basses in a conservatory but I know about keeping plants in a conservatory and I think there are parallels.  I'd say it depends upon the aspect - if it is on the north side of the house, out of direct sun and with heating for winter then the temperature swings won't be massive so it might be OK (although humidity might be an issue).  If it gets any direct sun then forget it.

22 hours ago, zbd1960 said:

Real world experience of nearly 20 years with my conservatory. It has vents which automatically open according to temperature set on a thermostat. Generally, this means that the temperature doesn't get above about 33C. In winter, it rarely gets colder than 5C. The roof is the opaque triple polycarbonate type with some sort of heat reflective layer in it. I have blinds drawn most of the time as well.

 

I suspect if basses are in cases and not in direct sunlight and you can regulate the maximum temperature and humidity to sensible levels, it's probably viable, BUT it's big swings in temperature and humidity that could do damage.     

It's west south west facing, so pretty much in line with the setting sun.  Even with its posh glass it is going to be unbearable during a heatwave, however, I think it will be ok in winter as I'm sure I'll be able to keep the temperature in there about the same as the rest of the house.

What I'm unsure about is how dry it will get inside.  There are trickle vents on 3 sides of the conservatory but the heat from the heater is likely to have a drying effect on the air inside.

I'll play it by ear (no pun intended) but I doubt any basses will stay there, particularly not in the summer.  I'll probably keep a practice rig in there though.

8 hours ago, chris_b said:

All my basses live in their cases and only come out to be played. Seems to me permanently keeping 6 basses out on stands is the problem for the wife. I agree with her. You are taking up too much room.

Yes, but where do you keep the cases?  They would take up more room than the 5 basses I keep on a rack.

11 minutes ago, SH73 said:

If I ever had a conservatory, not that I ever would want one, I would find it pointless for music related playing, "production". Sound treatment would be a nightmare. 

I can only see having a gym in a conservatory, but first I'd have to start gyming which is highly unlikely.

 

The conservatory is great for practising in, at least it is now.  It won't be possible to practise there on hot days.

Some friends from our local skateboard park went to see Led Zeppelin at Knebworth.  This was 1979, I was a 16 year old punk and wasn't interested in led Zeppelin stuff so didn't go.

Sometimes I wish I could go back in time.

2 hours ago, Downunderwonder said:

Heating an otherwise unused space to keep basses comfy seems like a waste of power to me. Controlled heating won't do anything to the moisture in the air except make it relatively less saturated. So long as you were keeping it at 16° and it didn't overheat naturally it would be fine. Still a waste of power.

 

Then what do you do when it bakes in the summer?

It won't be an otherwise unused space.  

Her Majesty has given me a limit of how many basses I'm allowed in the house: 5 on the rack I have in the 'music room' and one on a stand in the lounge (to be used in the conservatory).  So you can see I have to get by with just 6 basses.  Now if I could store some in the conservatory, then she would let me keep more than the 6.

But the general consensus of opinion seems to be that I am asking for trouble.

13 minutes ago, SteveXFR said:

I had a conservatory built on our last house. We went for the top spec, high tech glass with the best thermal efficiency for keeping warmth in during winter and heat out during summer. It was very good in the winter but during summer it regularly got over 40 Celsius. 

UV damage could be an issue as well. 

Mine is also top spec and I'm guessing my experience will be similar to yours.  

Looking up UV light, it appears that UV-A light could be an issue as I believe the window and door glass isn't solar (just sound proofed).  This is fixable though.  Its the heat doing in bass necks that I am worried about and I suppose that means no storing basses there during hot periods.

Anyone know anything about dry heat from heaters taking moisture out of necks?  Should I get a humidifier?

I've just had a conservatory built and shortly the flooring, decorating and electrics will all be done.  It has sound proof (to a degree) glass and I will be using it as my practice space.

I have installed a heater and can keep the temperature constant...ish at the moment but the heater will have a drying effect on the atmosphere inside.  Also, I imagine this will get quite hot in the summer, the glass roof is made of 'solar glass' but it will be directly in line with the setting sun, and the rooms at the back of the house can be really uncomfortable during a heatwave.

I would like to be able to store some basses in there but am a bit concerned about the temeperture and humidity changes could have a detrimental effect on bass necks.

Anyone got any advice/experience to share?