ShergoldSnickers

[quote name='silverfoxnik' post='108394' date='Dec 23 2007, 02:05 AM']That is so cool! It reminds me a bit of my Wal... I must admit to having always wanted a Shergold but never got around to it but I may have to change that now [/quote] They do look similar but a good Wal is just so much better in terms of sound, flexibility and construction. Then there is the small matter of re-sale value! With a fair bit of tinkering it is possible to get some great sounds and playability from a Marathon. It would be interesting to compare at a Basschat bash sometime.

Easy. The only bass I have. [attachment=4285:marathon.jpg]

This isn't a simple issue. First point: Is this trend an attempt at Chris Morris humour or genuine opinion? Hard to tell sometimes. Undoubtedly there is some shock value either way. Oh sod it, let's cut to the chase, the subject of this discussion is basically the two or three controversial posts and/or contributions BBC has made. There's a tendency to button push for humorous effect, but after seeing a couple of really intelligent posts BBC has mixed in, I go for the Chris Morris angle. He may play the fool but he isn't one underneath. Can't help feeling there's an agenda somewhere though. Now let's suppose it's genuine opinion. If Hitler himself started contributing, I wouldn't mind, because how do we counter without first hearing the argument? Extreme views often condemn themselves when held up to public glare. Second point: I'm uneasy with censorship and personally would find it impossible to moderate effectively and fairly - a superhuman task to do it with consistency. I self-censor in that regard, ignoring posts I don't like, and contributing to those I do, and experimenting with those I'm not sure of. Third Point: I'm getting to know those who provoke controversy, and act accordingly. Some controversy helps to stop things getting stale in my opinion. I find what others think is fascinating, if more than a little bizarre at times. Fourth Point: There isn't a person on this board I wouldn't help out if I could*. I can't say that of any other board. That's the strength. If there was a danger of losing that then I really would be worried. It's a judgement the moderators would have to make. I don't envy them. *Within reason folks...

Harmonics are frequencies generated at whole number multiples of the fundamental frequency. Even order harmonics - 2x, 4x, 6x the fundamental etc - are considered preferable to the ear than odd order harmonics - 3x, 5x, 7x the fundamental etc. Even order harmonics are usually much greater in amplitude than odd order harmonics. So, multiply the fundamental by these multiples to get the harmonic frequencies. If you do this for every conceivable note that can be played you'll end up with a real tangled jumble of frequencies to consider! Far better to consider broad frequency bands that might want to be boosted or cut. Which is what most tone controls do really, either graphically or via rotary controls. Generally speaking, most cabinets introduce a boxy colouration that would benefit from a cut in the 200 to 600 Hz region. Some expensive cabs don't, but they are in the minority. Boosting the high mids adds definition, and boosting the low mids adds poke, but in both cases we are boosting harmonic frequencies rather than fundamentals. Just a though - I reckon that a Rick or a Stingray generates more even order harmonics - or fewer odd order - than say a Precision or a Jazz. I've no way of measuring this - just a hunch.

[quote name='Mrs Tinman' post='107817' date='Dec 21 2007, 07:23 PM']Intelligence, wit and good looks, what more could anyone ask for? :wub: :wub: :wub:[/quote] We could hazard a guess Mrs T ... As I don't have anything recent - the band is not ready for gigging yet - this will have to do. I'm third from the left. !984. [attachment=4257:Agent_Orange_1.jpg]

Heart of the Sunrise was the first bass part I tried to learn. Result? Bass Part 1 Me 0 I played at home and lost. All long, long ago in a bedroom far, far away... well Halifax anyway.

Been using an Eden Nemesis NC115 for the last few months. Easy to get some great sounds and it's luggable. I can lift it with one hand and carry it a reasonable distance before I need to use both hands.

Only ever owned bolt-on, but when I've tried a through neck they felt and played just fine. Funny this topic came up as I had a dream last night about a neck with inset nuts that catch the bolts as they poke through the body giving a much tighter fit. If the neck needs shimming then slim copper washers are dropped over the bolts. You have firm metal to metal contact at the joint. Bet it's already been done... What an utterly sad git eh?

[quote name='Old Horse Murphy' post='90706' date='Nov 19 2007, 10:39 AM']If this Riccy plays like any of the other Riccy's I 've had in the past, it's going to be a short love affair. I've never got on with them. However, just to say I owned a Chris Squire for a short period of time is a good thing. I'm going for a lie down now, but Pics to follow.[/quote] A Rick is the only other bass I've tried that I did get on with. Twould be boring if we were all made the same... Anyhows, nice work Old Horse and not a little courageous. Right, now where did the wife put her foundation, I can't go around looking green [i]all[/i] day.

That really is a luscious bass. I have a thing for black basses... :wub: Couple of tips: Now that it's set up, tighten all the screws on the bridge, including machine head/headstock ones and where the neck joins the body. Don't overtighten though "How do I know when I've gone far enough or too far on the tightening?" When you are using both hands on the screwdriver and you can't get any more grip on the floor - that's too far. Just keep gently nipping the screws a tiny bit at a time until they won't readily budge any more. All this tightening should prevent some of the loss of mechanical energy wasted in flexing loose joints etc, rather than sustaining the note. Get a Badass bridge on it, as Simon1964 suggests. This will further increase the sustain and the ease with which you grin whilst playing. Third tip (alright I can't count...), speak to Andy at [url="http://www.wizardpickups.co.uk/shop.asp?category=Bass"]Wizard Pickups[/url]. Those pickups he sells are just,.... just.... errrr.... thesaurus-worthy. Keep the old stuff so if the need arises you can sell the bass as original. Edit: silly typo

I used to have a 1981 100W Super Bass II, coupled with a Fender Dual Showman 2 x 15 cab. I was slightly disappointed by the power output and the inability to get really good fundamental bass notes out of it, but that was more to do with the fact that I was p*ss poor at that stage and bought the cab second-hand without any drivers in it, and I could only afford to get a couple of cheapish 15'' drivers in there (Baker C15s if my memory is correct). I don't think they did it justice. The tonal variation was limited and crude however, no matter which cab you were driving. Not overly impressed. This was over 25 years ago so don't take this as an indication of what Marshall are doing now!

A friend of mine did a cabinet making course to start with, getting used to working with different woods and tools. As the intricacy of the work increased, doing inlays etc, he realised that building basses would be feasible. He was taught by an elderly gentleman who'd been in the trade for donkeys years and knew all the tricks and techniques. The course was at a local college. Worth a look I'd say.

[quote name='stingrayfan' post='85959' date='Nov 9 2007, 02:31 PM']2. Stanley Clarke - see above. 'School Days'? I'd rather be in detention.[/quote] His upright bass playing is a bit more considered, but even that's difficult to listen to now.

[quote name='lwtait' post='67255' date='Sep 29 2007, 08:11 AM']I'm just starting to learn fretless and so far I'm transferring things like Red Hot Chili Peppers onto it. Are there any songs that are worth me listening to and then learning to play specifically to improve my fretless playing? What sort of stuff do all of the other fretless players out there play?[/quote] The band I'm in - Desperate Din - play lots of improvised stuff so it's not tunes as such. Really. If you can spot a tune you're doing well. And so are we. Bassists I'd listen to would be Mick Karn, Percy Jones, John Giblin, Eberhard Weber, and Jaco of course. There are others, but that lot have found something that instantly makes them recognisable and fairly unique.

Oh 'eck. Just finshed listening back to some recordings I did in the 80s and 90s. It's the "How in god's name did I play that?" moment writ large and multiplied.

[quote name='Old Horse Murphy' post='62248' date='Sep 18 2007, 05:54 PM']I adore these 2. Gives me goosebumps every time [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23bRZL_55ok"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23bRZL_55ok[/url][/quote] Couldn't agree more. Musicality oozes from every pore.

I had a jumper knitted for me with a design that matched how the bass hangs on its strap. Same colours, same position. Take the bass off and it looked like part of it had been left behind. It got nicked at a Red Guitars gig in Hull in the 80s. Grrrr.

[quote name='beerdragon' post='56155' date='Sep 5 2007, 06:45 PM']Not sure i like this, belonging to the Beastie boys. [url="http://imageshack.us"][/url][/quote] Evil thought: That cab could be 're-arranged' nicely with one of those paint stripper air guns.