Dr.Dave

I'll tell you how it happened. Pound to a pinch of sh*t the 'locking' (!!) nut unscrewed itself off so the rest of the fitting fell out of the hole. It happened to me mid gig in York , dumped my Status on my foot. Since the following morning all my Schallers went in the bin and were replaced with Dunlops - far superior IMHO. They hold the strap further off the bass as the pins are longer which makes me wonder about too much stress on the screw and pin - but you can get versions that 'flush' fit too , though that means hacking the bass a little. Never had an actual issue with the Dunlops , they've been great , my comments above are only me worrying/wondering aloud. Were I you I'd be on the blower to whoever you've ordered the replacements from and change your order to Dunlops toot suite. Cost you a couple of quid more but if you're interested in the security of your bass enough to invest in any form of straplock -are you bovvered?

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='469688' date='Apr 22 2009, 03:51 PM']Firstly, beauty is in the [b]ear[/b] of the beholder.[/quote] Hallelujah , brother. What's a 'good' sound? What's the 'best' gear? If me and Linford Christie get down on the blocks and somebody shouts bang - 10 seconds later he'll be across the finish line having a non-dodgy cup of herbal tea and I'll still be 5 yds from the start having grown a third testicle and suffering a heart attack. At sprinting - he's better than me. He's good , I'm not. We can measure it. So - kind lads that you all are you organise a benefit concert for my funeral and one of you plays a Wal through a Boogie and one of you a Squier through a Carlsboro. Which one sounds 'best'? Is one good and the other not? How do we know???? How do we measure it?

Moaning old git content follows........ Anyone here below the age of about 35 doesn't know what cheap tat gear is. When I started out if you didn't buy a Fender or a Ric the chances are it would be a plywood plank with a neck that would exhibit distinctly musatoid (look it up) behaviour in 6 months. Ray's were just coming in , Yamaha were making the only real effort from Japan and Mr Alembic was starting to make expensive boutique basses. Miserable sod that I am I don't count Gibson so other than what I've listed you got rubbish to an extent many of you wouldn't believe. How any of us older blokes managed to learn on some of the stuff we had I'll never know. Bass amps - by and large - were bass versions of guitar amps with the only exeptions being high end stuff like Ampegs. Now - you can buy a Jazz bass cheaply - maybe even one that says Fender on it - and gig/record/whatever with it. It's decent quality for a weeks wage. Big names in bass amplification manufacture proper bass amps - GK , Ashdown , Trace etc and they are nothing like the cost a pro's amp would have cost you 30 years ago in terms of how many hours overtime it would take to buy one. I buy the odd fancy bass because I can. I'm middle aged , no kids to support and I'd fall off a motorbike. If I had to I could gig quite happily with a Squier bass and a mid range combo that would cost me way less than 500 spots if I went with used gear - not much more new. We do this thing to make music - not to sit back admiring our aquisitions. Joe punter in front of you doesn't know a vintage Fender bass from a Vintage brand bass - and more to the point doesn't give a sh*t. Neither does Mr Music Industry exec. , Mr Promoter or even Mr Producer. They care about interesting (saleable?) music and sounds - not what it costs to make them. As with any tool - it pays in the long run to buy the best bass gear you can afford , esp if you've made a decision to take playing music seriously. It will give more control over sound and will last longer if looked after. (my own tip would be if money's tight - spend the majority on the bass and don't worry about the amp as long as it works) But - I guarantee the lad or lass with the crap bass and rubbish amp who knows how to play it beats the clueless rich kid on every level , every time. Edit - re. para 1 , last sentence. That was a lie - I do know. We wanted to be musicians more than anything so we took what we could get/afford and made it work for us.

I think this is very generalised bias but for what it's worth. Trace used to build things up to a quality in the early days - slowly they started building down to a price. By the time anything came in a furry cabinet it was utter rubbish that WILL fall to pieces in a gigging environment. I hear better things about the current range but I'm loath to bother trying it. I'd much rather pick up some old series 6 stuff - my fave - for a good price , have it checked out by a sparky and proceed with confidence. I found sounds I like easy to get , functions I actually used and I couldn't break it. That's all I require from amplification - to do its job while I crack on with mine.

I find it easy. There's a reason for that. I practise and I've done it a lot. It never ceases to amaze me that we spend years learning how to play bass to a reasonable standard then turn round and say we can't sing or can't sing and play when we've tried it once or twice. If we don't practise other musical skills as well as we practise bass playing why would we expect them to come easily?

[quote name='~tl' post='466717' date='Apr 19 2009, 01:45 PM'][url="http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/custom-shop/specialized-1/single_coilstac/"]http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/cust...ingle_coilstac/[/url][/quote] Excellent pointer , matey. Thankyou. I looked under the basslines range and couldn't find it. I'm going to try one of these in my Blueflower , currently it has a SDQP in.

[quote name='Delberthot' post='460595' date='Apr 12 2009, 03:01 PM']You could always try one of the humbuckers. I've been thinking about getting one for ages. Seymor Duncan do them as well as a few others. I think Sting has one in his '57 single coil P bass[/quote] Just looked on the SD site and can't find any such animal - you got a link to these useful sounding goodys??

Another vote for Stevie Nicks - though I've always thought her more an artist than a craftsman.

I think this is the one that 'Funkmaster' Dave and I diddled with at Jon's workshop. The timing would be right. We were bowled over by the schertler sound and the only nit pick I had was I wasn;t over keen on the fiddly control panel. It's worth the money - that's not to say he'll get a sale - but I just don't have a job for a thousand pound fretless.

[quote name='BigBeefChief' post='451375' date='Apr 1 2009, 12:28 PM']Mark King put me off playing bass for years.[/quote] He put me off slap playing forever. He did , however , raise the profile of bass playing so hats off to the dude. I'm pretty amazed at the length of this thread. If you think a headless Status looks duff - don't f***ing get one. I wouldn't buy a Jaydee or a Warwick for that reason - where's the problem? Look in my rack and you'll find a well mojoed 73 Fender alongside a headless graphite necked Status. I couldn't care less if anyone thinks that's odd , and care even less than less if they're trendy or not. They both do me a job of work - end of. If the rest of the world wants to care about trendiness in instruments and it means I can pick up my Status for the silly amount of cash that I did - bonus.

Well - I use a Status headless and I'm as cool and fashionable as f**k !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! End of discussion.

Here's the real tip. Ask for batteries for your birthday. That way you'll always know when they were last changed , always change them and (in my experience of my basses with 'normal' use) they'll never go flat on you. Oh - don't ever pinch the PP3 out of the smoke alarm as this can prove highly dangerous in the event of your wife finding out !!!

I've said it several times but the freedom a headless bass gives me to whirl dervishlike (well...a fat,sloth like dervish who's past his 'best before' date!) about the stage without fear of putting some poor sod's teeth down their throat is quite liberating.

[quote name='lozbass' post='445002' date='Mar 25 2009, 02:16 PM']That's a beautiful 520 quids worth![/quote] ( removes socks to count toes) er...2 hundred and another 2 hundred then another less thirty plus the forty...no...sixty....er................. Thanks!!!!

[quote name='Jamesemt' post='444863' date='Mar 25 2009, 11:58 AM']I may have to take you up on that!!! Close to finishing a massively stressful course through work which I've been putting off for 7 years (and nearly cost me my marriage and also the band). I always said that if I passed Id buy a new car, but funds dictate that it may just be a bass on the credit card! What's the starting price for a new one? Is it about £2k?[/quote] The starting price on mine was the £270 it cost me to get it off ebay then the £250 I paid Jon Shuker to refinish it. Here it is.......... [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=3731&hl=Dr.Dave"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=...&hl=Dr.Dave[/url]

I've got a Status and my slap technique's about as much use as a chocolate teapot. Don't get a fixed '80's slap' idea re Status basses. Mine's a bolt - on resin necked headless - not sure where you are in East Yorks but if you want to come and not slap mine in Wakefield to try it out , you're welcome.

Mousemat's a great idea - I've been meaning to replace the stuff on mine for ages. I was fiddling with the pups at a gig and lost the foams somewhere so I stuffed it with bog roll. Been like that about 5 years!

[quote name='andyonbass' post='440820' date='Mar 21 2009, 05:37 AM']Interesting one this, I always used to play way too hard, caused by years of practising without being plugged in.[/quote] Just the same with me. As a result my right hand fingers land so hard on the next string up from the one I've played that insted of just damping it it makes a quacking,clicky sound. Pity because with a lighter touch it would form a brilliant natural damping technique. In my earlier playing days , too , I often had (what I now realise to be) inadequate power on stage relative to my play mates and that made me hit harder too , to be heard. I'm better practising or recording - though my playing's probably not as 'exciting' if that's the word. Once I get a gig sweat on though - back to bad habits. Heavier guage strings help - they're tighter and the problem reduces a little. Having said all that - I don't worry about it too much. I just crack on. Sure there's plenty of craftsman joiners hit a nail too hard , plenty of chefs chop a carrot too hard etc etc. You do the job - warts and all - make the cupboard,cook the casserole,play your gig - draw your wage - say thankyou and goodnight

Hard to think of a sound you couldn't make or a gig you couldn't play with that lot. Nice - partic. liking the fretless 'ray

Electromusic for me too. I have had a problem with goods from there - they were stunningly quick in sorting it for me. Better knowing that than never having a problem if you see what I mean. In Leeds - the Nothern Guitar Centre opp Music Ground sometimes has something interesting in at a good price but that's about all it has going for it. Music Ground itself is useful at times rather than good. Galaxy Music in Castleford is getting a good rep. , mainly from guitar players though. The Rock Factory in Cas. is always worth a look though never partic great for bass players. I haven't been in Spectresound in Bingley for ages but it was always a fave - probably nostalgia from the good old days when it was JSG. Climbing over loads of Marshall valve tops and finding a dozen 70's Fender basses etc. Happy days.

I swap basses mid set and have always used the 'mute - lead out - swap bass - lead in - mute' approach. I'm a great believer in adding equipment also adding the increased probability of some bit of it going wrong. I shove the jackplug/lead in my pocket while the bass is being swapped. My mate has his through his belt loop. I'm pretty aware of the differing outputs of my basses so I might swing the gain a notch up or down depending which one I'm using. I don't touch the EQ at all. Sure , that means the basses sound a lot different but (other than a string break or something) if 2 basses sounded the same why would I want to swap them??

There's one for sale in the classifieds

Blinder at The Hop in Wakefield - going from strength to strength , that place. It's introducing a load of transient , night club types to the pub live band scene and they're finding they love it. Joint is really jumping. At the mo. only the downstairs is open and the stage is a bit small but they have plans to open the upstairs as a bigger venue - can't wait for that one.