Obrienp

2 hours ago, whynot said:

I've just put a set of Elite Stadiums on my Sandberg 32". Fits perfectly with winding stopping right before the E tuner. May try their nickle next time.

https://www.basscentre.com/elites-medium-scale.html

Sandberg 32”? Which model is that? I’ve only seen full scale and 30” advertised.

20 hours ago, dmccombe7 said:

I never really got the non-alcoholic beers thing. Probably down to the taste of barbican to be fair.

Dave

Guinness Zero is actually pretty potable IMO. Ditto Punk AF and Adnams Ghost Ship low alcohol. Nothing like the horrendous offerings of the past.

18 hours ago, DaleASmith said:

I’m maybe looking at going with Retrovibe for my next 32”. Most of their basses are available in 32” scale and they do some really great looking basses. 

The medium scale ones have 42mm nut width and 2x2 headstocks, neither of which suit me. I have to say the shapes don’t float my boat either. I like the look of the P/MM model but it is full scale only. If he came up with a medium scale P with a Jazz style neck, I would be right there with my wallet open;  ditto the P/MM model.

Actually, if somebody marketed reasonably priced medium scale Jazz style necks in the UK, I would snap up a couple immediately. They can be bought from China and the USA but you have all the import duty/VAT hassles to deal with. I guess there just isn’t a market here for anything other than full scale offerings and some of those are seriously expensive. I have considered buying a Squier Jaguar H bass just to get the neck and marry it up to a P bass body.

Any folks aware of this offering from Gordon Smith. https://www.gordonsmithguitars.com/shop/guitars/gs-bass/#reviews. Pricey I think and vaguely reminiscent of the Orange O bass, especially if you opt for a single cutaway. I wonder if it is actually made in the UK, or just tweaked here, like the Auden offerings.

Still there aren’t many medium scale basses available in this country, so it adds to the range of choice. I still can’t understand why Fender/Squier aren’t offering a medium scale P bass. I think it would sell really well.

1 hour ago, vates said:

 

Yep. It's obviously imperfect and that's what makes it special.
The main merits are there though: it plays great and sounds killer.

Yes, those are the main merits. It’s a bit disappointing to hear that the finish isn’t that well executed, given how much Sereks sell for and I think the looks are a bit marmite. However, if it plays well and sounds good the rest is superficial.

On 10/05/2024 at 15:41, bassist_lewis said:

I got the email from DPD today that it is on its way, so should arrive next week.

I think a lot of people are as excited about your Three10 arriving as you are! I suspect there are quite a few fingers hovering near triggers, just waiting for a positive review from you! No pressure then!

I decided it was just a bit too big and heavy for me to manage in my old age and went down the LFSys route, which I don’t regret. You can’t really compare BF 10CR based cabs  to the LFSys Monza. They have completely different design objectives. I’m sure the Three10 will be amazing.

If I need the extra grunt of a 3 x 10, I’m going to stack my Monza on top of  my BF Two10 and I now have an amp that can handle the 2.7 ohm combined load. Each cab is compact and under 13 Kg which I can manage. Not as good as having a purpose designed 3 x 10  but I think I would struggle to manage the 21/22Kg and size of a Three10 with tweeter. Great if you can handle it and I’m very interested to hear what you think of yours when it arrives.

Just finished second of two gigs with Bandwidth (not my idea) at Cromer Folk on the Peer fringe. Both at a small pub with no parking and trickyish access, although load in is through back door right where the band area is.

Day one we only had a one hour slot that the previous act (shanty men of some description) kindly ate into and then stood around while we loaded in, left their gear in our space and generally impeded progress. We didn’t even bother with a PA, the area being so small but fortunately both guitarists had brought acoustic amps with second XLR channels, so they sang through their amps.
 

We eventually got going half an hour late, which meant we set up in about 10 minutes, once the previous act had been shepherded out of the way. They promptly left, taking half the crowd with them who were their friends and relatives, leaving behind a completely unresponsive audience, except for some late entrant drunk. We did our hour, not seeing anybody from the next band around but when I opened the back door, I was greeted by their drummer, looking quite annoyed with us and wanting to load in asap. I explained what had happened to us but he didn’t either look at me, or respond during my explanation. I cleared out asap, loaded my gear onto a hand cart and dragged it about a mile up hill to the car park, which cost £5.10 for 4 hours parking. Also Cromer was around 10C colder than the rest of Norfolk, so I shivered through the whole experience having not bothered with a coat..
 

Now, I know this is pretty standard pub gigging stuff but we had to pay for our drinks and we did the gig for free.  One of our guitarists is involved with the committee running the festival. I said I didn’t fancy returning today for our two hour slot but got pressured into it. 
 

Return bout today went a bit better. I still had to park miles away and drag my gear on a sack cart but the previous act had cleared out. This time drinks were on the house and the audience much more appreciative. Fortunately, they switched off the TV behind where we’re standing after the Norwich match finished. We got the obligatory drunk lads who lingered after  the match had finished and took umbrage at our lead guitarist turning down a request for a song none of us had heard of. They then started football chants and taking the piss, so we turned up as loud as we could and rocked our way through the rest of the gig. I then had to sprint back to the car park before the traffic gestapo gave me a ticket. 
 

I don’t think I will do this again next year unless we are paid. All in all, I’m about £80 out of pocket from the experience and it was pretty thankless. 

I just bought a Blackstar U700 amp from Paddy. It was a very smooth transaction. 
 

The amp is in great condition, just as described. It came perfectly packaged and was despatched quickly. 
 

Everything about the transaction was spot on and I wouldn’t hesitate to deal with Paddy again. Buy with confidence.

Patrick

3 hours ago, walshy said:

Aaaarrggghhh I am holding out for a 6x10 really but this does kinda tick the right boxes. So has anyone used one in anger yet?

Wait for @bassist_lewis to post impressions soon. 3x10 due this week according to earlier post.

14 hours ago, leschirons said:

Thanks Pat, much appreciated but I should elaborate a little, based on your reply. 

Firstly, it's not that Blues or pub rock is, nor has to be,  any less demanding for a bass player than any other genre. It's just that I don't want to play it. Regarding standard of musicianship, in my case, I'm certainly no more than your average, intermediate player but,  I'd like to be playing with people where I don't have to worry about their performance in addition to mine and, who also like the same music.

 

Your reply also suggests that you're in a blues band or doing covers because you think that's what your ability limits you to. Having heard and seen you play on a few occasions, I would argue that you seriously underrate your ability. You have a great sound, you're seriously tight and, because you have confidence in those on stage with you, you enjoy what you're doing and, make it look easy.

Thanks Keith. I’ll take flattery all day. Seriously, I have always been in awe of jazz musicians. At the risk of upsetting loads of fellow Bass Chatters, I see accomplished jazz musicians as the “true musicians” of the non-classical music world (I just opened a can of worms I’m sure). This is partly because I can’t do jazz, either on guitar, or bass. I love it but I just don’t get how to play it. Hence I always see blues and pub-rock as easier and not requiring the same level of musicianship. That’s not to say there aren’t loads of accomplished musicians who play these genres and (IMO) prog rock came close to matching jazz for musicianship.

Getting back to the point; there are some serious musicians around in our area who would like to do what you want to. I think you need a new band.

9 hours ago, leschirons said:

I'm finding it difficult to meet people here with the same musical taste and mindset.  Not sure the venues exist for laid back jazzy influenced stuff, which is what I'd like to do. Seems to be Blues or pub rock all around.

I guess that's what most folks want but unfortunately not what I want to play. I also think that I'm slowly losing interest in music full stop.

Sorry to hear you feel like that Keith. There are some similarly minded musicians around in the area though. I’ve come across a few of them. Unfortunately, I haven’t kept up with them because I am not in that league as a musician. That’s why I am still doing blues and covers bands 😀. I am sure if you keep looking you are going to find them. I’ll keep my ear to the ground and pass on the details of any that I come across.

This was a problem with the Hipshot bridge on the first batch of Nordstrand Acinonyx. The official Nordstrand response on TB was to use Loctite medium (It comes in various strengths of lock). Other thread lock products are available!

It could be a problem with how well cut the thread is on either the grub screw, or saddle. Replacements for both are available from various sellers on fleaBay for various types of bridge and outlets like Northwest Guitars.

On 08/04/2024 at 15:42, BaggyMan said:

Dimarzio DP146 their nicknames was wild bill's after billy sheehan  (i might have the nickname wrong i'll check)

 

Great pickups. Made in collaboration with Mr Sheehan. I put one in the neck position on a 51 bitsa I made. It isn’t as muddy as the classic mudbucker and has quite a nice growl to it. By which I mean it has a bit of definition to it when solo. Also comes with a 4 conductor cable so you can switch it series/parallel/single coil, if that floats your boat. Unfortunately, Dimarzio chose to discontinue it.

GLWTS

Great review @Chienmortbb.
 

The Monza, plus neutral amp, makes a great platform for pedals/effects. I guess the clue is in the FRFR label but it took me a while to really notice just how transparent it is.

1 hour ago, kodiakblair said:

Aye, you're right; it's well within the magnetic field.

 

Could be the G got twisted when stringing up, fairly common mishap. 

Hadn’t heard of that one before but it’s probably happened to me without me realising. New set of D’Addarios too.

I got to use it at a blues jam last night. People said it sounded pretty good through the provided backline (Ashdown EVO head and a 2 x 10). Lots of compliments on its appearance but amazement at the weight. Heavier than a 70s P bass according to some.
 

A couple of  fellow bassists suggested I drill out some of the wood, like Gibson do on the so called weight relieved Les Pauls. If I did this, I guess I would have to do it from the back and cover the holes with a veneer. I also wonder how it might affect tone and balance. Strikes me it might be easier just to look for an alternative body in swamp ash, or similar, without going as light as the Obeche.

2 hours ago, kodiakblair said:

Even though, by your own admission, the scratchplate forced you to fudge the pickup position 😃

True but I think the pickup alignment is pretty accurate under the G string.

OK, so I have finally, pretty well finished. Not entirely straightforward but not too bad as these sort of builds, or I should probably say, assemblies, go.

Fortunately, I got the bridge in the right place, judging by the string alignment on the neck. Strings 1 and 4 both have a good amount of clearance all the way down the neck, so they are not going to slip over the edge if my fretting is a bit wild. Pickup alignment is not so good but I am blaming the pickguard I got hold of. I originally lined the pickups up so that the strings were dead in the middle of the pairs of poles. Unfortunately, when I came to fit the scratchplate, the cut outs didn’t line up at all. It would have required too much to be cut off to get the pickups in the ideal place: it would have left huge gaps, so I moved the pickups. I have seen worse alignment and it works fine but it upsets my sense of symmetry.

This wasn’t the only issue with the scratchplate and it is a lesson not to buy the cheapest available on FleaBay. It is cut so tight that it barely covers the control cavity route and in its original position the jack socket would have made contact with the side wall of the cavity. I had trimmed a little off the neck cut to make it match the squared off neck heel (thus covering the gap between neck and body) and these few millimetres north gave enough clearance for the jack socket. Then I didn’t have a gap to get at the heel truss rod adjustment, so had to make a notch to get the tool in (not as neat as I would have liked). Final gripe about the scratchplate is that it is meant to be brown tortoiseshell but definitely looks red to me. My fault for going cheap!
 

I have levered open my wallet and bought a Stew Mac Telecaster Truss Rod Adjustment Tool from a UK supplier on FleaBay at a reasonable price. I am really glad I did. It works a treat and only requires the smallest gap to get it located in the truss rod slot. It doesn’t look as professional as the much more expensive Hosco tool but it works.

The important bit is that the bass sounds much more like what I expect from a Precision. Nothing like as bright as the SD ‘51 in the Obeche body but still with some growl. The G perhaps sounds a bit muted but I guess that is the Tone Rider pickup. I am happy with the action I have obtained as well. I did pop a bit of credit card in at the heel to shim it a bit, to compensate for the thicker baseplate on the Fender high mass bridge. That seems to have done the trick, so I now have a bit less than 3.5mm at the 12th fret on the bass side and it is rattle free.

The only drawback to the overall package is that, if I ever decide to buy a boat, I have the anchor covered right here. A quick weighing session on the bathroom scales puts it at 5 Kg on the nose! That’s 11 whole Imperial pounds! That is at least 1.5 Kg more than my other basses. This is definitely going to be a bass for short jam sessions and back up at gigs. No way I can use this as a primary instrument for gigging, or even rehearsing.

1 hour ago, Woodinblack said:

 

I think mine is earlier than that. When I was a kid i had a very strict, and not entirely mentally stable piano teacher.

My Mum made me have piano lessons: I wanted to play clarinet (it was the time of Stranger on the Shore). I hated it. Couldn’t get it. The piano teacher was called Mr Bassman: must have been a sign😀! He got so frustrated with me that he used to poke me in the ribs with his long bony fingers (probably be arrested these days). Anyway, my Mum eventually gave up and decided to save her money. I don’t know who begged more for the lessons to stop: me or Mr Bassman.
 

The experience completely put me off playing music until I was about 13, when a confluence of a friends guitar and hearing the Stones, Led Zeppelin, etc, persuaded me that maybe it was worth having a go. I still expect everything that goes wrong to be my fault and I drive my band mates crazy by constantly apologising for my perceived imperfections! 🤣

10 hours ago, leschirons said:

Just back from the second gig with a band I joined.

 

Audience loved it, pub paid us an extra few quid, other band members had a great night as all they hear and see is the audience reaction and then believe their own publicity. I thought it was terrible and it seems that I'm the only one who can hear it apart from two others in the audience. My wife, a singer and bodrahn player and my brother, a guitarist and sax player.  I need to knock them into shape before the next gig.

What is the band called Keith? I’ll look out for you. Are you playing at the Necton Festival?

I’m impressed that you have the capacity to notice what the rest of the band are doing and the overall sound. I’m normally too busy trying to keep from making mistakes myself but I do find it disconcerting on the occasions when I do notice other’s mess ups. Normally starts and finishes, which I think can make a band look really amateur. Although, as others have said, the punters rarely notice. Listening back to recordings can be painful though!

@Longwheelbass Can’t see the pics: says access denied.

Normally, if you don’t have the bridge grounded, there will be quite a lot of background noise from the bass, especially noticeable when you are not playing. Assuming that we are talking about a passive instrument: If you haven’t been getting noise (hum, plus picking up other sources of interference like your mobile polling), there is some form of hidden ground that you can’t see, or you are really lucky. If you are getting hum when your bass is connected to the amp and it doesn’t stop when you touch the strings, you don’t have a bridge ground.
 

Although the standard split precision pickup set is meant to be hum cancelling, It is still best practice to have a bridge ground on passive instruments (to get rid of hum)  but drilling the hole for the cable, from the control cavity to the bridge position, can be tricky. I did it yesterday and messed up first attempt. You need an extra long drill bit and because it doesn’t need to have a large diameter, it will flex. It’s tricky but well within most DIY skills.

I would take the opportunity to shield the cavities (if they are not already) with copper tape, or graphite paint. That way you will end up with a really quiet bass. The pic is one I prepared earlier (including bridge ground cable).

A few suggestions depending on the eventual diagnosis of the cause:

1. If it is the machine heads causing the problem; Wilkinson lightweight tuners (Hipshot copies) are a direct replacement (even the screw holes align), are better than the originals IMO and cost not much. Available from the likes of Northwest Guitars, etc;

2. Bass Direct have quite a few medium scale strings from various suppliers and their pricing is keen for some brands;

3. Available from the above are Maruszczyk short/medium flats for around £30 (give or take). I really like them but it is down to taste. They do fit on a Mezzo: I’ve done it. The silks just clear the nut, so there is no chance of the wrapped part going round the capstan.

10 hours ago, MichaelDean said:

Home now and I've had some toast and the cat has had a good fuss on the sofa. Bedtime methinks!

That’s the real Rock ‘n Roll lifestyle right there. Driving Rollers into swimming pools and chucking TVs out of hotel windows is very overrated!

4 hours ago, kodiakblair said:

Sorry, late night.

 

You could have dropped the split coil in place and used two wires for positioning. 

 

Wish I had thought of that! Thanks, I will use that technique, if I have to move the bridge. Fingers crossed that I have got it close enough 🤞. I won’t find out until this afternoon, which is my first chance to work on it. There is going to be a slight delay because I am waiting for new supplies of cloth covered wire to arrive in the post. Sod’s Law in operation: it’s the only component that hasn’t arrived yet.

Hoping to get it ready for a blues jam on Monday evening. 

No it didn’t have one. I had to drill it with an extra long bit. It took me two goes. Unfortunately it is very flexible and obviously flexed in the wrong direction first attempt, breaking through underneath: rats! Something to fill and cover up. Annoying because I have done this before without making a mess. The second attempt worked fortunately. If you look at the second pic above, the black wire is the ground from the bridge.