Woodwind

Thanks for this Bubinga5.

Just a quick congratulations on this project. A year on how are you finding it now?

This is what I use for busking. The sound quality and portability is very seductive. There are caveats though - 1) The new double4 's can't be used this way as they now contain an internal transformer. So you will be limited to finding a second hand double 4 with the external PSU. 2) it's also getting harder to find an external battery pack that doesn't have some sort of current protecting circuit in it. Again the newer current protected models cut out when playing louder making them useless for outdoors. I wouldn't buy a battery pack second hand as it's impossible to tell what life it's had - rather than lasting hours, mine is now incredibly inconsistent for example.

oh sorry, looks like I may have got the wrong end of the stick? Making a bass guitar sound more like a double bass? In which case I think @Reggaebass's suggestion is very good

You may get better responses by posting this in the double bass section. Classic as in Jazz recordings pre 1960's? then it's guts. Otherwise the longer sustaining growly sound can be had with Thomastik Spirocores. These are pretty much a default so if you haven't tried these, they should be your first call. From then on it's endless experimentation with whatever new variants of "hybrid" string emerge and companies will keep bringing new things out. I did what we all do and tried lots of different strings. My playing was 50/50 pizz arco, but not orchestral. I loved the playability of Innovation Honey's and they sustained like Spirocore mediums. Had I continued with double bass I may have tried Spirocore lights and then never worried about strings again and just practiced more.

It's hardly a discount is it 🤣 That 5.9% or whatever isn't really the sweetener that will convince many to jump.

Don't hold your breath, that 200quid off for black friday is certainly tempting me...... 🙄🙄

I don't know how I haven't clocked this thread before. Just had a good delve. Sadly I LOVE gigging 🤣. But I'm playing my own music. There's a lot that can leave me disappointed after a show, but the act of performing my compositions is life affirming for me. It isn't something I'd ever do, but if I was playing covers in pub or wedding formats I would definitely end up hating it all.

Nice choice on the Orange LBT. that amp really interests me. I just had a look at the OBc112. 350 quid. they look nice for sure, but just as Bill says there is absolutely no way to have a clue about their performance without trying them. Due to the vague "specs" published on the Orange website, it's a fair assumption they are built down to a price point first and foremost. whether the sound is right and the volume adequate for your needs is impossible to say alas. I would bet that the Basschat DIY 1x12 cab would sound at least as good (probably better), be the same weight and cost less. You could paint it orange and make the baffle cloth look like a nice vintage orange cab. This would be my choice.

My biggest regret is selling my fortress masterman *. Absolutely brilliant bass with an amazing Warwick does stingray sound and I have a soft spot for waricks as a result. *I was talked out of defretting it and since I was only playing fretless and wasn't flush, I had to sell it. A mistake. I digress. £3500 is absolutely bonkers. Totally bonkers.

Oh absolutely. The thumb & fortress suffer the same problem as well, but it is very marked with the corvette

I've always liked how waricks have unmarked fretbaoards as I absolutely loathe position dots on the front. To my eye these octave markers ruin what is otherwise a pretty attractive bass.

Trying to book dates for a mini tour around the UK next year to tie in with anew album. Very similar story from many promoters I'm talking to about bad attendance at shows throughout 2022 regardless of genre and they are worried about booking much of anything for next year!! I can see many small venues getting into big trouble. A very sad state of affairs.

have you played through them yet? I always liked the look of horn type speakers like this.

Thanks for posting this!

disclaimer - I occupy a rather different musical being a solo performer. The last two shows I've done amp free and relied on the monitors (I could never do a show purely on IEM. Absolutely hated every experience of using it beforehand) I had excellent sound engineers with LONG soundchecks (these were festival gigs and I couldn't be *rsed to lug loads of equipment on long distance trains). I had no problem getting the stage sound I needed and had time to develop a relationship and means of communication with the engineers so if I had needed changes during my show it wouldn't have been difficult. However I have tested the water being amp free on previous gigs and they have been trying to say the least, namely due to rushed sound check. I would have benefitted from having my backline. If I was doing my own PA and monitoring (or was in a band doing so) I can't see any advantage in having amps on stage as well as spending time on monitor mix. @BigRedXdo your bands give the engineers a stage mixed stereo feed or do you all DI and let the engineer decide on a "balance"? @KingPrawnAs long as you know all your playing scenarios will work without an amp then there is no need to have one. However if you aren't in dire need for the money I'd hang on to at least part of your amp setup for whatever might be round the corner.

.... and some of this

Expect some of this....

I'm thrilled to be supporting Jessica Moss at the London installment of her European Tour. Cafe Oto, 28th November. If you're familiar with Silver Mount Zion and assorted Constellation Records acts you would have come across her playing. It's a night of "posts". My blend of Post-classical/post-techno and Jessica's Post-Rock. I'll be performing material from my upcoming album, which with production plant luck, will be available on the night. https://dice.fm/event/x5r7l-jessica-moss-thomas-stone-28th-nov-cafe-oto-london-tickets

I'm with all those that say fret it. Get it done and play it. does it have dots on the board? If not then you get the bonus of having a nice blank fretted board (this is just my own prejudice as I can not stand dots on a fretboard 🤣)

Agreed. I use phil jones stuff professionally and rely on it. The previous service department in Birmingham (I forget their name) were very good. I won't be looking at any product that isn't simple to initiate warranty or repairs.

My guess is the wood in the neck has shifted whilst in transit. The bass would have had a rudimentary set up somewhere in its manufacture. Seems like the neck wood has "relaxed" so the truss rod tension pulls the neck more, thus giving you a backbow, which is giving you buzz despite the action. My ray34 has the most seasonally affected neck of any bass I've ever owned. Even going across town through the tube to a rehearsal space can mean it needs a tweak at the other end. Get your bass back from the luthier, put an allen key in the wheel at the base of the neck and turn it anticlockwise a quarter of a turn. Play it an hour or so later. If the buzz is less, try another quarter of a turn and see if this is good. you're taking tension out of the neck so the strings are pulling it straighter. This is normal. If you're finding the wheel turns very easily and has no effect on the neck, it is time to send it back as it means something is wrong with the bass, but my first instinct is nothing is wrong, it's just the wood used in the neck being very sensitive.

As an extra word of (perhaps unnecessary) caution, it may also be worth investigating what the customs and timescale implications are if you ever need to send something back for warranty etc