Beedster

Because my other Wal fretless sustained very well, and it didn't have frets (and of course, relevant to this thread, both had the same very robust bridge) So, from this there are two conclusions 1. That the absence of sustain had nothing to do with the absence of frets 2. The absence of sustain on that bass but only that bass was the result of not having frets Having played a lot of basses, I know it's answer 1, simply because some basses do resonate and sustain well, others don't, and this was the latter. I can nearly always get more sustain of of a fretless because my left hand is able to put energy back into the string to a greater degree than if there was a fret between it and the bridge, in many respects you're massaging the note on a fretless, so I'm pretty good at identifying a bass that will or will not ring out in that context. But of course we can't discount answer 2 because we don't know what would have happened had we fretted the bass, and so it remains a possibility But either way, both options to a degree highlight that every bass is different, largely because of differences in wood (even within the same species of course), sometimes in engineering, but always because the wood, the engineering, and other factors form a unique enclosed system, one in which marginal gains such as changing the bridge might be made, and in which just occasionally such a change proves to be more than marginal. But I can think of only one or two basses I've owned in 30 years on which changing the bridge did anything more than make it easier to set up or play, only very rarely has the suggested change in tone or sustain materialised, and even then it was sufficiently small to be measurable but not really important. I've often changed necks - I play Fender bitsas mostly - and that can really change the substance and sustain of a note*. But I've owned basses with cheap BBOT that rang out for hours and produced beautiful piano-like tones, and basses with Badass or similar that didn't ring out and which produced less clear notes, notes that appeared to contain mechanical artefacts before they even reach the PUPs In short, I just don't buy the idea that changing bridge will de facto change one or more parameters on all, even most basses. It'll do so if the existing bridge is somehow the rate limiter of that parameter, which in my experience is a lot less often the case that we might believe. * And of course, swapping items such as PUPs and circuit lead to significant changes, but these are signal path not mechanical changes affecting the note itself

There is wisdom there, but I suspect many would argue it works both ways

My Wal was the unusual exception, which is why I mentioned it. You said above that it didn't sustain because it didn't have frets. No the case at all.

That's a great lesson in how to reply to a question on the internet, lovely response Bill

So fretless basses don’t sustain?

You need to get out more mate. Oh......

This is the sort of thread that makes me want to take all of my Badass and similar bridges off my basses in protest at the rubbish people talk about them All joking aside, I've high-mass bridges on three of my basses and I'm quite happy to say that they make little difference that matters to me. I suspect that on my two FLs there's a possible positive effect on sustain, but I'm not convinced, and even if it is the case, I doubt it makes any difference to my tone or my playing. As per the 'Bassists Obsessed with Sustain' thread, my old Wal FL didn't sustain at all, and it sounded glorious, snarlier than a Rottweiler in a cat farm

I suspect you have better ears, or better amplification, than I do

1. You’ll need an interface. Welcome to GAS hell 2. There’s all sorts of stuff you can get wrong, but all sorts of ways you can learn to avoid it and back things up so that even if you do, it’s not terminal Steep curve ahead, but a fun one with loads of info on this site

No, me too

So, I decided a few weeks back that I had become very set in my ways musically, and started listening in depth to some bands I'd previously decided I didn't like. It's been an interesting psychoanalytic journey in which I've genuinely tried to peel away some of my biases and attitudes. It's also been really good fun, setting out on a Saturday afternoon to listen to a band that, if someone had asked "Do you like .......?" I'd have said "F**k off" Yes did well, Genesis not so well, Warren Zevon extremely well. And yesterday it was Steve Miller, I HATE Abracadabra, Take the Money and Run, and many others I've heard, but he's one of those guys who musicians like. And wow, just like when I was introduced to Chicago, not the 80's band of 'If You Leave Me Now", but the gloriously soulful blues rock outfit as they started, Mr Miller's early stuff didn't disappoint. And this song below made me realise something about my taste algorithms, because I liked it and hated it at the same time, put crudely my heart loved it, my head hated it (early bass solo at 2 mins BTW). And then out of nowhere I thought "How would I feel about it if it were in a Tarantino movie ?" and I realised, yep, I'd love it, because it would seem very cool in that context. Movies are the context that has led me to so much great music. So how do you decide whether you like something?

Si I agree re BBOT most of the time, but which ‘big heavy’ bridges take away from classic Fender tone if Fender Hi Mass and Badass don’t?

Although at 2.99 these used plectrums are a bargain https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224206336234

Have to admit I find the ‘eBay bargain’ thing bloody annoying unless it’s a BIN, in large part because alerting 20,000 or so bass players on this forum to the auction means that it will most certainly not be a bargain, likely just a true reflection of value. Perhaps we should have a polite agreement to not use the term ‘potential bargain’ until the last 24 hours of the auction

Whilst he's got a great voice, I hate listening to Van Morrison talk. Sadly, hearing his views on things has made his voice less attractive of late

Love it, I hope that at Trader Vic's you hair was perfect

And I have to be honest and say that it still makes me smile when I walk into a gig carrying my SVT--II on my own, but if needs be, it takes the singer and the guitarist to carry it back out again (i.e., when I'm trying to find the landlord to get the cash)

A big part of this is the convenience/use and replace culture as well. We're sold that idea that if something requires less effort it's a good thing, and that is something stops working, we should replace it. This is happening with music gear in so many areas from lightweight and non-repairable amplification, to studio hardware that goes loco when Apple or Microsoft change something (I sold an interface for £60 this morning that cost almost £2000 twenty years ago, which still works perfectly, which has decent preamps, functionality etc but which will not work with a computer or software made much after 2010), and don't get me started on the lunacy of data cable upgrades. I'm a cyclist as well, my Dad had the same Campagnolo groupset on his bike for over 30 years, he could always buy the right bolts, washers, springs, even quite esoteric parts if something started to wear. Bikes are crazy now, if something breaks, you buy a new one, which for a wheel can be £1,000!!!!! there's guys who are 3 stone overweight paying £10,000 for a bike because its 2lbs lighter than last year's model, for brakes that are actually less good in many conditions (disk breaks on high speed road bikes), because this is how the manufacturers get people to buy new gear - 'no-one's riding calliper brakes/26" wheels/manual gears any more". I forget who said it, but it was a reflection from one of the US Psychologists in the early 20th century who was involved in the systematic application of the psychology of the subconscious to sales and marketing (and politics); "We changed the way governments viewed their people, changing the expectation that they move from being good citizens to being good consumers". Yvon Choinard, the founder of Patagonia (a very switched-on company who repair their own and other manufacturer's mountain clothing free of charge) put it beautifully "In a world of limited resources, there's nothing clever about being a consumer". So this is why I love this thread, because to a degree whilst it celebrates gear that I love for doing what it does the way it does it, it's also about not simply accepting at face value the idea that everything has to be the way the marketing departments want it to be A very personal opinion, others are of course entitled to say "Beedster, you're talking stinky poo"

All good points mate But if you had a roadie.......?

Which suggests that cash might have made your life a lot simpler

And I love this, compare and contrast! A great insight into how a riff that was written into one song eventually found its way into a far more famous song, whilst a producer or record exec said "Hey Guys, we need a more 80's feel for this, how about some fake handclaps, a horrible rhythm guitar part and a few whoo whoos like in Sympathy for the Devil....."? The one they should have released, although it would have scuppered The Joker so god knows how much that would have cost them The one they released.....

BTW not a good idea to let a buyer pay by PayPal and then collect, plenty of people have lost out doing that

I suspect you’ve triggered one of their ‘potential fraud’ algorithms