bassjim

On 3/24/2018 at 13:24, Wehner said:

A more thorough vacuum cleaning today yielded no visible result. But it looks much, much better now after me using half a lint roller on it.

At first, I thought mrtcat was joking, but the felt is actually fairly long-haired in places so a crew cut doesn't sound like a bad idea at all. It will be the last step, however. Next up: Rubber gloves and gaffa.

 

Thanks for all the suggestions!

Has he gone back to a headed, simple to use jazz type status bass without a mixing board attached to the front of it? I've seen other pictures showing what seems to be a T bass.

" err yeah so, Mark....King bass sales are down....what we gonna do?"

"dunno Rob...can you knock up something that sounds like , well.....a bass? Also something that looks like well, you know ...something traditional but keep the fancy lights..?"

"I got just the thing Mark..."

"Is it original?"

"Well it is  green. You haven't done green yet.."

"I'll take two of em' . One for main and .."

"Yes, one for back up. I know".

For me GAS : 

1: Its the hope that the next thing is better than the existing thing and might make me play and sound better than the last thing with less effort on my behalf to make that so,  because the new thing is that much better.

Some things I see in the basses and bass equipment for sale ads instigate an instance " Maybe if I get that I could get, or at least close to, that sound that ........ gets. " 

Like watching Tal Wilkenfield and wanting a Sadowsky or Marcus and wanting a MM Jazz and so on.

Its like there could be some instant fix to bass tone problems that the regular gig throws up due to the room ect ect.

2:  Its purley being inquisitive. You don't know till you try so you must try.

3: Nostalgia

That's my take on it.    

A story....true story. ( Sorry its one of my essays)

A few weeks ago I went to check out a Status I'd seen advertised. I was curious to see what it would be like more than anything and the price was well within reach.

The GAS for it was probably because I've seen and heard many a good player use one to great effect so there was a bit of "if it works for all those guys..." 

Anyway it turned out it wasn't for me and my GAS for that particular model has been satisfied. Whilst I was there the seller casually mentions he has a few Wals, an Alembic and few other top shelf basses hanging around and would I like to check em out?

I'm now fearful of a GAS overload and maybe I'd better not. It could be depressing going home to my trusty Jazz having played these. But the result was I actually didnt like the 4 or 5 string Wals, the Alembic or the 4 string Status. I liked the 5 string Status from a certain  point of view but not enough that I really needed one in my life any time soon. 

All of these basses would have up to that point been on my wish list and any bassporn pictures of them would have me drooling. I was completely not taken aback with any of them. If anything I found them surprisingly uninspiring. All these years wanting any one of these. I left there feeling quite good about it.

I am not suggesting in any way  these are bad basses,  just not what I personally expected them to be. They could be sonic Nirvana and the bass of a life time for some or most but TBH I prefer my Fender over them. Maybe when I was younger I wouldn't have known the difference because I didn't have the experience or knowledge about what works for me best.  Neck width, balance, string height, weight ect...  probably wouldn't have bothered me back then.

I would have in my early days of bassingdom , fuelled by GAS,  usually because its the latest thing in bass fashion, taken an instrument and struggled to get it to sound like I thought it would sound and moved it on when it didn't.  I wouldn't of known about how the width of a neck can help or hinder me or that active is not really my thing back then.  Same thing with amps and cabs. 

from 6.00 mins in.....

It happens. Its a bummer. It gets you down. It stays in your head. Your band starts talking about what they could have done, could be doing better, must be changing whatever, its the bloody drummer/guitarist/keyboard player/singer/horn section/ triangle players fault  ect ect. Sometimes we have a run of bad ones . One after the other. Then there's that usual good one but the weather, football matches, the rugby, fireworks you name it sticks the boot in.  It passes though and our usual happy pub,happy punters,happy band resumes.

This weekend just gone I expected an empty venue due to the weather but it was packed. Same place has been less than half full in the summer.

If you are thinking of getting into reading music his books are excellent. Highly recommend these. 

1 hour ago, Misdee said:

They were fantastic basses. I always wanted one but could never afford one back then. 

 I find it hard to understand why somebody ( preferably Ned Steinberger) isn't making a version of these basses today. It is a classic design with a unique tone that other graphite basses can't really reproduce. I've got a Status Streamline as a kind of homage to the Steinberger. It is a lovely bass, but it sounds a bit warmer than the typical Steinberger. 

The Steinberger had a very substantial feel, despite it's svelte design, and some folks found the neck a bit too chunky. Suited me just fine, though. I remember the UK retail price in 1982 when they first arrived in the shops, ( Soundwave in Romford was the UK outlet, if I remember correctly) was £999. That was a lot of money for a bass in those days. Much more than I had anyway!

Looking at Wiki Ned sold the rights to it when he sold the design under licence to Honer who make the Spirit copy. Something like that anyway.  Either cost or lack of demand I suppose stops a new production of these. Maybe he thinks his latest design is way better? Who knows but it seems anyone thats got one or the originals is already more than happy with it.

Regarding the Streamliner , do you prefer it to the Steinberger? Has Status done anything that improves the concept from the perspective of someone who has used the Steinberger?

4 hours ago, police squad said:

I have one and sometimes use it in Police tribute. An amazing bass. Mine's 1983 XL2. It has a very fundamental sound. ie. the bass note, no real harmonics jump out the note. Very full, deep notes.

If you're anywhere near me (Deal, Kent) you're welcome to come and have a look/play

Thanks for the offer. If you were closer to home I'd be very up for trying it out.  Must make a great second/back up bass on a gig. Small and light, easy to carry. 

Hi all...

Just out of interest...

Anyone got one of the original graphite "cricket bat"  4 string style Steinbergers?

Do you still gig with it as a go to instrument or is now just a dated,  not good enough or suitable sound wise,  for regular work and relegated to a nostalgic  bit of fun these days?

Its because I'm just used to it  (my Fender) more than anything.  I tried to get a second Fender as a back up but all the Fenders I tried in the shops weren't as good as mine. Even the 3 grand jobs, so I got OW to make  it instead.

They did a fine job and I gigged it a couple of times but it just wasn't my old Fender. I tried to love it but its just not for me. Some people love Warwicks and some don't. Its that kind of personal thing. Its a fine bass, sounds great, plays great and I'm sure someone somewhere will be very happy with it.  Especially at the price its currently on for! 

I'm no way near say Marcus Miller but like he seems to be happiest on his old Fender I'm happiest on mine. 

 I've decided to take a massive hit on it financially so I can get on with having GAS and start looking for something different than a Jazz bass as a second bass. Maybe a Musicman or maybe something exotic from the for sale section.  

bump

New pictures added today.  

14 hours ago, PaulWarning said:

if you've been doing auto rollover I'm not surprised your premiums are high, always always do a quick comparison site job to see if it's cheaper elsewhere, loyalty counts for nothing in the insurance world, of course if you've have been doing this I apologise.

Well this has been my problem. Not checking and letting it go by. Its this thread,  that although was more about car insurance ect , that made me look into it. So thanks to the OP for bringing it up. I'd also advise anyone,if interested, that because your insurance says yes we cover things you take out of the house, I'd check the context of under what conditions.

Musiguard : £2,500.00 = £9.00 a month . 

Previous rip off insurance = £18.00 a month

hello everyone

so after reading this thread I called my insurance to clarify if they would cough up in the event ect

Mine was a home contents with the musical equipment bolted on as a package deal.

When I took out the policy some years ago (its since been on a auto roll over) it was as follows;

Covers my household things that are always in the house and my musical equipment which could be in or out the house and whilst traveling to and from where ever, if doing gigs or even , session work. Even covered for 30 days abroad.

At the time the salesman asked if I was pro so I said no its a weekend thing mostly as I now have a day job. He said ok we shall call that amuture musician. He then confirms that if my gear gets lost, stolen, broken by whatever , falling ceiling, over enthusiastic groupie ect then dont worry its all covered.

Great.

So I see someone here says they use Musicguard so I checked out the site, entered some details  and thought blimey that's a really good deal. Called them to check it out. They confirm that even though I'm really classed as a semi pro, (as in get paid) and I described openly and honestly the where whys ins and outs, all the gear is covered in the event of blah blah blah. 

Ok looks good.

So....

I call my insurance company to see if they want to try and match it before I cancel and go to Musicguard. They start the process of seeing where they can make a saving. This is when I find out that because I am "semi pro" they would not have paid out a thing as they will not cover semi pro. Thats why they listed "amuture". I told them that I explained exactly what was going on when I first took out the policy and made it clear that although its pretty much peanuts, I did get paid something. The sales guy at the time knew all this.

So all these years I'm thinking its all ok when actually no its not been ok and I could have been left high and dry had anything of happened. I've been ripped off!!!! They say thay cant comment or confirm  who said what at the time I took the policy out as it was now so long ago. Obviously. The bastards.

Am now with Musicguard for my musical equipment. Have found much better deals on line for household and contents. All in all am £10.00 a month better off once new household policy starts.

So kids....get the policies  out and check the small print. Even better call em up and get some straight forward answers like I did.

EG: I'm in a pub to play a gig. I go to the bar. I come back and ...bass is gone. Its been stolen. Is it or is it not covered? 

I drive home from a gig. Accident. Bass crushed but I'm ok. Is it or is it not covered?

I'm loading some gear into the van when....... and so on.

Musicguard answered my questions with a straight forward yes/ no. Mostly with a yes we would pay out. They will allow me to ad hoc a trip for up to 30 days in Europe. Good stuff.

Back when Hartke were "the " brand to have, I had a transporter 4 x 10 with a Trace Elliot ah 200 head, and thought that was really good. Gigged it for about a year till I blew one of the cones.  User error all the way.

Then after a stint using trace cabs got a second hand  XL 4 x 10. That was a good cab but very heavy. Used to roll it up and down one step at a time if there were stairs. Good sound though.

My old cat at the time liked it too and when ever possible liked to sneak into my spare room where I kept all my bass gear and fosters up against it. For some reason he really liked the shiny cones. Target practice perhaps but at least one cone was turned yellow. Apart from the smell, the cab continued to work for about 2 years till the acidic content of the cats fosters on one particular cone finally gave way and blew. 

But the sound was always a good one for sure.  These days, those big old cabs are just too impractical for me to contemplate .  I agree the company went downhill a while ago but any of the old cabs and those old kickback combos are still good if you find one.

I only got to use a 200? watt head with a graphic eq once and was very disappointed with that but that but couldn't comment on the stuff with the higher output ratings. 

But at the time they were "the" gear to have and plenty of players used it. Like old Trace stuff, the older stuff, although heavy, was the better stuff ?

Overwater Jazz bass  

Now reduced to £1000.00 as I could do now with the cash for other GAS.  

Passive with Overwater buffering circuit.

Volume.

Pan.

Tone.

Dimarzio Pick Ups (included are the original Overwater Low noise hum canceling pickups should you wish to re-install these)

Hipshot A style bridge.

Weight : 8.8 kg

Only used on three gigs.  Only had this for about 8 months from new. Brought it Aug 17. It currently lives  untouched in a hard case.

Cost just over £2,500.00.

Nice and comfortable. Sounds good. Plays good. You can set the action however you like. High or low, the bass will do it no problem. It is after all a new Overwater !!(I have it reasonably low at the moment.)

I upgraded the bridge and pick ups from the original Overwater parts as I wanted a bit more “punch” (which it does) but you can always re-install these if you wish. (These parts are included in the sale).

I'm based on the south coast near Brighton so you're welcome to get in touch and come and try it. It’s a good straight forward no nonsense passive Jazz bass. Intonates all the way up the neck with no buzzes or dead notes. (unless you want that by lowering the action as far as you can!!)  You can easily add a John East Circuit or similar if that’s your thing.

 No case with this (I didn’t need one for it when I bought it hence no case) so buyer will need to come to an arrangement with me regarding shipping. I can loan a case for shipping on the basis buyer pays for it and I refund that amount once the hard case is returned or buyer sends me a hard case to send it in. 

STRICTLY UK ONLY!!!!  (sorry if you are overseas. In previous oversea sales of mine the buyer has arranged a middle man in the UK to take delivery after payment has been made. This type of sale is ok).

.

12 hours ago, molan said:

I’m sure this sounds a bit silly but I love the fact that I’ve been down to one trip to and from the car for each gig for some time now. 

To be fair I can carry the 2 x 10 in one hand, amp in the other, leads and pedals over a shoulder in a laptop bag and bass on my back. If its a distance that warrants it I will. But either way the others all take an age to do their set up so 2 trips  gives me something to do.

  Sometimes members of my regular band will say or act on something I find really hard to digest or comprehend, and I guess thats band life to some extent, but it pales into insignificance compared to  the run around  and lack luster commitment your (ex) band members have given you.

The time wasters from your start up band are the typical like the idea but don't like the work and sacrifice types.  They are everywhere at every turn and dont appreciate how hard it is  to get these things up and running. They dont care either. It kicks you when you are down. It turns toxic so better out than in as they say.

I hope it all works out well for you with your new addition to the family.  Hopefully when the dust has settled you can pick up where you left off and find better people to carry on with.

Yes it feels like no one is bothered at times but you have to push through it. It can come good with the right people. The project with your brother should bring some rewards for the soul and keep you going in the meantime. 

Best of luck to you

The Dunlops are very low tension. I found them a bit too low tension but these may be good for you. The D'darios mentioned here are about in the middle for me.

Just in case it hasn't been explored, have you tried lowering your action and straightening your truss rod a bit? If I have a few weeks of not playing much I tweak the bass this way. Might buzz a bit but its ok till my fingers get back to full strength. 

If its a ego blowing trumpet thing.

I can hold my own on the bass and I would say I'm a very competent player.

100% reliable. Dependable. Good musical instincts. Good team player. Right attitude. Will always have the material down. Never miss a rehearsal or gig (unless its something like I'm out of the country or ill. In which case I will source the dep and it will be a good and capable one so the band are in good hands). Tend to end up taking over in rehearsals to MD. I dont go out of my way to do this , it just kinda happens. band members tend to look to me for direction in rehearsals and gigs. Even when I'm depping for another band they do this.  If however I'm ever crossed on this point, usually by a guitarist, I give it up to whom ever wants to do it.  Dont know why but it tends to float back to me naturally so maybe that's a skill I just got. Or I have a serious ego problem. Yeah maybe. But its in there.  

On 28/11/2017 at 19:12, barkin said:

1 minute ago, EBS_freak said:

Bassjim - it sounds like you are sorted with your setup. Your preamp would be replacing your HD350 and the FRFR cab your 210. Hardly any reason to change - especially when your rig is doing the business for you.

If you could ditch the rig, get on IEM and let the PA do all the work then we would be looking at something different. Then you would be able to do your trip in one. Wired IEM, bass DI and bass all in a gig bag.

 

Ok cool. I'll stick with my set up. It works and if no theres' no  major real improvement to be had , all is well in bassjims' world I'll get back in my box. 

The IEM thing: I just cant trust the others around me to rely on a healthy sound all night out front. We dont use a sound man and there is a lot of talk the talk but cant walk the walk in our camp when it comes to sound engineering. There is a threat that the dreaded X15 or whatever it is, is getting another go soon and I dread it. Tweak tweak tweak. Squeel. Hiss Bang. ( for vox and keys only!) feed back feed back feed back x 20 mins, no still not right , as opposed to turn that on. Plug that in. Turn that knob. Push slider. Bingo and were off.

I think if I were doing a gig and you were in charge of the sound my attitude towards it would change instantly. However thats not going to be happening any time soon for obvious reasons so until its the only solution available on the majority of all gigs big and small, all over the country, its the 2 trip car park trick for me!

I don't disagree with any of the FRFR or IEM arguments, and can see the benefits offered but just dont have an immediate need. Once that changes I'm sure I'll be justifying the costs to my wife. 

So I'm reading this thread with some interest.

My question is to all that are into this FRFR plus Preamp?  

I happily rock up to all my gigs most weekends with an EBS 350 head and an EBS 2 x 10 cab. Some are pubs , some are private functions in rooms like pubs with the occasional stage ala Pheonix Nights. It takes on average a staggering two trips from the car park to the stage area. Set up time is anything between 1 and 3 minutes depending on how much I need to shout at the drummer to move up so I can fit in. Unless its a concrete square room with windows, 9 time out of 10 , I plug in, dial correct volume and off we go. Good bass sound. Every body happy. Usually the amp eq  is pretty flat. Hardly a 8 x 10 in the corner.

I am genuinely interested in anything that means I rock up , plug in and just play because it sounds good right from the off. So....is the FRFR x 1 cab good enough to replace my EBS setup for the majority of gigs or is it something that works here, here and here and only on the provision the wind is blowing in the right direction? Other than that its a monitor only? Are you saying buy 2 so you have a PA plus you have a mini bass rig? What if it becomes the PA. Do I get my EBS stuff back out?

Ok its more than one question and a bit flippant but its a Monday.  Also to the OP (ok thats another question) hows it on gigs with the rest of the band doing their thing right next to you?

On 28/11/2017 at 19:12, barkin said:

 

8 minutes ago, Japhet said:

Got to be Rhythm Stick. Loads of effort to get it down and then the band decided they didn't want to do it.

Been here.  Whats funny is which ever band I have been in that has ever done this: "can we drop this tune because I don't think ect ect....." I've noticed they cant actually play it very well themselves.  Idiots and amateurs.  The lot of them.

On 01/12/2017 at 22:40, kevin_lindsay said:

He' a great bass player. It takes great ears (and great confidence) to play with so much space. Plus, he has the chips to play really busily if he wants to - after all, he first started out in the jazz rock outfit Last Exit.

Anyhow, here' a live clip of a wonderful performance of "Wrapped Around Your Finger" during the Police's reunion your. Absolutely gorgeous.

 

 

Thats 2 x 8x10s plus a pa system for a rig. Plus IEMs. Plus wedges.  The man has balls.