TheRev

At $60 a set, it's worth a punt. The premium set look interesting - Kevlar core G and D, steel core A and E.

I've never used weed whackers, but I did try a set of the Superior Bassworks 'dirty guts' which are similar to weed whackers. Personally, I found them pretty good for slapping like a demented goblin but useless for any other style of playing, particularly anything that requires notes of a discernible pitch. if you're going to be an occasional slapper, then I'd suggest Presto Nylonwound Lights or Innovation silver/golden slaps as you can still get a useful note out of the A and E (though I sometimes struggle with the E on both these sets). An interesting option, which I never get around to exploring, is a downtuned (i.e orch. tuning) set of Thomastik Superflexible solo guage - by all accounts you get the low tension needed for slap but enough note definition from the A and E to play a bloody tune.

I've never owned or even played one, but every time I've been faced with one when I'm doing sound engineering I've always been very impressed by the sound. If I was ever in the market for a P bass it would top of my list.

Is that a strap button in the back of the neck? It reminds me of Sloth from The Goonies.

It does vary from bass to bass though. I didn't like the Presto A & E at all on my ply bass but they work well enough on my carved bass. Having said that I reckon I'd struggle with the E if the carved bass was my gigging bass.

Presto Nylon Lights have less tension than spiro weich (IME) so the Presto ultralight would definitely be lower. I'd suggest trying just the light/ultralight G or G and D with your existing Spiros as there is much better definition on the Spiro A and E strings compared to the Presto A and E.

I wouldn't go so far as to call it snobbery, these guys have reputations to protect and if it's perceived (incorrectly or otherwise) that they're doing weird stuff to double basses, it could have a detrimental effect on their business. If you haven't tried the f-hole plugs, give it a go, it may dampen the resonance enough for your needs. Otherwise it's a DIY sound post job.

Exactly. In my experience, most double bass luthiers are entirely focussed on setting up instruments for unamplified classical or jazz playing - unsurprising as these genres will represent 95% of their clientele, and as such, are completely unaware of some of the modifications that are common among rockabilly players. Someone emailing a traditional luthier asking for a second soundpost would probably be regarded as a bit of a nutter, asking for something that goes against what a double bass is supposed to do, i.e. resonate as much as possible to produce tone and volume. If you haven't already, a bit of explanation about why you want a second soundpost may help, even better, vist the shop and speak to them personally so that they can see that you're not taking the pee.

It may be a bit of both.... I had trouble finding a luthier who was willing to glue one end of my soundpost in place (a couple of recent stage invasions had resulted in my bridge being knocked over and the soundpost falling down). The person who did finally consent only did so on the condition that I never tell anyone it was them.

We use two TS112s and a TS315 as our monitors. The 112s are at the front and take vocals and guitar and bass if needed. The 315 is next to the drummer and takes bass, drums and a bit of guitar and vocals. We've only had the 315 for a few gigs but pretty happy with it so far.

Mr Wolf's in Bristol might be big enough to accommodate you. Or try the Crofters Rights and The Exchange, though both are regular mus8c venues and may well be already booked for August bank holiday.

I once heard a (probably untrue) story about an interviewer asking Phil Lynott if he regretted never breaking America. 'I regret never getting to sh@# Kate Bush' says Phil, 'but what can you do?'

I tape mine on the side of the shoulder of my double bass.

This sort of thing is a familiar story on Talkbass - BlastCult and Hammersmith are two bass builders that spring to mind. There's probably a bunch of non-cab building cab builders on there too.

I'm in Bristol but I can post it to you if you want to try it. I've just had a little play with it, because of this thread and it's actually quite nice. Very clean sounding and certainly 'sterile' compated to the Krivo, but I'd be happy to use it as a backup....which is why I bought it.

In my experience, EUBs sound more fretless bass guitar like because they have more sustain/resonate less than a double bass, so to make a DB sustain more/resonate less, I'd use the Spiro weich, block up your f-holes, maybe stick something (bar towel?) between the tailpiece and top and then switch the Krivo for something less microphonic like a schaller magnetic pickup. I bought a Kent Armstrong magnetic double bass pickup a while ago as it was going cheap - it's much more 'electric' sounding than the Krivo as it only picks up the string vibration and none of the body resonance. You're welcome to give it try if you want?

Greg Cordez http://www.gregcordez.com

Mine are for home use only, in my 'bass alcove, where the upper bout is in contact with the wall for added stability. The stands are surprisingly sturdy, I sometimes use mine as step to get stuff from high shelves.

Seen them on the web but never in the flesh. The impression I get is that it's Chinese eBay eye candy - much nicer to look at than it is to play. The total lack of any reviews anywhere would worry me... For open Mic stuff where you don't want to take a big bass I'd be inclined to buy a second hand Stagg EUB - not that expensive and at least you know what you're getting.

The question is, can you keep up your mantra while watching someone trying to plug the DMX cable into the mixing desk?

I considered dowels but was worried that the whole thing might flex too much - more due to my cack-handed building than any properties of the dowels.

I made something similar out of an old pine shelving unit. I also am hopeless at DIY and don't have access to any tools more interesting than a drill but still somehow managed to put together two functioning if not particularly pretty looking stands. I'll take some photos later... Here we go:

Unfortunately I'm not going to be able to attend this year. I need to visit my family in Ireland and this s the only weekend that fits in with gigs and school holidays. I know the bass bash is a once a year thing, but I only visit my family once a year, so belive me when i say it was a tough decision.... Take lots of photos everyone!

Sad news. 'Spirit of Eden' is one of my favourite albums of all time.

I have these - they're effective enough but don't fit particularly well and are a bit rough looking close up. Mine were significantly cheaper than they are now and if I had to chose between £64 for the Duke covers from Thomann or F-its at the same price, it would be f-its all the way. In fact, i might have some F-its made anyway...