uncle psychosis

There's nothing wrong with learning on a [i]good [/i]acoustic bass. Emphasis on the good. I wouldn't want to buy one sight unseen. The other thing to consider is that the general consensus around these parts is that acoustic basses are almost entirely useless in any other context other than home practice. They feedback too easily when plugged in at gig volumes. Of course, not everyone thinks that and if your heart is set on an acoustic bass then get one. When learning its important that you're inspired to play and if you have your heart set on acoustic bass guitar then thats what you should get. You should play what you want to play, not what others tell you to.

Tough question. If I were you I'd definitely be keeping the Yamaha and the G&L. Beyond that I'm afraid its all just down to preference... ...having said that, the two I'd give the chop would be the P and the Lakland.

I have never understood how anyone can bear to use thin, floppy plectrums on bass. In my opinion it just feels horrible and sounds weedy. 3mm big stubbies for me.

Blimey, how many overdrives???

[quote name='bassman344' timestamp='1388736726' post='2325350'] Pardon my ignorance on this piece of kit. Does the absence of a mids tone control hamper abilities and possible sounds.. Would i be better with the rackable version with the mid option? [/quote] I had a Sansamp and found the lack of a mid control really irritating. I now have a Hartke Bass Attack which I much prefer. Its also significantly cheaper which is a nice bonus

[quote name='oggiesnr' timestamp='1390259002' post='2343384'] Not just with basses. I finally got to buy the melodeon of my dreams (£3,500), sold a pile of stuff (including a couple of boxes, a bass and some other gear) to get it and it lasted 3 months. Fortunately I was able to pass it on to someone else at the same price BUT what I can't get back is one of the boxes I sold to make it happen, which in fact this one was a replacement for, and that is what really gets to me. Steve [/quote] Ouch. If I've learned anything through my travels its to never sell gear *before* the new stuff arrives. Of course, this isn't always practical which can lead to much anguish and regret

I've been in a similar situation in the past but I found that one I bit the bullet and sold them I didn't miss them at all.

If you get bored then you're doing it wrong.

[quote name='Spike Vincent' timestamp='1389608207' post='2335949'] It does seem to be the weight of the bass on my leg,I've switched from a 78 Fender to a Tokai which is much lighter. Must admit I hadn't even considered using a strap at all......I'll give that a go, if I can find a strap short enough. Thanks all [/quote] I always find playing with a strap easier even if I am sitting down. Without one I always feel like the bass wants to run away from me, using a strap frees me to concentrate on just playing the damn thing!

Love it. Very jealous.

Assuming it's the weight of the bass on your leg that is the issue can you assist your strap so that it doesn't rest on your leg at all?

[quote name='RandomBass' timestamp='1389555368' post='2335504'] And that alone is worth the entrance fee to Basschat. Excellent news. Have you managed to get a suitable neck relief? My 414 has a very sold feeling neck, and it's never gone out of kilter on me. [/quote] Yes, the neck seems fine now. I don't really know whats happened, whether the strings have settled in or the neck has adjusted to them/ the weather or what...but its at least playable now! Sam

Inspired by this thread I just got my 414 out...its either because the weather has changed or because the new allen key I bought fits better but I got the damn thing working!!

[quote name='Bassman Sam' timestamp='1389487338' post='2334806'] I don't mind folk music if it's done well. I'm more into rock, blues, soul, infact anything but badly played. [/quote] For the folk stuff check out The Royal Oak and Sandy Bells. Whistlebinkies has a fairly good range of stuff--from singer songwriters to Rage Against The Machine cover bands. From what I remember they have music fairly evenly spread out across the evening---6ish, 9ish, midnight-ish.

[quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1389480162' post='2334730'] I'm just about to sell my black 415 if you're interested btw! [/quote] Think I'd have a hard time trying to swing that with Aunty Psychosis... Probably need to try and fix the 414 first! Of course, if it were going cheap...

Whistlebinkies has music every night, but it depends what kind of thing you're into. Weeknights in there can be a bit hit and miss IMO. If you're just looking to wander in off the street and catch a gig though its probably your best bet. There are quite a few pubs that do the folk-music thing, some of them are really good (if you like folk music...).

Good shout. I bought a BB414 last year that I was in love with, but I've been having a sulk ever since I found out the truss rod is stuck and I can't set it up right since changing strings. Think I may cut my losses on it, shift it for a pittance and save up for a 415...

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1389356354' post='2333184'] I'm not convinced about 'right and proper' but it is consistent, which is why I find it curious that we're generally happy to slag off bankers' bonuses while admiring Noddy Holder for making half a million, or whatever, every Christmas on the back of something he did 30 odd years ago. [/quote] The reason I object to Banker's bonuses is because quite often they are based on complete and utter fantasy accounting and they get paid out on the basis of hideously short-cited and short-term targets rather than any kind of long term worldview.The year Lehman Bros went bust they owed less than they had paid out in bonuses that year! Don't even get me started on the concept of giving someone a massive pay-out to no longer work for you either... At least Slade can demonstrate the continued success of their work, year after year. You can't say that about the likes of Fred Goodwin.

[quote name='MiltyG565' timestamp='1389036942' post='2329171'] What do we expect? We can't have our cake and eat it too. You want cheap strings? Fine - don't expect them to last. You want strings that last? Fine - don't expect them to be cheap. The thing is, selling more of something keeps the price down, as long as the supply is a bit ahead of the demand. Selling less of something pushes the manufacturing price up. You either sell them cheap and fast, or slow and expensive. If you are buying a set every 6 months, instead of maybe a set every month or 2, the price will go up. It's completely your choice what you buy, though. [/quote] I don't disagree with you in principle but in practice the price of bass strings in the UK still seems disproportionately high to me. Take the elixir nanowebs, for instance. £43 at stringsdirect (who are a company I like and I'm not having a go at them). The same strings are about $35 at most US retailers. Thats £26 [i]retail[/i]. Knock some dollars off to get to the wholesale price, add on a few dollars per pack to get them shipped to the UK (strings are small and robust so shipping should be easy), add 25% VAT and duty and you get nowhere near £43. I recently bought a set of D'addarios for a 6 string bass for £12 from the US. They're £25+ in most UK stores. Thats a really painful markup for UK customers. Nearly every guitar shop in the UK stocks d'addario strings, so they'll all be getting regular deliveries of the more common D'addario strings, so its not even like they're going to have to be shipped over especially---just added into an existing delivery.

I'd have no problem gigging without a setlist in order to tailor a set to a room, but there has to be one person and [i]one person only [/i]who controls the shots, and they must do so quickly. Ideally they're telling you what the next song is as the previous one ends!

I bought mine from ebay, some seller near leeds had them.

I've got the delay pedal. Its good, the switching is a little bit odd but you get used to it and the sounds are very nice. For £30 its outrageous value. I wrote a quick review and recorded some sound samples, you'll find them in a post over at thefretboard fretmeister. My work's net filter has banned that site here so I can't find the link to post it directly... Sam

The only bass related thing I got was some new strings that a relative had picked up for me whilst working in the USA. Finally saw him over Christmas so got my grubby little mitts on them after months of waiting. Ken Smith Compressores. I love them so far. Very even tone, quite piano like. Led to believe they're the same as GHS Pressurewounds but with a longer speaking length.

I'm sure that one is listed in the classifieds here.

I've had two experiences with them. First one : ordered something they told me they had in stock. They didn't. Told me it would be in stock "this week for sure ". It wasn't. Gave me the same line three weeks running. I cancelled. Second one : ordered a bass case. After about ten months a strap broke. They replaced it. Two or three months later the replacement broke in exactly the same way (clearly a design flaw). G4M refused to replace it as I was "now outside my one year warranty period" on my original purchase. I'm still annoyed I let that slide but I was distracted by more pressing matters. I won't be using them again.