EssentialTension

Good luck with that. The nervousness or excitement is good, just channel it in the right direction.

[quote name='Clarky' timestamp='1330371944' post='1556442'] Fair comment John. I appreciate the answers everyone has given but its just I feel I am taking advice from those most inclined to err on the 5 side. If I had set up the poll as "4 or 5 string?" there would undoubtedly have been a much more mixed response with plenty pointing out that the greatest bass lines in history were almost all on 4 stringers. [/quote] Maybe I'm going to the wrong gigs but it seems to me the great majority of bassists are still using four strings. It's the same in an instrument shop, the great majority of basses are four strings.

[quote name='paul_5' timestamp='1330328877' post='1555620'] ...On a four you've got a bit of a shift to go from C on the E string down to G on the E string, but on a fiver it's all in one position ... [/quote] So, on a four-string, if you're up at C on the E string and next want the G use the open E as a passing note. Or why not use the C on the A string?

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1330379067' post='1556617'] Me, drummer, guitard: Black shirt, trousers, shoes. Girls: Red dresses. Horns: Multi-coloured zoot suits with matching hats, trousers, waistcoats, ties, spats and shades... I know. Apologies for low-quality pic. [/quote] That's fantastic.

I've tried five-strings but I found no advantages to me and I didnt enjoy it. It just felt like an extra string getting in the way. I don't see so-called horn keys as a problem. I do have a D-tuner which very occasionally I use. Very very occasionally I'll drop the tuning to DGCF. But if you want five or more strings, so be it.

Has anyone got a link for the kidney he's selling. I couldn't find it anywhere.

I had a Squier CV Jazz. It was excellent and perfectly giggable stock. It was even better with a pair of Wizard 64s and new wiring and pots. Buy one now.

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1326668139' post='1500352'] Well, the Fenders arrived, and a day later the La Bella ones too. I installed the Fenders first. I took pictures of the package and strings, I will post them later. I really really really like them. They are shiny and not so smooth (it feels as though the fingers stick to them a little bit, but not really) but they feel good to play, really nice tension (110 - 58 gauge, but the feel similar to D'Addario XL170 45-100), and really nice sound. This is the type of sound I was after... bingo! I haven't tried the La Bellas yet. [/quote] Any chance of those pics?

[quote name='musophilr' timestamp='1329779305' post='1547393'] I'm a guitarist who can find his way around a bass. It annoys me when people claim that a bass is a guitar with thicker (and usually fewer) strings. It's function within a band is different, and the techniques required to operate it are different. The visual similarity to the electric guitar is just that and no more. The instrument is a bass, it isn't a guitar (regardless of what Leo might have originally called it). /rant [/quote] It's a bass guitar just as the upright bass is a bass violin, and a bass clarinet is a clarinet. 'Bass' is a reference to the range of the instrument in each case.

[quote name='Dave Tipping' timestamp='1329776979' post='1547321'] There are a lot of liars in this thread!! Ha ha, I often think "you horrible, horrible people" after nailing a quality tune to a few golf claps then having the pub torn apart to the black eyed peas! It doesn't mean I don't appriciate the response .. and I still always have a great time ... I just think you are lying to yourself if a bit of you doesn't hate them deep down! :op [/quote] You're merely making excuses to yourself for your own feelings by projecting those feelings on to the rest of us.

No.

[quote name='Chappers' timestamp='1329689939' post='1546095'] Hi Guys, Does anyone have any suggestions for instrumental breaks the bassist and drummer can play while waiting for the guitarist to re-tune his guitar during a gig? I hate those long drawn out silences once the singer has stopped interacting with the crowd. Cheers, Col [/quote] Get a guitarist who can actually keep the guitar in tune. Anything else is just not good enough.

[quote name='uncle psychosis' timestamp='1329680343' post='1545867'] (since we're playing the "how big are your forum testicles" game: I've got a PhD in musical acoustics) [/quote] So that sounds pretty much like the dog's bollocks.

Grease is the only musical I ever played; I enjoyed it a lot.

[quote name='blackmn90' timestamp='1329679317' post='1545826'] imagine a jazz bass in shell pink, in great condition...... Then imagine some douchbags ranting about legal issues surrounding how the bass came into the owners possession. [/quote] But the funniest part was after someone described the OP as a 'brother of the bass', another poster pointed out that the OP couldn't be a 'brother of the bass' because he didn't know what a pickup cover was.

[quote name='gjones' timestamp='1329676517' post='1545734'] In my opinion a large proportion of the people who post on basschat regularly have a smidgeon of bass guitar related aspergers in their psychological makeup. [/quote] I don't accept your diagnosis. Anyway what are your qualifications?

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1329677115' post='1545754'] ... Of course, the placebo effect can be extremely potent and if someone [u]believes[/u] ... [/quote] The placebo effect is extremely potent even if you don't believe. I'm a tonewood denier but I still think my mahogany bass sounds darker, although of course it doesn't if I mess with the tone controls, the amp, hand position, bridge pickup etc. etc.

[quote name='gjones' timestamp='1329676517' post='1545734'] In my opinion a large proportion of the people who post on basschat regularly have a smidgeon of bass guitar related aspergers in their psychological makeup. That probably includes me too. I think the neck and pickups contribute most to the sound of a bass - I've learned this from experience, having swopped a lot of necks and pickups in my time. And of course there's the famous video of the guy on talkbass who swopped the body of his alder Jazz Bass with a plank he found in his shed, then recorded a demo with the original bass and one with the body replaced with the plank. Could anybody tell the difference? I'm not telling! Go find the video on Talkbass for yourself. [/quote] Here's the TB thread: Alder versus Plank: [url="http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f8/scrap-lumber-bass-vs-alder-bass-can-you-tell-difference-743932/"]http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f8/scrap-lumber-bass-vs-alder-bass-can-you-tell-difference-743932/[/url]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1329675780' post='1545716'] I though we already decided that the type of timbre doesn't make much difference? [/quote] Confusing eh?

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1329674108' post='1545682'] What discussion? What a bass is made out of makes little or no difference to its tone. We decided that ages ago. I'm just here for the lulz. [/quote] I knew that.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1329673724' post='1545672'] Wow! I've got a certificate for swimming a width and the Mrs Joyful prize for rafia work. [/quote] Best you keep out of this discussion then, you're not qualified.

[quote name='Max Normal' timestamp='1329669305' post='1545574'] [size=4]... We know that different tonewoods and bass guitar construction materials affect tone[/size] ... [/quote] My guess is that you'll find this claim is going to be heavily disputed.

I wonder how long this thread will last before the big argument. Just for the record I'm on the 'wood doesn't matter much' side of things; fingers, strings, pickup, electronics, amp, speakers, all play a much bigger role in how I sound. I'm certainly unconvinced by the concept of 'tonewoods'. Anyway, just in case, IBTL.

Boss TU2 tuner (essential - well not totally essential because I do have ears) and Tech 21 VT Bass (not essential at all). That's it.

There's lots of good advice here but it is quite simple really - you are testing the bass out, not the shop testing out your bassist skills. Playing songs/tunes is the very last thing I'd do. Inspect the bass: finish, fretwork, tuners, etc. does it tune ok? Play every note on every string and listen to it acoustically, are there any dead spots? Does it intonate satisfactorily? If the bass passes so far then plug it in, an amp of your choice, with controls flat. Repeat the every note, every string trick. If you're still happy maybe play some tunes, in different styles, maybe adjusting the tone. Play with right hand near bridge, over pickup, near fretboard. Are you going to need different strings? That needs to be factored into the cost. Etc., etc.