EssentialTension

My son uses flats on his Epiphone Casino (13-56) and on his Fender Jaguar (11-50). You probably aren't going to bend them much but they sound real meaty. I've read that John Lennon even had Pyramid Gold flats on his Gibson acoustic.

[quote name='olliedf89' timestamp='1460297678' post='3024428'] Yeah I thought I'd fixed it, but apparently not. Just come back to it and it's playing fine except that E string, every time you hit it with anything other than a light tap it vibrates all over the place, initial attack looses low end before it starts phasing. Almost like very hard dip & swell limiting, but without a compressor. I'm really not sure what I'm doing wrong but I'm keen to try and understand. The string is only a 105 so I'm finding it hard to believe that the gauge is wrong as it's not anything crazy. [/quote] Could the E string be broken somehow inside the winding?

[quote name='acidbass' timestamp='1460216636' post='3023748'] Thanks guys! I think I will just send em back. Don't want to cut them and potentially be unable to return them as a result. [/quote] I agree don't cut them, but you can see if they fit without cutting them.

I got round to listening to those at last. Thanks Dave and nice playing. The main thing was, for me at least, they all sounded wholly acceptable. By which I mean I could have used and worked with strings that sounded like that. Having said that I liked the La Bella and the GHS most, strings which I have regularly used, along with the DRs which I am using on one bass at present. There's something about the EBs and the D'Addarios I like less (but I bet I could not spot it in a blind test). But, never mind the sound, all those strings feel different under the fingers. For example, the DRs are slightly rough to the touch while La Bella 760M are very smooth. Tension and compliance vary a lot so, even having heard the sound, I think you can only finally decide after playing them. By the way, GHS don't, as far as I can see, do a 50-105 set. Should it be 45-105 or 55-105?

Just measure the length ball end to silk and see if it's going to fit. If not return them. [size=3][url="http://www.bassstringsonline.com/view_category.asp?cat=17"][color=#000000][b][u]D'Addario Bass String Winding Length: [/u][/b][/color][/url][/size][list] [*][size=3]Short Scale = 32" Ball to Taper (or Silk)[/size] [*][size=3]Medium Scale = 34" Ball to Taper (or Silk)[/size] [*][size=3]Long Scale = 37.1" Ball to Taper (or Silk)[/size] [*][size=3]Super Long Scale = 38" Ball to Taper (or Silk)[/size] [/list] [url="http://www.bassstringsonline.com/Bass-String-Lengths-by-Manufacturer_ep_47-1.html"]http://www.bassstringsonline.com/Bass-String-Lengths-by-Manufacturer_ep_47-1.html[/url]

What make and model are the strings?

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1459248763' post='3014689'] It keeps me young. [/quote] I thought you were just back-dated.

Yes, Merle Haggard has died. [media]http://youtu.be/n4AgZST_TG8[/media]

Excellent

I thought it was about that Greek bloke John Hallopoulos.

And here's an El Maya ...

[quote name='KevB' timestamp='1459952804' post='3021204'] Weren't El Greco's cheap knock offs of El Rickenbacker paintings? [/quote] Corrected it for you.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1459951573' post='3021186'] I'm a big fan of Picasso actually. Him and Piet Mondrian. I like a bit of neoplasticism of an afternoon. [/quote] Saw a lot of El Greco's last week in Toledo ...

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1459949398' post='3021151'] Anyway, how is any of this a [i]non sequitur[/i]? Or has that phrase changed its meaning recently? [/quote] There's no controlling language use Jack, especially when it's both foreign and dead and hardly anyone knows what it [s]means[/s] meant anyway.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1459950603' post='3021171'] True, but chances are they will like it better if you're a good player - regardless of their knowledge (or lack of it) regarding all things bass. You don't have to be an artist to appreciate that Picasso was terrible - my four-year-old could do better than that. [/quote] Of course lots of things, including being a good player - in tune, in key, in time, etc. - have an affect on the outcome. As for Picasso, I preferred his early work when your four-year-old couldn't have done it.

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1459943932' post='3021084'] I don't buy the "nobody cares what the bass sounds like, so what it sounds like doesn't matter" silliness. That is a myth and a fable. Everything you do as a performer matters. If you operate it right, a better bass will sound better, which will make you feel better about your playing, which will make you play better, which [i]will[/i] be noticed by the people who really matter to a bass player, ie the other band members, the potential band members who are in the audience and any band leaders who are looking to replace their bass player because he sounds crap because he doesn't think that what the bass sound like matters to anyone. [/quote] Of course it matters. But a large proportion of an audience are not going to be able to tell you the difference. They will simply like it, more or less, or not at all. Nonetheless, in the right hands, a £250 Squier can sound as good as a £2500 custom job. [quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1459943932' post='3021084'] I played Mustang Sally a couple of weeks ago in a band of sh*t-hot pro musicians. Wilson Pickett would have signed up there and then. That's how Nathan East got started, when Barry White saw his band in a club and signed them up as his touring band. [/quote] I was doing a Mexican Day of the Dead gig a couple of years ago with an 8-piece band. During our rendition of 'El Cuarto De Tula' I did feel that if any of the Buena Vista Social Club had wondered in they would have said 'yeah, man' and joined in without hesitation.

Can you get a Road Worn Ferrari?

[quote name='cheddatom' timestamp='1459941419' post='3021038'] it's just a bit of fun isn't it? Like "Would you rather eat a raw badger OR watch your parents have sex? You HAVE to choose one" [/quote] No, really, you don't have to.

[quote name='KevB' timestamp='1459936641' post='3020953'] Let's be honest if it's a 'regular' shape (P or jazz typically) then 90% of audience at least can't tell if it's a £2K or £250 bass. [/quote] ... and almost certainly couldn't hear a difference either.

There's many setup videos on Youtube. I like this one. http://youtu.be/cIzV9462xeE http://youtu.be/D4MdWzN_100 You can get away with not having all of those tools but they are handy.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1459934258' post='3020920'] I've retracted my vote, I don't see why you can't have both. Why are we having to choose again? [/quote] I never voted at all. I don't believe in 'plays like butter' or in 'tone of the gods' so I reject both options.

[quote name='GrammeFriday' timestamp='1459800062' post='3019845'] ... Hare & Hounds, Kings Heath, Birmingham ... [/quote] Blimey, is that still going? First played there in about 1974 or something. I must return to Birmingham one weekend.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1459356637' post='3015779'] ... I have a real problem with keys players and have had for decades ... [/quote] [quote name='JapanAxe' timestamp='1459361236' post='3015848'] I can think of one (1) keyboard player I've worked with that didn't overdo it with the left hand. [/quote] I play with a pianist. He also plays bass in another band and so he understands the issue. When playing together we have certain general rules: (1) If I am playing a riff or arpeggio of some kind, then the piano left hand plays a chord or a single note or an exact unison with the bass without variation. (2) If I am playing in a lower octave, then the piano left hand goes up an octave - and sometimes vice versa. (3) Bass fills are my responsibility, so, in relation to fills the pianist has to have an agreement with the guitarist (which is not a problem). (4) It's accepted that a left hand in the bass register piano part is not required at every moment in every song.

I'm very flexible on both. Tone can easily be shaped by fingers/pick/strings/preamp/effects/amp/cab etc. And one person's playability is another persons unplayability.

[quote name='sunburstjazz1967' timestamp='1459775190' post='3019440'] Six months on upright and they all feel small. [/quote] Not merely feel small, but feel like toys.