Wylie

I'm sure the Phil Jones amps have been reviewed here, probably more than once, but because yesterday I had a question answered definitively, at least for me, I thought I should pass it on. The question: can the PJ Super Flightcase carry its weight in an outdoor setting? The answer was a resounding no. The Flightcase is a 250-watt combo with six five-inch speakers. The player, in a band with a (snare) drum, two guitars, and a singer, was playing a Fender P-bass at medium-high volume, and while the tone was very nice, the sound did not carry well at all beyond about ten feet. When he played harder and a little louder, the speakers clipped. I was unloading equipment in the grass behind the performers, so I got a close listen there; I also listened from out front. The amp didn't have big competition: the electric guitar amp was tiny -- all but a practice amp -- and the singer's acoustic was routed through the cab he was singing through, a ten- or twelve-inch cab. I'd seriously considered a Flightcase but now it seems clear that an indoor setting and a smaller room would be the best venue for these. TG

Beautiful work! What is gun oil finish? You just apply the oil to the sanded raw wood? Same to the neck? Thanks.

[quote name='brensabre79' post='1297445' date='Jul 8 2011, 12:23 PM']These days the Squier stuff is pretty good. The only thing to look out for is quality control. The modern computer aided manufacturing processes used today mean there is little difference between the cheapest basses and some top brand stuff! The real difference comes in the finishing and its all down to the amount of 'human' time spent. A well known brand bass will have a good hour or so spent on snagging (filing down protruding frets, set-up, testing, cleaning up etc.) At the lower end you'll be lucky to get 5 minutes spent on them, but prior to that the production techniques are largely the same. You can pick up a pretty good bass for not much money with the Squiers and Epiphones etc. that are made in the Far east. You might have to spend a bit of time setting it up properly (or get your local luthier to do it) and if you use it a lot you'll probably want to invest in upgrading it. But for home recording a Squier Jaguar will give you a good range of tones and once set-up will be pretty good to play. I bought a Squier Jazz bass a little while ago and after I had it set up by Bernie Goodfellow its now my main bass![/quote] ++1 on this. My Squier VM 77 jazz is an amazing value for the money ($285 or L180). I swapped out the bridge for a Gotoh ($32), which proved to be a good upgrade, and shimmed the neck using a BassChat pictorial lesson. Quite easy to do. I get great tones all over the fretboard, all hardware is decent, it holds a tune, I have no neck problems--I couldn't be happier. tg

I had a short scale Squier as my first bass. I found the string tension too relaxed ... well, not tight enough. I like to play aggressively, and it didn't suit that at all. Just not a good feel for me.

[quote name='davideleira' post='1280221' date='Jun 23 2011, 04:47 PM']Hi I would like a passive/active bass with different options and sounds, so I think that G&L, but I have never tried. It's 500eur new... But an active or passive bass, only, it's ok! I tried Yamaha TRB1005 in a store and it was very very good, the best bass that I have played in my life. With 600eur I can get one used. I though Squier VM Precision Bass Amber because I love P-basses, but I think that an Yamaha or G&L it is a better choice... The same to Fender, but who knows... I don't know what to buy... It's a difficult choice... Who wants to help?[/quote] The Squier VM series gets great reviews from everyone. You didn't say, but if you like a jazz bass at all, you already know they're very versatile; I'm crazy about mine (Squier jazz). tg

[quote name='PaulKing' post='1259938' date='Jun 7 2011, 12:12 PM']Youtube Joe Frick playing Thompson basses. Sound pretty amazing... if you like slapping. But don't forget Upton and Lemur for quality ply basses, maybe a bit more expensive though. You can also pick up an Englehardt or a Strunal, new or second hand. they're everywhere in the USA, you'll have no trouble. You try buying in Europe, much harder.[/quote] Thanks, Paul, I'll keep those in mind as I look. This whole double-bass world is new to me. Ted

[quote name='bassace' post='1258408' date='Jun 6 2011, 09:31 AM']String Emporium (Steve) is a straight guy to deal with.[/quote] Thanks, BA, I got that impression from the site and an email from him. I have other opportunities to buy a used double bass right in my own state, but I'm kind of looking all over. Two of the reasons I'm thinking plywood bass are price and easier maintenance (less possibility of top cracking, etc.). TG

[quote name='TPJ' post='1258096' date='Jun 6 2011, 04:28 AM']How would you get it to the UK? Shipping a db can cost hundreds before VAT and Customs. You might do as well looking at the Thomann ones.[/quote] Sorry I wasn't clear: I'm in the United States. I don't know much about Thompson (don't even know where they're made), so I thought some of you might have encountered them. TG

I have been looking at Thompson double basses on String Emporium. They're plywood, look great, the testimonials all are over the top, and they go for $1450. Has anyone played or owned one? If so, please take a minute to write about it. Thanks. TG

[quote name='EssentialTension' post='1244947' date='May 25 2011, 06:02 PM']Sorry but, for me, wrong headstock and wrong pickup.[/quote] +1

[quote name='chrismuzz' post='1240785' date='May 22 2011, 03:46 PM']if my avatar keeps derailing topics like this I might have to change it behave![/quote] My hand just generally feels better now. A miracle!

[quote name='4 candles' post='1239804' date='May 21 2011, 06:26 PM']or "right hand technique"[/quote] Will do. I'm sure the numbness would disappear ...

[quote name='Bloodaxe' date='May 21 2011, 06:45 PM' post='1239820'] Tried these? Thanks! tg

[quote name='chrismuzz' post='1239764' date='May 21 2011, 05:30 PM']This might seem silly, but giving all your muscles a nice stretch, and massasing them gently, before and after playing can really work wonders. And don't forget those tedious warm ups/downs! Hope that helps you man! I had to do all that for a while when I started exploring different approaches to playing, but nowadays it's less of a necessity [/quote] Thanks, I appreciate it, CM.

Since I have begun practicing songs in F and Bb I have noticed some tingling in my left hand that turns to numbness (not total numbness) soon after. When this occurs, I stop. I also have been playing some scales and chords at the 12th fret and beyond, and occasionally had a stabbing pain in my left hand, at the thumb; so I stopped playing again; trouble is, I'm not getting much practicing done! I've rested my hands for three days, as I don't want this to get worse. I read some of the suggestions on BC elsewhere on this topic, but since I don't seem to be holding the bass the wrong way (4-string jazz) and I'm not gripping it like a baseball bat, I can't figure it out. Any advice? Thanks.

Great review and pictures, thanks. What a beautiful instrument!

Very nice-looking bass, thanks. I've been wondering about these.

I'm just not happy with fewer than 55 strings. I mean, what's the point?

Classic Series '60 jazz:

Our trio was hired by a local movie house to play before the film showed. We were to set up on the extremely small, high narrow stage and begin playing half an hour before showtime. Why so early? we asked the manager, thinking that most people don't show for the movies thirty minutes in advance. 'Why, you'll draw them in,' she said. 'And I'm putting you on our email list!' 'Our email list.' Fatal words. No one reads this movie house's email list. So we set up and got playing, and played to a completely empty house for twenty minutes; then, ten minutes before showtime, people began coming in. At five till the hour, we had to unplug, break everything down and rush it out the back door. We considered it practice; and because at the outset we'd agreed to play four times, we repeated the scenario three more times. Got free tickets to the movies.

First and only rig: Hartke 2500 head, Schroeder 12 cab, Squier '77 VM jazz bass. Small but mighty!, esp. with fairly low-volume trio of keyboard, violin and bass.

I have two instruments insured through my apartment renter's insurance policy. The instruments are insured wherever they are. Lots of value on the goods, and the coverage is cheap.

I also think this could help, but after asking about the cycle on this forum a while back, I got some answers that made me dig further. I discovered something interesting but perhaps tangential to the message from the OP; which is this: As I played through a couple of songs that depend strongly on the movement of the cycle -- one of them being Autumn Leaves -- it struck me that ii - V - I (which in Autumn Leaves is (for me) Amin, D7, and Gmaj7) establishes, for a space, a distinctive key. Well, I am sure lots of folks will roll their eyes at something so obvious, but it hadn't occurred to me to look at it in quite that way, and when I did, it helped me focus to a much greater degree on the choice of notes found within that cluster of chords in the key of G. As I said, this does not directly answer the OP, but it helped me look at the cycle in a completely new way and helped me find chords, and alternative forms, much more easily & without going all over the fretboard looking for them. More importantly, it showed me something practical about the cycle that I can use with nearly any song. tg

Nothing from 1949 that I know of!

I'm not sure 'recording to sell' is a relevant point here. If the outfit is legit, and the song is theirs, what they're saying is that the tune can't be recorded without permission. In the US, if you play someone's song in a bar (for example), you don't have to pay but the bar owner does. But if you record someone's copyrighted song, you are bound by law to pay for it. Our trio recorded a CD and had to pay for several songs, but got by rather cheaply because most of the tunes were traditionals and didn't require a payment.