Hello_Dave

[quote name='guitarnbass' post='21969' date='Jun 22 2007, 04:01 PM']For a warm up tool get a powerball, it works a load of muscles all over the place, probably about the same price too. It can be used as a treatment for RSI and other such diseases, so I'm guessing it's good for prevention too.[/quote] Forgot about these things, was meaning to get one a while back. Thanks for the reminder!

[quote name='Muppet' post='21971' date='Jun 22 2007, 04:08 PM']Can't see the point to be honest. You'd be just as well playing the bass. I'm not sure building finger strength is useful on it's own, unless you're planning to throttle the life out of your bass neck.[/quote] I disagree. When I play my bass at home I don't practice techniques really, Im more of a creative person and Im always creating when playing. I don't practise exercises that will build up my finger strength as I find that rather boring so having the ability to build up the strength when not playing is ideal.

[url="http://www.hotroxuk.com/store/erol.html#5977x5982"]http://www.hotroxuk.com/store/erol.html#5977x5982[/url] Just ordered one of the these. They look pretty useful for people wanting to improve their finger strength or needing a warm up tool. Anyone use one?

[quote name='john_the_bass' post='21836' date='Jun 22 2007, 12:30 PM']did anybody have any success with different types of pick? playing was murder last night for the first time in ages it was hot under the lights and i'd had a couple of cups of coffee so i put it down to dehydration again[/quote] Well, the doctor basically just said what I expected...to rest, which is pretty much impossible for me at the moment so Im just making sure I'm warmed up before playing. I have been rubbing ibuleve on my hand before gigs and practices which has helped with the pain although I know that's not the perfect solution. Ive got a bass 'powerpick' on order from hotrox. I decided against the wegen picks because I find it difficult to be as accurate when hitting the strings with a thicker pick.

[quote name='BigBeatNut' post='17165' date='Jun 13 2007, 08:07 PM']Is there really no alternative to scrounging these from local guitar shops ? No online source at all ?[/quote] I didn't find anywhere that sold suitable boxes. I ended up making a box out of big pieces of cardboard picked up from a local self storage place that was big enough to fit the smaller Fender shipping box in.

I sold my bass to Frank recently, fast payment and great communication. Recommended.

[quote name='skywalker' post='17578' date='Jun 14 2007, 01:52 PM']UPS has a guarateeed overnight service, but charge extra for Saturdays. You may need to open an account with them, but if these are regular items I can probably sort something out with them for you. Steve[/quote] Well I ended up booking another delivery with UPS and lo and behold, the courier for senditnow.com turned up today! Two days later than booked! Luckily I had time to cancel the UPS one

[quote name='mhuk' post='17518' date='Jun 14 2007, 12:06 PM']try chesterpost.com But in my experience courier collections tend to be after 12 noon so they may still turn up.[/quote] Thanks. That's the problem really, there's no-one I can speak to to find out if that is the case.

Well I booked a collection with senditnow.com for a bass to be sent to Belfast, next day delivery "guarenteed" and no driver has shown up! Ive tried to get in touch with them; they do have a phone number but you can't actually speak to anybody, it just directs you back to their website for more help and information!!! It's a complete joke that it's so difficult [i.e. impossible] to actually speak to someone on the phone after paying for a service and trying to find out if I should expect a driver to come today or not, plus I want to bollock someone as I wouldn't have booked with them if it wasn't "guarenteed"!! So basically, I need help....I'm trying to find a courier who will get a large parcel delivered to NI by saturday. Any ideas?

[quote name='King Tut' post='9347' date='May 30 2007, 05:28 PM']Light enough to make a big difference, but still substantial enough to feel 'proper'. I was amazed at the tone when I first played it - I had it in my head that it would lack botton, but it doesn't at all. Has some nice low mid stuff that cuts through a mix real well. You'd be best to try the sound first though to make sure you like it. Col[/quote] I played one through a Hartke 2500 yesterday, sounded really good and played nicely, the neck was superb!

[quote name='jwbassman' post='9232' date='May 30 2007, 02:28 PM']Depends on the shop - I went into the local Rimmers Music at lunchtime to try and get a box for shipping a bass in and they said no - in fact the manager has a policy of not giving away the boxes at all as they consider ebay a direct competitor, personally i can't see how me selling 1 guitar is going to have any great impact on them but there you go. Guess I'll have to get some cardboard from elsewhere good luck, if you find a source let me know [/quote] I didn't find a source but Ive just spent the day driving around Manchester looking for a box to fit my Tokai Jazz. Dawsons only had a Rockbass box which wasn't large enough, Sound Control in Manchester just had acoustic boxes so I decided to try Sound Control in Salford Quays. They didn't think they had anything to fit a Jazz but said to try the skip on the carpark anyway just in case. Well i did, and it must have been my lucky day because there was one guitar box and it was for a Fender Jazz lol! Only the bigger stores will be getting regular deliveries of basses so it's best to try your Dawsons and Sound Controls.

I need to send a bass through the post and I only have a gig bag. I'm gonna need two boxes one a bit bigger than the other but I'm having a hard time finding them from any online retailers. Does anyone know where I can get some? Cheers, Kev

Cheers for posting this, could prove very useful.

[quote name='King Tut' post='7453' date='May 27 2007, 02:03 AM']Here's mine: I love it, but access to the upper frets is V poor - if ur gonna play 'All Right Now' - forget it!! The pearloid plate looks real nice - not el cheapo at all! Col[/quote] Alright Col I don't really need the upper fret access so that's not gonna much of a problem. How's the weight? Say compared to a Jazz or P?

[quote name='David Nimrod' post='5998' date='May 24 2007, 08:00 PM']Gotta say I prefer the vintage white *with* the tort pickguard... Would love one myself but I reckon it'd spoil you for 34" basses. After all, a Mustang has gotta be easier to play ;-)[/quote] I hope that's the case, Im pretty small (ahem!) and my jazz dwarfs me!! I feel the strain in my left wrist due to overstretching so its a decision made based on the well being of my wrist and the fact that I'll look like less of a goon on stage. And that is pretty important lol. Here's the stock Fiesta red: And here's what Im thinking of doing: Any opinions?

Im pretty much decided that I'm gonna get one of these, I've heard nothing but praise for them and the one I tried was really nice. I just can't decide which colour I prefer between the Fiesta Red and White. I've only seen the red in real life, anyone know somewhere in Manchester or nearabouts where I can see the white version? Whichever one I get, Im gonna stick a black pickguard on it I hate the pearl on the red and not a massive fan of the tort on white. Im swaying towards red and black at the moment...the fact Im a United supporter may be the reason why lol. Alternatively, if anyone has any pictures of their mustang I would love to see em. Kev

[quote name='BlueBear' post='5934' date='May 24 2007, 05:56 PM']I used to get the same pain in my hand when using Big Stubby picks. When I moved back to standard picks the pain went. I now use a .71 guage which is probably all wrong in some people's eyes but it works for me.[/quote] I feel the pain more when using thinner gauges but whatever works best for you is what matters! About those Wegen ones....I can't believe Im actually contemplating buying a plectrum for 8 quid but I just wonder if using a 5mm pick might help as the pain seems to come from my tight grip as someone suggested above. If I was holding something thicker I think it would be more comfortable and I wouldn't need to hit the strings as hard so the pressure wouldn't be as great at the point inbetween thumb and index. I hope somebody proves that to be wrong so I don't have to shell out £8 for something that is pretty much guarenteed to get lost after a week lol.

I never had a lesson in my life so I think it's possible that it may be my technique that is the route of the problem. My wrist is usually pretty loose when I play, I don't know if that's a bad thing or not. John, Im gonna get that power pick, if it does what it say's it could be very handy, I could play with less intensity whilst still getting the power on the strings. I'll let you know how I get on!

[quote name='john_the_bass' post='5784' date='May 24 2007, 02:47 PM']Hello Dave (i can't help laughing at that) I get that now and again and sometimes I can't grip with a pick. I put it down almost exclusively to dehydration and have tried to not drink any alchohol before going on stage and instead to drink plenty of water. it comes and goes and it's more prevalent when playing some of the faster stuff. I tried using thicker or moulded picks with a different surface and sometimes using a smaller pick helps. What sort of picks are you using?[/quote] Various 1.14mm regular guitar picks. Ive not really experimented with different shapes so I might have to start to see if that has an effect.

[quote name='anti-barbie' post='5775' date='May 24 2007, 02:33 PM']See your doctor and as a quick fix use ibuleve gel. Don't forget to go to the doctor[/quote] Yea I intend to. Thanks for the tip on the Ibuleve, not heard of it before.

Hi. This is my first post but Ive been around since the days of bassworld. I play with a plectrum and at recent gigs I've been getting quite serious pain in my picking hand. The problem is in between the thumb and index finger from holding the plectrum where I get this throbbing pain literally after only about 2 or 3 songs into the set. Obviously I play through the pain but sometimes towards the end it can get pretty unbearable and has an effect on my playing. It's frustrating as I like to play fast and sometimes it becomes impossible during some of the more intense basslines to play them well. Or if I push myself too much I end up finishing the gig with a pretty intense, burning pain in the affected area. Any ideas to help solve this?