NJE

Had this nice 2001 Stingray for a few months now and it's really grown on me. I moved from 35" scale 5 string as my main bass, back to a 4 string so it took some getting used to. I wasn't sure on the finish at first but really love it now and it has some lovely subtle Birdseye on the neck too which was a bonus. So to tart it up a bit I ordered some white pickup covers, and they finally arrived from the excellent folks at Strings and Things (after being caught up with a delivery of guitars bang in the middle of the cities issues) so I set about installing it today. Rather pleased with the result and quite like the no pickguard look too.

I have used a Tonehammer 350 for years now and it's a great bit of kit, I find it very clean with the right settings and works incredibly well with a 4ohm cab. I have owned pairs of GS112 cabs and the DB equivalent and both were perfectly loud enough to compete with a 9 piece soul band with 3/4 piece brass section. 1 cab alone was fine for small gigs with PA support and rehearsal but not as backline in a venue. Look out for a decent 4ohm cab so you can pull everything out of the head. After years of using two smaller cabs because I thought they would be easier to move about, I bought an Aguilar GS212 and it's not too heavy and sounds amazing and I find it much easier, I have castors on it and just take a sack truck everywhere so I never have to lift anything.

I LOVE my Harley Benton fretless, there are some tiny cosmetic things on the back of the neck (the board is an amazing piece of wood) but the sunburst finish is one of the best I have ever seen and again the body is a stunning piece of wood. Love the look of this HB PJ....

[quote name='No. 8 Wire' timestamp='1502786272' post='3353456'] That's a great help, a current model too, so that is an option. How do you find the basswood body? Is it too light for the big neck? I'm not a huge fan of basswood, mainly becasue I like natural finishes. At the moment I've got some 50mm/19mm contenders and all seem to be Squier. Squier Active Deluxe JAzz V [url="https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/product/07011213222329--squier-deluxe-jazz-bass-v-active-3-tone-sunburst?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI7fvVwerY1QIVp7ztCh0AgQwQEAQYASABEgILu_D_BwE"]https://www.guitargu...ASABEgILu_D_BwE[/url] Squier P 5 [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fender-squire-5-string-precision-bass/232445314333?_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20160908131621%26meid%3D53329740f36e4517aebdefb3ce0f3415%26pid%3D100678%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D8%26sd%3D172665921730&_trksid=p2481888.c100678.m3607&_trkparms=pageci%253Aa296a7e1-8192-11e7-8a59-74dbd1809b70%257Cparentrq%253Ae4fb0f6915d0a86bc8f54344fff6f183%257Ciid%253A1"]http://www.ebay.co.u...3%257Ciid%253A1[/url] And this: [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fender-Squier-Pro-Series-5-String-Bass-Rare-Collectable/172665921730?_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20160908131621%26meid%3D53329740f36e4517aebdefb3ce0f3415%26pid%3D100678%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D8%26sd%3D172665921730&_trksid=p2481888.c100678.m3607&_trkparms=pageci%253Aa296a7e1-8192-11e7-8a59-74dbd1809b70%257Cparentrq%253Ae4fb0f6915d0a86bc8f54344fff6f183%257Ciid%253A1"]http://www.ebay.co.u...3%257Ciid%253A1[/url] Now that last one ticks all the boxes... but also has everything I usually hate in one bass - rosewood neck, gold hardware, red body! However the more I look at it the more I'm coming round to it. [/quote] It isn't the lightest bass in the world, and it does have a slight bit of neck dive, but completely comfortable with a nice wide strap and hasn't ever slipped or taken a nose dive with me. I love the phenolic?? fingerboard, its like ebony and incredibly responsive. Over all it is a great bass for next to nothing used if you can find one. I have had a Squier vintage modified Precision V and again it was an amazing bass, so much fun to play. I would say that the nut width is thinner than the Deluxe V jazz and probably a bit narrower than my lakland 55-02. It was comfortable for me though and I struggle with tight spacing. Both great basses but tighter overall spacing on the Precision V. EDIT: Sorry I didn't realise you were looking at a different P5 not the vintage modified.

Squier active Jazz V has to be the bigggest neck of any 5 string I have ever seen, I have one and love it. I put a Hipshot 19mm bridge on mine if that is any help. It is an incredible bass, so well made and I have had so many compliments on the sound and playability.

I will echo a lot of sentiments on here, I play a lot of music I would never normally listen to at home and a lot of it I actively despise. However, if the audience is into it, I could play anything and get a buzz out of it, it's their energy that keeps me playing. I have a very close friend who is a seriously good guitarist and he had always played in originals bands and done the occasional covers band but seriously obscure stuff. He then joined a soul/funk type band playing floor fillers and suddenly realised how much fun it was playing to people who loved the music, danced all night and enjoyed the band, even if he was playing music that was way off his usual tastes. He actually discovered what a phenomenal guitarist Nile Rodgers is after learning his stuff properly. Keep on enjoying it guys, we all get our pleasure and enjoyment from different things and there is no shame in playing a good chunk of crowd pleasing cheese.

I have just been fiddling with the custom builder, it is so much fun but so easy to make a bass that looks like a dogs dinner I cant believe how cheap the basses are coming out though, custom builds for basically Fender Mexican prices.....CRAZY!!!!!

[quote name='Sibob' timestamp='1501494117' post='3344954'] It's not difficult is it, bring out a Thunderbird in some cool finishes (stealth TB anyone), with some modern pickup options. Dingwall have proved that the shape isn't dead, people still love it. Another SG, long and short scale, with some decent pickup placement. Sure stick with the standard pickup placements as a 'classic' sub-range, but offer some options at least. An SG with Mr Novax' new 'Darkstar' clones in a more typical spacing?!....they'd sell out (I'd buy one anyway haha). Reissue the RD Artist, every post-rock band in the world would buy one. Garnish with some actual colour options and you have a heritage infused bass range to get excited about. Not the committee designed guff that they're coming up with now. Si [/quote] Exactly what this man said! committee designed basses that no bass player would buy. I would love to see a thunderbird with some Darkstar-esque pickups in some retro colours or some sparkle finishes, anything other than the dross they churn out. Look what Mike Lull has done with the thunderbird too, lovely looking basses.

NPR Tiny Desk concerts are also really good......

Sky Arts have a few shows I seem to remember, not in the format of Jules but they do broadcast some live music. I think in an age with more and more tv channels and the internet bidding for everyone's attention, a live music show is a niche market and wont draw people in. I hate the fact that huge swathes of the population tune in to watch shallow, vain, vacuous people on love island pretend their are in love and have sex on national television but its what 'sells'. I would love more documentaries and music but I don't think many other people would. To be brutally honest I am mostly disappointed with Jules Holland anyway. Like so many of my friends now, we get everything we want from Youtube. There are so many Youtube channels that interview and films bands live and do 'session' type programmes, Sofar Sounds springs to mind immediately. You can always find loads of concerts that you would never get to see otherwise.

So pointless for me, completely the wrong sound scale length, just everything.....BUT I WANT ONE! they look like so much fun.

As far as I am aware, they have had a few cameos from musicians and other famous fans of the show but none as prominent as Ed before I don't think. I don't hate the bloke and I am usually pretty relaxed about everything, but it annoyed me for some reason. Wilko Johnson has been in it, so have members of Mastodon, Sigur Ros, Will Champion from Coldplay, Gary Lightbody from Snow Patrol, of Monsters and Men, there are more as well.

I can highly recommend Stuart Clayton's 100 things as well, lovely well laid out book which is easy to read and understand. YouTube is also an amazing resource for musicians and I am always using the playback speed settings to learn tricky basslines.

Yeah I saw a figure of £969 I think for the JMJ.

[quote name='D'AddarioUK' timestamp='1499092866' post='3329100'] It sounds like it may be your skin chemistry that's killing the strings, this is likely the reason why you get on well with the coated Elixirs and not the EBs or our XLs. We have a coated option in our range called EXP, we also have a bass version of our extremely popular premium un-coated [url="http://www.daddario.com/DADProductFamily.Page?ActiveID=3768&familyid=156&sid=b1760462-3452-4fe9-9a45-7dcb839751b9"]NYXL [/url]string designed to give you greater dynamic range, resilience and string life. Drop me a PM and we'll see what we can do. [/quote] Thanks for the message! Yes its definately my weird biology/chemistry that kills them, its a pain because I would love to spend less on strings. I have a set of Nickel XL strings on a fretless at the moment and they are really nice. I don't play a lot of fretless so they are lasting well on that and sound good too. It makes me wonder whether the bass I bought had been strung with XL Steels before I acquired it. It would account for the difference in feel I mentioned. I will drop you a PM.

I have exactly the same issue with Hiscox. Great product and incredibly well made, but My Squier Jazz V, Overwater Jazz and my fretless Jazz have all moved around inside the case and I end up with loads of old cloths/bar towels padding certain areas, which is bloody annoying when you spend a load on a nice case. I may have an older Hiscox and the new ones might be better but honestly I am not a fan, which has got me into a lot of friendly arguments with musician friends. I also found that when the case had a knock, I could hear that being transferred to the bass and the strings would vibrate/clank and I wasnt happy about that. I use very padded gig bags these days but the SKB I had with my 2014 American Jazz was incredibly good, but it was made for a Fender Jazz bass. The whole thing just felt and looked classy in my opinion, so I would suggest getting one of those. A guitarist friend has issues with Strat cases from hiscox (but loves their acoustic guitar cases) and he uses Gator and is very impressed by them.

I noticed more Rics this year and more Jazz basses. Definately spotted a Sire and the most exotic spot so far is Julio Hernandez with Barry Gibb playing a Nordstrand bass, looks wicked.

There is always the very expensive but very nice Gruv Gear Trolley: https://www.musicstore.de/en_RS/EUR/Gruv-Gear-Solo-Lite-Multi-Function-Trolley/art-PAH0012573-000

Its from the Session Facebook page which should be here: https://www.facebook.com/session.de/ you will probably need to scroll down a few posts to see it.

I just watched the live stream Roger Sadowsky did with Session music store from Germany and I could just keep listening to Roger talk. I don't have a Sadowsky so I am not some crazy fan boy, but he seems to be very honest and to the point on various aspects of building basses. He got asked about building fanned fret basses and his response was great, to paraphrase: I can see the point in it and it has value, if you want a good fanned fret bass, buy a Dingwall. I just really like the guy and actually it is probably one of the reasons he has done well and is at the level he is. I can't afford a Sadowsky and even if I could the necks are too small for me, but his general demeanour makes me want to explore his instruments. Actually I feel the same about Paul Reed Smith, I just like listening to the guys opinions and general ethos behind building instruments. Also nice to hear Roger say that Lemon Oil was not the best choice for fretboards, I have been convinced of this for years and have since used Music Nomad oil which is incredible and also endorsed by Mr. Sadowsky. Watch the video, it isn't superb quality but a good listen while I was working.

I always use a broker like P4D and call them to make sure that their cover will cover musical instruments and accidental damage while in transit. Get it confirmed in email and make sure you photograph how well you packed it and the state it was in when it left you. It all helps prove your point if anything goes wrong. £100 is a little expensive but I have not shipped a bass worth over £1000 for a long time so rates may have changed a lot. To be fair I have gambled on some lower priced packages but all bigger stuff has been covered and it has been worth it on the odd occasion of a breakage. I claimed the full new value of a cab once because it got damaged, and afterwards it tuned out it was only a £60 repair.

Basically the same as the other comments from me, listen to the songs on repeat in the car and at home first, it will be a lot easier learning songs that you can recognise the structure to and know when the changes are coming etc. Nothing worse than trying to play bass along to songs you have never heard before. Even if your band does a lot of headline slots and play for 2 hours, you are only ever going to be playing 25 ish songs a night. If your doing 45 minute slots at festivals etc, you will probably be lucky to get through 10. Get the band to give you the last 5 set lists from gigs and then learn those to start with. As has already been said, they will probably only play the 'better' songs from those albums and EP's, even big acts don't play a lot of the dross on their albums, some songs never see the light of day live. Write chord changes out, but don't get too used to looking at them, try and learn them through memory and I would say only try and do a couple of songs a day/night unless you find a couple are just 3 chord wonders. I learnt 32 songs in 10 days for a gig the other week, most were simple chord structures and very familiar so I could learn 6-7 a day. Good luck.....

Yeah no problem, I think I got a domain name, their package with loads of bandwidth etc I think its their 'Unlimited' package for about £55 for the year. I guess if you went with wordpress and got independent hosting etc it might be a bit cheaper, but for what you get I think WIX is a bargain.

I am just doing ours with WIX, great mobile friendly platform with great modern templates and its all drag and drop. Also you can buy mailboxes and domain names with them. I signed up for a free account and two days later was offered 50% off their packages, it is ridiculously cheap per year.

I can only offer a 'if it was me' opinion rather than experience of replacing the preamp in a Spector myself. I always think that if you cant get the sound right from the bass, you arent going to sort things out with pedals, but that is just my experience. I presume your Spector had the Tonepump preamp? If so I have heard that the Tonepump is not that great and is often the only thing worth upgrading on these basses. I notice Spector are putting the Aguilar preamp in a lot of their USA basses as well as their own HAZ preamp? so I would go for a new internal preamp, easily done, easily reversible if it doesn't work and you can always sell the preamp if you don't like it for reasonable money.