LITTLEWING

Two bits of wood that don't match up for a body. WHY the heck do they do that? Just looks like they ran out of wood and joined two bits together to get it out the door. Show me a lovely wood grain under a shiny laquer and that always warms my heart. And don't get me started on a perfectly nice paint job and then it gets hit with things and dragged down a set of concrete steps to 'relic' it..... The first thing I do with a pre-loved bass is clean it up and find a nail varnish close enough to the colour and make it look nice again. You wouldn't buy a used car covered in scratches and dings for feck's sake...

FWIW, I still use the two amp to speaker cables I bought from him nearly ten years ago. Still look and sound perfect. Didn't see he'd retired. All the best old chap. Enjoy.

To be fair, she could have been a first time player like myself a couple of years ago. For Father's Day my two amazing daughters bought me sax lessons as I'd always fancied a try as there are a few darn good sax solos recorded over the years and thought I could go up that path of musical adventure. However, on the strength of that I bought a cheapie off a site on the interweb and to cut a long sort short, taking it to this teacher guy he checked it over putting a rope light down it's length (ooh missus!!) and the whole damn thing glowed out of nearly every key hole. It was totally sh*gged and not worth a light. (Pardon the pun). I spoke to the seller and as it happens got my money back as they were also unaware of it's condition. Needless to say I didn't feel like going any further after all that even though I did have a few lessons with the amazing teacher.

I always like to maintain my own basses where I can and something I can't do like fret work I'll go to a luthier. I know perfectly fine how to set up a bass nut and rather than bodge the slots with various implements, I'd like a proper set of nut files specifically made for the job but why are they so damn expensive? £80 odd quid for four files is a bit much for doing one or two now and again, y'know, when you can't help buying a different bass every year, yes we all do it (damn you, interweb!!) unless I was a full time professional luthier. Are there any sensibly priced file sets (not needle file sets which are no use to man nor beast) out there for the 'home enthusiast' like myself?

There are no words! This kid is going places. And that bass face!!!!

It's giving each brand new string a hard push down (tuned up) on the pickup side of each saddle to create an angle on the string rather than a slow bend. This gives maximum contact with the saddle when fitting from new. Try it now on your bass even on slightly not so new strings and you will more than likely get a clearer more true sound on each string.

Hmmmm....are you doing the witness point thing at the saddles? Keeps them clear and ringing from day one.

There's another aspect to all this string height thing. What type and what gauge of strings are on our basses? I recently chucked a set of Fender 9050ML flats on my P bass and have managed to drop the height down more than rounds and it's so much more incredibly playable. It's turning into my favourite bass at the moment.

Great bass player, great ordinary non-diva human being. Read his 'My Bass' etc book and messaged him on Fb saying how much I enjoyed it and he actually took time out to reply to me. Lovin the videos, keep 'em coming GP. Every day's a school day.

Just how long are you going to spend twiddling at soundcheck and then STILL fiddle during the gig? There are too many amps with too many knobs and sliders out there. A simple bass/lower mid/mid/high mid and treble should be enough for any gigging muso. Set it up and play a couple of numbers and adjust the mid if needed during the evening as the place fills up with frequency soaking people. I had a Hartke combo with more sound altering knobs, buttons and sliders than were actually useful and never found a sound I liked while I owned it. Leave the twiddling to the mixer guy or studio engineer I say.

I have a love/hate thing with them. I love them because they keep the same tone for about a year but I always find the E starts to die off first and end up buying a single E to keep the set equal in tone. I thought the problem was with uncoated strings that the E got full of gunk and eventually wouldn't ring properly but it appears not the case. Seems to be just ordinary metal fatigue making any string die, sweat or not.

FWIW, I bought a 2 X 15" Hartke cab once really cheap as it sounded rough. Turned out after a good search that the input jack was tarnished and dull and not making good contact with the plug when inserted. A tickle with wire wool and contact cleaner and it was rattling pub windows.

Saw Les and the band last year in Southampton. Met him afterwards outside. The Mrs told him off for smoking.....Great night as it happens, good band.

Not at all, obviously you need the wires coming off to the pots side so that you don't trap them under the pickup and make it slanted, also to not mistakenly put a height adjustment screw through one of them. One other thing, measure the existing one against the new one's spec. Sometimes it's not a bridge size pickup, it's a neck size one fitted in there. Oh, and you might find the sound with both on full is thin and weird. Don't panic, just refit the black and white to the pots round the opposite way.

Absolutely marvellous. Haven't needed them much at all, always been lucky with Ashdown gear. Any time I've contacted them, they've been incredible, quick, courteous and helpful. Top marks from me.

Have Elixir changed their formula? A set of Nanowebs used to last at least nine months at one time. I put a set of Nickel Nanos on my jazz about March time and the E started dying off recently and going dull so I bought a single .100 steel Nano hoping it would have a bit of zing and stay bright longer but that one also has gone lifeless and thumpy on me quite quickly. I know there are a lot of fakes out there, maybe I've been unlucky.

Half the problem is the radio stations churn out the same old excrement every day and we're all being subconciously brainwashed into thinking it's all normal and all there is simply because they're paid to do it. Look around for less mainstream stations on the interweb and you'll find today's real creative talent. Go out and find the smaller festivals and there will be the new guys and girls playing their feelings and opinions in their own new style and reaching the modern world and connecting.

Well, I've emailed Fane twice and so far had nothing back. However, the always helpful wonderful guys at Blue Aran in Southampton (where I purchased said speaker) came back with this - The driver wont reach its 'optimum' characteristics untils its been run in a little, fresh from factory, the moving parts are a little stiff, and they loosen up with use which gives a little more warmth at the bass end. "This will happen naturally with use, so you dont really need to 'run it in' before using it. However, we recommend on the first use, best not to run the unit at full power, try to keep it at a max of 75-80% so that you arent straining the driver too much. Very, very occasionally, pushing a brand new driver too hard can cause unexpected problems if the suspension is particularly stiff." I hope this will be of benefit to anyone who has new speakers and wondered.

I just put a brand new 15" Fane in my old Hartke cab and everything at first play indoors is sounding nice, round and clear. I've seen various advice on first use from 'it doesn't matter, just play' to ''only give it 75% to 85% of normal level for the first few hours'. Anyone have any tried and tested advice? I don't want to ruin a brand new unit and wreck the suspension and coil etc.

Well, after reading a few reviews, I've pulled the trigger on a Fane Sovereign 15-400LF, (15" 400 watts 8 ohms). Keep you posted when it's up and running.

The 15" in my Hartke VX115 is starting to sound a bit 'farty' lately (Hartke 300 watt head - works fine with an Ashdown cab). I've done the 180 degree turn, checked and cleaned the socket and all the usual stuff but it still begins to distort even when not exactly pushed. (Nothing to do with the crossover, I bypassed that straight to the speaker as it was actually cracked across the pcb and not connecting the tweeter anyway). So, what would be better - a Fane Sovereign or a Celestion Green Label? Both 400 watts and a difference of about a tenner. Not looking for anything sparkly of gnarly, just a nice tight overall sound for the usual rock/soul/funk covers thing.

Well, loads of possible remedies so far. Thanks. Only problem is now, I saw the bit about 'clicky' fingers and for a couple of years my main playing finger (index right hand) actually does have slight resistance stretching from palm to straight and 'jumps' halfway. It always goes away after a few minutes of movement but I hope this isn't another age related problem! Certainly going to check out the height of my bass standing up though, very possibly could be a wrist angle thing and may help my fretting hand too if it's more relaxed at a different height. Keep you posted.

Wilkinsons. I chucked a pair in my Aria jazz copy for less than 30 credits and listening to the weekend's outdoor marquee gig on madam's iPhone their tone sounds HUGE!!! i defy anyone to tell any difference in an expensive name set.

Anyone else get ridiculous uncontrollable cramp in one or two fingers in either hand during a gig? I thought I had it sorted by keeping extra hydrated before and during with good ol' water which has mostly worked for a while but Saturday we played just over an hour and twice for a minute or so I had it in two fretting fingers and then in my plucking index finger. I just about got around it with other fingers but it was embarrassing! I've heard of bananas and their properties and also not drinking lager which has sugar and apparently sucks water out of the system and tried both. Someone also suggested to relax the hands and fingers more while playing and not going 'too hard'. Anyone have any tried and tested remedies? ( I'm the wrong side of 60 btw but I hate to think this is the downward musical retirement slope!)