LITTLEWING

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!)

Safest way is to gently push the neck backward to 'flatten' it out thereby taking the tension off the rod and adjust the nut. Never had a problem in all my playing life. note - always loosen the nut first to check movement to unstick the nut and then start tightening in small turns. If in any doubt go to a reliable tech.

Got to be JJ Burnell. Without his sound, The Stranglers wouldn't have been.

FWIW, I've had a year out of a set and then transferred them to my old trusty 'go-to' Toby Deluxe (for the odd moment and CBA opening a case!) and they still sound and feel good. It is a bit of a wrench shelling out nearly fifty vouchers but equate that to half a dozen sets of medium quality wires and it's a no -brainer. (They do record well too and always EQ nicely in the mix).

Okay, I understand that when skin and other unmentionable crud gets into the windings it hinders the natural vibrations, but how does my Elixer coated E string go dull after a while if it can't get dirty? I'm contemplating cutting a bit of the coating off that goes over the saddle to see if the zing comes back for a while. Anyone tried this?

Thanks chaps.

Is there any harmful difference in pedal power supplies? They're all 9 volts but seem to have all varying amps ratings, 1 amp, 100 milliamps, 1700 milliamps etc. Would any harm come to a 9v pedal with the wrong Amps rating as long as it's still 9v?

As it happens, they're 40-100's Fenders and the Warwicks I went up to 45-105's for a try out. Weird, rattled in very odd places.

Out of curiosity I tried a Warwick red set 45-105 nickels offered on the bay for 8.99 buy a well known dealer I have bought from regularly so deffo not knocking them. Rattled like a spanner in a saucepan despite relief up and down and action way past normal. Even buzzed up the dusty end. Rapidly fitted the old Fenders back on and reset everything, sweet as a proverbial once more to my relief (no pun intended). As the old saying goes 'you get what you pay for'.

Tort. Also, your pups look really low. What gap you got there?

Looking at swapping out the pots in my cheapy project Jazz. At present they're full size, but is there actually any audible difference in mini pots? I'm going to fit 250k CTS's so quality-wise things should 'probably' sound better than what's in there right now. Also, views on audio taper for the volumes and a linear for the tone?

She's an awesome bass player with apparently a lovely voice and I love her playing behind Jeff Beck but I'm sorry to say that whole 5 minutes and 18 seconds did nothing for me whatsoever. It was like trying to watch telly and someone won't stop chatting to you. Know what I mean? So much was going on but, it was for me, musically annoying. Each to their own I guess. Sorry TW.

TBH I've never really found a great sound with anything active. It just seems to ruin any natural signal to the amp and then you still end up fiddling with the EQ. You want a bass that sounds like a P or a Jazz, then plug in a P or a Jazz! We've all heard that tone for years on the radio, stereo or telly without realising it as unwittingly it's subliminally in our heads and we look for it.

Yep. Me too....

Good point about efficiency. I think I ignored the real benefit of mine because anywhere on any fret it sounded like a wet rubber band. I imagine a decent bass made for a B would have made me use it more.

How many times in an evening's gig does anyone use their B? I had a five string once and I think used it in about three songs. I quite honestly couldn't find a use for going down there except for Brick In The Wall and Summer of '69 (I know, but punters liked it) and maybe the fact that it was there and ought to be tried out now and again in a number for the hell of it. I've played a four string for the last ten years and haven't missed it at all. Was it just a new fad once that has in all honesty died off and people still think they need it 'just in case' or 'look at me, I got a five string'?

I'm normally okay with that. My problem EVERY freakin' time is the guitar stand coming with me when I lift my bass to start a set....

Damn fine instruments. I picked up a 'Legend' budget end cream jazz on Gumtree for £60, set it up just right, chucked a pair of Wilkinsons on it and Wilkinson bridge, did the series/parallel mod and gig with it all the time. Does what it says on the tin perfectly well for me and sounds awesome on phone recordings at gigs. Got a mint pickguard coming as I write this too as it happens. (confession - I had to sand off the Legend logo as it felt a bit 'eeewww' and put a F*nd*r vinyl on to make it feel better)...I know...but we've all done it.

Don't laugh, but sitting chillin today, the missus got Alexa to play some Abba stuff. My ears (as per usual) automatically hooked onto the bass and I was amazed how inventive and just dead right it is to every song. Some of the little riffs and fills are exactly what any aspiring player should give an ear hole to. Instead of young'uns slapping the shite out of their basses, it would give them invaluable tips on chord structures and the 'right' notes to compliment a song by listening to other genres and give people like Carol Kaye, Mo Foster and James Jameson half hour an evening before bed.

Each to their own, but I still don't understand it. Might as well tow it behind your car for a mile or two and then rub it down with wire wool and T Cut. A real honest old guitar is dripping with mojo and every bump and scratch has a story to tell. Still, just like plastic surgeons, there's always a customer who loves getting rid of money. Oh, must go, just got to pick up my Porsche. Got a guy to put rust patches, holes and fade the paint and crush both front wings in. I'll be proud as anything driving that down the road just as it is.......oh yeah.......

Nice bouncy fluent playing, but is it just me that is reaching for my toolkit to get rid of that freakin annoying rattle on every string???? Aaagh!!!!!!!

'A band is only as good as it's drummer' is SO true. My first serious band was in the late 70's and we were lucky enough to have the 16 year old guy who went on to play in Wang Chung (Dance Hall Days etc). He made us sound good even then. I've played with a few reasonable tub thumpers and it's really frustrating when one simply can't cut it and you're all confined as to what songs are going to sound okay. My latest band's guy is so bloody perfect and it's making me play tighter with him and for the first time ever the two of us are a near perfect machine supplying the concrete floor for the keys, guitar and (amazing) female vocals to stand on. It's a beautiful feeling leaving rehearsals and gigs with a huge grin on our faces.

I can also vouch for these lovely people. I've emailed a few times with queries about really quite trivial things and they've always had the time for a very friendly and quick response. Great to know there are some people that give that feelgood factor in this day and age.

I've had it in both hands a few times where one of the fingers will just cramp right over and I had to quickly employ a thumb to finish the number. I think it's partly down to dehydration. Drink loads of water during the day prior to a gig and don't drink alcohol before or while playing (I know, sorry!!) as it's well known to suck all the sugars out of the body and dehydrate you that way. It may well be also tensing up too much when digging in so try to play with relaxed fingers. Thinking about it, I've also felt it coming on when my playing hand arm is draped over the edge of the bass body too hard affecting things that way. I have tried the banana trick and I think it certainly helps to boost the system up. All I know is, it's an embarrassing state of affairs standing there like a silly billy trying to undo the stuck down digit while the others are rocking on!!