Dom in Dorset

I abstained on this one!
I tend to go for retro but I do like some modern designs, Ibanez SRX series and the Jet King is of course a modern retro. For many years I played a Hohner stick bass.
What I don't like are long thin horns (sorry Lemmywinks) basses should be solid creatures.

I would expect the basics to be right for £170!

I got mine from these guys [url="http://www.allinstruments.com/"]http://www.allinstruments.com/[/url] I teach there on thursday afternoons.
I'm pretty sure that they've got both items in stock, I can't find them on the website.
GAK do them too, just put "stagg acoustic bass gig bag" into google you'll get plenty of hits.
I've just noticed that they do an economy one at £19.99 or a padded one for£30, I'm not sure which one mine is , I can find out on thursday.
Mine has padding but I'm not sure if the economy has padding too.

I use a Stagg gig bag for my acoustic bass, it's cavernous! My Ibanez has (I think ) a 32" scale and there's about 6" to spare. They are about £20.
Stagg also do a hard case it's about £50? I have no problem with gig bags for ABG , it will protect it from nocks and scratches, I dropped mine from about 2' once , no harm done. If it's just you in a car with an amp and a couple of instruments a gig bag is fine, if your on tour with the bands gear loaded into a van each night then get a hard case.
Hard cases for ABG are prety huge things to carry around.

[quote name='thedontcarebear' post='549834' date='Jul 24 2009, 10:14 AM']I ordered a mighty mite fretless from America on ebay, and it's never shown up!

I have a Warmoth, and it's fantastic, but that is to be expected, you can pretty much pick whatever you want, but it's not cheap.[/quote]
How long ago did you order it?

I was going to ask almost the same question!
I keep seeing the name Warmoth come up, I've looked on their web site , ok looks good.
Do you have to order directly from the states or can you get their stuff in the uk? What are they like to deal with? What are the necks like?

When I got my first acoustic bass it opened my eyes (ears) to the part played by your fingers in tone production.
It was quite a cheap clanky beast and it took me a couple of months before I learned how to get a strong even tone from it.

I'll have it for the strap button on the back of the head stock.
As Nigel Tufnel said "this can never be played, ever!"

[quote name='sturm' post='543886' date='Jul 18 2009, 11:47 AM']depping? is that standing in for someone else?[/quote]
As I understood it the term "depping" meant be asked to "deputise" ie if the regular bass player can't make it he sends his deputy. A drummer that I used to play with would occasionaly send one of his trusted students to dep for him.
Hence the concern that if you are too good you won't be asked back the next tiime he can't make it.

Ok , strictly speeking I've never depped ( been asked to stand in by the regular bass player ) I've always been asked by other members of the band(s)
When I stand in for someone My intension is to be as good as them, if possible better- aim high , settle for a shot somewhere near the target!
A couple of years ago I stood in for a local band's bassist for three or four gigs while their usual guy was out of the country. I realy enjoyed it and there was talk of my job becoming permanent. It turned out that the other three weren't talking to each other, we played the last bookings and the band folded!

I love depping! I like the challenge of learning all this new stuff at short notice, without all the politics of being "in" the band.
Don't wory about the punters, or the full time band members, just concentrate on being better than their usual bass player! :brow:

It's smaller that a double bass nut. It would take about half an hour to make one from a piece of ebony or delrin ( if you've got a couple of good files and you're not afraid to use them)

It might take a standard double bass nut, it may need some adjustment.
I'll be in a shop that has one in stock this afternoon I'll have a look.

I'm in the early stages of building a semi acoustic fretless bass, it will be fitted with a piezo pick up.
I'm after an active one with an EQ, what is out there? What's good/bad, Who sell them?
I've had a quick look on google but I'm not finding much.

[quote name='thodrik' post='539461' date='Jul 13 2009, 04:52 PM']Generally, I've become fairly sure of myself when trying out basses in shops. I don't have that scared to death feeling that I would make an arse of myself that I used to get. I probably still make an arse of myself but I just don't care anymore!

I always try it out acoustically first, to see if there any annoying rings etc,
Check tone, volume pots for any crackling sounds,
Check to see the neck isn't warped or anything is a bit 'off'
Tune the bass,

Then I just play basic pentatonic stuff checking for dead spots, intonation, and 'buzzing fret'
A few scales to see if the neck is something I can work with,
I try and ignore action height issues, as I could sort that myself, but it can get annoying when it is set really really high.
Then I just jam, fingerstyle, slap, some chord stuff, maybe some tapping.

During said jam, I ask myself 'could I live with this as my only bass?' If the answer is no, then its not for me, unless I had lots of money and could afford some 'trophy' basses, which I don't!

I don't think I ever play any songs, I'm not doing a bloody audition, the bass is![/quote]
Likewise , only I always start with Spinal Tap's : Tonight i'm gonna rock you (tonight). It's a good loosener and ice-breaker, anyone listening is only going to remember that bit and I just like it. It's also good in sound checks, I've never known a sound man who dosen't look up and smile.

Many years ago I bought a Hohner Steinberger 5 string, it had a high C string, however at the time double ball end strings weren't available (in Birmingham) with the high C, only standard low B.
Went back to good old 4 string two years ago, never looked back.

I've tried one of those....they are good...if set up well.
The output is nice and powerful, the range of tones good. The neck is more chunky than an Epiphone T Bird, a good first bass.
If you want a new bass, IMO Ibanez is good value for money.
You might try a second hand Epiphone, they slightly more refined but similar spec (and look, sort of) to the Stagg.

GAK are doing Gibsons for £1200
Not sure about the wonky lower horn, I like the stylish splat that is the classic Gibson.

When I used a pic ( still do sometimes) I liked 1mm nylon pics with a textured grip.

Hi fitzy,
I don't know about that particular bass ,The intonation is set in the same way as an acoustic guitar..... you just rely on the bridge being in the right place!
I once cut a new bridge for an acoustic bass and found that all the adjustment I needed was in the way that I cut the saddle ivory, Hohner should have got that bit right for you already.
I don't play my acoustic much about the 12th fret and haven't found intonation a problem.

[quote name='wombatboter' post='532351' date='Jul 4 2009, 11:41 AM']Sounds cool. Is it somewhere near the Rainbow Diamondwood fingerboard of this fretless Roscoe?





Until last week I had never seen anything like it. It was posted on leftybassist.com by a guy who owns this and a fretted Roscoe LG3005 in trans white.[/quote]
Noi , nothing like that! I am exagerating, it's much smaller scale, the more you stare at it the more colours you find, mostly reds yellow, purples.
If I get the chance I'll post a pic in a few days.

Of course there is alway snakewood:

It's the world's most expensive timber, if you have to ask how much , you can't afford it.
IMO the most beautiful timber is our native blackthorn,the heart wood is all the colours of the rainbow, gnarly and gorgeous. It's not comercialy available and comes from tiny little trees (you'd have to make a bass boby with at about 4 or 5 sections)

It's heavy enough to sink in water.
Also a lot of people are alergic to it, I worked with it years ago and my skin reacted to the dust.
I hate to throw in the environmental card but, apparently it's endangered outside of national parks etc.
It is pretty though.

I have tried many, the best acoustic sound I think is the Eko (I think it's about £275?)
At the moment I'm playing (and it's my main bass) an Ibanez AEB 8E. Not the loudest acoustic but plugged in it's massive. After every gig someone comes up and says how good it sounds. It's the bottom of the Ibanez bass AEB range (£250) I can't imagine just how wonderful the other models are.
I've not tried anything more expensive than the Eko, I tried a Fender years ago and liked it (the black finish was better that nutural)
Ibanez go up to about £400, for £600 you should get something pretty amazing.

Wow that's more like it!
There would prably be VAT on top if it's shipped from Iceland.
I'm not in the market right now , but I'd be intrigued to try one.