Oomo

I've never even been close to being a goth, but ended up playing in a band that opened the Whitby Goth Weekend one year (I think Alien Sex Fiend were the headliners).

Was pretty good fun seeing an entire seaside town taken over by goths.

Though I remember it being a fairly messy weekend, so my memories of it are a bit hazy...

I don't really think skill level of the player has anything to do with it. If you like something and it makes you happy, then I don't think there's any harm in doing whatever you like as long as you can afford it.

Though I do think there's a difference between getting caught up in having to have all the latest gear that's pushed on you by advertising (same as people do with new phones etc.) vs. buying something that you really wanted.

I'm also in favour of supporting independent builders (so that we don't end up with nothing but mass produced factory made instruments in the world) - not because I think they'll make some magic bass that makes me a better player, but instead they'll make me something unique/interesting that makes me happy (and happens to be a bass ).

It's similar for me with computers for work/home. My work computer is a piece of junk, but I don't care, it gets the job done and gets me paid. My home computer on the other hand is something I use for fun (games, music production, coding etc.), so I spent time getting a nice monitor and keyboard, spent time tweaking things to my liking, upgrade memory, etc. None of those things let me do things I couldn't before, but just made for a nicer experience.

Would love to see some pics of the bass, it sounds great to me.

Another thing you could do is put some very thick foam under the G string, then you can leave it on and not worry about having to mute it or accidentally sounding it.

I'm far from an expert, but I'd look at it in a different way.

You can play anything over anything (even a chromatic scale), it just depends what effect you want to achieve, e.g. something harmonious or dissonant, something bluesy/jazzy/funky, etc.

Whatever you play over any particular chord in a key will sound different depending on the notes in that chord. E.g. if you play an A major scale (A B C# D E F# G#) over an A major chord (A C# E), some of those scale notes are going to sound pleasing, others might sound more tense and feel like they want to resolve to a chord tone. The notes of B dorian are exactly the same as those in A ionian (i.e. A major scale), so the same applies.

However, ignoring the chords you're playing over, each mode has quite a distinctive sound, so if you play a melody that starts on B and plays up/down B dorian a bunch, it'll have a very dorian sound, quite different from than if you'd started on A and played A ionian up/down.

Bit about crystals reminded me... A while back I went to a rock and gem show with my wife.

There was a crystal seller there surrounded by crystals for good luck, money, health, angel summoning, lemurian contact, etc. etc.

He looked totally miserable and got really upset when I asked him why he was still coming to these shows when he should have been rich and immortal from all the rocks.

Next time I upset someone, instead of apologising I'm going to blast them with an air horn tuned to 639Hz, wish I'd known it was so easy.

I've been through similar cycles sometimes, but don't really see it as a negative thing, as long as I've learnt something along the way.

Thanks to messing about with various pedals, I've learnt:

• how to recreate many sounds I've heard on recordings
• a lot about EQ
• a lot about noise and how to avoid/minimise it
• sounds I like/dislike (e.g. if I want an octave sound, I know a bunch of ways to get a sound I like, which pedals I like, etc.)
• how to combine things to get a certain sound
• sounds that work well/badly on bass
• how to play to help tracking for synth/octave type pedals
• how to order pedals/effects
• difference in sound between some analog/digital versions of effects

and a bunch of other things I've probably forgotten.

So regardless of whether I actually use a lot of the effects I've tried out over the years, I still feel I've learnt a lot from using them, and most I can sell without taking too much of a loss (and can probably make a big profit in a couple of cases).

Like @stewblack though, I have more trouble with complex pedals and multi-effects just because there's so much stuff to mess around with, and I can waste a lot of time menu diving and tweaking without achieving much. Would much rather have a pedal with a lot of limitations than something that can do everything.

I've wondered that about Dingwalls, I've never tried one but heard nothing but praise for them.

From what I understand, they're made in China, then shipped back over to Canada for quality control / setup, then on to wherever.

Not sure if that counts as mass produced, but they seem to sell for around £2400 which seems huge for a non custom instrument.

21 minutes ago, mxm said:

Guitar Guitar being overly generous with a discounted damaged Sterling SUB StingRay.

 

https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/product/191016349755008-9748240--music-man-sterling-sub-ray-4-vintage-sunburst-left-hand

They missed a trick. Just advertise it as having a custom relic finish, and add £500 to the price instead.

For me it's mostly a case of considering:

a) am I still encouraging/funding the artist to do more bad things

There are plenty of dead people who had views I strongly disagree with, but nothing I can do can benefit them in any way...they're dead. On the other hand if by me watching their stuff on youtube it ups their view count and exposes more people to them, that's another story.

b) if I stop supporting them, is there anyone else I'd be hurting

E.g. if a film's actor does something terrible and everyone boycotts the movie, I always feel bad for everyone else that was involved, the writers, producers, supporting actors, musicians, set designers, etc. Ideally I'd support them while still condemning the actor, rather than blacklisting something that was really created by many.

c) does the thing they've created exist independently of them?
 

If someone awful made a lovely chair, then to be it's still a functional chair, it doesn't stop being something that stops me falling on the floor, and I wouldn't destroy it. They don't benefit from me sitting on it or not. Of course I'd stop buying anything new from them, and discourage others from buying their products.

Not sure whether I'd say any were hugely original, but I've loved the pedals I've tried from these less mainstream builders:

Broughton Audio - not the most exciting maybe, but found that the HPF + LPF pedal so useful.

Sushi Box FX - really nice compact tube pedals. I've got the More pedal, which is a really nice clean boost, which just makes everything that goes through it sound better.

Jad Freer Audio - I've only tried their Capo preamp, but that was fantastic - solidly built with so many different sounds (demo)

Bought a couple of pedals from Dan, he packaged them up nicely and I got them the next day! Great communication and even offered to meet me nearby to pick up the pedals.

All good here!

13 hours ago, PaulWarning said:

we don't really know the price, reserve not met, I really don't understand why people do this, why not just start it at the reserve price point?

From what I remember reading a while back (no idea if true or not of course...) the main purpose was to try and get people involved in bidding in the hope of getting a bargain ("it's worth £1000, but the bidding starts at £10, maybe the reserve is £100, so I'll bid anyway in case I get a bargain"), then hope that once people have placed a bid, they'll get invested/competitive and bid more than originally wanted to.

It also means that the item will appear more often if people sort listings by price, or filter on price etc. (even though the true price is really higher).

The other angle I've heard is that a reserve puts off experienced buyers, which means the seller is more likely to have to re-list, which means more fees for ebay.

PM sent.

8 minutes ago, Old Horse Murphy said:

Not sure where you're based but Bass Direct have had these in stock before so you may be able to a/b it directly with a Sandberg

South of London unfortunately...but I'm also a lefty which makes things trickier!

1 hour ago, NikNik said:

Not cheap!

Yeah, so not something to buy blind lightly! Has pretty much everything I was after in a jazz bass.

If not that, I'll probably go with a Sandberg, which is a bit more of a known quantity (but less interesting to me).

31 minutes ago, TKenrick said:

I've had similarly disappointing experiences at the Bass Gallery, and at Charlie Chandler's too (pickups wired in the wrong way round and the bass came back covered in sweaty finger marks after the teen behind the counter told me that it 'played really nicely'...).

I've had pretty good luck with both of those places (though only used the Bass Gallery once for a setup, nothing too taxing).

But had the opposite experience to you with Charlie Chandler (almost literally...) - brought a bass in for something (it was a poorly put together 2nd hand one of some sort), he realised that the pickups were wired out of phase, and re-wired it for me. Sounded so much better after that fix, never noticed what was missing before.

I guess a problem with anywhere that employs more than one person is that you never know who's going to be doing the actual work (e.g. the "master" who started the business, or some employees that are either still learning, or have variable work quality).

I've definitely had more luck with one-person operations.

Only one I've used in London is https://guitarhospital.co.uk/about.php

He did a preamp replacement for me which involved some extra cavity routing, did a great job (but he was fairly busy with work, so had to wait a few weeks).

He was super nice and easy to chat to though, and does all the work himself.

Am treating myself to a new jazz bass soon, and really taken with the looks, sound, and construction of the Vincent Metropol basses (https://vincent-bassguitars.de/en/).

Anyone had any experience playing these? I can't find much info, but heard generally good things, and like the few videos and sound clips I've heard.

However I've heard a lot more about his precision style basses (the Akkurat model I think), not so much about the j-style ones, which is why I'm hesitant.

13 minutes ago, greentext said:

The foot pedal thing is also awesome, have you used that your self? if so what pedal do you use?

Yeah, I used to, but in the middle of re-organising my practice space so haven't got it set up yet.

Think I've got: https://www.amazon.co.uk/INFINITY-USB-FOOT-PEDAL-IN-USB-2/dp/B002MY6I7G

(or maybe an older version, something that looks like it anyway!)

I've used Transcribe for 13 years now for hundreds of transcriptions, couldn't be happier with it. Mostly like the slowdown capability, but also the ability to pitch shift, and change EQ to make bass clearer.

It's also useful as it lets you loop bits of songs, so helpful for learning sections. There's even foot pedal support so you can start/stop playback without having to hit the keyboard/mouse.

The maintainer is also really nice, he's responded personally to questions/problems I've had in the past.

1 hour ago, uk_lefty said:

Collectable Fender...

 

Fender Left Handed Jazz Bass 1965 - Sunburst https://reverb.com/item/66005261-fender-left-handed-jazz-bass-1965-sunburst?utm_source=android-app&utm_medium=android-share&utm_campaign=listing&utm_content=66005261

Looks nice (and way more than I'd ever spend on a bass even if I had the money), but seems a bit odd to photograph such a rare/expensive bass standing on some mud/stones and leaning against a bush outdoors 🤷‍♂️

I own some nice custom instruments (not just basses), but in all cases it's not really about chasing a certain tone or thinking they're 2x better than an instrument half their price.

For a lot of them, it's a mix of enjoying owning finely crafted things made by an individual, and wanting to support luthiery in general. I'm happy supporting independent builders, and want to encourage more of that than mass factory produced goods.

So I guess I see custom instruments less as just a tool to get the job done at a gig (I agree the audience probably doesn't care), and more of something that makes me happy to both play and own, knowing I'm support small builders.

I probably feel the same about other things too, e.g. I'd prefer a nice handmade or antique table to a mass produced Ikea plastic one, even though they both do the same job of keeping things from falling on the floor.

26 minutes ago, Fishfacefour said:

Not going to go full on mwah I think as it definitely can sound gimmicky. I think I'm interested as a new challenge and to push my ear and technique. 

 

How do you approach a setup? I guess the intonation on a lined can be checked and the string height dictates the sound? 

Usually the same way as a fretted bass for intonation, though it's slightly trickier (even on lined), since the finger you press down is broader than a fret, so can be easy to be a bit sharp/flat depending on finger angle, etc. (I've heard some pros use a thin capo or metal ruler to press down at exactly the point they want, but haven't tried that).

I'm no expert, but I think it's a mix of string height and neck relief - I've usually got less relief that my fretted basses (i.e. as flat a neck as possible without buzzing), and enough to get enough buzz to give it a mwah sound. But I often screw it up

I'd never talk you out of it, definitely worth a go!

A few things I found after playing a while that I hadn't initially considered though:

* the mwah type sound is great, but can feel a bit gimmicky after a while and not a good fit for many types of music

* better my intonation got, the less different it started sounding from my fretted bass (so I started wondering why I was bothering...)

* I found setups a bit more painful to do myself (getting the right level of buzz, avoiding dead spots, etc.)

* needs regular playing to keep intonation good (if I don't play mine for a week, I really notice how sloppy I sound...)

but they are great fun