Muzz

Yeah, I'd love to know what those Artec pups are like, and how big they are (they certainly look right), though chrome surrounds would finsh them off properly. Give Steve at PMT a ring - he's very good, and very reasonable. 0161 877 4962 Be aware though, that the control cavity isn't exactly deep if you're thinking of fitting a preamp.

If you check out my pic left, I've just built one. It's fantastic. The neck pocket needs opening out (I got a stunning job done on mine by Steve at PMT Mcr), and it'll still neck-dive with the Fender(sic) neck on, but I completely cured mine with Hipshot Ultralights (£50) and shifting the strap button. I also put a Hipshot Supertone bridge on (£60), but I didn't mind spending a bit on it. The bridge mounts via three huge sockets, so if you use a more generic bridge you'll still have those holes, plus the bridge is pretty high, so bear that in mind when you're doing the neck rout, or you may end up with your Gotoh (or whatever) on a block... I didn't think the stock bridge was too bad (apart from the pain in the arse of the saddle falling out when you change strings), but the hipshot is a definite improvement. The pickups are the major sticking point (don't fancy lashing out for the Mike Lull set just yet), although Seymour Duncan SSBs will fit, I believe. I'm considering Nordstrand Big Splits at the mo, but those will have to wait until after Xmas. The standard pups aren't too bad for now, tbh. The only down for mine is I started with a really cheap multi-dinged Korean Epi body, and now I wish I'd spent a bit more (I even had a look at that body of yours on EBay) and had a nicer one. I guess it's 'reliced', though... Edit: more pics of mine (before new bridge) here: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/155523-nbd-fenderbird-in-da-house/page__fromsearch__1"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/155523-nbd-fenderbird-in-da-house/page__fromsearch__1[/url]

For me, it all depends on the bass: I went through allsorts of strings for my Fortress, and the Hartke's I got for £15 for three sets just suit it down to the ground. At the other extreme, the DRs on my FrankenPJ are the very best I've had. Didn't have enough cash for DRs for the Fenderbird, so that's got D'Addarios, and they're really good on that. Horses/courses.

I had to learn Galway Girl for a short notice dep job not long ago, and for a four note bass line, it drive me insane! I know, I know, it sounds stupid, but I just couldn't get it to stay in my head. On the night, I turned all the treble off, mumbled through it and glared at the guitarist occasionally. Worked a treat.

I use a couple of pieces of that zigzaggy foam, zigzag sides together, under my cab where necessary. It's only about 2 inches thick (less when compressed) so it's very stable, and it works perfectly. Plus it's easier to bung in a bag/ under your arm to carry, etc. Edit: this is the stuff: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Acoustic-Treatment-Wedge-Studio-Tiles/dp/B000RW7U9U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1321379626&sr=8-1 33 quid for 24, I got mine from the drummer's stash for nish. Recommended.

Try sitting the heel of your hand on the bridge (which, moved forward a little, is great for muting) - that'll help keep your angle of attack consistent. Strap length will help to settle your angle, too. With a lot of practice, you can get up and downstrokes very consistent, which helps, too. I find the hardest thing to do with a pick is disco-style octave triplets across three strings, but then that's what yer fingers are for

No conversions here - played with a pick forever, and always will. I can play fingerstyle, too, and do on a couple of songs, but they're the exception rather than the rule. I find the exact opposite in a band situation; the pick allows cleaner attack and better definition for (most of) the stuff we play. Was chatting about this with the band the other day, and they said the same thing.

[quote name='Doctor J' timestamp='1320956831' post='1433823'] James Lomenzo's Yamaha is pretty nice - you could move a lot of air with that, I reckon. [/quote] Oh dearie dearie me, I need one of those. I could live without the mud bucker, but a maple board on the 2024x and two split-coils? Must, must have. I will sell the lot, and body parts, for one. The 2024 I played last year was so, so good, but the rosewood boards are a deal breaker for me.

I've got a couple on my FrankenPs and one on my Fenderbird, and they're great. The quality is a little variable - the first P was better than the second, and the Jazz was about in between, but generally very good and nothing a quick fret dress wouldn't sort out to top quality. For the money, they're terrific. I like a satin finish to a neck, so they suit me down to the ground. Sold my US Ps on the strength of them.

I look at it this way: I was in Amsterdam a while ago with some friends, and we were watching one of those street entertainers who do the football tricks, and every so often he'd pass the ball to one of the audience, who would try to do a trick and invariably look silly. He flicked it to my friend, who caught the ball and rolled it back to him, shrugged and said "I'm a keeper."

[quote name='Deep Thought' timestamp='1320849469' post='1432224'] No prizes for guessing what gets my vote! [/quote] We have a winner...well, in my book, anyway...

I've got the Big Combo in a P/J, and I love them - so much so I put a set in a Warwick Fortress, too. They're much higher output than standard, but still sound old-school. I'd suggest that for the money they're worth trying, and even if you didn't like them, you'd soon shift them on here second-hand. The J (84) is particularly good.

One with really beautiful wood, one which sounds fantastic, one which looks fantastic, one with a great neck, one which is fretless, one which is acoustic, one which is a 12-string. That's about it, really, even for me - the next one in has to usurp one of those.

[quote name='leftybassman392' timestamp='1320702882' post='1430405'] Every once in a while you get some cocky little tyke who wants to know why you can't play 'Through the Fire and the Flame' note for note, 'cos he's teachin' 'isself ta play i'. Last time that happened I did a bit of arithmetic with the kid, just to make sure he was aware that the average note speed throughout the song is around 14 notes a second. [/quote] I just watched that on YouTube, absolutely hilarious - couldn't get the image of the chase at the end of Benny Hill out of my head...

[quote name='Gust0o' timestamp='1320625734' post='1429214'] Clarky's black Alembic Spoiler - so I can pretend to be Jason Either of Lorne's 8-string Bichs. [/quote] Spookily, these two selections for me, too...

[quote name='steve-bbb' timestamp='1320300244' post='1424944'] try something like "what do you want me to play in the middle 8 when you do the shouty bit?" see how that goes [/quote] I'm having that ^ ! Yep, the Vibrating G is bob-on (although the strings are t'other way up - the 'thicker' string is the bottom one in each set: I had a Washburn 8 years ago with the strings as in the photo, and I found it was harder to play that way), as is Happy Jack - not a completely earth-shattering difference in the way I'm playing the songs (and that's intentional; I don't want to change the songs, just replace some of the studio production overdubs and fill them out), but jeez, you'd have thought they'd have spotted it, at least.

[quote name='lojo' timestamp='1320244356' post='1424252'] Id love to hear an example of what you are doing with the said bass [/quote] Have a listen to 'You And Me Against The World' here: [url="http://www.tunecore.com/widgets/show/73154"]http://www.tunecore....gets/show/73154[/url] - it's the album version: this is what I'm using the 12 for live - fills the sound out really well. If I get a live recording of it, I'll post it up. They notice new basses OK, but their criteria seem to be like my Gran's used to be - if it's a bright colour or a different shape. The issue I'm burderned with is they seem incapable of actually hearing it... and it's a 4 with TWO octaves per string, and a bit of chorus to bring out the zing - a good way away from my normal tone. As a couple of people have suggested earlier, I just get on with it and amuse myself most of the time - I was just shocked that even for them, failing to hear the difference between a passive 4-string and an active 12-string was going some...

OK, so I take the 12-string bass down to rehearsals for the first time this week - I'd been running through a couple of songs in the set which have had a big production job done on them on the album, but which were sounding a little 'thin' (for want of a better word) live, and the 12 seemed a good idea. There was some nominal interest when I got it out of the case (they hadn't seen the bass before), and it's a bit of a standing gag that I do rotate gear quite often, but then after we'd run through the set a couple of times with me using the 12 on three songs, I said: "Sooo, the 12 on those songs - any comments? Anybody like it? Hate it?" To a man they looked bemused, and mumbled along the lines of, "err, yeah, it was OK", "Fine, I guess", and then the singer put the hat on it with the classic line: "Look, it's just a bass, mate." I could understand if it was just a different 4-string, different pickups, etc (which I'm used to them not noticing - I just get on with it to please myself), but a 12-string? It sounded huuuge. Is being a bassist like being a dog? Do we hear frequencies no-one else does? I'm taking a fricking euphonium next week. Maybe they'll spot that.

That's what he said when asked. I believe someone else on here had the same reply about a Thunderbird pickup. As I say, it's a shame. In fact, here's his reply verbatim: "We've tried to make one up to your dimensions and sadly it doesn't sound good - so don't think this will really be feasable - sorry."

Yep, got Thumper and 84 in my Franken-P, and my Warwick Fortress. Love em. Only disappointed Andy can't do anything for my Fenderbird.

Incidentally, I've had three packages from the States recently with Hipshot gear in, all well over the threshold value for import duty, and all sailed through . Are HMCE busy with something else at the moment?

I'm gonna get the neck and body for my Ultimate Bitsa (tm) from Warmoth - nothing out there to touch them IMHO, and I'm after some bling wood in the shape of birdseye maple and black korina. I've got a mate in the US who I can get the bits shipped to who will then ship them on to me - I think some Xmas wrapping paper should do the trick... Shame the Warmoth T-Bird body is such an odd shape around the neck pocket, rules a Super-Fenderbird out... My two main basses have got MM necks, and they're as good as anything I've used out of Corona. The P neck is better than the J neck fretwise, so I think there's an element of pot luck involved (but nothing a fret dress hasn't sorted out completely), but neither are anywhere near what you'd expect for the price: they're so much better. It all depends on your budget, but I'd recommend them completely. I've got a real hankering for an all-wenge J-neck on my black P, too. Mmmm.....

^ This. It was painful. I managed over a minute, and I wish I hadn't. Chops should stay in the butchers.

The biggest problem with homebuilding (or, as has been pointed out above, home assembling) basses, is that you can actually get what you want from a bass, without compromise, which kinda ruins the appeal of 90% of off-the-shelf stuff. Once I'd been through a lot of basses, from cheapo stuff through the midrange to the top-end luthier-built stuff (all secondhand, I might add), I was able to identify what worked for me and what didn't, and now there's very little out there which would tick all my boxes. I can, however, put together (with some luthier assistance - fortunately I have a very good, very reasonably priced luthier at my disposal) what I want pretty cheaply. I wouldn't swap my FrankenP for any US Fender P (I had a couple of these when I built the main FrankenP, and subsequently sold them), and I'm currently having a ball with my Fenderbird. I'm not sure I agree about depreciation being so bad, either: homebuilds can always be parted out and the bits either reused or sold on without much financial pain, especially if the bits have been bought second hand. If everything's bought new, then yeah, you won't see your money back, but you go and buy a new Fender (or worse, a boutique bass or a Warwick) at list price and see how much of that you get back after 12 months. I see plenty of things like Hipshot Xtenders flying around on here, and people don't lose much on them. I think far more emphasis is placed on bitsas depreciation than any other bass - would we really have a discussion about the next Fodera for sale on here along the lines of "Oh my God, he's losing £3500 in depreciation on that bass! New Foderas are SUCH a bad idea!". Having some experience of bitsas now means depreciation isn't much of an issue for me anyway when we're talking about £200-300, which is where most of my builds lie, and because I buy the bits carefully. It's a market like any other, you can spend wisely or not. I'll still buy off the shelf stuff, mainly to satisfy my curiosity, and I'll do this second-hand with one eye on the resale value. Inevitably they get moved on, but I'll learn from them. All that said, I have a decent budget available at the moment, and I'm looking for a very special bass. It might even end up being a Dingwall or a Lull. But I'll be changing the pickups from standard...

OK, well, that's me out. Just found out Mark / Bass Direct won't be there, so that's a major shopping attraction out anyway, leaving the prospect of paying £25 for a browse round the other stands being deafened by slap, which just doesn't sound like much of a deal for me...