AdamWoodBass

This is all super useful guys thanks a lot! [quote name='dood' timestamp='1484919998' post='3219718'] Of course get to The London Bass Show too! I'll be there and will be happy to natter! [/quote] I will be there mate and will seek you out! I do love the look of the Shuker stuff, I played one a long time ago when Jon was first starting out. It definitely felt like a prototype which was understandable but as I have seen over the years his work has become more and more impressive. Needless to say he's on my short list for builders. I guess I hadn't really though too much about the really tiny details too much so that's definitely given me some food for thought. I'm also looking forward to checking out some of the ACG stuff too as I've always been attacted to the designs.

Hey everyone So I've been thinking about a custom bass for a while now. I have a pretty good idea of what I want from a bass and have come to the conclusion that investing in a made to measure custom instrument is something that I'd really like to do. I'm a bit of a way off having the cash at the moment but starting to save towards it (from what I've seen a decent custom bass is not exactly pocket money). My question is for those of you who have taken the plunge and bought a custom instrument. What was your experience? Who did you go with? What sort of things about the experience are important to you? What do you tend to look for in a luthier? Do you feel like it was value for money? Anything you wish you would have known before hand? Where there any horror stories? Did your finished instrument meet your expectations? I'm looking to gather as much information as possible before I start on this journey as I really want this bass to be something I'm still playing in 10-20 years. I'd love to support a "British" builder if possible but more importantly it's about choosing the "right" builder for me so recommendations are welcome. I have a couple of builders in mind some British some not. I'm hoping to start having some conversations with builders a bit later this year when I am ready to make a deposit. As always, your input is much appreciated! Cheers Adam

Didn't own it but the best 5 string I've ever played is probably a Celinder J Update 5. I've played a lot of 5 strings over the years in various different price ranges, none of which I own anymore but this one really blew me away. Demoed one in the Gallery in London, it was the first time I'd seen one up close and I just had to have a go on it. I couldn't fault it at all, spent a good half an hour putting it through it's paces and couldn't find one thing I didn't like about it. I then started A/Bing it with some other fairly high end Jazz basses like Sadowsky, Xotic, Mayones etc and they were all great but just weren't as good as the Celinder in my opinion. I totally expect that some people will disagree with me on that but like I said the Celinder just blew me away and I can't even really explain why in any useful context. Obviously Celinders are pretty difficult to come by nowadays but I'm holding out for the day that I have enough cash for one and there is one available to buy.

Got my tickets, first time for me. Can't wait!

[quote name='Lw.' timestamp='1482244992' post='3198793'] What were the frets like? Noticeably tall? I have to admit, I don't think I've ever noticed whether my frets are tall or not so I'm curious to see how tall these ones are (I'll give on a go next time I'm in a shop, but just curious now). [/quote] Wouldn't say it was noticable but then I didn't A/B with an older Fender. I'd recommend trying one out, it just left me feeling a bit "meh". Yeah I could get some nice tones out of it but then I can get nice tones out of a Squier for a fraction of the cost.

I think I'm with most people in this thread. Tried a 2017 P-Bass last week. Meh, it was ok. The thing is "ok" doesn't really cut it when you're paying £1500 for an instrument, especially when you look at all the other stuff you could get for the same money or less. Not horrible but nothing special. I've never found that description to be a selling point for a bass.

[quote name='Cato' timestamp='1480787494' post='3187187'] I'm very pleased with my Squier VM 70s Jazz. It was a good bass to start with, but after the addition of some Aguilar 70s pickups and a Ki0gon loom, it's really rather special. [/quote] +1 on this, my main bass nowadays. I've owned basses that have cost 5x the price and I've still always picked up the Squier. Incredible sound and playability and you can pick them up for buttons. Failing that I'd take a look at a Sire V7 if active is your bag.

Saw Biffy Clyro at Manchester Arena on Saturday night. Brilliant gig, the light show was incredible.

It's when it becomes a regular thing that annoys me. But yeah the golden rule of never taking anything out of the gig bag unless you're on a gig, been there and learned the hard way. Instrument cable was my crime, left it plugged into my PC at home. No one on the gig had a spare but luckily the venue was only 20 mins from my house so I was able to quickly pop back and get it. Now I keep one in my bass case and one in my bag with my stand and other bits.

[quote name='DBerriff' timestamp='1480579949' post='3185495'] We forgot extension leads on our first gig as a newly revised band. The pub managed to find a spare 4-way for us. I went straight out and bought a long cable reel from B&Q. Our guitarist would just stand there, bless him, "where do I plug into?". So I had to take care of him too. [/quote] Spare 4 way/Extension lead. An absolute MUST! The amount of times I've turned up to a gig and the guitarist or the keys player sheepishly says "erm... can I plug into your 4 way, I haven't got one...." So annoying! Your gear requires electricity, bring an extension lead you cretin! Not saying you're a cretin DBerriff, more that when people turn up to a gig without the basic gear and expect other people to sort it out for them.

Landmines - because drunk punters. Lasers - because drunk punters. Attack dogs - because drunk punters. Spare bass - because drunk bass player. In all seriousness, always a good idea to take a backup bass, I've had all the strings fall off my old Warwick on a gig before because I didn't secure them properly in the bridge (first time I'd restrung it and managed to spectacularly mess it up!). If the venue has a decent PA it's worth having a reasonable EQ/DI pedal in your bag just in case your amp packs up you can manage the rest of the gig going straight into the PA. Lots of other good suggestions on here as well, spare batteries, tools etc.

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1480496845' post='3184782'] I like the slap bass on Bowies Ashes to Ashes [/quote] Ditto, brilliant line and a shining example of where the technique really works.

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1480490658' post='3184725'] Who did that? I don't think it was me... [/quote] I think it was me and was probably a bit harsh so I hold my hands up to that. Don't get me wrong I love slap and I love getting the opportunity to do it, I just get a bit bored of it.

[quote name='lowdown' timestamp='1480430776' post='3184320'] A bit more than a party trick for a working freelance player. If you don't dep, fine. If you do, be prepared to run into the likes of 'Car Wash', 'Somebody Else's Guy'. If you don't slap then you should hide, or be prepared to 'Run for Cover'. [/quote] True and in my last function band there were a couple of tunes where it was required ("Car Wash" and "Never Too Much" etc) but on the whole it takes up about 2% of my playing. Also "Run for Cover" - I see what you did there . I'm going to stop commenting before I get myself into "Hot Water"....... I'll get my coat.

I have a love/hate relationship with slap. I dedicated a LOT of time to getting it down and as such got pretty good at it. Then I realised that unless you're Marcus Miller it's not much more than a party trick in my opinion. Subtlety and timing is key (as with most "advanced" things in bass playing). Too much of it and it sounds really really really REALLY boring.There's nothing worse than walking into a guitar shop and hearing someone hammering the hell out of a bass playing 1500 notes a second with absolutely zero regard for feel and groove. On the other hand if done tastefully it sounds sublime. For me slap is ALL about groove; accenting an off-beat with a well timed snap or another thing I like to do is drop out of the groove all together to play an alternating thumb and pluck run in a swung triplet feel over a straight 4/4 for a bar or two then going straight back to the groove. It's really effective (especially if the drummer hears you and accents your run with cymbols) and makes people sit up and listen. But it's just that really, it's seasoning to your playing and not the main flavour. I used to be the kind of player that would slap at every opportunity which looking back must have been so irritating for my bandmates. Now I very very rarely play slap over things, I still practice the technique so that if there comes a rare opportunity where it will work I'm ontop of my game but it's all about making sure what I'm playing is musically appropriate. As for learning it depends how "good" you want to get at it like any other technique. Also depends on what sort of style you want to play, Mark King and Marcus Miller for example are very very different in style. I tried to get the Mark King thing down but realised I a ) didn't have enough control in my wrist and b ) I massively preferred Marcus Miller's sound so that's the route I went down. Starting out it really is a case of back to basics "thumb, pluck, thumb, thumb, pluck". Once you get the basic technique down start adding in additional rhythms or increasing the tempo. My best advice is to always practice with a metronome or drum track, because slap is such a rhythmic thing you really need to make sure your timing is dead on point.

Don't know if anyone has already mentioned these but the Sandberg California TM series are pretty good for the Jazz/MM hybrid. I've played a few of them and never come across a bad one. http://www.sandberg-guitars.de/basscat-overview/calt-series

Back when I did it for a living I'd take the higher paid gig because no matter how good the crowd is they won't pay your electricity bill. Nowadays with a day job I don't need the money from gigs so I can afford to be much more picky about the gigs I do. Different priorities now, I play music because I love it so if I'm playing for my petrol money I don't mind as long as it's a good crowd.

Squier over Fender for me. My main workhorse is a Squier Vintage Modified Jazz. I love it to pieces, it just sounds and feels brilliant. I've owned several basses over the years that cost 5+ times the retail price including a Fender Jazz and they just never made me feel the way this bass feels. I played a beautiful '74 Jazz at a guitar show once and didn't have the cash at the time to buy it, spent a few years brooding over it. When the Squier Vintage Modified came out I played one in a music shop and decided I needed to have one because this was the closest I'd managed to get to that '74 sound without paying £1800 for it. Side by side with an American Standard I'd take my Squier any day which is a test I've repeated many times always with the same outcome.

[quote name='FinnDave' timestamp='1479150694' post='3174376'] I agree that Jazz basses are more versatile, but (and this is a serious question) when do you actually get to use the sounds it is capable of? I've never played slap in my life (been playing over 40 years) and I can't imagine a situation in a gigging pub & club band where the rear pickup 'Jaco' sound would be of any use. I bought my Jazzes because of their versatility, but I really haven't found a situation in which it is of any use. [/quote] Whereas I've played a lot of jazz, funk and fusion gigs which have required slap and the Jaco tone also fits great with a funky 16th groove so a Jazz has been perfect in these situations. I agree though, in most situations you probably wouldn't ever need a good slap tone or the rear pickup Jaco tone because the music just doesn't require it. Depends on what music you play really I guess. For example with rock stuff I'd pick a P-Bass over a Jazz.

Can't remember where I read it but I read an article once from a seasoned session pro who basically said you should always have a P-Bass in your arsenal because you can do pretty much anything on them and they always sound good in any context. Personally I'd say the same about a jazz and I've played jazz basses pretty much since I started. I have turned up to studio sessions in the past where I've had a Yamaha TRB II on loan and also brought a Fender Jazz as a spare. Played a couple of takes and the engineer asked me if we could use the Jazz instead because it sounded so much better. In the context of Jazz vs P I think I will always prefer the slap tone of a Jazz and the solo'ed rear pickup "jaco" tone is something you just can't get faithfully out of any other bass. Don't get me wrong I love P basses and that signature "P-Bass" sound but I don't think you can beat a Jazz for versatility.

Man this sucks, RIP Victor Bailey.

We managed to get tickets to see "Before the Dawn" at the Apollo. Arguably one of the best gigs I've ever seen. From that point, to quote Steve Coogan, "I became fully immersed in the Bush"! Just hoping she doesn't take 35 years to release the DVD! I didn't realise how instrumental David Gilmour was in her discovery until I watched a BBC documentary. [quote name='toneknob' timestamp='1478857556' post='3172131'] I'm more a fan of the "later" material, Hounds Of Love onwards. Director's Cut didn't add much for me though. And I've not heard 50 Words For Snow either. Am I missing out? [/quote] 50 Words For Snow is a bit of an acquired taste, I really enjoyed it but I know plenty of people that didn't. It's not my favorite album, that accolade goes to Hounds of Love, especially the "Ninth Wave" b side.