gjones

The day after I heard 'Wherever I lay my hat' by Paul Young, aged 17, I took a set of pliers to the neck of my bass (a £50 jap crap bought 2nd hand). I regretted it almost instantly. And I had to put up with it (and the bits of sellotaped down fretboard) for another year until I could afford another. I've owned about a dozen basses since then and none of them has been a fretless.

[quote name='allighatt0r' timestamp='1391764997' post='2360962'] Are you keeping hold of the Silver Series neck or planning to move it on? If moving it on, I would be interested in taking it off your hands! [/quote] Sorry I have it fitted to my Silver Squier Jazz bass now.

And I bought that very same Silver Squier neck. It's in excellent shape and fits my bass perfectly. Dave is a top guy. Great communication. Buy with confidence.

That's not supposed to happen. It would take years to wear away naturally. Are you sure John Shuker (or somebody working for him) hasn't had a go at filing your nut?

Yes they're great. The 'Want You Back' video is excellent. And here it is! http://youtu.be/6EPwRdVg5Ug

[quote name='Dom in Somerset' timestamp='1391597238' post='2358895'] I replaced the pickups in my Jazz with a set of Wizard 84s I got from Rasta. They have more bass, less treble, more warmth and plenty of punch, a more precision like sound, just what I was after. I'm thinking of getting a cheap bass for rough gigs and fitting it with something like the 84s in my Fender. As Mr Wizard has now retired what else would do the job , passives only please. [/quote] Fender, Silver Squier, Jazz basses are Japanese made Squiers, manufactured in the early 90s, that have bassier than normal pickups fitted. I loved mine and they get a lot of love on Basschat too. They sound like what you're looking for soundwise, and go for about £200 to £250 on ebay. Excellent basses and very well made.

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1391637692' post='2359721'] DiMarzio Model Js? [url="http://www.dimarzio.com/pickups/bass"]http://www.dimarzio.com/pickups/bass[/url] [/quote] +1 Gets my vote.

They should sell pre road worn ones. As I wouldn't want to be the guy who puts the first dent in one of those.

Be aware that your idea of a song and someone else's idea of a song can be very different. I've depped in bands where they missed out bridges and middle eights and played the totally wrong chords (ie a major chord where a minor should be and in the wrong key) of well known songs. I only found this out at the rehearsal and ended up having to play their weird versions instead of the original. Always ask for a rehearsal beforehand(if you can get one), if you don't want to get a nasty surprise on the night.

My favorite bass is probably the bass I haven't bought/built yet.

[quote name='bumnote' timestamp='1391379041' post='2356591'] I get the this sometimes, usually towards the end of a gig, and often when I am plucking qute hard. Usually goes away after 30 seconds to a minute. However I have recently developed a tingling or pins and needles in my small finger although I dont use that small finger. The doctor has said the nerve to that finger could be trapped, there is apparently a different nerve to the first three fingers. One of the things I am trying to do is not to pluck so hard, and let the amplifier do a bit more work. [/quote] Search for carpal tunnel in the search engine in basschat. There's a lot of information how to prevent further problems with the numbness in your hand.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1391377904' post='2356567'] I was caught out like this a while back. I had no idea people like to learn stuff and rehearse but not do gigs!! I know better now. [/quote] Yes, I went and jammed with a really good bunch of musicians recently. They meet up once a week and rehearse but are not interested in actually gigging. They do play in other bands so it's not a phobia or anything. Very strange. Although I enjoyed playing with them, I told them I had other commitments.

Yes, I would only recommend playing OFPF higher up the fretboard, where the frets are closer together initially. As your span gets wider you can try the same basslines further down the neck. The rule is, if it hurts stop.

[quote name='Si-Fi' timestamp='1391339263' post='2355859'] More options, great! I was initially going to buy a graphite neck from Status.... I like the neck on my Energy, but then with fitting... cost... A question I must ask is would the tuners on the above pictured headstock be a straight swap onto jazz - precision ? I don,t want to assume they will fit out of ignorance! cheers. [/quote] The tuner holes on mighty mite and USA/Mex fender necks are 18mm wide (most Japanese are 18mm too although some can be smaller). So as long as the tokai holes are also 18mm wide, the tuners you have should fit.

I agree about thunderbirds. They've got big chunky necks and feel really unbalanced and uncomfortable to play. You can't really go wrong with a Yamaha. Even the cheap ones are very well made. These J & D basses have got good reviews on Basschat and are ridiculously cheap as well. Leaving you more to spend on a decent amp. http://www.dv247.com/guitars/jandd-jb-vintage-1975-bass-guitar-black--200784

A bargain at twice the price. Definitely worth selling your kidneys for.

When I started playing bass I bought a book to teach me how to do it. The first song in the book was Hey Joe by Jimi Hendrix. The author said it was a great tune to allow new bassists to practice the 'one finger one fret' method of playing bass. She was right. The walking bassline at the end, which Noel Redding plays, is perfect to practice one finger one fret and slowly stretch your hand span. My left hand can now stretch an inch wider than my right hand (and I don't have one freakishly large left hand and a freakishly small right one.....honest). http://youtu.be/TcYOy6I6OR8

I've actually just put a set of light DR Hi-Beams on my Precision and they sound great. It gives the sound a little bit more definition than the mediums do.

I'd say the Phil Jones suitcase for clarity (although it would need to be able to push out twice the volume to be usable for me). And a Ampeg SVT Pro head through a SVT 410he, for the tone.

I own an Ashdown MiBass 550 which is a similar small, powerfull, digital, Ashdown head. It's very portable and pretty loud. So far it's been very reliable. Ashdown also sell compact, light, 10 inch and 12 inch cabs which may be be just what you need. There were a couple for sale on basschat recently for around £160 secondhand.