msb

I have flats on most basses , usually TIs on long scale basses and LaBellas on the shorts. I have on occasion decided that perhaps they were due for a change. I have no idea how long they had been on. I do have a few with rounds. Some are regularly changed. A few have ancient rounds. My Longhorn still carries the factory strings , it was made around 98 or so years ago, and saw constant use for years. My hands do not sweat much , I do wipe them down anyway. I usually pick up 4/5 sets of strings most years.

That tail lift doesn’t look too drastic , to be safe I’d keep low tension strings on it. Look at the binding around the first couple of frets , look for signs of cracks or fretboard lift. If the truss rods are torked without putting pressure on … that’s where issues can occur. Look at the truss rods , if they’re angled down that’s another sign they were not properly adjusted. Check to see if the .0047 cap is on the bridge pickup. That’s the one that removes the bottom end and gives you that clank , many simply bypass that for a fuller sound. Some just removed it entirely. If you keep the same gauge strings on it the necks should be very stable. My 80 4001 does not do the seasonal shifts Fenders do , I’ve only adjusted the bridge twice in well over 25 years. I don’t mind the original bridge , mine has very slight lift , but is stable. Not an issue. I had a minor issue with the output jack , and was only getting one pickup. It just had to be slightly bent inwards with a pair of needle nose pliers. Similar issue once with the toggle switch. Those later 4001 basses are beautiful things. I like the slightly thinner necks. I was never bothered by the binding. Enjoy , I hope you take to it , they are very different than your usual Fender style basses. (and I was an old Fender guy)

Now , if I had been able to buy the original DanArmstrong for the asking price I would have done so in a minute. It was going for a song. I was not really willing to pay the market price for one. They do fetch a top dollar these days. Several years ago I was tempted to order a Chinese copy but never did. My friend used to do a gear blog , and was always buying and selling gear. He reviewed much of what came in. His offer to send a bass was completely unexpected. He lives in LA , I live in Halifax.

No prompt. I had no idea my friend still had one.

I was online mentioning that I had found an old ad for a Dan Armstrong plexi bass…silly price. Just $450 Cdn. I replied to the ad , but it was about six months old. I also found a more recent local ad that was closer too , but it was ten times the price. Looking closely at the ads I was easily able to determine they were not the same bass. No reply from the original ad , that post is now removed. An old friend in California now wants to gift me a Chinese replica. I immediately said I would pay for the shipping. So , I didn’t register in this thread , but watch and read it , religiously. Would I be out for something I may not even be in for paying shipping?

Pink sparkle Converse ! Jeez !

Those later 4001 basses are beautiful things.

Absolutely gorgeous thing! I have a later 4001 but have never used the stereo jack , I have the amps , I’d need a stereo cable and splitter box.

If you like the Liner you might look at Genzler , or the various Mesa Subway heads for a fresh take by the same designer. That Liner is a great amp.

Decided a Diamond compressor might be a good thing to have , but haven’t bought one yet. Not in any panic , wouldn’t be used for gigs , if I saw a great deal I’d probably jump. Levy used to make a gorgeous leather gig bag , not currently in production , if I saw one come up for a good price I could lose it there. Otherwise I’m good. My musical emergency fund is flush , so I’m ready should anything surface. I check the classifieds on a regular basis and haven’t been tempted.

I’m seventy three. When I found the gear was becoming heavy I bought modern lightweight cabs. The lift went from close to hundred to about twenty five pounds. My preamp and amp are not heavy. The big misery is trying to find a parking space in the downtown core but I doubt the venue will provide valet parking for the band. Pity. I have an old friend , influence , and mentor that has several years on me and is still playing. Great player. And whenever I watch him do the gig , with grace and dignity I feel like I’ve still got several years left. We are both still going strong.

Never use pedals on the gig , there I’m generally after a rich , deep , old school thump. I do playing around at home.

And I have to add , Baloney Balderdash was dead on with the suggestions. I put the heavier Fender set on my Squier. Big difference. The string spacing is tight , but if you put the time in it becomes comfortable. I’ve had no reason to change the pickups.

I picked up a used Squier several years ago , and wound up spending a surprising amount of time goofing around on it. Not suitable for the gigs I do , but a great guilty pleasure. After a bit I decided that I needed a little treble/reverb for it , then someone suggested some drive might be good. Next thing I needed was some delay , then chorus … My pedalboard wound up being considerably more expensive than the Bass VI was. Go for one. … serious potential for fun.

We had a nice surprise last night at the blues jam in the old dive , great little band doing some classics from the 20’s. Steel bodied guitar , trumpet , euphonium ,and drums. Sounded gorgeous.

I called Vox about those earlier but it was for the UK only.

I put Jazz style knobs on my DC Jr , and will probably put them on my SG too.

Several years ago mine had a meltdown after the fan stopped working and I went looking for something to replace it. My conclusion was it was still the best thing in that power range , I managed to get it repaired. I would have bought another if the repair didn’t work. Now there are more amps available in that range today … but not many have that aux in input. Handy thing to have. Today I also have an Elf and a Darkglass m200 in that power range.

The MB200 is a good sounding little amp. It also has a mini aux in , so you can plug in a phone or tablet , plug in headphones and play along to YouTube videos.

Long &McQuade are the big retailer here in Canada , and they have a big February blowout sale every February. It was this weekend . I received an email the day before the sale saying some strings I ordered back in December had finally arrived. I didn’t want to pick them up while the sale was on and things would be somewhat crazy. I’m not in a panic to get them. I did go online to see what deals might be in the works. Looked at my usual downtown location , and then checked the store across the harbour in Dartmouth. Checked the Bedford store at the other end of the harbour and even looked at Truro , about an hours drive. I’m safe. I’ll pick up the strings Tuesday or Wednesday.

They are a misery the lug around. And make a terrible sound if they get dropped.

The Darkglass m200 is quiet.

String choice , your decision , flats or rounds is going to colour your tone the most. And then every link in your signal chain will have an impact. Your bass choice , amp selection , cab preference. And no two rooms sound the same , and the number of people around will change the sound of the room throughout the night. Everything matters. I usually play mid sized bars. Much of the time I’m not in the PA. I’m looking for a rich , deep , thick , old school thump , but not boomy. Flats , mostly using a med scale hollow body bass. Tube preamp , class D back end and Berg cabs. I’ve found the tube preamp makes a big difference. I’m in the house band that does a weekly jam , the thumpers tell me the rig is magic. The hifi ones tell me it’s old school. I tell them it’s exactly what I’m after. It’s surprising how it sounds completely different depending on the player.

cetera , that’s a gorgeous room!

I mostly use it with practice amps , they nicely fatten things up at low volume. I have two of them!