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My Visa card was recently hacked after buying something on Amazon. Visa contacted me , so I phoned the contact number on the back of my card. My card was immediately cancelled. There were a number of fraudulent charges from several countries. And it happened quickly. This after several years of hassle free transactions.

And Rickenbacker were making a lovely electric upright around that time too.

I still like four string basses.

When I started playing in blues bands about forty five odd years ago I gave up any dreams of rock stardom. I thought success would simply wind up playing in local bars with some really nice players. I did not want travel. So I found success but wealth and stardom were not to happen. And I’m perfectly ok with the way things have turned out.

Welcome! There seems to be a couple of just about everything here , and I do say that in a good way. I think most anybody can easily settle in and get comfy. I’ve been fascinated by gear that’s commonplace in Europe and the UK but has little presence in North America. So it’s wonderful to have some insight into other’s experience. I’ve found this site to be wonderful resource.

More often than not tuners can easily be cleaned and lubed , unless you’re looking for lightweight tuners the ones you have might well be fine.

I seem to buy a bass every other year or so , I have twenty something , there’s really only a couple I’d sell right now. I’m more likely to buy an amp (self confessed amp nerd) but I’m well amped too. Almost bought a Darkglass Microtubes 500 last week. Was a good price , and it’s an amp I like. … close call. So I’m relatively gas free , but if I see something for a good price I can be tempted.

Home practice rig

There’s something to be said for having very different basses.

Some say Ernie Ball make the finest production instruments in the US. I have some old friends that went a little nutty after buying Bongos. So be careful …

I believe in Jule’s work. I have a Monique birdcage.

I first saw my Korina Flying V when I was looking at an old Rickenbacker 4000 , played the V for a couple of minutes and instantly had the big grin. Bought the Ric , and totally depleted my discretionary funds I had at the time. And about a month later phoned the seller to see what had happened to the V , miraculously it was still there , and had not sold… and so I snagged it. I play mostly in blues and roots environments , but not heavy blues rock , so I was curious as to what the reaction might be. As it turned out most felt it was cool as hell. Some may find the sight of an old geezer in jeans and high tops playing a Flying V pathetic , I’m totally ok with that , and don’t really give a #*%!. I love the cheesy thing. Enjoy!

I’ve been using a tube preamp , and it sits nicely between the preamp and the main amp. I’ve found the difference to be slight , but for the time being am going to continue using it. Many Class D amps have built in high pass filters , some are adjustable , some are not.

I do a Sunday jam , have for ages , and have no objection to letting other players sit in and use my gear. So it’s not uncommon for four players to take turns playing the same bass , through the same amp , with the same settings … and it’s surprising how different the same gear sounds depending on who is playing it. day and night differences

I’ve never had two that sound the same.

If they did a short scale version I’d be after one in a minute. I have a Korina Epi V , it too , has an enormous case. Great looking bass , congratulations!

I have changed a number of bridges over the years. I always thought the original Fender style bent bridge was simple genius. It had easy adjustment , and perfectly did the job. I think it was those Rickenbacker folks that first started up with those high mass bridges that were a misery to adjust. One step forward , two back. I also love old Rics , despite the bridge misery. I never cared for most high mass replacement bridges. I also believe sustain is over rated. I’m quite fussy about note duration. However , I have replaced a number of Gibson 3 point bridges with high mass Hipshot replacements. I was always able to set the 3points exactly where I wanted things but felt the Hipshots looked better. I can accept being shallow , they are much easier and faster to adjust , and palm muting is much easier. I have an Epiphone Rumblekat that still wears the 3point. No plans to change that right now. And this is where it gets interesting … I like Danelectro basses , and love the wooden bridges. There is a sweet spot where the intonation is fine. I have replaced metal adjustable Dano bridges with the wooden popsicle stick style. The wooden bridges are thumpier , I prefer the sound.

Welcome Todd , I live just a little bit up the coast.

Skybone , I was a Ric guy before I settled on shortscales. And I’ll always be one. And had been a Pbass guy before that. I was on the search for a Ric for many years , this was before the internet and they were extremely rare here in Nova Scotia. I finally found a 4001 in Toronto. It was to become my main bass for quite a few years. Later I managed to buy a 4000 in NS. I was surprised to discover that I didn’t miss the extra pickup and knobs one bit. There’s a lot to be said for two knob simplicity. I’m mostly playing short scales now , but I still get a little weak in the knees when I see a nice Ric.

Now when it come to practice at home I do try to pick up most of the ones I accumulated over the years , and the two favourites have turned out to be Gibson shortscales. It was a DC LesPaul Jr that initially got me. Simple two knob layout and a nice DeCola humbucker in the sweet spot. It actually works much like a Pbass , although a short scale , set neck Pbass. I loved it so much I picked up an SG. It took me a while to really appreciate that , but it happened. Something about the tone it has , and it’s simply a very comfortable bass to play.

I’ve only seen one Barefaced cab , they are not common here in NS. I talked a friend into buying it , Herself thinks I have enough cabs. She’s ok with me bringing home amps or basses , but no more cabs. So when one popped up for sale on kijiji and a friend asked me what I thought of Barefaced , I told her to grab it. She runs a Darkglass Microtubes 500 head with it , it’s a gorgeous rig. I use Bergantino cabs , and am a bit of a Bergie fanboi but I felt the Barefaced cab was equally good. A tad smaller , a couple of pounds lighter. I was very impressed. And that Darkglass head is a beauty too.

If you pick up some Barefaced cabs you will be amazed at what you’ve been missing. A single 12 would probably cover most of your needs.

I picked up a UniVox HiFlier last year , it was a good deal , the bass looked to be in good shape , and I’d always appreciated that Mosrite inspired shape. The tuners were a bit slippy but otherwise the bass was a beauty. Quite light , it came strung with flats and had a lovely deep thump. Surprisingly so. I went looking for replacement tuners , and found some Chinese ones that looked close , but I held off on ordering them. I came across a video that mentioned that most tuners didn’t really need to be replaced , but often just needed basic maintenance. A good cleaning and fresh lube. It worked , now there’s no need to replace them. And now I’m happy to drag the HiFlier out to most gigs. I prefer short scales these days and I’ve come to love the UniVox. I don’t know quite how it happened , but I’m totally ok playing a fifty year old budget bass. I do use great amps, I’m kinda nerdy about amps. I’ve acquired twenty something basses over the years and have many of the classics. Somehow that cheap Japanese copy has become the one.

I’m not sure there’s any new scales , the old ones give you lots to work with. Blues is primitive music. But heavy on the feel. Most blues bass is keeping a groove together rather than playing a lot.

Great pics!