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My strings fall into three categories . Dead rounds , flats , and fresh rounds. Most basses have flats . Most 34 scales have TIs. I keep fresh rounds on an old Ray. Slinkies, of course. I have ancient dead rounds on an old Pbass. It thumps. I have Black Beauties on a Riverhead Unicorn. They were on when I bought it , and I’ll eventually put another set on it. Most have TI Jazz flats , some sets have been on forever. I prefer short scales now and with a 30 in scale I like a stiffer string than the TI Jazz flats I loved. And after trying a bunch I seem to be settling on LaBellas. For fresh shortscale rounds I’ve been buying Gibson Britewires. Nice string. Most shortscales have flats , but I do keep fresh rounds on a couple. And ancient rounds on some for that old school thump. My Longhorn has the factory strings , it was made in 98. All it can do is thump , but it really does that. I have Thunderguts on an Ashbory and a uke bass . And Thomastiks on my upright.

I suspect that after being restored , and tweaked for bass , it would be a lovely home rig with a small modern cab.

I prefer shortscales , and there’s no shortage of short scale hollow bodies. That said I’ve come * that close to buying one on several occasions. They sound good, and I don’t hear complaints about build quality. I prefer shortscales. I have too much stuff already , but if they did a shorty I’d probably break down and buy one.

Darkglass … get some hoodies back in the merch section … I really wanna buy one. And add tome Tremolo to the Darkglass Suite software. And maybe an octave pedal too. Gibson … there are more elegant solutions than the 3point. And maybe an Epi Pro shortscale Tbird. Might be nice to put a finer finish on the DC Jr. And don’t frig with Mesa. That train is right on track. Rickenbacker … that 4005 XC was a wonderful thing , how about another short scale hollow body based on the 350 body. Black of course , and maybe with an included Vox Python strap. Yamaha… overdue for another whack at the Flying Samurai , short scale this time. Danelectro … reissue the Commando amp for the harp players. Hand wire it , make it right. A six string Longhorn bass would be a funky thing to see again. More colours again , please. Fender… maybe a short scale upper end Squier Jagstang bass ? Something cheap and trashy for the kids.(and me) Bergantino … maybe a bookshelf speaker for home practise. If anybody could make a great one it would be Jim.

Mostly playing shortscales these days , but for rounds I’ve been buying Gibson Britewires. Nice strings. And I still put Slinkys on my Ray. I keep flats on most basses.

Over the years I’ve acquired a bunch of classic basses , but these days I prefer shortscales. This is easily my favourite one to play , although I usually gig with a Longhorn simply because of the way it sits in the mix. But this Jr is the favourite.

It’s the stock pickup , but with a chrome cover and surround. I like the pickup a lot , it’s placed in the classic sweet spot , so despite being a short scale set neck , it works like a Pbass. I saw a photo of a Jr with the chrome cover and surround and loved the look. I’m not normally one to mod instruments , but I’ve gone to tea on the Jr. They really are wonderful little basses.

When I first received my Gibson DC Jr I considered replacing the stock 3 point bridge. Now to be fair , I have several basses with 3 point bridges and I’ve always been able to place things exactly where I want without any drama. They are a bit of a misery to adjust. And the Hipshot is a sexy looking thing. And I finally managed to snag one for a good price. I love that little Jr bass , it’s probably my favourite thing to play. The transplant was easy, and it was dead simple to adjust and intonate. To be perfectly honest , I can’t see any huge tonal change. It is much easier to adjust, and I like the look a lot better. And if I see another for the right price I might put one on the SG.

I went looking for a bag to put my little Darkglass head in , and discovered it sits perfectly in a little Billingham bag that hasn’t seen much recent use. Perfect!

Twenty something.

I’m not using any of the factory presets , although they give you a fair sampling of what’s in the Suite. I just dove in and eventually became familiar with where the buttons are, and can make a preset fairly quickly. And it’s fun to spend some time with individual pedals to get a feel for what they do. Spin every knob. Bounce between the reverb units to get a feel for them. I miss having a tremolo, I wish they’d include that in the next update. Whenever that might be. It’s faster to switch between effects on an actual pedalboard. But it’s nice being able to load five presets and have any number stored for easy access. And being able to change the knob functions to suit a preset is genius. Darkglass have promised a controller that will use that 7 pin connector. No idea when that might be.

Some say that Class D amps can’t be repaired , but as long as you can find a good qualified tech you’re fine. Good to hear it’s running normally and wasn’t an expensive fix.

I found the heavier FenderVI string set made a big difference.

I remove my glasses to read. They spend much of their time perched on top of my head.

I’m a Bergantino guy , but have some old friends that are long time Aguilar users and can share their experiences. These are guys that are busy , and play a variety of venues so they’re constantly lugging it around and dragging it home. I’ve never heard of one reliability issue. It’s designed to be used. It’s well made. These are guys that look after their gear, not abuse it. No complaints that I’ve ever heard.

I had my MB200 develop the pink ring of doom, I looked around at other similar amps and decided there was a reason I loved that little MB200. I got the MB to a qualified repair guy , and it runs like a charm again. My problem turned out to be the fan , and when it didn’t work the power module burned out. Still , the repair was much cheaper than buying a new amp. And once again it’s a reliable little workhorse.

Cab design has undergone such incredible advances in the last dozen years. One reason I signed up here was to learn a little more about amp and cab options that are not common here in Eastern Canada. And from what I’ve read , If I was in the UK , I’d try and visit Barefaced. And I’d buy a cab or two.

Ouch. I hope the fix won’t take too long.

That’s a lot of Alembic stock for one shop to carry.

Nice rig!

I’ve read quite a few reports from those that bought the XC. For the most part they were diehard Ric aficianados , and well versed with Ric basses. And they were delighted that the company made something different. And completely over the moon with their new bass. Expensive , yes , but also something unique. I expect them to only appreciate. I wish I had the disposable income to have snagged one. I happily would have.

Some dealers have stock , but Rickenbacker are no longer taking orders to make new ones , so once the available stock is gone , they’re done. (and at that point they’ll probably increase in selling price , as so many limited runs have done) I think they’re gorgeous , I’d love to have bought one , but …

I haven’t brought a new bass home in just over a year! I did pick up a baritone guitar simply because my Bass VI was a whole lot of fun. Also picked up two more amps in the last year. And not seeing any immediate need in the near future.

This pandemic is not over , and there are a lot of people with a reluctance to be in a crowded environment. So we see the numbers have been down , but things seem to be gaining some momentum. We’ve lost some venues. But the last years have been brutal. I’m hopeful.

It’s one of my favourite times.