msb

I’m not the target audience , an old geezer that usually sets and forgets amps , not generally a tweaker . But … I picked up one yesterday , and I’m loving it.

New amp day , picked up for a nice price on kijiji . Initial impressions are somewhat overwhelming , this is going to take some time to learn . Downloaded the Darkglass suite but not recognizing my device yet. The presets sound great though , I think this will be a stay home practice head as I don’t tend to spin the knobs too often on the gig. This thing is a knob farm! edit Got the Darkglass Suite loaded and have been at play , there’s five channels you can load up with various pedals and cab sims , and all of the settings can be tweaked with an iPad through the suite. This is wild , but the starting point is nice clean and transparent . This is wild technology ! I’m going to be wrapping my head around this for a while …

Nice touch! Welcome.

Tempted to put an offer on a local kijiji amp sale. But I don’t need it. It could be a deal… There’s still some deals on private sales but even there many are looking for close to retail money. edit put in an offer for a Darkglass Exponent 500 , might be too late …

For years that was the only bass I owned , and it got a lot of play around the eastern circuit here. Went through three hard shell Fender cases getting tossed in and out of ratty old trucks and vans before I switched to well padded gig bags. Looks like it went through the Boer War , but still plays wonderfully. It seemed that everybody played a Pbass in those days , and they all felt different. I had to put some nail polish on the bridge because otherwise the posts would fall. At the time most advised me to get a brass nut, Dimarzio pickups and a BadAss bridge but I left mine stock. Funny how all the basses from that period are all stock now because back in the day most that you’d see on stage were altered. And you had to route the bass for those early BadAss bridges. Now earlier in this thread I mentioned the tv logo basses were inconsistent , but I didn’t say bad. But if you played the dozen you might see in a music store they all felt different. It was around 74 when the really heavy ones started to appear , and many at the time believed they had greater sustain. They were often the first ones sold. Today I’m thankful mine is quite light. And despite being an old Pbass guy , these days I mostly play shortscales. It’s mostly retired , still feels wonderful when I do pick it up. At the time I thought it was all the bass I’d need and I missed a lot of opportunities to buy vintage basses that were going for a song. I was an idiot. Pre CBS basses we’re just called used , and we’re much cheaper than the new stuff.

Ok , that’s one fine looking thing !

My old 72 has a divot where my thumbnail wore into the wood.

Many in the US think of us in Canada as being raving Socialists , one step from being Commies. … we have Healthcare and gun restrictions. And the metric system! Pinkos

Somehow wound up with a bunch of clip ons. I put two in the top pocket of my usual gig bag , and there’s more in my two practice spots. Mine are Son of Snarks ,and Danelectro badged ones that are really Snark Supertights. I like the convenience. And have a little stock of fresh batteries. edit I still have a pitchfork! Just in case of technology failure …

They don’t have the same kind of resale value though.

Get at it , and take photos. I’m curious as hell to see how these might turn out.

They were not all bad by any means , but they were not consistent. Many were great instruments. In fact I think most were. We don’t see that variation today with CNC machines.

They were all over the map, but the boat anchors first appeared around 74 or so , and usually had black pickguards , and the tug bar was repositioned to be a thumb rest. I still have my 72 , it’s light , and whenever someone would pick it up would invariably say “nice one”. I got lucky.

At the time they were built the tv logo Fenders were horribly inconsistent , you’d play a dozen or so and one would clearly be “the one”. And the next person would choose a different one. You really need to play them before purchase , they were all over the map. But the “good” ones were gorgeous. And some were simply god awful.

the kids inspire me to sit down and practice

Me too , after just playing a Pbass for so many years it seems I play just about everything but these days …

Jimmy Johnson invented the 5 string bass as we know it.

Looks like a fine little rig , glad you found a way for it to find you.

I was looking at the custom build and it just said 34 . I’d love to see an Epi Pro short scale Tbird for under a thousand , but it ain’t about to happen. Gibson once did a small run of 30 in Tbirds and they sold fairly fast , but that was it.

It would be tempting if they did this in a 30in scale.

I know musicians that are great readers , but are not great improvisers. But from their first look at a piece can play with conviction , emotion , and depth , and not just follow the dots. But most of the ones I play with are the opposite.

I feel the pain , I’ve had a number of close calls but they’ve been just outside my budget , I could sell some stuff but I’m still more inclined to hang on to what I have than order a Dingwall. I’d be looking at the smaller SuperJ or SuperP if I did.

I slip it a fresh battery every once in a while.

Much of learning an instrument is repetition and practice, developing a muscle memory, and I see the time and work that’s involved in getting there. Playing simple scales can be an art form. You can make them fun , and even exciting. I would never discourage good technique.