Jerry_B

Add me to the list. Not sure what I'll be bringing yet. Either the SX I have on it's way, or for that obscureish retro feel a Westone Spectrum DX. If no-one's bringing a fretless and someone wants a go on one, I can bring my Fender Jazz instead.

Except more booze...?

One bloke I think is good is Brian Gibson, the bass player from Lightning Bolt. Not for any real technical reasons, but just because he's done things I'd not heard of before and has come up with some really good riffs. It's the latter point which I like the most. You do get people going on about the complexities of his riffs, but IMHO they're not complex - fiddly perhaps at times, but more often that not they're just good chunky sounds. For those techies amongst you, he does have a bit of an odd bass setup. According to Wikipedia (and I've read this elsewhere) [i]'Gibson plays his bass guitar tuned to cello standard tuning, in intervals of fifths (C G D A), using a banjo string for the high A. He used this four-string setup for several years, but has recently been seen using a five-string setup, tuned to C G D A E, with banjo strings for the A and E. Gibson also uses several effects pedals, including overdrive pedals, an octaver, a delay pedal, and a whammy pedal (pitch shifter).'[/i] As for anyone being overrated, such stuff doesn't interest me. I got past trying to make such analyses when I was into heavy metal and got into millions of circular arguments about who played the best solos...

Thanks for that! In the end I found that one wire leading from the bridge pup was stuck in the channel leading to the electronics well. I think the bloke who had it before me must've done something weird with the whole bass (judging just by the exterior when I got my hands on it. Anyway, after much fiddling about, I got the wire out and soldered it to one of the pots and now everything works! And it sounds very nice indeed There is a slight amount of noise, and some crackling from the neck volume pot when the control is rotated. I guess I should put that down to it's age (and the manhandling it's been through)?

How about these [url="http://www.guitarandampshop.co.uk/acatalog/Gotoh_GB9L_Black_4_In_Line_Vintage_Style_Bass_Machine_Heads.html"]Gotoh black machine heads[/url]? I'm also thinking of getting some but I don't know if they'll the SX Pbass I have coming my way soon...

[quote name='johnnylager' post='701765' date='Jan 5 2010, 03:55 PM']Scroll down to [url="http://www.planetbass.fsnet.co.uk/johnmccoy.html"]'What's the biggest disaster you've ever had in the studio...'[/url][/quote] Haha! Nice! I've always liked that bass line because of the way it works with the bass drum. So I guess he was being helped along. Interesting to see he now plays with Bernie Torme, who had a pretty good band back in the mid-80s that I saw a few times.

What sort of thing do you want to know? What thickness pick are you using? What sort of music will you be playing? Sorry for all of the questions, but there's a variety of options, depending on what you intend to do.

I think the first fretless I owned was a Kay - a Fender Jazz copy. It actually wasn't all that bad, apart from the neck which was a bugger to keep straight. My very first bass was (I think) and Indian-made P-Bass, complete with all the metalwork. Wish I could remember the make...

Aha - that's one diagram I've seen before, but it seems to be set up differently from mine (and a MIA Jazz wiring diagram I have). As far as I can tell the strip goes to the brass strip on which the bridge pickup is sitting. From there I'm not sure where the wiring goes. That said, if it's just a case of wiring the correct wire to a pot then that should be okay. I just wasn't sure as this bass has alot of brass plate here and there, including in the pot well.

I have a 1989/90 model and can't find any wiring diagrams for it. Diagrams for other versions don't explain it all as the MIJ version I have as a brass grounding strip going from the bridge pickup to the bridge. I haven't had the bass for all that long and it's not firing on all cylinders - it's lacking in volume, is noisy and gets noisier when I touch any metal parts. So I suspect something's up with the grounding. Any help much appreciated!

[quote name='Paul S' post='698612' date='Jan 2 2010, 11:16 AM']Mine is black and, with a black pick guard on it, looks even cooler - my Panther![/quote] My god! That's easily the nicest bass I have ever seen! Really really good!

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WZW4groJro"]Space 1999 theme tune[/url] - I think this is definitely what inspired me to play the bass when I was a kid

Hi all I'm thinking about buying some of [url="http://www.guitarandampshop.co.uk/acatalog/Gotoh_GB9L_Black_4_In_Line_Vintage_Style_Bass_Machine_Heads.html"]these[/url], and wanted to know whether they'd fit the SX BG1K Pbass I have on order? Any help much appreciated!

I'll come along too. Can only lug one bass with me, so decisions decisions...

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUDjhyrjDes"]'Double Dare' - Bauhaus[/url] - as long as you have distortion...

[quote name='derrenleepoole' post='668452' date='Nov 28 2009, 04:44 PM']One of the best basses I've ever had was a Spectrum DX, red with black coated neck. Paid £50 for it with a case. I hav a picture somewhere. Still wish I had it really.[/quote] I've had one since 1988 - it's the one I learnt to play on. It's built like a tank and still sounds really good, and the only thing I have to replace are the machine heads. The natural wood finish was chosen because it had been spray-painted combat green over the red factory finish by whatever dingbat owned it before me. Just a shame my crappy phone camera doesn't show it all off!

Just registered after finding the site during some Google searches for bass stuff (honest!). I've been playing bass since 1988, and still own the Westone Spectrum DX bass that I had from back then - although my very first bass was made in India, IIRC. I recently acquired a fretless MIJ Fender Jazz (quite amusing tale as to how I got it), which I'm going to have overhauled. Currently looking to get an SX Precision-style bass and maybe put some Wizard 'Thumper' pups in it. I was also given a pink Wesley 'Dolly Rocker' bass a few months ago, which is now not pink and I'm just finishing off redoing the body so that I'll sell it on.