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I acquired a cheap fretless from evilbay not too long after picking up a bass for the first time, although as a violin player I am not particularly concerned about frets so no major shock. Still takes a bit of getting used to and makes you listen to what you're playing which is good. I recorded myself playing scales on my fretted bass then played along to that on the fretless to start to stimulate some muscle memory and work on intonation. Never regretted it at all. My cheap fretless was £90 Yamaha RBX270F/L (lined) now upgraded somewhat as I like the light-weight feel and neck of the RBX.

[quote name='Chris2112' post='1369823' date='Sep 11 2011, 08:33 PM']Variable Valve Timing?[/quote] If only! Alternatively Volume/Volume/Tone as opposed to Volume/Pup balabce/Tone

30 years of rugby did it for me. I have a dodgy disc in my neck which gives me grief as well as making the middle finger and thumb of my left hand go completely numb without warning which can be exciting.

I spent a bit upgrading my "std" RBX170 F/L and am enjoying the improvements. New pups, bridge and VVT now rather than VBT as it came. Definitely cost more that the bass was worth, but no resale planned so I'm not that bothered.

Smallest c. 5; largest about 150 or so.

Yup, black for me I feel. Kinder to the fuller figure you know.

I voted yes, as I've done it a couple of tomes with no problem. I just expalined to the player in question that if it was not returned to me in the condition that I handed it over I'd rip his head off and sh1t in the hole that was left. Seemed to work, plus we know most of the local bands in any case.

I'm particularly partial to any note I play in tune on my fretless. Although if pushed I'm going to go with F#

I occasionally frequent HW Audio in Bolton. When I first went there to buy my first bass I was fortunate enough to be assisted in this delicate matter by Cam(eron). Top bloke, very patient. In fact I've been to see his band play too (Blind Atlas) as a result of many conversations with him. I go back reasonably frequently for stuff (as well as gear & supplies for my lads drum kit). I am by nature slow to decide and like to try basses before I part with my hard earned. I have been know to make two or three visits before deciding.

Just bought an LMB-3 pedal from the man. Exactly as described, good comms. etc. Highly delighted.

Purchased a used Tascam Bass Trainer from Him. Posted promptly, plenty of communication, very happy. Will now have to read the manual

Interesting...but presumably the law of physics still apply in that Energy in = Energy - a few losses e.g. heat. In other words you double the voltage but half the current that can be drawn by any given pedal.

My first "not-sure-if-I'm-going-to-be-any-good-at-this" bass was a Squire P-bass. This morphed into a used Spector Legend 4 after a few months. I still have and use the Spector. I'm actually not convinced I do anything much different although I have "been through" three other basses until I acquired my OW Aspiration Contemp. J4 which appears to have cured me of GAS. I would probably not wait quite so long before buying a fretless bass though

I've been spending some quality time with my ODB-3 starting with the guidance on settings received, and I have to say I'm a much happier camper now having dialed in a considerable chunk of lows and backed off the distortion it now sounds 90% of the way to what I want to sound like so thans very much for your guidance cheddatom

Hi people I'm looking at acquiring a PSU that will supply both 9v and 18v from a single supply "brick". Aside from the Dunlop Brick (expensive I feel) I've found the following using Google and wondered if anybody had used these or had experience of them from a quality/noise/practicality point of view: Tiger Multiple Power Supply Chord Power Block Guitar Man Multi PSU I note you can also buy a voltage double adapter to make 2 x 9v supplies into an 18v supply. Looking at the modest but varied type of pedals I believe that I'll need around 1 amp max of current but only if I turn everything on at once including the tuner! Any comments welcomed as it's not an area of expertise.

Another endorsement on the Gravity Picks deal. Swift, efficient and great to deal with. Many thanks

As has been said it's depends upon the size of your wallet + a teaspoon of vanity I suspect. The Overwater Aspiration range offer a lot of bass for the money (imho).

+1 to the above. I'm deeply impressed with my black Contemp J4. Have been GASless since it landed.

I know what you mean. I'm just the wrong side of 50 now and I'm slowing down. 30 odd years of rugby and dislocated fingers etc not helping very much at all. When I'm struggling I have been known to miss the odd note to keep the song moving along and only a few people have ever noticed. But they should get out more! Of course when it's our own material no problem at all

I spent 4 very pleasant years living in/near Hamburg. Lovely city, I still miss the Argentinian Steakhouse...and the Brazilian one come to think of it. As to bands, Joan Armatrading and Meatloaf plus a few others if memory serves.

[quote name='cheddatom' post='1333747' date='Aug 9 2011, 04:25 PM']If I were to use it on it's own, I guess I would have... low EQ set to 3, high EQ set to 10 or 11, Gain set to 9 or lower, blend set between 10 and 12 - these are hours on the clock face.[/quote] Thanks for that, I'll have a further play. Also thanks for the other suggestions people, the guidance is much appreciated.

[quote name='cheddatom' post='1333386' date='Aug 9 2011, 11:15 AM']Are you going for a high gain sound? If not you should play with your ODB-3 more. It has a blend control to add back in your clean bass. It also has a low end EQ control which can boost the low end of the whole sound to rediculous levels. The high end EQ control can be used to get rid of any fizz on high gain settings.[/quote] I've been messing around with the EQ and blend, but mostly between 3 to 7 (if you imagine a scale from 1-10). Are you saying that I need to go further to achieve the above. I'm trying to get that warmer sound that Ed_S is describing and to my ears at any rate the Boss pedal sounds a little synthetic (if that makes sense).

I've been reading the various threads on this with interest but I'm not sure I follow some of the subtleties being described. I currently have a very modest selection of an ODB-3 and an Behringer octaver pedals (and a tuner). I don't use pedals much, but there are certain moments on some of our tunes when they do sound effective (IMHO), and also for the odd cover we do. Despite mucho fiddling with the settings I find that when going for a more overdriven sound the bass part of the signal starts to disappear. Am Ichasing the impossible dream in trying to achieve distortion with decent bass presence? Any thoughts, coaching, laughing and pointing etc most welcome. If possible for <£100!