Chienmortbb

The Hofner Verithin was quite common in the 60/70s and my first electric 6-string guitar was a Hofner red solid body with one pickup. It played really well BUT it did not look like a Fender or a Gibson, in those days I was a little more fickle than I am now. The Hofner Jack bass really was a fine instrument IMHO, except for having the name and lots of writing on the body.

Late to this party but, the two halves imply book-matching almost perfect mirroring of the figuring/grain on both halves. You would not have accepting it if you went to a shop.

I had the Subway D800 for a few months. I already had a Bugera Veyron 1001M and an Ashdown Retroglide, but was curious about the Mesa. I loved it at home, the Voicing control was great, and the Deep switch was warm without being boomy. First time on stage, I had to turn both off as they did not suit me on stage. I was effectively running flat, something I could do with both my other amps. Of course, as our US friends would say, Your Mileage May Vary. The Ashdown (uses the same ICEPower module as the Mesa, although the MESA will drive 2 ohms) and the Veyron both meet my needs and although the build quality of the Mesa was great, it cost twice what the other two amps did so it was sold.

Not as yet, this is a question often asked by new users when migrating from analogue desks, the general opinion is that a pad is not needed. Incidentally, the auto gain is useful to get you in the ballpark. Once it is set, turn it off and do slight adjustments manually. Also be careful with the automatic feedback circuits, The live mode can be a bit aggressive, so use it to set fixed frequencies but leave live mode alone. Both these were lessons from personal experience.

Thanks for that, it makes a lot of sense. What did you use to round over the fret board?

I will see how it feels for a while before attempting any mods. Did the finish on the neck change when you rounded it?

Using a fret end file, and care it is not difficult.

Set the truss rod and lowered the action a bit. Really plays well now, and I agree about the strings. Father Christmas is bringing me a set of Newtone Shorties.

That may explain why so many seem to be interested more in the bass drum than anything else. Of course, the PA will be set up in an empty room, but the sound tech should have enough about themselves to realise that they need to boost the mids and do it before the concert starts.

Already posted on the main thread under NSSBD. So far absolutely delighted. Next, purchase some real Short Scale Strings from Newtone.

Me too, I forgot to mention those. They are more visible than the usual dot from above.

Well due to injury, and therefore necessity, I have succumbed and bought a shorty. I have no idea how much movement I will get back in my shoulder but for now I can reach the 3rd fret pf a 34” bass. Back of a cornflake packer calculation says 30” scale length is ideal so off I went a-hunting. I did no want to spend an awful lot, I am already £250 down on a U Bass so It was an Affinity, HB, or Hartwood. I did not get on with the Affinity ‘Tang, the HB has been showing 1-2 weeks for about a month and now showed a bit longer so a Hartwood Delta finally showed up. So far I am delighted. Feet work is some of the best that I have ever seen and there are lots of little touches that please. Machine Heads -Smooth and precise Control Knobs- Not the push on, splined type but held on with grub screws. Body-Flawless, at least on first look. Action- Higher than I like but playable out of the box. Frets- I do my own fretwork and these are wonderful, the best fret ends on a bass or guitar I have had in 60 years. Screws-Pick-guard and control cavity screws sit well down. They are domed but sit well into the countersink. Nut-Could go lower but I will not be touching it for now. Criticisms? The neck has what look like ran drops in the finish. However you cannot feel it under your hand, The pick-up selector switch is not straight up and dos but angled. Oddly when playing it seems more natural then if it were more like a Les Paul. The switch may be the first thing I change thought as cheap ones fail quickly IMHO. Bridge- BBOT. However That does not matter to me, It is a well proven design and it works. Strings - Shiny and bright but may have more finger noise than I like.

You cannot go wrong with K&M

I met one of Free's roadies, just after a tour of the USA (1971 or 1972?). He was bemoaning the fact that they insisted on using their Marshall stacks rather than lightweight Fender combos. At that time, I was an amateur guitarist and studying Electronics at college and in the in-house training school at EMI. I tried to explain that they could not sound like Free through Fender Combos, but he rolled his eyes and moved on to the next victim. At that time there was no PA support apart from vocals.

This is the prototype with the 10 mm grille that @tauzero shows above. I painted it grey but in pictures it is so light, it looks untreated. Aluminium is light, but it needs special paint. I have used a few and none are perfect. Research suggests Hammerite https://www.hammerite.co.uk/en/products/hammerite-special-metal-primer?size=250ML. Finish with https://www.hammerite.co.uk/en/applications/hammerite-ultima. It will not be cheap though and maybe a mild steel grille or leaving the aluminium to tarnish naturally could be the answer.