Nomad

Measured it last night. From the ball end of the B string, 37" is about 1/4" past the nut, and it looks like 38" is about the max before the taper needs to start if I'm to get smaller a diameter around the nearest machine head. (The current rounds on it measure 37.5" to the start of the taper.) I ordered a set of Picato stainless flats, which apparently are 37" to the start of the taper. (I picked them mainly because they were the cheapest on String Direct. Not a lot of choice when you narrow it down to flats, 5-string, for a given scale.) I reckon I give these a try and then see what direction I want to go in - I'm fairly sure that I'm not keen on the feel of rounds, but half rounds or nylon might be interesting (not averse to getting close to a double bass sound). Is swapping strings a done thing with bass? On 6-string guitar, you tend to only change them when they're knackered, but bass strings are much thicker and can maybe take a few swaps. They generally seem to offer a bigger range of sounds, so being able to use a different sound for a while has an appeal.

Aye - meant which 'length rating' of string to suit my scale length. It seems that I have a choice between 'long' and 'super long'. I'll measure the strings on the bass tonight to see what length they are before the taper starts. Agreed on being able to use a bit of wood, although it needs care to ensure the radius is maintained. I remember stoning the frets of an acoustic guitar years ago using a big stone longitudinally. I was paranoid about spending too long in one area and working a flat into the fret surfaces. Turned out okay in the end, but I was acutely aware of the potential to make a mess of it. That said, if the neck radius is constant (20" I think), then I'm happy to use a radius block. I'm glad I went for a 5-string (fretless was a no-brainer). At first it was just for the extra low notes, but I've found it handy being able to go straight across the neck for notes as well as down. Speaking as a guitar player who's dabbled in bass on and off, this 5 string deal just feels right.

How did the half rounds feel compared to the rounds and flats? Closer to one than the other? I did a little experiment yesterday - put a strip of foam under the strings between the bridge and the pickup. The damping wasn't too good on the thicker strings, but worked quite well on the D and G. More like a double bass kind of sound, and I rather liked it. So, I think I'll get a set of flats and see what I think. D'Addario Chromes seem to be well thought of, so think of getting those. What scale length should I choose for my 35" scale bass? (I guess I need to measure from the back of the bridge to the nearest machine head.)

Some photos and specs on the last page of this Yamaha brochure... http://download.yamaha.com/api/asset/file/?language=en&site=usa.yamaha.com&asset_id=35760 Mine is the 5IIF (in translucent blue). According to that, it's rosewood.

Found this comparison between (nickel) rounds and flats on the same guitar... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9PjFor4rgY I quite like the sound of the flats in that example. Is that fairly representative of the difference in sound?

Thanks all. Appreciate what's involved with putting epoxy on the board (radius block, multiple coats, etc), and it's not something I plan to just jump in and do. I'm relatively inexperienced with bass, so I want to get used to things as they are before I make any big changes. I think I don't mind if it goes a bit brighter with the epoxy on the basis that removing bright results in less noise than adding it. I've been gradually tightening the truss rod and the mwah is starting to appear at times but not always. I'll probably leave it as it is for a while now and see what I can do regarding technique. I'm not sure that I'd want to go as far as a thump from flats if that means less sustain (or less ring in the decay). I would like to get strings that have a bit less friction than the rounds that are on it - sometimes, sliding feels fine, other times, it's draggy and squeaky. The basic tone seems okay, but I don't think my ear is attuned to whatever the finer points of bass tone are. Any thoughts on the coated Elixir round wounds? I use them on 6-string guitar and they're very slinky with noticeably less squeaking. I think it's a toss-up between those and some half-rounds. (Is there a difference between ground and compression wound?) Any suggestions? (I gather the Elixirs only come in 4-string sets and you have to buy a B string separately.) It's a 35" scale, strings are stopped on the bridge rather than through-body. What scale length of strings should I be looking for?

Yes.... the TC tech specs aren't terribly clear. I think the Fender and Laney both came across as 'proper' bass amps, while I'm left wondering what the TC is supposed to be for. I read somewhere that it's quite good for reinforcing the sound of an upright bass, and maybe it suits that. The other two seemed to be more a cheap and cheerful way of chucking out decent bass for jamming at home and maybe quieter rehearsals. A pair of no-nonsense, honest amps that offer more than a bedroom combo can.

Went to the local shop today and got an amp. I tried the TC BG250-208, Fender Rumble 40, and Laney RB3, those being what they had in stock for around my budget (200 quid, maybe a bit more if something stands out). I used my own bass and played in the shop's isolation booth so I could play at my expected volume. The most striking thing overall was that the TC wasn't nearly as loud as I expected, given it has a 250W amp compared to 40 and 65 for the other two. Its speaker system must be pretty inefficient. In fact, the TC left me rather unimpressed. It was quite smooth sounding at the low end, but the lower mid seemed a bit indistinct, and it became rather woolly and uncontrolled sounding when turned up when set for plenty of low end (up to about half volume at most). The Fender and Laney both did much better in this regard. They were both louder than the TC as well, with volume at about 1/3rd. Between the Fender and Laney, I felt the Fender maybe had a slightly more refined tone, but the difference was marginal. The Laney came across as being more punchy or solid sounding when playing with heavy attack. With the TC eliminated, I looked at the features of the other two and decided that an overdrive isn't something I need for bass, while a compressor and FX loop is much more handy. Consequently, the Laney RB3 came home with me.

Maybe it would be better for me to take a slightly different approach in the hope of stopping my brain from exploding due to too many choices and a large lack of familiarity with all things bass... The first amp I thought of, the Broco 40, has "loads of amps 'n' stuff in it", may well be fine for home use (indeed, pretty much its intended purpose). There's an argument that it might be a jack of all trades and master of none, or there might be a sound or two in its palette that works for me. Is there any particular reason to [i]not[/i] buy a Bronco 40? Planning to try some amps at a local shop this weekend in any case (but no Bronco 40 in stock), but I'm starting to wonder if nearly all amps for this sort of use are competent enough as makes no difference to my relatively inexperienced ears. In other words, I might as well buy what appeals to me than engage in some lengthy period of trying to track down something superlative. Should I be pragmatic, believe the marketing and reviews, and just buy the all-singing all-dancing toy box?

I wondered about the TC because I've read good things about them, but perhaps that was for a different model in the range). Since found a pretty good YouTube review by, I think, a German guy speaking English. He covered the range in reasonable depth and reckoned the 208 was a bit lightweight at the low end compared to the others (and they're more expensive). If I look at the 200-250 price range, there are some 1x15 combos, such as the Laney RB4, an Ashdown, and probably others I don't recall at present. Although I have no particular expectations from driver size (in principle, any driver with a suitable f0 and good cabinet design should be able to go deep and low), maybe the bigger cone area is worth looking at. 1x15 for the deep sound? Hope to get to a local music shop at the weekend to try a couple of amps with my bass, although I'm not sure if the 1x15s are in stock - should get a play with the Fender Rumble 40 at least, and maybe one or two others. I think some real world sonic references will help.

Curve ball question: What about the TC Electronic BG250 208? Seems to be available for 235 quid in a few places. I could stretch to that if it offers more in terms of tone. Thinking of the low end especially - don't think I need the power, but it would mean there's loads of headroom. Might or might not use the toneprint feature, but I use the Nova Drive for guitar and already have the 3-way footswitch. Their gear seems to be really well made (got the Hall Of Fame reverb as well).

I'd appreciate some suggestions for a bass combo for home use, to suit a 5-string fretless with the big thick string tuned to low B. Budget around 200 quid. I'm a bass noob to all intents and purposes (as a player and user of bass gear, that is - know what I like to hear in recorded music). Use would be practice and noodling, and jamming along with recorded music. I do home recording, but have no particular plans to use the amp for that unless it adds something to the sound/playing that DI doesn't give. I'm not averse to DI from the amp, if only to use it as a monitor so that I can record without headphones. I normally play 6-string guitar and have a dyed in the wool preference for valve amps for that instrument. That said, I suspect solid state for bass is likely to be a more practical option, and I don't feel that I need any particular voicing of the sort that comes from a guitar amp when the output valves are being pushed. Clean and undistorted seems like a sensible way to go. At home, in my moderately sized living room, I use a Laney Cub 10 (supposedly 10W, but probably closer to 14W) which has a 10" speaker. For afternoons and early evenings, I can happily crank this all the way up without having the neighbours hassling me. I would say that the cranked Laney fills the room with enough volume without going too loud. I can bung on a CD or trawl YouTube for backing tracks, turn up the (rather decent) hi-fi and jam away in a room full of musical sound. Certainly not as loud as having a band practice in the living room (did that when I was young and keen, got hassled) but loud enough for fun. I'd like the bass amp to be able to reach similar volume levels without crapping out or sounding strained. The amp must sound good. For me, that means deep and smooth at the low end without getting farty or being dominated by a resonant frequency. I tried the bass (Yamaha TRB5IIF) through the Laney, and was surprised at the sound. The amp's voicing is fairly neutral for a guitar amp. With the bass, tone is okay for the most part and volume isn't too bad, but it struggles with the low end, where it sounds more like a ring than a rumble (probably going way below the speaker's resonant frequency and reproducing harmonics more than the fundamental - DI'd into the mixer using Beyer reference headphones, there is much more ear-flap). With the Laney, if I turn up the bass EQ on the instrument, it gets muddy and messy and feels like the speaker might be in trouble if I whack the thicker strings. It will do for practice and noodling for now, but it's going to feel limited sooner or later. I'd like something that isn't too big - guitar 1x12 combo size is about the max. If a 1x10 10-14W valve guitar combo is fine maxed out with guitar, what sort of power do I need to look at for a solid state bass combo? I've been looking at a few reviews/demos on YouTube. One amp that stood out in terms of sound was the Fender Bronco 40, which also seems to be quite well regarded in written reviews on music web sites and various forums. The thought of a modelling amp is anathema to me as a guitarist, but opinion on this one seems to be that it does the modelling thing quite well. I'm not especially after a range of vintage amp sounds, but I'm wondering if this sort of thing would give me a better chance of finding a sound or two that I like, which is somewhat different from buying a conventional amp which will tend more to have its own particular sound. A couple of things I'm not sure of with the Bronco are whether it would be loud enough, and whether it will be fine with the low B. Although it sounded good on YouTube, I have no idea what volume it was putting out (it could have been DI'd in some cases), and I have a feeling the demos were done with 4-string basses. Part of me is wondering if the Bronco is all features and great tone at low volume, but still sounds boxy and "what it is" when turned up. Works for guitar amps if you can find the right "what it is" (the Cub 10 is a great little tone machine when pushed), but maybe bass needs something more neutral with leanings towards better fidelity? Is the Bronco worth looking at? What else should I consider?

I'm mostly a noob when it comes to bass, but experienced with 6-string guitar. I just got a Yamaha TRB5IIF fretless and have a few questions. It's a used bass (made in Japan, probably at least 10 years old). I like it, but I'm not married to it in it's present form - no qualms about doing some rework to improve/remedy things if needed. It has a rosewood board which appears to be uncoated (but I could be wrong - the finish on the board isn't shiny, but is very smooth). It came with round wound strings and there is some marking on the board under the thicker strings (lateral scoring). It's quite visible, but doesn't seem to be particularly deep (hard to feel when I run a fingernail down the board). Are these likely to be a problem? The bass seems to play okay, and sounds fine to my inexperienced ear. Should I consider taking some fine grit sandpaper and wire wool to the board to remove the marks/scores? (Worked wood, and worked on guitars before, so I have no problem tackling this sort of thing.) Or filling in some way? Am I right in thinking that the mwah sound is partly in the fingers, and partly in the action? In other words, the neck relief has to be just right to get a sort of "almost buzz" along its whole length. (When I got it, the sound was clear over most of the neck, and a couple of strings were a bit too buzzy above the octave. I raised those, and tightened the truss rod a quarter turn. Mwah seemed a bit easier after an hour or so, so I'll see how it plays later this evening.) What about strings? I pulled the frets from a cheapo Strat copy some time ago and fitted flatwounds. It's very slinky and there is some appeal for having a similar feel on the bass. Do flatwounds cut it for the mwah thing? How about these half flat things? (Bumpy, but not as bumpy as round-wounds?) Fingerboard coatings. I've seen some stuff about using something to give a hard coating to the fingerboard, like marine epoxy. Worth doing? If so, how is it applied? I presume the stuff is fairly fluid rather than viscous, so I'm guessing that brushing is okay. If I were to remove the scoring mentioned above, could I built up epoxy (or whatever) into the scoring to fill that way, then level the surface back before doing the coating, proper?

Thanks for the welcomes, folks. I picked this forum, partly because of its UK leaning, and because the place seems friendly.

Hi Folks. Just a quick hello and introduction... I started playing guitar nearly 40 years ago and took a break for about 4 years until recently, when my interest was rekindled. I'm into home recording (predominantly composing using MIDI) and generally messing about for my own enjoyment. I've dabbled with bass on and off over that period, but never actually owned one until today. I got a Yamaha TRB5IIF fretless, partly because I'm curious about fretless bass, and partly because I want to try the sound/feel for my home recording stuff. So, I have experienced guitarist's fingers, but I'm a relative bass noob. I expect I'll have some noob questions to post presently...