Thanet Newbie

Just a quick update from me.... 1) The reason for the over loud first string became clear when I took the old strings off and replaced them with a cheap and cheerful 40 to 100 set: the old set first string was (probably) and ordinary electric guitar string, not a proper bass string..... Now that the bass has a proper set of matching strings, it sounds SO much better! 2) I dug my 30 watt Laney acoustic guitar amp out of the loft, and hooked the bass up to it, instead of the little 10 watt Peavey bass amp that came with the bass. What a difference! It's got a lovely deep clear tone and will do the job on the upcoming ukulele gigs, assuming I get my head around bass playing enough to go public..... Thanks once again to everyone for their input. I have now spent lots of hours reading back through the forum - what an awesome resource you have all created!

I only ever had one experience of a sound limiter. Me and a few (mature) friends were offered a venue for a small acoustic guitar club. Before we had finished tuning up on the first evening, we had tripped out the limiter...... We moved to another venue.....

PlungerModerno you are a star! Thank you so much for your post, which has clarified a lot for me. Coming from an acoustic guitar background, I would say that round wound strings sound like an acoustic guitar with nice new strings - very clear ringing tone to every note. Whereas flat wound strings are more like an acoustic guitar on old, old strings. The notes are duller, don't ring out, but have a "thump" to them - as you might use for playing acoustic blues. I'll have a think about what sort of sound I want, and then crack on and order some new strings. Many thanks again for your help.

Thanks guys. I have posted questions, and am already receiving lots and lots of useful advice. Thanks for contributing to such a fantastic and supportive forum.

Thank you so much for all your input, guys. Clearly, I will have to do some "fettling" to the bass.... I have tried using headphones and issue of louder 1st string is still present, so I will have a play with some allen keys to adjust string heights. What difference do flatwound strings make, compared to round wound, please? Sorry to ask such a basic question, but all my acoustic guitars use exclusively round wound strings, so I have zero experience of anything to do with flat wound strings.

(Moderators - If I have posted into the wrong section of the forum, please point me to the correct part....) I am principally a guitar player - fingerstyle folk mainly - but have also acquired a range of other stringed instruments, and can bash a few chords out of them. My daughter has now gifted to me her bass guitar - a Crafter Cruizer 4 string with a small Peavey practice amp. I am gradually getting my head around a few scales, and would ultimately like to use the bass to accompany a few songs in the ukulele club that I belong to. Nothing fancy at all, just a steady beat or shuffle to give a bit of tonal variety to our performances. Two questions, please: 1) In general terms, what are the advantages/disadvantages of light guage strings to heavy guage ones? As a total newbie, it seems to me that light guage strings would be easier to play, but will they spoil the sound? (I guess the strings on the guitar are old, and I have no idea what guage, so I have decided to change them, but just need to decide what might the most appropriate guage for a beginner who just wants to play undemanding lines). 2) The 1st string (G) is way louder through the amp than the other strings, and I can't seem to rein it in despite lots of tweaking of the amp controls and the pickup controls. Is this something I will just have to live with, or does it need proper intervention by a luthier or an electrician? In which case I will have to just live with it, cos I don't want to throw money at this project, other than some strings! Thanks in anticipation of any input from the forum. Paul

I'm Paul and I live down in Thanet, Kent. Predominantly, I'm a guitar and ukulele player, but I have acquired a few other stringed instruments along the way, which I can bluff a few chords out of. My daughter has just gifted me her bass guitar and amp. It's a Crafter Cruizer, with a small Peavey bass practice amp, but it makes enough noise to hopefully add a bit of bass input to the ukulele group that I play in. I do have a couple of real newbie questions to ask, but which section of the forum should I visit for that? They will be about choosing new strings, and the string to string volume balance of the instrument....