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This is guaranteed to boil my fosters. I'm not the world's most reliable man, but my reckoning is that if I can turn up on time, then anyone can. Persistent lateness is just pure selfish bullcrap.

Well actually a very old Sei, but absolutely beautiful none the less. Aquired recently in a trade on here, and just back today following a service, a refret and the installation of a new preamp. i would love to find out more of it's history, I really want to know exactly how old it is, I do know that it’s one of the first ones, judging by the exquisite binding around the fretboard, so it's at least 20 years old. i love the headless design. The ergonomics are fantastic. It balances superbly, and is an absolute joy to play. The different colour LEDs are a touch of pure genius.

Wind back five years and you’ll hopefully understand why this bass is as special to me as it is.... In Feb 2013 I was diagnosed with a massive tumour on my right kidney. It was at Stage 3 due to the size (an unbelievable 9.5kgs!) and I was told by the surgeon that it they didn’t operate soon it would kill me one way or another. On Thursday last week, I was given the good news that I had no signs of recurrence and that they were leaving it to me whether I wanted to continue under observation; in short they were happy for me to be discharged. To get to the 5 year milestone was something I wasn’t sure I’d ever get to, so to say I’m relieved is an understatement! After a few tears (something in my eye) my wife told me to treat myself and knew I’d been hankering after one of these: who was I to refuse! After an early morning start I picked this up from Bass Direct on Saturday. The guys kindly restrung it with TI Flats and it really is the best Fretless I have owned. It is more special to me than words can adequately convey. Here it is:

I wouldn't worry about the Fender v Squier decal - you need to get the shorts sorted.

Hi Basschatters! Just to let you know that the full line-up and timings for the Main and Masterclass stages are now on the website. We're sorry to see that a few of you are frustrated by the way in which we reveal artists and timings. There are several reasons for this - we're sure you can understand that it is part of our marketing campaign to announce artists one by one rather than in one bunch at the start, but also artists often want to change time slots, artists drop out and are replaced - and we wouldn't want anyone to plan their whole trip around a specific performance only to be told that it's been changed or cancelled closer to the time for reasons that are out of our control. Anyway we hope you're as excited as we are about the show this year - be sure to make use of your 20% off tickets code, we can't wait to see you all there! Best wishes The London Bass Guitar Show team

Two important things to remember. 1. Probably the most important factor in getting Mani's bass tone is being Mani. 2. The reason why his tone is so good is not the tone in itself (if you heard it on its own in one of those isolated bass tracks you'd most likely wonder what all the fuss was about), but the way it fits into the overall soundscape of the other instruments. So unless you are playing in a Stone Roses tribute band where the other band members had completely nailed the sounds of the people they are copying, you'll find that you are going to have to alter the sound to fit with what the other members of your band are doing to make the bass sound right.

I bought a super compact. Loved it so much I bought a second. Like dating Salma Hayek and finding out she has a twin sister.

Done!

@Osiris - The G55 comes in at under 3ms latency. I seem to recall that the specs are <2.9ms. So certainly up there with pro level wireless analogue to analogue. (ULXD for example, is 2.9ms) - so you have nothing to worry about on that front. Funnily enough, even on small stages I tend to use wireless just so that I have no cables under my feet. Use it - there's certainly no reason in your setup why you shouldn't. If you were telling me you were running a Smooth Hound, I certainly would be urging your edge on the side of caution as you would be within the realms of trouble with that (in fact, it annoys me that people keep banding around that it has no audible latency and is much better than the line 6 equivalents - when in reality, when using it in an IEM setup, it is useless.) Ha - my setup - yeah, overkill for most - but for me it's the result of somebody who probably cares about IEM monitoring for all gigs a little too much. I've used this setup in front of a few thousand... and a few tens down the local I think as soon as you have experienced a great monitor mix - which no doubt you will with your planned setup - you are reluctant to give it up. For me, the more I have pushed the dual desks and external plugins, the less I want to give it up. It all comes down to the final point - I just want the best monitor mix I can have within reason. My setup is actually pretty quick to set up - it's all racked and ready to go... so no real difference to plugging in just one desk! But yeah, people are probably going to be satisfied with far less! @jrixn1 is right - the 215s will enable you to do a job - but I would urge both of you to try and get into the world of quad drivers. It's the difference between running a single 10 behind you and a four ten. Just far more headroom, control, authority... and bass! I had a brief exchange with @thommydonutsabout driver count. He's just bought some high driver count IEMs - I think he concludes with me, there's a big jump from a single to a quad... and then as you go up in driver count, the returns do diminish... however, some of these 6, 8, 12+ driver count earpieces really are nirvana. Defo worth checking out if you can stomach the cost - but as I say to people, you need to stop seeing your IEMs as headphones but as a replacement for speaker cabs. If you have the FoH doing all your amplification FoH, then see your IEM as Bergantinos (or whatever) for your ears - afterall, they are doing the same job - your personal monitor on stage. Then, the cost makes more sense. Put it like this, I'm yet to see anybody who has invested in the higher end IEMs regret doing so. I think @dood and @tonyf would agree wholeheartedly with me. And both of them have been through some serious rigs. Ask them which rig has been their fave - their 64 V8s... or their cabs. I don't know if you are about to come to LBGS or Bingley Hall at the weekend but hunt me down and I'll get some top end stuff in your ears if you want to hear the difference.

Pet hate of mine. I am ALWAYS on time. The only way I have ever been late for something is if my extra contingency travelling time is used up by extreme traffic conditions, and I generally allow enough time for that not to be a problem. The way I see it, if someone is always late they can just as easily always be on time. It believe it to be arrogant and disrespectful to make others wait 'just because' they are always late.

Rancid's 'Time Bomb' is now in the ska band set. I'm a happy camper :-D

It was the first Vigier I tried as well but, it was a long(ish) time before it became mine. I ended up with a Mike Lull PJ5 and then sold that for 2 US Fender Precision 5 but every time I saw the Vigier I wondered why I hadn't bought it. One morning, seriously, I woke up and thought "that's it, I've got to have it" so, I sold both the Precision's and bought the Vigier. I haven't thought of buying another bass since, no GAS at all. I really have found my home hence the purchase of another Excess 5. It's taken me a long time, taken me on a cool journey of discovery and cost me a lot of money but to be here, has been worth it

I forgot “dancing Queen “with ABBA @4000 thinking on same lines I see

As if by magic... this appeared a few hours ago... I'm sure they didn't film it for me! (But it could be a buying omen...)

Dropping the action lower is also more likely to reveal other setup issues with a bass, such as uneven frets, sub-optimal amount of relief, etc. And how much clank you get will also depend on the tension in the strings (and obviously you playing style). Also - dropping the action by around a full 1mm in one go, if you've been playing with >3mm action before, is quite a lot - so not surprising that it would feel weird. Anyways - you asked for numbers, and insofar as I can tell, only @discreet mentioned any ... so here are a few more (all measured at the 24th fret / whatever is the last fret on a particular bass) I recall that Warwick's setup video specified their "standard" (= as delivered from the factory) action as 2mm on the hi-G, and 2.5mm on the low-E. I find that a useful "reference point for medium action". When the guys at Freedom CGR were doing no one of my basses, and asked what action I liked, I said "pretty low"... it came back with a bit under 1.25mm on the high-G, and around 1.75mm on low-B. Played beautifully with minimal buzz (which couldn't be heard amplified). So that would be my reference point for "rather low". Over a few weeks, I couldn't get my touch quite light enough for that action to feel natural on the high strings, so raised it a bit to 1.5mm/bit-above-1.75 on hiG/lowB - i'd still consider that "low action". Conversely, anything above 2.5mm on the high-G i'd consider "high-ish", and >3mm as "high". No idea whether these numbers for low/med/high would be shared by everyone, but it seems to match up well with what i've seen at my local bass shops (in Tokyo).

Here's some proper photos of the show and that... https://www.sundayforsammy.org/2018-photo-gallery

Thanks for all the kind comment chaps. You’re a lovely bunch xx

Mentioned on here before - Rick Wakeman famously ate a full Indian meal. "It was 1973 and we had released Tales from Topographic Oceans, which I didn't particularly like. The third piece in the show was a particularly long percussive piece and I didn't have much to do. Now, I used to have this roadie that worked for me, he would lie underneath my keyboard ostensibly to fix things, but mostly he would just mix me drinks and pass them up. So on this occasion he asks me if there's anything I need, but I heard it as him asking what I felt like doing after the show. I just replied 'oh, I'll probably go for a curry' and then he asked me what I would have so I started naming various menu items, 'onion bhaji', you know...and then, 20 minutes later there is this smell. Of course you know that curry is a smell that wafts, you detect it. And he's standing there under the keyboard rig with these bags of takeaway curry." The story, a classic pull-the-other-one, is "absolutely true". And Wakeman says he proceeded to "lay out the meal across my keyboards to have some." If you are thinking Spinal Tap right now, remember this is 10 years before that film. And Wakeman chuckles as he adds the coda, "I've probably been offered curry at gigs a couple of dozen times since, I don't have it on stage, but I'll arrive backstage to find that someone's sent a takeaway curry to me, or it's been ordered, or there's a takeout menu there. It's nice. It's funny.

Of course mate, especially in the jazz venues ;-)

My god that is nice. Just got one of my basses back from Martin a couple of days ago after having some repairs and mods done. He’s a fine craftsman and a gent to boot!

Swing from Gentlemen Wear Polaroids by Japan...

As an aside, I know there’s a bit of badmouthing of their guitars, and they recently shut down their Memphis factory. I spent a portion of today tracking some parts with this (the pic is from the day he bought it) - I can only begin to express what a special guitar it is. Another close friend has a 1966 ES-330, and this feels as alive in the hand. I’ve played some corking CS Les Paul’s too - but some dogs too. They can make great guitars. Let’s hope there’s someone waiting to take over the guitar making and let Henry drown himself in Electronics companies he doesn’t know enough about to get right.

I agree that Trace need to make a lighter model - unfortunately IMO the Elf is not the natural successor to the vintage gear. My Genz Benz didn't even come close to the vintage TE tone. Now history...

Not from me, I hasten to add! :-D

Did you bite the bullet @TRBboy? I'm thinking about grabbing a 735a.

just take the shine off with some wirewool , or the green/rough side of a pan scourer .

We now impose fines for lateness as it was really pissing me off too. The amount of times someone would say, "Be at the venue at 5". I'm there for 5, but the rest show up between 5 and half past. I'd have no problem arriving at 5.30, just let me know so i could've stayed in the house! So it's £1 for every minute late. Sounds a bit harsh, but we started it as our bands New Year resolution and no-one has been late since.

Just to be clear, I actually decided on ABBA, Stevie & Kate because I adore them as artists and they have all written and recorded many of my absolute favourite songs of all time. Stevie and Kate are arguably my all-time favourite solo artists, as well as Stevie being in one of my all-time favourite bands. ABBA are certainly in my top 2 or 3 bands of all time - and may be at the top - hence the choice. The fact that Stevie, Kate, Agnetha and Frida all happen to be fairly easy on the eye is just a lucky bonus.

Welcome into the light Monsieur Krow!!

What is REALLY bothering me is that I'm very likely trading my Warwick (for an Ibby 5 fretless) and as part of another trade getting a Spector this weekend (busy gear weekend in the Krow household!). All part of this year's ill conceived 'one-in one-out' policy that for some reason I seem to have got religion about. One very valid way of considering the net result is that my rather lovely Warwick $$ 5 string will have become a Spector 4 string (albeit hopefully also lovely!) That means I can no longer wind up monsieur Le Greek anymore, with good conscience, when he is being derogatory about Warwicks and now start having to take his side on such matters. Ugh! The whole thing somehow feels very tawdry to me

When I first got my Spector Euro4 I played it until the sun came up. No other bass has had this effect on me. There's something about a Spector that is just very, very right somehow and the sounds they can produce are unique, yet universal. I still regret selling mine and when I can afford to buy another, I will! Every Spector I've played has been special, even the so-called 'budget' range is quality.

Barnes & Mullins. They'll be at the London Bass Show in a couple of weeks time....

I have to say I have a bit of a soft spot for the Firebird X. Also I guarantee you that some time in the next 20 years there will be a big-name guitarist who uses one of these as their instrument of choice, causing the price of the few remaining examples to go through the roof, and whoever owns the Gibson brand at that point to hurriedly bring out a re-issue that incorporates none of the important features, and only just about gets the shape right.

Have to say WoT you look very relaxed in any of the pics. Is that a true reflection or are you hiding it well No matter its still kool. Dave

Whether or not I watch TV when on stage depends on the match. For some reason, there has recently been a run of particularly entertaining Arsenal games, leading to major distractions. We played a pub on a golf course before Xmas. As we walked on stage to start tuning up, they went 1-0 down. Halfway through our opening number they went 2-0 down. As we started our second number they clawed one back for 2-1. As we finished the third number they equalised.

I couldn't get on with my Euro 4 , small hands and a deeper 'spine' to the neck.....however , my legend 4 is sweet, really sweet . I could never find a Spector Shorty I could afford ......however , the Shorty Bantam is making an appearance at the LBGS and is cheaper new than US used , so I am taking my credit card

MIM Fender IS real Fender... A long time ago they used cheaper ceramic pickups but these days I believe they use alnico like the US Fenders? If so, no idea when they changed but you would be able to tell from a photo. Whether they would be any better than your stock pickups is a gamble though. Personally I'd only get them if they were dirt cheap, otherwise I'd be more inclined to get something more specialist, DiMarzio, EMG, Seymour Duncan etc.

Having owned both, I'd say it makes an even better P sound than the TRB5P . The combination of the stacked humbuckers and the pre-amp gives you any tone you want. Just because it looks like a Jazz, doesn't mean it is one.

Crikey has no one here been to an Irish music night? By the second set the band and the audience are so whizzed no one really knows what's happening, most of the audience end up playing something and possibly for the first time ever, lots of fun.

I personally really rate the compressors on the Zoom B3 and MS-60B, and think they are among their strongest features. My personal fave for subtle compression and tonal fattening is the M-Comp model. No significant tonal colouration and it works really great with in the band mix. I've played through a couple of dedicated stomp box compressors that didn't perform half as well as the M-Comp model, IMO, IME etc. The Dyna comp model also sounds great to me and I love the squishy tone from the optical comp model (can't remember what it's called now ). I've had good results with the other models too, the only one that I wasn't too keen on was the Dual-Comp model as it had a massive mid-scoop. It might work well for slap stuff but like you, that's not something I really do either.

Worth noting that Bobby Vega is actually appearing in the SBL workshop too: http://www.londonbassguitarshow.com/features/bass-workshop-with-scotts-bass-lessons Looks like just on the Saturday for SBL Henrik Linder exclusively on the Sunday though (again in the SBL Workshop). Si

I still have a AH150 head - still plenty loud enough for most situations. These are TE watts FFS!!!

Oof, rough day? The CTM 15 was never intentially marketed as an ‘all valve’ amp if we are abiding by the strictest definition, it is however a valve amp with valves in the pre amp and of course the lovely EL 84 power section which is where the majority of the tonal goodness comes from anyway. If some where stated it as ‘All Valve’ or if even we(Mark talks... a lot...) said it was then we apologise as that was never the intention. It is however a great amp with valves in that sounds like a great amp with valves in.... Please feel free to call in if you are ever Essex way as it would seem we owe you a hug and we also have top notch coffee. ps the new Stubby CTM 30 is ‘ALL VALVE’ ;-)

Bass heaven: Listening to a great bass player Bass hell: Listening to me try and play the bass

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1490792418' post='3268022'] I know a fair bit of theory, but I don't know what it is I don't know. As for the rest, yes I guess that's what I want to learn. I'm an analytical person when it comes to a lot of things. I'm an engineer by trade. So, I guess that is what I want to learn. I guess what I need is a good chat with a good teacher to discuss the next stage. [i]IME as soon as I say "I'm not in a band" most tutors are dead in the water.[/i] [/quote] Any teacher worth their salt would have no problem with this. Plenty of my students have no aspiration to play in a band. Not inclined or simply wouldn't have the time to devote to it. They get the same 110% from me every lesson.

Step 14. Adjust the action. You should find that the action has been lowered by putting the neck shim in place - the strings will probably rattle on the frets. You can now raise the bridge saddles to get the action you want. Job done.