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I'm happy to give our Canadian friend a free hours tour of London in my cab. Just PM me and hopefully we can sort it out a convenient time.

I just thought I’d share my recent experiences of what I found to be great customer service from Strings & Things / Ernie Ball. #1 A couple of months back I realised that the deep scratch on the neck plate of my Sterling 4HH was in fact a crack. After scanning these hallowed pages for advice, I found that others had experienced this issue and had successfully obtained replacement plates from Strings & Things. I sent an email to S&T and promptly received a response explaining the process, the reasonable cost (£17 posted) and the fact that because I’d missed that month’s order it would probably take a month or two. Fast forward to this week, a shiny new plate arrived stamped with a new ‘F’ prefixed serial number. On receipt of my old cracked plate Ernie Ball will alter their records, listing the new serial number against my bass. #2 I recently purchased a rather lovely Stingray Special. In the case candy was a card inviting me to register my purchase, which I duly did. Again, fast forward to this week and out of the blue I receive a letter thanking me for registering my new instrument accompanied by a 25ft Ernie Ball instrument cable! Some might say that after spending a not insignificant amount of dosh on a bass, that was the least they could do. But the point is that it was completely unexpected and therefore over and above my expectations. Top marks to them on both counts from me. I’m sure many of us experience shocking service everyday so it warms the cockles to see that good customer service is still alive and well. Keep it up guys. 👍

I concur. It took until year 4 before Mrs B didn’t pick up the nearest knife when I got in from work thinking I was a burglar...

What do audiences really want from the bass player? Newsnight asked 1000 regular gig-goers and here are their top 5 responses: Don't wear those pork-pie hats like that bloke out of Breaking Bad, the one that gets ill and turns into a drug dealer. They look good on him but they look sh*t on you Please don't play a bass solo unless its going to last long enough for me to go and siphon the python or have a smoke outside. About 5 minutes should do it. Bye. That thing you guys do when you turn round and accidentally smash the singer in the face with the sticky-out end of your big guitar is really funny. Keep doing that. Don't keep trying to look like you're having a good time. It's creepy and it's not believable. Bass players should just be themselves and look glum and / or irritable Whenever we ask to 'have a go' on your big guitar don't keep saying 'Only if I can have a go on your wife'. She'd never shag you in a month of Sundays.

My singer and I went out to try and scope out a new fiddle player a few years back. In a local folk bar he bumped into a friend and a regular at our gigs. “You’ll know Gav!” he says to her. “Naw don’t recognise him. Where would I know him from?” she replied. Gav! He’s been our bass player for two years. I knew I was doing something right and haven’t looked back since.

Spotify, Deezer, iTunes, Google, all a means to an end really. I've paid through the teeth for albums with two decent tracks and ten of fill for longer than I can recall, haemorrhaging money on vinyl, CDs, cassettes, gigs, merchandise, DVDs and Blurays and honestly I don't give a rats donkey that I'm only forking over a tenner a month for music now rather than hundreds. I still buy music in a tangible format...there'll always be shelf space for a few bands, but beyond that, nah. All these services are offering amaxing content in every genre; it's a brilliant thing. The world has moved on and its not about a musical landscape any more; it's not about ownership of content (unless you're from Shoreditch). The big money is in touring and merchandise. There's very little to be had from music itself now.

It’s great to see so many bass players on here having enough common sense and humility to realise that (from a punters perspective) exactly what equipment they are using is generally of no importance or interest. However, I think almost all bass players would also agree that when you manage to get ‘that’ perfect sound (whatever that is in your opinion) – then your playing immediately jumps up several notches, and the pleasure of experiencing all that wonderful bassy goodness at the ends of your fingers makes it all so worthwhile.

A little while back, you may recall, I became the rather proud owner of a Shuker Uberhorn Fretless 4 (Serial 001) Well, its a superb bass. It's build quality is exquisite, it looks utterly incredible, and it plays like no bass I've ever played before (even with my hamfisted attempts at fretless I know it's something special). Here it is on arrival: Well (and it's a bit of a Jackanory this, so get a comfy chair and a coffee..) I was never really happy with the electrics side of things. Firstly, the under-board mag Jazz pickup was single coil, and noisy - so that got swapped out for a Nordstrand. Then, I noticed that it was running an EMG gain boost which was as noisy as anything, and ripped that out. Then, things went properly south. An odd noise developed from the piezo preamp, which eventually became a not so odd noise, and eventually no noise at all. Investigation revealed two things - the ghost acoustiphonic preamp had died, and the summing board for the ghost piezo saddles had effectively eaten itself. I tried many a re-solder and extra bit of dabbling before ripping the whole lot out in a fit of Uber-rage. It was just mightily frustrating that I had a bass which looked amazing, played so damn well, but was completely let down by an electronics package that wasn't doing it justice, and if I'm honest, was past it's best at 10 years old. Now, to be fair to Jon, it was top drawer stuff when built, and it's lasted really well. However, my big problem and frustration was finding a suitable replacement - the options were limited at best, and in reality pretty much nowt at all. Number one option was looking like a new ghost board and replacement preamp. Ugh. I'll be honest - I don't like the ghost board. It requires you plug any mag pickups into it and forces you to separate it all out. It's messy and it just isn't very logical. After some ruminating, kicking chairs and generally feeling rather miserable about the whole thing, in a fit of last ditch desperation I emailed John East and simply said "Can you do anything that might get this up and running again?" Of course he could. In fact, he said there were options aplenty and I can pretty much have what I want. Sounded spendy - but it really wasn't. John East is a legend of a man. Apart from being a genius, he is polite, enthusiastic and utterly pleasurable to deal with. I'll say it now in case I forget - if you are thinking of upgrading any electronics, go to him first. He will sort you out. His kit is absolutely the best and it's just so easy to install. Anyway, we discussed options and I came up with my preferred configuration. John spent a bit of time ruminating, then came back with a "yep - all possible". So he built it, I paid for it, and he shipped it. It came this morning: I decided to ditch the frankly terrible ghost summing board and soldered them all together to two wires - a hot and a ground. That gave me this: John's stuff is just so neat and easy to install. Given how much gubbins there is in this bass now (like about twice the amount there was) it's a miraculously tidy install: And now I have a bunch of new knobs and a lot more stacked ones than before! So what configuration did I go for? Well.. - The Piezo goes into John's own Piezo Preamp/Mixer which allows you to set gain and sets the right impedance etc, as well as allowing you to have a piezo treble roll off to get rid of any quack. Nice. - The output from this goes into the Uni Pre 4 - the Mag pickup and Piezo output go into the volume board and allow volume, blend, individual balancing gain for each pickup, and a bunch of other tuning options - There rest is a standard Uni Pre 4 except for the passive tone, which is also now a piezo treble roll off when active, and I have a mute switch added. So the knobs are now: 1. Volume/Blend 2. Passive Tone/Active Piezo Treble Roll Off 3. Mid/Mid Freq Sweep 4. Treble/Bass and the two switches are: 1. Active/Passive 2. Mute The real difference (apart from the quality) is the fact that both piezo and mag feed into John's preamp so no matter what the blend I can get the most out of the piezo and set mids, treble, bass, treble roll off etc. as well as have full control over the mag just the same. I also get a passive mode which means I can use it passively and run a booster pedal on a board for more oomph. The Nordstrand sounds like it should now. The Piezo is just so different - far more full spectrum and far far more tonal possibility - from clanky spiky almost acoustic to a proper dull thumpy double bass sound. The Nordstrand gets me mids till my eyes bleed as well as that traditional Jazz type of sound. Blend them together and it's like a Jazz with a whopping great low down thump from a double bass all in one. It now actually sounds like it looks. It sounds like it plays. It sounds flipping great and though I thought it sounded really rather good before despite the niggles, I had no idea it would open out like this.

https://www.joinmyband.co.uk/classifieds/guitarists-stop-being-minimill-an-learn-bass-t1113881.html

Hello All Been lurking for far too long - so I thought it was time to sign up. I honestly don't know why I've not signed up before now! Anyhoo, just here to say hi and tell you a bit about myself and setup. My name is Bryn (sometimes aka Extoad). I've been learning to play bass guitar for 44 years. I've been a pro for a number of years earlier on but since mostly what you might describe as 'semi pro' ie covers bands for private parties, weddings, corporates etc whilst working as a teacher to feed my babies. I have very recently acquired a Barefaced Big Twin 2 driven by a tiny TE Elf shaped with an EBS MicroBass DI box. Seems to work beautifully for now at least. I use a Stingray from time to time but the workhorse is my trusty Fender Jazz, and occasionally I remember I have a Lakland. Since buying the BT2 I've rediscovered both basses as they sound entirely different though the new cab, so now it's time to wheel out all the other basses to see what they've been hiding from me. Because of my new love affair I've got a shed load of gear to dispose of, but first, some of it needs upgrading / refurbishing, and I'm hoping to get some advice from members re obtaining spare parts and logistics. It's very good quality gear (Mark Bass, Trace Elliot, some speakers - Sica and Eminence) and if anyone's interested I'd be more than happy to offer first dibs before putting it on general sites such as Ebay or Gumtree etc. Thanks for reading - I sincerely hope I've not transgressed in any way, and I look forward to exchanging comments with you 🙂 Bryn

So a nice new and shiny Epi T'Bird landed on the doorstep to join the Gibson yesterday and very pleased with it I am too! I'd expected some subtle differences, obviously, but what I hadn't expected was there to be so much similarity between the two. I was dreading a look alike without it sounding anything like but I have to say that within a few minutes of plugging in those fears were blown away - there is a very authentic T'bird snarl from those USA pickups - a very Duff-esque "You Could Be Mine" tone - growly, snarly and with a edge. I've been A/B 'ing it most of the afternoon and the Epi is definitely brighter although I expect that this is due to a large part in fresh lighter strings. It would be a good idea to continue the comparison is a few days when I restring the Gibson. The build quality is very good - no flaws/blemishes - with a very neat and tidy control cavity. The truss rod is free moving (the neck needed a minor tweak but nothing of any great seriousness) and the bridge dropping a couple of mm but that was about it. Despite the blurb saying a 7 piece neck I can definitely count 9 laminates as per the Gibson? The vintage sunburst definitely has more of a paduk red to it and is very pleasant on the eye - makes a nice contrast to the true vintage sunburst of the Gibson. A worthy spare and one I'm not going to dread having to reach for in the event of a string break or failure. Anyway - as per the rules, pics or it never happened.

No, good timing. @gary mac has gigs to do. I don't know when he'll be finished, but I go on holiday 20th Oct to 5th November. So how about if you have it after Gary. I'll collect it from you when I get back? I'll have it for a few days and take it to @TrevorR Either that or @tthiggins can make arrangements to get it to Trevor?

Before and after. Both still sound and play great but just look a whole lot better (to my mind anyway) 😁

Strings & Things have been great with any dealings we have had. I bought two white pickup covers for a Stingray and they got held up with a load of basses due to CITES and they kept on top of keeping me informed and letting me know I hadn’t been forgotten. Great bunch over there.

I’ve just received a 25ft Ernie Ball cable too following registration of my new Stingray Special. Even though I don’t need another cable and the cost to Strings and Things is probably very little it’s a really nice touch and I really appreciate the gesture.

I enquired about replacement foam mutes for my 88 stingray. Arrived 2 days later no charge at all!

Why would @Al Krow want to plug his into an old Amstrad Emailer though?!

@Al Krow, HX Stomp literally has your name on it. And they’ve even taken the liberty of drawing the diagram with a Yammy BB plugged in. I smell a conspiracy.

I must admit, I may still offload my lovely Charcoal Sparkle 4H for a 4HH that I originally wanted 😔

All you early adopters must be feeling proper smug with yourselves.

I'm a proper London Black Cabbie and the advice I always give to my passengers is to check out the Time Out website too. It has all the recommendations you need. 4 days isn't a lot of time to do everything, so be selective and pace yourself. Food wise: 1. Proper full English fry up (£6 each roughly). Will last you most of the day. 2. Pie and Mash (tie it in with going to Greenwich). There's a good one on the one way system. Goddards? There's a great comedy club there too called up the creek. If you go on a Sunday, it's cheap too (£7 each) and you can visit the cutty sark, museums, park, etc 3. Fish & Chips. Personally you can't beat eating them by the seaside but that will be an hour away on a train. Go to Brighton and then visit the Barefaced Boys. 4. Borough Market. It's a great place at the weekend for visiting and eating. 5. Curry. Everyone will send you down Brick Lane but there is better elsewhere such as Dishoom, Lahore, etc

The bass player paradox.. Play a load of famous bass lines to your average punter and they will say “oh yeah, I like this one....” Show them pictures of a load of famous bass players and they will say “Never seen them before in my life.. hang on, that one was that dodgy bloke on crimewatch, wasn’t he?”

But I don't work in accounts. Now who's misquoting, eh? And the only thing Freddie and I have in common is the leotard.

Anything where James LaBrie doesn't sing much and before Jordan Rudess joined would be a good start.

Out of interest, how many non cover bands regularly play pubs?? Not many around here...

I've been thinking about the half and half pickup problem I suppose I could try and do it a bit like this and kind of make a feature out if it

I`m going to put this in capital shouty language, to emphasise it: DON`T USE PARCELFORCE, THEIR LIST OF PROHIBITED ITEMS INCLUDES MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS They`ll take your money for insurance, then should something happen to the item it was your fault for not reading their T&Cs.

General public don't notice nuance. They often are unaware of what it is makes them enjoy one band and not another. All the stuff we obsess over is a matter of extreme indifference to your average punter. I ran a live music venue for years and the bands which didn't quite work were invariably those with a substandard drummer. The crowd knew they didn't like what they heard but couldn't tell you why. The bands where drummer and bassist were super tight went down a storm. Don't expect Joe P to give a hoot about your rig (unless it's enormous and has flashing lights) but get into the groove with the monkey behind the kit and he or she will like your band.

IMO audiences want the bassist (or any other member of the band) to look as though they belong in the band. That means being dressed appropriately, having the correct instrument for the band image, and presenting themselves on stage in a way that fits in with the overall band performance. Other than that unless you are horrendously out of tune or out of time they really don't care.

Look up “the knowledge” with regard to London cabbies and then you will understand why this is a fantastic offer.

Yeah the 2 inner poles are OK it's just the 2 outer ones if it's not really going to effect the sound then I'll probably just fit it where it was originally?? I was leaning more towards crushed velvet!! 😁

Very Markbass!

Speechless! All I can do is drool!

I had to read that twice. For a brief mo I thought you were advocating domestic abuse to top @Quatschmacher's earlier proposal of general pimping 🤣

I always find that valve heads and multiple cabs only really sound at their best when they are really given the beans. Or, maybe you’ve just discovered you really like 15” drivers... Or, you just like the baked in tone that the Mag 300 has.. Or, a change is as good as a rest? No idea why I replied either

Easy! A recording machine with one of those pads you stick to your skull, and it records the phantastiblime songs that your brain comes up with and plays inside your head. As this is a good machine, it'll also write down the dots in Sibelius or similar so you can edit them and build upon them. I've wanted this machine since being a child, and I'm 62 now. If someone invents it, I'll pay 350 quid if need be... 😁

I think it depends on stage size Mick, on regular pub-size stages I don`t really notice much difference between my Ashdown RM-500 and ABM-600 (through the same ABM410 cab), but get on a bigger stage and the ABM shows its pedigree. I`ve used a fair few Class D amps on big stages and whilst they were loud enough there wasn`t that pleasing bigness of sound. Now it does bring into question that if an amp is loud enough for the stage, and you have a monitor mix as well, does it need that extra weight to the sound - well no is the honest answer imo, but to the "but do you want that extra weight to the sound" well that answer is yes.

We get equal split of any fees. Reading between the lines though, the gig and my role in the gig is enjoyable. I know my place, I have a goal and I do whatever I can to make the thing a success.

You know what, I'm not entirely sure they would! You're not as important as you thought you were - sorry to demote you like this.

Here are some pictures of my refinished USA Musicman sub. The only critic of these basses is the rather industrial factory finish. And the terrible scratch plate. I had already taken the painted finish off the rear of the neck and applied a linseed oil and final tru oil satin finish. And I bought a used scratch plate Thankfully I have full use of my cousins car body garage, with a proper oven spray booth . I did the initial sanding, which I fully stripped off. And very kindly he did the final spraying. He has a colour mixing thing that has thousands of colours available. I choose a suitable red, I didn't want to go too fancy, flake finishes and candy colours are available but not my thing. Just to point out the red is darker than in most of the pictures. With original industrial body finish. The new plate and oiled neck already made a big improvement. Mid stripping of the finish. Was very tough on the front. I had to use an 80 grit on the dual action sander. Even then it wasn't easy going. The sides and back were not as bad. The front would of been extremely difficult by hand. After first coat of primer. It got two coats in all then sanded to level it. Just after painting. And here it is all built and set up. I think it looks really good. It plays excellently, while the paint was hardening I levelled the frets, recrowned and polished them like a mirror. Middle up close picture, is a true representation of the colour. The finish I asked to kept as thin as possible, but still being resistant and getting a good colour. The tone has changed very slightly, and i swear to me the strings move subtly more (I re used the same strings and same exact setup specs). I don't know if it was the refinish as it was very thick originally and now much thinner. Or the fret job, because I often notice with both mine and customers instruments, that sometimes a good fret job can make an instrument not only play and feel better but they seem to sound subtly better. Next up is to lacquer the headstock. Like they do on the "full fat" ones. I almost was going to refinish and colour code the headstock and apply a decal, but wanted to keep some originality. Even though it says sub bass, which those not in the know might confuse with the Sterling brand china/Indonesia made ones. I'm very happy!

Is this why you have loads of ACG basses, because you live in the same vast forested bit of Scotland? (You do have a few don't you?) Jiggery and pokery is the backbone of bespoke ingenuity.

Little photoshoot with my thumb...

Plug the gaps. Metal flake red. Job done.

I will finish this thread off properly but I've been in a mad rush this week!! I was up until 1am on Saturday morning and up again at 7am to try to get this bass ready for the SE Bass Bash but I didn't quite complete everything, I need to finish off the control cavity cover, finish spraying the neck, level the frets and remove any sharp ends. That was the negative but on the plus side I did finish it sufficiently to have a playable instrument. I didn't get chance to try it before the bash but when I plugged it in I was very pleased!! Got some very positive comments at the bash too so doubly pleased! Here's some photos as it stands. It will be a few weeks before I get a chance to finish this properly and take some proper photos as have to get my kitchen operational again as it is currently in pieces!!

Cheers for the link mate, found a site where someone has uploaded scanned in pages to it, looks good!