Leaderboard

I’ve used UPS a lot, know the driver like an old friend. Then a couple of weeks ago the Mrs wanted to ship some stuff and I recommended UPS. No one came.Went via ParcelForcetwo days later. UPS tantric sex: you stay in all day, no one comes.

The trick about writing good lyrics Is to just use your sense of empirics When you come to use 'Orange' You'll just have to write 'Sporange' You'll have everyone in hysterics.

'Just pick phrases you like from other peoples songs and stick them together without a thought for logic, grammar or copyright.' (Noel Gallagher, 1994 - Probably)

fixed.

Now that's worth repairing

I know, i was lucky to get a piece that nice! although hopefully enough of that lovely figure will show through the inlays. the thinking is that the dark "cloud" pieces are supposed to look like the breaks in the clouds during a thunderstorm, so the ziricote is as much a part of the overall scene as the pearly bits. sort of like how lightning illuminates the clouds as it passes through: whether or not it works out that way remains to be seen... okay so exciting times are coming... THE INLAYS ARE CARVED OUT!..... but not in yet. most of the rest went fairly smoothly... again apart from those bits of lightning. next time i do an inlay... no lightning. annoyingly, by the time id finished doing all the waves, i'd got fairly good at it. no doubt by the time i come to do the next bass i will have forgotten all of this. for any of you interested what a fretboard looks like before the inlays actually get glued in, and what inalys look like not in the fretboard: you can probably see to the far left of the first picture a little black square in the first wave, turns out i went a tiny bit too deep there, so thats a little square of ebony veneer that covers up my mistake. in the end, i separated the large cloud pieces either side of the lightning and did them separately, it was just easier that way to get it to all line up nicely. you can probably also see on that picture the two bottles of CA glue poised and ready... well that picture was taken pretty late, and the missus told me to tidy the kitchen and go to bed. so you'll have to wait for the big reveal once theyre all glued in. you can also see on the second picture the headstock with the tuner holes plugged and the sides cut off. im going to glue some new maple wings on tomorrow to accomodate the new headstock design. for now... heres the fretboard with the inalys just laid in place: they all lie within a couple of tenths from flush, so they should all look very nice glued in and sanded back. the only real concern is the black MOP clouds... black mother of pearl isn't the most consistent, and so sanding back even a few tenths of a mm can really change the shades that show through. im hoping this won't be a big issue, but i really like the clouds nice and dark so hopefully they don't lighten up too much once sanded and polished.

I would imagine there is no empirical answer to this as everyone is going to have a different left hand. For me, finding my optimum neck was simply as case of play as many basses as you can, usually bought and sold on at a huge loss, until you discover what it is about the bass neck you like. It could be the cross section as you have illustrated. It could be the width of the neck at the nut. It could be how close together the strings are. All in conjunction with how far apart the strings are at the bridge. But I found I had to live with a bass for some time before making a firm decision on it - just trying one in a shop didn't help. For years I was convinced I preferred narrow necked basses and anything more than 40mm at the nut was a struggle. Then necessity forced me to play 5 string basses - much wider than 40mm - and discovered that the width of the neck had nothing to do with it, string spacing was the key factor. It just so happened that narrow necks had tight string spacing. So I can happily play my 5er with a 45mm wide neck but still struggle with a 43mm wide 4 string P bass. Actually struggle is the wrong word - just feels less comfortable.

I will continue uploading this kind of videos, so keep in tune. Please SHARE the video, it helps a lot. SUBSCRIBE to help to widen the love for bass guitar, and also to encourage me to make more content.

Jack wins on avatar alone.

Oh dear, look how the simple things in lyric writing have changed. Once upon a time, you just needed to wake up in the morning.

Doesn't matter whether you're a novelist or a songwriter, you always start with vaguely autobiographical stuff. This is a bit like singing and playing bass at the same time. Get the bassline sorted first, then worry about singing. Write about what you know until you're comfortable with writing. Once you're happy with the writing bit, engage your imagination and make things up.

DPD deliver Shalla's food - they email me to tell me when it's due and who the driver is. Last week there was a problem with their system so delivery was "cancelled" - rescheduled for the following say - only to arrive two hours later. They went the extra mile despite tech problems...thinking about it now, I should have added something to the "Daily awesomeness" thread but was busy photographing an amp which I'd sold...old age...I forgot.

Only your hands can do this. No body else can. All you can do is play as many as you can and see what feels comfy and doesn't get in the way of how you play. I play 5 strings mostly. I know that a 48mm nut is too wide for me, and that rules out a lot of instruments. 44.5mm is a narrow 5 like on a Stingray 5 and I like that a lot. The feel of my 45mm nut bass is hugely different to my Ray even though there is only 0.5m difference. The neck profile is very different and the bridge spacing is larger meaning the strings splay out more as I play up the neck. The Ray is quite chunky in the hand and the Marleaux is much thinner, front to back. If the Marleaux was as chunky as the Ray I don't think I would like it - but it's slim and easy to play, just in a different way to the Stingray. Get to a good shop and try as much as you can!

The EVO IV head is fantastic. Just take time to work out what each slider does and itll be fantastic. People seem to love them with Barefaced cabs. However, having owned a SC g3 - and i loved it, if i was to buy again I would be a super twin - especially if you are after the sounds you previously had from a 4x10 & 1x15 cab set up. Replacing it with a single 12 falls short when loud. Choice of cab for me now is a markbass 610 for big gigs, and i picked up an ashdown RM212 (2x12) for ridiculously cheap money for smaller gigs. The 212 is pretty heavy for what it is though - seems heavier than an Ashdown compact 210.

I prefer the original recordings. The remixes and remasters make the songs sound like they were recorded now, so for me they lose a bit of character.

Big Beatles fan and I have no interest in re mixes. The original recording of almost any music is a snapshot of a moment in time, an era. I have no problem with the original recordings of any of the Beatles albums. The ones recorded in Mono still sound better in Mono than the faux stereo versions.

In my experience the science has little to do with what feels right. I have relatively small hands but I find the wide flat neck on my 83 P the most naturally comfortable to play. I do usually end up playing a thin jazz neck though just because it’s hard to play fast stuff on the P, but I never feel ‘at home’ on a J neck as much as on the P. I don’t actually think there’s much science behind it, it’s just about feel. Gut feeling will probably be your best guide, just go back and play them a few times if you’re unsure.

How bizarre - I just listened to them both and reached exactly the opposite conclusion! On the Woolley version, that guitar sound and the signature lick he plays at the end of each phrase are totally late 70s ... that sound and that lick were everywhere in the music of the time, and to me that version sounds really dated. On t'other hand, the Buggles version was uber-modern in 1979 partly because there was no guitar at all, and it still sounds strong today.

I’m personally of the opinion that we're too reliant on cars. What London is doing is ultimately good, Birmingham are introducing charging in the near future too. I’d rather not breath air that’s polluted by car and lorry exhaust fumes. If you play in a band and absolutely need to drive to a gig to carry your equipment then car share, organise amongst yourselves so you’re travelling in the minimum number of vehicles. I’m no doubt going to get a lot of dislikes for this, but we simply can’t carry on as we are, gridlocked roads and pollution, it’s unsustainable.

If stuck for inspiration try writing about everyday characters you see around you. That lonely busker with the weathered guitar. He had a career but it didn't go far. His worldly possessions in a bag by his side. His previous life washed away like the tide. His family still love him but he'll never return. He's doing alright, he's got eight quid to burn. What you think he's lacking won't ever get him down. He's the Lord of his manor, the King of his town. Blah, blah, etc, etc. Pick an interesting person, couple, group and make up their story. It stops it feeling too personal when singing to others. It worked for the Kinks. 😊

An unsolicited photo of my BB 😍

If it gets to a "sensible" price before the last few hours it can scare off those looking for a bargain in the last few seconds.

I think it's better not to have any preference for neck profile. Tell yourself you don't care and can play any profile and it will be true.

You need a bigger bed

Thanks for the respose mybass. It is a cheap Revelation RJT60-B which is a 3 pickup jazzmaster style bass with nice but generic soapbar pickups. Yes, my idea is to definitely run pickups separately to each amp from their own jack (or a single stereo jack) but I wanted see if there was a way to take (or dramatically) reduce the higher string sound from going to the bass amp and vice versa to the guitar amp, a bit like a hard limiter, hence the thought of removing poles or maybe covering them to render them less effective? I don't mind ruining the pickups if it came to it as they are a cheapish replacement and I would change the Entwhistle ones for Duncans or Bare Knuckle or similar (but there is no actaul need as it stands so if there is a non destroying option then I would be very happy!!).

That would be your rock, pop AND country sorted in one go!

I just bought Andy's Guild B30 acoustic bass... very well packed and a gent to deal with

My tinnitus has been pretty constant over the last 20 years or so, ever since I first realised I had it (I put some earplugs in for the first time ever and realised that the whistle I thought was coming from the telly was inside my head). Since then, I've worn earplugs every time I've ridden the bike, but not for rehearsals or gigs with any bands. I only notice it when someone mentions tinnitus, in fact. Bah.

Many thanks, wish I could do more I'm just Santa's Mr. Park's little helper at Moollon (he works 100% solo), but nonetheless it's been great to be a part of the operation the for past 12 years or so.

I’d have to make an attempt to kill Albarn if I found myself that close no jury would convict me

To my eyes the Bugera bears more of a similarity to one of these than the Streamliner.

Lefty on gumtree... Wishful thinking on price! https://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/left-handed-fender-bass/1318793773 "Open to offers over £1,000" I bet you are!!

When did we start posting private correspondence in the Status column? Oh well, here goes... Derek. I don't need the adult diapers now until Friday. Thanks.

I hated these when I was younger, but they've definitely grown on me.

Welcome Mihran.

I bought a set of pickups, for £40, from a guy that had taken out of a Road Worn Jazz. I put them into a MIJ Jazz I have and they have a really nice deep, dark, warm sound to them, that I really like. I constantly get compliments about my sound, from other bass players, when I play that bass. Recently I bought myself a Road worn Jazz and the bass sounds very similar. If you can find a set of pickups from a Road Worn bass, I recommend them. They have a really nice vintage sound.

http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/MARUSZCZYK_Jake_4P_55_Basement_Butterscotch.html

Fantastic set of pics

Another plus one for Ashdown customer service. They aren't afraid of a ringing telephone either. I think the ABM is a reasonable substitute for an all-valve amp. Doesn't get you there exactly - but set the valve drive at the sweet spot and go.

Collection only

Don't underestimate the importance of correct nutrition when it comes to putting in a top notch musical performance. A dozen pickled eggs washed down with three pints of guiness is my personal recipe for musical success, but don't forget the cork - unfortunately being held in the Hague on charges of illegal use of biological weapons on civilians is somewhat hampering my availability for gigs at the moment.

I lost faith in couriers earlier in the year when then cracked my SC3. What annoys me more is now they charge you to do a job - pick up and deliver a parcel in the same condition as it was picked up - a job any of us could do, but if they dont manage to do that job - either by non delivery or arriving damaged - you dont get anything back unless you have paid extra to insure it!! and then theres a million caviates to try and stop a pay out. In what other job are you allowed not to do what youve been paid for and then only allow rectification in the form of compensation by the client having to take out their own insurance policy against you not doing your job??!! drives me crazy.

...and I've just played Streets of London with Ralph McTell. Just him, me, and a choir. It was gorgeous.