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I had the pleasure of opening for Lindisfarne last night and what a nice bunch they were! The bass player Ian Thompson was particularly chatty and was intrigued by my bitsa tele bass. He was playing an Epiphone EB3 with a £10 chinese soap bar pickup in the bridge. We talked about the various spare parts we had that may turn into something ebay permitting and our mutual love of Entwistle pickups. They aren't a band I've paid too much attention to in the past but we stayed and enjoyed the show and popped back stage after to say goodbye. They seemed genuinely pleased that we'd stayed (despite 400 others in the audience) . I am pleased to report that they are a thoroughly nice bunch, my faith in humanity is in part restored.

Putting a cork in this one. Turned out the 10 string spread was a bridge too far for the ThunderBuckers, which after all were designed for five strings maximum. I put it aside to ponder and took a long vacation to California. Upon return I got a set of Aguilar G3 40 series which do the job very well. Slight routing /touchup was necessary and it's gone to the happy customer.

For the fretting, I am going to try a different way of trying to avoid the possibility of scratchy fret-ends. It's going to be a bound fretboard but this time, I'm going to add the binding after finishing the fret ends. I must start a thread for us builders to compare how we do fret ends! It's not generally one of the greatest features of my builds! First, the frets were installed using my normal method of 'tiny bead of titebond, hammer in, clamp a radius block on top' method. The frets were tang nipped before fitting: Then I trimmed the edges to an overhang around the thickness of the binding: Next was filing down the fret ends on my levelling beam until they were about 0.5mm shorter than the binding and chamfering them. Then I rounded the fret ends with a diamond crowning file: So the theory - if I've got it right - is that the fret ends will not only already have the sharp edges removed but, once the binding is fitted, will be separated from the players hand by a touch under 0.5mm of (rolled, eventually) binding. It's different to the Gibson technique but hopefully will have a similar result:

Probably not related but when I'd just left school (back in the 80s) me and a drummer were trying to get a trio going for pub gigs and such and decided to interview some guitarist / singers. We decided to do this in my front room rather than splashing out on a rehearsal studio (we were skint at the time, having just left school). Anyway, this fella turns up, nice enough bloke with his missus in tow. Me and him are discussing the set list during which time the drummer farted. Now I dunno about you, but I've got a real toilet sense of humour and this just happened to give me the giggles. It wasn't a rip-roarer, it was one of them ones where when you hear it, you aren't sure if it actually was a fart or a noisy chair. I looked at him, and by the grin he was trying to stifle I knew the b*stard had farted. Anyway, I'm starting get get the giggles now and I can hear him trying to cover up his giggling too. Meanwhile, the bloke and his missus are completely oblivious and he's carrying on talking about the setlist songs and gigs etc. The only thing I can liken it to was the scene from the Life of Brian where he's going on about Biggus Dickus. Eventually, to remove myself from the situation I offer to make teas and run out into the kitchen where the tears are rolling down my face not only at the thought of the drummer farting but of him having to try and sit there conversing with this fella about the band. I'm bent over double laughing my b*llocks off when I turn round and he's stood next to me in the kitchen holding his knackers so as he doesn't wet himself from laughing, tears pouring down his face. We were there for a good 3 or 4 minutes not saying a word, just laughing - at one point I thought I was going to have a coronary. Anyway, we then realise we can't just leave them both in the front room on their own so I say to him that he's got to go back in and keep them entertained, as I'm supposed to be making tea. We then start arguing over who has to go back, in-between long gusts of stifled laughter. He eventually agrees but just before he goes to head back he laughs again and a huge jet of snot shoots out of his nose. That's it for me, I'm on the floor like an immobilised cockroach hardly able to breathe from laughing and he's on his knees, with more tears, snot and dribble coming out of his mouth. Another few minutes and we eventually compose ourselves. The next twenty minutes were hell. I couldn't look at the drummer because I know what'd happen. I dunno what this guitarist and his missus thought but they never came back again. I wonder why.

Went up to Exeter today to have a look at a few basses. Not really getting on with my MIM p bass and as I’m back in a band again I thought I’d have a look around, try a few and see what I like. I was expecting to be coming home with, if anything, an Ibanez SR as I had an SR600 in the last band and quite liked it. Anyway I tried a few out today - Rockbass NT Streamer MIM jazz Aerodyne Jazz ibanez SR500 Mustang PJ And this Ray 34 that was heavily discounted at Project Music. I’d never played a stingray type bass before but always been interested. Once I’d played it I kept coming back to it and nothing else seemed to have as good a combination of playability and tone for me. Pretty versatile tone wise too. Can’t believe the punch, definition and clarity. I absolutely love the neck on this. The notes seem to just flow out of my fingers! ! Very happy and can’t wait to try it out at band practice this week. cant stop playing bullet in the head!

It was written: "Let thee craft thyself thy bass guitar, and let it be given 4 of thy finest strings no more, no less, for anything other than 4 is an abomination, and leads to deviance from the true path of righteousness" 🙏

Haha. well, word’s got out that I’m depping for a mate’s band on 23rd December for a posh hotel gig. So a few people have been in touch. This offer seems a bit more me, so I’m meeting them all next week all being well.

my experience of auditioning singers: Roughly 2/3rds of people who reply to your ad will never have sung in a band before, and at least 2/3rds (not necessarily that same 2/3rds) will not actually be able to sing. X-Factor has a lot to answer for. In itself the lack of experience is not necessarily a bad thing, but I've seen more than a couple of people trying out who could hold a tune when singing along to a CD, but didn't have the skills to sing with a loud, live band. The YouTube point made earlier is a good one. While it doesn't necessarily solve everything, the amount of not very good singers who post stuff is, frankly, amazing, and can be weeded out at that stage rather than having to waste a rehearsal. You may need to be quite direct in letting them down...I did once try a "you're not exactly what we're looking for, it's us not you" reply and got pestered for weeks by the singer who clearly thought he was brilliant and wouldn't take no for an answer. I tend to have a bit of sympathy for those who do not have recordings, just in case they're excellent and simply haven't been in a position to post anything, but you might reasonably take a different view My own preference is to arrange for two or three to come down on the same night. Expect at least one of them to cancel on the day... Allocate them, say, 45 minutes, but tell them they only have half an hour. At least one of them will not be able to sing and you'll be very grateful for the excuse of needing to get them out of the door because somebody else is waiting, but if you manage to find a good one, you can extend things. Pick two or three tracks, make sure they have good copies of any originals and all the lyrics. If it's covers then let them pick from your list, if it's originals, perhaps throw them a cover of two that the band knows which they may be more comfortable with. My preferred method is to play everything at least twice, once to get warmed up, know the structure and hear how the band plays it live. But if a contestant has had the songs for a week or two and can't get the structure, or sings over the guitar solo, then that's a flat No from me. Finally, record everything. One thing I have found is that different band members can "hear" things completely differently, depending on where they are standing, how much they are concentrating on their playing, etc. While a great singer should be obvious, I've been in bands that had serious disagreements about whether more marginal singers were good or bad that were solved by listening back to the recordings.

Guess most of you have seen this, but it's interesting if you haven't

The best effect I use is standing there looking vaguely confident whilst desperately trying to remember what song we are playing.... 🤪

I’ve a p with a single t bird pick up more or less in the classic p position and a tone styler. It’s a cracking sounding bass!

The only time to use bagpipes is when someone has suggested Northumbrian pipes and it's a matter of damage limitation.

Fun gig for our jazz standards quartet on Saturday night, a somewhat rustic old fishing lodge on the shore of Lake Nipissing here in Ontario.We hadn't played there before and didn't know what to expect but it was a lovely big room that is a bar/restaurant and we had lots of room to set up beside a huge fireplace. Unfortunately on Friday night and most of Saturday we had our first real Northern Ontario snowstorm and although the roads were generally in good shape we knew some of our friends and band fans would not want to make a long snowy drive and so we were pleased with the 30-40 folks who showed up. Most would have had about an hour drive on a mix of highways and rural roads so we knew they would be an appreciative crowd. We usually play three sets over three hours and got through our first set and then passed out copies of our playlist (almost 150 songs) as we have done in the past in situations like this and after a couple of songs to start the set we played mostly requests for rest of the sets so the audience is involved and get to hear what they want and we play songs we might not have chosen for a particular gig.Everyone is happy and it keeps us on our toes. Meals supplied, good staff, plans to rebook us soon and an extra $100.00 on top of our usual fee.Everybody wins ! We were in good form and played exceptionally well and had a lot of fun going into our seventh year together.

I had one of these too. Loved the tone and could hear little difference between it and a US Stingray I tried in comparison. I only moved it on because of the weight. Was too heavy for my liking.

Ooh, I’ll take the middle one’s shape, with the top one’s body colour and scatch plate, with the maple neck from the bottom one please!

Reading this thread is such a rollercoaster. I fully expect your next post to be "whoops, I've made a mistake, this isn't going to be a bass any more, it's going to be a little box for keeping snacks in." S.P.

Favourite BTL post: bobblomax 12 Nov 2018 13:27 Guardian Pick I was into Threatin before they sold out.

The Ray34s are very good basses, I had one and a "real" Stingray at the same time and there really wasn`t much difference between them. The Ray34 maybe slightly toppier in sound, but the Stingray was nearly 20 years old so could put that down to older parts etc. But playability wise, nothing in them for me.

You have my deepest sympathy. Lifes not a bed of roses.

I'd say that 4 or 5 months is a short enough time to wait, basically, and get the new formation off to a good start from an equal footing for all, and no acrimony from current members with some understandable reticence. A few 'get-together' evenings to keep the social side of things in place, with an optional jam session or brain-storming in the meantime, and make the new arrivals feel as if they're joining a new, fresh, band from Day One. There's no problems practising without a drummer per se, if everyone is up for it, but if there are doubts, have patience, I'd say. A few months..? Some folks wait years to find the right team, and some never find 'em at all..!

You need @obbm to wire you up an xlr cable of the correct length! It could start a whole “fashion”range for Dave!

Well like I said, I'm a reasonably new player so I don't have a lot of basis for comparison, but I quite like it. The neck is very smooth and comfortable, and the P/J pickup layout makes it pretty versatile. I'd say it's a very nice bass for the price, and a great allrounder for someone who doesn't quite know what they like yet.

Don't believe him! Believe me! You'll regret it...

It all depends on your requirements. A 5 has always made more sense to me than a 4 string, not just because of the extra low notes, more so the positioning thing, especially on reading gigs where you can pretty much stay in one position on the neck and concentrate on the part. A 6 string is fantastic for soloing and chordal stuff; I personally love the chord voicing possibilities that a 6 allows.

I play 4s, 5s & 6s. To me, the biggest technical consideration is simply muting, everything else is comfortable after a couple of hours shedding on the instrument (which I do with all of them regularly). As has been said, if you see your bass as a collection of notes capable of music, the number of strings/frets becomes superfluous info. If you don’t know where the notes are on the neck, and you’re simply playing learned basslines, that’s when swapping between them becomes a slightly harder prospect IMO. Si

I play 4's , only 4's and nothing but the 4's

It obviously worked, but an OBBM cable would have worked better.

Unfortunately it's very easy to 'Like' a band on facebook. Actually going to see them takes more effort.

well things have been progressing slowly but surely... first of all ive sanded down the pickup covers: from this: to this: very pleased with them, i think they'll be a nice touch once verything is nice and finished up! i do need to get some gold pickup screws, as they came with silver ones so they match the rest of the hardware. also, got he headstock plate glued on with some more alaldite (the saviour of the man trying to glue cocobolo to anything): the purpose of the huge cutout for the Truss rod cover is so i can have a flush fitting one made of padauk. I love the look of padauk, but im trying to keep it's inclusion in this build to some subtle highlights here and there. along with the truss rod cover, im going to put a thin sheet in between the back piece of cocbolo and the wenge core of the body, and possibly along the edges of the fretboard as well. its such a bright colour when its finsihed, and although the figure of the cocobolo is pretty striking, all the other woods in this build are a bit more subdued in terms of their colours. speaking of which: the padauk glued to the back of the wenge. at the moment, that is just roughly cut back with a knife and some rough sandpaper, so theres a couple of rough edges where i had to glue some chipped off bits back on. its 1.5mm thick, but splits along the grain so easily. and i cut the pickup holes and neck pocket from the top piece of cocobolo while i was cutting the F hole with a fret saw: couldnt resist dropping the pickups in just to see how they looked, you can see from the picture how much the body wood has darkened since it was cut, against the freshly sanded pickups! and one bit of self indulgance deserves another, once i got home i layed everything on top of eachother together: its just about starting to look like a bass - exciting times! will be moving onto the bigsby at some point this week. the plan is to machine a new string bar with 4 holes spaced to match the schaller 462 roller bridge - about 16.5 mm. then, once the top is glued... itll be time to cut the binding channel (Gulp!!) im a big fan of the "bound on the top, round on the back" look, a bit like the fender aerodyne, so the top and F hole will be bound with a combination of ebony and tulipwood: the colours will give a nice compliment to the cocobolo i think, without being too light. i wanted to keep it all fairly dark for this build. stay tuned!

Individual stacked volume and tone for each string, and left and right buttons that double up as a controller for running in Daley Thompsons Decathlon. Or, I'm buggered if I know 😅

Flick and rotate, I think.

I've just had one of those EEK!!!! moments, sat having a cup of tea when the thought crossed my mind I hadn't made any provision for a jack socket and worse I hadn't even considered it's position Ho hum, if I had a brain I would be dangerous! Parts ordered but I'm on hold again until they come before I can spray, at least I can drill ready for the wire and socket, I will just have to wait for the plates to arrive before I can recess those.

Nobody? Ok - this is coming next week...

You’ve been in the same bands as me and we’ve not noticed each other??!!

For plain binding, I would have given the top a slight chamfer to match the angle of the fret ends and glued it flush to the fret ends and then scraped the excess binding off the bottom of the fretboard. However, because I am using the feature stripes on the binding to give me the demarcation line, I had to do it the other way round. So I clamped the fretboard onto a flat board, then pressed the binding, also flat against the board, against the protruding fret ends. That gave me a line of indentations that I planed off, clamping my trusty block plane upside down in the bench vice and pulling the binding over the blade until it reached the marks: Quick chamfer on the top and then just added glue and clipped it into place under the fret-ends with the clamps to hold it tight. Once I've levelled and crowned the frets, I'll just run a single edged razor blade, scraper style, between each pair of frets to clean up any glue smears and to 'lose' the binding joint line. Don't know if that makes any sense....

I just went to peruse the front page, and noticed he's now made it onto the front page of the Graun. I'm beginning to suspect this is what he was hoping for all along...

I found the Ray34 and Stingray I had to be pretty identical, Marc. Both had nice chunky Precision like necks, similar weight, I`d say from memory - was 6 odd years ago - about 9lbs2 something like that.

Whatever you're going through now, is minor in comparison to what it was like being there. Honestly, my sides hurt for ages afterwards 😪

Luckily I've not a cuppa in hand, or you'd be owing me a keyboard and screen. Many thanks; I've sincerely not laughed so much in years, and never at reading stuff on t'web. It's taken me a couple of minutes to type this; the tears clouded my vision. I'm still giggling, myself, just remembering what I've just read. Thanks again; you've made my day (and probably week, too...).

I see that there are two vgc BBs: 414 and a 415 in the FS on at a really good price and, not surprisingly, flying off the shelves! Anyone know off "the top of their heads" what changed between the 414/5 and the 424/5 and I guess for completeness the 434/5? My experience of the 425 is that it is a complete "petrol head" of a bass with enough P-punch to keep Muhammad Ali happy 😊

I had a 78 Precision that I nicknamed Ian Paisley as it simply barked at you. It was a difficult bass to tame, luckily with me playing punk that wasn`t on my list of considerations.