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First new bass in many years and I'm chuffed! Spector Euro LX4 DW (Doug Wimbush) in Amber. Great quality build, fantastic playable neck (and I'm digging the narrow nut) and a beautiful maple finish, reminds me of a Warwick thumb in many ways, but more 'grungy' Oh, and the pups are *really* hot! Lovely, lovely, lovely!

there you go, you're getting it! 🤣 seriously though, I apologise if my previous post sounded patronising - that wasnt my intent. ive often made the mistake of writing a sarcastic or fascectious remark on this forum only for it to be taken the wrong way because I didnt put a "lol", "haha" or emoji in the post so when I say this I say it because I have learnt the hard way myself. Not everyone will take the time to proof read or use "proper" English when writing a post on a forum - that said, you are right, your posts do generally seem to be more well written than most. I admire everyone who has taken the time and effort to learn another language as it is something I cannot do. I wasnt trying to be patronising, the sarcasm wasnt self evident as explained above. Peace

I couldn't resist - I've just ordered one. I'm going to be in so much trouble when the missus notices it.

All went good! :

Stanley Clarke (of all people) came out with an absolute diamond piece of advice once in an interview. He said "Learn all you can about theory and then forget about it". I didn't really get that until years later. It basically means learn as much theory as you possibly can, but just play what you think sounds best, regardless of what you think will impress.

had no problems with the sale, buyer has confirmed he's received the Bass in good condition

A musician, yes. Everything else is just detail. Professional, semi professional, amateur, talented, journeyman, good, bad, trainee, experienced, retired, Jazz, studio, session, classical etc etc.

Sorry about that. If you wait a few weeks it'll probably be up for sale, knowing me.

Gutted for the man. Is it me, or is just about every stolen music kit incident I've ever heard of been from the boot of a car? How do the buggers even know? There must be some times when its unavoidable, but I always force myself to unload the car after every gig, no matter how late or tired I am. I'd rather take the heat for waking the wifey and kids than find an empty car in the morn 8(

The Roadworn nitro is the one to have in my book, selected lighter woods me thinks.

NBD - Squier Deluxe Active Jazz IV *Revisited* I had been very smug and pleased with myself for getting down to just the one bass, a Bitsa Jazz that I assembled from parts and finished myself. Hipshot, Gotoh, KiOgon… all proper premium components, no tat! Very happy with it and its powerful Entwistle JBXNs, which sounds really killer through my 1997 Trace GP7 715 150W combo. BUT… dangerously, I allowed my mind to wander in an idle moment. What was the bass I most missed and most regretted moving on? Being absolutely honest with myself, it turned out to be (weirdly) a Squier Deluxe Active Jazz IV - which I bought and reviewed on this very board some four years ago and then sold, for a reason I can’t now remember. GAS, probably. So, as they’re not the world’s most expensive bass and as I was curious, I ordered one - an end-of-line display/demo model from Andertons. Notable features include a three-band active EQ circuit and an Ebonol fingerboard. As I understand it, Ebonol is a phenolic polymer that mimics the qualities of ebony in that it is hard and dense…but is synthetic and thus completely impermeable. I like it a lot. It’s a slab board basically and renders the underlying maple neck very stable indeed. The neck plays well with practically no relief in it and allows a lower (and more buzz-free) action than I would otherwise entertain with a more conventional wooden board. The neck is arrow-straight and the fretwork is superb. And I mean £1000+ superb. Completely level frets and not even a hint of an edge anywhere. To find this quality on a bass that cost less than £300 is truly remarkable. This board is smooth and fast and this neck alone is worth the price of admission. The controls comprise volume, pickup blend, stacked treble/bass and mid. There is also the so-called 'slap switch', essentially a mid-cut which boosts the lows and top end, ostensibly for slapping… I won’t be doing any of that, but it’s useful to have at your fingertips and in conjunction with the EQ allows for more tone-shaping options. The board radius is 12”, a little flat for me but I don't mind so much as the nut width and shallow neck are (unsurprisingly) very Jazz-like, so a flatter board suits me here. The bass feels good in the hand, isn't overly heavy (around 9lb) on the shoulder and balances well on the strap. It's effortless to play and after a few minutes the controls become completely intuitive and very easy to use. This bass punches WAY above its weight. There are always negatives of course - the bridge and tuners are not premium quality - especially when juxtaposed with the Hipshot Ultralights and Gotoh 201B fitted to my Bitsa. The bridge is a generic Gotoh-alike high-mass top-load affair with saddle-screw runners - and does its job perfectly well. The ubiquitous budget ‘vintage’ clover-leaf tuners work smoothly enough and adequately hold the bass in tune, which is all you can reasonably expect, so no complaints yet. The treble/bass stacked pot is quite a bit taller than the other controls and I can imagine it taking a knock or two. The pots could be smoother and more positive in their action and the midway detentes could be more obvious. But I’m guessing Squier had to cut costs somewhere. These are minor niggles. Would I use this as my main bass? With absolutely no hesitation, despite the fact I don’t much care for sunburst and especially not pickguard-free sunburst. But irrelevant cosmetic issues aside, it plays quite differently to my Bitsa Jazz and has WAY more tone options on tap. You can of course produce the generic vintage single-coil Jazz sound if you want it, but you can also quickly dial in more ‘modern’ sounds - and anything else you can think of - from fat, fingerstyle dub tones through clanky, gritty rock via hefty plectrum twang to full-on growl, burpy funk and mid-free hi-fi slap. It’s all in there. And you'd be very hard-pressed to tell the difference between this Indonesian Squier and a MIM Fender (or dare I say it, a MIA Fender) in a blind listening test. The Squier feels right, plays very nicely indeed and sounds fantastic. It’s essentially a wannabe boutique Super Jazz, but aimed at the budget-conscious entry-level buyer. Or those in my position - the seasoned (yet impecunious) overweight senior cheapskate-cynic. But is it as good as I remember? Very much so, and in some ways it’s better. Four years have passed since I owned one and my priorities have changed, my playing has changed and I see things a little differently now, as I’m sure we all do. But I’m very happy to have this back in the fold. I did have a little fantasy about refinishing it in vintage white (and I may yet do so), tinting the headstock, applying an F-decal and fitting a guard. But I don’t want to drill new guard holes in the body, the decal thing is really only of interest to bass players and other idiots and frankly I’m getting a bit bored with the ‘identity’ thing. Name-band pro players regularly rock up sporting the S-decal and if it’s good enough for them, etc. So for the moment at least it’s going to do its thing completely stock and original as nature (and Squier) intended - apart from the new DR Nickel Lo-Riders I fitted. Hardly a modification, but a very positive improvement on the iffy strings that came with the bass. I can easily see it becoming a bit of a workhorse and it’s already a go-to instrument. It’s one of those basses you just can’t walk past without picking it up and playing it. You won’t be surprised then if I recommend you add this particular arrow to your quiver - it can currently be got at a silly price, especially if you haggle - even if you’re not a Jazz person (and I'm not), you can’t fail to be impressed by the dead-straight and supremely playable neck, the smooth, hard and fast Ebonol board, the extremely versatile and intuitive EQ and the huge range of tones on offer. In short, it’s a bargain. But if you ARE up for it, get one ASAP - Squier seem to have discontinued this model and when they’re gone, they’re gone.

Yes - it's much higher than the standard fixing screws. The i.d. of the standard fixing screw is 3mm and is usually - I think - mild steel, the i.d. of a stainless m4 machine screw is 3.24mm and is, of course, stainless giving 16% greater area over a much stronger steel. The o.d. of the inserts is 9mm, against the standard fixing screws at around 4mm. Wal are the only commercial basses I've personally worked on that fit machine screws and I'm pretty certain they are m4 too. The thing that staggered me was once seeing the tubular fuselage of an Auster light aeroplane. Welded on were 4 small brackets with the holes for the 4 machine screws holding the engine on. Now, admittedly, that will have been aircraft grade stainless, but they were tiny. I reckon 6mm tops - maybe even 5mm.

Thanks for all of your suggestions. I haven't used any loopers before and wasn't sure whether swapping the lead would be feasible. I suppose I'll just jump in with the looper first, and look at splitters if I find swapping a fuss - or play chords on bass! Cheers all.

Hi Frank, Yes Times are good for the gigging Bassist. There is good Equipment for nearly every Pocket (pricewise), but no..that was not an exaggeration. We compared the two Amps at a small Bass Player Meeting from a german Bass Forum and the Difference was noticed by other Bassplayers too. When we really turned up the volume to get some performance, the mesa was much more sovereign, but of Course you're right, the Mesa is in another Price Class without a Doubt

You'll still be a musician but a jibbering idiot along with it.

Very tempted to bid in & see what happens.

Not bass related but.....I applied for holiday leave at work for a fortnight in 2019. Already planned what we were going to do - Eurocamp. Price was £1239 for a fortnight in a caravan in Italy (flights & car hire on top of this). My boss approved the holidays yesterday so last night I sat down to book. Black Friday deal with Eurocamp reduced the cost to £560 thus saving a whopping £679. Unexpected and a genuine saving for something I was purchasing anyway. Impressed!

This is sarcastic, in fact, you are the one who didn't get it, sorry. And by the way, the correct sentence shoud have been : "I'm not sure you understand sarcasm : furthermore, I guess English isn't your mother tongue ?" And certainly not this approximation : I'm a bit fed up with this "not your mother tongue" remark as I do write a way far better English than most of the natives on this website. Period.

I must say, the experience of being part of a choir has not only made be a better bass player, but a better musician all round. I didn’t have any formal training in music. I started playing as a teenager, so moved and inspired by the early output of Jamiroquai/ Zender, that bass was the direction I took. 25 years later and no regrets. Bass is still my primary instrument, and the one I love above all. My musical tastes have remained very much rooted around that hemisphere of music too, but deeper, naturally. However, a few years ago, by some bizarre accident of events, having had no previous singing experience and no involvement in traditional music, I found myself joining the local Gaelic Choir. It was a revelation, and there was no turning back. There is something ethereal and electrifying about standing in the midst of 30 voices when you’re locked tightly into a complex arrangement of a big piece. Whether it’s sensitive and beautiful, or vigorous and bold, the emotive power of the situation is huge and unquestionable. There are strict technical requirements though, and these are what have made me the better musician. Firstly, I had to learn how to read music and, by default of the learning process, my sight-reading is ever improving.By absolute necessity I’ve developed a greater sense of subtlety, restraint, and discipline. A more refined sense of place and, as a result, the whole. My natural timing has improved, and the basic nature of choral singing has made me infinitely more harmonically conscious. Also, the specific process of learning, breaking down into tiny detail and reconstructing a few select pieces over many months, and the inherently complex nature of the arrangements have allowed me to understand music in a way I never would have otherwise... and it’s all transferable to bass. Choir singing happened randomly, and out of the blue, but now that it’s part of my life I love it. I’m more of a musician than I ever was before, or ever would have been without it ... and I’m grateful for that. Are there any other choristers here? If so, what benefits have you perceived? Tell me something of the kind of choir you’re in 🙂 My choral experience has been entirely in the (Scottish) Gaelic language, in both men’s and mixed choirs, in performance and competition, Scotland, and abroad.

I tried googling all types of knobs and frankly this isn’t the website where I landed at all 🤗

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why the DI? Surely the mixer should have a "line" or "mic" setting on the input, and if the XLR out from the cab link is line level and the desk is set appropriately it should be fine? Our guitarist uses a Line 6 Helix and the matching Line 6 FRFR powered monitor as a cab and we take a line level XLR out from the cab into our Yamaha PA to round out the sound a bit. Works for us.

Gold or a nice deep tort. Black is just lazy IMO.

Is the cab link out at line or speaker level? If the former, you can do it, but will need a DI box with attenuation, to lower the signal sufficiently to avoid overloading the input stage on the mixer. If the latter, no.

Behind me I'm in. Already on my calendar.

Back in the late nineties I tried to put together an Eighties tribute act. I couldn't find a guitarist that would play the Pop stuff needed to get decent gigs. At one rehearsal I discovered that the keyboard player had an amazing voice....long story short... I purchased backing tracks, he sang and I mimed the keyboards. At first I took my bass gear along and played live on some songs because I felt guilty ( the agent and the venues always knew that I was miming) but eventually we realised that nobody cared and I stopped lugging it around. In two years of gigging two or three times a week only one person came up to me and said " You're not playing those keys are you?" when I answered" no" he replied " you do a good job of making it look like you are though!" Go and enjoy the gig ….the punters will just be out to enjoy themselves.

Am I the only one that thinks black pickguards on light colour basses look absolutely awful? Jesus christ, I think those Seafoam/Blue PJ basses would look MUCH better with a white pearl pickguard.

For Sale - A particularly grim copy bass which frankly I can't wait to get rid of. £1 I've checked the wanted ads - nobody is going to want this sucker. From the minute I got this I knew I'd end up selling it - it plays like gristle. Never been gigged. No way I'd risk this in public Trades gracefully accepted - even for a pack of old used Ernie Ball flats I have dogs and smoke like a chimney. I let the dogs sleep on it and chain smoke when playing - it's the only thing that numbs the pain I'd link to my gumtree ad, but it makes me look like it's a scam. Action at 12th fret - about 1' 5" Weight - more than me, but less than the missus. No photos coming soon - it's hideous enough in the flesh without a permanent record I'm based just north of Peterborough. I'll wait for years if necessary to get rid of this. It's likely to be discounted tomorrow and every five minutes subsequently until I end up paying you. I'll ship this in a brown paper bag. It'll only improve it. I'm prepared to travel about 3 miles from home, on my pushbike, dragging it behind on a rope. Feel free to lowball me. I quite like it - it's a chance to feel someone actually wants to talk to me. Is this what you meant @skankdelvar?

Sounds like my ideal gig, well paid, food, not using my own car and I don’t have to actually remember anything.

Nice!

No, the patches aren’t transferable due to the OS differences between Stomp and Full Helix, but I think it’s possible to open 2 instances of HX Edit (one connected to Full Helix and one connected to Stomp) and drag blocks from one to the other.

Bloody foreigners, coming over here and stealing our women strings Horses🐎

It nice to see that there are a few choir singers here, albeit with very different music to the Gaelic songs I’m familiar with. Aye, it’s sublime, to be sure. I was singing tenor before, which was an almighty challenge. Just joined a new choir though, where I’ll be singing bass. Far more into my comfort zone, and more where I’m at in my soul. Looking forward to this. It will be interesting, given this bassist’s brain that I’ve developed over 25 years.

Thanks so much everyone! i'm super happy that everyone is enjoying this build log, im certainly enjoying building it! making a start on the top carving for the body now. lots of work with rasps and spoke shaves. as mentioned in the previous post, this isn't going to be the most radical of carved tops, its more to add some shapes and highlights to the upper "horns", i also have to keep the carve very close to the edge at the bottom, so that the top is flat enough to accommodate the bigsby. on the wider parts of the body, i really just want it to catch the light, and be a bit more shapely than a normal bass. this will also help to remove a little bit more of the weight from the body! you can see from the left picture sort of what im going for, the curve is mostly convex and then only concave right down at the edge. it makes it look quite bulbous, but i dig that! i also put a tiny bit of tru oil (literally 3 drops for the whole board) do darken the ziricote a tad before i put the frets on. i might do 1 more but i think that'll be it. i dont want the board to end up shiny, just a bit darker to add some contrast

In short... Yes it will work, and is a Good Idea, with the (slight...) drawback that the bloke on the FOH desk will no longer have control of mix between Fx and 'dry' bass. It may be needed in some venues, to get the best FOH sound. Other than that, go for it.

I actually find that anti virus progs on Macs cause more problems than they solve. There's definitely something causing it - let us know if it happens again and on what site.

Always thought these were a prime candidate for a status graphite neck.

These are great - really hoping one turns up cheap under the radar 😉

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on these basses (again) discreet Yes, I'm amazed at just how good the Indonesian built Squiers are. I've not tried this exact model myself, but I'm quite tempted now. I'm a fan of sunburst myself, and I do like that tobacco tinted Sunburst on this bass, I must say Re the pickguard, or lack of - somehow, that look does seem to suit some Jazz basses, and I think it's also fine on this bass I know Entwistle pickups are great, especially for the money, and the JBXN is a step up from the JBX (a good pickup in itself anyway) But what did you think of the original Squier pickups, in comparison? Were they pretty good anyway? I've had a couple of passive VM Squiers, and the stock pickups are OK - but I wondered how the active version of the pickups fared? OH, and happy NBD by the way

Each to their own, but I'll listen to a band I like first, and if they have a good and interesting bass player, so much the better - Art Liboon's playing in Mordred is a great example. I don't think it's an exact science - I might like the band more because the bass lines are particularly excellent or interesting, but I'm very unlikely to listen to a genre that I'm not very interested in just because the bass lines are great. the comparison I'd make is that I know that professional opera singers are very talented, but I don't like any opera that I've heard so I'm not going to start listening to them rather than Motorhead just because the singers are more technically adept than Lemmy. I have tried to get into the virtuoso stuff but it leaves me cold. 30 years ago I got dragged to see Joe Satriani on the Surfing With The Alien tour by a guitarist friend who thought it was the best music ever made. Stu Hamm's bass solo was the one bright spot in an otherwise utterly dull evening, so when I found a Stu Hamm solo album I bought it anticipating a brilliant set of songs played by a great musician. Can't argue about the great musician side of that, but the only song worth listening to was the Moonlight Sonata. the rest of it was technique over song craft, and I have no interest in that

Well that was worth doing. Absolutely rock solid! Phew... Still quite a bit to do, but I think we're on the home straight

And are you still seeing the lass..? Our Daughter sings an an amateur choir of some 130 members. Last year's repertoire was a selection of Broadway hits, in historical order, which they performed at a unique occasion at the Mogador Theatre, Paris. Quite apart from knowing that Our Daughter was part of the troop, the whole show was uplifting and joyous, and well worth the 500Km round trip. There's a new show being prepared for next year; we'll be there to see it.

Hello there! Hope you enjoy this review! ciao! Al

Andy sold me some P-Bass "ashtray" covers. Great guy to deal with.

You make a valid point. A midrange speaker is going to make any cab subjectively louder than a 12" driver on its own or one with the usual tweeter on top. It will also have more "punch" and clarity if implemented properly. This, as I'm sure you know, is directly connected to what's called the "power response", which is the total output of the speaker at all frequencies and at all listening angles. It's an aspect of cab design that is ignored by just about everyone making bass cabs, with a few exceptions including Greenboy. I've experimented with the 12 + midrange configuration but was never totally happy with it. I felt that a midrange speaker on its own didn't have enough highs off axis, and adding a constant directivity hf driver on top made the crossover very complex. I did complete a design with an Eminence 3012LF and a Celestion TF 0615MR self-contained midrange unit, which I could revisit and publish if anyone is interested, but I felt that a better solution was just a single crossover point with a high quality compression driver and constant directivity horn. I think Duke Lejeune is the only commercial builder to go down that route because 1) it's quite an expensive approach and 2) the costs incurred are not immediately apparent to the average cab buyer.

I've owned 2 Barefaced One10's and no way are they as loud together as a typical 4x10. From what I gather the Two10 is much the same as 2xOne10's as you would expect. Something based around a Kappalite 3012LF would be the only real option such as a Fearless F112 or the TKS 1126 (I own 2 of these and they are loud given enough watts). I'd avoid the Orange given the fact that it's Isobaric. Not many real world advantages over a single speaker and plenty of disadvantages including weight.