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It's got to Hawaii in one piece....and he loves it! Very pleased and very relieved in equal measure

Thanks for all the advice folks. Bass now properly strung and no pegs popping!

There was always going to be a guitar thread but nobody was quite sure when it would start. I mean, we all knew when it should start but it doesn't appear to have materialised. Have you checked the other forums? Maybe it was started in completely the wrong section and it's thrown you. Once it does start it will probably go on forever, contain bizarre word choices and drive you completely nuts.

Wild Mountain short-haired Haggis or the very rare Flying Haggis. Both very tasty and both difficult to catch.

They are like basses but tuned an octave higher to make them easier to play.

Spotted yesterday morning, ordered yesterday afteroon, arrived this morning. Cheap 5-string fan fret with passive humbuckers. Not spent a huge amount of time with it so far but thought I'd do some first impressions. Paid under £170 for this so, to be honest, didn't have amazingly high expectations. My experience of 5-strings has been everything from grotty 90s Westfield to Status Streamline with a Yamaha, two MTD Kingstons, an Aria and some other stuff in between. I have also briefly owned a Dingwall ABZ 4 so have at least tried the fan fret thing. First thing - this thing is light. Weighs just 3.65kg, which for a fiver isn't bad at all. On a strap it's well balanced with no neck dive and everything is nicely within reach. Scale length is 34.5" to 35.5" (apparently, not measured it...) and the longish top horn means it doesn't feel like a huge reach down to the end. Pickups are vey generic looking humbuckers, it's passive and the controls are VVTT from the neck end. Volumes are progressive, tones - feel pretty "on/off" with not a lot inbetween. Neck isn't too chunky, but not as slim as 5-string Ibanez. Depth is about 23mm at the nut, with the nut being 45mm (not quite sure whether you measure along the nut or perpendicular to the neck on a fan fret...?) Neck is also about 23mm at the 12th fret and 61mm wide. Shape is a gentle C and quite comfortable. Spacing at the bridge is 18mm so doesn't feel too cramped. The monorail bridge pieces are about what you would expect and seem sturdy enough with a good finish. Tuners seem to be good quality - quite smooth and hold tuning fine. I've got a set of Gotoh tuners I might put on it, but not a vital instant upgrade. Overall, the finish is probably an 8.5 out of 10. Paintework on the front is good, but there are scratches near the strap button (rough handling somewhere?) and the finish on the back is smooth but has a weird pattern to it - that may buff out though. Otherwise not much to complain about really. The headstock is good, couple of globs of hardened glue(?) that will probably come off quite easily. Frets and action: frets are all good, a bit dull but no particularly sharp ends and minimal fret buzzing. The action is pretty low. Fretboard wood is, apparently, "Thermally Treated Maple Ply" and you can just about make out the ply if you look real close. Otherwise looks like a decent bit of rosewood, not heavily figured or anything but quite consistent. The only minus neck-wise is the nut. It's not great, when your hand bumps against it it's got a sharp edge on the G side. It's kinda scuffed and is slightly too wide for the fretboard. How does it sound you ask... well, not too bad actually. The multiscale definitely works to this guitar's advantage. Sound is clear and even across the top four strings and the B is pretty close behind - it's slightly, fractionally, more muffled, but that's being pretty picky, and could also be down to only being able to try it through my TCE BG250-208. With a bit of tweaking of pickup heights and maybe a decent set of strings (can't imagine the ones on it are the best available) I think you'd be hard pressed to notice any variation. Sound is typical, modern humbucker sound - with clear highs but not single coil like highs, kept wanting to dial in a bit more treble, but it wasn't there Low end is quite growly and I could see using this at a gig quite happily (if I ever get one...) This is definitely a bass I would be happy to pour some money into for a couple of upgrades. Tuners - yeah probably, as mentioned above. Pickups - they're 38 x 100mm so I think there are off-the-shelf soapbars that might fit (EMG?). A nice three band pre would be a good addition too. OK - it's not a Dingwall!!! But for a tenth the price it's a very nice bass indeed. If you're looking for a cheap way into fan fret and/or 5-strings this really is worth a look. I'll probably keep this one around at least for a while. And to finish... without pictures it didn't happen, etc...

To be fair, @Osiris makes solid points here!

My (4-string) Model T will be modified very very soon. I never really liked the 2 band EQ on this one, so I'm about to order a few components from EMG to rewire it like this: 1) stacked volume + PASSIVE tone control 2) blend, like the original 3) VMC module: semiparametric mids. I really don't need an active bass control on the bass, and the active treble is a bit meh, I much rather have a passive tone control. The mids cover 100-1000Hz... Can't wait!

I thought Dizzee Rascal made some good points about bass in his sections, points that we've probably trying to make people see for years. He said "it's like a conversation with no conclusion, yeah you've got some melody and some drums but what's your point?", and "it's like the glue that holds music together". He also emphasised the problems of listening to music on phones or laptop speakers when he nearly didn't record his hit 'Bonkers' with it's huge bass riff because he just didn't hear it on the little speakers, and that his audiences go mad in the bass drop in that song. I may be a miserable old fart but I can see D.R. is popular with youngsters and if someone on their radar can inform them in this way then he fully deserved to be featured. Now back to playing some big dirty stinkin' bass 😁

1982

The guitar one was the best in my humble opinion, and the bass one the weakest but they all taught me something I didn't know and exposed or rexposed me to stuff I didn't know or had forgotten about, and makes a change from Mrs Browns boys and all the other shiiiite on the box that most people seem to think of as entertainment now back to youtube for some music

This happened to one of mine about two years ago, I enquired over a replacement part but they sent me a new stand. Not being one who likes waste I set to repair it by making a U shaped bracket using a thin metal strip ( it was the strap from an electrical earth clip I had knocking around) and araldited it in. I have been using it since, new one is still in the box.

Guitars? Seems like a pretty obscure premise for a whole TV episode. I mean. How many people actually play one? I had to Google it to even find out what they were. Apparently they're kind of like a mini six sting bass with a built in octaver. That'll never catch on. (Damn! Just seen @Bilbo beat me to it. You snooze you lose)

I've just taken delivery of a Yamaha BB1025X! And it's an absolutely fantastic bass. I've owned lots of really expensive boutique 5 strings over the years costing three/four times what I paid for the Yammy,and it's on par with most of them! Fantastic neck. Luckily there's one for sale on the Facebook bass forums! (I think the guy may have it up on here too)

I think we've had 8 pages of people pointing out that it wasn't " A history of the P Bass and its best known users" but I don't think the P bass fans want to hear.

In general I’d say so, we only seem to argue amongst ourselves in Off Topic

Hmm, surely another synth will be the answer to my troubles Always room for one more. Maybe I'll just get rid of the tuner.. Seriously though, I really like the look of that video. Looks like a very usable pedal indeed. Can't wait to try one!

Spent a couple of weeks immersed in how to videos, and today I am actually having a go. Brave or foolhardy? Time will tell.

Not a food mixer, its a Behringer 802 USB mixer. And because he's a drummer, he has no idea how to make it work. 😁 I found some wires in the garage, and had the right noises coming out of it within an hour... so I downloaded Reaper + Audacity. Another hour and I've recorded a bass track onto my laptop! Instant nerd!! 👍

Hi! I’m Harry, I’ve been rocking the casbah since ‘97! I played piano for 5 years up until I was 14 when my piano teacher moved away - I never got a new teacher and I slowed my playing down far too much. I was very soon bored of not playing anything but still loved music and listened to it all the time - mostly favouring rock and metal (Black Sabbath, Led Zep, Alter Bridge and the like) but randomly heard Something About You by Level 42 one day and I thought the bass sound and bass line were really great! Soon after, a few mates were starting a band and needed a bassist. Having a fresh interest in the bass thanks to Mr King, I purchased my first bass, a Peavey Millenium AC BXP which I still own and still think sounds killer! We started playing loads of Iron Maiden and Sabbath stuff but since playing bass, I’ve listened and played a much wider range of music than my angsty teenage metalhead could have imagined, now playing funk/jazz/80’s pop but still loving to rock out too! I now play in an all-originals modern rock band! My original gear was the Peavey bass and a Peavey Tour TKO 115 combo. After about a year I got a MIM Jazz Bass Standard, then after about a year and a half got an AMVI ‘74 Reissue Jazz Bass. About a year ago I significantly upgraded my amp to a Darkglass Microtubes 900 and matching 410 cab. In July I picked up a Spector Legend NT (Aguilar version!) and then last week, paying homage to the man that made me want to play bass in the first place, I finally got myself a Status S2 Classic! Haven’t sold any of my gear either as I love all of the basses to pieces haha! Thanks for reading and I can’t wait to get involved in the forums!

Count me in as an anachronistic balding fatty with a Daisy Rock guitar. Stuff demographics, they're soooooo cliché. (Well, not exactly 'balding', but definitely 'fatty'...)

See if you can get your grandchildren to find it for you on "eye player" and take the batteries out of your hearing aid to keep it down a bit

Here's a NAMM demo. I'm both excited about it but wondering whether I'd want to be tied to Geddy's EQ settings that are inbuilt?

I didn’t think so either, I’m in no rush and PMT had quite a wide range of sandbergs in store for you to try , the main selling point for me was the necks were so comfortable and the build quality was excellent

I didn’t see it but I guess it started late and was far too loud

If I could start all over again, I would love to have used his playing style as inspiration. I love playing pick in the house, but don't think my technique is strong enough to be used live! Although this wee clip has made me want to practice more!

A valid point and one that we tend to forget. There is much wrong with the BBC these days and they could (in my opinion) have done more with this series - but these programs were so much better than a lot of the awful stuff that passes for documentary and pollutes the airwaves these days. I enjoyed all three programs. Yes, there was a lot of stuff I thought they missed out and, yes, they spent more time than was necessary on other stuff - I got the distinct impression that much of the content was dictated by budget; the cost of concert footage and interviewees and the savings to be had from reusing material where possible across all three programs. But it was a decent set of programs with some interesting material and a broad appeal that extended beyond those of us who play to include the wider listening public and for that I think the BBC should be given due credit. Other opinions are, as always, available and valid....

Placed an order today, at £15 it sounds silly not to. Don’t really mind when it arrives, as long as it does (before I lose my eyesight 😂 😎)

I dont fully agree with that. If you were going to talk about the history of the motor car, you would do a piece on the Model T Ford. You may not go into the technical aspects of the car but you would do a section on it. I feel the Fender Precision was at the forefront of playing and shaping the role of bass in music and how people added bass in music transitioning from double bass to electric bass. You wouldn't go into the technical details of the bass like woods, pickups etc. but certainly its birth, its impact and importance.

Or instead of waiting for Fender to play catch up, you could just buy this instead, which pretty much has all the extra goodies you're after and a lot more besides (just sayin' )

Confession: I fell asleep in the drum one, watched the bass one avidly, forgot about the guitar one

The guitar programme was better than bass IMHO.

But they look weird - strange little stumpy things! (Sshhh! I really enjoyed the guitar program last night, but don't tell the others!)

Yeah, just watched it on the iplayer it was good, maybe just needed a half hour section about the P bass used for the Shadows hits? Lol.

I’m in a situation where I play bass for various ‘groups’ of musicians (due to lack of bassists ) so I’m usually introducing one insecure diva to another ... usually end in tears with me in the middle (the drummer is also usually in 5 other bands and doesn’t care ). I love just standing at the back of the room with a few beers on the go and playing great bass lines .

I seem to spend an inordinate amount of time putting out fires between singer and guitarist in more than one band. Always talking folk back from the ledge. It must be tough on a lead guitarist when audiences focus so fully on the vocalist when they (the guitarist) believe themselves the most charismatic, important member of the band. Add to that the simple fact that the drummer doesn't care if the guitar is there or not and the bass player is effortlessly the coolest guy/gal in the room, and you can see how that inflated ego gets so easily bruised. They then lash out. Drummer shrugs, bass player sighs, singer bites.

Indeed, I thought so too. Favourite bit? Mrs Paul could record her vocals whilst cooking the dinner, washing the dishes or doing the ironing. Ah the 50's. 😂

Changed my mind - Cardhu Gold Reserve. hic

I thought tonight’s guitar episode was rather good.

I'll second that! I've been playing ACG's for a very long time now, 4s, 5s and 6s and I've never had them any longer than 33", and now all my ACGs are 31.5" scale, including 3 6s. I've played many 34", 35" basses and even a 36" bass that all had crappy B strings. The scale length is only a part of the equation, and if you over compensate for the other bits you can achieve a great low B at a shorter scale. Don't let anyone tell you that you have to have a 35" scale bass to have a good B, play the bass first, then make up your mind 😎 Eude

It could be candy cola red which is a bit darker than the candy apple 🙂

Whay!! Finally getting round to doing some work on basses again now that the house DIY is finished. Not done a lot but at least I've started.. First up was to strip another headless bridge to file and tidy up. These bridges are okay when you get them but they are a little rough in places so I've stripped the ones I've bought, filed the rough bits then resprayed them. Everything just works and fit a little better afterwards. This bridge will then go in the buckeye bass. I'm thinking of making this one passive and fitting a couple of jazz pickups. The one I took to the SE Bass Bash had a single EMG and preamp - it sounded pretty good but I'd be interested in seeing what passive is like.

The links in the OP have changed, hopefully these should work... https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:QdjVfOZPCgkJ:https://www.gibson.com/Guitar/USACYC512/les-paul-junior-tribute-dc-bass-coming-soon+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:E27TEnec_R8J:https://www.gibson.com/Guitar/USAKUC232/Thunderbird-Bass-Coming-Soon+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk I wonder what happened to the association with Babicz ? I thought it a far better bridge than what they have gone back to.

In case you've not already seen it

Same for me; it's a bit disappointing to see that they're merging the VM & CV lines but keeping them all under the Classic Vibe banner. The Matt Freeman P Bass is made by the same factory as the CVs and the neck on mine is probably the best I've played. I'll definitely give them a look when they come out but I doubt I'll be buying. Andertons has them for pre-order with delivery expected in March.

I was initially very excited by this. But now not sure as the Chinese made CVs etc. were exceptional. The necks, for instance, were better than some USA made Fenders. Wonder when they will be out?

I maybe going out on a limb here, ....crazy as it may seem, but I reckon the programme wasn't aimed at bass players.😲 Let's face it, if it was, they'd have lost most of the audience within minutes. Can you imagine "points of view" the following week "Outraged of Esher here......how very dare you for not including Mark McPastoriflea in your so called show. His influence on the development of my playing has been felt across pubs in the Oxshott & river Mole region for decades...."

Sounds a bit like Brexit.

Adrian stuck one in the case when he sent my bass to me - nice gesture. Lovely strap, too.