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I believe it's against the law to impersonate a Police officer, and so is it too, to impersonate a musician, so i've had myself arrested. See you when i get out

It's when you realise that some people don't play - have never played - and you're not one of them!

I've been a member of the BB club for about a year, ever since I got a BB424. It was mostly for home practice purposes but the range of tones coming out of it ment I started taking it to more and more rehearsals because it sits so well in the mix. When we started doing more songs in dropped tunings, Eb but occasionally D, I was faced with a choice. Take three bases to rehearsals and gigs (including a fretless) or get a 5 string. So when @redbandit599put his BB1025x up for sale, I bit the bullet. We met up at the obligatory dodgy car park this morning and made the trade. And since I got back, I haven't been able to put it down. I thought the BB424 had a massive range of tones but this is frankly ridiculous. I've been playing it mostly with both pickups on, volume on full and tone about half way up. But put it on the P pickup, and you get a great precision type rumble. Given the 'pictures or it never happened' rule, I post this as evidence of my modest BB collection.

It’s a propensity for a signal path from bass to cabinet to support or accentuate the 60hz to 200hz region of the audio spectrum. Either by boosting these frequencies or by dipping out other higher frequencies. (Sometimes attenuating areas of the audio spectrum gives rise to the perception of boost elsewhere) An amplifier and cabinets ability to deliver powerful sound in the 60hz region will certain help to accentuate the effect. Some think that the ability for an amplifier to deliver sub-30hz is where heft is, but considering the Ampeg 810 is considered a ‘hefty’ (lol) cabinet - it doesn’t really produce much below 50hz. I like to think of it as the slam you get from a mic’d up kick drum, whose fundamentals tend to be around the 100hz region (though lower frequencies exist in the sound) Another consideration is that SFX’s Thumpinator that removes all frequencies below 30hz doesn’t remove perceived ‘heft’. So, given you have an amplifier that is capable of delivering powerful transients in that audio region and a cabinet that helps to accentuate said region you will perceive heft. Finally my though for the day.. EQ on amps. Ever noticed that some will have centres that are like 40hz, 500hz, 1khz, 4khz etc? Well yes there is over lap, but for me so many amplifiers don’t focus in on what I feel is a very important region; that of the 100hz to 3-400hz region where our important 2nd harmonics live and also that all needed weight in the sound. Parametric EQ is where it’s at for me! I can add heft to a bass sound without an amp or cabinet. For the “D Class is evil” folk, I’ve always thought that a lot of these amplifiers appear to sound clearer and more aggressive in the higher mids and lower treble frequencies. Given my point above, I wonder if this is one of the reasons that certain D Class amps are perceived as “less hefty”. The heft is there, more it’s being masked - our ears work logarithmically and are way more sensitive to treble frequencies.

👮 📉 🚑 🏥 🤕 💀

I trawled some definitions off the web. I won't provide sources. A musician is a person who plays a musical instrument as their job or hobby. A musician is a person who plays a musical instrument or is musically talented. Anyone who composes, conducts, or performs music is referred to as a musician. A person who plays a musical instrument, especially as a profession, or is musically talented. Anyone who plays music can be called a musician. Whether you're playing the cello on stage at Carnegie Hall or playing the harmonica on a subway platform, you're a musician. Someone who is skilled in playing music , usually as a job.

I think it's mostly your imagination, although I'm definitely not a big fan. One luthier friend of mine charges less for his relic models, since they take considerably less time to finish. The first time I took one back to my shop for some electronics work he handed it to me without a case or bag: "What are you gonna do, scratch it?"

The body has had its second coat of finishing and is drying. In the meantime, most of the varnish is off the neck. @fleabag wants the neck and headstock to match, as close as practicable, the purpleheart. A number of you know that I generally use inks for staining but some of the purple inks have a less secure colour fastness. Red calligraphy ink, on the other hand is pretty secure - think Lindisfarne Gospels - as are Chestnut spirit stains. So I reckon one part purple and two parts calligraphy red, overlaid once dry with Chestnut red spirit stain should do nicely. It's certainly the right colour!

Aw - great advice all you folks! Got the thing in my hands first time today and, yeah, index finger is a little sore, but it was fun. Played a little bit through some 'slow jazz' 2-feel rooty things and a touch of slow bossa. Probably rubbish technique full of errors but I will get some lessons and am already looking at the Discover Double Bass site!

Are you sure? What about my "friend on the force"? Is he real? 😬

This arrived yesterday. First impressions - very nice indeed. Solidly built, all knobs and switches feel quality and at bedroom levels it sounds fantastic. The simple EQ sounds great set flat (using several different basses) but easy tweaks are there to be had. It’ll be a good while before I’m going to be able to get out gigging with it to get a true feel, but I’ll certainly be looking forward to it when that day comes.

No, that was just a game we played, remember? You aren't a private investigator, we just dressed you up in a trilby and raincoat.

You could say you were a tax inspector. Guaranteed to make any musicians run away. That could be the definition of a musician (Joking of course!)

So, International Man Of Mystery it shall be. I just tell people I'm Chief Wringer-Out for a one-armed window cleaner. The trick is to walk away while they're still thinking it through....

Wow. ”like having a lob-on”? Aren't you just a silver-tongued cavalier.......? 😀

Exactly. Heft = Weight in the trousers. Like having a lob-on. "Oh baby, you so FINE an' hefty today!" Gonna try to git that in the urban dictionary...

For anyone interested, heres a photo of her in some nice daylight! 🙂

Whoa! You don’t think you’re getting away with that, do you? Don’t think you can wander in with your contentious questions and then swan off, satisfied, while the debate’s still raging. We’ll get another week out of this at least. Right then. You asked us to help define heft and you’re going to bloody well sit there while we define it for you at least three hundred different ways. Then you can ask your follow up. And that better be “and is ‘heft’ any good for metal?”.... Lol 😆

Yes all the time and all the way up the neck. It makes finger positioning much more efficient, playing ‘Master Blaster’, for example, is much easier using the B string

The Purdie shuffle with some of the finest laid back playing from Chuck Rainey. Its such a fantastic rhythm section. Then put the chords and sprinkles on top. Those who know Steely Dan. Know.

I had to start using a pick after a motorcycle accident left me with a permanently damaged right hand. Took a little while to get used to it, but now I play in a band which covers material in which the original bass player had a distinctive tone and his use of a pick was a big part of that. I prefer thick and totally inflexible picks, currently 3mm Dunlop big stubbies. Haven't dropped one yet (a pick, I mean!) despite having a much reduced grip in my right hand.

A pic from tonight. Happy face...

How sad. Thanks for letting us know. I will raise a glass to a great basschatter this evening.

My old living room bass rig, missing another rack or two: DIY bass head and DIY preamp/power amp: Another old bass rig, big blue thing is a homemade tube preamp:

Specification finalised (pending my final decision on drop top) and deposit paid. My rough photoshop mock-ups of what I'm hoping to end up with! Myrtle Option 1 Myrtle Option 2 Alder Tone Wood

My FET Bassman is not what the name suggests. It consists of a FET-transistor input stage, followed by a modified API 553 inductor EQ. The three switchable frequencies for each band are adapted to my taste and work very well with my Wal fretless. It doesn´t sound like a Fender Bassman at all. My Peavey is closer to a Bassman than the FET pre. Here´s some internal p*rn:

Wash your mouth !!

The question is, can you keep up your mantra while watching someone trying to plug the DMX cable into the mixing desk?

I made this a few years ago and it’s still doing the job.

I agree with Chris above. 500w ideally but a bare minimum of 300. A cab and head would possibly be more versatile than a combo - if you have a problem you only need to sort out one component. Its also potentially easier (lighter) to cart about. People say good things about Fender Rumbles and TC combos's if you go down that road as they're nice and light. If you don't mind older and heavier kit then Peavey and Trace Elliott kit is super cheap and good value (but it will weigh much more) And buy secondhand from the classifieds on this site - its full of good people so probably lower risk than from auction sites or Facebook. If you find it doesn't suit you it can be resold with minimal loss. You would probably be looking at a minimum of £300 spend but would get something that would cover most scenarios - such as if you get asked to do any outdoor gigs which would need a bit more power. Spend £500+ and you'll have a very good choice.

I actually am a private investigator. 👍

This is a good idea 💡 You could say you were a lumberjack, or an igloo inspector. Or an estate agent - then no-one would bother you!

If you don't like saying what you do, say you're a private detective or something. At a party or gathering, it can be fun to say a different thing to each boring person that says "so what do you do?" Careful not to say something that you might have to prove on the spot - i.e. dancer, russian language professor, rapper...

There’s never a gig that I wish I wasn’t playing a 5, but there are plenty of gigs with a 4 that I wish I was...

Really? That was the best neck he did at fender.

Oxford Reading Scheme Grades don't count 🙂 Confession, I did music up until 11 in school. I had violin lessons. I've been playing guitar since the 70s. A few days ago I signed up for the Open University introductory music course which is supposed to take you up to level 3 equivalent. I got as far as the bit where it explains the notes on the bass and treble clefs and expects you to memorise them. So far I can do GABC on the treble clef and middle C. That's where I got stuck 25 years ago... I genuinely think I've got musical dyslexia.

Did the first gig for over 6 months with my country band The Fork Handles last night. Venue was a pub which myself and the guitarist do every Tuesday as an acoustic duo. The landlord is a great guy, and offered the gig to us so we decided to do it ‘unplugged’ in an effort to keep the volume sensible. 4 piece band, myself on bass/vocals, guitar /mandolin / lead vocals, guitar / lap steel / dobro / vocals and drummist/vocals. The room is not massive with a stone flagged floor (an old brewery!) so we set up in a corner and used 4 xBose 802s - two for out front and two for monitors, running off each side of a Yamaha EMX mixer amp. No backline amps for the first time so a bit scary. It actually worked well, although I could only just hear myself towards the end of the second set when the drummer started his usual malarkey of heavy handed snare and cymbals, but despite that we got away with it. Room was rammed with punters, so the landlord well pleased and talking of it being a regular thing so job done. 🙂

You see that's the thing. It's only intriguing and mysterious as long as people don't know. If I started to explain it peoples eyes would glaze over and they'd soon lose interest. I just tell people I earn my living online and let their imaginations run wild. I could almost guarantee pretty much anything they come up with is more interesting than the reality.

Oh God no! That means my drummer is officially a musician. I'll never live that one down. 😂

I'll raise you I got the blues. Aja is a sublime album. The Dan rule. It's just the best music in the world to think too and the lyrics are just mental. Green earings?

And SpondonBassed wins the award for most diverse thread deviation 2019... 🤣

Oh, and the best thing for heft isn’t an Ampeg SVT and 8x10. Turns out it’s a Kirby vacuum cleaner* Who’d a thunk it, eh? *this might make more sense if you’ve been following the whole Dyson-in-his-own-adverts thread.

At least you got the ‘s’ key working again.... Back on topic.... I can drive a car. If the car is full of people, I am the driver. But outside the car, I wouldn’t call myself ‘a driver’. That, to me, is someone who does this for a living. A trucker, a taxi driver, a chauffeur. So, when I am doing music, I am at that moment a musician. But when asked to define myself, I wouldn’t use the term musician. And, to be fair, nor would anyone who’s heard me play....

You want to see the arguments about 'engineer'. In mainland Europe 'engineer' is a protected title, like 'Doctor'. Over here our 'technicians' are 'engineers' and we have plenty of 'hobby engineers'. the professional institutes have given up the cause and rely on chartered engineer to make the distinction. In plain english, a musician is just someone who make music. I like the idea that ANYONE can be a musician simply by making music - it's too glorious a gift to keep it to an elite few. Worrying you aren't good enough is classic imposter syndrome - I know I suffer the salmons of self-doubt myself despite having played plenty of gigs in my younger days. There's no professional body to decide who is and isn't (thank goodness) but there are things like graded exams and the obvious distinctions of pro and amateur for those who like to classify, but the question for any classification is how useful is it? Clearly it makes sense to identify professional musicians as those who make a living (or part of a living) from their craft. What about the bands who (truth be told) don't make enough to cover the costs of strings, gear petrol and rehearsal space? (P.S. it might be useful for mere mortals in smaller bands to know you can turn over (i.e. total income) £1,000 a year without having to pay tax on it from minor trading. That's £4K a year for a four-piece so I doubt most small bands playing a pub or small club once a month or so need to worry about tax).

I don’t do Twitter very well. I tried to find the account for Andy Mooney, the Fender CEO, and failed. I almost gave up, then found the feed for Flea, so I tagged him in instead 😀. ‘Here’s a question for @flea333 - how long is the neck on a Fender ‘61 Flea Bass supposed to last? Answer: 12 months according to @FenderGBI. Neck on mine went & 5 months down the line I’m still waiting. It’s a known issue with your Sig Model. Thought ‘You Oughta Know’.’

I actually think 6 year olds should be banned from playing bass. Purely because I'm sick of seeing 7 year olds that are better than me.