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I don't subscribe to Scott's bass lessons or any other on line lessons, because I prefer one to one lessons with a real tutor. That's just my learning style. But I'm a bit uncomfortable with this thread. We're talking about another BC member and calling into doubt his sanity and the state of his marriage??? I thought bass players were supposed to be the nice guys?

Sooo close now! Unfortunately one of the pickups is dead so just sorting out fixing that with Nordstrand, then it’s pretty much final neck carve and finishing I think

I’ve been there! Have to admit. The less I have had to worry about cash, the less care I take in “trying stuff out”. I sometimes get it right, sometimes get it wrong but to me that is part of the “hobby”. The surprise for lack of a better word. Finding the next “best thing”, sometimes it is and if not I sell it again even at a loss. The reason things do not sell is because either the market is too niche, or the price too high. Avoid that and you will sell. All part of the game and I enjoy it. I mainly buy 2nd hand, but have also had stuff built for me. I have set myself some boundaries too as I do not need Foderas or such, but for the rest it is just fun and games not more wastful than going out on the p1ss every Friday and Saturday evening and certainly healthier. It is my money to spend, I have fun with it and it means I have been able to try many many brands and basses over the years, so can even give advice to others based on my experience with an instrument. Nothing wrong with that in my book.

Seashell's right. People need to calm down. Scott D has a living to make. If you don't like what he's selling, walk on by.

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Yes please... if we can let this little skirmish rest, that would be grand. Thank you.

Lovely stuff! https://www.loudersound.com/news/last-flight-to-pluto-release-video-for-coverland

Not basses, but as somebody with a few hobby rooms / cupboards full of "stuff", I'll say this: 1) If it gives you pleasure - you're winning. (if it gives you more grief / stress / worry than pleasure - you're doing something wrong). 2) It's usually easier to acquire stuff than it is to, um, decquire stuff. 3) He who dies with the most toys - wins. 4) See #3 5) See #3

So have I, that’s why we’ve got 4 kids 😉

Am I the only one to see the irony in this comment, given the original post?

I bought a custom shop 55 precision relic, imagine Sting’s #1 bass (actually an exact replica made for a trade show). I’d agonised over commissioning a CS or a Bravewood - it was the most beautiful thing (to me). And I sold it within about 2 months. I don’t know what’s wrong with me really, why I didn’t keep it I can’t recall. I just didn’t give it a chance. Did the same with a Yamaha TRB 5pII. Stupidity is my reason for moving gear, seeking the holy (none existent) grail of bass, like a slightly overweight and uglier Indiana Jones...

Quite agree. Mind you, I do have doubts about some of you lot. 🙂 (as does my friend, the invisible 6 foot 3 1/4 inch white rabbit)

Posh metal Trace badge arrived which is replacing the worn plastic one, it’s not historically accurate but hey... £15 inc delivery from U.K. supplier. I tried it symmetrically top centred but but it didn’t look right, I tried it left in line with the border but again not right, so I shifted it right a couple of centimetres. Now it looks right. Weird but that’s my eyes... drilled 2.5mm holes and fixed with a bolster behind the sign/grille, some nail varnish as threadlock to hold the tiny screws from bass vibration loosening. I’m liking the flapper effect of rough paint/powder coat clearance... might just use a metal polyurethane metal sealer. I have time to decide on that. Stripped hardware one last time to put on three more coats of Tuff Cab because this is going to be my main rig so why not? Once the hardware is put back on this is pretty much a wrap. If you are just restoring one or two cabs the 1Lit tub of Tuff Cab is plenty. Seriously, it goes a long way.

Has Scott Devine become insane? No, just financially secure would be my guess. There are far worst crimes than charging $147 for an online course that some people might consider as being quite reasonable, especially if they're fans of Gary Willis (bearing mind that Gary will be feathering his nest with a cut of that too, no doubt). Personally, I think Scott deserves credit for developing what seems to be a very successful business around bass playing; which let's face it is rarely the most lucrative career path. If you don't want to spend the money, then don't spend the money. Plenty else that it can be spent on 🍺

Goodbye Scott Walker... hello Scott Stalker!

I've been notified that the Becos Compiq Stella is now available to order. I have ordered mine. 😀

6dB is a doubling of sound intensity. 10dB is a doubling of volume. The 3dB voltage sensitivity increase you get from halved impedance has no effect on maximum output, as that's determined by cone displacement, which is unaffected by impedance. Amps don't breathe, and while some sound engineers may think there's an inherent advantage to 4 ohms versus 8 you'd be hard pressed to find speaker designers who share that notion. IMO one's better off to go with an 8 ohm cab, even if you are quite sure that a single cab is all you'll ever need, because things change. The time may come when a 4 ohm cab no longer works for you. Unless you make a change to a valve head that lacks an 8 ohm tap that won't happen with an 8 ohm cab.

I think if you make a shed-load of cash by putting yourself out there (not in any way a criticism, btw), you have to be prepared to take the rough with the smooth. You can either engage with it, or completely ignore it. Both valid approaches, IMO.

Compression is topic that regularly crops up on here and there is great deal of misunderstanding about it as well as a few urban myths associated with their use. You really need to understand what a compressor does and how the various controls available to you do in order to get the best out of them. When used correctly they can transparently smooth your dynamics, or add some controlled squash, make the bass big, consistent and punchy sounding or even add some pleasing tonal colouration to your sound. When used incorrectly they invariably choke the living daylights out of your sound. If you want to get the best out of a compressor it's definitely worth the time and effort to do your homework first. One of the biggest misconceptions about compression is that people expect to hear it as an obvious effect like a distortion or a delay. You can set it to be an obvious effect but that is almost always going to be detrimental to your sound. Some folks set it up so they can hear it squashing their sound but by then you have usually gone too far. Less is more with effective compression. My advice would be to first and foremost do your homework. Read up online and see what the controls do and how people are using them. You might be better off trawling the sound engineering type forums rather than basschat if you want a more objective opinion on the subject!!! And it'd be wise to avoid any opinions that contain the usual gripes about compression killing your dynamics (which it does if you don't what to do with one) and the reasoning that some folks can completely control their dynamics with their fingers (which is to misunderstand the effective use of compression). As part of your homework, a great and cheap way to experiment with several different compressor types is to get the Zoom MS-60B multi-fx pedal. This unit has several different compression models in, each with their own flavour and all usable in their own way, my personal favourite is the model of the dbx 160 which is adds punch and a touch of darkness to your tone - just how I like it! Have a play with them and see what they individually offer. Play with extreme settings as well as more subtle ones in order to get a feel for what they are doing to your signal. Compression is usually more apparent in a band mix and at a reasonable volume than just messing about at home, so if you play with other musicians, take that opportunity to apply what you have learnt and use it in a real world situation. If you don't want to do your homework buy the TC Electronics Spectracomp as it does all the thinking for you and gives you a great, versatile compression pedal for a modest outlay!

I now have a brand new Fender Jazz neck (with cut nut). After the last rather curse e-mail exchange, someone a little higher up the food chain decided it might be a good idea to give me a call and apologise personally rather than batting this back and forth. Sensible move and good on them for making the effort. So, I'm now thinking what I could do with the neck: 1) Sell it 2) Leave it in the box. Should I ever decide to move the '61 on, I can then keep the graphite neck and sell the bass with the neck it should have. 3) Build something. When I sent the defective neck back to Fender, it was stripped of hardware (it's now on the Status neck). The new Fender neck came loaded with relic'd tuners and string tree, so all I really need is a decent four bolt body. I've never put a bass together from parts before, so this is what I'm leaning towards at the moment. What are the potential pitfalls of doing this?

Personally I don't like the way SBL constantly markets in an aggressive manner. I never signed up to payments but I signed up by email and decided the emails were annoying me so I unsubscribed. He is very talented but I wouldn't want him to teach me.

I had a spare neck so rather than sell it I had a new body made – I have all the parts except a bridge which will probably be a Hipshot Kickass Spec as follows: Swamp Ash body will be oiled black – not sure how best to do this yet, will consult here and test on some scrap wood Pickups: Delano MC 4 HE/M2 and Delano JC 4 HE/M2 Preamp: ACG 01 (John East) Scratchplate: White Pearloid, with matching cavity control cover Watch this space (but don't hold your breath!) – hopefully all done by early Summer

It's this thread in particular that prompted me to hunt dowm my Twin Valve combo - amazingly not too hard. I got it new, gave it to Mike, he got divorced so it's in store in Cheshire. Never been gigged. Hopefully it's coming back to me. May need a 210 to go with it. I do remember it sounding the VFDB Looks good too, all metally on the front, tasty.If I get it back i'll post pics.

The main one is that you will not stop at doing just one. You will be planning the next one as you are building the first. Go for it. It's hugely satisfying.

This one..

Argh... FFS... I'm out 😡 I just bought a Helix Stomp as I'm selling my pedalboard due to space issues and for the surplus cash. Hey ho.... 🤣

Is it full moon soon?

Heat. 100 watts into 8 ohms is 28.3 volts at 3.5 amperes, 100 watts into 4 ohms is 20 volts at 5 amperes. Where creation of heat in the amp components is concerned the primary source of heat isn't voltage, it's current. The same is true of driver voice coils. The lower the current the less heat generated. That's why power lines transmit at very high voltage, typically well over 100 kilo volts. Doing so minimizes current, which minimizes heat in the transmission lines, which minimizes the wire gauge required. It's also why you can run a 500 watt amp with a 16 gauge power cord. At 220 volts and 50% efficiency the amp will never draw more than 5 amperes. Put an amp with the same specs into a car with a 12v power supply and you need a massive mains cable, because you're now maxing out at 80 amperes.

Soooooo... Are SBL any good then? Never looked into it, but it could be useful. I've never looked into lessons before as I've always considered myself unteachable (not in a good way )

I'm not casting doubt on his marriage at all, it's a simple fact : if it goes wrong with his wife (which I'm absolutely not wanting), he could loose more than his spouse. Simple fact, nothing else. That also means that he really loves his wife and is totally trusting her, which is very rare by people loving money so much. A true financier would have taken 51% of the shares. And if you want to know, I know my wife for more than 30 years and we are living together for 15 years with love getting stronger every day : a rare total fusion, as she is the one for me and I'm the one for her.

Keeley Bassist for me since it was pretty much announced in circa 2014. It can be very transparent if you want it to be. If you want to dial it up to 'slapville' it can do that as well. Also you can turn the compression off completely and use it as a volume boost/cut. Works great on guitars too. There are probably better/more flexible compressors available than the Keeley now. However, I don't get excited by compressors, tuners or power supplies. Not even a big shiny Darkglass compressor advert with dramatic and epic background music and copious amounts of backlight HD camera work gets me excited. When it comes to compressors, tuners and power supplies I just use what I have until it breaks. For example I had a Boss TU 2 for 18 years. It broke in February, upon which I immediately bought the Boss TU 3. Bass overdrives though? I average one every 18 months.

Thanks Dave! And correct on the influences, We're all big Rush fans... Very kind words Osiris, than you very much. And yes, it's only CD that's been done at the moment.. Fret not ead, the official release date is tomorrow, Dave must have some lightning quick posties round his way...

I would think Philip Green has more to worry about!!

No WiP pics. I just tried my best to forget about it until I got the laminate floor pic. Michael

Don't sound so surprised 😁 - you're a bass player => highly attractive to anyone with a love for live rock music. - you play a Yammy bass => excellent chance of sounding great to anyone with ears.

When I commission a new build, I'm happy to accept the risk that comes along with it. I think of getting a build wrong and selling it on at a loss as what it would have cost me to have rented the instrument. I actually have a new build due for completion in June and I've only changed two elements from the bass I have currently. I feel like I can finally say that I'm 99% certain I've gotten the specifications right.

My Wounded Paw Battering Ram EQ was only £150 and it slays this stuff. £250? For them?!! Ashdown have obviously had access to the "Markbass crack warehouse" before deciding on pricing structure.

Oh my god. I remember seeing BC back in the day before they hit it big. There were about 20 of us at the gig I was at, but they still rocked the place like it was sold out. I just know I'm going to go all fan-struck and end up gibbering like an idiot.

I'm completely in the boutique world these days, and yeah, if a couple of grand(ish) is a lot of money to you (it certainly is to me), then buying new you need to know what you like, but you'll get something you won't get from anywhere else. If that's what you want. As has been pointed out, other folk don't worry about the money so much, so will have a punt. Don't forget people also simply change their minds - I've bought stuff that was exactly what I wanted, and a few months/weeks later I'd changed my mind... This isn't restricted to basses, or amps and cabs... I bought a new 4003 because I used to love my old 4001 years ago. I don't like them any more - they didn't change, I did*. Luckily, that one went back under GAK's purchasing policy, otherwise I'd have had to try and flog it without losing too much cash... * Although this wasn't helped by the bass in point being a dog...

that's a good point and one of the good things about Basschat. There's a price point, depending on maker, somewhere between £500 and £1200 where a secondhand bass doesn't really loose much value. Basschat is quite good in that a band of similarly minded bassplayers - with a general culture of helpfulness and not trying to rip one another off - can buy and sell and try stuff out often just for a little bit more than the cost of postage. I've tried everything on my GAS list now thanks to you lot and am pretty happy with the instruments I've got. That said I'm not sure I would buy unplayed any more (I used too), just because unless it's better than what I've got I've not interest (nor space) in having it. (When I say no GAS - There is a local bassist with a pre-EB stingray that is phenomenal, but not sure I'll ever justify the money he's (justifiably) after for it)

I just love buying guitars and basses - it's what brings me joy and they are forever in and out. No regrets selling any of them. I bought a fret king last night for £250 and this brought me as much joy as spending thousands on the Zakrzewski's, Fibenare's etc. I would say i get as much enjoyment from buying as i do in playing.

Basses of that calibre hold their value (unlike many custom builds) and if you can afford the price of admission (second hand) you rarely lose money buying and selling them unless you’re in a massive rush. It seems that most people aren’t, but eager to try the next one along when the opportunity arises. Good clean fun if you ask me.

My solution is to wait until a secondhand high end bass comes along that is close to what I want, then subtly modify or finesse it until it’s exactly what I want. Ends up being a hell of a lot cheaper than a brand new custom, and I lose very little in resale if I ever change my tastes.

If a lesson with Gary Willis is £70 then $147 for 10 lessons is a bargain. Personally I don't see what you can learn from Gary Willis that can't be learnt from a dozen other bassists.

Some great thoughts and comments here guys. If any of you are interested we did a teaser of the new KB tribute band last night using a live stream from the singer and keys player on Facebook. The link is below and I’d be really keen for any feedback good or bad from proper fans of her work - thanks.

Part two arrived today. Oh my. Have a butchers...

...and let's face it, it's gotta be great for metal.

length should be pretty much standard, but there are 6mm and 1/4" (6.35mm) shaft diameters out there. Also some guitars have splined shafts (in either diameter...) My Jag has splined shafts and that same style of knob, but the ones with lock screws in your pic are designed for plain shafts with a flat on them. You can also get push-on knobs for shafts with a flat. So in short, no, there are at least six different styles... splines, screw fit and flat push on in each of two sizes. Actually.. a bit of digging, add coarse or fine splines to the list. And 5mm EMG pot shaft diameter. And long or short (~3/8" or ~1/2") shaft. Not to mention 3/8" or 10mm fixing nut. I'm boggled... You can also get collet fit knobs for plain shafts, but they are probably too push for basses...

Two lumps of wood, a pickup, bbot and some tuners, just like like any other P bass to me.

What's wrong with poplar?