Leaderboard

I think this reaction is a bit strong to be honest, I completely understand it’s frustrating, but getting so heated about ‘honour’ and a ‘code of ethics’?! The member probably just thought that they were doing something rash and suddenly wanted to keep the bass, no harm no foul, it happens. If it were me, i’d be understandably sad that I wasn’t getting it, but probably just say “I don’t blame you, looks like a cracker, let me know if you decide to sell again”. That way you’re more likely to get a second shot at it than by somewhat outing them on the forums! 1st world problems and all that. Si

The one you find easiest to play

Kraftwerk...

Don't make lists, go out and play all the basses you can find.

Okay. Finally listened to it. Firstly, I’m glad it was made. There is some really good stuff on this album. Descending and Culling Voices are tracks which are really good additions to the Tool catalogue. 7empest too. The drawback to me is that I feel that I have heard variations of most of the ‘heavy riffs’ from previous Tool albums. Lots of fairly similar drop D riffs and drum fills and bass parts with delay. I don’t think it is a complete retread though as on the whole it seems a lot more mid paced and less aggressive than previous releases. It seems that Maynard has taken his crooning A Perfect Circle approach to this album. I quite like his vocals taking a different approach and I like the parts that are focusing on creating layered soundscapes rather than ‘let’s play a riff that kind of sounds like [insert riff from earlier Tool song] but change one note’. My taste in music is a lot more eclectic now than it was when I was 20. Tool were a band that acted as a gateway for me to explore heavy post rock, instrumental and psychedelic music. The fact that this album doesn’t make me go ‘wow’ is probably due to me rather than the quality of the album. Probably a 7 out of 10 for me.

How many BassChatters know my answer already?

I've always thought we had an unwritten code of ethics and just common decency on BC. Its extremely disappointing to find someone that doesn't share those ethics and honour. I'm definitely old fashioned and have respect for others. If i agree a deal then that's final for me. Pretty sure its a one off but it doesn't half p*ss you off a bit. Dave

I received a PJ Squier in a trade and I believe both parties were content with the exchange. However as time wore on I found I reached for the instrument with decreasing frequency. It looks lovely, balances and plays well, and I really like the neck which is often the most important factor for me. And yet, there was something missing. So I took it out a few times. Eventually I decided it suffered a want of character, a sort flimsy lack of substance. Extremely difficult to put into words but a tangible lack nonetheless. Difficult to describe perhaps, but happily very simple to resolve. £13.99 including delivery for a set of Adagio flatwounds. And now I have a new bass. Seriously. It has been transformed. At rehearsal last night it growled, snarled and thumped where previously it had mewed like a sickly kitten. I appreciate we all have our favourite strings and indeed favourites for different basses. My Bruce Thomas Profile delights in its Stadium Elites for example. I post this less as an endorsement of these strings (although I also use and love their acoustic bronze) but more as a warning to others. Don't burn the house down when all it might need is a coat of paint. I have parted company with other instruments when in hindsight, perhaps they just had incompatible strings.

Respect to you, Sir Most times I'm over in Dublin I stop by this statue and give a nod to The Great Man. I've always wondered how they did the bass and where it came from. And now I know

However string choice and playing style makes a huge difference to tone.....the only way to make an informed choice is to play them yourself.

Yes ^ MrsAndyjr1515 got fed up hearing about such things years ago and so now we just don't speak. As I say, I love this hobby

The cost of this bass is a total rip off...and in actual fact has quite a few discrepancies to the ones Phil actually played. For example..this new one seems to feature an 80's style logo (Phil's were the 70's version)..plus his flight case didn't have this exuberant logo on..just a much smaller "Phil Lizzy Thin Lizzy" stencil bold configuration. Having played one of them at Philomenas I can vouch for this and have plenty of photos. So, in terms of a "custom replica" I think they are bending the truth. Just buy a 70"s Precision...fit a Badass and mirror scratchplate for well under half this cost. Fender need to give themselves a nip

I will need all the help I can get!

I have a hankering for a Jabba mini bass. I played one at a Bassbash. It was proper lush. I have a hankering for a Ritter Princess Isabella - sadly, finances say no. I have had a hankering to build an instrument for the past 30 years. I have very poor woodworking skills. I mean VERY poor. I could tell you all about woodwork classes in school, but I am not proud of it. At least I learnt to measure twice and cut once. Eventually. All these things are coming to a head and I am going in. I am documenting it so that I actually have to do it. Because I have a bad habit of dreaming and not doing. I will need a LOT of guidance. I want a convex front and a concave back. I have watched lots of videos on carving the front of a LP with a router and orbital sander and decided that I could not. On Sunday we went to a food fair and there was a guy selling large wood turned plates. It crossed my mind that a body blank could be "turned". Convex on front, concave on the back. Once that is done I could cut the body shape out of the big bowl. The circumference could be the bottom of the instrument. I would need to be very careful with center body depth so as to give the hardware somewhere to live. But the sides could be quite slim. I like that. I am aware that the geometry could be challenging. What are the reasons this way of carving would not work?

Before buying my Two10 I looked all over t'interweb for consumer reviews, but there's not a lot out there - lots of love for its little brother the One10, which was a good sign, but not much stuff about living with the Two10 day-to-day. The one question that I struggled to find the answer to was, "Can it replace my 4 x 10?" If you're in a similar position to me - keen amateur/semi-pro tired of lugging a "normal" - (i.e. not Barefaced) 4 x 10 to pub/club gigs every weekend, I can say, "Yes! It's plenty loud enough and more." What cab is the Two10 replacing? My old cab is a Genz Benz Focus LT 410. It's light for a 4 x 10 (64 lbs), it's well designed, plenty loud and has a nice tone. OK, it's not a top-of-the-range "Uber" cab, but it's done me proud for the last three years, and I love it's tone, volume and reliability. If the current cab's so great, Why replace it? It all comes down to weight. I sustained a back injury this year, and although now on the mend, I can't manage to lug a 4 x 10 about on my own. I've always used a sack-truck, so for a flat, level load-in I managed OK, but I still had to lift my cab into my car, and any venues with stairs, steps or raised stages were becoming a very literal pain. Preconceptions Before the Two10 arrived, I hoped that despite having half the cone area of the Genz Benz, if I really cranked my amp through the Two10, I should be just about able to squeeze enough volume out of it to keep up with my loud drummer. I expected a drop in performance, but hoped that the reduced handling effort would make up for a shortfall in SPL. First Impressions I was able to A-B the Two10 against the Focus 410 in my front room. First, I played through the Genz Benz, which sounded great as usual. Without changing the controls on the bass or the amp, I swapped the Speakon lead over to the Two10, set at 4 Ohms. Bloody hell! - I didn't have an SPL meter, but to my ears at least, the Two10 sounded louder than the 4 x 10. More bass, more mids, just more of everything! I was puzzled at how this could be possible, but I guess that the Two10's 4 Ohm load was allowing my Markbass LM3 to output its full 500W, as opposed to 300W through the 8 Ohm Genz Benz. I tentatively tried cranking the amp a bit beyond front-room levels, but was forced to stop when the ornaments on the mantlepiece started to jump into the fireplace. The door burst open, and I was confronted by a very angry Mrs TheBass wanting to know what exactly the f**k I thought I was doing. Verdict - IT'S LOUD! First Gig (Quiet band) The next day I was able to try out the Two10 in more appropriate surroundings. A gig with my originals band - two clean electric guitars and a refined drummer with an above average grasp of volume and dynamics, swapping between brushes, rods and sticks. We play an eclectic set ranging from quiet acoustic ballads to heavy dub-laden ska numbers. I'm playing a fretless EB MM Sterling through the Markbass LM3, and the Two10 doesn't miss a beat. The venue has its own PA, so my rig is for stage monitoring only. One of the guitarists uses a lot of phase and flange - think Cocteau Twins - which can sometimes bury my bass, but tonight it's easy to find a balance and sit nicely in the mix. The LM3 is barely at tickover. The load-in and out is a joy - I can lift the Two10 with one hand, and by back is thanking me almost as much as the drunk punter who we played "Happy Birthday" to. All in all, a very good night. First Rehearsal (Loud Band) The following night is rehearsal night with my loud punk/rock covers band. Two deaf overdriven guitarists playing through 4 x 12 Marshall half-stacks and a shed-building drummer who thinks that John Bonham played like a wuss. We're really loud, especially in a small rehearsal room, and I'm glad of the 18dB of volume-reduction from my Alpine earplugs. I'm running an SVT amp-sim through the Markbass to give me a bit of "Grrr", which sounds great through the Two10. With this band, I'm playing a fretted Sterling, for lots of bark and fret-clank. It's a small rehearsal room, and my rig keeps up easily without needing to be pushed. I notice that I've had to wind the master level anticlockwise from its usual setting with the Genz Benz, and cut some of the Lows and Low Mids. First Gig (Loud Band) This is the acid test - my loud band at full gig volume. The venue is a medium sized pub - the room is actually the ground floor of three terraced houses knocked together into one open plan space. I set up as normal, and DI into the PA. The bass drum and both guitars are miked up, and the guitarists are packing a Marshall 4 x 12, and a 2 x 12 respectively. We're fortunate to have an ex-pro soundman who knows how to get a good balanced mix, and manages to keep the volume to a realistic level. He's got a great pair of ears and a wealth of experience, and I trust his judgement. After the soundcheck, he beckons to me, and I walk over to the desk. He points down, and I notice to my amazement that the fader for my bass is at zero - my new little rig with its tiny Two10 cab is doing 100% of the work, with no reinforcement from the PA at all! Verdict My Two10 doesn't just keep up with the "ordinary" 4 x 10 it replaces, its louder. It's not just about volume though - the tone is great, and the sound fills the room better than my old cab. I originally thought that I'd end up getting a pair of Two10s, but that would be absolute overkill for my situation, even for my noisy covers band. At first I was skeptical of Barefaced's claim that the Two10 could replace a 4 x 10, but in my experience, that's absolutely the case.

There are many, but one colour or other kind of finish on a bass must be your favourite. Mine, for example, is Olympic White:

Today I welcomed into my fold a brand new Fender Duff McKagan Signature Deluxe bass guitar. I’ve been thinking about getting a PJ configuration bass for a while. I had one a while back and it filled the gaps very nicely in my rock covers trio. I saw the Duff in a store last week and thought it looked awesome. Lots of online research, followed by a return visit to try it out and the deal was done. It’s a beauty, finished in a lovely pearlescent champagne colour. It’s not quite white, but it’s close enough to tick my Paul Simonon fanboy boxes. I’m not usually a fan of black hardware but it looks great on this bass. You can find all the specs online if you’re interested. The neck is substantial but not overly chunky. Nut width is 41mm I’d guess, it feels similar to my EBMM Stingray. Despite the Jazz Bass Special name on the headstock it’s definitely got more Precision DNA in it than Jazz. Despite being a Signature instrument there is no trace of Duff’s name anywhere on it, only a ‘skull’ motif pressed into the neck plate. It’s slightly neck heavy, more noticeable when playing seated but strapped on it balances well. I love the fact that I have master volume and master tone (that’s how I’ve always had my J basses re-wired) and a pickup selector. All three positions give very individual, useable tones. The secret weapon is the TBX tone control which I’m looking forward to experimenting with. Very useful to me is the factory fitted Hipshot D-tuner. It’s not properly set up though so it will need fine tuning, which I hear is a bit of a faff... The set up was ok: intonation and action all good, although the relaxed tension on the E when the Hipshot is engaged results in a lot of buzz, so that will need tweaking too. General fit and finish is excellent, as you’d expect from a £1000+ bass. It comes with a Fender gig bag which they describe as ‘deluxe’: it’s anything but - thin and fairly useless, so I’ll be using one of the excellent Mayones gig bags I own, which are very heavy duty. It’s definitely a ‘rock’ bass, and as the man himself plays almost exclusively with a pick it’s easy to get a punchy rock tone by doing likewise, with both pickups on. But I think the Duff is more versatile than that. The Seymour Duncan J pickup in isolation is honky and funky but not thin and weedy, and the P pickup in isolation is warm and full, especially played finger style. I like it very much. I’m looking forward to giving it a proper high volume workout tomorrow at rehearsal. Nice!

I've got a RED Sharpie you can borrow to sort that out!! 😀

No consideration in this situation

I just picked up a Vintera Mustang and the build, fit and finish is spot on. You don`t expect to find faults in a £800 bass. But as you say, Good old Fender! It`s like Forrest says, you never know which one your gonna get!

Somehow in that photo they look like they're made out of pieces of old floor.

To be fair they were both dead easy to fix,although that shouldn't be necessary on a new bass.

Finally, proof that Trace Elliot amps really do go louder

The next one will be a doddle!😀

Stew, applying the paint is probably the easiest part of building the cab - and probably the most satisfying apart from plugging in and listening to it. If you're concerned, just practice on a piece of scrap wood. A one-litre pot of Tuff Cab contains enough to paint two cabs - so you'll have enough to practice with until you're ready.

One thing to consider is the sound you like on bass. All my fave bassists play Precisions, that’s my fave sound. So when I was trying to get a sound I liked I never quite managed it, then the light was switched on, I was trying to get a Precision sound from non-Precision basses. Doh! As soon as I got my first Precision I’d found the sound I wanted. Makes a big difference being able to get the sound you want imo.

You make it sound much more complex than it really is, Pete

You'll have to excuse the terrible images - ripped straight off VHS. HD didn't exist back in 2005!

I have done some guitar deals in Hungary with no problems. Transferwise for payments DPD for delivery as it stays with 1 courier. Also done pedals etc to other European destinations, Germany mainly. I think the key is to use a carrier that does point to point for the relevant country

This, you mean? Yeah that's pretty awesome.

Apologies! - I normally find it quite hard to GAS over cabs - they're usually a pain to lug about, and they don't come with fancy sparkle paint jobs. Even amps or pedals usually have a pretty coloured LED or two, but cabs are usually just dull heavy black boxes. I felt that I had to write a review because I've never been so blown away by a speaker cab - it totally exceeded my expectations. The Two10 has certainly cured my cab GAS for the foreseeable future (except that, if I had the readies, I'd get another one, but this would be totally unnecessary overkill for my situation, and defeat the point of a lightweight, one cab load-in). In my weaker moments though, I fantasise about two stacked vertically like a slimline portable 8 x 10 - somebody help me! 😉

Kind of pleased with my recent effort, inspired by Scott Devine’s ‘bass of doom’....I see it’s a popular colour scheme!

I truly love the idea of doing it all by hand, but I know I will get impatient/sloppy/over ambitous and cut too deeply or whatever. I only have to look at the extra grooves I have in my bathroom floor where I sanded it to understand the limits of my skillset.

As pointed out above, tone is highly subjective, some love a P with flats, others love the Spector growl... If its tone you're interested in above everything else, your best bet is to look through YouTube and watch as many demo videos as you can (through decent headphones). Here's some to kick things off - StingRay Cort C6 Plus Cort B5 Plus Inbanez Hope this helps.

‘Good tone’ is subjective though - e.g. any bass I’ve played with Bartolini electronics has sounded really dry and dull, so for me I would probably skip the Corts. I had a Ray4 that sounded pretty good to me, I love the Stingray sound so would probably choose that from the list if buying blind (deaf?). If a passive PJ might float your boat, I’d look at the Yamaha BB435 also.

Whichever gets the job done best for you. However, if part of that job is future resale, the ‘Ray is likely to move quickest.

Depends if you want a 5 or a 6 really, quite a fundamental question in there!

My advice is don't. The £300 you spend now will be dwarfed by the obscene sums your new addiction will cost you. You'll have no time to watch sh_te on TV, your mind will buzz with future builds, you'll gaze furtively at the Axminster website, and (even more dangerously workshopheaven.com), you'll lose friends who will tire of talk of 'fret radius', and 'double action truss rods', you'll find that rather than having time to fill you'll have no time at all, as your guitar building obession slowly takes over your life.....😀🤣

I'm in a similar situation (not that I have Christine living nearby) - I have great ideas for building basses but only very basic woodworking skills, no space and no tools.. Hence I've delegated three builds to @Andyjr1515....who, as we all know, makes very beautifully instruments. Poor excuse really as there is a Luthiers course available (on Saturdays) in Hertford - about 8 miles away. Cost is £300 for 10x 3 hour sessions - plenty of time, I'm told to get a bass finished. Very reasonable too, and I'd gain skills which would help me maintain my own equipment and will save me money in the long run. No brainer really. So why haven't I taken advantage??? I blame the likes of @Andyjr1515 and @Jabba_the_gut who make it all look so blooody easy - turning out magnificent instruments with seemingly little effort - it really can't be as easy as they make it look, surely. The fear of failure is a powerful thing, even when there is support available to make sure that mistakes aren't made and that you produce something you'll be happy with.....I'd probably enjoy the challenge. Thing is, this is what I preach to clients all day, every day - step outside your comfort zone, give yourself a challenge, do something to test yourself.... You know what??? I really should sign up for these classes.

The key words are "decent sound engineer".

I think the trick with subs is to use them sparingly and have them crossed over fairly low. We tend to get a good kick drum chest thump going and bass rumble, then back them off volume wise so they just fatten stuff up. Cranked sub live sound is annoyingly common with many big live venues imho.

We often get requests, but we keep playing anyway. One time a girl shouted in my ear mid song asking if we knew any One Direction songs. We're a blues band. I told her to ask the singer. She shouted "which one is the singer?". I told the band about it in our break and the singer said she'd shouted in his ear mid-song "are you the singer"! They're special in Knaresborough.