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At the risk of sounding like blowing ones own on the most popular of bass forums, I bring you some news (which means a great, great deal to me) that I hope you will be pleased to read. I am super happy to have been invited on board and have joined the brilliant team over at Bass Guitar Magazine. To begin with I will be bringing you a column each month best described by BGM's editor in a recent social media post: "At the recent UK Guitar Show, a reader of Bass Guitar mag suggested that I run a monthly column devoted to solving bass players' problems, gear-related rather than connected to personal grooming or relationships, I should add. "A capital idea!" I said, and pondered who the right hack would be. Ideally someone who knows bass gear inside out, is an experienced writer, has the right facial hair and whose picture in the mag won't scare cows at 100 paces. I'm delighted to announce that the great Dan Veall is the chap who got the gig: you can read his first column on 10 Dec in Bass Guitar and 24 Dec in Bass Player. Round of applause for new bug Dan, team! "

Life has been hectic.. been setting up 2 new businesses and moderating on another forum.. Thought I’d pop in to say hello. Remember the fretless Uberhorn? After an epic repair job which basically involved a rebuild and refinish.. it’s on its way back this week as good as new..

I still do too! My Shuker Guitars custom 7 string is indeed tuned that way! It has clocked up over ten years of service and still going strong. Yes! Though you are absolutely up against physics and some technical thinking is required to get the best out of these very low tunings. Only recently I was "chatting" to someone in a Facebook thread who wanted me to believe that their speaker cabinets (described in the thread) were easily capable of producing the fundamental frequencies of the low B string at a volume equal to the rest of the frequency range. I didn't respond to the comment but I did go in to great detail why that wouldn't be such a good idea on stage anyway. So, here's the thing - very few speaker cabinets (for bass) can even get anywhere near those fundamentals - speakers will just flap about wasting energy (as heat instead) with no real volume, clarity or.. point. So onstage, I get rid of all the sub frequencies - the 1st and second harmonics and the equivalent note over tones are where the volume is. You still "hear" the note as being that low, but you rely on overtones (that are contained within the note) to get the quality, timbre and volume. So, an HPF on my cabinets. I don't use speaker simulations in my signal path so, it's an EQ'd DI straight out to front of house which is left to do all the heavy lifting. My usual gig this year has included a great PA with big subs and that would have done a great job of dealing with the full breadth of sound that this bass can deal out. (it was designed especially for the job rather than just strapping low strings on any ole bass to see what happens.) Finally FOH, well, to sit in the mix the sound gets tweaked some more, but the net effect is some really nice low frequencies that don't boom but provide depth. The low string isn't about being louder or bassier than anyone else, just like my keyboard players left hand piano register. See above. Yes, when done badly, low tunings sound ghastly, mushy, incoherent and not at all adding anything to the overall sound. Done well, it's no different from hearing a piano player "go low".

Well, since i sold my TE Hexavalve, i have been on the nose for a replacement (or a aQuatravalve) as i missed it so much. A couple of weeks ago a Hexa turned up in Lille France. It turns out its my old amp! Im close to Dover so Ive skipped on a ferry to pick it up. Its the same nice fellow i sold it to who is meeting me in Calais. He was on the lookout for a Twinvalve which I have so we are trading with some €’s his way. I SWEAR i will never sell the Hexa again! Cheers! 😁

That’s right Quilly... but if the strings come attached to a lump of wood and machine heads you are out 😂

Oh yeah. Absolute brain f@rt moment. I don't know what I was thinking. I told you it was a daft question. Oh well. I'll leave the thread here just for comedy value.

I was so pleased to see my old amp and olivier is such a nice chap too. He brought me some local beer!

She messaged me about my BB’s - thought she meant my Yamahas not my tumescent gonads. oh well.

Bet it sounded great over there too! More portable rig for this afternoons gig :

Affectionately named "Sally" by @Rich, this is my Shuker Guitars custom six string, enjoying over ten years constant service. I adore this bass! It has had a facelift and a fair amount of tweaking, but this one is always a joy to play. Other than my other Shuker bass I have, there are no basses that I have owned for so long. Insanely nice instruments and this one (and the other) are going no where!

Indeed, more F art than F sharp.

Sounds like a win-win to ms!

It's not that there's nothing I want. It's more that if I don't spend that money on getting the bathroom sorted I may very well find myself spending a lot more time with my guitars than I had anticipated next year.

Not sure I follow ... the Low B means that the step up to the E string is a 4th, the same as all the other steps. That's what makes a 5-er such a doddle to play.

At least he didn't call the book "Pegging".

Good things come to those who wait - not much option if you're looking for one of these. And yes, that's a Kahler Trem! The bass has been modded over the years with the Kahler and a strange active circuit but you can still play it Passive as well and the active and passive each have their own volume control presumably so you can balance the two different sounds. All the work seems to have been done to a very high standard and the original wood working, timbers and finish are all excellent and surprisingly well preserved. It sounds and feels great and (IMO) looks fantastic so well chuffed with this one. I've only been looking for about 25 years!

Just had an email arrive regarding this P bass. They claim it was made by Overwater but it's got Ibanez tuners, a Wilkinson bridge and they say they've removed a kg's worth of plastic finish! Has Overwater ever used these components on a bass? I don't think so. Anyone know more about this than me? The seller has 100% feedback! What gives here? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/254446216243?ul_noapp=true

That's how I use it, as sharing folders was creating trouble for some people with smaller storage.

You're using a shared folder in Dropbox, so anything the owner copies into it gets copied to your Dropbox too. If your drummer just sends a link to the folder you can choose which individual files you want, and can download them or copy to your Dropbox selectively, and delete them when you want.

This... I use WeTransfer almost every day at work. It’s not let me down yet. It’s also a good barometer of how “desperately important” something is, when the recipient then asks me to resend it a week later when the link has expired... 😐

Two that I made myself. And one I bought.

in for a penny....

That's a good point as Chris had basses made up to show Tanglewood what they could do so its possible it was one of those early designs for Tanglewood. Still made by Overwater altho the seller does state it was a custom order with Overwater. Weird one. Dave

Yeah I thought “maybe a pre tanglewater prototype” shame it’s in such a state.

Not all Overwater basses have the truss adjust at body end. Looking thru Overwater Gallery there are some headstocks that look very much like it plus the neck on the P Overwater had a black nut from what i could see. Couldn't see any standard P basses on their gallery. They either had the full 3 band EQ or 3 pots rather than 2. If the seller has evidence that it was purchased from Overwater it should list all parts used. Overwater will fit any parts you suggest rather than their own. Its totally up to the individual I'd be surprised if Overwater made a mess of any finish, their basses are first class. I have 2 off them. Dave

Also, Overwater Jazz and PB's have the truss rod adjuster at the body end. If it ever did start out life as an Overwater, there's precious little of it left beyond the body.

I saw that @Jack had an RCF 12" sub paired with two RCF 12" tops, in a for sale thread, which looked great. I'll leave Jack to elaborate on what difference the sub makes to their sound when it's being used vs if they go tops only.

The reason the room is empty is because they all saw you caring that lot in. They're all standing over the other side of the car park. 😂

Basses are tuned in 4ths. Which also why a 6 string bass has a top C instead of a B. I know a 4 string player who always tunes low C F Bb Eb. There are so many different tunings being regularly used these days that you can use which ever one is comfortable for you.

Mixed feelings about gig last night. First up the van i hired had an engine management light on that they said wasn't affecting the running of the van. Once on the motorway the power died every time we hit a hill. From 60-70mph down to 30-40mph. It did get us to the gig eventually. Torrential rain and extremely windy when driving a high sided LWB van. Once in the venue it appears the venue didn't promote the event so it wasn't very busy. Everyone that was there was really into the gig tho and we had them dancing from early on till the end. ( two 1hr sets ) Because the venue was not as busy as expected the promoter struggled to get the money to pay us the agreed price. At half time he told us and said he would pay us 2/3 and would sort out the remainder later. (Guys in the band know him and he's true to his word) He said if we wanted to pack up now he would understand. Obviously we said we would play the gig as agreed. End up he paid what he had and said he was starting with a new venue and would pay us the extra at the first gig we play there. Band sounded great last night. Bit of a boomy wooden stage tho but manageable. Promoter said we were the best band he'd seen in that venue so high praise. Lot of people asking for photos with the band at the end too so that was nice. (70's Glam covers band with full costumes etc) Back to trying to get the van home. Loaded up and about 15mins into the journey the dual carriageway was closed due to an accident. That held us up for about an hour or so. Once we got moving it was nurse the van home time. Finished the 2nd set around 11pm. Got changed, sorted out the money within the band as you do, loaded the van and headed off around 12:30. Dropped the drummer off along with his drums PA and lighting (only 2 off us loading and unloading the van at his house so that was hard going. Finally got home at 4am. A 75mile journey that i can do in my car in 90mins took us 3.5hrs. 3hrs later had to take van back to hire company before 9am with a few choice words on van. They didn't really care. Used my Sandberg VM4 with flats and still not sure about them. Was difficult to decide on them with stage being a bit boomy. Sounded ok out front at sound check tho. One thing i did find was that my fingers seemed to feel tight and quite stiff causing me to struggle with playing the exact bass parts in some songs. Had to miss out some notes on faster parts. Not sure if it was down to all the lifting of gear when loading the van or just the stress of a van that wasn't working properly. Could it have been the flats causing a problem moving across the strings ? No idea. Anyway i'm absolutely knackered today Dave

Made a start on Weekend Rockstars last night very enjoyable and well written, looking forward to reading my way through the others. I'd been looking for ward to something other than the usual stuff I read, this is a very welcome change. Keep em coming.

We like this one a lot. The quality isn't great, but it definitely captures the moment. Taken at Dingwalls in Camden last December.

Doesn't look like an Overwater headstock to me. Wilkinson make decent, workmanlike gear, but I'm not aware of any higher end manufacturer fitting their gear as standard. It smells fishier than Mrs Bassfingers home made apple pie.

It was unbelievable. Kind of filled the room with bass without ever being too loud.

Well, if it was George playing, at least it would be a Wonderwall. Yes, I'm hanging my head in shame.

Hi Michael Nice to hear from you and I hope you're well. The Jazz didn't last much longer I'm afraid as I struggle with the body shape for some reason and always look line in shooting ducks when I'm playing one! I decided to replace it with a stunning 2014 Classic Ray which is in absolutely spotless condition. It's a lovely weight too. Not quite two matching pairs, but pretty close

Hello. I'm illy (or Ilana). I live in Oxford currently but I'm moving to Brighton shortly. I have two kids, 9 years and 4 years. Been playing since 1991... I'm old... I own two J basses and 2 Spector basses, all 5 string. I started playing 5 string 1992, first 5 string was a Charvel Fusion V. It's all I could afford at the time. I do being mum and music. Equally divided.......(I wish....) I use an EBS preamp into power amp and into two Markbass Traveller cabs. I also have an (Eminence loaded) custom 2x10/HF "Unicorn" cab. A Traynor SB500H for light, easy-handling if I do gigs and a TC Electronic BC208 and Traynor SB200H next to my bed, bedroom practice, of course. That's it.

The good news is that the neck has got to Nottingham! The bad news is that I have now had to pay the customs, etc … but actually, at £28, that was better than I was expecting So - in that I have to do further coats anyway, I've started looking at the black stain options and am in discussion with @scrumpymike whether he wants me to try a black/grey burst or just go with black. The stain is working quite well - I'm using Chestnut Spirit Stain. This is after a couple of coats. It would have more and the finish will also further darken it but - for notoriously difficult black staining - it's an encouraging start: One of the curiosities of black stain, particularly on Alder, is that the grain shows lighter than the surrounding wood - when using any other colour, the grain will always show darker than the surrounding wood. And the old trick of sanding down and reapplying doesn't work when black is the actual stain. This first coat shows what I mean: The reasons become clear once you start thinking about it. One for the family gatherings when the conversations go quiet over the Christmas period.

Bloody guitarists! Coming over here taking our jobs! Somebody should build a wall!

Herebe us handsome chappies