Leaderboard
Popular Content
Showing content with the highest reputation on 22/03/20 in all areas
-
6 points
-
I have 16 basses, including a DB, but always go back to my first love: Vantage VP710B. I have 6 of those I have two tuned BEAD, one with flats and the rest are EADG. They are spread over two rehearsealspaces and my home.6 points
-
Selling with heavy heart, but it’s not getting any use. I’ve accepted that I’m more of a short scale player. Stunning black long scale Gretsch bass. The black version has been discontinued and is almost impossible to find. Sounds beautiful with the Filter’tron pickups and switching options. In built knurled strap locks. It’s been well looked after - has very minor rash on back that I’ve tried to get in a photo but it’s hardly noticeable. Also one tiny scuff on front which is again hardly noticeable but I’ve tried to get it in a photo. Here’s the official blurb: Gretsch G5440LSB Electromatic Hollow Body Long Scale Bass Guitar in Black. The G5440LS is the stylishly seismic new long scale bass guitar from Gretsch. The G5440LS is armed with two powerful new Black Top Filter’Tron bass pickups that endow it with an electrifying deep-end voice and identity. Gretsch G5440LSB Electromatic Hollow Body Long Scale Bass Specifications: Body Style: Single Cutaway Body Depth: 2.75” (70 mm) Bracing: Sound-Post Finish: Gloss Urethane Neck: Maple Frets: 22, Medium Jumbo Nut Width: 1.6875” (43 mm) Scale Length: 34” (86.36 cm) Pickups: “Black Top” Filter’Tron Bridge Pickup, “Black Top” Filter’Tron Neck Pickup Pickup Switching: 3 Position Toggle - Position 1: Bridge Pickup - Position 2: Bridge and Neck Pickups - Position 3: Neck Pickup Controls: - Volume 1: Neck Pickup - Volume 2: Bridge Pickup - Master Volume - Master Tone Bridge: 4-Saddle Adjusto-Matic Bridge Tailpiece: “G” Cutout Tailpiece Hardware: Chrome-Plated Tuning Keys: Enclosed Precision Tuners Unique Features: Hump Block fingerboard inlays, Bound Body top and back, bound sound holes and fingerboard, knurled strap retainer knobs, adjustable truss rod. any questions drop me a response.5 points
-
Well, I said I wasn’t interested in trades on my 64 jazz... But I caved the second I opened the case and lifted it out “that’s so light it’s not even there!” I said to @Normski And the neck feels like playing static. Very nice. Anyhow. Here we are.5 points
-
5 points
-
5 points
-
I’m fairly sure me posting a load of Fender Precisions & Jazzes isn’t the idea of this thread, but to me they are the most beautiful instruments ever made (though some colour schemes pass me by).5 points
-
If I downloaded all the Beatles back catalogue, then systematically deleted the tracks I didn't like a/ it would take me an awfully long time and b/ I would have exactly the same amount of free space on my phone as before I started Not much help but you have asked for opinions.4 points
-
It's hard to practice when your only free time is having a sh!t at work, and that's when smartphones buy basses all by themselves...4 points
-
4 points
-
I’ve just been playing the peppa pig theme tune. Covid 19 has a lot to answer for4 points
-
Not particularly tricky but it's a fun little bassline to play. We're adding The Lambrettas version of Poison Ivy to the setlist.4 points
-
@Clarky the odd thing is that if I am arranging postage and the courier is going to loose it then it’s easier I think if I’m the seller. - i will have packaged the item and can vouch for it. And take photos before it’s picked up. - I will have selected the courier, usually ups via inter parcel.... I’ve chosen to avoid Hermes - I will have chosen the insurance- that means I can vouch to the seller that they Will either get their item or 100% of their money back. - I can sort pick up myself, sometimes using that shop drop off option. All at my convenience - I can decide risks of sending it to certain countries, and fill out any custom declarations that are my duty anyway. Generally I am happy posting in EU countries, outside the EU I need convincing on. But it’s so much simpler and easier to do all of this for myself and if anything goes wrong I can fix it simply as I’ve got all the details.4 points
-
@Al Krow here are the pics I promised, just shows off its functionality a bit better. Xx4 points
-
And I even have the original 1991 hard case that came with it...4 points
-
Now this could be tricky. Undeniably beautiful craftmanship doesn't always produce a thing of beauty.4 points
-
Don't have time to do fancy "professional photography" of it, so for now I just took a couple of phone pictures. I had been drooling for the new Ibanez headless basses ever since I saw the leaked photos a while ago before they were even announced. The specs and the design ticked all the boxes for me, and I only wished it had more choices for finishes. Once I had seen enough videos posted about them and was sure they were what I had hoped, I placed orders for two of them--the EHB1505 and the EHB1000. My intention was to replace my main 4 and 5 strings with these (Ibanez SR650 and Dingwall NG-2 5-string), as I just didn't want to deal with headstocks banging into stuff or getting the tuners knocked out of tune anymore, and I never got as comfortable on the multi-scale as I had hoped--normal scale still feels more natural to me. After a period of agonizing wait, the EHB1505 finally arrived today. My wife made me spray everything down with alcohol as I unboxed, due to Covid-19 concerns (we're in Northern California and it's currently in lockdown). The bass is a bit heavier than I had hoped, weighing 7.9 lbs. Considering it's a headless with chambered body, I think it could be a little lighter. I was hoping for 7.5 lbs or less, but I guess I can't compared it to something like the Strandberg Boden 5-string, as that body's got a large chunk of its corner missing, so it's bound to be significantly lighter (it's about 6.5 lbs.). The neck is thin, fast, and smooth. I love how low the action is but without any fret buzz--this is by far the best action I've ever played on a basd with default factory setup. But from here on things went bad. In the brief moments I was able to play a few lines without problems, it sounded awesome--punchy and aggressive. The neck feels significantly faster than my Dingwall NG-2 5-string, which in comparison is chunkier. I also much prefer darker fingerboard for better contrast against the strings (when I got my NG-2, I was bummed when I saw maple fingerboard was the only option). Now, on to the bad. The electronics are not put together properly at all. There was no sound from the active preamp, and the treble/bass knob was very loose. When I jiggle it, it would make loud static noise. I unscrewed the back cover and checked, and it seemed okay, then I took off the treble/bass caps with the smallest Allen wrench supplied with the bass (there are four sizes included) and tightened the knob. That gave me back sound for the active preamp, however, there was still stuff loose with the connections, as the sound was intermittent, punctuated with loud static noise, and if I tried to use the treble/bass, mid/frequency knobs, touching them made the loud static noise too, and applying light pressure to the instrument cable at where the jack is, created the same loud static noise. Even slapping the strings caused the noise, and at their worst, they sounded like the loud pop you get when you plug/unplug your bass without turning down the amp first. It was basically unplayable, and needed to have to electronics repaired/tightened/whatever. I'm not an electronics expert so I had no idea how to troubleshoot and fix it myself, and I was going to call Guitar Center and tell them send me a replacement and return this one (unless I figured out how to repair it myself). For $1,500 the quality control is unacceptable. What the hell is happening with Ibanez's quality control in Indonesia? I tried to troubleshoot a second time and opened up the back again, and this time, I found the problem. It was a friggin' badly soldered wire that has disconnected from the connector jack, and I'm guessing every little movement I made caused it to connect/disconnect, creating all that noise. I'm glad it wasn't something more serious, because I just need to redo the soldering on that wire and it'll be fine. Despite the negatives (which fortunately were things that were easily fixed and not deal-breakers), I love this bass. It plays so smoothly, sounds great, is easy on the eyes, and I'd be happy replacing my Dingwall with it. Don't get me wrong, the Dingwall is an amazing instrument, and to another person it could be the perfect bass, but unfortunately, I just prefer normal scale, headless, and darker fingerboard. I hope when my EHB1000 arrives in May, it won't have any QC issues. I already know the Bartolini BH2 pickups are a bit darker than the Nordstrands, and I'm fine with that, because I don't always want the more aggressive sound of the Nordstrands.3 points
-
3 points
-
Over the 4-5 years I've been playing bass I've tried various paid content providers. I know a lot of BCers love to hate but @devinebass 's bass academy is the best I've come across. I signed up a number of years ago after failing to find a local teacher that wasn't just a guitar teacher trying to earn a few extra bucks teaching bass badly. I'm now a life time member and I keep going back. The theory courses by Phil Man are very good and I'm currently working on the Beginners Jazz Survival guide by Scott himself which is helping me immensely in my transition from a tired rock covers bassist to Jazzer. I picked up some books by Joe Hubbard in his Black Friday sale that I've yet to get stuck into but look really good. It's not paid content, but @TKenrickis running a groove of the week series that's great in the theory/technique section of this forum!3 points
-
Ah this is the beginner’s model which they kept simple...3 points
-
All recently acquired. I'm very pleased with my rig. Not the lightest but still very portable and sounds great!3 points
-
Many P's have come and gone, mex, jap, USA...... But my modded Matt freeman bass will never go, oi love it 😘. The neck profile on these are spot on. gotoh Bridge and tuners, kiorgan loom and pots and a vintage tonerider pup. I've Lightly sanded the neck to a satin feel, engraved stained wood scratch gaurd, a cheeky f neck plate and 70s logo.100%the best p I've had in my arsenal, thumps and plays like a dream.3 points
-
I work as an environmental and geotechnical field engineer for a mid-size consultancy bureau here in the Netherlands. I'm a bachelor in environmental sciences, and through various internships during my studies, ended up specializing in soil and groundwater. I started as a consultant, but gradually discovered the office isn't the right place for me so now I spend my workdays outdoors for most of the time. My work mainly includes conducting soil surveys (by manually drilling into the soil with a hand auger and taking samples of layers, placing monitoring wells and sampling the groundwater) and supervising soil remediation projects. Our company's core business, however, is in soil mechanics and foundation engineering. For this, we have several CPT trucks (cone penetration testing) for testing the bearing capacity of soils for up to 60 metres deep. I can operate these as well, but unfortunately I don't have a truck driving license! I have just taken on a new job opportunity at my company though, and will start working as a project manager for geotechnical and geomonitoring projects somewhere in May.3 points
-
3 points
-
But before we do. MrsAndyjr1515 sitting bolt upright in bed at 1.30am one quiet, winters night, "What was that noise??" Me the following day. "I'd better go and fix that shelf" MrsAndyjr1515. "Please don't."3 points
-
Thanks for your help all. It's looking like I'll eventually go for a sub if I can find one at the right price. I had considered the cheap hatley Benton as well, but with thomann being abroad and this current situation I decided against it. However, I'm very impulsive..... I did see this. I've always wanted a Sire v7, but being in a tribute act i had to play what my counterpart did, but now i can play whatever i want. When i saw this, i simply had to get it. It will give me more tonal range than the standard p basses I've been using, and looks amazing (to me anyway!). Matching headstock. Active and passive switch. 3 band eq. Tone and mixable pick up control. And it's the modified version 2 v7. Hopefully (couriers aside) it should arrive tomorrow.3 points
-
Got any gigs coming up?🤔 Don't do it. Really not that important in the grand scheme of things, and the evidence for the benefit of social distancing really can't be ignored.3 points
-
3 points
-
3 points
-
With the current bit of extra time on our collective hands, thought it would be good to get our collective recommendations for paid on line bass courses that are worth investing in. I appreciate that there is an absolute ton of free and very good material on-line. Some of the paid courses can, however, take things to the next level whilst still offering amazing value for money and maybe I'm old fashioned but I kinda think it's great to be able to support fellow musos for the their time and effort in creating and pulling together this material when we can (although I appreciate that some of them are doing incredibly well from their online channels!). For me, it also provides a bit more motivation for working through the material given that I have parted with hard earned cash! I have over the last few years become a big fan of Mark at Talking Bass and have really liked his free tutorials. I recently took the plunge with his 'Simple Steps to Slap' course costing $80 (approx £65). It's actually 53 lessons with full lesson material so effectively just over £1 a lesson and should keep me busy for 6 months or so in total (I'm half way through so far). Really happy to recommend this course - it's aimed I would say at a competent amateur with perhaps a couple of years bass playing under their belt rather than for a complete beginner. I've been playing fairly intensively for about 7 years now and it's been both enjoyable and a very useful intro the fun and percussive world of slap. As well as any excellent courses you've done, feel free to share if any paid courses you've taken have been a bit 'meh', that can be just as useful to know! [PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING 😊] What I'm really keen to find out are details of the specific PAID on-line courses you've taken and found really useful rather than generic recommendations of tutors. A little mini review along the lines below, which I can cut and paste, would be great. As I mentioned above I'm aware there is a ton of free very good material on-line, that's not what I'm looking for please. Summary of recommended courses: SBL Technique Accelerator Course - Scott Devine. About £100 and includes 24 video lessons with workbook and tells you what to practice each week (~20 mins/day at least 5 days a week) to remove some bad habits and improve overall technique/facility on the bass. Bass Mastery course - Joe Hubbard. Around £400 per year 48 lessons with video which is usually somewhere between 15 and 25 minutes and a pdf. Need to be able to read music notation as there is no tab. Basic Fundamentals course - Mark at Talking Bass for anyone needing to learning basic music theory. This is one of a series of lessons provided by Mark who has a clear and easy to follow style and comes highly recommended from several of us on this thread. Basic and intermediate course - Jeff Berlin. Aimed at teaching how to read bass clef music notation. $99 gets you access to 24 lessons of various sight reading etudes totalling 102 pages and access to video on Vimeo showing how they should be played properly. The lessons are emailed to you by PDF. Online Academy - Tony Grey subscription fee £24 per month. Well structured course covers both theory and technique (detailed contents - see JohnR's post on page 4). Zoltan's bass lounge - both electric and double bass. Courses (temporarily free) are normally £20 to £70. Tuition is on a 5 string bass and music notation rather than tabs. DiscoverDoubleBass - very affordable Artist Works Jazz Bass - John Patitucci. Three levels - beginner, intermediate, advanced - each with a number of lessons. Subscription e.g. $105 for 3 months gives access to the acoustic course also, plus a 4 lesson basic theory lesson. Videos for each lesson, and PDFs (notation only, no tab) for most lessons, as well as some backing tracks. John is a good teacher, and has relaxed and friendly style. The real bonus is that you can submit several of your own videos, and he'll respond personally, providing feedback on where you should improve. Simple Steps to Slap course - Mark at Talking Bass cost £65. 53 lessons with full lesson material including exercises and accompanying notation / tabs & drum tracks. Basic and Intermediate Slap courses - Stuart Clayton. £8 per course.2 points
-
There are four of us in our band, all have different professions and mix with lots of people through work on a daily basis. We have the luxury of our own very spacious rehearsal studio (no one else uses it), but there is still no way, even though we are all good mates, would we even consider rehearsing together.2 points
-
2 points
-
We half thought the same but nope it’s a young Welsh fella with a telecaster who plays rockabilly like a man possessed. We even got offered tea and lemon drizzle cake when we got to the venue to set up. Proper rock n roll that. Tis a good bass. Light as a feather, with quite a faded burst now and buckle rash thru to the bare wood at the back.2 points
-
As pointed out its your list So no such thing as a bad choice. But cut Eleanor Rigby? Seriously? The string arrangement is wonderful.2 points
-
Not sure why Scott's bass lessons hasn't come up yet. Really enjoy doing the lessons and the paid content is excellent with good work books. Given my practice some structure and my playing has come on loads. Not a huge fan of the Youtube style "5 reasons why xxx sucks" things but in fairness that's clickbait to get his actual site more views. The actual site interviews / Webstreams and classes are great.2 points
-
@PJ-Bassist couple of reviews above. Weight, I'd say 9.5 lbs (4strings) to 10.2 lbs (5strings) from comments made so far. Action and neck - I'm a little spoiled with great necks with my Ibbys and Yammys but I've not noticed anything untoward about the Sire. My action is not as low as some folk like to have theirs (e.g. @dave_bass5). Slightly oddly out of the box Andertons had set it up with raised E,A,D strings like you might see on an acoustic bass. I have since lowered, but didn't manage to get super low without fret buzz, but maybe a combination of slight truss rod adjustment would get me there if I wanted to lower the action further.2 points
-
What I like about these kind of projects is that there is a 'how to best do this' moment around every corner. I'm now onto tidying up the small reshape around the end of the neck pocket and taking off the original finish ready to refinish after I've done the various plug fills, etc. And here's the thing. One of the absolute charms of the body is that it is NOT even. So, interestingly, the approach has to be "DON'T use a sanding block" So yes - any transit scratches or maker errors (that they themselves, if they had spotted them, would have sorted) can come off, but anything that is a result of the carving method itself should ideally be left in place You can see an example here on the top horn: Those dints - which normally would be sanded smooth - should ideally be left there. So I will sand the old varnish away in the dips with fine sandpaper over my finger, but not use a block which would flatten the dips. The two exceptions are the area where the bridge elements will be going and the bottom of the neck pocket at the back... ...which needs to be flat for a full seating of the neck plate. But those dips and digs you can see towards the tailstock, will be cleaned up but left as dips and digs. This afternoon, I will cut a plug to close the hole drilled to get the cable runs sorted. Originally, I was going to use a fretboard dot, but I had to widen the hole a touch to allow the two 4-core pickup cables to run through from the rear pickup chamber to the jack chamber. Besides, I think a colour-compatible wood plug would look better2 points
-
I normally put the hard case inside a cardboard box and pad it out with bubble wrap. The case itself is worth money and can get damaged in transit2 points
-
Recently got my Blingray out of self isolation and this song always makes me feel better, the extended mix is my playalong at the moment Epic song2 points
-
This is the nicest P bass I've ever had and it trounces any modern Fender in terms of looks, feel and tone. The body is lightweight at around 7 lbs (3 kg) and the neck has a gorgeous dark Brazilian rosewood fingerboard on beautiful yellowy maple that is visually excellent but feels well worn in after 38 years of playing. The neck is pencil dated 11 .1. 1982 and it has the original reverse tuners, which hold their tuning perfectly but are visually a bit tarnished and creak a wee bit when you're changing strings. This bass has been played and played and played and feels totally worn in with all the mojo. The body has a gorgeous old-style sunburst where the red and black have faded a bit in the sun, there's plenty of edge wear but the top is clean. The neck is tight in the neck pocket and I added a thin card shim to get the best action. The back of the body has a gouge by the neck plate a few other marks and lines in the finish. The tortoiseshell pickguard is the original one and looks amazing - it's shrunk a bit in a couple of places like the old ones do but it fits good overall. There are some added screw holes under the guard where the previous owner added a different guard. The pickup is the original one in a newer casing as the original one cracked (I still have it) and has just had one of its bobbins rewound by Bare Knuckle pickups so it's back to factory spec. The ground is soldered to the original copper shielding plate in the pickup cavity. The tone is thick and punchy with flatwounds but retains all the definition, drives the amp well and goes all Motown when you roll the tone off - ultimate P bass tone. Unfortunately. the previous owner lost the neck plate with the JV serial number when he tried a jazz neck on it (just bonkers huh?) so the bass comes with a similar one from a Vester bass. I thought about buying a replacement JV neck plate but that felt a bit wrong so I'm leaving it as is. A new blank plate is a few quid on ebay. The bridge is a more modern replacement although I have the original bridge with the threaded saddles but the outer two grub screws are seized meaning you can't get the outer string's action right. There's an extra two screw holes under the bridge where someone must have experimented with another bridge. The knobs look like they're more modern versions with slightly domed tops rather than the flat tops. Again these are a few quid on ebay. All in all this is a fantastic bass with tons of vintage mojo and it just oozes class from every viewpoint. It looks, sounds and feels as close as you can get to a vintage early 70s bass but without the £3k price tag. I'm gutted to have to sell it as this was supposed to be a keeper but bills are piling up. A perfect example would be over a grand so someone will get a great deal here. Comes with a Hiscox case. I'm down in Cornwall but would be happy to meet on the M5 somewhere for a quick sale. I'm open to different options and can ship if necessary.2 points
-
As long as you send it insured and 100% insist on this as a seller then it’s a lot easier to send it yourself and makes it much easier to sell your stuff.2 points
-
Remember that time that GAK said they sent a shipment back due to quality control issues and we said they were liars....😅2 points
-
The adhesive strip is narrower than the copper strip, so there's plenty of space for overlap and solid connection. I found it really easy to make a very clean job of it.2 points
-
Still my £60 pawn shop special. Best neck on any bass I've ever played. Admittedly it didn't come with the DiMarzios, Schaller bridge, stack knobs or vulgar scratchplate.2 points
-
Could be be the cynic in me - but did they do that on purpose? As you say, nowt wrong with the actual instruments but the logo does cheapen it and the range above looks far better. They want you to spend more money after all. Nice logo design btw!2 points