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If this has already been shared I'd love to say I'm sorry. But no. It bears sharing more than once. Virtuosity and a great creative, fun idea. (Sorry to those who didn't realise that playing a Harley Benton really does make you a better player - this is the definitive proof)

From a few topics on here I've noticed quite a bit of warmth towards Hawkwind: be it live, on record or just plain Lemmy. There's a good/interesting piece in today's Guardian for those who like a bit of quark, strangeness and charm... https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/oct/19/why-hawkwind-were-the-great-radicals-of-1970s-rock

I'd always fancied the look of the Guild B series basses but simply assumed they would all be boat anchors and discounted them. Back in August @cd_david started a thread on Guild porn, where I discovered that they weren't all heavy. In fact some of them are relatively lightweight. So I stuck a 'wanted' post out there for a lightweight one. @AndyTravis then did me a MASSIVE favour by alerting me to a lightweight 301 for sale on Facebook, collection only in Matlock, Derbyshire. I got in touch with the guy, he wanted a cash only sale so, after initially toying with the idea of starting off one of the infamous 'Basschat Relays' I decided I'd actually drive there to pick it up. 3.5hrs each way. I have been further for less. So that is what I did yesterday. The auspices were good - not a single hold up en route and I found a car parking space just 50m from the shop via an alleyway. He took it out of the gig bag and handed it over - it was one of those instant bonding situations. Love at first sight. Weighs in at 3.7kg on the nose. 8.14lbs. One owner from new, original unmolested condition. Some honest wear about the body but the frets have been barely worn in by the look of them. Serial number indicates it was the third from last ever made - 1980! Pics below are as I got it, I've since taken it to bits and given it a clean. Fresh strings. Wow. The tone is like nothing I have owned. Not Fender-ish. Organic, deep, rich but punchy. Really punchy Pickup is further back towards the bridge than, say, a P bass which I guess makes it so clear. The build quality as right up there, as good as anything I have owned. open back Grover tuners with a cute wiggle to them. 3 point bridge that is a massive improvement over the Gibson version. I even love the knobs! A little neck heavy but nothing a grippy strap won't cure. I've kissed a lot of frogs but reckon this is a Prince among basses. It has completely blown me away. Can't wait to give it a try out with my blues rock band!

Inlay cavity done.... I am not unhappy with it at all. Was afraid of messing up, but whilst I will obviously need to fill with some sawdust I got it pretty close.

I like it. I couldn't listen to it all day, but as a bass solo, it's about a million times more melodic than most of Vic Wooten's.

I went a whole 12 months without owning a Warwick. I’m back 😎

Good grief! I've only gone and done it.... ...Actually put the bench in! In fact this is the second build of it - the first time I put it in place the bench was too high, so I took it all out again and reset the height - it's now at just under 36" to the top surface. I've used the worktop offcuts - so I have a joint in the middle which is a bit ugly - I guess I could have tried to clean up the edges of the two meeting surfaces, but I had a feeling they'd not get that much better than they are at present. The bench is supported on a 2x3 bearer fixed to the wall - I had the stud positions marked so was able to fix into the studs rather than the 11mm OSB. 3x2 along the front edge as well. Shelf is supported on some 2x1 batten on the wall and 3x2 at the ends, plus also a bearer on the back of the central leg. Again, this had to be jointed as the length of the bench is just shy of 3m. I had thought the front edge of the shelf would need a batten, but it's 18mm OSB, and once it was screwed down into the back and side bearers plus to the back of the central leg, it's really stiff. I may run a piece of 2x1 along the underside to ensure it stays stiff if I feel it's needed, though. Bench surface is fixed from underneath using brackets and swearing. Apart from the 3x2 and the 2x1, the rest of the bench was made of "free" materials - the OSB was left over from when the shed was built, as were the lumps of 6x2 used on the legs. Worktop was offcuts from the kitchen fitting. I decided to turn the worktop upside down as when using the worktop as a temporary bench on a couple of sawhorses, I realised the "proper" surface was way too slippy. Now all I need is power!

It is possible to find out how much they paid for it, the sticker will have a 4 or 5 letter code on it somewhere, it will be 2 or 3 letters then a dot and 2 more letters, the last two letters will probably be HH, Cash converters use what is usually referred to as the Blacksmith code, to mark the price paid on each item. B=1 L=2 A=3 and so on, so the HH is 0 pence. i find this useful when i find something in the shop that i don't want to pay full price for, knowing how much they paid is a great starting point for haggling. Matt

New Hamer Bass Day!!! With HUGE thanks to an amazing friend in WA, USA (who secured it for me and sent it to the UK) I have just received this amazing condition Copper/Gold 1990 Hamer Impact bass (designed by Kip Winger). Less than 200 ever made of this beauty....! It looks, feels, plays and sounds AWESOME!! A really focused, tight but full piano tone with a little edge. 😎🎸😎👍 That makes three Hamer Impacts in my collection now! 🎸🎸🎸

If this doesn't cheer you up.............

Yes its a cover, yes she's a young bass player. But man can this girl play the bass.The detail in her playing is fantastic. imo.

If the bass player in a band does what is required of a bass player in that band, he is doing a great job. So what if he plays root notes or basic patterns. If it works for the band, it works.

Well, I am not an expert at these things, but I would put the rug on the floor

I'd feel a fraud posting this in recording as I am basically miming on a uke bass inside a toy car but here's a clever little video we did on a budget of £27. Trying to be creative during these difficult times. The band is getting a bit of interest in Spain now and it's frustrating that we can't get out there at the moment. Anyhow, hopefully this'll make a couple of you smile for a minute or so

If the delay effect is in time with the music and your using a human drummer you will need something with tap tempo.

Most of the non-musicians I speak to have no idea what a bass guitar is, or how it differs from a normal guitar.

You are joking, I have spent much more time in the last few years fixing the lights on the drums than any battery work

I had to re-read this - thought that "neck weights" was an actual thing - something that were added to necks.

Frank if I knew how to ding your dong I'd do it every day 😎

The chemistry of batteries can be quite complex. One of the 'features' often designed in is the ability to stay at nominal voltage as long as possible, then drop off suddenly (a 'cliff edge'...). Others will gradually decline (a 'slope'...). The pre-amp, too, will have its own design parameters, so may continue to work normally with a lowering voltage until it can no longer do so, when it suddenly becomes mute. Our Cort will start to distort heavily if the battery is low (but has a 'pull for passive' volume pot...). Each combination of bass/battery is potentially different. There are also those basses that need tools to change the battery, often with tiny screws that fall between the stage boards, and are always black so that they become invisible in dim light, anyway. I'm glad that I'm a drummer.

I also disagree here My Old smoothie Ray goes from Dubby, mutey jazz machine , Grindy Drop D rock , up to Screamy pop punk , with a stomp on my Tubescreamer Really just a mid boost and volume lift) and a spin of the treble pot its up in bark town. If i wanted to "fake it" upright i have been know to quickly drop the mutes on the E and A then play up the dusty end rather than the money zone. The Ray It has rapidly become my only gigged and rehearsed Bass , invading practice too aI was feeling lazy and grabbed my remaining jazz for last nights noodling and within 10 minutes i had conceded and gone to get the Ray ... its just " HOME" There's some surprisingly versatility even the one pickup config , where you play , rolling back volume ( surprisingly how much this effects the bite of the bass like gain) Bass and Treble Mutes and right hand technique all play into it , it also helps that the smoothie is not string aligned like a standard ray they sit astride them.

This is the first sensible discussion I have seen on any social media platform on the topic of Covid-19. Informative, reasoned and mutually respectful. Thank you all for restoring my faith that society still has the ability to conduct a rational and sensible debate now and again.

It's just a knot in the wood used for the fretboard - it shouldn't cause any concern from a functional perspective. I suppose you could call it bad QC and it should have been rejected but I wouldn't worry - it makes your bass unique! Enjoy it and get stuck in.

Second schoolboy error!

Not something I would want to listen to but very tallented and also I think a fantastic practice in translating what you hear into what you play.

No I was trying to be clever and use bebop language - you're harshing my buzz man, it was a failed attempt at humour.

I mean, he's only doing what we all do surely? I'm currently trying to play a couple bars of a Charlie Parker solo in all 12 keys. It's a challenge, it's fun and it's a learning experience. This is Mr Navarro doing the same. His technical ability is just so much higher than mine that's all. (The Charlie Parker thing was a suggestion on FB not my idea) Oh and if you watch his video on Music Theory it's clear he's a really intelligent nice bloke too. But as has often been said before each to their own. I guess if it's not for you, you stop watching. Simples.

Another lesson : an electric bass can be played unplugged... Buy a passive one, easy to carry, with 30.5 inches scale in Trans Red and the problem will be solved.

I've found that on guitars that haven't been used for ages that it's often NOT just the tip contact that's bad, it's the contact to the ground of the Jack that's poor. Try roughing that up with fine wet n dry paper wrapped round a small screwdriver. Don't forget to clean it thoroughly afterwards.

That doesn’t sound like a good thing!

That's an absolute corker Paul, congrats! Enjoy the bass! Got to say, this line from your post made me chuckle out loud .. 😂 "I've kissed a lot of frogs but reckon this is a Prince among basses. " Nik

Yup you read it right. Now you can get your own little mini Lemmy to make sure you get no sleep ‘til Hammersmith. https://www.nme.com/news/music/lemmy-action-figure-unveiled-for-ace-of-spades-40th-anniversary-2789684?fbclid=IwAR1lHDHuKywi8Jm60zQ0t_VBy4wpfVZTj9fQjFYPcHTcsZgETTEYemN3JDw Just make sure you buy yours quickly before Mr Hall and his m’learned friends kick the door in and slap an injunction on it for selling fake Rickies, infringement of trademarks and trying to pass of the teeny plastic accessory as the real thing!

John East's Uni-Pre offers extensive frequency selection too, anther great suggestion.

Listen to the beginning of "Got The Time" by Anthrax. By using a lil drive, Frank's bass tone doesn't just growl, it tears your face off

I have a bit of a problem with the tuner/ preamp on my Ovation Electro acoustic geeetar. I emailed a number of companies for support. Head and shoulders above the others (including Ovation themselves) was Andertons who don't stock the part I needed but their rep went to the trouble of identifying the correct part and a stockist. Not bad considering that I won't be giving them any money. Many thanks to Andertons.

Hopefully there are one or two of us playing DB & EUB live / or even via Zoom and others have some dates in the diary? I've certainly been enjoying spending a bit more time getting up to speed on my cheap and cheerful Stagg EUB and now have half a set's worth of material under my belt. Just another set and a half to go... 😁

Well, if all the subjective thread were closed, we wouldn't have much to chat about. Except facts. FACT! 😗

Who can say. I often fall into the trap of assuming when I see anything bass related that makes me go wow! I have to come here and share it. I forget that me enjoying something doesn't equate to every one enjoying it. I was going to share some dude playing bebop on a double bass which was another piece of unbelievable playing but maybe I won't risk getting my buzz harshed.

Sometimes we need to pay for our education - you spent £30 but you'll never do it again.

If you're going for a kit get @KiOgon to make you one. He only uses quality components and it's a no solder solution.

I got something together , but i did find this a struggle, I have done a nod to this fact in there somewhere , but hands up on this , bashing about on a drum machine and overdubbing various percussion elements is all that I could dream up! the link to the picture is tenuous but findable Stung , enjoy

You BAD people... I went back to the shop... Don't need another bass, got 3 and can't play! - £85 and left the shop with it in hand...

If you can't get this fixed yourself, feel free to PM me (I'm in Edinburgh) and I could look at this for you.

I can't think of a single overrated bass player. I can think of plenty of very famous bass players whose playing I don't care for, but none who are actually in some way bad at playing bass whilst everyone thinks they're great.

This makes me uncomfortable, because the social comment in this thread is being driven by people whose posts generally I almost invariably agree with ... but here I'm parting company. So long as the discussion is being framed in terms of "do the right thing and nobody dies, do the wrong thing and all those deaths are your fault" then we'll get nowhere. That's trying to isolate and then exaggerate one aspect and one aspect only of this crisis. People die. They die all the time, and in enormous numbers, of a very wide range of causes. We now have a new cause, Covid-19, and quite rightly we're taking it very seriously. But far more people still die of non-Covid causes, and the Covid-19 deaths are running (even with the new peak) at roughly 1.2 people a day per million of population. Is that good? No, of course it''s not. Is that a catastrophe? No, of course it's not. The dreadful situation six months ago largely comprised the accelerated death of people who were anyway close to death, through old age or pre-existing illness. What does 'largely' mean? The most widely quoted official stat that I've seen (do please correct me if I've got this wrong @Beedster, seriously) is that 91.1% of the Covid deaths in the Spring fell under this heading. Is that good? No, of course it''s not. Is that a catastrophe? It may well have been for the many individuals affected, but only in the sense that every death is someone's personal tragedy. I'm nowhere near enough of a hypocrite to be shedding tears over the death from (basically) old age of complete strangers in Dorset or Dumfries. Now take a look at the personal cost other than death to the 68 million people in the UK who haven't died of Covid-19, almost all of whom will end up (in due course) dying of cancer, heart disease, stroke, dementia, etc. That's 68m lives disrupted and/or put on hold and/or stricken by debt and poverty and/or so many other things. [Straw man argument] Ah, but you can't put a price on life, and all the money in the world doesn't justify one death. [/Straw man argument] Does anyone actually believe that? Does anyone actually think this situation can go on for ever? Is anyone happy that we continue to borrow endlessly from our grandchildren to try to keep some people alive who would otherwise have died from natural causes? I am NOT claiming that there's a simple answer to any of this, still less that somehow I am the only person on the planet - or even here on Basschat - who knows the answer. What I AM saying is that sooner or later we will have to recognise that Covid-19 is out there in the general population, it's there for ever, it's highly unlikely that a completely effective vaccine will ever be found, and life must eventually return to some sort of normality. I feel no guilt about the thosands who have died, any more than I feel guilt about those who die in road traffic accidents, even though I drive a car and am therefore part of the problem. I wear a mask where the law says I must, I limit my social interactions (though in truth that has had little effect on my life, what with being retired an' all), I am not a Covid-denier or a conspiracy theorist, in fact I am the very model of a modern socially-responsible bass player, but I am also sick of Project Fear, of the deceit and incompetence of those who govern the country, of the one-sided hysterical nonsense that passes for debate in this country.

Any Basschatters anywhere near Bath or Swindon... El Toro Music is hosting 'live' 'gigs' in his music shop. We did it on Saturday and it was so good to be out there and playing. Virtual tip jar set up and streamed to FB. So much better than a smelly pub with drunks yelling at you for songs you don't know, standing on your pedals and asking the guitarist if they can have a go. If you're interested look him up on FB and get in touch. Here's our set, complete with lockdown rust and some laughable bass mistakes 🤦🏼‍♂️