Leaderboard

Hello everybody, I decided to write in here to put your minds at ease and provide a bit more background. I am the bloke that bought the Bass from Steve in January. Sadly, because I do not check forums frequently, nor do I pay much attention to Facebook, I was unaware of the search for the lovely ACG. Yesterday, I received an email from Steve's mail account from his wife. I imagine, because she was not able to find the instrument, she took a shot and wrote to Steve's old students, explaining the situation and also giving the sad news (which I was not aware either). To tackle some of the speculations on this thread, I'll try to answer as many as I can: 1. Steve was the one that sold it to me, not his wife. And this was due to the instrument becoming too heavy for his health at the moment. He had the intention to commission a new build with the money from the sale. He absolutely loved that bass, but as I said, it had become very difficult for him to even play it at home, and thus, decided to part ways to commission something lighter. And now, its his wife who is trying to reunite with the instrument because of the sentimental value attached to it. 2. I do love that bass, and was not looking to sell it. Its craftmanship is second to none in my opinion and I couldn't be happier. But given the circumstances, there is only right thing to do here (at least in my mind, there is only one choice to make). 3. There was no haggle, no bartering, no profits to be had. We immediately decided to simply reverse the original operation. We are just coordinating the actual drop off, which should take place in the next few days (or, worst case scenario, we'll meet up on Saturday). 4. I haven't reach out to Alan (well... I actually did some months back, to ask some questions about the instrument when I got it, which he answered most graciously, even if I was not the original owner). But I haven't reach out to Alan to discuss any discounts on any future instruments. I won't say no to one though, since now I'm a 6 strings short. But then again, this has no bearing in reuniting the bass with Steve's family. Hopefully this will bring some clarity to the situation and some peace of mind to those helping locate the instrument. It has been heart warming to see how closely knit the bass community is. Couldn't be more proud of being a part of it. I will pop up later by the FB post (if I can find them) to leave a similar update on the matter. Any other doubts, more than happy to answer. Cheers! Agustin

I am selling the rights to my entire back catalogue, if anyone is interested. I perfectly expect to be able to 'go large' at MacDonalds with the proceeds. 😉

Super excited to have finished my first real pedalboard at the weekend. I thoroughly enjoyed this project and am really pleased with how it turned out. The board started with my Boss MS-3 as the heart of the setup, and I added items as follows: Tonetrunk 45 Pedalboard - Just the right size and very sturdy Bright Onions A/B with Volume - I use fretted and fretless at virtually every gig so an A/B switch makes changing easy, and the volume control ensures their outputs are balanced. Providence Bass Boot Comp - This is a transparent compressor that suits my playing well. Placed in Loop 1, it sits in front of all other effects(apart from when I use the MS-3's wahs). Having the compressor in Loop 1 keeps more options open for the internal effects. EBS Billy Sheehan Signature Drive Deluxe - While the MS-3 has lots of drives in it, I wanted something with a really nice core low drive tone and the EBS fits the bill well. If I want more dirt I can add something in from the MS-3. This is in Loop 2. Bright Onions Quad Momentary Footswitch - Currently set up as up/down banks, tuner, and tap BPM I went for the lowest profile jacks I could find. I used KMMK Squareplug SP400 and SP5 jacks for the mono cables, soldering them toghether using Van Damme Pro Patch Lite cable and testing them all for reistance with a multimeter. The TRS jacks were made for me by Practical Patch, who had just received a shipment of the stubby jacks from Creation Music in the US. The pedals are secured using 3M Dual Lock rather than velcro, and all cables are held in place with clips. Under the board I tried to keep everything as tidy as possible and ensure power cables were kept away from signal cables. Power comes from a Rockboard LT XL - This means no need for a mains lead, which is terrific, and so far I'm getting a good 4 to 5 hours of constant use from it between charges, which is more than enough for a gig. Lastly, we have a 2 socket patchbay from Pedalpatch. One slot takes the signal from the MS-3 out to the amp, the other has a USB socket to make charging the Rockboard PSU easier. P.S. Sorry about the dodgy carpet.

I thought you might all enjoy the final panel of today's "Steeple" web comic: The full story can be found here, and for those of you not aware of the work of John Allison, he's the person behind Scary Go Round, Bad Machinery, and Giant Days comics.

(puts on tin hat) Music, at the end of the day, is a product. Dylan has lived very well off his version of that product for many years. He's astute enough to know that the zillion dollar sales are over and at 79 probably does not fancy the work that touring involves. He has children (several) and he's not getting any younger - this large amount of money merely stops any arguments (& represents a lump sum royalty?) The estate and it's survivors will benefit - what's not to like? 😎

We played Friday Night: An Evening with Maple Road Washington County Fair Park & Convention Center West Bend WI December 4th Friday Night 7:00- 10:00 We drew about 150 people. A real nice crowd. We played 3 hours straight, no breaks.We also networked with the director who books all the National Headliner Recording artist for the county. Hopefully this will give us a better slot at the fair this summer. Possibly opening for a headliner in the amphitheater or a better evening time slot in one of the larger tents Next weekend we'll play in Dundee at The Road House Saturday Night. 7-11. Then Sunday morning we will film a 45 minute set at the historic West Bend Theatre for a virtual New Year's Eve Show. Blue

I have had the privilege to work on a couple of Wals since I started this crazy hobby and, without any hesitation, they are my favourite basses. Everything is SO well engineered and the instruments just feel and sound - great! It's one of the absolute delights of the regional Basschat Bass-bashes because the kind folks round here let maniacs like me actually pick them up and play them. So, anything that I can do that can keep a Wal working or get playing again is always of interest. So you can imagine how excited I was to be contacted by our very own @Fishman who explained that he had some Pro 1e components and could I get it all playable again. 'Sure! Send them to me." Gosh - a Pro 1e! Happy Days The box was smaller and lighter than perhaps I might have expected. Well - maybe it's a particularly lightweight version...even MORE exciting because sometimes they can, indeed be on the heavy side Oh...that's odd... Well - definitely a Wal! That is the best pickup in the industry in my opinion: Well, OK - I'll admit that @Fishman did mention that it needed a new body. And the fretboard is coming off and being replaced with an ebony fretted one with a couple of AJR swifts at the 12th, requested by @Fishman so that there can be no ambiguity that this isn't a full genuine Wal (oh...and because they DO look pretty cool ) This is the kind of job I can slot in while the relevant machines are out for @Jus Lukin 's build (my cellar isn't big enough to leave the bigger stuff in situ) so it won't be a super fast affair but I am looking forward to it. Oh - and I've got a lovely piece of lightweight swamp ash for it (ignore the outline - don't worry, it won't look like a Fender I'll keep you guys and gals posted

Is that you Geddy?

here's my current list of yamaha BBs: 17 BB734A TMB 85 BB1200S burgundy 84 BB1200S burgundy 84 BB300 BLK 82 BB1200S burgundy 80 BBVI BK 79 BB1200 ST 78 BB1200 ST and the ones i've sold: 79 BB1200 NTL 84 BB300 CAR 84 BB300 BLK 85 BB300 BLK 85 BB450 CAR 17 BB734A DCS

Happy Jack - The Who

For the past 15 years or so I have exclusively played short scale basses, and the last 9 years or so an 28,6" scale Ibanez Mikro Bass have been my main, but for the first 10 years or so playing bass I used my first bass ever the Aria Pro II Laser Electric Classic as my main bass. I even back then bought a Rickenbacker at some point, but only played it for short while before going back to the Aria, I hated how the Rickenbacker felt and I didn't care much for it's tone either, think I played it for a couple of months at band rehearsals, recorded the band I was in's second demo tape and did one gig with it, then that Rickenbacker spend a long while just laying in a case under a sofa in the rehearsal space until it got stolen, I didn't miss it one bit, but for the money I could have gotten from a resale. Anyway story is that I a few years back after the Aria Pro II had just stood in a corner for years decided to restring it with thinner strings, max the saddles out and tune it in an open tuning, to use as a sort of 4 string baritone slide guitar, and I actually did have some great use of that adding an unique touch to some of the tracks I created, but then one day I got the "brilliant" idea of gutting it for it's preamp ( ), which doubles as a HPF/LPF, and turn it into a pedal, however I ended up getting completely lost in the wiring and since the Aria Pro spend a couple of years just sitting in a corner again, that is until today, where I decided to just wire the pickups back in passively, as O still have no idea of how to reinstall that original preamp, just with the original 3 way pickup selector and the original master volume pot. So when I went to plug it in to check if I had wired it correctly it all came back, wouh, just felt so nice and familiar to play on, and even though the saddles was still raised insanely high and it still was equipped with the "baritone slide guitar" strings in the corresponding higher open baritone tuning, it felt awesomely inspiring to play, and I jammed for about half an hour or so, spitting out awesome improvised bass riffs and grooves, like finally coming home. I always kind of shook my head when people talked about how only 34" scale basses sounded and felt like real basses to them, but man, now I realize what they mean. Even with the totally wrong strings and tuning and insanely high action for the first time in years I played bass tonight and not 4 string low tuned baritone guitar. Though I do realize it being my first bass and main for years when I first started to play bass might bias my view strongly. Anyway, I need to order a set of long scale bass strings as soon as possible so I can have it set up and play it properly. Can't wait. Here it is, the most recent picture I got of it, from before I gutted it, but after having converted it to a "baritone slide guitar" (and yes, I am aware that the strings are wrapped the wrong way around the tuning pegs, something that was since corrected) : And here it is in action, back when it was still my main, at a gig with the noise rock and hardcore influenced math rock band "Menfolk" that I was playing in at the time :

Try talking to John Hall. That cured my need for a Ric!

Yeah? Well, I inspired a beloved children's story and a sequel...

I started reading that and started thinking, blimey he's got seventeen 734As!! Wall of shame getting updated right now!

Yes of course, late 80s BB300 (not entirely sure of the exact year) and a 1979 BB1200. The BB1200 specifically is why I'm pretty hesitant about getting a BBPH. (Sorry for the slightly blurry photo, my cheap phone's camera isn't that great).

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/roy-orbisons-triumphs-and-tragedies-103421/

I think I just might be near the end... In the meantime waiting for a Voodoo Lab 4x4

But at least we know where the answer is ...

Absolutely. How he carried on is just amazing after all the trauma in his life. A friend of mine did a support slot playing drums with a band on a UK tour with Roy in the late 70's (I think), when he was doing theatres & clubs etc. After the opening gig the tour bus dropped my mate's band off first at a very dodgy looking B&B. Roy was upset that the accommodation wasn't up to scratch and insisted the band were put up at the same hotel as him and his band, and ensured the rest of the tour was the same too. My mate says he was a really lovely man, very quiet and respectful with everyone he worked with. Legend.

Given the amount of money involved chances are that someone would have sold the rights after his death. At least this way he gets to enjoy the windfall himself.

Hi guys i wanted to share with you a bassist that i really like and i tried to be in his shoes as good as i could! so check one of my covers of Laco tayfa songs and bass player Nurhat Sensesl. If you dont know him you should absolutely take a look at his playing! Thanks! peace! PS this bass was build from a Greek Luthier and very good friend of mine!

Just darkened the fretboard I think it looks better now it was a little bit light before.

🙄😂

Having started out on a 1985 E-Series Squier P-Bass back in 2003 I thought it was about time to play a P-Bass again after a near 20 year hiatus from owning one. Prompted by my starting up of a Motown band, I put a wanted ad out on these hallowed pages which turned up this beauty, a 2017 Mexican 50's Classic Series in Fiesta Red. Not much that can be said that hasn't already about P-Basses but some interesting observations considering I've very much been a 'modern' bass type player all these years, purposefully shunning P's just because they are so ubiquitous. The sheer authority and presence of the tone just doesn't fail to bring a smile to my face, it's the first time I've grinned from ear to ear playing a bass in quite some time. In comparison to every other bass I've owned, it's so much more 'there' all the way up the neck and on each string. The strength and clarity of the midrange just makes it absolutely sing. The tone control also has the widest range of usable differences I think I've ever used on a bass. The neck, allegedly has a reputation as a baseball bat but I find it supremely comfortable to play and have no issues with getting around it quickly Fit and finish are superb. I know Mexico have been on the up for many years,, but this is great even by the improved standards. The body is super resonant and you can feel it purring away while you play! Colour me very, very impressed.

I had a brainwave tonight, I was just thinking about minimising weight strain on my shoulder and neck and I think I’ve got the answer: 1) Buy a lightweight Hofner Ignition hollow body violin bass.. 2) Superglue the bass onto the front of my jumper.. 3) Wear my bass / jumper combo for gigs and sessions etc.. Can’t believe I didn’t think of this earlier. Am genuinely chuffed to have found a solution that doesn’t involve having Juliette Binoche crouching down in front of me, holding my bass up and taking its weight for me. She’s more expensive than my budget allows, and also she’s not really a violin bass kind of lady.

I think the newer basses sound different than the old ones, even with the cap in. Hotter pickups, lower pot values all contribute. Whilst I get that some people don’t like the various tones that Rics produce, I’ve never understood why people find the tones limited. Two tones and two volumes with two very different sounding pickups, plus stereo if you need it; I’ve found more useful sounds in them than in most of the actives I’ve had. Plus they’re very sensitive to playing in different areas between the bridge and neck. And you’ve got a mute! And then you can simply change the strings, which I find is one of the biggest tone-changers on any bass. I think people often just put everything on full and that’s that; I’m constantly fiddling with my controls, changing the tone for different passages.

The solution to the puzzle is that there are more maple slices in the photo than in the diagram I put up It's an iterative process is a custom build. The splices from DD were a mm above spec which, normally, isn't a problem. But when you have a lot of splices, it adds up a lot! And the central core doesn't want to be exposed at the 40mm nut-end of the neck. So I've pushed my band saw to the limits and taken slices off both the maple and the mahogany, then abandoned the walnut, to come up with this (the 3 core splices are glued in this pic but everything else is loose): Aesthetically it works and the central core remains within the mahogany outers (which will be narrowed down in any case) all the way down to the nut. So another two splices are now being glued - I do them a pair at a time because trying to clamp 8 floating sections in one go is the road to unhappiness This is showing the other way up - maintaining this square and flat surface is helpful because 2/3rds of that length is going to be the base for the fretboard. So two more gluing sessions after this one, and we should have a blank ready to thickness to final width

Got it Andy, by the way, can you measure this ball end, so I can modify my part here?

But of info, and hope, going forward for dedicated venues. "We are pleased to announce due to Alchemy - Live Music Bar, being classed as a Grassroots LMV that from 6pm Friday-Saturday we will be a ticketed only venue and can finally get back to what we do best....hosting Live Music. Under the NEW Government rulings WE DO NOT have to serve beer with food as the Tier 2 demands however we will return to all live music gigs being ticketed events for entry in accordance with new regulations. These events will be seated, socially distanced and monitored in-line with all current Covid restrictions as we have been doing since the last lockdown. Sound levels will be monitored constantly during performances to ensure we are following all set government guidelines. The Government have offered us an olive branch and we will not risk ruining this chance by allowing our Covid safe standards to slip or by allowing anyone else to ruin it for us. Therefore please ensure you follow all regulations at ALL times - such as wearing a mask when moving around the venue, submitting to Track and Trace, using the cleaning stations, not mixing with other parties and remaining seated at your table or you will be asked to leave."

It's the pink keyboard, Ped. I told you, I dun TOLD you, stick with black and watch your sales rocket.

Nice looking bass for sure. Isn't it amazing how we go into cycles. Whereby we own a good first bass and want to in our mind something better. We sell and buy. It continues until you pick up your original or something of the same and fall all over in love with it. You say to yourself all the money I have spent for basses that that may not be as good. Enjoy that bass.

I picked the clips up on eBay here (small and medium sizes). I was concerned that the adhesive wouldn't be strong enough but they've been rock solid. The Van Damme cable is very nice. I also have Custom Lynx for the TRS and that's decent too. The Van Damme is snug in the SP 400s, which is good and it means there's no flex at the joint. I think SP500s would work too with the Van Damme.

Seriously, though. Mark Egan would make sense as he was a student of Jaco's and spcialises in fretless playing; and, whatsmore, it really does sound like him. Interesting that he didn't make the internet credits I was looking at either 😃 If everyone is happy, I will recredit the transcription to Mark Egan. Egan's website confirms it.

Paging @Sibob ...

All together now... "You can never have enough clamps...."

OK - before I get those strings out with my calipers to see if they are, indeed, the real odd-balls (accidental pun, honest) then let's start cutting and gluing wood A final check of the side view, neck angle and thicknesses: Then I was able to cut out the card template for the neck blanks and lay them out on the first inner neck splice: I had planed and checked the straightness of the edges of all of the splices first because, as you can see, the top edge will be my fretboard datum - so as long as I glue all of the splices upside down on a flat board, that will remain flat and square for the gluing, eventually, of the fretboard. You can also see above the extra width of the blank needed on a neck through due to the angle of the body. But I am still - just - able to get the second one out of the same blank: And after a morning on the bandsaw, I have 5 of the 9 (and there's a puzzle there for the more observant of you)! And then, using the outer mahogany blanks as clamping cauls, I glue the first three together:

Thanks BRX, the riddle is solved! The link you gave was very informative, my mic is very definately a FAKE. It weighs 247 grammes against over 300 for a real one. The writing on the box is fake. If you unscrew the top it screws on to a plastic thread wheras the real one is metal There are other things as well. So I think I know where the problem lies and it's going back to crack converters. Thanks for your help guys, it's appreciated. Tom.

Are you sure it's a genuine SM58? There are a large number sub-standard knock-offs in circulation. Have a look at this guide for more information.

I use horse riding leather tan to "ebonize" rosewood fretboards

As far as cabs are concerned a secondhand, Barefaced Compact will do everything you want. It's light, has a great sound, is very, very loud and can be bought for about £300 on Basschat. The compact, with a decent amp, will keep up with any loud drummer. As far as heads are concerned, I own a couple of Gallien Kruegers D class heads, a MB500 and a MB800. They are about the size of a paperback book, are very powerful, made in the USA and have been very reliable. They're also ridiculously cheap secondhand. Ashdowns are also loud, reliable and within your budget, secondhand. If you buy one of the new Fender Rumble 500 combos, you'll get all of the above as well.

I have an AC-60. The manual says: 4. PHANTOM switch This turns the phantom power on and off.Set this to “ON” when connecting mics that require phantom power (condenser mic, etc.).Set this to “OFF” when connecting mics that do not require phantom power or other devices.

Does this count as a pedalboard? £27 Chinese job..

So why do I make sure I have the timber and some of the hardware before I make a proper start? Well, for a through-neck the geometry has to be right otherwise it is major grief. Whereas on a bolt-on you can alter the neck pocket and neck angle, with a through neck that angle has to be right. And - as many of you know - when it comes to neck angles, a few mm here or there can make a big difference. And so I need to have hold of the actual bridge and see how far forward and back the saddles will go, and how much actual usable adjustment there is in terms of height. I need the fretboard blank because I need to know what my finished fretboard depth is going to be so that I can draw the string line against the bridge movement limits and that lets me work out the neck angle. And then with the actual neck blanks available on hand, I can work out the most economical way of achieving that angle (eg, can I get two splices from one blank or not) So today - with the bridge here and now the timber blanks in hand, I've got out the long rulers and set-squares to draw up the geometry. So first - on the bridge, where do the saddles sit in relation to the base and how much intonation movement is there? Then I can I work out where the bridge - and therefore the bass body - needs to be in relation to the nut. On intonation range, the Nova bridge score is off the scale. First, by fitting a dummy string, I could work out the maximum and minimum practical intonation movement achievable without string interfering with the bridge components. That worked out, I could now set the Bottom E right back and the Top G right forward. That gives me a whopping 9mm usable intonation movement! : But that's not all. Because there are four positions that each saddle unit can be fixed to : That gives an additional 38mm movement from the furthest forward to the furthest back - a total of 47mm!!! We're into multi-scale territory without even having to fit the individual bases (which Nova can supply in any case ) So top marks on that one. And it takes ALL the worry out of fitting the bridge in the wrong place (not that I would EVER do that ) The saddle height range, however, is more limited. I could only get 5.5mm reliable height adjustment of the saddle (reliable meaning where I could still fit the locking grub-screw). However, the base is generously thick (bodes well for the tone! ) at 6.5mm and so if, like me, you intend to sink the base into the bass top, you can practically sink it up to a further 6mm without interfering with anything, giving a total 'design safety factor' of around 11mm in the event of the neck angle not ending up quite to plan. So two big ticks for Nova. Then I hit what I thought was a snag. I always keep sets of 'setup' strings so that I don't k****er new strings with all of the build set up and stringing and restringing stuff. So I just pulled a random test string from my bits drawer - and then hit what I thought was a snag. The ball end was too big to allow the adjuster to slide into the saddle-holder: That's odd, I thought. I checked that it was fully seating and it was. While not overly difficult to fix - either by deepening the ball end socket on the unit, or filing the ball end down - it seemed unusual that this wouldn't have been picked up in such a well engineered item. So I opened a pack of new D'Addario strings and: Perfect. So I then tried a Newtone big fat B string: Perfect again. And all the other makes I had in the drawer. I've no idea what make the first one was that I tried, but my conclusion is that this isn't an issue with the Nova bridge - it is more an issue with that particular string manufacturer's balls... Tomorrow, I will finish calculating the angles and start getting a few neck splices cut. Oh - and yes - we're going for a 9-piecer: Thanks for looking

Hi I was talking to him at the time and the discussion was to sell or he had sold the current bass to fund a new build I can't remember if it was sold at that point it may well have been. At that time he mentioned he was going into hospital and would get back to me once that was out of the way. So events over took the intention to get a new bass. He was a really nice guy I had a lot of time for him. Came to several of the Moffat Bass Bashes. Alan