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Arrived yesterday after tortuous Brexit journey from France (6 weeks ...). Thanks to the patience and assistance of excellent seller @Hooch aka Yannick. Sounds wonderful and the J width neck suits my knackered left hand nicely.

When pitch correction came in, the average singer in the top 20 was suddenly a lot better looking.

Apologies for the poor pics but I’m rubbish with an iPhone unless it’s outside and the lighting is good. The CW sig turned up within a week of me placing the order and Rob was kind enough to fit the Schaller straplocks gratis. This really is a well made piece of kit and certainly exceeds my expectations. Not sure how it fits with my eclectic bunch of 34” scale basses which now comprise this, a Ric 4003 and an EBMM Sterling but I look forward to the experience.

Hi folks, A bit of pure basschat geekery here. Look away if you're expecting anything useful or even musical... Think @warwickhunt and I may have set a record for the fastest sale. From me posting the advert to the item arriving in his hand it took 32 mins according to the forum clock. It was a totally genuine sale with no prior contact or other shenanigans. I confess to getting a kick out of it ...and was relieved that there were no speed cameras on the way 🤣 Happy to take a drug test if the moderators insist 🤣... can anyone beat our time, or claim another Olympian feat?

I think you're confusing pitch shift with sat nav old chap. Easily done.

Quick update, it’s now got Labella LTFs on and I’ve set the action up, I didn’t have to touch the neck, it was dead straight, I just lowered the saddles it’s at 1.5mm at the 12th unfretted with no buzz, it sounds and feels so much better, with both pickups on or just the P , and tone at about 40% it really sounds good and perfect for reggae

Now... which one will be next..?

There's an element of 'horses for courses' about this. My background is mostly classical and I have a lot of experience of choral singing, including a cappella. We're expected to be in tune and it's something that gets worked on in rehearsals. I also play cello which is 'fretless' and a lot of effort goes into being in tune. Tuning though isn't an absolute, and there are complications around temperaments which is an entirely different debate. Minor imperfections are what tells you music is life and gives it character. Where technology is being used as an effect, or to subtly assist/adjust I can see that having its use and place. I tend to balk when it's being used to fix and correct people who struggle to be in tune (I remember hearing a track about 20 years ago from a then well-known group and I was shocked how out-of-tune it was - it was not minor!).

Having had another trial fit and a re measure, this time with a nice posh 2ft steel rule, I reckon if it trim the ar$e end of the body pocket to the line of the mint grn scratchplate where it naturally wants to sit, it'll be ok....I wasn't bearing in mind the fact that the saddles are unlikely to want much forward adjustment, generally they go sharp as you play up the neck so the whole shebang won't need to go back as far as I first thought. Apologies for a doubtless dull as fk 'build' it's probably just handy therapy for me 'thinking aloud' . .. this project, thus far, is fuelled by innumerable mugs of v. strong black coffee and (so far) 2 bars of Cabury's Old Jamaica chocolate... Remember those from the 70s ? I'm delighted to say they've brought them back again, and being a greedy bastard I've got a catering size box of 18 bars.

I've just offloaded a faithful old Peavey Megabass cabinet on ebay and replaced this with a Vanderkley 212, which not only sounds better but is literally half the weight. The annoying thing is, I pulled my back whilst trying to weigh the b####y Peavey on the bathroom scales, so I could state the weight in the ad. 🥺 I then decided maybe it would be best NOT to state the weight. in the advert 😁

Stamford Bridge had a terrible pitch until the 90’s. It’s like a billiard table now. I think it’s a good thing.

LOL. IMO the time for gear that requires a risk assessment and a manual handling training course to move around is over.

I was in Angel Music in Denmark Street some years ago (when it was above Macari's) and noticed an Orange AD200 on top of several other amps & combos. Foolishly, I was tempted and asked if I could play through it, and the epitome-of-a-Denmark-Street-sales-assistant behind the counter said "sure". I tried to move it down to where there was an appropriate speaker, but the angle was awkward and I have a dodgy back, so I suggested that the assistant move it for me. He was considerably bigger and much younger than me, so it made sense. He grabbed the amp by its handle and started to swing it across to the cab, at which point the two screws/bolts/whatever holding the handle on ripped straight through the wood, leaving the assistant holding the handle and looking foolish while the all-valve head plummeted over a metre onto the wooden floor with an ear-splitting crash. For some reason, I lost interest in trying the amp at this point. As I left, the assistant was carefully putting the AD200 exactly where it had come from, with the handle replaced as if nothing had ever happened.

Reminds me of that time me and Kelly Brook ...

I find it odd that there is such a strong reaction to pitch correction but not to quantising. One is to correct imperfections in pitch and the other to correct imperfections in timing. Arguably, fixing the timing has a much bigger impact on the groove and feel of a song so could be considered the bigger sin. By the same token, we use dozen of effects on guitar and bass, so why shouldn't vocalists? Sure, it's a matter of taste and some consider that it gets overused, so why isn't distortion/overdrive considered overused when it is far more prevalent? I'm not entirely sure of my own feelings on the matter, so I am just trying to keep an open mind.

I think the most annoying trend in vocals is the X-Factor style of singing where every note is inappropriately dragged out and stretched out of all proportion. This is meant to show what a great singer they are. No one would think a car was great if it accelerated or swerved at random and pointless sections of its journey just to show that it could.

I only dislike it when I hear it being used for effect. The rest of the time I am probably not hearing it at all. They were talking about it on National Radio the other day. The recording studio guy said it is used a lot.

Can't we just play whatever instrument we want to play without fear of being shot down because 'we haven't mastered the 4 string so should own a 6 string'. Can everyone stop sapping the fun out of music!!! Music is art, art is subjective ergo music is subjective and can darn well be whatever the individual wants it to be! Humbug, humbug to all!!! Yes, even YOU!

Hey there! Finally I made a video that can answer some previously asked questions about the sound of Music Man StingRay and Sandberg California TM4. Please read all the infos about the video on YouTube and let me know what You think Cheers

This is lush!!

It takes me longer to have a wee, get my shoes on, jacket, find my phone 'n keys before leaving the house!

I've just tried some different knobs. There's nothing wrong with the original gold speed knobs, but I've never been a fan of speed knobs and the gold doesn't go with anything else, other than the J.C. signature on the headstock. I had a pair of these cheapies left over from my Kay restoration and I really like how the dark amber/copper works with the side wood, but the chrome tops go with the hardware. and here she (😆) is with the hollow body family.

Last night I had rehearsals with my punkrock band and brought the six just for kicks. Most of the songs only need two or max. three strings. The reason I brought the six is because it is new and I was wondering if I would experience any limitations while playing regular fast rock stuff. I will be completely honest here: Nope, zero limitations. I must add that I regularly play five string basses so I have taught myself how to keep the lowest strings from droning quite some time ago and always mute with both hands. I did find I have to work somewhat harder if a song has a lot of stuff going on on the low B string since that is a bit more of a stretch (my bass has 19mm spacing) but that's no biggie and I can get used to that pretty quick I reckon.

I enjoy the vocals of Mark E Smith and Bob Dylan - the imperfections are part of the charm. I do like the singing of Aretha Franklin say, but she doesn’t need correction. So for my ears it doesn’t have any application. But if it can help someone with good ideas and character to iron out a few glitches then I’m happy too.

As I play mainly Bass and Acoustic Guitar, I was tempted by Asdown's recent offer on the Acoustic Pre Amp pedal. As it doubles up as a DI, at £40ish it was too tempting especially as the blurb says it is good for bass too. It is arrives Monday so I will let you know how I get on.

Not hugely interesting, and really just bolting stuff together rather than a proper "build" , tho may include a bit of violence.. A jolly 'Fester Red' P bass body from the finest plywood our far eastern brothers could manage back in the 80s/90s ( by the looks) and a bunch of random stuff from the spares boxes, topped off by an extravagantly purchased NW gtrs Jazz maple neck ( I figured I can re-use the neck for something else if it turns out to be shite ) I had a P bass with a Jazz neck before and I liked it, plus NW didn't have any P necks left so applied the random factor and got a J. the pocket in the body was a bit small so out with the emery cloth on a wood block to ease the 'walls' a bit, it was really just the thickness of a coat of laquer that needed coming off, got a nice snug fit, tho the butt end of the neck has a bit more of a curve than the body, but wasn't too fussed as a scratchplate would cover it anyway.... All good thinks I, but just thought i'd show it the tape measure, the 12th fret to bridge saddles ( middle average position) is about 10mm further than nut to 12th fret ! That'd be a bit flat up the dusty end so good job I looked. if I desperately needed the thing for a gig tonight I'd just bolt it up and shunt the bridge forward a bit, but I suppose to make a half way decent job of it I'll have to get the dremel out and carve a chunk of body away to get the neck further back (FFS).. one of the scratchplates I have, a nice mint green job which may be a pukka Fender one, seems to want to sit further back too, so looks like I've a bit of butchery to do... any suggestions or comments are most welcome btw ( even "burn the b'astard" ) I'll add more as I "progress"

The strings seemed a little high with the bridge at the lowest so I decided to recess the bridge a couple of mm into the body. That should allow a little bit of adjustment. That's the woodwork done. Next job is to shield the control cavity then sort the electrics.

I was amazed when I saw a Bruce Thomas Profile for sale 'upgraded' recently. Simply because I can't think of a single way to to improve the stock model. I do appreciate personal taste comes into the equation, of course. However for sheer sound quality, playability, balance, weight and reliability I've never owned nor played better in 40+ years as a bassist.

I did 3 circuits with one bass, if there’s a category for buying the same bass? Black Status Groove 5 string. Lap 1: Bought- Sold- Regret- Tracked down- Lap2: Bought - sold- Regret- Tracked down- Lap3: Bought -sold - Regret- fell over.

😁 The weight of a Rick and the width of that strap worries me.

https://goldtonemusicgroup.com/zeroglide/

It's like practicing at home rather than playing a gig. The difference being that your practicing results in something useful...

That sir is an assumption! I am currently trapped in bed with a sock on my hand and my fear in my eyes.

Given that (a) you mention three different types of LaBella string being tried on four different basses, and (b) nobody else seems to have have had a similar experience to you, logic suggests that the thing these problems have in common is not LaBella or their products, but in fact is you. 🙂

It's incredible how much ignorance can be spewed in a post and touted as facts

I think this one would nail the coffin of the naysayers, ( tho respect to HKH for not rising to their bait)... it's a P bass, made by Fender, marked as a P bass, sold as a P bass, and it has a Jazz neck, no doubt taken straight from the Jazz bass neck production line.. The defence rests.

I’m old-school in my opinions. If a singer requires pitch correction then they should keep their mouth shut and seek other employment. I’ve got no problem with odd/quirky singing voices, but being in tune is non-negotiable.

It's one of those things that's working best when you don't notice it. Like a rhythm guitarist.

Something new in the 'shop yesterday. Clamp storage. Saw till next to display my new purchases... I was thinking as I was sweeping up that all this storage making is just playing, not making real things, but then I thought, no, it's learning. It's making shelves and boxes, trying new things and if it ends up a bit wonky then no-one's going to see it apart from me and the "real" things will be hopefully better for it. Pics once it's been varnished.

Must be something in that because if everyone heard it like me he would have sold one record to his Momma.

On another note, I’ve been looking at wax to nourish and pamper the 77’s natural finish, I’d considered the contents of the cupboard under the sink and even toyed with the idea of getting some Warwick wax (shocking I know) as I used it on a Thumb I once owned but couldn’t bring myself to use it on the Spector. I don’t use lemon oil on fretboards I use crimson guitars own brand cleaner and restorative and they are fine products so I don’t have any lying around to follow the recommended Spector regime and besides I’d have to buy lemon oil and wax. I did however see quite a few recommendation for Howard’s Feed-N-Wax which contains orange oil, beeswax and carnauba wax so while I was away I ordered a bottle and it was here when I got home today, it smells fantastic. So tomorrow morning will be 77 spit and polish day and we’ll see how the wax does. I’ll report back after the full service.

Whoa, now just hang on a minute! There's people talking crap on Facebook? I must go and investigate. 🤨

Compressor misconceptions, interesting thread title but bass compression is a widely misunderstood subject. Unfortunately, a lot of these misunderstandings and misconceptions have appeared on Basschat over the years which only serve to further confuse an already widely misunderstood subject. And unfortunately, a lot of this nonsense is still available when searching the forum and through Google so is likely to perpetuate. My take on it is that some people assume a stomp box compressor is an effect, they expect something spectacular to happen when they engage it, or for something immediately obvious as you'd get from other effect types, filters, synths etc. When this doesn't happen the questions start which is fair enough or assumptions are made that the pedal serves no purpose. This is where, IMO the misconceptions start creeping in. Regardless, while not exactly glamorous compression is a very useful tool in much the same way that EQ is a useful tool. While it can be used as an effect that's not really its point. Possibly the most sagely advice I've seen on BC regarding compression was something along the lines of "don't think like a bass player when using it, think like a sound engineer". That's when it all makes sense. Do you need one? No, not really, but if it's going to help you sit better with the other instruments, why wouldn't you? Can you control your dynamics with your fingers? Yes. To a point. But depending on where you play the same note on the neck (e.g. G at 15th fret on the E string compared to an open G string) the same note can have hugely different dynamic energy levels. While you can play one louder or harder than the other a compressor will smooth these out so both notes will work in the mix despite their different harmonic densities. Compression kills my dynamics. Yes it can if you haven't set it up correctly. In the same way that a poorly EQ'd tone can make you sound awful. But when done right you retain your dynamics and still sit better in the mix. While compression takes a while to understand it's worth doing your homework to get a good understanding of how to get the best out of it. Many of us spend a good chunk of cash on gear chasing the sounds in our heads, we buy certain basses and amps to make us sound great, so why not use compression to help make you slot in alongside the other instruments you're playing with?

Love all the hints of rush in the background including the spit roast and the washing machines