Leaderboard

Well, I start with a lie since I received it on Saturday... but it was meant to arrive today! I have owned a few 5 string basses in my time. From cheap ones like a Squier Jazz V DeLuxe and a Peavey Millenium to less cheap ones like Lakland 5502 and a USA made EBMM MusicMan SUB5, oh and a G&L L2500 (beast!). I never really gelled with any of them (Lakland was the closest, beautiful beautiful neck) and didn't really get to use any of them frequently enough. Eventually I decided that I didn't need a 5 string. Last year my girlfriend got me a Harley Benton MB-5. The black matt one, Stingray style. For some reason it just felt right, I loved its sound, and I kept playing it... Eventually I got used to 5 strings and these days I use either, and I'm getting to really like having 5 strings. Then I saw the new Harley Benton JJ and PJ series, I had some unexpected money in my pocket... and before I realised it I had spent £181, all included, on a natural finish JJ-550. I'm far too impressionable. This bass is not light. It's 9.8 lbs (The MB-5 is 9.1 lbs), which is not terribly heavy as far as 5 string basses go, but it's not light. I use these wide and nicely padded Lekato straps since I hurt my shoulder a while ago, and they have made weight pretty much a non-issue. I can't recommend those straps enough (and they aren't even expensive). Not light, but not a boat anchor, and it balances really well, both standing and sitting down. The neck is wide but shallow, perhaps not as shallow as the Lakland, but not far off. I find it very comfortable. Fret ends were smooth, nut is a tiny weeny higher than ideal (will take care of it at some point)... I had to do nothing to it and it alreay played well. It turns out this exact bass was the bass Thomann used as a model for their photographs, so perhaps they spent some time adjusting it: I have played another two HB basses and both needed some minor adjustments to frets and nut (as well as intonation etc). The string spacing is 18 or 18.5mm I think, I need to measure it (not in my hands this minute!), so it's in the wide side, which I prefer. Build quality... no complaints. It was £181, but it could have been a £600 bass and I'd see nothing wrong with it in that respect. It would be a very good platform for building your own with better quality hardware and electronics. Hardware... Nothing to call home about. Far better than the black hardware on the other HB basses I've had my hands on, but nothing amazing, just the usual inexpensive chrome hardware you get in this kind of instruments: they do the job without fuss, 'though. Electronics... Probably the best place to start investing money on, but just like with the hardware I don't see a need to replace anything just yet. My first impressions were a bit 'meh', but it turns out the EQ on my amp was all over the place and I had not seen that. Once I noticed and set it to more reasonable parameters, the bass sounded a lot better. I do think I will replace the pickups, simply because I like humbuckers on my Jazz type basses. The single coil hum can be annoying. It's no worse than any other single coil Jazz pickups, 'though, and I tend to roll off quite a bit of treble which also reduces hum. I would like a Model J here, but they don't make them for 5 strings so I'll have to wait and see what would be a good one to use. It's got a 2-band active EQ. Nothing amazing, but I have to say I like it more than the usual cheap preamps you find on low end basses. And not so low end! I really dislike the 2-band preamp on my Sandberg VM4, and I'm not a fan of the EMG in my Schecter Model-T Session. One 'problem' I find with a lot of 2-band preamps is that the treble is too high, so that when cutting it only cuts finger noise and little more (I'm a fan of passive tone controls). However this one works quite nicely, which was a surprise. The bass EQ is still a bit lower than I'd like, ideally, but it's no different to most other 2-band preamps. It's probably centered at around 40-50 Hz. Shielding is non existent, 'though, which for a bass with single coils is not great. Easily remedied, but really, it should be standard in any instrument. Polepieces on the neck pickup hum when touched, but the neck one is silent. Again, easily remedied, but the fact that one hums and the other don't probably hints at the care (or lack of) when choosing these components. I felt I had to say something negative, so that's that! I even like the strings it comes with (same as the MB-5: I have a set of Newtone strings I bought for it, but I ended up liking the stock strings so I have not replaced those either). I'll deal with the shielding later tonight. I have a recording session tomorrow and I would like to use this one. I've put some foam at the bridge, and I'm cutting down treble a lot, so I really don't hear any noise as long as my hands are on the strings (and very little when they're not), but I don't want to take chances tomorrow: I'm showing up with a really cheap bass, I don't want to have unwanted noise and look like I don't have a clue. Anyway... that's it for now. I'm very impressed by this bass. The MB-5 and PB-20 (Stingray and Precision style) I've played were fine (after some TLC) but you know they're cheap. This one feels like a substantial improvement in quality. Did I get lucky? Or is this representative of the range? I don't know. I'll take some pictures when I get a chance... but it is the very same one pictured here: https://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_jj_55op_natural.htm edit: I liked it so much, I went and bought the PJ version a week later, see below.

And this, boys and girls, is why the sunburst finish was invented. The body is constructed with a pair of central blocks, a pair of side bouts, a top and bottom and a top and bottom veneer. Annoyingly the top is even two piece, joined sideways rather than longways through the bridge area. So a natural or transparent top is now out of the question. It's rather plain anyway without the flame veneer. You can see the top join running down the centre of this picture. Still got the bridge area to carefully sand as the bridge is screwed and glued. The back is veneer is quite nice, and thicker than the front one so is intact. The different blocks in the body construction. All of this means it will probably get a solid, coloured top and a transparent burst back and sides, fading to solid to hide the body joins. I've had a few ideas but I'm very aware that the BEX4 is quite a natural looking bass (like an acoustic) with no chrome bling to stand out from a dark colour. I really like how the features stand out in its now natural colour so I think it'll be a lighter colour front. The cogs are whirring but I'm almost settled on an idea, it won't be to everyone's taste though. Let's just say that Duesenburg and Gretsch seem to be doing a lot of what I like. 😁 I'll probably just get on with it and post a picture afterwards to save this post becoming like a build thread, as my NBD posts always seem to. 🙂👍

A watt is a watt. What differs with valves is that they can naturally compress the signal peaks, subjectively making them seem louder. You can accomplish the same thing more or less with SS using a compressor, but since that occurs before the power output stage rather than in the power output stage the effect isn't quite the same.

Board rad' and Fretwork etc.

Talbo = Tokai Aluminium Body. This seller = Talking boll0cks.

conveniently wedged in a cat tree as couldn't find anywhere else to photo it

If I ever take my car to mainland Europe again, I am definitely getting one of these.

So. I took mine to a rehearsal last night. Good news, it balances beautifully, plays beautifully, light and easy on the shoulder and sounds like a P bass or a jazz bass or a mix of the two. Bad news I put a dent in the headstock and one on the neck. And I have no idea how. So I'm happy and grumpy all at once.

I was in BB heaven last weekend at a local pub gig. Got a good growl going!

I’ve gone for the easy option I’ve just ordered an aged pearl guard for my Classic. The pickup cover on it is cream so it should look good.

How about combining the two - veneer AND distasteful colour scheme:

this happened

Of course. Blue

I've been using NYXL's for about 4 years now. They are full range but with a nice lively top end, which lasts for a long time. I change my strings once a year and there is still life left in them.

The famous 'This England' speech from Shakespeare's Richard II is much beloved by demented flagwavers: "This precious stone set in the silver sea, Which serves it in the office of a wall, Or as a moat defensive to a house, Against the envy of less happier lands, This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, This England." How many of them know that the speech continues thus: "This dear dear land is now leased out Like to a tenement or pelting farm: England, bound in with the triumphant sea Is now bound in with shame, With inky blots and rotten parchment bonds: That England, that was wont to conquer others, Hath made a shameful conquest of itself." Shakespeare knew.

Made myself a new board - Got a nasty lung infection but I will populate it once I am up to it.

Do we need a bass player ?? Well , I'm a fan of songs first and foremost and my definition of a decent song would be one that you can sing while strumming an acoustic but still sounds good. So - no , we don't need bass players. As a result , I try to make sure that any bass part I play brings something to the table in order to earn it's keep.

Here's my recently acquired SB700. It plays like an absolute dream - the narrow bridge/wide nut makes so much sense to my fingers these days, whereas I used to find it too tight in the old days. The pickup is possibly a little too refined and focused for me - I slightly prefer the MBIII in the Elite and R60 models, a bit more grunt and attitude, so I'm considering popping in a Rautia or Armstrong replica... but we'll see.

If it is the Van Damme Classic instrument cable, the problem I have found is that the centre core has 2 shield coverings -- The inner one white with a black one over it. If the black one is not trimmed back over the white by a few mm it alters the conductivity and you loose tone. Hope the photo helps to show how it should be stripped back. Will.

Take the Skinheads Bowling ～ Camper Van Beethoven

Yep, whilst the neck is still square on the back it's very easy to get a dead level finish on the fingerboard and frets (no "give" in the neck to worry about). So I do all the fingerboard work and fretwork whilst in this state, then tape if off with three layers of masking tape and then continue to carve the back of the neck. When all is done I then remove the masking tape and attend to any discrepancies on the frets (which is done when the bass is fitted up and at the final setup stage). It's a very accurate and quick way to work. Well, in my workshop anyway....

Could you not just apply another veneer to the top, a'la @Andyjr1515?

The Showstopper. Salt’n’peppa (well, it’s been 3 hours…)

I use the Warwick Hellborg PR40 preamp going into the Mono 500w power amp. It's stupidly heavy thanks to the transformers in the power amp but it's the best sounding amp I've yet played through, and the Preamp sounds absolutely beautiful recorded.

Why? Because fashion is a perplexing mistress.

Another thumbs up for the Barbanera. It sounds great on every setting. It also has one of the best paint jobs I’ve seen on a pedal, if that type of thing floats your boat.

Free Ale i hope Dave

There was a thread a while back about things Bowie and this track was highlighted. This version appears to be from German show 'Musikladen' and features Adrian Belew being an absolute monster on his Strat! Stay

Number of pieces of equipment. Multiple power sources, additikal cables, additional footprint, everything that comes with it.

Choppy Waters? Wasn't he that guitarist who insisted on at least three solos in every song? Last I heard he was doing a five stretch for being in possession of an offensive instrument in a public place.

My Shuker JJ Burnel Signature 'The Raven' Precision arrived on Thursday. It has now been gigged twice (Friday and Saturday) and I can report that it was definitely worth the wait. It's just an incredible piece of work. It is exactly as promised, nice and light at 8.24lbs and the neck is probably one of the nicest I've had in my hands. It has a lovely satin finish with a nice low action and the whole bass balances superbly. There was a slight change in the spec in that I was going to have Armstrong pick-up's fitted. In fact, John did fit them and then gave me the option of the new in-house pick-up's hand wound by Oz. These are the pick-up's that are in JJ's newest 'The Zenith' signature bass which he took delivery of recently. Those of you that have seen The Stranglers recently will have heard that bass. I opted for the Oz pick-up's and they're great. I still can make up my mind about the screws, knobs and plate screws. Jon supplied a full set of black and chrome so I can make my mind up at leisure. They may change, they may not 🤷‍♂️. Here are some photo's.

Lou Barlow :

A punter said tonight "It's so nice to hear some different music: not Mr Brightside, etc." Our work here is done 👌

I saw UFO on many occasions between 1977 and 1981 and I never once saw him with a Red Bird. He had the same Natural Finish 1976 Bicentennial for all the gigs, apart from 1981, when he had a Black 79 Bird. his backups were Precisions.

Bands play song that, most of the time (not always), require a bass part. It can be provided, depending on the genre, by a bass guitar, a double bass, a cello, a tuba, synth bass, organ bass... Whoever plays that part is the bass player.

My Korean Zon Sonus Standard is possibly the one bass I've had that will never be sold.... Gigged most weekends (at least until a few months back when I picked up my Cort A4) for the last 5 years, bought used but in mint condition. I've only ever seen one other in the UK at Bass Gear in Twyford many years ago which I played but didn't have the cash for at the time. I had never seen another one in the wild until I walked into my local shop years ago to buy a gig bag and this was hung on the wall. Karma! Pretty much irreplaceable for me. It has the sound in my head, a great neck and the build quality is brilliant (and the chances of finding another one are practically non existent)

My Precision Lyte.

I’ve tried a number of filter pedals but the one that stuck with me was the 3leaf GR2 the second variation of the Groove Regulator. Love this pedal.