Leaderboard

... Lee, Jamerson, Pastorius and Lynott 🙂

Been raving about this YT for a couple of weeks now. It's 1 hr 10 minutes of sketches, music and an interview, this week with Victor Wooten ( at 21 mins). Really surprised at the interview, Victor is so not like a Bass virtuoso in the way he talks about music. Even if you are not into funk this is a great series of shows, no-one is doing anything like this with music at the moment. Bit of a nod to the British too....

A photo from Friday... At close of play today the first fix electrics are in, 1.2 tons of plaster board have been marched down the garden and the roof is felted. Still a few weeks left, but it's really getting there!

Joy of joys, I had an interview yesterday for a new job within the company. I got the job and it means I will now be working on a three weeks on three weeks off rota. Which means we can get the band back together. I am unsure of just how many gigs we will be able to procure but the fact that we can jam again fills me with happiness. 🤩

Basically the previous owner had bought this bass in 2021 and a load of other high end gear, had been working internationally so hardly touched it and then tragically died in his early. 30's, his widow was selling them off, there's not really a way to work out the prices of used LeFay as they aren't that common but I didn't quibble her asking price and it was the very max of my budget... and yeah she's lovely and very high end thing... I've never played a headless before, it sits a bit differently and there is definitely no headstock dive. The bass is simply a work of art.... like this is really high level of craftsmanship, the sculpting of the woods compared to say a Warwick thumb is another level - and it feels very much design led. Everything seems and feels thought through and there for a purpose rather than rushed quickest way to do something. The bridge is very sturdy ... and, maybe this is the cleaness of the tone, or just all headless bridges but tunes so easily. I've got an HX stomp and using the fine tuning mode the other basses take a bit of coaxing to get bang on... this just does it - it's crazy Padauk neck! Really easy to play, the widest point is a few mm below the top of the fretboard so it kinda starts to curve back in on itself. Anyway very easy to play. These things in the faux headstock. I will learn more about them when I need to change strings. one of my half thought-through ideas was to learn to make a neck and then make my own Padouk neck... safe to say if I ever installed frets I would not be even attempting them to look like this... it's crazy the top is gently curved and the back doesn't look bad either ... like crazy woodworking chops... and also the bits to the bridge pins - the mind boggles. But what I like (and I work as a designer) was I was playing it and thinking about how well it seemed thought out... someone else pointed out the crazy woodwork to me, it's not ostentatious craft for crafts sake, and also no coffee table wood on view... I like that. Another one of the back... This looks odd to me - there's nothing on the back of the headstock!! pointy grey/silver paint! woop How does it sound... so not like a fender at all.... it's really really clear and consistent all the way up and down, the low notes on the B string are clean and defined and feel in character. It was initially set up with super low action and straight neck, so I imagine I could do a Charles Berthould impression with tapping and slapping if I practiced for about 10 years and had any talent... tonally if I was trying to describe it it's in the same ballpark as Charles' Herr Schwartz - but played by an idiot. It's quite piano like in the way notes have clarity and it seems to reward playing melody and multiple notes at once... The preamp is really nice, volume, passive tone and the 6 position pickup selector (best described as: rear coil, parallel MM, parallel Jazz, front coil, series MM, series jazz) and then 2 band bass and treble boost only. The bass control is really nice, it adds a boost at about 80Hz but nothing below 30Hz - so none of the subby stuff, the high end boost is a nice high end boost. And then the 6 position control makes it sound like completely different instrument. So yeah, I feel a bit like a 17 year on their birthday old let loose on a Ferrari ... and the temperature of the house it previously lived in down south and my cold room the bass live in up north mean I need to tweak the setup, the bow on the neck isn't quite right at the moment. Like I said a 17 year old in a Ferrari!

Looks like this thread has reminded you of your cello teacher A LOT 😉

Had an enjoyable couple of day where I've been able to get on with the neck carve. I always like this bit as the block of wood turns into something very tactile. Out with the Shinto rasp and start the shaping: This neck is a little more tricky as it is being fitted to an existing body so sanding the contours to match the body takes a bit of patience as to avoid removing any of the finish: After a fair bit of time with a mini rasp and some sandpaper I got to something I'm happy with. Only shame is there is a a small mark in the maple but that's what you can get with a natural material. Now it is starting to look really nice! Still got quite a few jobs to do - quite a few of these are decorative and I've still got to work out how to do them!! But that the enjoyment of making stuff - always something new to learn. Cheers

IME (which is genuinely quite extensive) random cold-calling by phone or email is at least 90% useless ... I'd actually go to 95% in truth. Every now and then you get lucky and think "well that didn't cost me anything so clearly this is a great method for getting gigs" but it ain't, it really ain't. Every pub / landlord / band is different so there's no magic bullet, but I can tell you what works for me and @Silvia Bluejay. We use Lemonrock & similar to identify which pubs within 30 miles of us put on the sort of bands we play in, then we use Google Maps to plot a circular course which will allow us to visit half a dozen of those pubs without wasting too much petrol, then we go and visit all those pubs on a MONDAY. Yup, a Monday lunchtime. By a country mile, the best time to get gigs. The pub will be very quiet, the manager can't justify paying bar staff to stand there for three hours doing nothing so will be running the bar (and using the down time to go through the weekend's paperwork in their cubbyhole behind the bar), and has no alternative but to engage with you if you are buying a drink. In practice, I hardly ever even need to buy a drink - we just walk in and ask "where do the bands set up?". Pubs are absolutely a people business and there is just no substitute for facetime with the manager. We also find that gig-hunting as a married couple makes us easier for the manager to engage with, especially if it's a woman on her own in a deserted pub. You can maybe replace the Monday with a Tuesday or Wednesday, maybe, but don't even think about visiting pubs to ask for gigs on a weekend. You can guarantee that you'll be told the pub's gigs are booked by the wife's nephew's second cousin and he only comes into the pub on days with an Q in them so feel free to come back then.

Failure and overheating is not a class D issue, it's a "poor design" issue. I haven't had any of these issues with any of the class D amps I have designed, going back over 15 years.

Haven't done a lot on the neck over the last few days but most of the coming week will be devoted to finishing @fleabag's neck and making decent progress with this one. The one thing I did do, though, while the equipment was still out on the bench, was run the neck blank through the thicknesser - just to ensure both surfaces were completely flat and to check that there weren't any duff glue joints. This looks OK And trimming the end shows the grain enough to perhaps better explain why there was the conversation earlier about the number of maple splices and how they are arranged: When solid, all of the grain will have been at the same angle, like the grain direction that you see on the left hand section above going like this ///////// . And the grain direction is a key factor to which direction the timber would move as temperature/humidity/aging variations occur. So the principle is: - if the timber with the grain like this //////// ,when subjected to temperature change, humidity change or just natural drying over time, has a tendency to bend, say, <- this way, then if you flipped it to \\\\\\\\\, then it will, instead, have a tendency to bend -> this way - so if you have one piece going \\\\\\\\\\ and join it to a piece going ///////// then you end up with grain that goes \\\\\\\\\///////// And now the bending tendency goes like this <--> ....which cancels each other out - and so - even in extremes of temperature or humidity change - it will stay straight. And that is probably why Wal go to the bother of splitting and joining that centre section. And I presume that a Wal is also as above, so you have the same effect between every one of the four pieces, ie //////\\\\////\\\\\\ And what about the mahogany? Well, it is straighter grained, softer, thinner and weaker and any tendency for that to bend would be fully counteracted by the maple.

Only 12 months until my Lionel gets here.... Not that I'm counting down the days or anything!

I dunno why so many people think this is a bad thing. Like, if you just wanna be a simp for a multinational, you do you, but the bottom line is, a silly little youtuber just got thousands of people a free hundred dollars worth of stuff, and hopefully made manufacturers think twice before chucking single coils in humbucker covers to save costs in future. Buying guitars is already a minefield for consumers really, with an astonishing lack of transparency about any number of things, like where stuff is made, by who, out of what etc, and the big names get away with insane margins on mass produced stuff of questionable quality, because of a name on a headstock. 90% of consumer targeted content about guitars is purely advertising, including on YouTube, where the vast majority of reviews and demos are little more than paid marketing. This probably wouldn't ever have come to light if it weren't for Lobster, and the unique position he's in of being able to review large numbers of basses without taking anyone's money, as evidenced by the fact that it'd been going on for years without anyone noticing, and dozens of other magazines, youtube channels, blogs etc had "reviewed" the bass and said nothing. The less businesses can get away with lying to consumers, the better for us. Seems self evident really.

Yes, yes, yes, it's that time again! This time, and, my next John Deacon build is firmly seated at the more budget end of the scale whilst still keeping to a reasonable likeness of John Deacon's late 60's sunburst precision bass. His main instrument that had its finish taken back to natural for a long period of time before getting a complete refinish around 1985 in gloss black with gold Schaller hardware. My last Magic Era precision, on reflection I should have probably kept hold of, but I am pleased to say that it is owned by fine bass chatter @Frusty. It's in safe hands! This time I have neither have a fabulous Fender bass to use or the like-for-like hardware, so instead sourced a very cheap original Tokai Hard Puncher from Japan and a bag full of gold hardware from some nice chap on Facebook that I bought before covid was a thing! Yes, the bass needs some TLC before I go at it with the new toys, but out of the box (after a 3 month trip on the boat) the HP bass plays incredibly well for a 42 year old all original bass. Of interested is the really resonant Sen body (Japanese Ash) which is of an acceptable weight and the insanely thin finish, which could even be nitro, by the way it seems to be crazing. Probably not though, I just like that it's real thin. Oh and the "law suit era" copy headstock to finish the Fender look. (Yes I know there wasn't actually a Fender law suit). I've also a superb EMG GZR Geezer Butler signature split P bass pickup for the install, though I have to say the original pickup is very good! This project is just a little bit of fun, but given how close these Tokai HP's are to "the real thing" it might just end up being a keeper, who knows!

That’s a very, very good answer! You’ve definitely been paying attention! ❤️🥰 However, my go to choice is: Chameleon Flip Paint, the rich colour changing paint that alters as light hits it. Just some of my basses.

I bought this 1/2 size kids P bass from a charity shop pretty much because I liked the colour. Also it was less than £5 which might have swayed me... I’m fully aware that these things are regarded as trash but still use it now, it actually records really well.

Shaved. Wait, what was the question?

TBPH I can't bring myself to feel any great indignation about what would seem to be a simple error of cataloguing but it's nice that Humbuckergate™ has brought so much excitement into the lives of so many people.

i'd say i put looks above anything else when buying ,i'll happily fight with a great looking bass 😃

Gonna need that on a T-Shirt before too long ha ha!

So I went to Bass Direct as planned this morning & purchased a…….. Vanderkley 212MNT 😬. So the GR cab sounded great & was loud - no arguments there. Also very light as expected. However I felt very, very uncomfortable about its durability (didn’t help that one of the other GR cabs on display had a partly broken corner protector). Yes, the Vanderkley is heavier & more bulky - but not by much. It was slightly cheaper to. I kinda felt that 1) I would be able to gig the Vanderkley for the rest of my bass playing days which wouldn’t be the case with the GR, & 2) despite carbon fibre being an expensive material, I felt I was getting more for my money with the Vanderkley. Obvs sound wise it’s mega too.

I don't own any class D amps, however my nephew has a TC Electronic BQ500 which is about as budget as a budget class D head gets. I think it sounds pretty impressive for the price and practicality standpoint. If you are using a pre EQ DI or using an additional preamp for your core tone, then it is a perfectly useable gigging amplifier given that nobody is going to hear the amp anyway. Would I trade my bigger amps for it? No way, but I would be totally happy if I was given one as supplied backline. Though I love amps as a point of personal interest (design choices, features, how they are put together etc), however I am not picky when it comes to a gig. If a gig required me to go the IEM route I would do that without hesitation. However my main interest has always been heavy rock, particularly in the blues, stoner and doom sub-genres in which amps (particularly vintage amps) are generally part of the culture and 'fun' of being in a band and doing live shows, so going IEM in that route is unlikely for me, even if it makes complete logical sense.

Compared to what I used to pay for magazines, I'd say it's very reasonable - oh and you get to read my column every month too!

Meh. Be done with it. IEM and go through the PA. You'll be able to hear everything super clearly, not rag your ears... and your band will sound better for it too.

KaBling.....and Marks "Essex Roots return".

I bought a couple of Momark amps second-hand; the 500 watt class AB and 800 watt class D versions. I also managed to buy several modules for next to nothing (£20 to £50 each) so I could experiment and find my favourite combination. It's a great concept but probably not commercially viable. The set up costs for all of the individual injection mouldings, printed circuit boards, front panels etc. must've been enormous and never sold sufficient numbers to be worthwhile for Markbass. I love mine, they are beautifully made high quality amplifiers.

Posting this mod I did on my EBMM short scale in case anyone is interested. - swapped out the neodymium pickup for an Aguilar AG4M (which I modded to coil split). The new MM neodymium pickups are excellent, but I just can’t get on with them and had the same issue on the Ray Special I owned for a few years. I have an AG4M in my ‘95 Ray so it’s nice to keep them in sync. - added a 3 way switch to keep the series/parallel/single option. - changed the pots to 250k and added a push/pull volume, to send the pickup straight to the output jack. This is because I turned an old EBMM 2 band preamp into a pedal and wanted to bypass the pots in the bass. There’s a photo of my first attempt of the pedal, think I’ll smarten it up in the summer with a better box too. Really love this little bass, and I’m glad the tone is now more in keeping with what I like. It’s got TI’s on it, and really compliments my ‘95 Ray and Old Smoothie. Wish they made these 25 years ago!

This popped up in my YouTube and I clicked it purely ‘cos of the clickbaityness of it (because it definitely is), and was slightly taken aback at how much of a mountain is being made out of a molehill. ‘A livestream to discuss our feelings about it’? C’mon, man. The glove is creepy too.

I've recently started recording all my own review videos for Bass Gear Magazine based in Ohio. Yes, I still write for Bass Player Magazine as I have been every month for the last (nearly) two and a half years, but I would love for you to follow this magazine and YouTube channel too! https://www.bassgearmag.com https://www.youtube.com/c/BassGearMagazine/videos It does mean that I've not been posting to my own channel, but would really appreciate a follow there too, please!! https://www.youtube.com/c/DanVeallBassist I want to produce the best videos I can, so I'll be keeping an eye on threads like these to improve my content!

It reminds me of this but in bass guitar form. I kinda want one as a result.

The emergence of class D heads had me very excited! 800 watts in small box light box. No more lugging around huge transformers, great! Except apart from the easy carry the rest of the story has been pretty erm stinky poo!! Despite 8 years, five heads and every Eq patten under the sun. I simply cannot get on with the sound at volume. 😬 I”ve tried TC Electronics (BH 550) Aguilar (TH500) Tech 21 (VT) Markbass (Tube 800) and finally Mesa Boogie (D800) and no matter if you put a valve in front of them, a compressor before them, a neo or a ceramic speaker from them, or summon a religious cult behind them. They sound too direct at volume to my ears. I tried, but I’m going back to my Class A/B happy place! 😊

Tweeters pre-installed https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/144255908074?hash=item21965278ea:g:Vo4AAOSwAUZhcHY2

Is there any way to get rid of the green nag bar at the top? I’m not going to become a guitarist just because it keeps popping up.

Can't get enough of them me.......I could sit on one for hours if you let me... About 36.45 for a good ten minutes on this Bootsy badboy🤣 Ooooh and 22.41 on from Prince....very naughty https://youtu.be/EVolCHbpk34 I could go on and on and on and on, so........ Anyone have any others that they could get lost in for ages??

Burn the heretic 🔥 😉

the way I see it, it's when a musical pattern from a song is repeated for quite a while during which time musicians will ad lib over it, dance whatever and then eventually either break into the start of the song or will continue it. It's used a lot when members of quite large bands come on one by one until they're all on and then break into the song proper.

I realise the current E string on the bass I will detune is likely to be a 100, it was a bit floppy but not too bad when dropped to D so 105 might be good enough. @Ricky Rioliis going to send me a set he doesn't like to try as he thinks they could work well in D standard. I'll experiment with a few different gauges but I doubt whether 120 would be needed, I am not likely to need to drop down to C.

Scotchbrite Pad... Loads on Youtube... For naptha, use lighter fluid a couple of quid... Find a cheap bit of lacquered or varnished furniture out a charity shop and feel and see how the pad works as a test. Mask the neck heel and headstock tapper and along the fretboard edges...

A pan-tilt control for the guitarists speaker cab would be nice too.

Yellow River - Christie

Class C is not a viable topology for audio signals, not in any way. ALL amps must have a power supply transformer in order to pass safety standards everywhere in the EU and just about everywhere else in the world as well.

Bands, gigs and my job have never been very compatible. I mostly work abroad, a few years at a time, so just as you get settled you have to move on. Flexibility is the way I've dealt with this.... get to know the local musicians and do any gig that pops up. It also keeps me on my toes as you never know what music you're going to play and how much notice you'll get. Also, the internet has helped loads. I work on music writing projects with other musicians in a similar position which I probably wouldn't be doing if it wasn't for the job but actually is really rewarding and has helped me on my musical journey.

Zoom B1 Four

I reckon it's the overall design of an amp that matters - if the designer has a vision for the end result, understands the components they're working with for all they are (and aren't) and knows how to use them intelligently and to best advantage, then the fact that one of those components happens to be a commodity class d power module is neither here nor there. I just wonder how many amps exist for no greater reason than to present something with the company logo on it for sale in a particular area of the market, and how much they might unfairly sway opinion on the underlying technology if they fail to inspire. At home I actively prefer Diet Coke, but down the pub I find all Coke tastes roughly the same. 🙂

Diabolical is a pretty strong word. Agedhorse was in the thick of it when class D was becoming a thing for bass amps. Genz Benz were getting pushback from ''the market'' along the lines of your critique. So they put the new preamp into a pair of boxes, one of each power stage, A/B and D. Nobody could tell a blind bit of difference.