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So due to my back getting worse I decided that lighter short scale basses might be the way forwards so when I saw one of these available thought I’d go for it, having played one briefly before and rather liking it. I was wary of resenting it due to having to give up my beloved Precisions however I’ve just put in about an hour on it and I really like it. I’m even getting on with the D’Addario Chromes it’s wearing, they seem to really suit it (could never really get on with flats on my Precisions). It’s not that much lighter than my lightest Precision but it really feels like it is, maybe it’s the overall balance or maybe the playing position is just better for me. I think I’ve made a good decision here.

Just took delivery of a pretty rare beast these days, an Ibby mc 2924. Absolutely thrilled with it! I’ve a mc 924 ‘85 I’ve owned since new, bit battered but still fantastic. This thing is…. Well, a bit my ‘refined’ I’d say. Loving the smaller body shape and like my old one a neck to die for. I’ve Wals, smith’s and stingrays but keep coming back to the humble musician. Appy days! Thanks to biscuity Boyle ( Steve) for a really pleasant transaction. Will try to post some pics

Here's a quick Pedal Shelf (tm) update. See those super neon pedals? Meet the FX58 Metal Maniac and FX59 Thrashmaster. I saw a demo on YouTube and ended up with both, though the Thrashmaster isn't working so will be off for repair soon. I'm 99% sure they're based on the Boss HM2 with some very slight tweaks, and some minor component differences between the DOD pedals themselves. The sound is the same as the look. The FX58 at least is massively heavy but the presence control is really interactive. You can't escape the distortion but it rolls off high end. There's no loss of bass.

It is one gig. 98% of people will not even notice. And the other 2% will say "flats, funky" and then carry on with whatever they were doing. Do it.

My 2007 Teal i think it looks great when the light hits it.

The audiences don't matter. Not even the rest of the band. Choose the bass or strings that make you happy. Because a happy player plays better and that makes the band play better.

For years I’d go pokin ‘ round the interweb looking for a Flying Samurai , oh you could usually find them for sale in Tokyo , but I didn’t want to brave that. I’d see the occasional one in the US , sometimes one might surface in the UK or Australia. But I was reluctant do deal with international shipping , duties and taxes. And one day I noticed one pop up in Toronto , and I had some cash available in the musical emergency sock … and I got it. It’s much like a Jazz , on steroids. Not too heavy , sits nice on a strap, real good player. This is the long scale reissue , and although I generally play short scales now I make an exception for this darling. We have a little instrumental project coming up , I’ve decided this will be the one . My backup will be another classic Japanese surf bass , my UniVox HiFlier. I’m going retro cool. Been putting some time in on this , and I like it.

Trying something different this weekend. Swapped the Plethora for the Ampero so I can use the preamp and a, ahem, plethora of always on effects, plus 4 selectable and a tuner. Oh and another synth and couple more filters, because.

You say the timing isn't "overtly wrong", so would you have noticed anything if you hadn't looked at the waveforms in your DAW? If it sounds fine then it is fine and stop worrying. However if you want to change this and you are playing consistently ahead of the beat you could simply pull the bass part back until you are happy with the synchronisation between the bass and the other instruments. TBH it can't be that far out or surely one of the other band members would have said something by now. And remember that there is a big difference in what works live and what makes a great recording. IMO the is nothing inherently wrong or right about playing to a click track, provided that you use the right type of click and you also know when it's not appropriate. With the Terrortones before we went into the studio we'd try all the songs we intended to record with and without a click. Some benefited from the extra tightness that a constant tempo brought, some needed a variable tempo click so that each section has the right feel, and some just sounded best without. No overall right answer just a matter of picking the right solution for each song. Also the type of music being played/recorded will have an influence on how tight the all the parts should be. And this IMO is where home recording tends to fall down, because we spend too much time being over-analytical about individual aspects of the performance and not look at the whole recoding/arrangement/production, which ultimately is what counts. Having an objective 3rd party (a producer) is always a good idea.

Just come back from a couple of days in Cornwall, popped into Trago at Liskeard whilst we were there and came out with this, I didn't need it, it was so cheap I couldn't leave it there. Just finished fitting the obligatory ship's cables...

My mate Barry Morris photographs most of the bands at the Earl Haig, and he's become incredibly good at it. These are some of his flattering shots from last Sunday.

Count me in on short scale appreciation, a rather nice Fender JMJ Mustang now chez Lozz.

For some reason bass lines seems to come over better on Radio 6, almost like the whole station in better EQ'd than the rest? Anyway, until this morning i'd never picked up what an extraordinary bit of playing this is

@Chienmortbb will be able to do that for you sooner or later. On the continent @itu may be willing to do some as well. I'm actually just putting the finishing touches on a more DIY friendly pedal design layout, my own builds use surface mount parts and tend to scare off most home builders. I have no financial interest in any of it, and I've only sold around a dozen pedals over the last 7 years, nearly all to local musician friends. This one is for upright bass and will be done in the next day or two: And yeah, one could build pretty much any of the usual commercial suspects into a pedal enclosure fairly easily.

Could you 'screenshot' this, please..? It's possibly just a matter of degree; half a bar ahead is obviously a tad 'too much', but bass notes have a certain build-up to them, so it's not always the peak of the note that one hears first. If we could see how far away from the beat you are, we could maybe advise a bit better..? Another point is that it's Music, not Mathematics, and often enough, too 'mechanical' doesn't cut the mustard. Let's see, first, though (and maybe a quick sonic extract, so as to hear what's what..?). If you can. Douglas

I think that’s one of the main things on the JMJ, the neck just feels like I’m at home. The quality of the JMJ is pretty much the same as my US Precisions.

Update, I opened up the FX59 and wiggled some things around, turns out it works but the LED doesn't, which is OK but I guess when setting up you'd probably want to check if the pedal's on before turning your amp on, otherwise you could very well kill yourself with the gain it produces. Comparing the two, the FX59 is a little bit smoother and reacts more to dynamics; the FX58 is more defined and has more mids. Will have to try them live and see which feels best. iPhone cameras can't handle hot pink!

Following a bout of P GAS and a brief tryout of same on a visit down south, I went P bass shopping, locally today but took my JMJ along to make sure that I wasn't buying just a bigger version of what I already had tonewise. To cut to the chase, the JMJ neck was better than the 3 Player series P necks that I played (1 x maple, 2 x Pau Ferro fretboard - the all maple neck was huge, not like the one I had previously tried) and the Seymour Duncan, JMJ pickup out 'precisioned' them all too, so I left P-less, but quietly smug. It's these instances that show what a fantastic piece of kit the JMJ, and the Mustang design as a whole, is.* *I must remember this post when the P GAS rises again, as it surely will.

Take 2 basses, one with rounds, the other with flats. Play 1 set with 1 bass and 1 with the other. Trust me no one cares as much as you do. just a thought experiment: try telling the guitarist you don’t like sound of his guitar, pedals or amp. I wonder how accommodating they would be. So why do you think you should. Find your own sound, own it and be happy with the choices you make.

If you are interested in getting one remember that the re-issues are all long scale while the original 60s models are short scale. I used to own this: The rarest of the all the basses in this shape made in a limited edition of 50 as the signature bass for Terry & the Blue Jeans, a well-know Japanese Surf band. There as also a T&tBJ limited edition guitar in the same shape. It is essentially a TRB5 with the SVB shape, so it doesn't have much in common with the 4-string versions. Unfortunately it didn't get used much as it was far too big the wield on most of the stages I was playing at the time, without putting the rest of the band and the audience at risk of injury. Also it was massively heavy. The SVBs seem to have been popular with girl bassists in Japanese bands - Fumi from Polysics uses one and Miki Furukawa of Supercar even has her own signature model.

I love the look of these. Did anyone else think they were Jean-Michel Jarre signature instruments at first?

Just because the drums were recorded with the drummer listening to the click track does not mean that they will be exactly on the beat unless they have been edited afterwards to make them so. Unless you are planning to lots of editing and moving of song sections as part of the production process it really doesn't matter where the actual notes land so long as all the different instruments are in time with each other. I have a sneaking suspicion that this problem may be down to "listening with your eyes and not with your ears", in which case you probably don't need to worry.

I think the audience does notice, not in a way a musician would, but they know when something sounds good, or doesn't, or sounds muddy, or sounds like their favourite recording, or not. They don't know the technical terms or the details, but I wouldn't underestimate an audience's ability to be discerning.

Oh Cliff, Sometimes it must be difficult, Not to feel as if, You really are a cliff. And fascists keep trying to push you over it. Are we the lemmings? Or are you Cliff. Or are you Cliff.

Hoping this isn't a metaphor like clown's pocket or wizard's sleeve..... 🤣😂

Heard the song a thousand times but never really heard the bassline? Absolutely, I own several Metallica albums.

I usually use D'Addario NYXL rounds. They give a good growl! I never use flats because I've never found any that sound right with my slap'n'tickle playing style... A "pop" on flats doesn't quite do it for me, and I'm too mean to experiment on the off chance!

I did attempt this patch on the C4 but had to approximate the waveform using the FM engine as there’s no pulse width control on C4’s square waves. It’s OK but not as accurate as the FI patch I did.

I have sold approx. 45 basses and posted most of them. No hard cases, unless the bass came in one, which has only been a couple of times. Lost none. Bomb-proof packaging is the key. The bass gets put in a gig bag most of the time, and usually double boxed. I have frequently fashioned my own outer boxes from former bicycle boxes - Halfords has always been keen to give them away when I've asked. My method is to make sure the bass is surrounded in cushioning material (bubble wrap, foam, polystyrene, balled up paper - whatever I have to hand) on all sides and the box is fully packed with it until there is no movement inside the box. Not overpacked to the point where the box might burst, just packed enough that it takes a little effort to close it. The whole thing must move as one when shaken. It takes time and effort, but it's worth it for a safe journey to its new owner.

After having spent most of the 80s trying to make synths sound like guitars and then the following decade making guitars and basses sound like synths, I have finally learnt that it is far easier to use the right instrument for the sound and feel that you want (remember that unless you have masterful technique you will never quite get the same feel on a bass guitar to something originally played on a keyboard or by sequencer).

You should already have a pre-amp in your signal chain probably in your actual amplifier. Why have a second one? Unless it currently doesn't do what you want in which case you should change for one that does.

Thanks for posting @Hellzero, that's a few months of my life gonna go to learning that part, and I'm pretty sure getting the right notes in the right order is only a very small part of it 👍

You were lucky....when I were a lad, we'd afta walk that distance in oor bare feets wit' Trace Elliot on oor backs to gigs! 🤣🤣🤣

I'm still deciding wether I keep the Vintage Pre preamp on the board. I usually use the HX Stomp as a preamp and I have a couple of presets that I like. I don't usually use many effects so it might be redundant to have both. Still trying. Also, I am also testing the compressor in different places.

I’ve come to the conclusion I don’t like pedals anymore 😅

I miss the bands I've been in where we used to play pretty much every day, and were 'proper' mates.. Not really experienced this kind of thing in the "modern" era, probably doesn't exist now

https://lenspeedlogistics.com/ These guys are specialist instrument movers. Not only instruments, valve amps, etc but artwork and other vaulables. They dont require a hardcase. Their fixed rate for any bass or guitar is £55 insured. They do have a limited area they cover though. Anything outside needs a quote. When phoning, it's likely to be an answer machine as they really are a small concern, but Len the boss will call you. They're pretty busy people so you wont get next day, as these peeps are not like the corporate parcel chuckers. PS i've already used these guys

It was all good fun. I'm probably all good for bass cabinets, but sadly I've got the itch now. One thing I keep forgetting to mention is that I bought some BFM plans. For various reasons I decided to instead build the BC112, but I will say that these plans are full of tips, like how to do joins, and how to test for leaks. Purchasing the plans for the Simplexx 12, say, will give you a good set of mental tools to get you going with cabinet building so I would definitely recommend purchasing at least one.

My second Vox has just arrived - a black 2s - think I like the look of it even more than the red 1H . Set up was fine but I did note it had been done by the same QA inspector as the first ( Luis). Hope your replacement is a good one fretmeister as they are definitely a cracking little bass if you get a good one. I bought a Donner strat off ebay this week and had a similar problem - an unplayable neck, its a lovely looking thing in coral pink. I wanted to send it back and get a replacement and they've just told me to keep it and they'll send me another ! Now I have one to fettle with for free !

As others have alluded to this, I would suggest that the best decade would be from the mid 70s to the mid 80s, so yes, it would definitely include the Stranglers in my book.

I remember when Under Pressure came out - 15 seconds of dead air from our radio of that time!

Well currently there is no board 😂 in the pic it’s the Fulltone Bass Drive and an SFX Headphone/IEM Mixer and DI I have a pile of pedals now for sale and I’m keeping and will explain the following. MXR Bass Octave Deluxe - If you’re not doing warbly synthy oc2 sounds this is the best and really versatile. Dod FX25 - Using the LPF trick it does. I’m getting a huge phat sound out of it after hearing Si Francis do the same with a far more expensive filter in an Americana band SFX IEM Mixer - It’s a di but it also accepts a stereo or mono feed from a desk. This gives you a volume for your IEMs of bass and the desk feed separately, so you can balance it yourself. It also has a link out so you can pass on the desk feed. It’s incredibly useful and the DI sounds great. EBS Microbass 3 - Picked this up by chance last week, sounds way better than I imagined and has all the IO I’d ever need on any gig. Sonicake Octaver - Sounds identical to the OC2 and the Valeton OC10 and when I say identical I don’t mean close I mean identical. I preferred the format and size of this one and it’s the cheapest. Zoom MS-60b - I hate that I love this pedal so much. I started looking for a small multi to scratch an itch and have something interesting to play with on the road. This was the smallest multi I could find that you could also take to a jam night because it still has a foot switch (I also have 2 NUX Mighty Plugs, which sound good (enough) but aren’t gigable). This can be powered by USB, AAs and standard 9v. I wanted it for misc effects that don’t warrant a stand alone. Frankly this thing just slays, I’ve loaded on particle and pitch shifting delays from the MS70cdr along with anything else weird I can find and I can do a passable impression of basically anything. All of which means I can continue to travel super light. My plan for the board is a grab and go solution for when gigs pop up. It’ll stay in the U.K. and I’ll just grab it when I fly in and should be able to cover everything (knowing I’ll have the zoom and a stagebug di with me in whatever gigbag I have with me) /long rambly post Ok…. so I made a board It’s the newer nano bag so the Microbass 3 is in the front pocket and the Zoom is in the bass gigbag. I want the Cioks 4 for power and that’s about it

I had rounds on all my basses for 30+years. Then I heard flats on the same model as mine and loved the sound. I now have rounds on the Jazz and flats on the P. One caveat, I don't sound like Mark King or Chris Squire, but I've used flats in blues rock bands and the other bands. Doesn't Steve Harris use flats? IMO if you have a good EQ on your amp you can play any bass and use any strings you want.

The end is in sight. Unfortunately, one of my push/push pots is faulty - got a nasty sticky portion of the sweep and the push push doesn't seem to be switching. FFS. On the plus side, these DiMarzio X2N-B pickups are sounding amazing (through headphones at least), loud, tight, focussed but characterful - exactly what I was hoping for!

Use a compressor.