Leaderboard

Recently acquired a long scale Lincoln in 'hot rod red' with J width neck and ebony board to go with my capri orange short scale Midwestern. Pics so you can see it did happen 😀

Bought a gold Epiphone Jack Casady 6 weeks ago from a local Basschatter. Needed a few things doing to it to make it suitable for me, and now it's ready to gig. First job was to turn the (asymmetrical) pickup the right way round. Next job was a full setup, but the standard bridge wasn't adjustable enough for saddle height. Luckily the classifieds here provided a new unopened Babicz bridge for it, at a considerable amount less than the new price. Fitted that, all good. A tiny bit of weight saving too. Changed the gold knobs for some black ones off an Epiphone Thunderbird to match the bridge and tuners. Removed the unnecessary pick guard (looks nicer I think). Main problem was the neck dive and balance - it matters a lot to me as I'm old and have a wrecked shoulder, so I fitted a set of black Gotoh Resolites. It's made all the difference, the standard tuners weigh in at 92g each, the Gotohs are 32g each, so a total saving of 240g on the headstock. A fresh set of Labella LTFs, and it's good to go. Lovely bass, nice neck, sounds wonderful, and records very well.

Bastard Bastard Bastard Bastard Bastard Bastard Bastard Bastard Bastard Bastard Bastard Bastard Bastard A very handsome and erudite fellow indeed Bastard Bastard

Just got home and unpacked. Enjoyed chatting with my fellow bass geeks and tried some nice basses out.

So my Frank Bello pimp job is done. A fun project, just because. I stripped out everything basically. There was nothing wrong with it stock, but I decided to just have fun with it. The only original parts now, are the wooden ones. I didn’t want to throw silly money at it, so I was sensible on the spending, basically thinking that everything should be black. I think it looks better than the stock chrome hardware. Wilkinson tuners, black bridge, strap locks, knobs….. @KiOgon loom …. Alan Entwhistle (?!?) pickups, which seem well made and pretty high output. What do you think?

Got the status out today for a practice. God it’s good. Not gigged it since getting the Sadowsky, it’s coming out tonight!

We had fun reliving our youth and songs from 40+ years ago. Confused the hell out of some of the crowd with a set of spikey new wave songs in our stylie from back then - so sort of new wave but belying the eclectic roots of the band that listened to pre-punk and came out of a WMC club band that played country & hits from the 50's & 60's. Just three covers: "Another Girl, Another Planet" "Faithhealer" and "I Fought The Law", within a set of our 'classics': DeadTown, 9To5 (not Dolly P ), Melody Maker, Skateboard Love, Disco Generation, The Static, Bognor Boy, and many others none of you will ever have heard or be likely to you lucky things. Thankfully a crowd that included current bands and a bit of a school reunion for the other three helped. Supported by the old drummer from my main band's new band and got a chance to listen to my Darkglass + 2xBB2 rig that their bass player used (and it sounded rather nice ) Got through reasonably unscathed with the rhythm section holding things together with a nod of years together, and regular cries of "DON'T START IT TOO FAST!!!". Felt fast all the same but not as fast as when we were 18

And here's a picture of said bass in action last night.. I felt quite emotional playing it to be honest.

We played in a small pub near Watford, the 'Load of Hay'. They have a good outside space for gigs when the weather improves but last night we were squeezed into the corner of the L shaped venue. We didn't have enough room for our kit so the singer/guitarist placed his amp on top of my Super Compact and I had to use my back up head as my main Ashdown wouldn't fit on top of his amp. We went down well though, there were a few old codgers in the place when we showed up and I thought they aren't going to like us (we're a punk band), but I was wrong; 45 years ago they weren't old codgers and they were listening to punk and knew our songs.

I think it's okay for me to say there are rumblings about an imminent release. @steviewill doubtless be along but I'm expecting to hear the first one within a couple of weeks. Not sure if that is a late prototype or the first production model but I'm really looking forward to hearing it

Played at Bristol City's football ground this afternoon, entertaining the red and white scarfed hordes before the game. Not sure the crowd there gathered were particularly bothered but good to do two gigs in one day.

We played Halifax Victoria Theatre tonight. Nearly 1000 punters in this fantastic old place, all in good voice too. High domed ceiling made for an unusual sound, which meant using our new favourite gadget…..😆

A few basses have gone off to new homes this last week 😭 but I do have a new addition 😀

Proving that just as owning a fancy bass doesn't make you a great bassist ... oneing a posh camera doesn't make me a photographer, as I'd evindently pressed a button that did something weird to the exposure and focus (the compostion is just lack of skills!) Anyway, a few could be salvaged: .. and there were only three Wals there but I'm sure they will come again .. so everyone gets a go eventually. I must remember to try a Dingwal again myself ... they sound fantastic but look kinda scarey!

I Second That Emulsion - Smokey Robinson & the Miracles

Photographs to start the gallery: "Can anyone tell me what this wooden bit is called? Anyone??" Andy' setup guide starts with the basics. Aluminium necked Kramer - really nice to play. And thanks to The Music Inn for supporting us with some raffle prizes.

I’ve been home about an hour Cawfee, then tube my lunch. I thoroughly enjoyed myself, some lovely basses, Owens Overwater 6ixer being one, Machines MTD got me thinking as well. I pushed off early as I needed some Nutrition and I have MED’s to take into account. A great time was had, hearing all the snap, popple and crack of you guys that do the ‘Slap and Tickle’ , makes me a bit envious of your abilities, but old school (or just plain old) has its compensations in memories. Thanks to everyone I spoke to, it was really good to ‘News’ with you. Some spot on Amp set ups……….. G.A.S. Never say never (I did).

I played The Fighting C*cks in Kingston last night. The day was a little less packed/stressful than our last live outing...we haven't played for three weeks, so a brief session at Silent Hill in Guildford, then off to Kingston. Three bands (we were the meat in the sandwich), decent soundcheck, then loiter for three hours. Used my Spector Euro-X, Darkglass A0900. They had a GK enclosure on stage, so I left my 1x12 cabinets in the car. Come gigtime, there was maybe 40 people in. Sound kind of went to hell. Monitor mix was pretty awful, the tightness of the stage meant (of course) the whole box we were in was just full of drums. The sound guy did mention that they have an issue with harder hitting drummer's cymbals affecting the vocal mics, so 'could you drummer hit the cymbals softer?'. Sheesh. Anyhow, we laboured through, a couple of mistakes, nobody seemed to notice. Good general reaction and feedback. Home by midnight.

Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental health condition where a person has obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviours. I, on the other hand, am a bit early 🙄

Nice, I wish I used mine more, they sound great. I also changed the tuners on mine to hipshot lites. Moved the strap button as well as didn't like how it balanced. With the original bridge I was just about able to get the action good enough for me. Strung mine with some nylon tape wounds and it sounds huge. The bass seems to sound great with most types of strings. Enjoy.

I'll drink to that, I've got a pair of ZS10's as well as the pros and recently re-tried them with memory buds. That improves the comfort and fit by so much and fit is all when it comes to improving the sound. They became my go to set for the gym until my bluetooth lead stopped working. For anyone reading this using universal fit IEM's keep trying buds until you get the best possible seal, it makes somuch difference to the sound.

Here’s my latest Fenderbird build….,,👍🏻

I got an Xotic 5 string jazz instead...!

A Lakland 5594 or a Lakland 5502. Why.? its got a neck thats the best in the bass business and it is super versatile.Best 5 string bass on the planet.. No doubt I do love an SR5 as the punch the neck are hard to beat. Tight string spacing though. A Lakland 5502 is the best bass ive ever played. fabulous instrument. Nothing on your list comes close.

I’d like to think my current lineup is going to stay unchanged for a good while, so here it is. ‘71 Precision ‘89 Thumb ‘97 Fretless Stingray

If these are Wharfedale Titans you can probably get spares from them. I had to replace a driver in my EVP subs and they provided a reasonably priced replacement within 48 hours. Over 15 years all sorts of events may have affected your speakers and failure after that time could be down to all sorts of things. That they lasted this long suggests you weren't doin much wrong. Having said that speakers at this price point won't be long throw so it is possible that over excursion may be a problem if you are mic'ing the kick especially if you are using any bass boost. Again after years of safe usage this is not that likely. Double check your speaker though, it's possibly working and the fault could be a cable, the internal wiring inside the cab or something wrong in the crossover, there may even be a fuse on the crossover board

Hi Flier

This 66 is so clean, it must have spent a long time in the case or been really well looked after, even the case is mint , anyone going to turkey https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/225503035266?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=nJCYDXe3Rle&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=1wDkd4CjTIi&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

If you're worried about having your OCD nerve twanged, then for gawd's sake don't look up at the pointy end. The angle between the nut and stem of the "R" - and the fact that they've chosen to position the slab-serifed "R" so that it looks more like a "B" - will be playing that OCD nerve like a Ranjo string. Anyway, I didn't buy mine for the album cover similarities or the parallelism of the racing stripes, I've bought it because it's a Dingwall with an ebony board and an unusual cranberry finish 😜 And the trading card, obv. [Edit: I should point out that JT was my first bass hero, Duran posters adorned all available bedroom wall space. So that's the non-material reason for getting one. I honestly don't care about the RN preamp, mind. ]

The original from 1964 I think ..... 😎

I managed somehow to not play a single Wal, despite there being lots there. Notable basses for me included @Owen's Overwater 6 (strung F#,B,E,A,D,G) but sounded quite amazing, @floFC's Kramer with the aluminium neck, @emperormingus's 58 Hofner and @Machines's Dingwall D-roc. All very different approaches to making a bass. Having @Andyjr1515go over my bass setup was clearly a highlight, especially as the intonation issue on the B string was solved by raising the string height by 0.5mm. As simple as that! Now I have to do the other basses.

G&L L-1000 5 string wideboy. To hell with "versatility" - simply give me a bass that just sounds great and doesn't need any added salt and pepper. While you're fiddling with pickup selection, blending and your 4 band EQ, I'm already at the first chorus

This so nearly didn't happen. I expected it to be a bit tough as we were away with the kids... What I didn't expect was to have a bloody stroke the day after we got back. Still, medicated to the eyeballs, and with most of my left arm movement and strength back (by what miracle I don't know)... Here goes... My entry to the April round of the Basschat Composition Challenge, inspired by the picture chosen my the previous winner Andy Travis. The picture invoked memories of doing stupid things with groups of friends, and how while time marches on and we're flung to the far corners of the earth, if we got together today we'd probably be just as daft. Tech Stuff - Cubase Elephants 10, my old Westbury acoustic, Jake 5 on bass (I couldn't quite get it together on DB, which was my initial plan), and Monster Drums on, er, drums. There's a sprinkling of piano mixed well back for a bit of thickening, and the vocals are treated with CLA vocals.

Oh yeah, Coffee Grindr is a great app!

Tantric Obstacles - Ozric Tentacles

I just close my eyes and think - it's ok.

If I had to tune that low, I'd be looking at 35" scale basses

Here's my rather minimalist affair. @Smanth posted her Rockboard Duo which was just the job for my little set up. Assembled it this morning - took me ages, at least 15 mins. 2/3 the size and half the weight of my old Pedaltrain Mini.

We've toyed with the idea of a BC 1x15 cab and I have one here using an Eminence Deltalite, not quite the spec you are looking for though. I'm afraid Covid rather interrupted our plans as all our designs are tested playing live as well as being measured in the 'shed'. Limited playing opportunities and other more personal issues have meant not getting out most weeks. There are a few technical problems with your scheme. Availability of a suitable driver being the biggest issue. If you want a single 15 for a bass cab it has to have reasonable output up to roughly 4000Hz. For a 15" driver that means it is operating under cone break up for a lot of it's range and the cone breakup has to be well controlled. Because the high end is bound to be compromised most 15's have a bit of a peak in the kHz range which kind of compensates for the early roll off at the top end. Almost all the commercially available 15's are designed to be used in multi-way systems and to extend the bass downwards rather than the treble upwards so they have heavy cones to lower fs and make them pistonic up to the crossover point. This lowers their efficiency. If you want 600W handling then you really need a 4" voice coil so you are now in the realm of pro-audio bass drivers. The other limiting factor is excursion, a speaker might be able to handle 600W of electrical heating but if it reaches it's excursion limits at 300W then there is nothing to be gained by using a bigger amp and more expensive, heavier driver to achieve the same output levels. Similarly if you go for 4 ohms to get more power out of the amp the same physical limits on excursion mean that you gain nothing in sound output. There aren't many if any drivers that meet all your design parameters. Few meet the 100db/W even on the manufacturers spec, most are dedicated bass drivers so won't have enough high end to be usable as a single bass cab. I'd probably opt for the Eminence Kappalite 15HO as the best all rounder and now priced fairly competitively in the UK. That's not news, Barefaced used them in their first cabs and BFM recommends them as do many others. It's 450W and sounds good with bass but excursion is only 5mm. You'll achieve sound levels peaks of 125db+ though which is plenty enough to destroy your hearing. The other possible candidate is the Faital HF520 a bit more expensive and heavier but with an acceptable looking top end, that is 600W but lower quoted efficiency than the Eminence. It does have better excursion but I haven't modelled the two against each other so I can't really say if you would gain much at this point. A Kappalite in a box is a good solution and would come in at around £300 as a self build. It would need a port

Not exactly a Fenderbird like Peter Cook made them. It's my take on the theme of a hybrid between a classic Gibson and a classic 7ender I call it Telebird: