Leaderboard

Can't afford it, don't need it at all, I already have everything I need. Bought it anyway. headless bass itch well and truly scratched. Series S4000 I believe, serial number is 235... I have no idea how to age it though, any ideas? I had no idea these things were so heavy though! I changed the batteries and one of the connectors fell apart as I unclipped it, so it now has shiny new battery clips but everything else is perfect. Can't wait to wheel it out at a rehearsal.

I suppose I belong to this ragtag gang now that I've made my own pedalboard. Not much going on here in terms of pedals, but I made the board myself to keep me out of mischief over the crimbo break... T-Rex Fuel Tank Jr. hiding underneath, just in case anyone's wondering where the power's coming from...

All gathering dust as the band is hibernating for the foreseeable future. Only ever used the two 2x10s and TD650 a couple of times at larger gigs, mostly used the HD350 and one 2x10 for smaller gigs and rehearsals. The 1x15 is a recent addition to the family and I'd like to see how it works with a 2x10 or just on its own.

I have spoken to the current owner, he is literally a couple of miles away and he is going to have a think about selling so it could be coming home! Will update when I have some news...

Sorrel Seems To Be The Hardest Word Blue n Elton

Two possible answers to that: A: That's absoluetly fine, everyone has different tastes. Jaco was also an incredible player, but musically never hit the spot for me, whereas Mick Karn did. I could listen to Mick Karn all day. Jaco about 3 minutes. B: That's absoluetly fine, your are perfectly entitled to be wrong!😄

It's only been a month since I picked up my Vintera Telecaster Bass so I wasn't expecting any more incomings, but I spotted this online and the price was too good to pass up. A 2010 Squier Classic Vibe 50s Precision Bass in butterscotch blonde. I'd wanted one for a few years but they don't come up very often. It's in 9/10 condition with just a couple of tiny dings in not-very-visible places. I restrung it with a set of flats I had in my parts box and it plays very nicely and sounds pretty good to boot.

My two

Having just turned 75 I relish learning new numbers. I've been playing with soul bands on and off since the 60's, so some of our numbers I've been playing for 50+ years. Funnily enough it's these numbers I seem to make the odd mistake with as I feel I know them so well, I don't seem to think about them. Newer numbers I really concentrate on.

First of all, these additional discussions can be valuable for those who are open to learning. that’s why some of us put in the effort to explain things the way we do. Of course the additional information are going to be frustrating for someone who is struggling with the facts yet continues to post incorrect information as though they know what they are talking about. Clearly I poked that bear here, sorry for that. The term RMS power is defined by industry convention to be power based on rms voltage and current, it is a descriptor which is well understood and accepted by the industry. It’s also been accepted by all of the regulatory agencies (safety and EMC) for audio equipment testing. Hopefully this isn’t going to be controversial as well.

The Bootsy Collins. I will NEVER buy one but if one was given to me I’d be very happy.

My first go... I have ordered two more, at 8 quid each I would be a chump not to.

Totally get that Mick, it`s what I do for fun & to have laughs, making it the day job would have killed my enthusiasm for it.

I've one these in the basket a couple of times now and just about managed to talk myself out of it. I think they're beautiful but oddly it's the budget price tag that puts me off. You can get them for under £300. I'm not a gear snob and own and play a couple Squiers alongside more expensive instruments but I just worry that this is going to turn out to be not as nice as the stuff I've already got. Also they're big and I'm running out of guitar/bass space.

I practice maybe an hour or two per week, outside of weekly band rehearsal. I'm a perfectionist so I could always play better but I'm competent enough to hold a band together and help make it sound good when it matters. 6 hours a day everyday, I'm sure I could be technically brilliant etc but I would likely start hating the thing that brings the most happiness in my life..

Small update on my board....replaced a treble booster with the origin DCX. Sounded pretty ace tonight, need to get to grips with it a bit more but pretty impressed. I need to work out how to potentially best stack it with my fuzz, which may make the muff redundant, but we'll see.

My 1982 BB2000. I love this bass. Such an amazing bass to play and the tone is absolutely brilliant. I’d lusted after these ever since I saw a Yamaha catalogue in the late 80s. Picked this up in April 2023. It’s a keeper.

Since my last update, I have now written most of the software and it works (for some value of 'works') with the simulator. I've now just about reached as far as I can go with the simulator, there's probably going to be some hardware issues to resolve now and the only way to do that, is to get the hardware built and the code uploaded. I'm now going to use a Mega 2560 Arduino rather than a UNO as it has more pin outs. I'd literally run out of pins on the Uno and was struggling to put all the bits I wanted. I had a Mega 2560 sitting around doing nothing so thats now the base. It also gives me far more code space to program in and save stuff in. I've got a CNC Shield as that sits on top of the Mega 2560 which saves vauable real estate, I'll only use two stepper drivers at the moment, though I can use four. I might use a 3rd for tension control of the wire but not yet. The CNC shield takes 12-36V and a bench power supply is on order (60V/10A). Stepper motors can take a lot of amps, I suspect I won't need this sort of output power, but it's nice to have a lot of head room just-in-case. The menu interface is quite good (even though I do say so myself), I can create sub-menus but so far haven't needed it. I can use a 4x4 membrane keypad to enter integers, floats and select from lists. I'd love to be able to find a blank 4x4 keypad, or one where I can change the keys to be what I want them to be. I'll have to use sticky labels at the moment, but as these keypads are about £2 each, not a problem. So next steps are: 1. Working out how to do microsteps on the stepper motors. The reason for this is that there is a ratio between the number of loops that the main pickup winder motor makes and the number of turns that the lead screw turns to ensure that the pickup wire moves across the bobbin so that the pickup wire is evenly placed. I know some people might want randomisation but thats V2 of the firmware. These microsteps appear to be controlled by the CNC shield and setting jumpers (!). if I can move from 400 steps per singe revolution to 800 or 1600 steps, then I can get the ratio between the two motors to be higher and closer to an integer. Thats good 2. Putting everything onto a thick A3 plywood base. I wanted to use a larger base as that reduces the angle that pickup wire moves through as the bobbin is turned. If the bobbin is very close, then the angle subtended gets closer to 90 degrees. Imaging your finger wagging at 10 times a second going through 90 degrees vs at 45 or 30 degrees. I might be worrying about nothing but lets see. I have printed most things including guides to position everything accurately. I have all the hardware to do it, just been away and its bloody cold in the garage here in North Yorkshire. 3. Work out how to build an Arduino dev environment on a M series Mac. I have a simulator but not a clue how to actually prgram an Arduino on a Mac. Last time I did this, I used a Windows laptop. I might still have to yet. I really want to built it around Emacs but suspect thats not going to fly. 4. Get it installed and get the firmware properly debugged. 5. I have a couple of cheap bass pickups I've brought, so will gently take them apart and see if I can replicate how they are made. My knowledge of magnets is limited but I'll start reading up over the next week or so. 6. Buy some 42AWG wire. I'll start with the thicker stuff first. 7. Work out how to fit bump stops in case everything goes out of control. There are pins on the CNC shield for this, its mounting them thats the challenge. Thats probably enough to go on for the next week or so. I still have to start work on my 3d printed bass but thats on hold whilst I get this working. Rob

Our hope is that the Mesa showroom will also be complete by that date, but I don't know the details. There are containers of Mesa products that have already been shipped, so we are all hopeful that this date remains correct.

Night Train Oscar Peterson

Rudolf (Nureyev) The Red Nosed Reindeer - Christmas song

Indeed. Yes, prices have gone up a lot in the past few years, but at the same time I don't think there's been a better time than now to buy a cheap instrument that is also decent.

I am sure Karn was an influence on Pino, no bad thing obviously, it's how most of us start out, listening to and emulating, to some extent, players who inspire us. I have maybe overstated my case because both Pino and Giblin are superb. I personally prefer Karn but that's down to all sorts of stuff to do with Japan and the times when I was listening to them. Karn seems (to my ears at least) to have developed a very unique style that I cannot hear in anything that precedes him (perfectly happy to be directed to anything that might be an influence on him, apart from Jaco, who I can't stand for more than thirty seconds).

Black Ol' Son ～ Soundgarden

News to 'you know who'...

Music we usually start the gig to i the pub jukebox they forget to turn off before we start. Step 1: Politely ask at the bar Step 2: Ask over the PA. (normally ignored) Step 3: Ask again (now shouting over the PA helps, expletives optional) Step 4: Offer to mime to the jukebox Step 5: Play along with the jukebox until they notice Step 6: Start gig...late Step 7: Mid gig break, repeat steps 1-6

Well said. Therein lies the real danger.

I remember once at work we had a conversation on what might be the worst thing to happen to you. You know, things like a 9" grinder accident with it going into your abdomen; circular saw running at your hand; plate glass impalement; acid spills; welding incidents. Apparently "being stuck in a dead end job on an industrial estate near an airport for the rest of your career" isn't the right answer.

My plans are to use it as my signature/gig bass, I want to do a neck plate like the stingray special one, red body and carbon fiber pickguard, control plate. As bridge I will mount on some monorail in black, as well as the tuners (they would be black too). I know that the fender neck is also 34" but it misses one fret. If you notice the neck is placed a little bit forward from the neck heel bottom, in order to match the stingray classic diapason scale (nut-bridge screw). By the way, I placed that neck only for reference, I'm selling the maple jazz neck rn and because of that I had it lying around in my room. The Harley benton with mods sounds 1:1 to my ears, best deal for the price as a base for mods, but the basswood is awful... I tried to dig a battery hole with my luthier and the wood was so soft that it was so difficult to not make any dent... But in the end we succeeded and it was a killer bass! The pickup is an handmade Stingray replica made in Italy with alnico rods, 70€... For that price it was an absolute win. I still think that a sterling sub ray4/5 are the best modding platforms tho, If I'll find one I'll take it and keep in my closet waiting for future projects. Still looking for a status neck, because I know what look I'm seeking for

It doesn't matter how good you get; there will always be someone better than you, or at least someone you think is better than you. It doesn't matter how bad you are; there will always be someone worse than you, or at least someone you think is worse than you. Forget the destination and enjoy the journey. What scares ME late at night?

The bass should be a tool to bring joyful experiences into your life, it should never be something which causes you to lock yourself away from joyful living.

I'm thinking of playing 'asteroid' as the call up music for sets 2 & 3. Its only 18 seconds long so the bu99ers had better not wander off too far.

+1. By the same token I do this loudspeaker stuff every day as part of my design work. 😉

Hi all, I know a lot on here love this guy. Just seen he's playing at Band on the Wall this Friday with an Irish band The Ollam. Tickets cheap at £23. Its a great venue if you've never been, you're right near the stage no matter what. Its a good opportunity to see a revered bassist up close for little money.

This seems to be fairly typical of EBMM QC standards at the moment. Absolutely diabolical. You get better fit and finish on a £120 Harley Benton.

I listened to Pino on Gary Numan's, I Assassin, because I'm a massive Pino fan. Prior to this album, Numan had used Mick Karn. On I Assassin, Pino sounds very much like Mick. As that album was pre Pino's more widespread notoriety via Paul Young's No Parlez, I wonder if Mick was an influence on the blossoming Pino?

That would be a similar config to a regular 2 channel i/p amp, with pre-EQ FX loops (how would that sit with the BB scheme?) - it would only require 1 extra Jack to try and mount in the case Circuit tracing would need to be done from the existing i/p forwards now, and maybe not such a convenient circuit position to cut in (from a buffering PoV) - but the footswitch might hold the key! Basically you'd be converting a 1-i/p-switched-between-2-EQ-paths into an always-on-1-i/p-thro-2EQ-paths The remaining comments previously about the hardware modding still apply ...can't help feeling that you're trying to convert pedal X into pedal 'Why?' 😉 You'll devalue the Bass Butler and maybe not achieve as good an end-result as buying a bit of kit designed for the job 😒

Cheers folks, will do more homework....quite like the thought of a UK based maker.

And in this case you can move the fx loop any where in the chain on the helix which gives you a lot more flexibility. Also if you can get an XPND or Nano+ so your pedals aren’t sideways I’d greatly appreciate that 🙏

I have a Ruzizao 30V 5A bench psu and it works admirably.

The Creamery are UK-based. I don't have any of their Jazz pickups but I have their pickups in both my Precisions and they're very good. I'm half tempted to try their 51 P and Wide Range Bass Humbucker as well.

Good basses were never cheap. I bought my Fender Precision in 1969 on a deal for £95, but the retail price in the UK was £120. That's about £2400 at today's value. In 1969 a cheap bass was generally unplayable crap. Since the advent of CNC machines, and Asian labour, good basses can be had for a few hundred pounds.

Mine, tried to sell it, having listened to some Mick Karn this evening, now probably keeping it

New pedal board to allow me to play my bass and my Novation Bass Station through the same rig. The Tone Hammer Pre is at the end for studio recordings or for when I go direct through the house but it's normally bypassed live and eq is done on the TH500 head.