Leaderboard

Finally think I've got everything squeezed onto mine after weeks of wrestling with it! Flat patch leads are definitely the way to go, I got some Sonicake ones off Amazon. I had tried making my own using some basic metal pancake plugs I had knocking around, but they're rubbish 🤣 (the plugs). Sonicake wah modded to be bass friendly, and I've just had to replace the DC socket on my Chakra comp as it had fallen apart. I replaced the knobs at the same time as the old chicken head ones kept falling off. Oh, also a somewhat obvious lesson learned: It's a great idea to buy a mini wah, but you need to realise that you still need enough space for your foot to operate it! 🤣🤦

Ok so not my only fretless, but oh my god. Is it absurd to say I was expecting just a touch of buyer’s remorse? Not even a smidgen. Just glorious in every way. I have been lost in it since it arrived - I think only a couple of weeks back, but it feels like a year 😂

Apologies. Work got a little manic, but I'm back for part four of three – finishing with the finishing. I've tried a bunch of different techniques for applying finishes over the years, with varying degrees of success. My home workshop is just my garden – and it's not a very big garden at that – which makes using spray finishes unpleasant. In order to make a spray booth you have to tie a bunch of old sheets to trees, washing lines etc., and hope that the fumes don't get ignited by one of your neighbour's spliffs. (Here's a guitar being painted in what passes for my spray booth). This is no fun, and it also makes you reliant on getting perfect weather (low humidity, hot but not too hot, no wind to blow the sheets everywhere, no family gatherings on the other side of the hedge). Perfect weather isn't easy to come by in the UK, so I try to avoid spraying as much as I can. What I've settled on is a brush on gloss polyurethane lacquer called Mann's Extra Tough, which is designed for worktops and the like. My technique involves doing many, many coats of laquer and then sanding/buffing to a mirror finish. It's labour intensive, but the lack of fumes and overspray means it's easy to contain and you can do it inside. This was the view from where I sat, working from home during the first few weeks of lockdown. Every now and then, between nervously checking the news and working, I'd get up and apply a quick coat of lacquer. Here's the body and neck (finished with the same stuff and same technique, just with more masking tape), curing in my climate controlled hot-room. This is what it looks like once all the sanding and buffing has been done. Pretty good for brush-on laquer in an attic, I think. I'd added the copper shielding foil by that stage, which is a straighforward process of cutting & sticking and giving yourself hundreds of little cuts on your hands (like paper-cuts, except from something even sharper!). Here's the wiring harness from the old bass, twisted into a bizarre and stiff shape by 15 years crammed into a too-small space. I replaced some of these components – moving the active/passive switch from a push-pull on the volume knob to a separate DPDT switch. Here's a close of up its guts, mid-way through the wiring process. I'm not very tidy when it comes to electrics, as you can see. You can't really see it under the nest of preamp cabling, but there's another DPDT switch under there that switches the humbucker between series, parallel and singlecoil (in reverse polarity to the jazz at the neck). My original intention was for there to be four knobs (rather than the original's 2 plus 1 stacked). It would have had separate bass and treble knobs, with the active/passive switch also flipping the treble knob to work as a passive tone. That was why I moved the switch off the volume pot. However, I discovered mid-way through the build process that centre-detended 50k linear pots are surprisingly expensive, and decided not to bother. The fourth knob, therefore, is a passive tone that's only active whewn the preamp is switched off. I've used it perhaps three times, but it's nice to have. Here's the finished bass next to the carcass of the old one, so you can see the relative size and shape. The bridge is a Schaller, I think, with through body stringing and the tuners are the originals from the OLP. And here's a picture taken outside, so my crap camera could give you a better idea of the colour. And the back, showing the rather nice neck transition.

For anyone who doesn’t visit the builds diary section. I recently picked up a 60’s WEM rapier at auction that is in need of some tlc. It arrived today. The logic for buying it was that it looks really cool and quirky, I wanted a shortscale, I wanted to try a bass with a zero nut and I wanted a bass with pickups that weren’t fender style or soapbars. I also really like the idea of keeping something going at has already done it’s job for 50+ years. I bought it online without playing it so it was always a risk. I am happy to say it appears the risk has paid off! It’s currently strung upside down and needs a new nut but it all works. The only thing I haven't tested is the truss rod. Initial reaction is that sounds really good but it’s hard to tell as the current strings are ancient. It’s very comfortable to play. I am not a fan of the neck profile as it feels deeper at the first fret than needed. Possibly deeper than the 12th fret. The headstock also seems very thick. I won’t be getting to work on it for a while as there is other projects to deal with first.

Went to Bass Direct today for a play on the Cort and a chat with Mark, who I haven't seen for ages. There was both a green and a black one in there, the black had just arrived so I had a play on the green. Knobs and tuners seemed fine, the MK-1 Barts sound clean and clear. The treble control on the preamp didn't seem to do much but the amp and speaker I was playing through didn't have a lot of treble itself. The obvious comparison is with the Ibanez EHB series. The EHB's 1005 and 1265 only have multiscales or fretless (there was a single-scale EHB1005 but that has disappeared from Ibanez's current lineup), the EHB1505 is available as single or multiscale. Neck profiles are very similar. Quality is similar. The MK-1 Barts are superior to the BH-2 Barts on the EHB 1005 and 1265, and similar quality to the Nordstrands - they do sound a bit different so listening is advisable. However, as the Cort Space is £700 from BD (RRP is £750), and the Ibanez EHB1505 is £1370, there's £670 available for changing the pickups. The EHB1005MS is £1120-£1200 depending on finish, and the pickups are inferior. One trick that Cort have missed out on is putting a second strap button below the tuners, as per Status, Sei, Steinberger, or Hohner. This allows you to stand the bass up without worrying about damaging the finish. Still, it's something that's easily done at very little cost. Conclusion - if I'd not already got the EHB1265, my 2024 gear abstinence may have come to an abrupt end. If you want a multiscale headless, it has to be an EHB (or a Boden for £3k). If you want a single-scale instrument then the Cort offers similar quality and a similar feel for half the money, and no irritating locking jack socket. I might yet get one when they start popping up on the second-hand market for £400.

Yup, took the DB to Bill at Thwaites and - of course - he spotted something we'd both missed, which was that the fingerboard was just starting to separate from the neck, further exaggerating the ski-jump. His opinion was that he should detach the fingerboard, get both neck and underside of the fingerboard properly straight and mated, and then do a "shoot / chute?" (as he called it) - i.e. shave the fingerboard. He reckoned that would get us almost there, and fine tuning could be achieved (if necessary) by converting my fixed bridge to adjustable. He tried playing the bass for a minute or so, and then ... ahem ... expressed his surprise that I'd played a 3-set gig with it on Saturday night. 🙄🤣 Watch this space.

They won't allow fat basslines anyway. (I'll get my coat)

This Friday, we'll be playing at Telford's Warehouse in Chester. First one of the year for us, so I'm looking forward to getting out there again.

Played a Studio 8 session for RTE 2fm today. Got t cplay in the legendary studio 8! Sounded unbelievable. Beautiful EBS Neogorm combo

E. Throw a party to celebrate the first chip on your bass.

I don’t care. It’s a guitar and, over time, will get damaged. If it’s a damaged component or something that materially affects the operation then that’s a different matter, but the odd mark here and there means nothing.

Being self taught is the long hard way to do it. It’s amazing what a good teacher can do.

The Vox Starstream A2S turned up on Saturday. So far, so very good. The gigbag seems to be a tightish fit, but it's nice to have to keep the dust off. The fit and finish are excellent - Gotoh bridge and tuners, Aguilar pickups and preamp. The nut is perhaps cut a little high for the quite small fretwire, but that's the only thing I noticed. It gives of an FGN vibe to me, based on the fit and finish of an FGN S-style guitar I have, though the neck is all gloss. I'm not sure who else even has a factory in Japan which builds for other brands, so it could well be FGN. The strings are Ernie Ball and feel quite high tension. The low E in particular sounds like a piano when plucked open, and the body and ABS shell resonate nicely. All in all I'm very pleased with it.

I have the system in a custom build. Can't fault them. If you are in the Hertfordshire area you are welcome to come and give the bass a try.

What is this FTW of which you speak? Fitness To Work? For The Win? F**k The World? Forever Two Wheels? Free the Whales? Free To Watch? Feel The Wind? For The Will? Fight To Win? Finding The Way? Feed The World? For Those Wondering? Ford Truck World? Forschungszentrum Telekommunikation Wien? Fear The Wire? Free Trade Wharf? Florida Tax Watch?

I'm proud and excited to share that I will shortly be heading off on an extensive 22 date, 5 week, European tour, playing bass for US blues rock sensation Dudley Taft! Hugely looking forward to it... and to catching up with some of my European friends!

I have the onset of OA in the fingers of both hands and have found fingerless compression gloves help when it starts to flare up. Can still play with them on. I do find the ladle gets in the way sometimes.

Couple more photos which show the body after three (I think) coats of Mike's wax and oil mix.

Overview. I recently purchased an EBS Reidmar 752. I had never played through an EBS amp before so I was keen to try it out. Disclaimer: I’m just a dude who plays bass in a few projects and bands for fun, I am by no means a pro musician or online reviewer. All views are my own and I have not received any payment or other incentives to produce this review. I am only reviewing gear that I actually own or that I have access to due to items being on loan from various friends. Build Quality. The Reidmar 752 is a nice neat little amp that is not much bigger than a 14” laptop. It’s approximately twice the height of a modern laptop, but as EBS themselves say, it will fit nicely in a standard laptop bag. I transport mine in a laptop backpack rather than a courier style bag, but you get my drift. The amp is very solidly constructed and has nice clear writing for the controls which, for those who can see, is very useful indeed. The aluminium casing is nice and sturdy and the hole thing is robust. Amp Dimensions & Power. Dimensions: Width, 36.3 cm (14.29”). Depth, 26.2 cm (10.31”). Height, 7.6 cm (2.99”). Weight: 3.8 Kg (8lbs 6oz). Power: 230 watts into 8 ohms, 450 watts into 4 ohms, 750 watts into 2 ohms. Knobs & Switches. The knobs on this amp are nice and solid and feel good under the fingertips. All have a recessed line to indicate where the control is set and it is tactile enough to feel with a fingertip or thumb nail. If on a dark stage or if you are blind like me this is very welcome. All of the EQ filter controls have a centre detent which I always like. The mid frequency selection control, input gain, compressor, drive and master volume knobs do not have a centre detent however which of course is pretty standard. The push buttons are of good quality and respond well under the fingertips. All are of the type that stay in when engaged and pop out when disengaged, which is excellent for blind players like me but also useful for people trying to figure out how their controls are set on a dark stage. The power switch is a rocker style, is good and solid with a positive clunk under the fingertip when engaged. Features, layout & ease of use. Front Panel (from left to right). 1/4” instrument input jack. Character push button: When engaged, the bass and treble frequencies are slightly boosted whilst the mid frequencies are slightly cut. Input gain dial: Turn this dial clockwise to increase the input gain. An LED illuminates to indicate when clipping occurs. Compression dial: Turn this dial to increase the amount of compression. An LED illuminates when compression is occurring. Filter active push button: When engaged, the EQ filters are active on the amplifier. When disengaged, the EQ filters are bypassed. Bass filter dial: Cuts or boosts bass frequencies. Mid filter dial: Cuts or boosts the mid frequency selected on the Mid frequency selection dial. Mid frequency selection dial: Selects the mid frequency to be affected by the Mid filter dial. Treble filter dial: Cuts or boosts treble frequencies. Bright filter dial: This is an advanced low noise high pass filter that adds space and presence to the overall sound. Drive dial: Turning this dial clockwise increases the amount of drive produced in the tube emulation stage. This control can boost gain up to 34db. When at its maximum the drive is compressed, resulting in natural limitation. Drive can be engaged and disengaged by footswitch. Master volume dial: Turning this dial clockwise increases the output volume of the amplifier. It does affect the volume of the Line Out. It does not affect the volume of the DI Out. Rear Panel (from left to right). Power switch (top). Voltage selector switch (bottom). Fuse cover. Power socket: Insert an IEC cable with the correct fuse for your location into this socket to power the amplifier. Speak-on socket: Connect your speaker cabinets to the amplifier using a speak-on cable into this socket. The minimum load for the amplifier is 2 ohms. 1/4” effects send jack (top): Run an instrument cable from this jack to the input of an effects pedal or first effects pedal on your pedal board. 1/4” remotes jack (bottom): Connecting a footswitch to this jack enables remote operation of the Drive and Mute functions. 1/4” effects return jack (top): Run an instrument cable from the output of an effects pedal or last effects pedal on your pedal board into this jack. 1/4” filter remotes jack (bottom): Connecting a footswitch to this jack enables remote operation of the Character and Filter Engage functions. Note that the Character and Filter Engage buttons must be at the in position for footswitch operation to work. 1/4” headphones jack (top): Connection for standard headphones. Plugging headphones into this jack does not mute the signal to any connected speaker cabinets. 1/4” line out jack (bottom): Use this jack to connect the amplifier to additional power amplifiers or to other devices that require a line signal. The volume of the line out is affected by the master volume control. 3.5mm aux in jack (top): Connect an external device such as an mp3 player to this jack. Volume of the signal to be mixed with your bass sound is controlled by the external device’s volume controls. The signal sent to this jack is not present at the DI output. Post EQ push button (bottom, left): When engaged, the signal sent to the DI out contains all filter, compression and drive features that are engaged on the amplifier. When not engaged, the signal sent to the DI out is a clean unprocessed signal. Ground Lift push button (bottom, right): When engaged, the grounding pin is deactivated. This can help if grounding hum is present, as disengaging the grounding pin can reduce or eliminate the hum. When not engaged, the grounding pin remains active. DI balanced output socket: Studio quality balanced direct out XLR to connect to front of house or a recording device. Sound quality. EBS have some black magic going on in their amps which apparently maximises the power efficiency to squeeze out every last decibel of volume and tone. Whatever they are doing is very definitely working! The Reidmar 752 is rated at 450 watts into a 4 ohm speaker load. I ran mine into my Barefaced 210 cab (4 ohm 500 watts) and was easily able to compete with a loud rock drummer, 2 guitars, keyboards and vocals but still have some juice left if I needed it. It feels like there’s a lot more headroom available in this amp than it is rated for and it is stupidly loud for a 450 watt amp. Don’t forget, its maximum power rating is 750 watts into a 2 ohm load, I imagine this would be usable for pretty much any gig situation. I haven’t tried the amp into my Barefaced SuperTwin yet but I can’t imagine it will be anything less than glorious through that cab. There is a “Character” push button on the front of the amp which boosts bass and treble slightly whilst cutting mids a little. To be honest, I keep this on all of the time as I like the tone it produces as a starting point for tweaking the rest of my EQ and drive etc. You can actually disengage the EQ filter section so all you get is your bass’s natural tone. I really like this as I can switch between 2 different tones without having to mess around with my EQ, also great if you use the drive but don’t need it for a particular part of a song as you can simply disengage the filters section all together. With all the filter controls set to 12 o’clock, the drive all the way off and the compressor all the way off, the amp is crystal clear and punchy with great articulation. Once you start sculpting your tone with the EQ filters and compressor it really starts to get fun. The Reidmar 752 has a semi parametric mid EQ filter which consists of 2 controls. The mid EQ which cuts or boosts the selected mid frequency and a mid frequency selection control which sweeps you through a broad mid frequency range. This is fantastic for really dialling in that tone that is going to cut through the mix in a difficult venue or if you have a particularly dark sounding bass. The bass and treble EQ filters do exactly as you would expect, they cut or boost the bass and treble frequencies. The bright control is fantastic for adding some airiness to your tone and generally giving you some more top end sparkle, also great if you’ve got old or dull strings that need brightening up. The drive on this amp is fantastic. It’s not a rip your face off pedal style fuzz but is instead a drive designed to emulate classic tube amps at their various stages of break up when being pushed hard. You can get a lovely subtle harmonic effect with this control set low but the more you turn the control up, the more breakup warmth and character comes through until it sounds like you’re pushing a 300 watt pure tube amp to within spitting distance of meltdown. My default is to have this control set somewhere between 10 o’clock and 3 o’clock depending on the style of music I am playing. Conclusion. Even though I’ve never played through an EBS amp before this one, I have been aware of EBS’s reputation for well made products and extremely high quality sounding gear for several years now. What immediately struck me about the amp is how simple the front panel layout is. You can literally start at the left and work your way along and find what you’re after intuitively, even if you can’t see anything. It took me minutes to learn the front panel controls rather than hours, and that is something I really appreciate in an amp. Overall I have to say, I’m very impressed indeed, its build is good and solid, it’s easy to use, it sounds fantastic and it punches well above its weight when it comes to volume. There’s a vast array of tones available and I’m confident you could cater for pretty much any musical genre or playing style with the amp. The ability to engage or disengage the EQ filters is a really nice touch that to be honest, I wish more manufacturers would incorporate into their amplifiers. The compressor is very usable and not at all noisy which is nice. I love the drive on this amp, it sounds and feels warm and natural but has real teeth when cranked. There’s everything a player could possibly need on the rear panel of this amp. DI with pre/post EQ selection, ground lift, effects send and return, 2 yes 2 footswitch jacks, aux in, headphones out and a line out jack. The DI, line out, effects loop and headphones all sound crystal clear with no added hiss, just excellent stuff. I absolutely do not regret getting this amp, I will use it for jam sessions and smaller gigs for sure but I’ve also found since buying it that I’ve used it constantly in my home studio. If you are a blind player, the EBS Reidmar 752 should definitely be on your short list of amps to check out. It has everything you could need for an amp of its size and power class and it’s very intuitive to use. To find out more about the Reidmar 752 and other EBS gear, visit the EBS website at: https://ebssweden.com/content2/amps/ #BlindMusician #BlindBassPlayer #Blindness #PlayingMusicBlind #EBSReidmar752 #EBSReidmar752GearReview #MusiciansWithDisabilities #ExperiencesOfTheBlind #BestBassAmpForTheBlind

And buy everyone at the party a bag of chips so they can have fresh chips too !

And for extra authenticity they be built, strung back to front, stolen, hidden in a loft for 52 years, and then put on sale.

Experience tells me that nobody is going to own up to damaging the bass. It was never going to stay perfect forever, no matter how well cared for. Accept the inevitable and live with the chip.

Despite a visit to Bass Direct today, I have emerged with my abstinence intact.

@funkle Thanks very much indeed for an extremely enjoyable thread - it's great to see somebody with a refined vision and the energy, persistence and ingenuity to follow it through. In this case, the vision was followed-through to a very positive conclusion in my view. The Wal mystique/mytery has been well and truly nailed from what I can hear. Indeed, the comparisons are excellent and the Walish sounds more Wal than the Wal. I know that sounds ridiculous, but to me, the Walish sounds slightly thicker and sweeter than the Wal in some modes, and it's that thickness and sweetness that I find most attractive about the Wal electronics/overall recipe. This sort of makes it more possible to achieve Wal-like tones without the compromises (to me) of having a Wal bass - I've had a few, and those compromises undermined the tonal goal. My aim/daydream now is to try this with a short-scale bass. Of course, a big compromise in itself and a short-scale is unlikely to sound exactly like a Wal, though I hope to be able to get close. Thank you again, a tour de force

When I'm not washing the dishes, maybe. ...

A full-time musician.

Well, I wasn't in, as such. But, had I been in, I'd now be out as I've just left a deposit with David Konig who is going to put something together for me. Could be the bass of my dreams - a short scale, lightweight Faker... 😍 3 weeks to go....

For the win(e) [hic] 😉

Centrefold. J Geils band

Audi Young Dudes - Mott The Hoople

The term "music theory" is loaded in all the wrong ways. It conjures up an image of sitting in a dusty wood panelled practise room with an old tutor looking over his half rims at your evry mistake.....exactly how it was for me with my old violin teacher....hated it. Its much better to just... "learn to read music" Get a book and learn some notes, a couple of keys and some patterns off the stave. Make it fun. At th same time play along to ur fav tunes...start simple then pick somethig a bit more difficult and keep going.

One of the great things about now vs when I started out is the whole YouTube tutorial phenomenon. It basically means you can design your own 'course' , concentrating on the stuff you want to learn be that theory, technique or just learning the tunes you want to play. An you can do it in your own time, on your own terms. Having said that I don't regret the hours I spent playing rewinding cassetes to listen to the same 10 second passage over and over again until I could play it perfectly. I still use the 'listening' skills I developed back then today.

The Insiderz are playing at a local venue on Friday. If it wasn't for the kit, I could stroll along to it.

Bendricks Rock have our first gig in the beginning of March.

Here, an example of theory, distilled. Jake from Signals Music took 10 years to learn all the chords- working them out for himself. He created a video, lasting 18 minutes and 33 seconds, teaching viewers all the chords. It is full of theory, but it is all practical knowledge 10 years. Or just under 19 minutes.... Here's another example. On a keyboard, I accidentally played an A flat chord with a B flat in the bass. Technically, it was wrong but I had happened upon the opening chord of The Long And Winding Road. 20 years later, I understood that the chord was an extended chord, and had a name (A flat 11th). Had I learned chord theory, I could have understood it in an afternoon, rather than 20 years. I am a big fan of understanding theory, because it gets me playing music, without having to go through trial and error.

Cortina Web ～ Dream Theater

I find some of these comments bizarre.. "the tuners aren't in line".? dont get that one..(probably best to realise that the pic is probably computer generated on certain parts) "The top looks like particle board". So it looks like MDF.? Really, does it really look like particle board.? Its an Artisan Custom Shop Fender..Thats what an Artisan Fender is.. So they use different parts that you wouldn't find on a period correct Jazz bass.. Im certainly no Fender fan boy but they are damned if they do and damned if they dont. I find most of the basses they keep churning out are just the same bass with a different paint job TBH.. If this was a Sadowsky or a Lull im betting everyone would have their pants down, but a Fender doing something different with a Burl top, Roasted flame maple neck and non period correct appointments... Oh no.. cant have that..

There's a matter..?

if I need anything like this I always find something appropriate after a trawl through the local charity shops. Which is a decent enough hobby, anyway. Got some great old lap top bags that sling over my shoulder - usually packed with pockets and compartments.

Why aren't they they more popular? Because very few people change the settings on their basses that much. Here's a few considerations. A MM pickup cuts through the mix differently to a P... and a J... etc etc. Most bassists will use a bass throughout a whole gig for consistency. Is it really a deal breaker to stick with the same bass? You'll soon pee off the soundman if you are changing pickup configs all the time. And to be honest, most people find "their" sound and stick with it. I do wonder how many of these Simms pickups end up being left in the same mode once the user founds the tone most pleasing to them. If recording, use a J... use a P... use a MM... whilst the Simms pickups will do a good emulation, they aren't 100% authentic... despite what people will say. Why? Pickup positioning, coil spacing (e.g. the offset of the coils in a P pickup is not represented properly) and the major factor, is that even if a coil around magnet is not engaged, the magnetic field still is... and having an influence on the resulting output from the pickup. Again, good enough maybe... and if you are jumping on a plane to a recording session, you may like to have something which gets you in the ball park (and lets face it, studios manipulate the recording sound so much, you could argue any bass in the ballpark of the tone you are hunting for will do. Its similar with coil tapping. You can switch humbuckers to single coil... they kinda single coil... but they never sound like a true single coil. But possibly "good enough" - especially in a live situation as opposed to a recording session for example. It is a swiss army knife - it will do the jobs of many to a good enough standard. It kinda does everything in one package but not necessarily as good as the real McCoy. But good enough and being versatile may swing it your way. Here's some other thoughts - if you are routing a bass, you are committed to these these pickups... or may be left with some ugly looking routes if you change your mind on the pickups un the future. I would wager this is the true reason that you don't see many for sale second hand. What do you fill the gap with? They aren't really stealth. Those LEDS really do stand out. This is a deal breaker for some - especially if you are type of person where the aesthetics of putting gaffa tape over the light is off limits. But the concept is cool - and works to a certain extent. So if you like it, go with it. Scratch that itch and find out - you'll always be thinking about them if you dont. You may want to try them in a beater bass first though, before routing your prized bass.

I ended up giving my old IEM’s to one of my guitarists and he had the same issue as me. Must be part of the flat ear brigade lol. Comply tips were fine for a while but the slightest grin or head shake and one would come loose. I still use Comply’s with my IE 400’s but as they are slimmer i seem to get a very good fit now (until i smile, which can still cause a bit of wiggle) 4 of use do use Mixing station for our personal mixes, but i find i still get asked to put more in/out of their mixes. I have my iPad sitting on my keyboard and it seems easier for me to do it over them having to get other phones out and reconnect etc.

I would contact [email protected] and pose the question to them. I had a similar problem with one of my previous Sandbergs, and it turned out to be a fault with the blend/pan pot. Apparently there was a known issue with some they had. They posted me out a replacement free of charge. Good luck!

Doesnt RaingerFX make this?