Leaderboard

This is my current board based on the Aclam XS1. In order to maximise space I replaced the end cheeks with pieces of right-angle aluminium faced with self-adhesive silicon rubber strip. Underneath is a Thumpinator and the rechargeable battery pack. It is my intention to replace the Sweeper, the Subnup and possibly the Tuner, BDDI and Thumpinator with an HX Stomp. There are however a couple of issues with this. 1. I need to change over from battery power to mains power as the battery pack does not have enough capacity for the HX Stomp. Not a big deal just need some cash. 2. Going from the the Cali76 to the Stomp will mean that the Tuner function is after the compressor which is not recommended. Would it be sensible to put an FX Loop as the first block of The Stomp and run the compressor on that?

Latest

And here is my guitar board

If I recommended someone as a dep and then found out that they were to not be paid but the permanent band members were I wouldn’t do the gig.

Still got my first ever bass… bought new in 1982. An Aria Pro 2 SB700. Fabulous bass. Still love it and sounds great. Playing it in a university musical around 1985.. Playing it last November for an “80s” set…

I still own the Fender Precision I bought new in March 1969. It went through a serious modding in the mid 80's and hasn't been used since 1996, when I switched over to 5's. I'll never sell it. I'll be buried with this bass.

Katana 500 and Cab arriving any day now for my usual 4k deep dive 😉

Hate the whole 'Hack' thing... How many times has the 'spring gone ping' and stuck to the magnet on the underside... so here is a P Bass Pickup Fitting Tip... works equally well for J and other pups... I added a foam off cut to the body, as the foam on the back of the pickups was not thick enough to hold the bobbins in the covers... the pickups were too low and the springs were also getting fully compressed... Cocktail sticks in the screw holes... Springs on... then pups over the cocktail sticks... you can get a pointy thing in there to sort the wiring run. Remove one stick at a time and replace with adjustment screw... Use a sandwich bag between screwdriver tip and screw head to protect finish. I like a fairly compressed spring as it makes the pup a stronger anchor, lightly compressed springs, and/or soft or lightly compressed foam allow a lot of movement... pushing in.

Latest iteration of my board. Still using the Rockboard Tres 3.0 and the Providence Dual Bass Station, but my purchase of the new Boss Katana 500 head means my trusty Boss MS-3 has been replaced by the Boss GA-FC, which switches the onboard effects. I’ve also added a TU tuner, as the amp doesn’t have one onboard. The Rockboard Power LT XL still sits on the shelf and powers the Providence via 12v adapter, as well as the tuner. Basses go into the Providence and out of the Mod 2.0 to the amp. A stereo cable also comes out of the Mod 2.0 to connect the GA-FC to the amp.

Wait for @bassist_lewis to post impressions soon. 3x10 due this week according to earlier post.

I have to love how the Japaneese always getting some extra limited run / one off Czech Spectors like this one Spector Euro 5 RST PJ with darkglass preamp Also in 4 string version

Before anyone gets near sorting out who might get what, bear in mind that £100 behind the bar from the landlord won't equate to £100 handed over by the landlord; £100 in drinks will be costing the landlord much, much less...and a rammed pub should translate into proper gig money for the band...round these parts that's £300. Cash.

Still owning: a Chinese dizi - a bamboo flute that has a hole (second from left in the pic) that you cover with a membrane, which creates a nasal sound. Instrument owned the longest but now sold: probably my Yamaha TX802 - an FM synth. Behind those few buttons are like a 1,000 parameters to adjust, if one wants to. Building just one sound could take me eight whole working days. Stellar synth, though, and one learned how to be quick at editing. Bass owned the longest: probably my beloved 2007 Bongo 4HH Dargie Delight - the original olive green version with martini glass fretboard inlays. Have to admit those inlays charmed me. BTW, this is my actual bass despite the shop pic. The inlays pic is borrowed from someone.

Price is now £5895.

The one I've had for longest, bought from a junk shop in Weybridge, very early 70's, is my Hofner Comittee. It has its own history of refurbishment, over a period of a couple of decades, when the headstock got snapped off. S'alright now, though, thanks very much... The bass I've had for longest is my Hofner Verithin bass, bought from a bloke in Nottingham, very early 80's. I changed the strings for a new set of Rotosound TruBass Black Nylon, which are still on it. Not for slap, but has a nice bassy 'thump'... Yes, I prefer semi-acoustic stuff, and I have never had any interest in 'flipping' stuff. I buy for keeps.

I do have a range of cabinets available including a notable FRFR beast, so it will be an interesting experiment that I may include in my Bass Gear Magazine video review.

Just got this and had a blast through headphones for 10 minutes. First thoughts are built like a tank and it sounds great, very warm but I had turn the volume down on my stingray to get a clean tone, so will need to spend a bit of time sussing it out. Hopefully get a chance to try it through speakers tonight. But quite excited by it!

Thanks for this, I have contacted the shop… and it will soon be mine!

The instrument I've had the longest is (I think) my Eko Ranger 6, bought new in the early 80s. I'm not entirely sure as I also bought a Roland D10 about that time that I also still have, but this gets used regularly for practice for open mics with Mrs Zero and for songwriting. String ends flying wild and free to make some here get all twitchy. The bass I've owned the longest is a Warwick JD Thumb, bought new in early 1988. I'd gone into Musical Exchanges in Birmingham to try out an octave pedal and they handed me another Warwick, a Streamer IIRC, to try it out. It was rather badly set up so I put it back on the wall and took down this one, and from the first moment I played it I wanted it. Absolute dream of a neck - at the time I had a Fender P and a Hohner B2 and it surpassed both of them by miles, so despite the £950 price tag (which Dave the Bass kindly reduced to £900) I took out a loan for £500 and PXed the Fender and the Hohner to get it. It appeared live on TV when we played in the late early hours on Telethon '90. It still gets occasional outings, and was going to feature in the Marillion tribute that I got dropped from, although since about 2007 I've been 5-string.

I've been playing various things since the early 90s but I'm not very sentimental and haven't kept any 'my first' instruments. Oldest thing I've still got is this daft item from 2002-ish give or take a year. Can't see me gigging it, but it might look cool for a photo/video at some point.

Just had a call from the shop. He has had 14 enquiries too date. It's in near mint condition. Pictures attached.....

My 1987/88 Jazz Bass Special. I got it in either late 1993 or early 1994 when I was 15/16. Around 1998 it was converted to fretless but the frets went back in a couple of years ago. The only other alteration is the Seymour Duncan Hotstack (Duff McKagan mod) jazz pickup (still have the original single coil in the case). It's missing the F cap on the tone/TBX control and the finish on the bridge has oxidised badly (it was brown/olive rather than black even when I got it, but it's more blue now) but the QC on these was great so it's still good to play after all these years.

I've asked for a technical contact at Boss, so I can probe further. The hardware hasn't arrived yet, so I haven't been able to try it myself. I'm intrigued as to how the calibration works. The calibration sounds heard aren't unlike those used to profile equipment in the likes of 'profiling processors'.

I do still have my Marlin Sidewinder, my very first bass bought in 1989. It's not in a playable state at the moment though. However, that bass most definitely influenced my purchase of the bass that I have played the longest, my (1989) Power Jazz Bass Special (as seen in many of my videos). Hmm, thinking about it, was it the PJBS in magazine adverts that infleunced the purchase of the Marlin?? Which came first, who knows?? ha ha!! This isnt my Marlin , THAT advert from Bass Player Magazine in 1989. (Which blows my mind to think that as a teenager, I'd never have dreamed I would write for my favorite bass magazine in years to come! It took me until around 2003, maybe as late as 2006 to get my first Power Jazz Special. Here's what it looked like stock. And here's what it still looks like today with my usual chameleon flip paint finishes, EMG electronics..

I got rid of everything in my life after my first marriage broke up in 2010, bar a small handful of items. The only musical instrument to survive from then was an F scroll black mandolin. It's solid wood and sounds like it cost ten times the £200 I paid for it in 2005. I've revamped it a few times with decals but it is essentially stock. For some reason, I also have the pickguard / wiring / pickup to my very original 89 MIJ Fender Precision. Because I thought I was so edgy (ahem!) back then, I used to stub cigarettes out on the pickguard. The 51yr old me wonders on what planet that was ever a good idea, on every level! Having owned more basses than most shops stock, I've actually kept the same few since around 2014-16 now and it's much healthier than the constant rotation I had for the decade or so beforehand.

I think Envelope Filters are quite niche, even within Funk and Pop, and very rare for Bass Players within Rock, Metal, Punk, Reggae, Ska, Jazz, Blues, Folk, Country etc. They are good fun though so I expect they are used a lot at home, or sit there on boards just waiting for the day they can be used live for a small part of one song! I was talking to someone the other day about pedals and he didn't know what an Envelope Filter is, and he's been playing Bass in pub bands for about 30 years. I'd guess pedal popularity goes something like: Tuner, Drive, EQ, Compressor, DI/Preamp, Chorus, Octaver, Phaser, Loopers, and Envelope Filter pretty low down - just above things like Synth, Delays and Reverb. There was a video from somewhere like Scott's Bass Lessons years ago that stuck with me though: it said the first pedal anyone should get (after tuner) is an Envelope Filter - not because they are useful, but because they are fun, add a different dimension to your sound that keeps you interested in playing, and they can teach a lot about playing dynamics.

Worst amp I’ve ever used. Every rehearsal studio had them back in the day. Just awful, the later stingray was terrible too.

The thing about Eurovision nowadays is it's become too self-conscious. Put simply, it's not quite good enough to be good, but it's not quite bad enough to be entertaining either. Eurovision used to be captivating because of it's unintentional quirkiness. Now that it's contrived to be that way it's lost that unique charm it once had. I

I was actually there for that program. It was just up the road from where I lived. They used a disused station and brought all the artists in from Manchester Central Station by steam train.

Next up for my (Goth/post punk) lot, The InSect. Saturday week at Aces & Eights in Norff Larndaaan

Every time I see the TU-3s, I can't help thinking it's a TU-3 that's been in a terrible accident...

I always like my home practice amp to be similar to my main gigging rig. When I used Orange amplification, I had the Orange practice amp, same with Ampeg. Last year, I moved to Blackstar. I've long sold my Orange practice amp and the plan was always to get the Blackstar practice amp when I sold the Ampeg. Despite listing on here (& elsewhere), practice amps don't exactly sell like hot cakes. I'd considered getting a 0% finance deal on the Blackstar when the time comes but one popped up recently in immaculate condition for £120. When he lowered the price to £100 as he was moving and I saw he was just up the road, I thought it was now or never. Plugging it in, it doesn't even feel like an ex-display model, nevermind a second hand bargain. The seller said he'd only used it half a dozen times, having bought it from PMT just a few months back. Knowing the Blackstar sound, it took me just a few tweaks to find my sound at a sensible home volume. My niggles are that the control panel is on the top so I have to stand up to tweak it (is that a first world problem?) and the MP3 jack socket is on the back of the amp, but that's a great price to pay for such a cool looking frontage. Other than that, I can't really fault it. And I don't expect a sale from this thread but as Basschat rules state that if you mention kit you have for sale, the link should be posted, https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/473415-ampeg-ba108-practice-amp-now-£75/

Oh Pritt! — Buzzcocks

The way to approach life in general, methinks.

Mine is a Charvel semi acoustic which isn't a Surfcaster but it has the same body shape, I can't remember what it's actually called. Bought it new in 1993. The electronics are long dead but it is the ultimate late at night on the couch bass. When it was 5 years old a mate accidentally dropped it on a barbell and snapped the neck into 3 pieces. Another friend glued it back together for me and it sounded much better than it did before! It's had the same slinky strings on it for nearly 20 years and still sounds fab. It sounds so good acoustically (not loud, but loud enough to play along with tunes via my bluetooth speaker nicely, and it's tone and playability are fabulous) that I've always said that my ultimate electric bass tone would be that but amped up. Still not found it. I did record a demo with it once by miking up the soundhole with good results. The original electronics were quite unremarkable to be honest. I may put something better in there one day. *Edit for photo. Not mine but exactly the same as this

I won't let ya down!! In a world full of 5 minute review videos where the youtuber doesn't know their D Class from their DSPs, I am a slave to the details 😁. I'm really looking forward to this one, especially given the collection of onboard effects on paper seem really useable for the likes of the function / dep player.

I think it's called the Kiesel JB5 now, with 70s pickup spacing. The original Carvin was 60s pickup spacing (I believe)... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MDJfA-uSe4&t=63s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puB1ShoQd20

I usually mention what strings I’m using, but if I don’t it’s D’Addario Roundwound 😉

I would have been 15 at the time and was playing guitar in a local group. I know, took me a while to see the error in my ways. We got wind of what was going on and blagged our way in. They were quite glad of the "uninvited" as the weather was pretty miserable and quite a few people who should have been there didn't show. Not sure she was planning on playing "Didn't it Rain", but it did, so she did. They had the artists on one platform and we were on the other side of the track. From memory it was Granada Television that staged it.