Leaderboard

Hello! I've been an on-and-off TB'r for a few years, but the mods have finally left a bad enough taste in my mouth for me to give up on it. On a thread about "Best Pedals for Ultimate Clean Tone," I posted a picture of an empty pedal board as a joke. That was deemed offensive enough to warrant deleting my post on the grounds that I was insinuating bassists shouldn't use effects. The ironic part is that I myself have a large pedal board full of effects. Anyway, rant over. Here I am. Also, the challenge question on sign up felt like a trick question. Mr. Fender's first name was Clarence, not Leo.

Looks very nice. Lots of cool features and very well equipped...

Scaled back my board to just a compressor, overdrive and DI with a tuner just off screen

There's an old saying 'No news is good news', although I suspect there are exceptions

Pah! You know NOTHING! https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/355982559774?var=0&shprz=EBAY_GB_220&_ul=GB&mkevt=1&mkcid=1&toolid=20006&mkrid=710-53481-19255-0&campid=5338986375&customid=Cj0KCQjwkZm_BhDrARIsAAEbX1EmZox7L4Ql3upieiOm6fBvtDVEylGwzXbARnJJqT8Hbxh6A85CvCIaAsAgEALw_wcB&gbraid=0AAAAADcddnZ0Hle4bcnvb3ceAofK6gbeR&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwkZm_BhDrARIsAAEbX1EmZox7L4Ql3upieiOm6fBvtDVEylGwzXbARnJJqT8Hbxh6A85CvCIaAsAgEALw_wcB

I reckon if I decided today to become a luthier and began my training, spent 4-5 years building basses and developing shapes and concepts, I’d still deliver a bass before Letts.

Last year i've been working on a Wal copy bass. As Wal basses are my absolute favorite and i am the happy owner of 3 Wals (two MK1 basses and a ProIIe) i was wandering if i was able to build one myself. Since 2018 i'm following a luhiers education (6 hours a week) at the CMB in Puurs (Belgium). I allready build an acoustic steelstring guitar (Martin#1 copy) for my wfie so now it was time to treat myself. This Wal copy ofcouse needed to be an extra addition to my collection. Since i have a fretted Mk1, a fretless MK1 and a fretted Pro (which has a more vintage sound compaired to the MK's ) my weapons are quite complete. But they are all 4 strings ands sometimes i miss a low B. Since i prefer 4 strings i've decided to build another 4 string but tuned BEAD. To make a plan i disassembled my MK1 and measured everyting. Last week i've completed it and it feels and sounds damn close to my other Wals! Here are the specs: Mahogany body with ebony facings (maple veneer) Matching headstock Maple/mahogany neck Ebony fretboard Danish oil finish Lusithand Double NFP special MKII preamp Turner Multicoil Pickups ABM bridge Shaller tuners Handmade potmeter knobs and output.

Profiteerers.

I know, but if I move them up, the jacks don't fit through the gaps in the pedalboard. I'm not going to lie, I'm already considering moving up to the 3.0 and getting some more pedals in the mix while I'm experimenting. This RB 2.1 is just a touch too small. The perfect compact gig board would be a 2.2, with a hole cut out to mount one of the RB Mod patch bays. That'd leave enough room for this, plus a fun pedal like the OC5 or maybe an HX One.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes. Decided to up my pitch shifting game (as well as eliminate a single point of failure - I've become utterly dependent upon the pitch shifter for the "can you raise/lower this song by x semitones?" requests), so I got a TC Electronic Brainwaves. I nearly didn't get one, because on the face of it it didn't do a single semitone shift. But with Toneprint trickery, you can assign a single custom interval to each voice. It's a little odd in that the one is right at the sweep of the knob instead of its rightful place between unison and 2, but I can live with it. Hotone Harmony has been relegated to detune ("chorus") duties, but if anything went on the wonk with the Brainwaves then it could be pressed back into service as pitch shifter. So, yet another reorganisation required... I'd like to say "that's it", never say never but but to go much further, I think I'd need a bigger pedalboard.

Ewan made me buy me several ACGs over the last 10 years, he is an evil genius.

GT1000 Core Parallel path Job done (again 😅)

There’s a professional photographer who comes along to our jam night occasionally. Rather like this shot he took a few weeks ago of my Sandberg…

Book a trip over to Germany to pick it up. Make an event out of it - it's probably cheaper than the import duty! They're just outside Aachen, or about an hour from Dusseldorf or Cologne, depending on where you want to fly to. Adrian or one of the other Public Peace guys will probably even pick you up from the airport if you arrange it in advance! It's a relatively feasible road trip if you wanted to do it that way too - get the ferry to Hook of Holland, and it's about a 3 hour drive via Tilburg and Eindhoven.

That's a bit cruel, how would they go to school? 🤣

To the OP 30 years ago, absolutely yes. Now a days, not so much as quality control on many budget intruments is so high you dont have to worry about contruction much anymore. Just find a bass you like and is made well and there is an abundance of boutique pickups you can buy if you had a certain tone in mind. The only exception is luthiers like Roscoe who get pickup builders like Bartolini to custom make pickups for their basses and there is no way of buying the same pickups from Bartolini. Therefore basses like that will always sound unique. Rickenbacker would be another example of truly unique as they use their own pickups and a hollow steel bridge that gives them their unique sound.

Contact has been re-established with the school (staff turnover/changes in all the relevant booking contacts). Hopefully some positive news soon.

I bought this 1978 Precision on here back in the autumn. I was 13 in 1978, watching Space 1999 and listening to You're The One That I Want which was constantly on the radio then. I wonder if that makes me vintage? 😅

32% would last me days if it wasn't for Basschat!

I suppose that warrants an update pic! Still need to lock things down as I recently got the MojoMojo

The SBP-1 is a floor pedal, not an active bass, but you're on the right track. Floor pedals by and large are gain configured to drive a full on bass amp, not a power amp.

@fretmeister and @neepheid really appreciate your help - I know its probably a basic question but when you dont know you dont know. Appreciate your time in helping out. cheers

Chuck him off your waiting list, Ron! [...shuffles closer to front of queue...]

Need to plug your phone in

That’s hilarious. We love you already. You’ll fit in beautifully but the pressure is on you now to maintain that level of wit and repartee 😃

Nathan or Rhino? I’ve always been a Quo fan so I thought it was cruel. Funny. But cruel…

Just checked prices and recalculated - it comes out at £213 more. Not to bad overall.

Welcome Fugazi. You're not the first new member I've heard saying something similar. I sure you won't be the last. We thrive on humour here. We have to. If we didn't laugh about the way things are today we'd have to cry instead. Who has time for that? Enjoy.

Its all a matter of taste i think, I just love the look of the Mk1. There's a Wal with much better ergonomics; the MK3. I've had a MK3 5er for years but eventually traded it for an Mk1, i just like the "old school" looks.. Thanks for your honest opinion!! 👍

Aren't we supposed to be boycotting US items?

https://www.guitarinsideout.com/guitar-sustainers-guide/

Thank you! I don't take commisions yet, I do 90% of the work in the workplace of the luthier school. sometimes i do some repairwork at the kitchentable 😉. Next year i want to build my own workplace at home. Then i might take commisions... 😀

Sure you can 😇

I'd message Bass Direct with what you're after as they're a dealer. Do it all in the configurator, add it to the cart and then copy the spec into an email to them. Can't hurt to see what their price for that is. Otherwise, assume an additional 26% on the cost of the bass + shipping.

Should we start the 'I'm Dave Crowley" "No, I'm Dave Crowley" thing

Epiphone aren't issuing white Thunderbirds at the moment, so you'll have to trawl the second hand market. You have two choices (worth bothering with) Vintage Pro - an attempt to evoke the T-bird of the 60s with chrome pickup covers, two piece bridge etc. Classic Pro - if you must get close to the one pictured it has to be this one - Gibson TB+ pickups with black covers, three point bridge - which you then swap out for a Hipshot, after which you'll pretty much have the one from the video, save for the name on the truss rod cover. Don't waste your time with a bolt on Epiphone "Thunderbird" - that's simply a generic bolt on bass whose body happens to be Thunderbird shaped. Being neck thru is one of the fundamental things that makes a Thunderbird a Thunderbird. Good luck!

Paddington confirms that adding letters is not allowed and would normally warrant a hard stare, so Small Faeces is invalid, however the American spelling, Small Feces would be valid.

Ebay special. A few years ago.

And of course myself testing it.. Soundclips will follow!

The family picture