Leaderboard

Snagged a BR6. It’s 20 years old. Plays like butter. Has the old 9v preamp. I just love it. It’s so articulate and has the sound I have been wanting. Super easy to punch through a mix with miss and not sizzle highs. Spent some time cleaning it, getting the neck and bridge tweaked and it’s singing now. Feeling pretty spoiled with a sadowsky 5 and a smith 6 but I’ve been playing most of my life and wanted these instruments since i started as a kid. was considering an F bass or fedora but I just prefer the smith tone at the end of the day.

Still work in progress but then it's always work in progress.

NBD! This thing just arrived today. Right out of the box, it feels and sounds amazing. Only thing I need to do is set it up according to my taste. Action is too low and there are couple of fret edges but not too sharp that hinders your playing. Also, it came shielded. No hum noise from the J! Never had or liked a black bass ever but this one became an exception. I plan to change the hardware to gold in the future for aesthetic purpose. The stock pickups really sounds amazing so I'm keeping that! Overall, happy with the bass! Quickie soundclips here. Direct to my audio interface, no pedals or other effects: Forget Me Knots Yammie Doodling

As some of you might have known, I had devised a project to build using only new parts a "giggable" (my definition) bass for £150, using only new parts. Unfortunately, the bass upon which this project was to be predicated was on back order from Bax, and last week they went bankrupt. Womp womp. So I had a bunch of parts (Entwistle PBXN neodymium pickup, Guyker bridge, comedy knob) with nowhere to go. This irritated me, so I had a quick poke around on local FB Marketplace ads last week for something cheap and not boring. As luck would have it, I stumbled upon a 2005 Epiphone Embassy less than an hour away - a bass which shares almost nothing with its 60s namesake or the modern remake of it. I quite liked the look of it, it's a bit more interesting than a typical P copy - reversed pickup, 22 frets, angled headstock with matching finish. So I took a punt. Well, it had had a life; it was pretty grubby, the bridge was rusty and the tuners felt (and sounded) like they had sand in them when you turned them. Time for some TLC! I stripped it down, cleaned and polished the body and headstock, polished the frets then oiled the fretboard, serviced the tuners (as in dismantled them, cleaned them, tightened them up then regreased them) and then fit the new pickup and bridge. The original bass I intended to put these parts in had a single volume control, so I bought a stupidly big knob for it, because I'm quite mad. Unfortunately, this bass has a tone control as well. I thought about getting another oversized knob to match, but someone on Lowendlobster's Discord server gave me the idea of having matching knobs, but wildly different sizes. I thought that sounded hilarous so I managed to snag a 16mm knob to match the 45mm one. Enough chat, here are some pics... I am very impressed with the Entwistle pickup - it's a punchy beast and frankly ludicrously good sounding for its measly £36 price tag. I'm really happy with how this has turned out. A cheap, throw around bass which isn't worth enough to get precious about, but sounds great, isn't too light or too heavy, and has a little personal touch which makes me chuckle every time I see it. I was worried about the tuners, but they have responded well to some love being shown them so hopefully they'll be passable - because the holes are 12mm so I'd have to ream them out in order to fit any replacements worth considering.

This is basschat “helpful” and “informative” are standard fitments. Alongside “carmudgeonly” and “cantankerous” but hey, nobody is perfect

While it's all been good advice I don't think this has moved you forwards too much, though it may have refined your thinking. What you are really asking for is a small'ish/portable single speaker that matches your Elf nicely and you have a bigger system when you need it. The Elf is voiced differently from your Streamliner so you want something with a bit more 'oomff' at the bottom end. Have I got that about right? I've got a Warwick Gnome in my bass case I use mainly the same way, but also as a backup if my main amp goes down. I pair my Gnome with variously a 6" cab, an 8", 10" and an LFSys Monza, also a 10" cab. I've got 12" cabs also but I've never felt the need to use one with the Gnome. If I need that much volume I take a bigger system. I'm going to be a heretic and say 2db is worth having if you don't have to sacrifice anything else so 4ohms isn't a bad thing but Bill is right in warning you that you won't be able to mix or pair cabs with this. However you can buy cabs that are louder than others so you could buy something 8ohms and efficient so more than 2db louder than some 4 ohm cabs. Since there aren't many 4ohm cabs out there it makes more sense to me to look at any cab, have a listen and then decide on how it sounds and simply don't worry about the impedance. I'd suggest you stop worrying about using a 12 too all other things being equal you can get better bass out of the same size cab by using a smaller driver rather than squeezing a 12 into something portable. Look at 10's anbd 12's. My experience with the 6" speaker it that it is way louder and more capable than I expected. I designed it for open mics to match up with amplified vocals and acoustic guitar and at most open mics it can be the loudest thing in the room. As a joke I took it to a rehearsal and set it up next to the drummer who was always too loud. Actually it was loud enough and I didn't bother swapping it out for a proper speaker. Small rehearsal room and I backed it into a corner to give as much extra help as I could, I also rolled off the bass a little and boosted the mids to give a little more volume and protect the speaker but I surprised myself. I've used it at dozens of open mics and it always causes a stir. The 8 has an equally sensitive driver and what you get extra is all at the bottom end below 80Hz. It sounds great. You aren't going to use it at an open air gig or a room with 100 people in the audience and probably not with a full on rock band but it'll do a decent job in a smaller venue or with something relatively laid back even if you have a drummer in the band. My regular 10 has a horn as well and a really clean sound. I've regularly used it with a pop covers band, without PA support in most pubs will work and with PA support it is easily good enough for the whole band as a stage monitor. I'd use this mainly with my 300W amp but I've tried it with the Gnome and I've still had a little headroom. All these speakers are home built and I've published the designs on BassChat but they obey the laws of physics, there's nothing special about them. Nobody commercially makes one anything like the 6" cab but there are plenty of cabs you can buy like the others. Only you can decide what limitations you are happy with based upon simple practicality. My experience says we often take far more kit than we need. In the 60's and 70's 100W was considered to be a decent amp and 200W a monster. Amps are so cheap relatively now that we all run much bigger stuff and the standard 300/500W amp is probably rarely actually needed to work flat out. As a practical suggestion how about something designed to have an old school warm bass sound like the Barefaces One-10, Mark Bass also make some warm and loud sounding cabs but so do many manufacturers, go and try a few and see what you think.

Really pleased with this new (to me) family member. I swapped my Jet P locally for it. I installed Gotoh Resolite GB528 tuners to get rid of the nasty neck dive, and a set of Labella MUS flats. The laurel fingerboard came up nice with some boiled linseed oil and I've set it up to my preferences (after sorting one high fret). It looks small but sounds big! Such a breeze to play too. Every note rings true. I expected the pickup to be the letdown from what I've read but it sounds great as is. Also, it works better with my pedals than the Jet (not that the Jet was bad or anything). I'm a happy Chatter.

Another nice local gig at a WMC on Saturday. It was a little quiet in the first spot despite it being pretty full but it rowdied up nicely in the second spot with a filled dance floor all the way through. We had our own ‘70s Bez’ turn up who danced to just about every song and brought a load of glam wigs for the punters to wear. First proper outing for the shorty Stingray which performed nicely, deffo need to go up a gauge on the strings though…. Next week we’re back to pub work at a lively little venue called the Service Station in Hull…..we had em dancing on the bar as I recall last year.

Just took delivery yesterday. A new, 2024, MTD 534-17. New strings and a setup. It's F'n amazing!!

I agree 100% It is also high time to show off another beauty, my refinished pre-LX Euro 5 with P5 and J, just like the ones you have now @Sean only that mine are X series. The preamp is a John East deluxe.

Giacomo Turdo.

Great news @TheGhostofJaco however 🤣🤣 We need to see this shiny clean new addition to the family.

Basschat, reference my last status, thank you for being an awesome place to be. None of that other ****, just bass 😍

æ is the letter 'ash'. Granted it's not in the modern alphabet but the rules didn't say which alphabet to use

The ATLAS is a very very mighty piece of gear!!

I also put lightweight hardware on my newly acquired LX5. I switched to black rather than gold…

Billie Eilash Lady Gags Mariah Carex Marvin Gape

Incoming EAE 0xEAE Bass Driver Very hyped for this one, clanky Traynor inspired drive. Was already in the market for a Rusty Box or similar so this was a no brainer.

Here's a photo of my HX Stomp with the WIDI Jack (small blue thing, top L corner of the Stomp), a MIDI Baby 3 controller and a Pedalnetics Helauxy Duo. This is how it all works: The Helauxy Duo is connected to the EXP socket on the Stomp, and gives me Foot Switch 4 & 5 on the Stomp. I use FS5 as my 'scroll down' command (via the WIDI Jack) to OnSong on my iPad. This scrolls the page down, or if it cannot scroll further in that chart, it goes to the beginning of the next song in the OnSong set list. The WIDI Jack is connected to the Stomp's MIDI OUT. It recieves MIDI info from the Helauxy FS5 > Stomp, and sends via Bluetooth MIDI to OnSong on my iPad. The MIDI Baby 3 is connected tho the Stomp's MIDI IN. There are three functions - PRESS I use to alternate stompbox mode & snapshot mode, SHORT HOLD I use to alternate play view & scroll preset view, and LONG HOLD I use to go to tuner. I hope that explains how it all works clearly. OnSong has lots of MIDI functions to choose from (PC, CC etc) including 128 SONG SELECTs but I've never used that function myself. As I have over 1200 charts in OnSong, 128 isn't enough for me to use in that way. If you can manage with 128 songs or less, that might work for you @Cliff Edge

Last night, our jam was a bit light, only 45 or so punters. We can get between 50 and 60 on good nights. The locals tell us there could be as many as 3 drinkers in on the other Monday's, and they'd be gone by 9 o'clock. So paying a band who can build up a following for a jam night makes a lot of sense.

Amplified busking means that people working in the vicinity are having it thrust upon them regardless of the merits of the busker in question. I'm not opposed to unamplified busking, I've done it myself.

For some time, I've advocated that we shouldn't be so obsessed with the swapping out of pickups/hardware; sure if something is broken, too difficult to repair or non-functioning, then fine, pull it out and replace. I could stick any pickups in any bass and so long as they fit the rout and I told you they were wax potted Vintage '62s (or some other nonsense) you be happy as a pig in sh*t and off you'd toddle, none the wiser. I just wish more people would realise this. There's also zero correlation between price and performance. A Timex watch will tell the time as well as a Patek Philippe. Seriously.

Cream Theater

Yes it's all subjective... But what I was trying to say is that I have no time for music where technical ability and musical complexity is at the forefront and ultimately all that the piece of music is about. For me the skill is not in writing a piece in an uncommon time signature like 13:8. Anyone with a modicum of skill can do that, and most will signpost just how musically complicated their composition is. The real skill is the write a piece in 13:8 that doesn't sound like it has an unusual number of beats because the tune that holds it together is so good. Whenever I've written something in an unusual time signature it is because the tune has come first and it's only when I'm working out the drum programming that I realise it's not in 4:4

Thanks @Mickeyboro this looks & sounds good to me & I've been working with the Animals for the last two years!

New Model Arsy

The Monochrome Sex The Belt A Curtain Ratio Lloyd Hole and the Commotions The Frying Lizards Bevel 42 Men Without Rats The Perves The Pole Fountains Sigue Sigue Slutnik Splif Enz

I've just bought back the only bass I've ever regretted selling, 2001 MIK Ibanez ATK-405. Sound samples from back in the day. Will definitely do some review/samples video soon. EDIT: adding "review" video...

You are absolutely correct in checking feedback. A problem however is that not everyone leaves feedback even when they have benefitted from feedback in a particular transaction. I would urge everyone to take a moment to leave feedback when it has been merited.

They're great pedals! I use one of these with my upright - it handles the impedance matching between my amp and the piezo pickup, functions as a pre-amp, and winding down the '50' slider removes most feedback.

Count on going through a couple till you get it right. My first 5 was a disaster. But it showed me enough to go and find what wasn't. You're going to need to figure out what balances for you. What string spacing you need. And most of all... What B string works best for "you". Switching from 4 to 5 can cause confusion if you're not use to it. I've played nothing but 5 for the last 15 years. 4's feel funny. You have a need for a 5 you're looking at the woodshed. The end result is more than worth it. But your first 5 you should try before you buy. Especially if you are new to it.

I'm going to give my usual recommendation for VFM five stringers - Cort Artisan Space Bass 5. You can get a really nice used one for around £500. There's nothing better for the money. FishFaceFour has a Cort Artisan B5 in a lovely red stain for sale on these hallowed pages, which uses the same Bartolini Pickups and MarkBass preamp for about £400. Good luck with your search!

Not sure why I bought this. I snagged it on ebay at a good price but I have no room on my all-boss bass pedalboard and the eq on my ABM600 does everything I need it to do. I'm sure it could come in handy for quick eq changes or as a clean boost.

… a couple of ideas for a ‘Black’ themed board … … both are passive DIs, and the pedals will be powered by a Cioks Expander 4, or a 1 Spot. I’ll need to see what works best! It has got to the point where my pedal purchases are based on function AND colour coordination he he 🤣

I’ve just disabled my social media and I’m looking forward to having a break from the constant doom & gloom, thirst traps and selling flesh for validation posts. (Make sure you follow Bass Gear Magazine on YouTube, Facebook and Insta though as all the good stuff from me will go there still )

We’ve just been offered £250, a free meal and three free drinks to play at what will be a crowded venue that I’ve always wanted to play at it with people I like and music that makes me smile. This, to me, is success.