janmaat

[quote name='PerryJ' post='865818' date='Jun 13 2010, 11:44 AM']Hi, this is my first post, so apologies if this has been covered before. I did take the time to search the forum but didn't find the answers I'm looking for. Bassically (sorry, had to be done once), I've been playing bass guitar for about ten years and have decided to have a crack at playing double bass. I've read some pretty scathing reviews of the gear4music instruments and all the advice on saving for a proper one, but the fact is that £500 is all I can reasonably afford (and all the wife will let me spend, for that matter...) Both of these instruments look pretty similar and come with a similar package at about the same price. However, the gear4music one has a solid top, which I'm led to believe would be preferable to the fully laminate Antoni bass. Although this may be true, I'm guessing a better quality laminated bass is going to be a better investment than a poor quality bass made from supposedly better materials. So, in short, I don't know what I'm doing and would appreciate any advice, especially from anyone who has played either of these instruments. Thanks in advance.[/quote] Welcome to the world of DB. With my limited experience i would say the 100% plywood is good if you plan to use it for busking, as solid tops are much more sensitive to climate changes. Thoman.de seems to sell good beginenrs instrument (recommended here on the forum). And why not seek a second hand instrument here on the forum, as the Antoni is really crap (that finger board is soft wood painted black!) to be honest (i am just restoring one...) I am sure you find something better and you'd want a good sound, not just look + shape of a double bass. Just research a bit more and converse with the DB'ers here.

Minimark. Loud enough to compete even with louder drummer, and just as portable as the Phil Jones. No battery option, but you can plug in an extension cab if you ever need even more whoooms (when i combine mine with my Dr. Bass 1580 it's a monster sound). Really great as it's so small, so light, and yet so loud. The 6'' speakers are great for DB, and the sound is very clear (almost too clear sometimes, like a monitor). But then the box sounds kinda sounds doublebassish, as if you could feel the plywood. The line out xlr is great as you go PA. Doesnt bang on your knees as you carry double bass and amp on one go no problem. Well and then probably that Fishman Platinum Pro preamp as well depending on what pickup you use.

[quote name='tino' post='861262' date='Jun 8 2010, 05:30 PM']I was gonna give him a call as hes like 10 minutes from me however there no phone number. The only guy I know of in the map location is not called Steve and has no intention of moving overseas.................would you expect an individual to keep this much at home[/quote] Have sent an email but noi answer, I suppose somebosy is playing a sort of revenge trick on that steve! Gumtree doies niot check the identity - you can post there pretending to be anyone really I suppose.

That's my thread then I suppose, since I'm a bass player AND a screen printer. Been in the business for years and if you PM me I'm happy to discuss all sort of things related to screen printing. I source all sorts of shirts, and use all sorts of inks, I do the colour separation, and I pack them individually when they're ready which is great if they are to knock about on a tour bus. Now the more colours the design has, the higher the initial setup. So you want to keep the unit cost (t-shirt and print) under £5, that means: the larger the run, the more colours make sense. Of course, can also print some hoodies, aprons, and some banners such as covers for amp speakers using the same design (just made some cool A0 backdrops for Peyoti for President) . Tatatata here's the website [url="http://noidgallery.net/print.html"]http://noidgallery.net/print.html[/url] - welcome!

Recently bought Keir's Godlyke Deity 4 fretless, it arrived packed like a mummy I am very happy with this and Keir's a good guy to deal with! Cheers Keir!

Just so happy with the Dr. Bass 1580 I got from Stu. Well worth the trip to Godalming, pretty place and he's a really nice chap. Cheers Stu, any time again!

Hi, I got given a box full of old strings from an auction, some dating back to the 70ies or even (much) older. There are old Thomastiks, Rotos (seriously old school packaging with amazing low-tech artwork), and even some gutstrings and wound gut strings, seriously antique. The thickest of these gutstrings is as thick as my small finger!! Now as I am a wash tub player, I'm going to try the maddest looking thickest possible gut strings on my instrument. Does anybody have tips: is there some way to improve the sound of a gutstring that is decades old, or some way to make the metal wound gut strings sound a bit more 'alive' ? Like, soaking them, boiling, oiling, shrubbing, polishing, waxing.... ?? Promise to keep you updated... Thanks for suggestions!

Hello, I'm playing a self-made wash tub bass in a band, which has a piezo pickup and sounds overall quite weired. First of all, it does hardly have any harmonies above 330Hz. Second, it has very little attack AND very little sustain - the plastic bucket just gives a deep "whooomp" that actually reminds me of a tuba. Now it's a bit hard to keep anything going in the quieter songs of the band - more sustain would be great, but I'd also like to emphasize the attack. So I probably need a compressor. That being said, I'd use the same for the very nice fretless Godlyke Deity that I play through the same Minimark amp... Oh the band website is [url="http://lonesomecowboysfromhell.com/"]http://lonesomecowboysfromhell.com/[/url] where we've got some demo tracks up While I have some theoretical understanding of compression, it seems most pedals come with confusing knobs. It would be really great to get one that actually has one saying "ratio" and one "threshold" and maybe another one saying "attack"... rather than "suck" or "enhance"... So when looking at compressor reviews such as [url="http://www.ovnilab.com/"]http://www.ovnilab.com/[/url] makes me feel that I can't see the tree for the wood or how you say... Hence, please give me advise from your experience. Is there anything that would come close to a pro compression, but doesn't cost the world? What do you use or recommend? Appreciated!

Good and bad is a moral question. Good bassist = not being an asshole. In addition, it helps being an able player. If not that able, then being humble is a good quality, as one can learn; as long as one has talent, which i consider a mix of creativity, the ability to learn, and some sort of "feel" that's in the hands I suppose.

Hm, now I've continued sanding but the problem seems to be that it's actually a bit more of an "L" shape than a "U", due to the screws in the middle. But it looks and feels quite nice now and well, will do (not super dooper low action but okay i'd say) so will probably go for the next steps now. Another thing, now I've got it on the bench - and still considering it will never sound classical or even jazzy - should I not give it a go and paint it in some stunning colour, or a cow pattern or something like that? I mean, dragging that on stage is mainly for the optics anyway. - I suppose it's all about sanding the entire body and then applying some sort of car laquer paint? i'm good in stencil cutting, just wondering what paint(s) to use - advise, dear experts?

So using the mahagony pieces Prosebass has sent to me (thanks again dude - brilliant!) it was fairly "easy" to sand the fingerboard down... ah well yes it's smooth now but it ain't straight, still a bit a banana really, look! When I took the strings off, i noticed that the endpin came off with the tailpiece, to which it was attached by some sort of string that appears to be heavy duty garden equipment. The hole for the endpin is much larger than needed as previous owner must have used the bass as a crutch. Next - what? suppose trying to de-banana using the long mahagony piece?

Hi Prosebass I just received your three bits of mahagony, very happy, will get on with the job & keep you guys posted, thanks for all that

Hi, it's a short-scale bass SG style branded "columbus" and "made in Japan". The guy who gave me this said he might find the bridge too. Fingerboard looks like it's been played a LOT someone must have loved that guitar. The fingerboard is still totally straight. looks like rosewood / maple. The body is made of a top and a bottom, both one single piece. Electric seem to sort of work. Lots of dashes including some cracks but the neck seems to rest firmly. Bridge and nut are missing. Not so sure what to do - if he finds the bridge, will try to repair it. Or does anyone want this? Any other thoughts? Thanks!

Hi, first, thanks all... as for re-fitting the neck, I don't think that's a good idea - seeing all those screws and stuff... how to re-fit it so it won't come off again? it's rock solid where it is now, so i think i'd rather leave it where it is and only do the finger board and the bridge - after all i want it to be easier to play, though the sound can surely be improved it'll never really be a stradivadi... pretty sure the neck's in a 'wrong' angle (at least, the right way round though you are certainly right suggesting to start with the finger board, and then see what can be done to the bridge. The finger board is very uneven now due to a lot of slapping, so it would def need sanding down first (or filling??). and then? what's the product(s) to apply? should i oil it slightly, then varnish (varnish? what varnish)? - and thanks for the book tip will see if i can get my hands on one (library?)...

Hi all, I got this DB from a friend who has been busking with it for five years in all weather conditions on the five corners of the world. You can see how he's played it - slapping, so the finger board is really grinded down... The neck once broke off and has been screwed back on! For me it's my first DB and since I got it for free, great to get started. I even used it on a gig but hey, the strings are too high and tight, and I don't want to destroy my arms and get a crap technique from the start. (I've been playing sitar, and home-built fretless bucket bass for a while so I have no problems to find notes etc.) For the money I'd have to spent for a fingerboard and bridge job I could buy the whole thing new, so it's got to be a DIY. It is (or shall I say, it was) an Antoni ply chinese bass. Don't get me wrong, the bass "works", it has been treated just so it does the job - well for someone like Simon who's got the power of a brick layer in his slap... Now I'm a bit of a jazz man... I've treated the body with sand paper and varnish so it's "ok". My plan is to sand down the finger board, maybe using a long hard straight thing trying to even it out (it's a bit banana shaped due to rain probably). Then, treat it - some wood filler and some kind of varnish, but which? Then the bridge needs to be moved and lowered, that bit scares me most. Then lighter gauge strings. Images attached... get ready... Any advise people? Cheers...!

Lines, as frets, are usually set in logarithmic order - i.e. the distance between them increases by 12th root of two. That's a very crude way to achieve temperation of an instrument - as opposed to other systems such as Kirnberger II etc. in use for a piano, and very different from tuning systems such as pythagorean (like, harps) etc. etc. - one effect of that is, for example, that the 3rd on any string is significantly lower than the natural third (natural scales are ie. set in the fret order of sitars etc). Don't want to go to deep into it, but if you do some research into tuning / scale theory, you will find out very quickly that logarithmic tuning (ie fretting an instrument) is very limited and actually only desirable if you play a lot of chords, which is why it is absent in orchestral classical music. Now on a bass, where you mainly play only one note, why should you then limit yourself to logarithmic scale? You basically limit yourself to the chord structures etc. common in (all sorts of) pop music. - Hence, for other stuff, fretless. It's not just to have the mwahh sound. It's actually a relief from the prison bars of logarithmic scale.

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='823125' date='Apr 29 2010, 04:18 PM']Looks quite cool, I can imagine it would go down well with folk players. If it's considerably louder than a double bass I might want one myself.[/quote] Check this one out [url="http://bucketbass.com/"]http://bucketbass.com/[/url]

Hi there, well I'm playing a self constructed fretless one-string bucket bass with fingerboard, tuning peg and pedal in this band [url="http://lonesomecowboysfromhell.com/"]http://lonesomecowboysfromhell.com/[/url] so if anyone's interested, new gigs are always announced on that website; the next one from the time of posting is on the 20st of May in The Montague Arms, New Cross, London. Would be nice to meet some of you folks in real life for a pint. cheers jan

Hi, I've got given a double bass, great fun, lots of action... It has actually seen a lot of action already, been used for hard core slap bass busking through the last five years - so I'm looking for a bag, really more to transport it than to protect it (well, can't be wrong protecting it a bit can it). My budget is tiny if not to say microscopic. So my question, any recommendations? Where can I get one? Does anybody have a spare or one that needs a little fixing? Is there any- thing I need to know about such bags? Thanks!

[quote name='alanbass1' post='812731' date='Apr 20 2010, 04:35 PM']Hi and welcome. How much volume do you get from that thing?[/quote] It's acoustically and amplified pretty much as loud as the DB but has a weaker attack - sounds more like a tuba IMO

Hello, I just joined the forum so here's my introduction. I'm born in Hamburg and lived in Berlin. I've been playing various instruments there, mainly sitar (!) in a 5-piece. Now in 2005 i came to the UK and was busking using a squeeze box. I started building skiffle basses for folks to accompany me. Now I ended up playing one in a band myself. I found a carpenter who build the bucket bass I'm playing now. And only recently have I been given a bull fiddle that I much enjoy. Now I also have a bass guitar. That's about it... There is more on the home made bass here: [url="http://bucketbass.com/"]http://bucketbass.com/[/url] and some recordings, all done with the thing here: [url="http://lonesomecowboysfromhell.com/"]http://lonesomecowboysfromhell.com/[/url] all right, see you around thanks for having me Jan