Old Horse Murphy

23 minutes ago, oldslapper said:

Ok so, if I receive a bass before end of January and adopt the Chinese New Year, am I back in? Should arrive next week. 
Alternatively I could adopt the fiscal year, so I’ve got till end of March. 

I think I’m getting the hang of this. 
👍🏻🥳

 

In which case John, may I be the first to wish you a very happy Rosh Hashanah. That technically give you until September some time. 
 

Now, where can I buy a Dreidel....

8 minutes ago, Clarky said:

This is what a short scale set of Dunlop flats look like. Do the silks match yours Nick?

Thanks mate. That's confirmed it. 👍

3 minutes ago, EssentialTension said:

9 hours ago, Linus27 said:

I'm quite tempted to go back to MarkBass and quite fancy giving either a Little Mark Vintage D2 or the Little Mark Tube a go. I did try the Marcus once and I was really impressed with it.

I had a Tube 800 for years and loved it. It finally gave up the ghost a while back but I'd get one again in a heartbeat. 

4 minutes ago, Quatschmacher said:

I was surprised you’d bought it after the conversation we had about my heavy P. Rays with flats are great. 

There's a story there and if I'd actually checked the weight properly I wouldn't have. 
 

It was so shiny though....

18 hours ago, Quatschmacher said:

@Old Horse Murphydid you return the stingray? It seems to have reappeared on BD. Or are they just slow to delete?

I did indeed return it as it was a bit too heavy for me following my back op. Trust me to get the only fat Stingray Special! Such a lovely bass too and absolutely spotless, but I swapped it for a lovely Stingray Special 5 they had in stock. Mark was great and very helpful. 

The new Ray is strung with flats, so is quite different from my other SR5. 
 

Just now, Bunion said:

Dunlops have black silks I believe 

Thanks. You beat me to it! I was just about to ask if they could be Dunlops

I just acquired a secondhand 5 String Stingray that's strung with Flatwounds which I rather like. I've used TI's for years but have used La Bellas in the past and these remind me of those as they're very smooth feeling ( a lot smoother than the TI's) and have black silks at both

 ends.
 

Would anybody be able to help identify them please?

1 minute ago, Eldon Tyrell said:

Hahaha. No, I only got this photo today, the bass itself should be here tomorrow, 22nd 🙂 

Damn, I was already choosing my next car! Lovely looking bass BTW

32 minutes ago, Eldon Tyrell said:

Man, last year I lasted until Feb 4th (G&L CLF Research L2000, CAR), this year I am already out on Jan 22nd 🙂 

 

Time traveller huh? Could you share the lottery results with me? 😂

Well the Stingray Special 4 was short-lived. Absolutely nothing wrong with it but it was a bit too weighty for me and in all honesty my G&L L-2000 was covering all my 4 string Ray sounds. 
 

Anyway, I swapped it for a second Stingray Special 5 but have strung it with Flatwounds to add a bit of variation. It's a stunning bass and weighs in at under 8 and a half pounds although it actually feels lighter. 
 

So I swapped out the Ampeg PF800 for a Mark Bass Little Marcus 1000. I don't know why I bother moving away from anything other than Mark Bass heads as I always gravitate back towards them. 
 

Thanks chaps. I'm really not looking for trades, sorry. 

In order to add some balance, I've never had a problem with them and enjoy my trips up there. 
 

I had an issue with an amp I ordered which was sent to my old address that was on Bass Direct's system as I had forgotten to update them. Mark went out of his way to resolve the issue and when he knew I was visiting the store, he went and picked the amp up from the couriers so it was there when I arrived. 

My Blue Monday wasn't too bad and I also discovered that my latest blue purchase shares the same birthday as me (sadly not the same year!)

I've been lent a Hohner B2A for a while and wonder if anyone knows of a set of low tension Double- ball roundwounds (preferably nickels) that I could try. 
 

It's currently string with Stadium Elites 40-100 and I'm not too keen on them. 
 

Thanks in advance. 

For sale is my superb Ibanez EHB1505MS Headless 5 String Bass with fanned frets. The finish is Pacific Blue Burst Flat. 

I've had this less than three weeks, so it is in excellent overall condition and comes with gig bag, ramp, accessories and original box. The only reason I'm selling it is because as easy as it is to play a multi-scale fanned fret bass, I struggle playing it while singing. 

The finish is stunning and the Poplar Burl top isn't covered in heavy lacquer, so the burl in the wood and imperfections in the wood are clearly visible and tangible and with the flat matte finish, it really sets the top of beautifully. 

The bass is wired with a super set of Nordstrand pickups and the array of sounds that can be achieved are great. The 35"scale on the B String is (for me) far more comfortable than the longer scale on (say) a Dingwall. 

There is one visible mark to note and that is a very small dent in the back of the body that was there when it arrived. The finish is very thin though and designed to show imperfections, so I'm being really picky. 

These are hard to get hold of at the moment, with lead times that appear to be increasing. 

Specs:

5-String Multiscale Electric Bass

Body: Mahogany

Top: Poplar burl

Bolt-on 9-piece neck: Pangapanga / Walnut

Fretboard: Pangapanga

Abalone Offset Dot fretboard inlays

Fretboard radius: 500 mm (19.69")

Scale: (min.) 838 mm (32.99") - (max.) 889 mm (35")

Nut width: 45 mm (1.77")

Plastic nut

24 Medium frets

Pickups: 2 Nordstrand Custom Big Split (bridge and neck)

Electronics: Varimid 3-band EQ

Controls: Volume, Balancer, Bass, Middle, Treble, Varimid

EQ bypass switch

MR5HS bridge

Ibanez custom headpieces machine heads

Black hardware

Strings: D’Addario EXL1705SL

Colour: Pacific Blue Burst Flat

Includes Schaller S-Locks and gigbag

This model retails at over £1,300 at the moment if you can find one. This one is in super condition and available immediately for a good saving. 
 

Price drop to £1,100 inc. postage. 

2 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

 

THey do a EHB1000 too!

Alas, the cupboards are bears at the moment. I need to sell something before I can invest in anything else. 

For sale is virtually new pedal that I'd surplus to requirement. It's boxed and in mint condition:

TC Electronic Cinders Overdrive- £22 inc. delivery

I actually gigged with my EHB1505MS on Saturday and it was lovely and light. The ergonomics are fantastic too. 
 

The only issue I had with it and it is an issue to me at least, was moving from the fanned frets back to "normal" frets on my 4 string caused me quite a bit of consternation. I use the 4 string for plectrum playing and when I'm singing and using two basses is definitely part of my set up. 
 

I've got a practice tomorrow and will take my SR5 to compare and contrast and if I get in with it better I will move the Ibanez on as I have simply too many basses to have one of these sat around gathering dust (and I have a reduced fees offer on EBay!) It really is a super bass though. 

So I have my first in the flesh gig tonight since 2020, helping out a mate who's bass player has been pinged. Fortunately I know the set as I used to dep with them regularly. It's an outdoor one, so it's going to be a bit chilly!

Following my recent back op I've decided to go as lightweight as I can and will take the Thunderbird, Ibanez EHB1505MS and the Guild Starfire 1. I certainly don't think I've gigged with a stranger, more varied trio of basses before so it should be fun!
 

In reality I'll use the Ibanez most of the evening but as I've not gigged with either the Guild or the Thunderbird I'd like to try them out too. 

My first bass was a secondhand Westbury Track 2 that I (my Dad) bought from the Mum of a young lad who'd joined the army. It was being sold via the Classified Ads in the St Albans Advertiser. 
 

It didn't have the pickguard and was covered in about half an inch of black car paint. I seem to recall we paid £20 for it. 
 

It had terrible neck dive and I played it for a few years before deciding to take the frets out and fill the holes with wood filler to turn it in to a Fretless. 
 

I eventually replaced the pickup and fitted a Badass Bridge to it. My Grandad refinished it for me in gloss black and my Dad has one of the designers at his work make a pickguard for me. 
 

When I went to university I took my saxes and my Fender P Bass with me and left the Westbury in my wardrobe at home. 
 

I dug it out when I was home on holiday a year later and sadly the truss rod had failed as it resembled a longbow more than a bass. 
 

On the plus side, I managed to sell it to Kevin Costner and he used it extensively in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. 
 

I sometimes toy with the idea of finding another, just for old time's sake.

It's a very interesting article, thanks for sharing it. I've always been fascinated with any musician who finds their instrument of choice early on and stays with it (alas I can't say the same thing!) Even more remarkable when it's considered a cheapy. 

I don't like the writer's written style too much though. He comes across as a bit officious for my liking. Mind you, he'd probably say the same about me if he met me. 

That's really very nice. I think Yamaha missed a trick there. 

My two Specials