Lozz196

Mine is about 3mm on the E at 12th fret. I`m quite a hard-hitter as play punk, so need both some fret-buzz but also some room so that the strings don`t choke.

Protection Racket are pretty good, but have to say Mono are the best imo, worth waiting for a 2nd hand one.

Yes, it happens to me every couple of years too. I love the look of Jazz basses, think they`re extra cool looking, and I love the sound of them - when someone else is playing them that is. When I get one I just try and make it sound like a Precision, which I know is pointless, but that`s the sound I like to hear when i play bass. As such I`m trying to never buy one again but it`s a battle I know I`ll lose at some point.

I find it much easier to sing lead vocals if on guitar, yes I can manage it on bass but that tends to be on songs where the vocal melody is pretty 4/4, anything different and it`s like that patting the head/rubbing the tummy thing, it equals certain defeat.

I couldn`t have written that better Alex, I think you`re spot on there with the above as I tend to follow those to the letter and similarly never have nerves get the better of me. Being of a certain age my only addition would be to make sure to have a pre-match pee before going on.

Yep, the humble P-Bass, does its` job so well, and certainly a huge factor in many of the great bass-lines from the punk movement when bass seemed to become more audible and a bit more up-front musically too, rather than as a backing instrument.

Pretty unlikely Mark, yee-haw

Strengths - personally reliable, reliable gear, own reliable transport, pretty steady player rather than flashy, never had a drummer say they can`t play with my bass style, good inbuilt timing, pretty decent backing vocals, when the mood takes me pretty ok as a songwriter too, ability to know my weaknesses. Weaknesses - not that good with technology so have to learn material old-school ways, similarly with my reliability, not on facespace rely on e-mails/texts for band info, tend to be a tad aggressive in my playing style - whilst not an issue in my current punk band accept that this would need work if moving to other genres.

Yes, although cab-type is a factor too, those settings are quite SVT-like

Nice bass Rog, I`d go for 3-ply black on scratchplate, would like nice, sleek and sinister

I`ve found that by engaging the pre-shape and the valve drive, then further dropping some lower-mids and upping higher-mids and treble that it can get fairly near to the SVT type sound, scooped and grindy-ish.

I`ll get in touch with our band leader re this and PM the details over Steve, the guy we use is great, his products are top quality too.

Pretty much the same for me too, Blue.

Until my current band, which needs the twang/grind of new rounds I always used to leave my Rotosounds on for at least a year, as I preferred the sound for what I was doing back then, and dislkiked the sound of new strings. Just shows, tools for the job really.

Were The Stranglers punk, weren`t they punk, difficult to tell. They certainly had the aggression in their music associated with punk, but when you look at the first wave of punk bands they all sounded very different so it`s difficult to pinpoint it. I`d say that a lot of punks liked The Stranglers, and that a good few did not. I belong in the former camp.

I’m a Precision man through and through, my faves are the 2012 - 2016 US Standards. But there are so many variables, the main thing for me being the neck. As such it’s a difficult one to say “these are best” as what suits one of us for whatever reasons may be the exact reasons as to why another 20 of us aren’t keen. I have to admit though to having been really struck with my Vintage Tony Butler V4, so much so that I have a regular V4 on it’s way. I’ll use it as a backup and for gigs where we fly, save me taking a US Precision with me but I wouldn’t do that with a bass I wasn’t comfortable with.

Do it for the enjoyment of doing it, remember that first and foremost it’s your hobby so treat it as such, hobbies are what you do for fun and to chill.

I was in 3 bands at one point and followed what Phil said, first gig that came in was the one I would honour. It got to a point where I knew which direction I wanted my music to go in so left 2 of the bands. And now I wouldn’t have time for another band, this weekend it was Stockton on Tees last night, Edinburgh tonight and Doncaster tomorrow night.

Difficult one as my two fave amps are Ampeg SVT and Ashdown ABM, but with the ABM I keep the pre-amp valve off for live, only put it on when recording.

They`re nice sounding amps, the bassist in The Cockney Rejects uses one and he gets a great sound.

I`m not that familiar with the HH, but to my way of thinking if it were set up to be just the right amount of bassiness/bite on the bridge pickup alone, surely when addingnin the other pickup, or playing that pickup only the sound will be over bassy. Pretty much the same as a Les Paul guitar, get a great sound on the bridge pickup, select the others and the only person in the world who can sound good is Slash, everyone else sounds over-bassy and rotten.

Yes I know what you mean Paul, B&Gs lyrics are even described by themselves in one of their songs as not too smart. But in their last album, Chapter IV they`ve progressed and take on a greater depth - mainly staying away from singing about football, skinheads and drinking, funny that. I`m not sure if DBDs lyrics have much meaning at all, as I`m generally yelling along with them with a silly grin on my face - as I will be this Fri/Sat/Sun as we have gigs with them on those nights.

A bit of a strange one this, I like to listen to new bands, but in the genre - punk - that I`m familiar with. On the punk scene we do have a fair few nostalgia merchants who will only listen to/watch their fave band from 40 years back, and will ignore the support acts but that`s their choice, I wouldn`t slate them for it but they really could find some great new music if they were a bit more open-minded. I only got into my fave band, Booze & Glory by accident, didn`t know any of the bands on the stages at Rebellion on eve, stuck my head in all the rooms, heard B&G and that was it, instant fave current band.

Next cause could be amount of windings on the peg - with strings with silks on the end I used to cut them at 10cm and this was ok. When I changed to strings without silks, just the metal ends I had to up it to 15cm, as similarly used to get a buzzing that seemed to come from inside the neck on both E & A strings.