mcnach

a bass is much more personal. can you get another bass like it? sure. Will it be like it? Unlikely. My main bass I love dearly, I feel at home with it, I know its every dent, it's got the exact setup I want, the neck was lacquered just the way I wanted it... etc. I can play other basses that will be nice... but that one is... special. That bass gets lent to nobody. It's not about the money it makes me, it's about whether something is easily replaceable or not. A bass often isn't. Even if it's my backup bass... it's a backup for a reason, it means it's close to my main bass. Here we have a guy who owns equipment but is trying to save effort carrying it... I cannot imagine myself doing that ever. Heavy amp etc? Perhaps, yes (I've invested in gear I can transport easily but that's just me). A bass? How hard is it to carry a bass? I don't want to play a gig with somebody else's bass. Is that a matter of laziness or carelessness or what? I don't get it.

That's the part that makes me feel uneasy. There you have a bass player without equipment, apparently. Why not? I'm more inclined to help someone whose equipment breaks down and need help, than someone who just doesn't even try, as it makes me think why not and whether they're likely to look after my stuff or not. Honestly, I would not feel comfortable unless I knew they guy in question well, or I knew that my other band mates could be relied to look after my equipment. There have been band mates in my time to whom I'd have lent anything, and others to whom I'd never ever lend anything.

I have been using the standard white nylons for a bit too. I prefer the coppers. They retain a similar top end, but they have a nicer presence in the low mids, I think. Also they're very slightly less flexible, which suits me. The standard ones are like rubber... you can bend strings using your eyelids! They're a very versatile type of string. You can get very bright sounds out of them, they sound really nice for slap (just perhaps not so much for the really bright slap styles like Marcus Miller, Wooten etc), but they can do 'thumpy' if you want to...

I have to say that I feel the same about the screws they used on my basses. I was replacing the P pickup on my first Jake and I had to be very very careful not to damage the head of the mounting screws. One was particularly hard to undo, and it eventually started giving way... only it wasn't: the screw just sheared off. They're made of an alloy of iron and butter. It cannot add too much to the cost to use decent metal! So, yes... be careful, always use the correct screwdriver head that fits perfectly, and be gentle. That's my only complaint about them, really. The 3 basses I owned were very well made otherwise. I still own two.

Yup... John East. If any of his products sounds about right but you would just like it a little different... just contact him and tell him what you're after. He's pretty accommodating, within reason. If you're just talking about a simple mod and nor a redesign of the preamp he'll probably do it for you.

In my main band I keep recordings of a lot of our ideas. Part of our 'rehearsing' is actually jamming and/or bringing ideas to the band and playing around with things. Some things develop into a song but they started 3-4 years ago, while other songs just come up one day and two weeks later we're playing it live. We have probably 50-60 decent songs in various levels of "in progress", but with new ideas coming up regularly... most don't get worked on enough. That's just things that already look largely like songs. More basic ideas... we have tons of. Hours and hours and hours of them. I'd love to sit down, select a bunch, and finish them. I tried several times, just picked 10-12, gave them to everyone, hoping that at least a couple would get done. Nothing. It depends so much on having the right people around. But then, these ideas would not even exist without most of the band either, as nearly everyone contributes something important... A few years ago we accepted an unusual gig for which we needed an extra hour of material. In two-three weeks we had that hour ready, from older stuff that was nearly ready but not quite. It is possible. But I doubt we'll manage ever again...

Labella White nylon tapewounds, the copper variety. They are fantastic. Not quite roundwound sound, but a lot of top end if you want it. Really good tight bass and low mids presence... and of course smooth, quiet, and very flexible. They're particularly nice on Precisions.

Yup... I love playing in Stramash or Whistle Binkies here in Edinburgh... I can leave home, reach the venue in 20 minutes, chill a bit, have a beer, chat... set up and play. Then, even if the last note was played at 2.30am, in less than an hour I can be in my bed.

Oh, you're right! I always just assumed they were ear defenders, as his hearing is very damaged... Thanks for that. I came across this, a list of "don'ts" by the man himself... it sounds like he's been a little crazy than most. http://www.robchapman.tv/forum/threads/paul-gilberts-advice-for-preserving-your-hearing.18923/

I would not go without ear protection just because it doesn't look good. My ears are too precious to me. If it came to that, industrial ear defenders would do. Like Paul Gilbert. Unfortunately I do not know of anything that sits on the outer ear and is discreet enough while still doing a good job.

Bluetooth for live music won't work. The delay is too large.

Start a Star Wars themed band. Then you can be Princess Leia and use big headphones that look just like her hair buns. No?

I don't understand this. I keep looking at my stash of strings on the shelf... they haven't made a noise for the past hour or so. maybe they're like dogs sometimes, the minute I leave the house they start making noise. I'll ask my neighbours...

I used to think that I'd like to do that, even if my income came down quite a bit. But then I enjoyed a busy summer, travelling up and down every weekend (not even the full week, but typically Friday lunchtime till Sunday silly late in the am - technically MOnday)... and I changed my mind. The 3 hours or so playing each night were great. I even didn't mind that I didn't always have my own room and had to share with a tractor (that's our guitarist, who snores like one)... but the WAITING AROUND was unbearable. I liked the guys, we got along great, but it felt we were stuck with nothing to do for far too long. Free beers are welcome, especially when it's warm... and coming home with a good wad of notes was great (even if it paid less than my day job, somehow that money seemed more valuable)... but it was BOOOOOOOORING for hours and hours each day. I really admire bands who are out touring all over the place for months at a time. I'd go crazy... I'd have to find a way to bring some kind of activity to my day... bring my bike so that I can cycle in each new place, I don't know... but even then... What I'd like is to be able to play good paying gigs within a 70 mile radius a few nights a week. The kind where I just drive and show an hour an a half beforehand to set up things, play, get money and go...

If I changed them once a month I'd do the same! I only start really liking my strings after a couple of weeks... and then keep them for about a year, depend on usage (I rotate a couple of basses live, and at home I use other basses). As I type, I still have a couple of sets of Warwick Red labels... I keep them as backup with my live stuff, in case myself or somebody else ends up needing a set in a hurry. By the way... £8 is even better than the £11-13 I've found. Where do you buy yours?

I like the ss Red Labels, and their price!!! but they're quite coarse... The DR Fat Beams sound nicer and they feel sooooo much smoother, that I pay the 3x price difference without second thoughts.

I don't think it has anything to do with being harder or not... both metals are considerably harder than fingertips How rough a roundwound string feels is a function primarily of the wire gauge used to wind around the core. There's quite a variety out there. If you then get coarse strings that are also less flexible (they feel more taut)... fingertip killer, until you get used to them

It could be that they're rougher, not necessarily a 'chemical' reaction. There are some strings that seem like a lot more work on my fingers because of their coarseness, while others have tighter windings with lower gauge wire and they feel smoother. Over a couple of hours that's noticeable. If you play a couple of gigs during the weekend, on Monday the fingertips may feel a bit... sensitive.

are there any strings that aren't steel or nickel plated? (apart from obvious ones like tapewounds etc)

I find that in newly starting bands THAT is when you need eye contact the most...

How long are you into yours?

I don't know... I can learn 10 songs by Saturday, but I doubt I can write 10 songs with the band by then. We're not Status Quo

Indeed. But they work for YOU. So you have to make sure they know what YOU want, and that they do what's needed. If they are reluctant or refuse... move along and find someone else.

He doesn't seem to care to set it the way YOU want it, or maybe he doesn't know how to. Unfortunately the name 'luthier' is tossed around without regard for its real meaning and covers people who really know their stuff and build superb instruments (acoustic or otherwise) and people who barely know how to use a screwdriver. Definitely find someone else. And if someone says what you want is not achievable, ask them why. Just saying "due to build quality" or something like that is not enough. If it's a bolt-on instrument and the neck is not completely screwed up (very rare even for the cheapest instruments), it would be very strange if it could not be set up to have low action across the fretboard.

Quite a different animal. I had a pair of BB2 which were ok but I never loved them. I tried a Two10... and now I have two. Love those.