icastle

[quote name='cytania' post='1073709' date='Dec 31 2010, 02:32 PM']Fender's website lists the Roger Water's sig precision as a 'thick C' profile 44.45 nut width. He must have big hands![/quote] Well it was a big Wall he built...

[quote name='xgsjx' post='1072617' date='Dec 30 2010, 12:08 PM']I thought "well he works in a music shop, so must know best"! [/quote] I think it's more a case of economics. If the shop are stocking sub £500 kit the it makes no sense for them to stock items that will sit around for a while (i.e. a shop will sell more fretted basses than fretless ones and see a ROI far quicker). Shame the guy made an ar*e of himself by talking crap rather than just be honest about it though...

[quote name='Bilbo' post='1072635' date='Dec 30 2010, 12:37 PM']I have gigged solely with a fretless since 1986. Maybe I'm delusional.....[/quote] Absolutely. You've [b]not[/b] been playing a fretless since 1986, you've been an interior designer specialising in soft furnishings...

Unless you can ascertain for certain that the cause of the defect was actually located 100% to that particular PCB then you are very likely to fry something else and increase the cost of repair. You really need to get it to an amp tech I'm afraid.

[quote name='greyparrot' post='1072203' date='Dec 29 2010, 10:13 PM']I would say get an upright for this sort of thing, and also being strait up, they take no room, and women love it![/quote] I remember the video. When you say "women love it" what you actually mean is "she didn't slap me"

[quote name='Spike Vincent' post='1072098' date='Dec 29 2010, 08:16 PM']The cab might get bored,but otherwise,no.[/quote]

[quote name='bartelby' post='1071986' date='Dec 29 2010, 06:41 PM']That's pretty much exactly what I said to my wife this afternoon. So I've given up playing bass lines I already know and I'm just improvising.[/quote] Yep. I also had a look at DB players on YouTube to see\hear how they use their instrument to best effect - perhaps take a look at Miranda Sykes as a good starting off point...

[quote name='icastle' post='1071881' date='Dec 29 2010, 04:12 PM']Yep. Its the earth connection to the bridge - and yes, you definately need it... [/quote] Sorry - that wasn't very helpfull was it? Best thing to do with it is to wrap some tape round it to keep it clean and sand/spray around it. When you come to reassembling the bass remember to unwrap the wire and make sure it gets a good contact with the metal underside of the bridge or you will get some nasty buzzing noises.

[quote name='bartelby' post='1071926' date='Dec 29 2010, 05:12 PM']Picked it up yesterday, already used to the different playing position and the different scale length, the string spacing it taking a bit longer though [/quote] Yeah it takes a little while to get used to the string spacing but perservere - it'll come. I think I found that the hardest part of the transition was actually using the instrument as a new instrument - the temptation is to just treat it as an upright bass guitar and lose all of the 'texture'... The other thing I found was the piezo pickup was of such a high impedance that my rig struggled to produce the rounded sound that I wanted. I added an external Fishman BII pre-amp and everything settled down nicely.

[quote name='sambassman' post='1071871' date='Dec 29 2010, 04:03 PM'][attachment=67356:Photo_0074.jpg]hiya chaps i was taking all the hardware off my bass in preperation for paint stripping and as i was taking the bridge off i came across a strange hole with a wire coming out of it. [attachment=67354:Photo_0075.jpg][attachment=67355:Photo_0075.jpg] can anybody tell me what this is for? cheers sam.[/quote] Yep. Its the earth connection to the bridge - and yes, you definately need it...

[quote name='EBS_freak' post='1071804' date='Dec 29 2010, 02:50 PM']I'll throw this in the mix too - [url="http://www.deanguitars.uk.com/basses/pacebass.htm"]http://www.deanguitars.uk.com/basses/pacebass.htm[/url][/quote] Could be worth considering but these have a flat fingerboard which means that the use of a bow is out. It may not be an issue for the OP today but nobody knows what tomorrow brings...

[quote name='ThomBassmonkey' post='1071725' date='Dec 29 2010, 01:47 PM']My band plays "acoustic" gigs fairly regularly, I've always been playing my normal electic basses for these, but I fancy something a little different. I've been considering either a Stagg or NS upright. I've seen the Kala U basses too though and they look and sound good (and would be more transportable than uprights). Anyone got any tips? I've not got a specific budget in mind yet, though it won't be a lot. By the way, when looking at EUBs, I came across this stormer. Obviously someone wasn't concentrating when they named it: [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/ns_design_cr4p_bass.htm"]Unfortunately named bass[/url][/quote] I looked at both the Stagg EDB and the NS WAV4 when I was in the market for an EUB and went for the WAV4 in the end. The Stagg was reasonably well built but had a number of 'tweaks' that needed to be done to it to bring it up to a reasonable standard and, as a complete UB novice, I didn't like the multitude of metal struts sticking out of it. The WAV4 was, as near as damnit, ready to play 'out of the box'. Having said that, the Stagg is an inexpensive punt if you are in anyway unsure of the long term investment (both in time an money!) - they are always appearing in various marketplaces at good SH prices and the 'tweaks' are well documented and well within the capabilities of most bass players. As has been pointed out already though, there are a number of differences between playing an EUB and a bass guitar and it can be an uphill struggle to do musical justice to what is fundementally a totally different instrument.

[quote name='EssentialTension' post='1071394' date='Dec 28 2010, 11:58 PM']She could have tried [url="http://www.rfmradio.co.uk/about.html"]Royalty Free Music Radio[/url].[/quote] Why should she have to sign up to anything just to sing songs to herself while she stacks shelves?

[quote name='jakesbass' post='1071153' date='Dec 28 2010, 06:33 PM']+1 Garry... notice how the cogent presentations of factual evidence are studiously ignored by the naysayers? Views are held to suit complainers with little recourse to fairness.[/quote] Well that works both ways it seems. I suppose in 'recourse to fairness' they did eventually stop chasing the 56yr old granny (cogent presentation of factual evidence supplied earlier) for £2000 because she was singing in her shop - but then I suppose that was 'fair' because she isn't your granny eh?

[quote name='flyfisher' post='1070959' date='Dec 28 2010, 02:07 PM']Paranoid? Perhaps, but I've never lost anything yet![/quote] I dump all of our stuff onto DAT tape once a week and keep the newest tape in my car glove box and the next oldest in the outhouse at the other end of the garden. Not up to Iron Rock standards but it does the job well enough...

[quote name='iconic' post='1070958' date='Dec 28 2010, 02:06 PM']thanks for that Burrito, I thought broken nuts were quite rare[/quote]

[quote name='arthurhenry' post='1070546' date='Dec 27 2010, 09:27 PM']Anyone use these? I'm considering changing from a 2unit SKB syle rack case to a soft bag type, but does it offer any advantages in portability, ie any smaller or lighter, or just easier to move around?[/quote] I had a serious look at these recently when I was in the market for a second rack case. I think it kinda depends on the sort of work you tend to do - if your gear is being dragged from stages night after night then it seems pretty inevitable that at some point you're going have a mishap. A hard case will protect your gear from that, a soft case probably wont. Weight isn't really an issue with the SKB cases - true, they weigh a little more than a soft case but they both weigh pretty much the same once the amp is inside! If you're an 'occasional' performer then you'll probably be fine with a soft case. The biggest plus with a soft case is that you can wedge it into your car far easier than you can a rigid case.

[quote name='flyfisher' post='1070388' date='Dec 27 2010, 07:12 PM']Is a PRS licence required when a band plays a gig consisting of only original songs? And if so, why?[/quote] No it's not. It's up to the individual to decide whether to buy into the PRS way of doing things. [url="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/tayside_and_central/8317952.stm"]http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/taysid...ral/8317952.stm[/url]

[quote name='flyfisher' post='1070497' date='Dec 27 2010, 08:40 PM']I don't really understand this. Even if an originals band is on a big tour, why the need for PRS at the venues they play? Presumably they'll be getting their cut from the ticket price anyway, so what is the point of the PRS taking another cut of the ticket price which they would, presumably, have to hand over to the band anyway?[/quote] Dead easy - it's money for nothing - it's what happens when you let self appointed groups rule the roost...

[quote name='jakesbass' post='1070202' date='Dec 27 2010, 03:39 PM']You are clearly, on this evidence, keen on totally unfair appraisal, so I'll leave it there.[/quote] No, that is not the case. I am totally against any self appointed group being able to harrass innocent people for no reason - I don't care [b]who[/b] that group is or what their aims are - if it involves harrassing innocent people for no reason then it is fundementally wrong and should be stamped on. It should also be noted that the 56 year old shelf stacker story is by no means the only example of excessive PRS bullying - a google search shows many other similar stories. As I said at the very beginning, I believe the PRS started out with good intentions but that they have lost their way.

[quote name='GRAHAM SG1' post='1070169' date='Dec 27 2010, 03:10 PM']Has anyone here bought or tried one of these ESP LTD Viper 414 basses yet, I think they look fantastic and are pretty well specced [url="http://www.gak.co.uk/en/esp-ltd-viper-414/23319"]http://www.gak.co.uk/en/esp-ltd-viper-414/23319[/url][/quote] I bought myself one of these a while back: The finish is superb, it required minimal setting up and ESP could easily sell it for 50% more than they do and still attract big sales. A year after purchase I still have people coming up to me and asking "what [b]IS[/b] that?"

[quote name='jakesbass' post='1070160' date='Dec 27 2010, 02:59 PM']That's a very strong accusation against a not for profit organisation, I think it's a real shame that you would make that assertion (I imagine) without recourse to any degree of substantiation, remember that your words are instantly published here and that it's very easy for people to go away thinking that because you said it... or they read it somewhere..., that it's true. More likely that your suspicion is total rubbish, and, I have to say, very poor form.[/quote] Hey - if they want a squeaky clean reputation they shouldn't go chasing after 56-year-old shelf-stackers who sing to themselves should they? I am realistic enough to understand that being a 'not for profit organisation' does not automatically give them instant 'saint status' however much people would like that to be the case. It is extremely easy to run a 'not for profit business' - ask any MP.

[quote name='arthurhenry' post='1069974' date='Dec 27 2010, 10:41 AM']The other aspect of this is; how exact a science is the distribution of royalties from live performance by cover bands. I've done a few gigs where the PRS have turned up (usually when the club owner says "just two half hour sets tonight lads, hush, hush") I think we may have given them a setlist, but what if we chuck in Pride O' the farm by Dixie Dregs? Do they recognise it and make sure Mr. Morse gets his money? Unlikely. What about snippets of 007 and superman theme that we sneak into a song?[/quote] Without a setlist, the answer has to be an unequivocal "No". The chances of a PRS employee knowing the origin of every single piece of music that could be paid are extremely unlikely. I suspect they just take the money for any unidentifiable songs it and just keep it. Whilst their original aims might have been honourable and worthwhile, cases such as pursuing a 56-year-old shelf-stacker at a village in Clackmannanshire for singing to herself while stacking shelves and the bullyboy tactics used to threaten that she would be prosecuted and fined thousands of pounds if she continued to sing without a "live performance" license kind of shows them up for what they have become...

[quote name='Bass_Guardian' post='1066367' date='Dec 22 2010, 02:15 AM']One other thing is that I pretty much don't know any other musicians my age. I never did music at school plus I'm shy when put on the spot like if I had to do an audition. Also Irvine ( where I stay ) doesn't do jam nights as far as I know. Lucky me...[/quote] I don't know any musicians my own age either! They're either younger than me or older than me. When I was at school it was either frantic blowing down a recorder in a vague attempt to produce something that might once have been a recognisable tune or you joined the brass band! As for shy, that goes eventually. I played my first gig 25+ years ago in a cellar wine bar and spent the whole night hidden behind a column... all that people could see of me was an arm attached to a bass guitar! If I go to an audition nowadays I see it from a totally different perspective - are these guys good enough for me to play with? It just needs time and experience. Jam nights are a fantastic way to meet other musicians, we have five around the area I live and they all cooperate to make sure that they don't use the same nights! On the whole they are all very supportive of any level of playing ability and it is not unusual to find a couple of guitarists tucked in a corner somewhere sharing techniques and obscure chords that I still reckon require seven fingers to play

[quote name='Tomikaze' post='1065637' date='Dec 21 2010, 01:30 PM']Hi, I've been lurking on this site for a while and thought you guys might be able to give me some advice. I really like the look of the Squier Vintage modified jazz bass and think I will get myself during the Christmas period. I want to hear about your experiences of the construction of the guitar, specifically how closely the grain is matched in the body. A shop near me has them in stock for £260 but I could get one online for £225 and put the money saved towards an upgraded bridge or pots if I feel it is necessary. I've heard lots of good stuff about this bass but is buying online a safe bet or do you think I should spend the extra cash and check the guitar out properly? Thanks in advance.[/quote] I'd probably try locally and tell them I could buy it online for £35 less. For the sake of £35 I'd probably ask them to throw in a set of bass strings to make the difference up...