TRBboy

Hey folks! A dream of mine for many years has been to build my own bass, from scratch. I was formally a carpenter, and I've done repairs, services, setups and mods on guitars and basses for many years. However, making the neck from scratch always scared me too much! My long time friend and guitarist/singer in my band started building guitars a few years ago, and has made quite a few now, with great results! I asked if he would help me build a bass, and at the start of this year we began. Finally, in early December we finished it, and I have already gigged it! I'm so happy with how the neck turned out, and it sounds incredible. I still have a few minor setup tweaks to resolve, and I did mess the paint job up not once but twice, so a respray might be on the cards in the spring. I had it in my head that I wanted to use native British woods, so the body is solid Poplar, and the neck and fretboard are Sycamore. It's nice and lightweight! I based the shape roughly on my old Yamaha BBN5, as it's just a good, generic, comfortable shape, but nut width, fretboard radius and string spacing are based on my Sandberg California TT5 passive. I struggled to find Alnico V PJ5 pickups at the right spacing, and was recommended Catswhisker pickups. Allan did a fantastic job, and they sound amazing! I'm really pleased with it, and I really look forward to playing it more next year! I'll try to take some better photos when I can. I did mess up the paint job not once, but twice, so a respray is probably on the cards in the spring! 😅 Specs: Solid Poplar body Sycamore neck and fretboard Black dot inlays Dual action truss rod with carbon fibre reinforcing bars Gotoh hardware Graphtech nut Custom Catswhisker Alnico V PJ5 pickups VBT 'no load' passive controls Lychee pink Matt finish

Thanks for all the help guys, @SamIAmhas kindly offered to help me out, so I'll be posting the only existing ring to her to scan in. I've not been on BC for a while, but this has reminded me why this forum is the best! 😊🙏

Wow, thanks for the help guys! By my rough measurements, the OD of the port tube measures around 108mm. What would be the cost to get something like this printed?

Hey folks! I'm about to start turning an old TE combo into a compact 1x15" cab, but I'm struggling to find any port rings that'll fit.... I have one of the originals, but it's a bit tatty, the other is missing altogether. I don't seem to be able to find anything similar in the right size, does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks 🙏

Hey folks 😊 I've been having a look for some Alnico V 5 string jazz bass pickups that will hopefully sound decent but not cost the earth, and there's not as much choice around as for 4 string... I stumbled across the Old Timer range from Alegree, who seem to be well regarded by our guitar playing brethren; USA flatwork and rods, decent build quality and an absolutely bargain price (£20 each for the 5 string model!). Just wondered if anyone here has any experience of this range, and if so can you give some feedback on how you've gotten on with them please? Thanks! 😊👌 https://www.alegree.co.uk/collections/old-timer-pickups/products/old-timer-rumbler-5-string-jazz-bass-pickups?variant=39482903232590

The style won't be for everyone, but the guy is ridiculously talented, and worse still makes it look effortless 😂😭 I enjoy watching his videos 😊👌

I'm also interested, depending on when/where. I'm on the border in Hereford, so anywhere down the east side or into mid Wales could be doable for me 😎👌

I've not been on BC for a while, but just thought I'd hake a look at this thread and I don't know what's happened, it's all gone a bit cockle-eyed! I'm still hoping to come, but won't know for certain till much nearer the time, would be good to reconnect with the community a bit. 🙏

New Amp Day! (well, Friday was 😅) I took a bit of a gamble on this amp having not been able to try one first, although I have had a number of markbass amps so kinda feel like I know what I'm getting. As my Little Mark Tube had sold in record time (and before this one arrived), I had my fingers crossed that it was going to be good! 😬👍 Going by the specs and reviews, it seemed like it was going to suit me well. First impressions: Oh Damn! It's bigger than the usual markbass amp size! 😮😂 I honestly was not expecting that! Fortunately I have a bag that's exactly the right size for it. It's also stupidly light for a 1000w amp. I don't know if it's an illusion because it's bigger, but it feels lighter that other MB heads I've had (and definitely lighter than my LMII). Well, I needn't have worried, this thing sounds absolutely incredible! The usual markbass quality is there, but this amp seems to have a little special sauce somehow! Someone whose opinion I value described these amps as having some extra 'Mojo' above the LM range, and I think that's a good description. The seperate solid state and tube gain knobs are a bit of a gimmick in my opinion, certainly where you only have a single tube in there, as its not enough of a difference compared to a full tube preamp to really be that exciting. That said, there is a discernable difference between the two sides, solid state is tighter, faster and more articulate, and the tube gain is softer and rounder. I don't think I'd describe it as warmer as it doesn't seem to add any tonal qualities, it's more the dynamic response that's altered. I was unsure how I'd like the graphic eq, as I'm a fan of simple and I like the usual markbass 4-knob eq, plus of course the VLE/VPF, which are handy for quick adjustments. This graphic is great though! Clearly you have a lot more control over your tone, but the frequency bands they've chosen and the way it's been executed means that the tone is always musical even if you cut some fairly extreme shapes! I normal roll with a low mid (and slight low end) bump on little mark amps, but I seem to be able to get more pleasing results on the Stu, and able to find just the sound I want more easily. And man does it sound great! 😍 Oh and by the way, YES IT'S VERY LOUD!!! I nearly had to get a structural engineer in to check the house out 😂👌 PLUS.... The illuminated eq sliders and Jack sockets are super cool! 😎 So, I'm very happy thus far! Two gigs this coming weekend, so we'll see how it fares in real use. Massive thanks to the team at Bass Direct for their excellent service as always 😉👍

Meet up with Jez last night to buy a Bass Crybaby off him, it was exactly as described and he was a thoroughly nice chap to chat to!

I've had LOADS of different straps over the years in search of ultimate comfort, and have landed on the Gruv Gear Mono strap, by far the best I've tried, for me anyway. If you're on a budget the 4" wide Levys or Planet Waves nylon straps are pretty damned comfortable.

Very cool indeed mate! Enjoy! 😎👌

I concur with what @BigRedXis saying. The problem is in your situation that you don't know whether it's the pickups themselves or the preamp that's not giving you the sound you want. If you set all the controls 'flat' on your preamp (recognising that flat isn't always actually flat with a preamp) and adjust eq on your amp or a preamp pedal, that'll tell you as much as possible about whether the pickups or the preamp is the issue. If you can get a sound you really like that way, yes it's probably the preamp that's not delivering. If not, then maybe it's worth looking at upgrading the pickups first. If you're okay with a soldering iron, you could play with bypassing the preamp altogether to hear the true sound of the pickups, that would be the most accurate way to figure it out I guess. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Absolute bargain! They're great basses, I used to have a black sparkly one. I always remember doing some pit work, and I was mainly using a 5 string Yamaha TRB and a US jazz. I brought the ATK along one day, and after rehearsal/soundcheck the engineer came scurrying down and said "Wow! What have you done to your bass sound today, it sounds INCREDIBLE!" 😂👍

I've tried a few different brands, but keep coming back to Alpine Musicsafe Pro. Comfy, I can hear what I need to just quieter, and you get 3 different attenuation filters with them. The fact they're pretty cheap is a plus. 😅 The unexpected bonus for me is it helps me massively with vocals; I can 'hear myself' in my head when I'm singing! 👌 Been using musicians plugs for years, and I think I'd find it very uncomfortable gigging without them now.

As others have said, try as many as you can, but in general terms you can't go far wrong with something like an Ibanez SR, a Yamaha, or A Cort of some sort. I reckon a Sire V5 5 string would be a good shout too, although I haven't tried one myself. Some of the low-mid range 5ers can feel really clumsy and difficult to play, but there are so many variables, and so much of it is personal, you really need to schlep around some music shops and get your hands on as many as possible if you can.

I had the 500w 2x10 combo with the 1x15 ext cab for a few years. They're great VFM I think. The 2x10 will go loud, but in my opinion the drivers start to really sound like they're struggling at volume, like they're being pushed to their limits. Ultimately this is why I changed

Yes you're absolutely right, but most people will choose an active bass because it gives them more control over their sound. I was making the point in relation to choosing an active/passive instrument, not in relation to signal loss with wireless systems. My bad for not being clear enough.

I'm not quite sure I understand what this thread is all about after reading it, but I'll chip in anyway. 😅😬 I've always detected a loss or 'change' of some sort with any wireless system I've tried, with either active or passive basses. That's just to my ears. However, several years ago I took a punt on a Smooth Hound system, and it's amazing! I can't detect any tradeoff in the signal, and I'm really happy with it. The main thing I don't understand about this thread is why you seem desperate to use this as a justification to buy an active bass. If you want one, get one? I've had lots of both over the years, and have ended up deciding I generally prefer passive basses, however I wouldn't turn my nose up at an active bass, there's a lot more to it than just a preamp.With an active preamp you have more control of the sound at the bass, that's all there is too it. As I tended to set and forget, and I'm always stood right in front of my amp anyway it's not an issue for me. I've ended up where I am because I came to the conclusion (again just my perception/opinion/ears) that passive, single coil basses seem to offer a purity of tone that often gets lost somewhere with active basses. Again, this statement has no basis in fact, purely personal preference! I'd personally buy a bass firstly for the feel/playability, second for the tone, thirdly for the looks. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Obviously I'm a long time Sandberg fan, but I REALLY like the look/sound of these and would love at something similar! I've long had a hankering for a shorty with a humbucker, but I think I'm possibly going to build one after my current build 😊

This sounds cool! Will see if I'm free, but fingers crossed! I went to one very small bass doo in Birmingham about 8-10 years ago, but that's the only one I've been to. Just getting back to BC after a lengthy hiatus. 🙏

Well, I played my first gig with the LMT on Friday night, and it performed admirably! Sounded really good, and it was easy to dial in something that worked well with the room we were playing in. I ended up with the SS/Tube preamp blend set at about 3 o'clock; the valve side does seem to have a bit more grittiness and presence, but the solid state side has a fuller, tighter low end response as far as I can tell (could be complete nonsense though!). I still continue to be impressed with this GR cab, I've had some great gear over the years but this just WORKS (especially well with a Markbass head it would seem!). Although I enjoyed the LMT, I'm still not sure if the LMII is my favourite out of the few I've tried recently! 😂

I think next gig I need to do one set with the LMT and one with the LMII. Out of the 3 the Markbass heads I've tried recently, I kinda feel like the LMII is my favourite! 😂 Although tbf it's the only one I've gigged so far. May do some comparing in the cellar today.....