TRBboy

[quote name='nugget' timestamp='1333405821' post='1601399'] When I heard you play I though you had THE perfect setup ! it sounded amazing, the sort of rounded true bass sound I'd love to have. DONT SELL ANYTHING unless its to me at a price I can afford.... [/quote] Thanks Dave, that's kind of reassuring. I suppose when I think back over all the basses I've had (and ultimately not been completely happy with) before I found the Sandbergs, I guess I would be stupid to go back to anything else. If you fancy a night out to Hereford on Saturday, we're doing a Cider festival at the football ground which should be a good laugh! Only a fiver to get in too.

I had a couple of balls-ups on New Years Eve just gone. My bass started cutting out, and then died completely. Changed the battery in my bass; nothing, changed the battery in the only pedal I was using; nothing. Changed the lead and it worked fine! This caused much hilarity amongst my bandmates, because it was a lead I had recently made myself and been bigging up. That'll teach me to solder stuff in a hurry...... Anyway, recovered and started the next song, "She" by Greenday, which of course starts with the bass. Due to the awful sound on stage, it took until the first chorus before we all realised I had started in completely the weong key, but the guitarists were playing in the right key! D'oh! In my defence, it was a 3 hour gig, and I was pretty frazzled by that stage!

My suggestion would be a Sandberg Basic Ken Taylor 5. You could buy a new one built to your specs for well within your budget. Massive choice of finishes, GREAT neck and monster sound (very versatile too). I usually only like 35" scale fivers too, but the string tension on the low B on my KT is perfect. [url="http://www.sandberg-guitars.de/basscat-overview/basic-series-top/basic-kt"]http://www.sandberg-guitars.de/basscat-overview/basic-series-top/basic-kt[/url] (if you click "gallery" and scroll along, there's 34 different versions to see, although there's hundreds of possible combinations!)

Thanks everyone! I shall be keeping the lot I could afford to lose one of the 4's if I had to, but as some of you have said, I won't get much for it at the moment so I'll hold on to both for now (unless things get desperate!). The other thing is that I have to have a strict "one in, one out" policy these days, so I always feel that if I sell one, I need to replace it with something else!

Looks great man! Good job!

Thanks for all the help guys! Doddy, I'll have a look at those books you suggested.

[quote name='gary mac' timestamp='1333264678' post='1599271'] I really think you should delete this post immediately, just in case any wifes/girlfriends/partners get to see it. It is imperative that they continue to believe that we need to regularly upgrade our kit. Now get a grip man and enough with these thoughts [/quote] Yes, for heavens sake don't let any of them see this thread, or we will all be rumbled! Thanks everyone for helping me realise that we should keep it all, and I wouldn't get much for it at the moment anyway.

[quote name='Doddy' timestamp='1333245987' post='1599237'] First job...learn to read,then you can take advantage of all the study material that is available. There is no point recommending any books if you don't know how to read the exercises in them.Otherwise you need a teacher to explain it all to you-and any good teacher should be writing down what they teach you so that you can continue to study when the lesson is over. I think understanding chord tones is very important,as generally you will use them more than scales-although you should also know scales so you can see where the chords are derived from. You can look at things like scales and chord tones as fingering patterns(as a lot of people do),but I find this limiting. If you know what notes are in,say, a C major chord,you can then play those notes anywhere on the neck....assuming that you know where all the notes are.If you don't,you should really rectify this pretty quickly. It's all well and good being 'intuitive',but it doesn't matter much if you can't execute the ideas for whatever reason. [/quote] Thanks Doddy, I had a feeling you might suggest learning to read! No seriously, you've pretty much confirmed what I expected. I used to read a little, but always found it very hard work when I was in my teens (mainly because I had little interest in it I suspect). I think I pretty much understand all the note values and rests, etc. but I would need to figure out where all the notes are on the stave again, and obviously get fairly quick at it. Are there any learning materials that you can recommend Doddy? I understand a little about chords and scales but I don't always find it easy to understand how one thing relates to another.

[quote name='Marvin' timestamp='1333233610' post='1599139'] If you like it keep it. I assume you first bought the gear because you felt you needed it for what you were doing, and it's not like you're just sat at home noodling away with it. Enjoy it. [/quote] True dat.

I'm really happy with all of my gear at the moment, but I've been contemplating downgrading tonight. I've got two Sandberg Basic 4 strings, and a Sandberg Basic Ken Taylor 5, a Markbass CMD102P combo and a Traveller 151P extension cab. I love all this gear, but these days I only play in a rock covers band around local pubs & clubs, and do the occasional gig with the local soul choir. I've been wondering tonight; do I actually need such great gear considering the work I do? It does bring me a lot of pleasure, but maybe it's a bit selfish to have all this gear, when the money would be very useful if i sold it! I could arguably use much lesser gear for the sort of work I do........ I could sell the Markbass rig and get something like the new TC Electronic BG250 (is it actually 250W RMS? Would it be loud enough for pub gigs? (guitarist has a 100w valve half stack!)), and go back to maybe a Yamaha BB424 and BB425. I should add that I'm quite particular about my sound, and about the feel of my basses! Has anyone else downgraded? I'd be interested to hear your experiences! Thanks.

Looking for some advice from those with a superior theoretical background really..... I've been playing for about 16 years or so, and used to have lessons in my teens, although I had little or no interest in the theory side of things then! I've mainly been in original and covers rock bands, but I've also been involved in various other live and studio projects. I blagged it on DB for 2 weeks at sixth form college (before the MD realised I couldn't read the music!), and I played in the pit band for professional pantomimes a couple of years on the trot. My teacher used to say I'm a very intuitive player, and that a lot of it comes to me naturally. If I'm put on the spot, I can hear what I want to play, and usually make it happen, BUT I have to play around for a bit to find it. I would really like to further myself now and be able to get there pretty much instantly. Does anyone have any suggestions about what I should do? I know lessons would be best, but I can't afford it, and know most of the local teachers and don't really feel that there's anyone who could take me to where I want to be. I guess I probably need to improve my chord/scale/mode knowledge, so can anyone recommend any good learning materials? DVDs or books would be fine, although I don't really read music. Thanks for your help!

Despite the fact I've owned a BB414 before, and sold it because I wasn't 100% happy with the sound, this thread has given me BB GAS! Does anyone know if the 424/425s are much of an improvement on the 414/415s?

[quote name='Delberthot' timestamp='1333227200' post='1599063'] It remind me of a Fender Roscoe Beck with Delano Pickups [/quote] Yeah that's exactly what I thought! Roscoe Beck crossed with Sandberg California! They look pretty cool. Got a bit of a thing for burst and maple at the moment......

Just spotted this on eBay; http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Exlusive-Fusion-5-Active-5-String-Bass-Guitar-3TB-Alder-Body-Maple-Neck-/300672867009?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item46017fdac1 and wondered if anyone has played or owned one? Iquite like the look of it, but I'd be interested to hear what the neck is like...... I thought Frudua make high-end hand-built stuff?

[quote name='ezbass' timestamp='1333138846' post='1598092'] Well I started stripping it back and you were right a big assed knot has revealed itself. Not too bad though as it's on the rear. Super thick finish, the matt black is over some sort of varnish, the Nitromors is getting a hammering. I'll post pics when I've oiled it and rebuilt it (I'm going to add some shielding too as the current job looks poor). [/quote] Well at least it's on the back! The stuff underneath is probably a sanding sealer/primer of some sort. Looking forward to pics!

[quote name='ezbass' timestamp='1332940682' post='1595171'] True. There is a YouTube clip of a guy who did his, quite pleasing, but all wood cuts are different eh? [/quote] Yeah, you just never know. They're more likely to use the ugly cuts on the basses that have solid colours, you could easily strip the paint off and find a dirty great knot..... or it might be fine like the guy on youtube!

Very nice, I'd love to try one of those! Just remember if you decide to strip it; you don't know how nice/nasty the wood is! Good score!

I tried one for the first time in December (think it was an ABZ?). Now, I am have always liked the thinking behind the fanned-fret design and it seems perfectly logical that the bass should intonate better, have better string tension and feel more ergonomic under the left hand. I went into the trial completely open minded, and fully expecting to love it. But I didn't. I was impressed with how light it was, and how good it sounded (i was amazed how sonically versatile it was for a passive bass!). I had two problems with the fanned frets though; despite really wanting to like it (and trying it for quite a while), I just couldn't get on with them. It was like being a beginner again, my left hand felt really awkward and un-coordinated, and it felt like much harder work. I'm sure I could get used to it with enough time and practice, but it did kind of put me off. The other issue for me was that the string tension and intonation was almost too good. It just felt and sounded a bit clinical and sterile. I know that it's technically better, but I guess it's just what my ears have got used to over the years. I guess the imperfections and nuances of traditional bass design have featured on pretty well any record I've ever heard. Same sort of reason that loads of people dig the sound of a P bass, despite there being much more advanced design instruments out there. The other weird thing was that the fretted notes seemed to decay really quickly, the sustain wasn't very good. I checked the setup, and there was no fret buzz or choking notes....... weird. Anyway, this was just my thoughts after trying one. It was kind of a good thing in a way, because it killed any Dingwall GAS I may have had! I'll be behind the sofa with a saucepan on my head............

I've tried all sorts of padded, Leather, Neoprene, etc, etc ones over the years, and I've ended up settling with a simple 3" wide Levys strap [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Levys-3-inch-Polypropylene-Guitar-X-Long/dp/B000XPRP32/ref=sr_1_54?ie=UTF8&qid=1332350653&sr=8-54"]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Levys-3-inch-Polypropylene-Guitar-X-Long/dp/B000XPRP32/ref=sr_1_54?ie=UTF8&qid=1332350653&sr=8-54[/url] It's just as comfortable as anything else, very easy to adjust (unlike most leather ones I've had), and is very cheap. The Neotech one I've got is very comfy, but it's too long for me! I keep meaning to sell it...........

[quote name='wombatboter' timestamp='1331925643' post='1581102'] My Sandberg.. I've owned around 120 basses (from Wal to Fodera, from Alembic to Ken Smith) but this one rules them all.. bought it for 800 euros second hand and it growls and punches..Amazing bass, I could eat it.. [/quote] Love it!

I should add that I made it 27" X 21", I think about 3 - 3.5" bigger than a standard Gramma Pad (which my rig would've overhung slightly). That might be part of the reason that the gap in the centre looks bigger.

[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1332112216' post='1583577'] That looks pretty damn close to the 'real thing' apart from the gap between the two foam platforms. Mine has a foam infill made of ridged purple foam with a vvvvvvv sort of pattern. [/quote] Thanks! Yeah, I experimented a bit with the position of the foam before I glued it, and it just seemed like it would offer the most stability spaced like that. The foam pretty much matches the outside dimensions of my rig, about 1.5" inset from the edge of the board. As I'm trying to keep costs down, I figured I could do without the vvvvvvv foam for now but I can always stick some on at a later date if needs be. Auralex say it's to "eliminate wolf notes" or something, so I'll keep an ear out for any howling.

Did mine yesterday [attachment=102893:IMG_1795.JPG] [attachment=102894:IMG_1796.JPG] [attachment=102895:IMG_1797.JPG] Quite pleased with it actually, it's turned out really good. No overlaps or staples; I left a few inches to wrap around the back, mitred the corners and then cut a piece to fill the middle of the backside. You have to look hard to see the joins, so I'm pretty chuffed how it turned out. The board is 18mm MDF, and the adhesive I used is Stuk Professional Rapid Spray Glue - Heavy Duty Formula. The adhesive was cheaper than some of the big name brands, but I was advised that a lot of professional carpet fitters and upholsterers use it. It has stuck the fabric to the board and the foam to the fabric VERY securely. It did stick my knees to the dust sheet I was working on too! The fabric is actually some disposable industrial matting from work, but it feels very much like the right sort of material, and it can withstand months of heavy industrial foot traffic, so it should wear fine. looking forward to trying it out on Tuesday! I've got a rehearsal for a gig I'm doing with the local Soul Choir, and the rehearsal is at a school hall with a suspended timber floor, so it should be a good test.

I agree with what everyone else has said; you have to enjoy it or it's not worth doing. The only time I've been involved with projects I'm not into is if it's short term and for financial gain. Music should be a pleasure, not a chore. Do whatever makes you happy, whether that's playing about on your own or aspiring to playing arena tours. Without wishing to make assumptions about you, it sounds as though you need to make some changes to your lifestyle to be really happy, and maybe need some help with your lethargy and possible depression. I really hope you find a positive way through this situation, and you manage to enjoy playing bass on your terms again.