stewblack

What is this 'need' of which you speak 🤔

just when I thought I couldn't love this guy more. beautiful to watch. You notice how as his first note approaches he seems to slip towards a trance state? Then he's gone. He's in that wonderful place that only a repetitive bass groove can take you.

Got myself an Elf. The lockdown has been an illuminating experience for me. I live in one room. I share with three dogs and a ludicrous amount of big old bass gear. Until I found myself in here day in day out I hadn't accepted the obvious truth. I am crazy to keep it all out of sentiment. So I'm downsizing. Basses will come and basses will go but amps and cabs seem to stick around. Way too long. So out with the Ampeg and Ashdowns, time for Trace Elliotts to find new homes. Younger bassists deserve to experience these classic rigs. I have a plan, and the Elf is a part of it. You probably know all about them, they've been widely discussed here and elsewhere. My impressions? Even though I have seen pictures and videos I was still taken aback by the tiny size. Its quite unreal. It's silent. I didn't know the thing was even on. The tone isn't TE but it's meaty. Oh and when you crank the gain it breaks up, and not in a bad way. Not gigged it (obviously) but I can tell its going to be louder than I was expecting. The 1 x 10 I put it through can handle a reasonable amount of heft, oomph, and wallop, but this had it struggling. It's definitely not a toy, not some novelty, I will be using it. It's green and says Trace Elliott on it!

My kind of bass player, I doff my cap.

Wow.

Different bass. The knot IS the fix 😃

Is it saturday?

I received my Superlux HD681 earlier in the week. Would not have known about them without Basschat so thanks folks. First thing I noticed was that I didn't notice anything. No impulse to reach for the eq, no thought of how deep or bright the bass sounded. It just sounds like my bass. I think they're great. Really happy and at 18 quid (I bought a Harley Benton bass as well so I could get free postage) they were a steal.

Oh my god. Just googled him. "Nine vulvae in a shoe box" 🤢

Love this.

Ha! Just a bit of fun. The Bass Collection instruments are rightly famous for two things: 1 Superb quality instruments which punch well above their weight and price point. 2 The world's most horrendously designed headstock logo. It looks like a horror show of worms, or possibly amputated fingers or penises entangled in such a macabre fashion as to spell the word bass. All drawn by a child. Holding the crayon between her feet. I just put a sticker on it.

While we're at it. Is it actually silk?

what would you like to see?

possibly the best thing I've read on basschat

@Dan Dare has the answer.

Pics:

Oh wow. Love that colour combination. Really cool looking shortie. Enjoy!

A lot of you know I enjoy a bass or two, and if I can have one without breaking the bank so much the better. Well I've surpassed myself. I have just had a foray into the bargain basement of the bargain basement. I've already bored you with how nice I think my Harley Benton collection is, but even I hadn't particularly high expectations of this one. The 'Progressive' series doesn't really catch the eye on Thomann's Pornhub. The shape appears a bit blobby and nondescript. The fretboard is neither light nor dark,the finish unremarkable. And it is cheap. Cheaper than an effects pedal. Cheaper than a replacement neck. But looking at it, so to speak, in the flesh and above all playing it, is a different ball game. I may have been dismissive about the aesthetics but this thing is all about the playing, not the looks. I use a little bass run to test a new bass. The opening run up of the solo in Sir Duke, to be precise. If I'm contorting my wrist to reach the top few notes then the bass needs to be sexier than Felicity Kendall playing Twister with Kate Humble, or I don't keep it. I flew up and down the neck on this one with laughable ease. It really is a joy to play. The back of said neck does not look pretty. I can see where different pieces of timber have been joined and there's a couple of unsightly dark blemishes in the wood. But it isn't a 1k bass it isn't a 500 quid bass, heck it's not even a 150 quid bass. And the neck is smooth. And it's straight. And the low action and perfect intonation tell their own story. And my hands glide over it like greased WD40 in a vacuum. The bass has a pre-amp. Another reason to pass in my book. Never got on with active basses. But it switches off and the passive tone is great. And actually, so is the active tone. And the two (again unattractive) humbuckers blend really sweetly. The pots have that tactile centre point and I would describe them as subtle but effective. No huge sweeping tonal variation but enough for me. The balance is excellent sat or standing, the weight is negligible. Not worth checking on the scales, you just smile when you pick it up. It isn't polystyrene light like some basses, you don't want to pass it round the band to see the look on people's faces but you barely know it's there when playing. Oh and as for the uninspiring finish. That solid black actually has a subtle purple tiger stripe quilty thing going on. I know many reviews will say, great for the price, be useful to give to a student and so forth. But I am gigging with this and recording with it. No question. Totally blown away. Decent pictures and sound clips will follow.

Just cleared a space on John's shelf by buying his elf. Deal could not have gone more smoothly. Heartily recommended Basschatter.