neepheid

On any bass I've had with an out of phase option, I've found it to be the least useful thing ever on a bass, as (when it works) it sucks a lot of the bass and "oomph" out of the tone - what's left isn't very nice or useful IMO.

Just play the damn thing!

I bought a chrome Epiphone three point bridge from Jeff the other day, dealt in person. Lovely chap, had a wee chinwag about basses and whatnot - a pleasure to make his acquaintance. My NR Thunderbird is looking much better now. Cheers!

[quote name='Weststarx' timestamp='1416317939' post='2608961'] I've sat through and read all this thread - I need a lay down now... My question is why are Gibson not in the same position? They've produced the same old Gold/tabacco burst Les Pauls for years and they too have the cheap Epiphones and Studio versions of all their gear. [/quote] They've produced many things other than Les Pauls you know Plus Gibson have been in similar positions in the past - been bought by a company with naff all pedigree in making musical instruments (Norlin, much like CBS), been run into the ground (financially and/or from a perceived quality point of view) and rescued.

Hope it's not arrogant to say I'm listening to last week's rehearsal recordings of my band, The Inevitable Teaspoons. Jamming some new tunes and next rehearsal is tomorrow night.

FWIW our keyboard player is an absolute gem and no, you can't have him

Gear Acquisition Syndrome. The ideal number of basses is n+1, where n is the number you currently have

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1416072531' post='2606632'] not all of us [/quote] I think the reference was to the American tendency to refer to the entirety of the UK as "England". When I was in Houston one time, I kept getting asked if I was Irish. Bizarre.

[quote name='Twincam' timestamp='1415982672' post='2605853'] Neepheid you are Rabid Gibson Guy Club member No1.... [/quote] Can't see the membership of that club growing very much

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1415979084' post='2605819'] I like the club thing. It's not a badge-waving exercise... it's nice to know where there's a concentration of people who can answer your question or share their experience about a certain piece of gear, especially if it's not mainstream. [/quote] I guess it's just because it's been quite easy to establish myself here as "that f'n rabid Gibson guy" without having to be part of a club

The sheer size of it makes threads grow super long, super fast which is a bit rubbish for me because I like to read in a linear fashion like I do here. But I do find it useful when searching for a particular nugget of info. Not fussed for the "club" thing either.

[quote name='Clint' timestamp='1415912024' post='2605259'] Why will Gibson not reissue this bass? Probably the best bass they made although I have yet to see one up close. [/quote] Jack Casady went to Gibson first but they declined - "[color=#000000][font=arial, sans-serif][size=4]When in 1998 I approached Gibson about reissuing that bass they turned me over to Jim Rosenberg, President of Epiphone. They owned Epiphone and they thought that the bass was too much of an odd duck for Gibson to put back out again."[/size][/font][/color] [color=#000000][font=arial, sans-serif][size=4]Admittedly that was a while ago so you never know, but for now you'll have to put up with the Epiphone Jack Casady Signature. Not really a hardship, I'm a big fan of mine and so are the guys in my band.[/size][/font][/color]

A little bit - it's not too much of a burden but I sure would appreciate a bit more help than I get at present, mostly with getting gigs, as I'm not a super confident person and I find the shadowy cabal of gig promoters and venue managers more than a little bit intimidating.

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1415896238' post='2604996'] In the Milwaukee area, the musicians that are really good are doing this for a living and would not entertain performing for free. If your talking about originals bands, yeah there are always musicians that will get involved, however they are rarely of the same caliber of the guys doing this for a living. Blue [/quote] I have got to take issue with your parochial viewpoint. Take what you're saying the other way round - are you saying that because music is a hobby for me and while getting paid is nice it's not the principal reason for me playing bass must mean that I'm probably not a good bass player? A little extreme, and I don't believe that's what you're saying, but can you appreciate how such a comment could get up someone's nose a bit?

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1415749572' post='2603495'] If your looking to recruit make sure your ad includes what you have to offer. It will be tough to recruit good musicians with experience for a start up project. At least it is over here. I would never audition for a band that did not have business on the books. Blue [/quote] Are you saying that you would never join a new, unproven musical venture?

Sorry guys, I'm not going to be able to make it this time

[quote name='peteb' timestamp='1415663839' post='2602601'] Surely if you are going to go on a stage and make a fool of yourself in front of complete strangers you should be able to put aside any shyness! [/quote] Doesn't work like that for me. Being on stage and off it are two completely distinct and separate things for me.

I was playing my Gibson EB at a band rehearsal recently and all of a sudden in mid song I lost volume. First of all I reckoned it was the amp, but I found that when I turned the neck pickup down, the overall volume of the bass returned to normal. Bridge pickup is working fine, but the neck pickup is quiet and it brings the overall volume down when both pickups are turned on. I guess there's only 3 places to look - the pot, the pickup itself or some weird wiring issue. The coil split seems to be working, although the pickup is quiet I think I could hear a slight change in the sound when it was toggled. It's less than a year old, but I bought it online so I'll have to spend £20-30 just returning it to see if they can do anything. Reckon it'd be better taking it somewhere local for a look if I can't figure it out myself and forfeit 3 months of warranty? I hope it's not the pickup.

What am I doing? Not enough. I find bigging up my band really awkward. Not because I don't think the band is great, but stemming from a fundamental lack of confidence/brass neck required for this task. I think people sense this from me and that translates into people thinking that the band isn't very good, because they expect me to be being all cocky about it. Bloody ordering people around in their spare time - "check out our Facebook", "give us a like", "come to our gig, because we're awesome and you'll have a brilliant night", "look at this video", etc. etc. I hate doing it, because when it comes down to it I'm a shy, quiet soul. I suppose I'm in the wrong game, because the days have long gone where simply playing good music, writing good tunes and trying to carve out some kind of niche for oneself out of the densely overpopulated musical rock face is enough. You're a product, a service, a commodity to which people listen with their eyes and their smartphones. I'm out of step and out of line, to quote The Beach Boys - I just wasn't made for these times.

It's certainly helpful if people are willing to post stuff to me, I'm in Aberdeen. The shops here do not cater for my tastes, I've travelled before to trade (met half way within Scotland) and a trip to Glasgow/Edinburgh with better shops can yield results from time to time, but if I want to sell anything quickly and for the price I want I have to be willing to offer postage. Last 4 basses I've sold have gone local, Germany, local (buyer was coincidentally in the area), Cambridgeshire somewhere I think. Gumtree, here, here, Gumtree. Even score on local vs. remote and here vs. Gumtree. It's the seller's choice if they don't want to post - people in big places like London will have no problem shifting anything without getting off their backsides, so why should they? I totally understand. It's my choice to live in the middle of nowhere, relatively speaking. There are benefits and drawbacks wherever you live. But believe me when I say that local collection only in London for example ain't gonna happen with me unless by some luck I have another reason to be in the area. I've got a threshold for the lengths I will travel solely for a bass I might not buy and that's pretty much limited to within Scotland. Transport costs and TIME are more than I'm prepared to spend when one can courier a bass anywhere in the UK for £30. That's my call. I've had success in the past with "local pickup only" items just simply asking the question, "would you be willing to post?" and explain my location. Sometimes, people list things as "local pickup only" simply because they haven't even considered posting an option, and if their bass/whatever isn't moving as quickly as they'd like they might come around to my way of thinking. Worth registering the interest anyway, don't be pushy and don't get pissy if they say no though.

Good work fella, keep it up. You may even have shamed me into doing some practice tonight

[quote name='headstock' timestamp='1415201028' post='2597813'] and loosen the strings a bit, if it is going on a plane. then in the box lot of bump - stuf, like paper, foam, egg boxes etc. fill it up. Wrap the whole bass in plastic before putting in the box.secure the headstoch with carton (like in a bass case). the carton on the outside can be protected with xtra ducktape etc. make a handgrip on the box, just small enough that is doesn't het thrown. [/quote] I think the OP is talking about sending a neck on its own, so I don't think there will be any strings to loosen...

I use Hercules mini stands and have had no issue with them. I not in a band with clumsy oafs, and I only leave it on the stand on stage when I'm there, or if we're first on and we've finished sound checking. I've had my RD Artist and my NR Thunderbird sat on one, you just need to adjust the position of the bottom bits to suit. I've had 3 basses sitting on them at bass bashes in close proximity to other basses without issue also. It's like anything device, fine if used sensibly. If you expect it to keep your bass upright when there are crazy band members flailing about the stage with scant regard for their surroundings or if there's a minor earthquake then you might be disappointed

The black headstock club:

My wife tolerates (and even occasionally encourages) my bass guitar habit and she has only one rule (which I agree with) - "instruments are to be played", so if they're not getting a gig, they get sold. To that end, I make sure I play a different bass almost every gig/rehearsal. Fun for me, it's like picking which shirt to wear