neepheid

Stay the hell away from my Victory Artist. I mean, welcome back

Both Fender flats and Roto Jazz Bass 77 had all the compliance of a recalcitrant teenager. Hated that, never again. Tried some half rounds (D'addario I think) - horrible sticky feeling, forget about sliding on these, didn't like that either.

[quote name='MB1' timestamp='1382628634' post='2254678'] MB1. Mr Neepheid Must admit I'd not be too keen to go to the "Local" Shop if it was a 5 hr round trip away!. ...That's Not Local. [/quote] I should clarify - there are two music shops within walking distance of me, but their bass sections are the mere slightest nod to the fact that basses actually exist. The only places in Scotland worth a damn for basses are in Edinburgh and Glasgow (and Glasgow is better than Edinburgh in my experience). KiOgon - I would love to only have to travel the distances you quoted to find some decent bass action

I've been so used to having such a rubbish selection of basses in my local shops that I've done the vast majority of my bass buying at distance, either second hand or new. It bothers me not that I've not got to try it first - I know what I want these days and I can make it sounds how I want. I do my own setups. If I buy new and don't like it, it can be returned by virtue of distance selling rules. I might be out the return postage, but it would easily cost me that much in fuel (never mind my valuable time) to take a trip to the nearest place with decent music shops. I'm not going to take a 5 hour round trip just to have a speculative rake around the shops. It's different if I'm there anyway for another reason. I bought my most recent bass in a shop having tried it out, but that's just pure luck. Got a good deal on it anyway, going online wouldn't have saved much anyway. But to answer your specific question, no I don't tend to use shops as a trying gear out service and I'm quite happy to buy something at distance on the basis of specifications and pictures.

As long as the return to passive basses isn't accompanied with the side order of "active basses are the devil's work" then you go and do whatever pleases you in this regard

[quote name='51m0n' timestamp='1382531405' post='2253241'] Yup, but that doesnt mean its not very very good at pitch shifting, and all that extra power is super helpful, slowing down tracks, looping sections, recording your own efforts so you can analyse where you are going wrong better, pitch recognition if you are struggling to work a line out. [b]The list is endless.[/b] [/quote] I'm sure it is very good at this and SO much more. The trouble with Reaper (and DAWs in general) is that whenever I've tried one, I feel like I've just walked in here:

[quote name='51m0n' timestamp='1382483501' post='2252847'] No mention of Reaper yet.... [/quote] Bit of a powerful tool just to pitch shift an MP3, isn't it?

You don't save an MP3 in Audacity, you export the file to MP3. So don't use File > Save, use File > Export.

It depends what you want. It's got a Jazz-like neck on it so it's not for me. But I'm sure it's a fine bass for those who like the thinner neck.

[quote name='grayn' timestamp='1382446289' post='2252195'] +1 on the Epi Rumblekat. Put some flatwounds on and it's a real 60s dream. BTW, the Jack Cassady is more 70s. I reckon. [/quote] Correct - the JC is in the spirit of the Les Paul Signature bass - 1973-1979.

And we'll keep saying it until people get it.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1382361332' post='2251137'] No pickles, for starters. [/quote] No, stuff 'em in - I like pickles. Nice and tangy in the upper mids.

[quote name='pst62' timestamp='1382367804' post='2251279'] I've just ordered a Hipshot Supertone from the US via ebay Does anyone know if I'm likely to get stung by Customs once it arrives here, and if so wot's the cost likely to be? [/quote] Luck of the draw. You've got a better chance of passing through unhindered if it's a small package, they always seem to target big stuff first (and logically speaking, they're mostly right to do so). I've had a Supertone slip by undetected before. The cost depends entirely on what the value declared is. You'll pay 20% VAT. You'll pay that on goods and carriage cost if it's commercial goods, goods value only if it's marked as a gift (which unless someone is sending you this Supertone FOC, it shouldn't be). You're not in the realms of paying Import Duty - value ought to be too low for this. If it's being sent USPS, they hand over to RM/Parcelforce who will pay the duty on your behalf then bill you for it with an £8 handling charge on top. Fun!

I guess I'd ask the Gibson Custom Shop to make me a Les Paul bass, my way. Haven't decided exactly how that would go though.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1382290462' post='2250189'] She has musical endeavours? Do they coincide with yours in any way? [/quote] Rarely. She's a singing teacher and classical soprano. We've played together a couple of times in makeshift ska/2-tone cover bands though

My wife supports me in my musical endeavours, and I support her in hers.

Any bass I can't afford is overpriced.

Grr!

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1382007467' post='2246584'] Maybe, but I'm from a generation when going against your parent's taste in pretty much everything (especially music) was a required part of discovering who you were. My parents meagre record collection consisted of the blandest of the bland classical music and trad jazz. As I said in my previous post I can't recall having had any interest in music at all until I discovered pop music in the early 70s on Radio 1 - which was never on at home, I had to go away on holiday to hear it for the first time. Even artists as innocuous as Bill Haley and Cliff Richard were considered to be degenerate tuneless noise by my parents... [/quote] Sounds like I got pretty lucky then.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1382001730' post='2246472'] To me its rather sad that it's acceptable to like your parents' music. The few records my parents owned held no interest in the slightest for me. In fact I can't really remember being interested in music of any kind until I discovered T Rex, Slade, The Sweet etc. An important part of my "growing up" involved rebelling against my parents' taste in almost everything but especially music. [/quote] It's fair enough to hold this opinion, but it saddens me that you found yourself in that situation and it has coloured your judgement in this way. I found my parent's music to be highly entertaining. I was weaned on my Dad's vinyl and cassettes - Cream, Wishbone Ash, Deep Purple, Genesis, ELP, Curved Air, Fleetwood Mac to name a few that I recall and it didn't do me any harm. Loved it then, love it now. I found my Dad's stuff much more interesting than a lot of the pish that came out of the 80s. A sufficient primer in music to keep me interested BECAUSE of what I heard instead of IN SPITE of what I heard (or didn't). My wife's late father was all about the Beach Boys. She still likes 'em too. Maybe it depends when you grew up, and it certainly depends upon who you grew up around. To be honest, I think my parents were/are pretty cool and I didn't have much to rebel against.

Lovely, but can't say I care for the knobs. Not my bass though, so crack on!

You've got nothing to worry about. Distance selling rules will keep you right.

Well it's not me that's using them, but it's Manchester's finest: [url="http://www.manchesterguitartech.co.uk/shop/"]http://www.manchesterguitartech.co.uk/shop/[/url]

Honestly, I don't like hard cases. I only have three, one which was intended for the bass in question, one which came with a bass I bought (the Hiscox the Gibson IV I bought from Hutton came with, funnily enough) and one which I bought early in my bass playing days because I didn't know what I wanted and it had a cool B movie poster printed on the top of the lid. In which basses with angled headstocks don't fit. D'oh! The only time they ever get used is in mass transportation to the bass bash. But that's speaking as someone who generally takes care of his own transport to gigs. If my bass was being thrown in and rattled around in the back of a van that I'm not driving, I might change my opinion. But right now, I can't argue against being able to sling it on my back, so it's gig bags all the way for me. Decent ones, with good padding though. Only sold one hard case separately in my life, and it was a non-original one, so I didn't have a problem with it. Would be inclined to keep hard cases which come with a bass, it's like the whole package.