tauzero

I've got one. Best 5-string neck I've played (although I have one of his other 5-strings, which I've defretted, and that's not as good). The electronics are also fine. I've also got a 6-string body/neck from him which is this summer's project, and a 7-string which was great apart from the pickups. Shipping cost is around £70. Add around 20% to the total for duty and VAT if you get charged it.

Oh, and try and get one through bidding rather than BIN. And if there's an offer facility, try him at around 55% or 60% of his asking price.

Ah, how I yearn for that now-lost crackle with every move I made, the delicate crunch as a foot pressed on the cable, and the spasmodic leaps of effects pedals as the limits of elasticity were reached on my travels around the stage.

[quote name='Oscar South' post='244797' date='Jul 21 2008, 08:54 PM']Does anyone know where to get hold of one? I know you could get them from Sound Control, can you get them from whoever took over?
Anyone know any independent dealers?[/quote]
There's always ebay... try a search on "steinberger". Then try a search on "headless bass" - if a 4-string will do you, I'd be inclined to look at the Hohner Jacks.

[quote name='OldGit' post='244889' date='Jul 21 2008, 10:34 PM']Saw you were looking for a Steiny Spirit ... only if your really have to .. I had one it was not a great bass .. IMHO....[/quote]
Cricket bat or XZ? I liked my XZ25, only sold it because I didn't use it (and then found it would have come in useful later).

[quote name='waynepunkdude' post='244206' date='Jul 21 2008, 07:29 AM']Does anyone else use vinegar? I was told it breaks down the grease.[/quote]
I advise against using caustic soda in an aluminium boiler. That's really something that I should have spotted as a bad idea, what with an A-level in chemistry that was only about a year old at the time...

Ultrasonic baths do bugger-all as well. Well, the cheap ones anyway, I could get a lifetime supply of strings for the price of the expensive ones that might (or might not) have an effect.

I keep a list of when I last changed the strings on the various instruments. It just demonstrates that I am a lazy bastard. I really ought to replace the strings on the two main basses, it's been 18 months now and I've got spare strings knocking around waiting to be put on.

[quote name='Sarah5string' post='239763' date='Jul 15 2008, 09:26 AM']I've never gigged before so needless to say am really excited. Any pre gig tips would be appreciated![/quote]
Best of luck...

Organisation-wise, make a list of everything you need to take. Instruments, leads, extension cables, clothes, plectrums, clothes, old set of strings as spare, spare battery, tuner, instrument stand, towel, etc etc. Give yourself plenty of time before setting out to the gig and plenty of time after you've arrived (ie. get there nice and early). Get everything on your list ready to load into the car, and when the time comes, load up and go. If you're going down the M6, make sure there haven't been any accidents in the last half hour.

Setup - if you're working with a venue sound engineer, be nice to them. If he wants you to play a few bars, don't do a whole song. Soundcheck with the loudest and quietest bits that you do.

Playing-wise - relax as much as you can. Remember you're playing to the audience so have a look at them now and again - the odds are that very few of them are axe murderers, and quite a lot of them may even be friendly. Don't have dead mic time - if you've got gaps between songs, someone should be speaking to the audience then.

And have fun.

[quote name='peted' post='242356' date='Jul 18 2008, 08:14 AM']Is there any kind of Bass Bash etiquette?[/quote]
There are certain obligatory things.

At least ten minutes of fast and incredibly repetitive slap, preferably with the EQ set to the most irritating settings.

Instrument stands should take the maximum possible floor space.

Headphones and other cissy accoutrements are not allowed.

You should seek out the bass with the most strings on it and play "Mustang Sally" on it.


Actually, I must say that at the Northampton one, the one piece of etiquette I couldn't work out was whether it is or is not acceptable to pick up and play an unattended bass (obviously this doesn't apply to poptart's legions of basses with "Do not touch or you'll have your hands chopped off" on them). I'd have loved a play on a couple of headless 6es but didn't want to start playing on them without their owner's (or owners') permission.

And it's probably a good idea to make an inventory of what you take into the room so you know what you should be taking back out. Avoids forgetting things like stands, leads, or partners.

Smallest stage I've played on is the one at the Pickle Club in Birmingham. There are two venues we've played at with smaller stages - Rednal Social Club and the E57 club - but as I didn't actually fit onto the stage at either of those, I can't say that I played on the stage.

Not sure about the biggest - we used a flatbed trailer and a curtainside trailer for Tamworth Rock Festival for some years, which was pretty roomy. Dudley Concert Hall has a very large stage too - probably the biggest permanent stage I've played on.

I use [url="http://www.themusicking.co.uk/basic-goose-neck-guitar-stand"]these goose-neck stands[/url] which also have a security bar that swivels across the neck. Work better than Hercules stands for headless basses. The swivelly cradle is great for the Tsais and the Warwicks, none of which are symmetrical.

I developed my own style. Down at the bottom of [url="http://www.newcoronaband.co.uk/samples.html"]this page[/url] are links to three of the sets of tunes that we do. I think the recording could be better, took it off the PA at Dudley Beer Festival and had to give the bass a big boost because it was nearly inaudible in the mix. I tend to play root, 5th, and interesting runs (some of them actually in tune). Depending on the dance, I may accentuate particular beats quite heavily or not.

It happens to me now and again, has done for months. Are the read flags written when moving to another subforum? Come to think of it, I often use the back button to return to the list of topics rather than going back to it via the navigation - could that be a contributory factor?

[quote name='steve-norris' post='239845' date='Jul 15 2008, 11:12 AM']The choices seem to be the Palatino VE-500 or the Stagg offering, initially the Palatino appeals more nd seems to get great reviews especially with a few mods. Any recommendations either way or otherwise?[/quote]
I had a VE-500. I sold it in favour of an NS WAV-4, largely on practicality grounds - it's quite heavy, and the combination of that and the endpin design meant I had to find somewhere to lean it between tunes. I'm sure they were a lot cheaper than £500 when I had mine.

Given the current state of the American economy, how long will it be before MIA Fenders are the cheap versions of Squiers?

[quote name='Alien' post='236886' date='Jul 10 2008, 09:11 PM']Buckle rash? Looks more like a shotgun to me![/quote]
Looks reminiscent of woodworm to me...

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='238367' date='Jul 13 2008, 10:37 AM']Let me get this straight OG, this other service you mention is it "near marriage guidance" or "copping a feel". As if it is the latter, I have some experience in this field and would be willing to help out too. I am north of the border but would be willing to travel if you operation was limited to the west country. [/quote]
It could be operated as a franchise, surely?

[quote name='ianrunci' post='239668' date='Jul 15 2008, 12:04 AM']what do you think my best option would be.[/quote]
Keep the Warwick. Why bother with inferior basses?

Wayne County and the Electric Chairs, I think, for "If you don't want to...". Although it might have been "So what?" that they did.

"Is she really going out with him" - Joe Jackson

"Jilted John" - Jilted John

"I hate everything about you" - Ugly Kid Joe

"50 ways to leave your lover" - Paul Simon

"Delilah" - Tom Jones

Wasn't there one song with the lyric "you can cook, you can fook, you can do the washing up"?


Come to think of it, "Cat's in the cradle" (Harry Chapin originally) probably wouldn't be ideal for a christening/naming.

[quote name='synaesthesia' post='233591' date='Jul 6 2008, 02:25 PM']An Upright bass should not have side dots most acoustics don't; and Stagg - well i wouldn't say they were the paragon of virtue or tradition for luthierie. There are a couple of posters who said they have seen examples of reputable manufacture of unlined fingerboard basses with side dots marking positions as opposed to notes that were not (a) custom order, ( probably an oversight from a manufacturer not familiar with fretless instruments, if you have any examples - post them here. The world should know and after 30 years of playing unlined fingerboards, I'd like to know too.[/quote]


[quote name='tauzero' post='236326' date='Jul 10 2008, 09:57 AM']NS, who you might consider slightly more reputable in luthiery terms, have fingerboard dots on their EUBs (I actually would prefer them to have rather less than they do). Conversely, Palatino didn't put them onto the VE-500 (so I stuck some on...). I don't see why the absence of dot marks on acoustic DBs should mean that there shouldn't be any on EUBs. After all, classical guitars don't have any side or front fretboard markings, so by your reasoning, nor should any other guitar.

My first fretless bass was a Frontier, which I suspect was a Matsumoku (and I regret having sold it and replaced it with a fretless Fender P, a vastly inferior instrument but it was in the days when I was name-driven). It had side dots in the positions one would find them in on a fretted bass.[/quote]


[quote name='synaesthesia' post='237209' date='Jul 11 2008, 12:00 PM']Don't put words in my mouth. The NS have as note markers not in between notes. Your Frontier bass did not influence the world of fretless fingerboards.[/quote]

First, on the subject of the NS, I wasn't addressing the point of where the dots fell relative to the notes, I was addressing your statement "An Upright bass should not have side dots most acoustics don't; and Stagg - well i wouldn't say they were the paragon of virtue or tradition for luthierie."

Second, you asked for examples. I posted one. Are you saying that the Japanese factories making high quality basses in the 70s and 80s are to be ignored?

Third, I was following your logic about fingerboard markings on acoustic instruments determining whether there should be fingerboard markings on electric instruments.

Just because you haven't encountered something doesn't mean it ain't so.

[quote name='Tengu' post='237438' date='Jul 11 2008, 04:43 PM']Just for future reference, these types of PSU are normally just glued together.

It takes a while but you can normally crack them open using a sturdy knife. Just run the blade along the whole length of the join and eventually you will have enough of a gap to gain purchase and prise the two halves apart.[/quote]
I had the same problem with the power supplies on both my Nady wirelesses. Those cases are bonded or plastic welded together - I used a Dremel clone of much cheapness and a little circular blade, and cut all the way round, following the join line as well as my wobbly hands can, then opened it up, did the fix, and wrapped insulting tape round them to close them back up again (this was a temporary measure to be sure it had solved the problem - I still haven't got round to gluing the cases closed).

[quote name='peted' post='239758' date='Jul 15 2008, 09:17 AM']The two types of potentiometers (knobs) that I know of are Linear and Logarithmic.

A Linear knob will have 10% volume at 1/10, 20% volume at 2/10, 30% volume at 3/10... up to 100% volume only when you reach 10/10

A Logarithmic knob will have a very large increase in volume to start with e.g. 30% at 1/10, 50% 2/20, 60% 3/10, 65% 4/10.. with 98% 9/10 and 100% 10/10[/quote]
Only if you've got the log pot connected the wrong way round (you can get antilog pots...)

Hearing has logarithmic sensitivity, hence using a log pot to control volume. What this means is that you need ten times the power to double the perceived volume. So if you've got a 100W amp and turning it to 10 gives the full 100W, turning it to half-way will give 10W, and quarter way will be 3.something watts.

If you use a linear pot as a volume control, you will hear a large increase at first and then less and less perceptible volume changes as the knob is turned.

[quote name='NancyJohnson' post='239731' date='Jul 15 2008, 07:35 AM']It would be nice to see Fender bring out something radical and new that isn't based around their Precision or Jazz shaped bodies though, wouldn't it?[/quote]
It took Harley 80 years to bring out a V-twin that had a V-angle other than 45 degrees (which is an atrocious angle for a V-twin engine). So expect a neck-through Fender in around 2035.

[quote name='Monz' post='239195' date='Jul 14 2008, 02:39 PM']The reason behind me just getting the natural finish was that if the bass gets grubby or dinged judicious use of an Iron and some brown paper will pull the ding back out[/quote]
Never seen that mentioned before. Could you tell me - what's the technique, what can it fix, and does it apply to any natural finish wood?

[quote name='Stuart Clayton' post='239005' date='Jul 14 2008, 11:11 AM']It certainly was stunning. It's just not good practice for me to have reviewed it as I endorse them.[/quote]
Not just "not good practice", you could get banged up for a couple of years for doing so...

[quote]Schillings: Online Comments

This time last year a PR company was blocked from Wikipedia because it had been providing pay for edit services to its clients, something that Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales said was a "serious serious no-no".

Now that kind of behaviour – if done without acknowledging an interest in the posting you are making – would break the law as well as netiquette which will put a real dampner on buzz marketing.

Since May this year, new laws designed to protect consumers mean that it's now illegal to: 'falsely claim or create the impression that a trader is not acting for purposes relating to his trade, business, craft or profession or falsely represent oneself as a consumer.' Which, in plain English, means that it's now illegal to post positive comments about a brand on blogs etc without making it clear that the post has been created by or on behalf of the brand. Likewise, it would be illegal for a PR to write a positive review about a hotel client on a travel website without disclosing why they are doing so.

Companies will also be prohibited from using buzz marketing specialists to communicate with potential customers, e.g. on social networking sites, without revealing that they are acting on behalf of the brand.

The law is "strict liability" which means it doesn't matter if the company didn't intend to break it or were only negligent: as always ignorance is no defence. Given that the maximum penalties for a breach of these rules include a two-year prison sentence (seriously!) it's probably best to get this one right. The important thing is to make sure that all postings are accompanied by a sufficient disclaimer, like the conflict-of-interest disclosures that (proper) journalists slip into their articles.

By Rod Christie-Miller, Partner at Schillings.[/quote]

[quote name='Jesus' post='239041' date='Jul 14 2008, 11:50 AM']Yes, I thought it may have been yours that i have just bought from Ebay, red. What was it like as a bass? i should recieve it friday.[/quote]
Yes, it's the same one. I didn't use it much - it was part of a job lot with a combo, and it was so immaculate I didn't want to run the risk of damaging it (I have oil-finished wood basses because I don't want chipped lacquer or paint). Played well and sounded good. There is very little information on them on the internet - I searched quite a few times.

[quote name='Geek99' post='237516' date='Jul 11 2008, 06:47 PM']I want this to be the last bass I ever buy[/quote]
That can be arranged...
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