Linus27

I should add that I play fretless Stingray with an acoustic guitarist/singer and drummer who does a lot of percussion. So its just to tighten up my sound as well as bring balance between the high and low notes as I play a hell of a lot of melodies, lead parts and cello like runs.

So I'm toying with the idea of upgrading my Compressor pedal but I'm also toying with the idea of getting a new amp and so, this has got me thinking, do I get an amp head that has built in Compession, for example the EBS Reidmar or Ampeg PF800 and do away with buying a separate Compressor pedal or is a separate Compressor pedal the better option. The Compressor pedal I was thinking of getting is the Cali76. Any thoughts or advice appreciated.

Yep also feeling a little less annoyed about my dead C# on G String 🙂

I've not tried the Elf but I have the Warwick Gnome IPro as my back up amp and I love it. My main amp is a 550w Ashdown Mibass but I've used the Gnome a few times just for a change and it's been absolutely fine and plenty loud enough. Its 300 watts and I run it through my Barefaced Two10.

I loved 80's music and still do but not this song. For me, 80's music was Simple Minds, U2, The Police, A-ha, Tears For Fears, Talk Talk, early Madonna and a few others.

Absolutely no idea, I took them off as soon as I got the bass as they felt and sounded horrible lol

It is lovely although I wish mine had the mute bridge.

Same for me on my fretless Precision then, 6th fret of the G string.

I really can't remember if I've posted this in here or not so here is my gorgeous Stingray SR4 with fretless Pau Ferro fretboard.

Thanks for the replies everyone, really appreciate it and interesting reading. Glad I'm also not the only one who has noticed this issue. I guess it's a case of working around the dead spots. @Machines I tried what you suggested and yes indeed, the note sustained for much longer when I rested the head stock against the door frame. You could really feel through the bass the additional vibrations running through the neck and body. Thank you.

Ok cool, I get you, will try that tonight.

Oooh I like the sound of this. So do I hold it against the door frame so that the tip of the headstock it touching the door frame?

Is it me or do pretty much all fretless basses have dead spots? I have an Ernie Ball Musicman Stingray with a fretless Pau Ferro neck and the C# (6th fret on the G String) never has the same sustain as other notes on the G String and tends to die out really quickly. Plus one of two notes much higher up on the G string, for example the A also tends to suffer. Other notes however sustain and mwah for ages. I also have a fretless Fender Precision with a lacquered maple neck and again, the C# (6th fret on the G String) suffers with the same lack of sustain where as other notes sustain and sing beautifully. My Fender Jazz that has an Ebony fretless board also tends to suffer with certain notes on the G sting totally lacking sustain where as other notes sustain and sing beautifully. Is this a common issue with fretless basses?

A couple from me, all on fretless from various gigs over the last few months. A bit bass light but you get the idea

I've been very lucky to experience both ends of the spectrum. From starting out at 17 in 1987, lugging around big old bass rigs, driving the length and breadth of the country to gig, to having roadies, tour managers, drivers, A&R men and even a chef and makeup artist to do literally everything for me. I've done thousands of gigs over the 35 years of playing, from the nastiest, smallest, crapiest pubs known to man, to the weird and wonderful like bowling alleys, a barbers, a steam train and a passenger simulator plane, to stadiums, music halls, festivals, theatres and Radio 1 roadshows. I've loved every minute of it and being in a band, with mates, sharing the highs and lows and being in a musical gang is the best thing in the world. It's not easy, far from easy but with the right attitude of all in it together and a healthy work ethic of everyone pulling their weight then it's the best thing in the world. However, now I'm in my early fifties, the shine is starting to come off a little. Pre-Covid, I was playing over 100 gigs a year, playing 50's Rock 'n' Roll in working mens clubs, festivals and some pubs and despite the money being good and in most cases, an audience expecting us, the lugging of gear, setting up, dressing up, performing, packing away and getting home in the early hours did get tiring. I loved it but the longer it went on, the more I was finding I was wishing I wasn't out gigging that night and was staying at home relaxing and watching a film. For the last year I've been playing in an acoustic 3 piece playing a mix of originals and covers and only doing a couple of local gigs a month in pubs or music venues. It's been really refreshing and enjoyable and very musically creative but I do still get moments when I wish I was not going out gigging but then I end up really enjoying the gig and glad I did have the opportunity to go out and play. One thing that has really helped is slimming my gear down and making it efficient to carry. I have a Barefaced Two10 which is super light and can be carried with one hand. I have my pedal bag that can go over my shoulder, a flight case with leads and stands, a bag with my amp and back up amp and then my two basses. So I can do everything in 3 trips, even 2 if I wanted and it's all lightweight. If has made such a difference. Saying all of that, I have played for 35 years and in 3 years I'll be 55 and I've kind of pencilled in that this might be a good age to call it quits. I'm not sure how much longer I'm going to want to play in pubs, lug gear about, get home late in the hope that it was an amazing gig when the reality was a disinterested audience who just wanted to hear Wonderwall or Sex on Fire. I feel it's more of a young mans game these days and I'm quickly leaving that demographic. Family commitments are also increasing with my daughter getting heavily involved in motorsport and I feel like there are other thing to see and do in life, for example road trips around the Swiss and Austrian mountain passes in an old sportscar. Either way, people should enjoy what they do, be it gigging, home recording, studio work, streaming etc. I'm of the generation that gigging is what you did so it's all I know so I have no regrets but whatever you do to express yourself and be creative, if you enjoy it then keep on doing it. Life is too short at the end of the day.

Stingray for finger style. Precision for slap and pick.

So I have just ordered a Harley Benton PowerPlant ISO 5 Pro so I'll keep you all posted. As I say I only run a TC Electronic Tuner, a Behringer Compressor (Soon to be a TC Spectracomp), a Boss OC-5 Octave and a Behringer Chorus (soon to be a TC Corona) so not too taking. Thank you all again for the help and advice.

I think I'll give the Harley Benton PowerPlant ISO 5 a go. What did you do about the Euro Mains Power Plug, just use a converter plug for the UK or buy a totally different UK mains power cable?

I'm looking at getting a power supply for my pedals and was looking at the different one box option from brands such at Strymon, Voodoo Labs etc. I then noticed you can save a lot of money and buy something like a Tourtech 9v Plug and the Tourtech 5 way daisy chain. Am I missing something here as the price difference is huge. Even in the Andertons blurb they say the latter is what they use in their shop. I only run 4 pedals, a tuner, a compressor, an octave and a chorus. Is there any reason to not go for the much cheaper option? https://www.andertons.co.uk/guitar-dept/guitar-pedals/pedal-power-supplies/tourtech-tta-psu01-9v-power-supply-guitar-pedals https://www.andertons.co.uk/tourtech-5-way-dasiy-chain-pedal-power-cable

I'm currently running an Ashdown MiBass 550 through a Barefaced Two10 and it sounds pretty decent. I used to run an Ampeg PF500 through it which also sounded fab with my passive Fender Jazz which really suited the 50's Rock N Roll I was playing. However, I do find the Barefaced has a warm vintage sound and now I play a fretless Stingray, I wonder if something a bit more articulate would suit me better. I do love Ashdown gear and my MiBass 550 along with the ABM stuff I've had has been great.

Excellent as always, thanks for putting this together and sharing.

Mine has arrived, 2 days early and so far I'm loving it. Tried @Al Krow settings and they are bang on out of the box so a huge thank you for that. My old Octave pedal was a Behringer one and they are quite different, enough to make me think about keeping both on my pedalboard. The Boss OC-5 is very clean, tracks amazing and is like playing your usual bass line but with a very clean octave sound, perhaps even subtle but very articulate. The Behringer is more like a big fat, wall of bass, even quite orchestral at times and can add massive lows. It's more like a sub bass at times and I tend to turn it on when I hit my very last note on some songs to add a really big fat wall of bass that I let ring out. The annoying thing with the Behringer was the tracking wasn't great at times, it could be a bit hit or miss and you had to have it set at either low, mid or high octave. Not great if you were starting with low notes and then playing something high. The Boss just tracks whatever so that's a huge plus for me. So The Boss can now be used for everything and if I want to add a big low fat bass sound, I will just kick the Behringer in. Happy days

I had a Limelight bass made a few years ago and the experience was mixed. Dealing with Mark was very easy with good communications. However from the deposit to delivery, it took just under a year to make which is a lot longer than the 12 - 16 weeks I was told. Some of this was partly down to the wrong neck being ordered for it so I had to wait for the correct neck to be ordered and fitted. When the bass did arrive the case was ripped which I informed Mark about and he refunded me £15. More worryingly, the bass was cutting in and out, the volume and tone pots were crackling and there was a huge hum when no part of the bass was being touched. I informed Mark who suggested I take it to a luthier and he will pay for the repair. I did this and it turned out the bass was not earthed correctly. So after waiting 10 months, it went straight in to the luthier which was disappointing. I then got it back a few weeks later and it was ok but similar issues started to happen so back to the luthier and we fitted new pots and jack socket which completely fixed the issue. Once getting it back, it was fine for a little while but then the neck started to play up and I couldn't adjust the action any more so back to the luthier again and he managed to sort it. We also found there was no adjustability under the pickups so this was rectified as well so pickup height could be adjusted. After all that work, the bass then played beautifully ever since but after paying just under £1200 for the bass, having to wait nearly a year for it to then turn up not working with a damaged case and then 3 trips to the luthier to make it right, I'd lost the love of the bass and sold it. I did manage a few gigs with it and it played lovely but in my head I was done. The new owner as far as I know is also very happy with the bass. I know a lot of people have bought Limelight basses and they have been absolutely fine with no issues whatsoever so I do put myself down to being unlucky in this instance or I'd just bought a lemon. Disappointing but these things happen from time to time so don't let my experience put you off buying one and as I say, Mark was fine to deal with.

I think that neck is lined and I play unlined but it was a good idea, thank you.

HAHAHA