simonlittle

Presumably if only a few songs are in the original key (and thus back to standard tuning), the guitarist will need to either tune back up or switch guitars. Either way you have time to make a change too. If it were me I’d just retune with a tuner pedal. That way you can mute the bass and wack it up or down. Can’t take any longer than switching bass…

I had a similar conversation with them about a month ago and they emailed back yesterday to say they were now in stock. Really looking forward to trying the Classic V but it’s a bit late now as I’ve just bought a Ken Smith Burner which covers the same ground. Still going for a test drive though. Been wanting to get my hands on one for ages!

And here. I’ve got stacks of them!

As @Beedster said, being in London is a big help. There are a few places that could sell you bass for you on commission. Plus there are plenty of double bass players about here. Found myself on the overground with two others in the same carriage coming back from a gig the other night! A lot will depend on the quality of the instruments. It’s probably easier to sell cheaper ones as there’s a larger market. The better basses are best off in a shop where the right people are more likely to see them. Laurence Dixon’s Bass Place in Herne Hill is a great place to start. Bridgewood & Neizert in Stoke Newington maybe. I’d probably steer clear of the bass guitar shops for now as it’s generally the wrong customer base. Out of town you could talk to Thomas & George Martin in Banbury about more high end basses, or The Double Bass Room in Battle for more mid-range instruments. I’m sure there are other places. There’s also a good Facebook group for selling double basses. It’s international but there don’t tend to be many basses for sale in the UK so you could attract a bit of attention there. And of course there’s the mighty Basschat! Let’s see some pictures! 📸

They’re fantastic amps. Great choice 👌

The neck and fingerboard on my regular SLB300 both feel excellent. I’ve never played a Pro version (not even sure there are that many around) but I certainly don’t feel like I’m missing out. Plus I’m really not a fan of the gold hardware the Pro sports 😬 Having played both the 100 and 200 in the past, 300 is the biggest step up in both feel and sound. I always liked the SLB200 and was about to pull the trigger on one when the 300 was announced. Was very glad I waited.

It does indeed 👍

I bought a bass from them a good few years ago. I was in the middle of a UK tour looking for a backup Precision and tried one out in the shop when we played Sheffield. Decided to buy it a couple of days later and they managed to have it delivered to one of the venues as we travelled on. Lovely people and very helpful.

@Burns-bass I use mine almost exclusively for jazz so I rarely do actually bow it. But it’s good to know a good clear arco sound is available if I need it. I have the regular SLB300, not the Pro version CMD plays. The Pro has a slightly nicer neck and an ebony fingerboard; can’t remember what mine is but it feels great. They share the same preamp etc. I don’t think there’d be much in it between the two models. I’d agree with everything CMD says in the video about the feel and sound of the bass. In a live situation it sounds and behaves way better than my acoustic bass and sits very nicely in a a live mix.

I’ve had an SLB300 for about a year and a half now and it’s been amazing. I’ve had a couple of other EUB’s in the past (Van Zalinge and Warwick Triumph) and the Yamaha was the only one that immediately felt like playing my regular upright bass. And it’s the only one that bows really well too. It’s a very well built instrument and incredibly intuitive to play; it balances beautifully. And it sounds great for both pizz and arco playing. I had played a few gigs on its predecessors (Boisdales in Canary Wharf had an SLB200 and more recently an SLB100 as their house bass) and the 300 is by far the best sounding and feeling instrument of the three. The only annoying foible, as has been mentioned here earlier, is the battery life. Why they decided on putting AA batteries in it I don’t know, but what I do know is that I need to change the batteries every four or five gigs to avoid the flashing red light of doom. And that’s with me unplugging it and switching it off religiously between sets. I always carry a big box of AA’s in the gig bag so I never get caught short. Having said that, I also know that even if the red light starts flashing right at the beginning of a set, I can get to the end of that set (~45mins) no problem. It’s a bit of a pain but frankly it’s such a lovely instrument I’m happy to live with it. I’m many ways I prefer playing it to my acoustic bass.

Might be a silly question but are you always in the same room when this is happening? ie: a particular rehearsal space? You could be hitting a resonant frequency in the space you’re in. It can happen anywhere and it wouldn’t matter what bass, amp or even instrument you’re playing; if something plays a note at the resonant frequency of the space it’ll jump right out and feel like the edge of feedback. If you’re in a rehearsal room with mics etc those notes could be setting off feedback somewhere else; bass drum/piano/vocal mics are often the culprit. Best plan/test is to find the exact notes that are causing problems and EQ them out; either on the channels that are feeding back or on your amp if you have a parametric EQ. I doubt there’s anything wrong with your gear; more with how it’s interacting with the room and the PA