spencer.b

Yeah you'll be fine , personally I'd find swapping basses or using tech more off putting than learning a few tunes a semitone up , odds on playing it a semitone up on the detuned bass will end up as a horn key like F, Bb, Ab , Eb and that's great practice for us bass players!

Sorry I assumed they were in E , what key are the original key ones in?

I'd play it all tuned down a semitone, being a rock band I wouldn't use a 5 cos there's something about that low open string for riffing with the guitar and I play alot of jazz so I like playing in F , annoying though that the band do that , out of interest what are the tunes they play in E with the guitar tuned to Eb?

It does seem inevitable that the old fenders will drop off but I've thought that for years and they keep creeping up and up I wonder if Sei and Shukers will go up a lot in years to come , they're mad cheap 2nd hand at the moment for what they are

A bad setup on a new bass is rubbish but I don't see the link to postage costs , I'd imagine the big companies that offer it "free" must be building in that cost to the price , £15 to send a bass sounds cheap to me I've always had great customer service (except once when Mark was on holiday) and they've really gone above and beyond a few times for me and Mark has given me great advice, he has opinions and I don't always agree but I like that and I'm pleased there making it work , I would say I'd be willing to pay a bit more to support an independent but TBF I find their prices really good

Just watched it , brilliant, thanks for posting

Green day "When I come Around" off the record and Cream "Badge" from a transcription in bassist magazine ( I could read a bit from playing the trumpet) Both really great inventive lines that taught me loads

You'll be spending nearly as much as the bass is worth to devalue it if you get it defrettted , I'd get a fretless sire on here and if you don't like it you can get your money back

Yeah , I'm interested to know if the mij ones are hand built by one person like the US ones or is it more of a factory set up?

I must admit having now done a deep dive on Ken Smith basses the US one in the classifieds at £4500 is tempting me too !

Thanks for that mate , great info

That's lovely mate , what's the difference with the e series? Are they the solid colour ones?

Thanks for that mate , are the US ones brighter then ? I guess I'm looking for more the jazz bass end of things , more punchy mids than sparkly highs

Great aren't they , yeah built in Japan and I understand that burners always have been although there a few early US ones apparently

Always had a soft spot for Ken Smith basses , love Andrew Gouche and Pattitucci but I've never been a fan of the figured wood look , just seen the fiesta red burner on bass direct and I'm in love! Any one played them , got one ?

It's sounds counterintuitive but sometimes playing higher can blend a bit better , I've noticed that alot of 60/70s bass players would play higher than people do now , don't know if rubbish amps had a part in it but sometimes the bass being closer in pitch to the guitar can thicken it up a bit , Noel Redding , Andy Fraser , Entwistle etc , if there is a riff in G for instance try it at fret 10 on the A string

You know some venues have a PA and they put the bass through it?

Put this on my Xmas list , about halfway through, it's so good , you've got to read it , absolutely fascinating

I got shown those yacht rock vids I reckon at least 15 years ago by my mates who were in indie bands who definitely didn't appreciate the music , for them it was a sneering derogatory take on the music focused on superficial aspects of it like the dated keyboard sounds and moustaches etc, I thought it was vaguely amusing but I've never been very cool and even at the time had an appreciation of that mix of sophisticated harmony , funk rhythms and rock guitar, I get that now it is a bit more of an appreciative take what with taches , mullets and dodgy keys sounds having come back around into the mainstream but I'm actually with Rick on this and agree they've lumped together a disparate collection of artists to suit their narrative

I've got some berg hd's which I love but they're very heavy so the last few years I've been trying lighter cabs ( still got the HDs) Had a pair of Aguilar sl112s , not for me , loud but all snarling midrange , next I got barefaced 210s , loads of volume and good low end but for me they lacked punch , I'd always end up dialing in lots of low mid but compared to a cab with ceramic drivers had a hollow quality , didn't keep them long Next a vanderkley 410lnt , great cab , so much power and low end extension, great for those gigs like a marquee wedding with a crap PA when you end up having to fill the space with your amp , it's actually not as hifi sounding as I thought, I bought it to use with an active 5 string which I think is the tone is does best but with an old p bass with flats it sounds way better than I thought , still got it The other week a bergantino HDN 212 came up on here silly cheap so I got it and wow , little more old fashioned sounding than the vanderkley but a fair bit lighter and still super loud , in terms of mid range it's the best neo cab I've heard but if I'm recording I still probably use a bergantino hd112 Re. what the OP said about the new markbass cabs , think they're some sort of composite ( some in talkbass say cardboard!) I'm intrigued to try them , there's three models I think, Pure, Energy and P all voiced differently Having got all these fancy cabs they're great but I wouldn't turn my nose up at a pair of markbass 102 travellers TBF , great value,pretty light , loud enough and being modular could save your back if you can be arsed to do an extra trip

For some reason this thread came to mind when I just saw a Shuker 5 string in the classifieds , £1100 for a gorgeous bass hand built by one of the UKs top luthiers , probably could pick it up within days !!!

I've left basses in hotel rooms loads over the years , never had a problem