bassace

Sarge, ' I didn't see you at the camouflage parade this morning' Private, 'Thank you very much, sir!'

The Realist seems to present problems perhaps more than it should. It's a bit of a Marmite pickup, liked by some but there are others who just can't get on with it. Certainly there are pickups that seem to like different shades of basses. For a dark bass, and in the absence of bridge adjusters, I'd recommend an Underwood that slips into the wing slots or a Shadow of which I have no experience but is widely liked. Both of them will transduce closer to the strings and further from the body and give you a brighter sound, sometimes too bright for some but probably ideal for you bass. Along with most piezo pickups, and the Underwood is no exception, an impedance-matching preamp will enhance the sound especially if it's got a high- pass filter and phase reverse but in its absence try adjusting the middle frequencies on your amp to get a decent sound. Good luck with your quest, you will find plenty of helpful people on TB. Just keep asking the questions, however mundane they may seem. That way enlightenment lies.

I like 'Where have all the Cowboys Gone?' by Paula Cole every time I hear it on the radio.

I'm sorry to hear that. There comes a time when wear and tear take their toll; I for one am having a lot of back pain and that's with double bass that supports itself. So for a BG it must be miserable. Have you seen a Chiropractor? A few sessions may well sort it out. I remember when I had neck and shoulder pains and I sorted that out with Naproxen. Not universally liked but I still take regular doses and it keeps me pain- free without side effects. Hang in there.

I'm sure they will. Although I heard Danny Thompson at an outdoor festival a few years ago and his sound was abysmal. I suppose it comes down to jazz sound and rock sound. Here's to inspiration!

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1457650978' post='3000740'] I couldn't remove material from the gap/foot side on these particular adjusters, as the shafts are fixed into the feet with the threaded part protruding. The wheels thread onto the shafts and the upper part of the bridge sits on the wheels, with a clearance hole for the shaft. I have access to a small belt sander, and if I finish it off with the long flat sanding block I use for levelling frets that should keep both legs flat and in the same plane. I think I'm going to give it a go... [/quote] Sorry, I made the wrong assumption re your adjusters. More luthiers these days prefer to Araldite the thread into the bridge foot and let the wheel spin in the thread. I've always been slightly uneasy about threading directly into the wood of the bridge. I have a belt sander that I mount in a large vice on the bench. It has a flat table over which the belt passes so I get reasonably accurate results from that setup. If you take care over marking out you should be fine. Good luck.

Depends how high you value your bass. One of my basses is a ply 'outdoor' bass and I do most things on it. The Martin and Bryant go to a luthier for everything. Have you any other luthier close to you? If you really feel you want to do the work could you not take off a couple of mm on the bridge face the 'gap' side, so flatness is not quite so critical. I'd suggest carefully marking a 2mm line and presenting it to a belt sander if you have one.

I turn to the DB section daily hoping for something interesting/exciting and all I read about is wooden endpins. Bloody wooden endpins! C'mon guys.

I have just collected my Bryant from Laurence Dixon. I was never completely happy with it, having got through all sorts of pickups and speakers to get a decent sound. It is such a sweet bass that I was determined to try to sort it. Laurence has done an amazing job on it, new bridge and adjusters, fingerboard plane, new sound post and some other small tweaks. All within a two-week window and at a reasonable cost. I am very happy that the Bryant has been rescued. And yes, those Hungarian basses are very good value and nice basses. Highly recommended.

I wouldn't want to comment about Lemmy's standing in the pantheon on rock against Bowie but, yes, a tribute to those who we lost during the year would have been good. How respectful is a moot point as most of the audience seemed to be either pissed or overexcited, or both. Respect to Annie and Gary for their moving tribute.

[quote name='JapanAxe' timestamp='1456398015' post='2988514'] The Orangery at Blenheim Palace: Although we had to load in through a window! [/quote] We got in through those double doors on the right.

I've got very few pics of my life, so can't help with any for gigs. But from the sublime to the....... I remember a great gig on the aft deck of HMS Belfast for M&S and with an enthusiastic 'unofficial' audience looking down on us from the Tower Bridge footway. And there was the gig for RNLI on Newlyn harbour with a stage built from fish crates. And not to forget that the first stage I had a gig on was as an eleven year old at he Royal Alber Hall. Lots more, but that's enough.

Yes, band amazing, did the guitar fluff a solo? And Lorde nailed it; probably not too concerned at the predictable flurry of forum whinges round the country.

So if you don't need a cab with a given amp does this mean you can connect a cab rated below the minimum recommended ampedence.

A double bass player. Sometimes a jazz double bass player, but that's a bit ponderous.

How do you decide when they're dead? When they start to lose their nasal twang and give a satisfactory tone. There are a lot of dead Spiro enthusiasts. Just keep them clean with industrial alcohol and they'll last for ever, well almost. A useful trick is to de-tension them from time to time. You'll be surprised how their brightness comes back when you bring them up to pitch.

I can't.

£165 hardly buys an adjustable bridge.

No pics?

Is there a roller skating vicar?

I nearly bought it at the SE Bash last year and should've. It's a good bag.

So sad. I know nothing about them but, from the brief item on BBC News, they seemed a nice, talented, group of guys. RIP.

In my young days, starting out, I found a lot of kindness from musos, particularly world weary jazzers. We played support to the Tornados - yes, that long ago - and Clem Cattini was a really nice guy. Still is, I'm told.

I don't know whether this helps but I played a rental stick on a two week residency. It had a rubber cap on its end pin. I found a rubber mat to stand it on and found it quite easy to pizz. I didn't bow though. I had a Steinberger for a while on a fixed stand and didn't enjoy the restriction after the mobility of a double bass.