BigRedX

Unfortunately this looks less authentic than the average Eastwood "copy". No photos of the 5-string version. I wonder how they'll fit the extra machine head?

Ignoring the fact that both Steve Albini articles are so old as to be totally out of date (and first now totally irrelevant in todays musical environment), they also conveniently avoid pointing out that people like Steve Albini and Marillion are still able to exist as musicians today because they have built up suitably sized fan base under the old (bad) system. They may not have made a lot of money under this (or so they claim), but at the time they were relatively big fish (pun not intended) in a relatively small pond, they should have had the whole and very extensive weight of their record company publicity machines behind them; and that is what is now allowing them luxury of continuing the exist musically. Similarly for the album in the OP. The crowd-funding model only works because Stuart Hamm has already built up a reputation in the 80s and 90s. I do notice that his costs are relatively modest, although I wonder if he did look at getting any of the work done up front for free in exchange for a share of the profits? Especially that given his reputation he should be have no problem generating sufficient money from this venture. Nowadays when there are somewhere between 40k and 100k new tracks being uploaded to Spotify EVERY SINGLE DAY. How can a new artist ever hope to be noticed in order to be able to build up a large enough fan base to be able to make crowd-funding work for even the most modest of projects? I wonder how many of upon here playing music we have written ourselves would be able to raise the kind of money that Stuart Hamm is looking for through a similar system?

And weren't the original Charvels made from Mighty Mite (or similar) Fender compatible necks and bodies?

I use the XLR outs on my Helix Floor to send a balanced line output to my FRFR cab when I am using it. I always connect to the PA via a separate DI box, either one I have or one at the venue. Saves inadvertently getting phantom power pushed at my device - I know modern devices should be fine with unneeded phantom power, but IME it's better to be safe than sorry.

Certainly in the genres I currently play (post-punk/goth) our audience likes to buy physical media - whether that be CDs records or even cassettes. In Isolation have already sold out the Anthology double CD in less than 12 months. Hurtsfall have made the decision to release each song as we record it, as a stand-alone single on line, which works brilliantly for streaming and playlists and means that every song we consider good enough to be worth recording gets the same attention (unlike an album where unless you are very lucky only the first song or two will pick up any plays). However that works against us when we gig because we only have one single on CD to sell.

I found that even in the days when I wore my bass slightly below my chin, I would hold it at a different angle when I sat, so I would still have to rework stuff that I thought I had mastered once I stood up to play. Instead of a chair I've invested in a desk that can be raised to a suitable height to be comfortable to use when I am stood up, so that I can do programming and recording without the need to keep shifting from standing to sitting.

The rules say the lead vocal must be live and that there can be no more than six performers on stage. However it’s a competition, there is 60 seconds set up time between acts so the less you have that could go wrong the better. That means keep the live stuff to the minimum. THB it’s better now then when everyone had to use the Eurovision orchestra regardless of the recorded arrangement of the song.

For me practicing sitting down is pointless. I'm not Robert Fripp so I don't play sitting down when I gig. I found that anything I learned to play sitting down had to be re-learnt standing up. Therefore all my playing is done standing up. Having said that I rarely do more than 1 hour at a time these days.

Just bear in mind that what you are told the phone and what happens at check-in or at the gate can be entirely different things. Ultimately the final decision rests with the actual flight/check-in crew and what they say goes, irrespective of what the airline might have told you in advance.

Your amp should go down to 4Ω so another cab identical to the one you already have would be the best. For modern cabs - anything made in the last 25 years driver cone size is about the least important factor when it comes to tone (it will affect volume which is why another 4 x 12 cab may be better than a 1 x 15 or 1 x 12). If the bass goes through the PA your choice of cabs has practically no influence on what the audience hears. If your rig is required to project into the audience mixing different driver sizes without using a crossover to separate the frequencies being fed to each cab will lead to an inconsistent sound in the venue - whilst it might sound great to you standing next to it, it will sound completely different out in the audience which is where it really matters.

Or a guitar and an octave pedal.

And it's a lot easier on a short-scale bass as the original was played. Don't try and do it on a 36"scale Overwater like I did!

Are these your own songs or covers? If they are covers and you are having them professionally duplicated (CDRs) or replicated (proper glass-mastered CDs) you will need a MCPS licence whose cost is based on the number of covers and the production run of the CD and will need to be paid for up front. All the CD manufacturing brokers I've used in the past make you sign a form either stating that you own the copyright on the songs or that you have the relevant licences with details before going ahead with making the CDs. All the CDs I have produced have all been originals so I've always been able to tick the section that says I own the copyright, but a quick look at the MCPS web site reveals that 100 CDs with more than 25 minutes of non-original music will cost just over £70 with VAT for the relevant licence. One thing to watch for duplicated CDRs is that their life-span is considerably shorter than glass mastered CDs. Properly looked after about 15 years before they are unplayable if you are lucky, often a lot less. CDs are still relatively easy to make so if you want to sell them your presentation has to look professional. Single wallets are fine for "singles" but an album should really be in a gate-fold wallet or a jewel case - ideally with a 4-page booklet and a printed tray insert and with an eye-catching design. Anything less will look cheap and tacky. Also get your audio properly mastered and edited, a live performance will benefit even more from this. Whatever you decide to charge (personally for an "album" I'd suggest £10) get a Sumup (or similar) card reader. They are cheap to use and a couple of sales that you would have otherwise lost because you couldn't take card payments will more than make up for the up-front cost. I was at a gig on Friday and would have bought a CD from the headlining band but they only accepted cash which I didn't have, and it was chucking it down with rain so trying to find the nearest cash-point was out of the question. Also have someone who can "man" your merch table at all times because the time when your are most likely to be selling stuff is immediately after you have played when the band will be breaking down and packing away the gear. And finally if you just want to make some extra money for the band your are much better off producing a T-shirt where a 200% mark-up is perfectly acceptable and your punters then turn into walking advertisements for your band.

But as I said in my first post they left the protective plastic on the pick guard which makes it look messy. And which IMO looks horrible next to the plain wood of the sides and back. Yuck!

No-one in the entire history of bass guitars ever has. Every piece of wood is different.

But you can equally pick the opinions of a different luthier who says that it isn't really important. For instance Carl Thompson says that it is impossible to tell what a bass will sound like until he has finished building it. Both Jens Ritter and Bas Extravaganza have made basses out of plywood. The Ritter bass has probably had each body layer specially selected, whilst the Bas Extravaganza one was made from a couple of sheets sourced from his local DYI warehouse. Both apparently sound great. As I have said many times the problem with "tone woods" for solid electric instruments is two-fold: 1. Although it makes a difference, that difference is impossible to properly quantify because every single piece of wood is different no-one has done any serious scientific-based testing (mostly because it's near-on impossible to do. 2. Although it makes a difference, that difference is minuscule in terms of all the other factors that go to make up a solid electric instrument, and negligible once the rest of the band start playing.

I don't think the headstock is chipped - it's just badly photographed light reflections which should have been fixed by altering the studio lighting or at least Photoshopped out. It amazes me that these days photos like this are put out for public consumption, when they should have been spotted and fixed at the photo shoot. It says to me that the manufacturers don't care and makes me wonder what other things they haven't cared enough about in the actual construction.

The only thing you can say for sure is that in the case of these two bases (and only these two bases) the one with the Pau Ferro board is darker sounding (whatever that means). Nothing else. You cannot ascribe this property to just the fingerboard, as you have means of telling exactly how identical (or not) the other components of the two basses are.

I thought it was fairly expensive for what is essentially someone else's design. Also with my art-director's hat on, they should have removed the protective plastic from the scratch plate before taking the photos. With it on it makes the bass looks messy, and these photos are supposed to show it at its very best.

You could use a passive DI box in reverse. You'll need to have a special female-female XLR lead made up as you essentially connecting and output to an output. Then connect your cab sim to an instrument level socket of the DI box.

I saw them in early 1980 when they were still young and fabulous...

A synth.

"Parlance" and "Elder Statesman" both by In Isolation. These were the first two songs I learned for my audition for the band and the ones that made me hope that I would be chosen (and they are great songs irrespective of the bass lines). They have, for me, the right mix of busy and solidness.

I used to own the fretless version of that. I once took it to a practice for my Dad-Rock covers band. The fact that it was fretless was more of a hindrance than the fact it only had one string.

I'd look for some suitable diameter pipe clamps to hold the in-line socket and screw and hot glue the whole assembly to the underside of the desk.