Silvia Bluejay

Very nice basses here! GAS is strong. This is Happy Jack's latest fretless Precision:

More Warwick fretlessness here:

LOL William I'm one half of a two-bassist household, but the only lefty, which means that the total number of basses in our possession at any given time can be scary, or even embarrassing... but GAS always wins!

I could spend all day in the Gear Porn subforum, drooling at basses. I think I need to keep up the lefty side on this thread, though, so here you are: ten of my 12 basses (the other 2 are uprights). The chintzy green sofa's function was to add some reference colour to the scene, but obtaining something approximately resembling the real colours of the instruments also required a bit of photoshopping.

Tweeted.

Every time you change the strings you'll need to move the saddles in a different place to fix the intonation, unless you're putting on a set with exactly the same specs and from the same manufacturer (and sometimes not even in that case!). I usually install the strings first, then wait a few hours (re-tuning the open strings periodically) until they are settled, then move the saddles as necessary. Remember to check the intonation again if you decide to change the height of the saddles or of the nut (if applicable). On my 5-string basses I have taken the spring off the low B saddle in order to intonate the string correctly. Intonation of the low B is a problem particularly on 34 inch scale and below.

Another video from the Dogs' epic NYE 2015 gig - Addicted to Love: https://youtu.be/SxGvBFJ5Eac

I've decided to use my test set to revitalise my very first bass, a cheapo which still had the strings it originally came with. I played it a little with the old strings earlier today, to remind myself of what it sounds like, and then installed the NYXLs. I'm now waiting for them to stabilise, then I'll set the action and the intonation, and report back.

Welcome to Basschat, Ashweb! When I started playing bass in my early 40s I had never played an instrument before. Don't let that deter you. I also used the Dummies book, but to start with I would recommend a few one-to-one lessons, or at least a short course in a small group of students, with a good teacher. Believe me, it makes progress as a beginner much easier, and cures you of any bad habits you may not have realised you are acquiring. Take a look around the forum, find a Basschatter who teaches near you, and have a word with them. And join us in our discussions. Feel free to post any queries you may have - we have a lot of very helpful experts who will be happy to give you answers.

Welcome to Basschat, Royston! I second what Seashell says. Many of us started playing bass for the first time in our middle age - it's great fun and it keeps body and brain young! Do have a look around the forum - you'll also see that there are quite a lot of us lefties on here.

Yup. That's our His n' Hers pic

Jack, remember that guitarists measure noise according to neighbours' complaints, not children crying...

If you're certain to be able to attend, I'd go for the advance ticket, which allows you to skip the worst of the queue at the entrance, provided you arrive on time.

Cover of the new issue of BGM with that announcement:

Yup, he's there on both days: [url="http://www.londonbassguitarshow.com/news-2/metallicas-robert-trujillo-to-perform-on-both-days-at-lbgs-2016/"]http://www.londonbassguitarshow.com/news-2/metallicas-robert-trujillo-to-perform-on-both-days-at-lbgs-2016/[/url]

Yup! [quote] We’re delighted to announce the appearance of [url="https://www.facebook.com/RobertTrujilloOfficial/"]Robert Trujillo[/url] of [url="https://www.facebook.com/Metallica/"]Metallica[/url], the biggest heavy metal band there will ever be or has ever been. “Hello London!” says Trujillo. “We couldn’t have been more excited to be invited to the 2016 London Bass Guitar Show. I'm looking forward to jammin’ and representing the low frequencies with Mass Mental. Join us and embark on the funkified magnificuss borderless voyage where many tribes unite and create musical havoc. See you there!” [/quote]

So far the following guests have been announced for stage performances and masterclasses (in no particular order): Dave Swift Peter Hook Rhino of Status Quo Michael Manring Neil Fairclough And... see the new issue of BGM for the latest addition! (The name hasn't been posted on FB or Twitter yet, so I won't spoil the surprise.) \m/ \m/

Got mine too. Am I right in thinking that they want their reviews in the shape of a questionnaire to fill in (the packaging gives the link of an online form) as opposed to a 300-word article/post?

There's a similar thread to this in General Discussion too! I have a name ('Andy') for my first upright - the Harley Benton I turned from righty to lefty - but not for my second upright, which is simply 'the NS 5'.

Well, if guitarists name their axes fancy names such as Lucille, why shouldn't we do the same with our basses? I started giving names to my bass guitars, but after the fourth purchase things got silly (I now have 10, plus 2 uprights). So now I simply describe them (the fretless Corvette 5, the Bass Collection, the Fortress 5, etc.). My first upright is still called Andy (don't ask). I have always thought of my basses as male - probably because the name is masculine in Italian; they say 'il basso', not 'la chitarra bassa'. (Italian has no neuter gender.)

I've mentioned this thread to Hans-Peter Wilfer, and he said he's going to look into it.