rushbo

Richie Blackmore had a T shirt made which read "Everyone is entitled to my opinion". (I have to admit that the black plate on that natural Dimension does look pretty lovely).

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Of course mine is right and yours is wrong...

Tort is the way.

Scott Shriner, bassist with Weezer as well as Richie Sambora, Suzanne Vega and... Tommy Vance!

I've used sandpaper and needle files to open up nut slots. I'm still alive and the basses didn't explode. Go slow, check often and be careful not to file off a bit of you, or more importantly, the headstock, that doesn't need filing off.

I have a love/hate affair with pedals. I love the idea of being able to add a multitude of nuances to my sound and I'm in awe of the enormous pedalboards and the skills and knowledge it takes to make them work, that some BassChatters have. I hate the fact that you're adding an infinite amount of variable factors and things that could go wrong to your gear set-up. And added to that, unless the effect is particularly noticeable, for example a "One of These Days" style delay, a Pino-esque octave/chorus or a filthy fuzz/drive, the only person in the room that notices any change is usually just the person holding the bass. (There will now follow a huge, follow-up thread where pedal totin' bass players list hundreds of pedal-modified basslines on huge hit songs). I've hacked my teeny-tiny pedalboard down to a modified Zoom B3 and a BDI 21 and they cover the limited palette of noises I'll need. It's got a small footprint and there's not much to go wrong, or for me to break. I'm happy with that. If you're from the Steve Lawson School of Bass-y Sonic Shapeshifting, then that slab of gizmos at your feet is 100% necessary. For most of us mere mortals, in my opinion, pedals are great fun to play with, swap and maybe even use on stage, but less is probably more.

Do 'B' sides count?

Pm'd

I've just joined the club. I traded in my lovely old Mexican Jazz bass for one, to a local chap who advertised on FB marketplace. I'd had my eye on one for quite a while and I finally caved in. Early signs are very good indeed. Neck profile is just about right for my dainty, girlish hands and it sounds lovely. Build quality and hardware are excellent. Lush colour too. Now all I need is a gig or two...

I love posting my tiny toy collection up alongside the big boys... I've managed to slice my board down to basically a wireless receiver, a BDI 21 and my trusty Zoom B3. I did the Ashbass mod on the B3 which means I can scroll through patches using an external pedal. I know I could have just "upgraded" to a B3N, but where's the fun in that? The B3 has a smaller footprint and I can navigate my way around it without tears and tantrums - all it took was a bit of soldering (done by a proper grown up) and knocking together a cute, custom housing for the switches and bobs yer uncle. The Cuvave pedal is a BlueTooth page turner dealio for my cheatsheet-loaded iPad. It works pretty well, sometimes it takes 2 or 3 attempts to connect, but once it does, it's rock solid. The wireless receiver is a Sennheiser XS model. I've used it around the house and at a couple of rehearsals and it's worked brilliantly so far. The BDI is there for those moments when you need to scare the horses. By Christmas, I'll probably be down to two strings and a clip-on tuner, but for now, this'll do for me.

We have a winner.

“Shades in Bed” is one of my favourite albums. Great songs and great playing. Phil Brown was a superb bassist.

My absolute favourite two-bass band. Not for the faint-hearted, but sort of beautiful: Hugo Largo.

Lemon oil- a little and not very often.

I've had this for just under ten years now - its a modified "Cowpoke" (Precision Special) bass. The "Cowpokes" were a bit of an oddity in the Fender catalogue - they were only available for a couple of years in the mid-nineties and originally came with Kubicki electronics. They were available in white, red and sunburst finishes, but the brave soul who owned the bass before me, stripped it down to a natural finish, which I think looks great. I'm not a huge fan of active pickups, so I sold the electrics to a charming chap on BC and installed Entwistles - my favourites. I got a wiring loom from the mighty Kiogon and plumbed in a three way selector switch as I find pick-up blending knobs a bit finicky to use - especially in the middle of a gig. I put a Badass bridge on because of Geddy Lee... The scratchplate was made for me by Jack at Tiny Tone. I know 4ply tort is a bit "marmite", but a natural bass and a tort plate is a killer combination in my booklet. It'll be my first choice of instrument when gigs start again (pleasepleaseplease) in late June.

Colin Moulding.

Here's a pair of Spirit monitors - one works fine, the other doesn't. The poorly one makes a nasty, thin, tinny sound. The drivers were replaced many years ago with Alesis ones and worked fine for some time. Cosmetically they're in pretty good condition - a few marks, but nothing major. If you can make use of them, and can pick them up from a secret location in the Black Country (ie, my house) they're yours.

This looks like it's just for guitar at the moment. £989 + a Transmitter. https://www.smoothhound-innovations.com/

This. Always this.

I always take a spare bass. It's been years since I've needed to use it, but I still take one to every gig. Sometimes I justify it by giving the spare a run out in the second set. I have a "two bass" case, so there's nothing additional to load in/out, although that case can get quite heavy if you have to carry it a distance! There are so many variable factors to take into consideration when gigging - you may never have broken a string in your life and keep your bass in A1 condition, but you can't legislate for clumsy band members knocking instruments off stands, uber-drunk punters doing the same, dubious venue wiring making things go "bang" when they shouldn't and inexplicable acts of God/Allah/Buddah etc. You may never need your spare, but if the occasion ever arises when that dry solder joint that's been dormant in your bass since 1963, suddenly kicks off at a gig, you'll be glad you've got that car boot sale Squier in the back of the car.

Brace yourself. It's a long and sometimes bumpy ride... You'll hear some amazing bass players on your travels, tho'. My favourite Zappa stuff is from the mid seventies to the early eighties, but there's stuff to enjoy in every era of his work. Good luck!