SlapbassSteve

[quote name='Woodinblack' timestamp='1403995837' post='2488473'] Except of course, it does add value if someone thinks it is a fender. You can have two identical basses that look the same and sound the same but if one says fender on the headstock you will get a few more hundred quid for it. [/quote] Not the ones where someone's sandpapered off the Squier logo and put a Fender one in it's place though surely? Stuff kind of like this... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fender-Stratocaster-Relic-Copy-With-Fender-Logo-/171366345961?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item27e63aece9

You definitely have to scroll past a lot of [s]Squier[/s] Fenders. That really bothers me. If it says Squier on the headstock that's nothing to be ashamed of. And if you've put a naff blag Fender logo on it because you think it adds value, then you need to have a word with yourself. I wonder if eBay need someone to write up some guidelines for selling basses... There are millions of fakes though, it's mad. Interesting though how it doesn't seem to affect the value of the genuine basses, something the CEO of Rickenbacker really needs to take note of.

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1403990166' post='2488404'] This is fine [i]if[/i], and it's a big 'if', the band PA cuts the mustard. If my band are playing out with our autonomous PA, it won't carry the bass with anything like the conviction of our Hiwatt 200. If we're playing with a venue FOH, of course, that's fine. We still prefer the Hiwatt, though, for the stage sound [/quote] Very true! My last band was a pub covers job, used to use a pair of DB Technologies DVX D15HPs with them, and then now I've only got to keep up with a few ukuleles a pair of Mackie SRM450s are practically overkill for any pub/function we've played. ...That said, as nice as a DI'd bass sounds, there's nothing like standing in front of a big 8x10 and feeling the sound hitting your back and shaking the floor beneath you!

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1403978439' post='2488307'] It mounts up very quickly, as (in theory...), twice the volume needs 10 x the power, so a 50w amp becomes 500w. The next stage up (twice more volume...) would be 5 kW. We see those in PA systems. [/quote] This is why I binned off my Markbass stack and have been DI-ing ever since. A good set of PA speakers will have a much wider range than most bass amps and to my ear they sound much more neutral... a little bit of EQ/gain on the desk and it's all good!

Such a shame these still aren't available. Any more word on when/if they're getting more in stock?

[quote name='AndyTravis' timestamp='1403393831' post='2482399'] Roland bass cube rx. Good fun, and solid. Basic dum machine too. [/quote] +1. They're not cheap, but the sound is totally unbelievable in both volume and tone (the amp emulations are great!) and I'm pretty sure the amp itself is completely indestructible, along with surprisingly waterproof if it starts randomly chucking it down. Here's a video of me using it on a typical day at the office, should give an idea of how well it projects. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVmP7jFMoKQ

Traded my iPad for Gary's Italia Mondial. Swift communication, item arrived very safely packaged, would highly recommend!

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1401704466' post='2465928'] The best thing, I've found, for being generally tired, is actually exercise. I never believed this. I mean, how can doing more make you feel better? I don't necessarily mean exercise the day after, more so just keep it up regularly and try and fit it in the night before the gig, or even better, just before the gig. My usual routine is a run on the treadmill three times a week. I barely ever get a mid afternoon slump now. I generally get more natural highs now from just things like a warm day or a good day at work...like a 'content' feeling, which is good. I think part of this is because I'm more active. My bass and potential band work does suffer though. Less time for bass/guitar! After a ridiculous stag do this weekend, involving two very full on late nights, I felt fine yesterday. Tired today, but I know once I've had a day to recover today I'll be normal tomorrow. [/quote] This has to be it.

This seems to affect some people more than others, my band regularly play 6 gigs between Thursday night and Monday morning and after the first couple I tend to go into zombie mode; Sunday nights can be a nightmare without large amounts of RedBull. The other guys in the band barely seem affected though, so presumably ukuleles take up less mental energy to play than my U-Bass...

A lad in my band plays a kazoo attached to the end of a ukulele like a trumpet. I've suggested he looks into something fancy but apparently the best kazoos money can buy are between the 50p and £3 mark, anything else won't sound as good or will damage your bank balance.

Simple enough for us, we just charge roughly triple what we would for the same length of time normally. This covers waiting for hours on end, learning a song of the couple's choice, and fighting off the drunken bridesmaids afterwards when we just want to get home and bung the kettle and radio 4 on. Having read dand666's post I'm thinking we should up it a bit more though!

Here for your perusal, not officially announced on FB etc but thought I'd give you BC'ers a sneak peak! We recorded these demos at LIPA/SAE in Liverpool for some students in need of practice some time last year, long before I got my first U-Bass, and (if I may say so myself) I'm really happy with how the bass turned out Looking forward to re-recording the parts with my U-Bass once I get hold of a new set of Aquila Thunder Reds, endorsing artist or not they're easily the best U-Bass strings yet, sound like 'tapewound' normal strings! Let me know what you think! [url="https://soundcloud.com/ukeboxbanduk/arctic-monkeys-medley"]https://soundcloud.c...-monkeys-medley[/url] [url="https://soundcloud.com/ukeboxbanduk/mumford-medley"]https://soundcloud.c.../mumford-medley[/url] [url="https://soundcloud.com/ukeboxbanduk/crazy-in-love"]https://soundcloud.c...k/crazy-in-love[/url]

It looks bang on, but considering the unfinished fleabasses were £150 new... is that paintjob and a preamp really worth £350..?

As above, although for my money you should perhaps try a new cable. My brother had grounding issues with a bass for ages and was trying everything to fix it on the bass, but a new cable solved the problem instantly.

Cheers Sam, and thanks guys, glad to have been able to help! I'm in the process of setting up a bass/guitar setup/repair business at the moment, so it was extremely valuable experience as I'd never done anything like this before!

Cheers guys, so the consensus is to try and find it in person still I just need a couple of small(perhaps 1ft square, 2cm thick) sheets from which to cut the stand. I like the idea of using mahogany so that it matches the U-Bass I'm building it for, although in future I'd be looking at sourcing local exotic-looking British timber(if such a thing exists, I'm not too clued up on wood yet)