geoffbyrne

Certainly Rich (Ou7shined) up in frosty Aberdeenshire(!!) will do a great job, and I've found Jon Letts again www.lettsbasses.co.uk in Leicester. G.

LettsGuitars might, but he hasn't been around for a while. G.

[quote name='bluejay' timestamp='1326564580' post='1498968'] ........... it should mostly be a matter of practicing on the fretless until I sound acceptable [/quote] Maybe I was lucky, but I took to fretless almost instantly - had to do a bit of work on intonation, especially up at the dusty end, but got the instrument on Tuesday & played a gig with it (only instrument) on the Saturday. The only tip I can offer is that I found I played open strings more frequently rather than fretting(!)/fingering the note on a lower string, as this gave my ear a reference point for intonation. I did this less as my confidence grew, but still did it occasionally. G.

[quote name='bluejay' timestamp='1326582854' post='1499263'] PS Geoff, apologies for misspelling your name. Edited. [/quote] Forgiven, you are! G.

I'm agreeing with the above - you have to listen, not look. When I had a fretless, I almost never looked at the (unmarked/lined) fingerboard - on a dark stage there was little point. G.

Stick the code into Ebay, & if there's one for sale, it'll usually give you a list of laptops it'll fit. G.

The Bass Doc might cut you a pickguard - you can only ask! G.

Worth looking at...... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Surf-Green-Lodestone-Primal-Instinct-Bass-Laidback-headstock-/220916036302?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item336f9f32ce Produced & overseen by Ashdown, apparently...... G.

I use a decent office chair on wheels from which I have removed the right-hand arm (I'm right handed) - works great fro me. G.

I was always taught that when you stop down (any) string just behind the 3rd fret, it should just be clear of the 2nd fret & no more - the depth of a cigarette paper being the optimum - not a business card! I have a set of nut files & use them where needed, but be careful as it's dead easy to blow a nut by cutting it too low. G.

There's a bloke called Dave Cox comes to the Old Volunteer in Carlton quite regularly. He's the best guitarist I've *ever* come across. Perfectly capable of making his living with the instrument should he choose to do so. Anyway, a few weeks ago he stood up & played a Blues (he doesn't usually do Blues) and played probably the greatest Blues solo I've ever heard. Every note seemed considered - he seemed to have time to pick it. The right length; the right intonation. For me, it was perfect. It didn't quite bring a tear to my eye, but it was heading that way. I've had the pleasure of playing bass for him a couple of times since. G.

Had this for a while - a Hohner - pretty decent instrument after being set up. Meant to be tuned A - A with the recommended strings - I used heavier strings & went for B - B, but found the bottom string didn't *quite* intonate, but close enough at the far end of the fretboard to be OK. Interesting, but limited use - 28" scale. Sold it on via this forum. G.

Assuming your pre-amp valves ar 12AX7 types, you'll get more headroom by substituting them with *proper* 5751s. Beware, as a lot of perceived 5751s are 12AX7s that failed the QC test. They are not the same valve. The penalty is a small loss in overall volume. But no doubt, there will be Sound City experts along soon who will probably advise you better than I. G.

[quote name='leftybassman392' timestamp='1325767352' post='1487267'] ...and then of course there's the Gibson 335 and it's sisters, that have a solid block of maple running the entire length of the body, with a width of (I think) around 4 inches. That has a gorgeous tone. [/quote] ......maybe not an acoustic one, though....... G.

[quote name='velvetkevorkian' timestamp='1325618058' post='1485304'] Not sure who the bass is by but I'm pretty sure that's Garry Goodman. [/quote] ....and he doesn't smile much.....in fact, see if you can find a pic of him smiling........ G.

Funnily enough, I play along to that at least once per week. 'Fool If You Think It's Over' by Elkie Brooks too. G.

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v213/geoffbyrne/P4280018.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v213/geoffbyrne/P4280019.jpg[/IMG] G.