Jean-Luc Pickguard

Imagine turning up for an audition for a Ramones tribute band & playing like that.

Watching those vids one after the other MK looks like he's thinking "Ha! I've got a thumb and you haven't. Look what I can do with it"

The worlds most expensive letraset with a cheapo bass attached?

[quote name='Johnston' post='1057206' date='Dec 13 2010, 12:52 PM']...the gibson saddles are a little loose in the epi bridge.[/quote] You mean [b]even more[/b] loose?

I don't understand what is meant by the saddle have worn out. I've never seen saddles wear out even on basses from the 60s. If its a problem with running out of height adjustment, changing the neck angle with a shim is the answer.

I just use a £5 curly cable from maplin - no tangles & it has the added bonus of acting as a passive low pass filter for a vintage tone.

Interesting thread, though I'm sure the facemask isn't usually required when seeking a growler

You can make one from a liquorice allsort if you drill the white bit out

Whatever you do don't use behringer stuff. People will point & laugh at you. It doesn't matter that it sounds good, is easy to use and robust everyone knows its crap

You mention a Thunderbird - Have a look at the Epiphone pro-V (or IV) T-bird. The Pro-V in natural Oiled finish I got last week is a lot of bass for the £305 I paid (from Thomann)

Sometimes the marketing dept tries too hard & it comes out a bit clumsy. In this case, I expect they don't have a dedicated marketing dept, but someone in admin who's been asked to write something.

Flats on everything!

I use guitar rig, but I also have a Behringer V-amp2 which I used to use for recording guitars. It's a very good sounding and cheaper hardware alternative to a Pod.

[url="http://www.allparts.uk.com/online-shop/allparts-guitar-amp-parts/bridge-parts/bass-saddles/bass-bridge-saddles-for-gibson-bass-tunematic-4-p-2020.html"]http://www.allparts.uk.com/online-shop/all...c-4-p-2020.html[/url]

I won't list them all, but I currently have 15 basses. My favourite three are [list=1] [*] Japanese Fender Mustang which is stock except for an aged pearloid pickguard, a Sei/Gallery Fret level, a set of TI JF324 Flats & a rub over the back of the neck with scotchbrite to degloss it a bit. So easy to play & get a good sound that it feels like cheating [*] NS-Design CR5M upright which oozes quality [*] Epiphone Thunderbird Pro-V with Natural oil finish - my new toy as I've only had it a week [/list] All very different; I'd not expect these basses to be on anyone elses list though

[quote name='funky_numba' post='1055570' date='Dec 12 2010, 12:16 AM']What do you mean 'put in the right order'? I was under the impression that the bass gets tuned initially with the guitar tuning pegs but the 'fine-tuning' and the action is done by adjusting the saddles/ bridge screws. I am lost now!! Please advise!! Thanks. Funky_Numba[/quote] If you've been fine-tuning it at the bridge, the bass will now be playing out of tune as you've have bollocksed up the intonation. Have a look at this: [url="http://www.garywillis.com/pages/bass/bassmanual/setupmanual.html"]http://www.garywillis.com/pages/bass/bassm...etupmanual.html[/url] You need to get the bridge set up properly for the strings you are using & for your playing style . Then you won't touch the bridge again unless you start using a different type of strings.

Assuming the bass is 32" scale & the strings are for 34" scale basses, you *might* be alright with long scale as the italia has a good distance between [list=1] [*]the tailpiece anchor & the bridge [*]the nut & the E / G tuners [/list] compared to some other basses

[quote name='nick' post='1053198' date='Dec 9 2010, 06:47 PM'][attachment=66047:paul_daniels.jpg][/quote] Its a bit of an SG - not a lot!

Free your mind - en vogue

For me it's not the playing, but for certain gigs its the driving / parking / gear loading which I don't look forward to if it's extra hassle.

The one you need should be here probably the 099-4943-000 or 004-8688-000 [url="http://www.guitarpartsresource.com/bass_trussnuts.htm"]http://www.guitarpartsresource.com/bass_trussnuts.htm[/url] You may be able to order the part from your local Fender dealer or someone like [url="http://www.allparts.uk.com/"]allparts uk[/url]

[quote name='paul h' post='1051878' date='Dec 8 2010, 04:53 PM']Growlers[/quote]

As chart position is such an obvious and definite indicator of quality, any single which hasn't spent three weeks at no 1 is not as good as Mr Blobby's 1993 single.

Whenever I get a new (or secondhand) bass it doesn't fell like its mine until I've replaced the strings with TI Jazz flats, tweaked the truss rod & adjusted the bridge saddles (& on some basses, shimmed the neck). I did this yesterday with my new Epi Pro-V T-Bird & its pretty much perfect for me now. It wasn't bad with the stock strings, no worse than anything hanging up in a shop, but I don't like roundwounds and I know how I like my basses to be setup. It just didn't feel like my bass until I'd set it up. Anyone else this fussy? Or are people generally happy to play whatever strings come on a bass for a while?