Jean-Luc Pickguard

You could replace the volume control with one that also has a push/pull series/parallel switch similar to the one the S1 jazz basses had.

[quote name='thebeat' post='466241' date='Apr 18 2009, 05:07 PM']... i wont be ending the claim until the bass is safely in my hands and that wont be until Tuesday.[/quote] No question about it - that's absolutely the correct thing to do it as once you've closed it you wouldn't be able to reopen it in the even of it not turning up or other issues.

I used to get a lot pain during & after gigs (but never practice or rehearsals ) until I stopped using rotosound suspension bridge cables and started using thomastik TI 344, turned the amp up, used a limiter and played with a lighter touch. Once I was used to it, my sound had just as much attack and oomph, but I could also play faster and for longer on the songs that need pumping 16ths. Obviously what's right for me won't suit everyone, but a change in technique worked wonders for me. Every time a thread like this comes up I also recommend [url="http://www.drkertz.com/bassistguide.html"]Dr Kertz's book[/url].

If it was me they'd have failed the audition already. If you're going to do something, do it properly and giving a song list without keys is not doing it properly. I'd ask for the keys & reschedule if it takes them a while to reply. Life's too short to make up for other peoples' laziness.

we have two types of rehearsals: 1. Amplified in a rehearsal room with everything as it will be for a gig 2. Acoustic in a band member's front room For the acoustic rehearsal the vocals & harmonica are unamplified, the drummer uses a snare with brushes, the guitarist uses his acoustic and I play an ashbory bass through a tiny 12W practice amp. Overall the volume level is no louder than having the TV on.

I expect John East could do one for you.

If bass players were really conservative we'd all be carting around double basses. The Fender precision took off because it either did the job better, cheaper or easier. Bass player that rocked a precison in the 50s were certainly notlooked upon as conservative. These days jazz players with any kind of electric bass are often looked down on by their peers. I love my precisions, but when I turned up for a blues band rehearsal with one, a couple of the chaps were surprised as it was the first time they'd seen me with a "proper bass" previously they had only seen my ashborys, NS 5 string upright & short scales. Perhaps its the people that shop at GAK are conservative and the more adventurous buy secondhand, import or buy from specialist shops.

I'd ask for whichever one would raise the most when ebaying it and buy a 1966 mustang with the proceeds. If that's against the rules I'd probably go for something stupid like an iceman or a semi-acoustic.

Bloody Tories (Well it is spelt with a capital 'C' in the subject line)

[quote name='JPAC' post='459585' date='Apr 10 2009, 08:11 PM'][i]Jean-Luc Pickguard Graduated fade? You're new at this aren't you?[/i] - Oh yes. I wanted a generic term for tri-fade burst, amber burst, antique burst, blue moon burst, charcoal burst, transparent blue sunburst etc, and that's just from one maker. Could have made it burst then?[/quote] Only joshing with ya! Some colours look better on certain basses and no so good on others. I like a nice sunburst on alder if its a precision, but on a mustang bass I prefer a solid colour such as daphne blue or vintage white. If I was to get another Jazz I'd get a 70s big-blocks style one with a natural finish on Ash. Of course that would only be on one with a maple fingerboard - if it had a rosewood fingerboard it would have to be candy-apple red.

[url="http://www.basscentre.com/4-string-bass-guitars/bass-collection-speakeasy-4-string-active-bass.html"]http://www.basscentre.com/4-string-bass-gu...ctive-bass.html[/url]

didn't 'bass collection' basses have headstocks like that?

Graduated fade? You're new at this aren't you?

Stuart Zender probably likes it as its his signature bass with a pricetag to match. But it's the fugliest thing I've seen since the Bongo*. [url="http://www.basscentre.com/4-string-bass-guitars/warwick-stuart-zender-signature-bass.html"]http://www.basscentre.com/4-string-bass-gu...ature-bass.html[/url] [size=1]* I don't like warwicks or rickenbackers, but I'm sure some people will think its the nicest looking thing since Kylie's bum and they're entitled that opinion even if it is wrong .[/size]

[quote name='The Bass Doc' post='457273' date='Apr 8 2009, 12:27 PM']'Forty years of Fiddling with Fenders' (any more Fs we could fit in?)[/quote] Not on a family forum

I bought the guitar version as soon as it was available (I guessed there would be a bass version later, but I didn't want to wait and there was no comparable product) If I didn't already have that (and the o5b-mobile: zoom H4), I'd get the newer [url="http://www.tascam.de/en/index.html"]tascam GTR1[/url] as it can do the MP3 trainer thing like the GT/BT with guitar & bass fx as well as rehearsal/gig recording like the H4. The big bonus for me is that it takes SDHC cards, I'd bung in a 8gb one (£10 from amazon for a sandisk one). I find having only 1GB available in my MP-GT1 is a bit of a pain whenever I have a new bunch of songs to learn as I keep it full.

I'd make a 'producer placebo box' using bits from maplin. - aluminium box, pots, footswitch, jack sockets etc. The input will be connected directly to the output and there'd be at least one footswitch and pot not connected to anything. Go crazy with painting it and give it a suitably funky name. With that on your board, anytime a bandmate asks you to make a change to your sound (including a request to turn the volume down) you'll have some controls to adjust to make them happy without actually messing up your sound.

I voted precision as mustang wasn't an option. Saying that I used my cherryburst precison for a gig last week& I loved the big chewy tone.

This is how I record rehearsals: I don't need individual instrument tracks so I use a Zoom H4 with v2 firmware, 8GB SDHC card pair of Hi capacity 2000 NmHi batteries. Put the H4 in somewhere where it will pick everything up & just leave it running for the whole session. Once home, the single Wav file can be sliced into individual tracks in Adobe Soundbooth and a bit of mastering applied. Burn CDs/ convert & upload MP3s for band members. Very pleased with the sound quality.

[quote name='Buzz' post='455538' date='Apr 6 2009, 03:10 PM']Pretend you're a hamster and store it a couple in your cheeks?[/quote] Or between your other cheeks?

When the blues band I'm in plays acoustically (guitar/vocal/drums/harp totally unamplified) I play one on my rubber-stringed [url="http://www.o5b.co.uk/category/bass/"]ashborys[/url] through a 12Watt practice amp. It sounds good to me and is a lot more portable than my double bass.

Nice one!

[quote name='Prosebass' post='453900' date='Apr 4 2009, 10:01 AM']I'm still buying up old copies of International Musician from the 70's and 80's. Best magazine there has ever been to give a full spectrum of players , gear and the industry as it was back then. My new years resolution was not to buy any new magazines and I must admit I don't feel like I am missing anything.[/quote] If you have the April 1985 issue (with tears for fear on the cover) you can read my first tape demo review on p12. Anyone remember "One Two testing" magazine?

[list=1] [*]Tune up quickly & quietly. [*]Don't noodle between songs. [*]If in doubt play fewer notes rather than too many. [*]Don't slap unless its a level 42 tribute band. [/list]

Sounds like you have fret buzz. If you're lucky it just needs a setup which you can learn to do yourself or take it to someone who knows what they're doing. A decent luthier would charge around £30 for this. If you're not so lucky it may also need the frets leveled which would be around £70.