Jean-Luc Pickguard

I must try to resist the short scale precision.

Nope! Nothing wrong at all. I don't know about roundwounds as I don't use them, but Thomastik jazz flats are very light and low tension. There's nothing wrong with the tone I get out of those and apart from the better tone I find them much easier to play than something like heavy rotosound flats. If anyone thinks any less of me for using low tension strings I couldn't give a flying feck and I envy them that they don't have anything more important to worry about.

I saw a cherry sunburst one on consignment in a shop a few years ago. The lacquer and foto had worn away in a big patch where the previous owner's right arm must have rested, exposing the basswood underneath. It looked like he played close to the bridge. It totally ruined the look of the bass. It would have been beautiful otherwise.

[quote name='BarnacleBob' post='519570' date='Jun 20 2009, 08:32 PM']Not to be confused with a brand new 65 Pre-CBS Precision. BB[/quote] or one with the original fingerboard. I wonder how much that modification will lower the final price by?

[quote name='mrcrow' post='519323' date='Jun 20 2009, 02:36 PM']TI's rule..ok?[/quote] Too right. The tone is in the fingers, but my fingers sound best with TI JF324s on a mustang.

I flogged my akai deep impact for £80

I also play the spoons.

Looks like one of those generic sub-£100 chinese clones that are sold on ebay to unsuspecting beginners.

I think there was a special run of dudepit flats made by LaBella once specifically for string-thru 50s style fenders, where the winding was wound at more of an angle so the windings looked more *diagonal* on the string. I think this was the result of a fair bit of trial & error. LaBella could probably have developed this into a new product line, but I don't think they so perhaps it didnt actually help much. I have TI JF324 on my mustang and they have no problem with the string-thru bridge. I also have a set of TI JF345 on my peavey 5er with string thru with no problems.

[quote name='alexclaber' post='518344' date='Jun 19 2009, 01:17 PM']I would never consider Thomastik 'flats' a replacement for normal flats. Because they're wound with a gap between the square section wire coils on the outside they don't behave like flats in how they vibrate and thus how they sound - they're far too flexible and have much more midrange and much less boom. They really shouldn't even be called flats, maybe squarewounds or something! They're very nice strings if you don't mind the low tension but they're not proper flats. Alex[/quote] I can't see why TI s shouldn't be called flatwounds, but I'd still use them even if they were called bendywounds. I do think Rotosound Jazz flats should be called crapywounds though .

[quote name='Eight' post='518509' date='Jun 19 2009, 04:00 PM']What about O I play bass guitar but own a double bass[/quote] ...Or 'I play double bass, electric upright bass and Ashborys as well as bass geetars'

[quote name='dannybuoy' post='516208' date='Jun 17 2009, 10:33 AM']I use a Behringer Micromon, cheap and cheerful: [url="http://www.dv247.com/invt/38127/"]http://www.dv247.com/invt/38127/[/url] I have an adaptor lead to take a mini stereo jack to a full size one so I can plug in my iPod. Then I either run from the XLR out on my Markbass amp or use my Radial JDI to connect to the mic input. Sound quality is pretty good, probably not as good as the boutique Cafe Walter Headphone Amp, but they cost quite a bit and you have to import them. If you already have an amp with an XLR out or some kind of DI box, this is by far your cheapest option! It's also really tiny, like the small MXR stomp boxes. Tip - turn the iPod EQ setting to bass reducer so you can reduce the bass in the original song and fill in with your own playing.[/quote] Thanks Danny - Looks good, but I'm not sure that's what I'm looking for though - I have a behringer mixer that'll do the job or I can hook the bass to my MacBook with my Guitar Rig I/O, I'd prefer something totally portable that doesn't need to be tethered to the mains,

I found I had so many songs that could crop up on a setlist, that to have them all available for a quick practice before a gig, the 1gb memory in my tascam mp-g1 wasn't enough, I never used the looping, pitch changer or fx and editing the single playlist was slow & clunky, so I have sold it. I have recently bought an iPod nano and it struck me that if there was a gadget that plugged into it or it plugged into which allowed a guitar or bass to be plugged in for practice, that would be ideal for me. So far I've only found two things that may work, but I'm surprised I couldn't find much else: the Alesis JamDock, but its the size of a housebrick and needs to be plugged into the wall. The Vox AmPlug bass looks like it might do the the job, but its isn't a docking iPod-specific thing. Anyone aware of something else compact and battery powered that'll do the job & work with the 4th gen (chromatic) nano? edit: There is something called a JamPod - not sure if this work with my nano or even if its still available - anyone know anything about this?

[quote name='peted' post='513825' date='Jun 15 2009, 08:07 AM']...the promenade outside the exhibition hall featured a college band stage.[/quote] That was set up at the same end as and very close to the main stage and there there were no doors between. We went to get the kids some lunch and sat at one of the tables. An acoustic band was setting up and after a while the girl singer introduced herself & band and they started playing a nice quiet song. Four seconds later the band on the main stage started up much louder on the main stage effectively drowning them out and resulting in a total cacophony. Had to feel sorry for them - it probably sounded OK through their stage monitors and they carried on regardless.

[quote name='Zoe_BillySheehan' post='513613' date='Jun 14 2009, 09:58 PM'][/quote] Which one is you?

That's expensive for a bunch of Allparts bits that have been dragged behind a car.

I used to hang an onion from mine which was the fashion at the time. Anyway, about my washtub. I just used it that morning to wash my turkey, which in those days was known as a walking bird. We’d always have walking bird on Thanksgiving with all the trimmings: cranberries, injun eyes, and yams stuffed with gunpowder. Then we’d all watch football, which in those days was called baseball.

Its just a bit of chrome plated steel. If its the right size it'll work just as well as any other. Standard 4 hole Fender-sized ones will work on guitars & basses. No functional difference between a 99p no-name or one off a squier affinity strat and a £400 one off a 1952 tele. I like the 70s style 'F' logo fender ones though and will probably get one for my CIJ mustang - but only for logo - the plain one on it already does the job just as well.

Flats don't get dull. They get better with age. They don't start with that horrible clanky harpsichord-like zing some people like though.

I just got back from my trek there with Mrs JLP & two kids. Sat in on a very interesting introduction to GarageBand. I only went in for a sit down and I had already discovered all the stuff the chap was demoing as I use GarageBand a lot since I got a MacBook, but it was new to wifey & kids. The Mrs was very impressed and although she has always ignored my wittering on about how much I like my MacBook & GarageBand she was impressed with the demo and now wants her own Mac. Roland were doing an introduction to their new v-drum set. I sat at a kit with little JLP (7) at another one along with a class of other people & a chap instructing at the front. We were all led through how to do play a rhythm & fill and use the kit. It was great fun and if I had half a mind to become a drummer (apparently thats all you need) and a spare £750, I'd have bought one of the kits on the spot. Little JLP bought a pair of drum sticks later. Not sure what he's planning to drum on though. Also tried a vintage distressed strat & jaco-alike jazz fretless on the JHS stand which were both very nice. Then I had a chat with Trev Wilkinson & mentioned that the guitarist in o5b had recently fitted a wilkinson compensated bridge to his MIJ tele & was very chuffed with it a our gig last week. There was a very nice blonde laminated double bass on the stentor stand, The string height was set nice & low but it was a 4/4 and seemed to have the same crappy stock stentor strings that came with my stentor 1950 bass. I'd love to try a 3/4 version with decent strings. Stentor also had a lovely Les Paul style uke. I saw Steve Vai as he walked past with about half a dozen minders. I said hi Steve to him and he smiled back. I only know him from Zappa - particularly the song about groupie antics: 'Stevie's spanking', so its probably just as well that there was no opportunity for a conversation. Miss JLP (11) got a recorder & High School Musical song book. Anything that encourages her to make music I s'pose. Mrs JLP was very taken with some of the Saxes. Who knows maybe she'll get around to take lessons and learn to play the Yamaha Alto I bought her a few years ago. She also quite liked a Farina parlour guitar and actually had a go - I had to put her fingers on the fretboard to make an E chord though, but that's more interest than she shows at home. I didn't buy anything, but got a nice freebie steinberg lanyard to keep my cubase dongle on. Plus a load of stickers, pleckies, music mags & catalogues. Poor old Jim Marshall was in a wheelchair and didn't look very well. I couldn't be arsed to queue up for an autographed poster this year. A lot of companies I would have liked to have seen were conspicuous by their absence: Fender/Squier/Gibson/Epiphone/Ashdown/Simms/NI/Line6/Status/Daisy Rock and the retail village was three traders with nothing to tempt me. Overall the show seemed to be less than half the size of last years, but still an enjoyable day for all of us. Not sure I'd have wanted to have paid full price though - two tickets were from a tesco clubcard points deal and the other two I won in an Arts Council competition.