Angel

I fancy a cheap P or J bass. Are Squier basses any good if I take a punt on one via eBay? Is the body usually plywood or something better?

Hmmnnn ...... thanks for the tips, but I'm still not getting what I'm looking for with my technique. I need to find someone who can do it and sit with them for a while.

In that case I bow to your superior knowledge!

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1396448911' post='2413789'] Not true. I played one of Billys basses at a clinic he did back in the mid 90's & I was amazed at how high the action was compared to most basses I've played. It wasn't unplayable by any means but 90% of people on here would think it needed a good set up. [/quote] I think that must be a one off bass, if you look on the internet generally he definitely has fret rattle.

I remember reading once that Billy Sheehan set his action so low that the strings rattle on the frets. Having got back into bass recently, I thought I'd try a different setup, so I went really low on the strings. Yes, they do rattle but I am really liking it so far! Not for everyone I guess (for various reasons), but does anyone else have a very low action?

I'm a big fan of this bass sound, and I'd love to know how to get the real 'active punch' of this recording. I know it's not just from the bass as I own this status now, and it doesn't sound as cool as that by itself (hampered by my playing, but that's a different issue). There must be some kind of extra processing going on. Any ideas? [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRjiJIVh5iE[/media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRjiJIVh5iE

After a few years in the wilderness, I have rediscovered bass, and am really enjoying it again. I particularly like the fun of slapping, and can do it in a fairly standard way with my thumb and index finger working well together. There's one thing I just can't get right though - it's that very short, percussive 'click' with your index finger. Whenever I play, I seem to get more of a note out of it. It's a short and snappy note, but it's definitely a note rather than a click. Any suggestions on what to do to get it right This guy is getting the sort of 'click' that I'm thinking of: [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVNUxPQnNc4[/media]

Sensible idea. Shame he's so far away! I recall south coast somewhere and I'm 30 miles north of London. I'll look out an email address and get in touch.

No direct on-off unfortunately, there's an on-off for side LEDs and then the rotary for different flashing sequences for front LEDs, with 1st position being off. The LEDs need both batteries in to work, you can't have just one. I might see if I can rewire the on-off as a global switch to the batteries, with the side LEDs always on when it is switched. I'll whip the covers off and see what I can make of it. I fear there will be a lot of small wires!

Could be a problem then, there's an on-off switch and an 8 position rotary. Pretty complex wiring as it has the GB light system installed.

I don't care how good it is, you are dumb to spend £32k on a guitar. Can't believe it's any better than a £5k acoustic.

9's on everything for me. I want to make a guitar sing, not wrestle with it. When do I change strings? mostly I swap one out when it breaks, and leave the others. I don't dislike old strings.

Mine is still sitting dormant, probably about 6 years of not touching it now. I'm keeping it, but it's a bit depressing that I have forgotten absolutely everything.

Recently, after a looong stretch of not playing bass, I dug out my trusty Status and started getting back into it again. Active circuit battery was fine, but the two for LEDs were both flat. Bought a couple of new ones for about £7 and was happy as Larry. Wind forward 2 weeks and they are both flat again! It used to be that they would go flat if left switched on, but otherwise they would last a good long time. At the moment I'm taking them both out every time I put the bass down, which is bl**dy annoying! What could have happened to cause the problem? Fixable? Crossed wire somewhere?

They were talking about him on the radio as I came home. I have to admit that I've never heard of him. I guess I missed out?

[b]Actually, I've just had a thought [/b]........ I assumed that a 5 string bass body would be bigger than a 4, but a quick photoshop test looks pretty darned similar, in which case I could get a standard body blank and rout it myself! Sounds like a better plan, I think I'll look into that.

Well, as mentioned, I prefer the aged/worn type finish so it wouldn't be a case of trying to get perfection - quite the opposite. Generally, people on this forum (and several others) were pretty impressed with the worn feel that I created for my mad frankentele (thread some weeks ago). I actually thought that 95% of people here would tell me I was mad! Shows what I know .....

Basses come and go. One has stuck with me and has always been my favourite ever to play. I've bought others that I thought I liked better, but I always come back to the best. What's the problem you say? well, its sunburst, and I really hate sunburst. So here's the obscenity: I'm considering stripping the finish and giving it a relic-type black finish. I spent months looking for a 5 string jazz bass body on eBay (for that is what it is) to use as a replacement. Nothing ever turned up. I looked into getting one made and it was like £300, more than I have spare these days. This is why I am considering it, I can give it a finish that would be very appealing to me for just £30. None of this would be so bad, but it is actually a very expensive bass, a Fender Reggie Hamilton custom shop model. What I need right now is people to slap me down and tell me how dumb this would be. I have two projects on the go right now, and I pencilled this in as no 3 in some months time, so there is still time to rethink!!!!!

Incidentally, there's a new music forum that has just started from the ashes of MusicRadar. As the jerks running MR have pulled the site down for about a month, with no regard at all for the community, a bunch of members have gone off and started a new place to hang: [url="http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/"]http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/[/url] I used MR, and I use this one mostly for guitar-related stuff, but it does cover other instruments as well. Just thought I'd mention it ....