molan

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1384705643' post='2279694'] I found this in guitar shop in scotland when I asked why some of the reliefs were so out. Apparently quite warm in the day and then plunging to scottish winter temps at night - apparently one winter some of the necks were moving so much in the expensive guitars at the back the frets started lifting out.... which isn't great. You wonder how much it would cost to keep the room at a constant temp/humidity? [/quote] Frets lifting is often a sign of the wood drying out due to too much warm air in the shop

In the last week or so I've noticed that all YT content seems 'invisible' on my iPad and iPhone. The content is there but I just can't see it. If I click on the white space it loads and plays but still nothing visible. YT is running fine on all other sites so just seems to be a BC issue. All working fine on my main iMac though.

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1384666151' post='2279263'] a good quality dedicated headphone amp. [/quote] I'm pleased you said that - reminded me that I have a Fodera dedicated headphone box for bass. Forgot all about it! Must dig it out, from what I remember it was a bit under-powered, maybe the headphone impedance though?

[quote name='4000' timestamp='1384645897' post='2279206'] This always makes me smile. I play mostly with a pick and I play extremely lightly and prefer an action which Chris May has described as "a guitar action". Probably because in reality I play more like a guitarist. ;-) I remember playing your Zon and the buckeye Fodera at Bass Day and I struggled with both as they were way higher than I'm used to. Liked the Zon though, as we discussed. Molan's completely right; when I took my Alembic to the Gallery to sell it had the best setup I'd ever come across. When I went back to pick it up temperature and humidity changes had played havoc with it. [/quote] Alembics are notorious for shifting around in autumn and spring. One of mine went from being near perfect to, quite literally, unplayable in a just a few days once. The neck had straightened and strings were more less laying flat on the board! There's definitely an issue of people being frightened of truss rods and this means lots of 'everyday' shop assistants won't touch them. Maybe a bit of bridge height adjustment but that's it until the tech comes in. Of course the worst are classic Fenders where you have to remove the neck to get at the truss rod - I dread having to sort a batch of these out. It's not that it's super hard or anything it's just the amount of time involved. We have a vintage J that's currently wearing flats and a pretty high action. It's certainly too high for me to be really comfortable on it so it's on my list to lower. However, someone tried it this week and loved it and said the action and flats made it feel properly 'vintage'. I'm now in two minds whether to set it up for me or someone like him

[quote name='cameltoe' timestamp='1384640828' post='2279146'] Yes I see what you're saying, my basses generally need a tweak every winter and summer, but mostly this seemed action rather than relief. Very hard to get a feel for a bass when I could've limbo danced under the strings. [/quote] The other thing that it's almost impossible to get right is an action that suits everyone From a personal basis I totally agree about not being to play a bass with a high action but we often get people who want the action on a standard bass raised because they prefer it higher. Usually pick players or those who really hit the strings hard. Sod's law usually means that a bass with a super low action will be tried by a heavy-handed player and a neck like a banana will get picked up by a light touch tapping chand chordal bassist, lol. A lot of manufacturers supply 'factory settings' but, for my tastes, these tend to be universally high. Generally I aim for a 'medium' action, take it down until it's buzzing a little and raise a decent amount at the bridge. Makes it relatively easier to quickly adjust if required (obviously not the best method but generally workable).

Are you making these completely from the ground up? Carving wood, fitting frets and electrics, lacquer finishing etc. etc.? They look cool and very well finished

I've tried the PJB's and liked them. It was only via my iPhone and listening to MP3s though so not really a great test of quality. I can have a go next week with a better source

I realise this is a crappy excuse but it's not a good time of year for shops who do bother to set instruments up As it starts to get properly cold the overnight temps in a lot of retail environments fall and then there's often a nasty dry hear circulating during the day. This can cause havoc with tuning and neck relief. I help out at a local guitar store now and then and often set instruments up. I had an Alleva Coppolo perfectly set up, for me, recently with a really low action and when I played it this week it was rattling and buzzing like crazy. I had to give the neck more relief and raise the bridge a fraction as well. I now need to go round the walls and re-set everything for the winter Actually I quite like setting things up but a whole shop full might knock some of the fun out this week!

We play [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Ebm, Abm, B, Db, Gb[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Ebm, B, Db, Gb[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]No idea if that's correct though![/font][/color]

I can't play them with fingers, have to sling them really low on a strap and grab a pick. There's nothing intrinsically wrong with this but it's just not my style any more

A scientific expedition disembarks from its plane at the final outpost of civilisation in the deepest Amazon rain forest. They immediately notice the ceaseless thrumming of native drums. As they venture further into the bush, the drums never stop, day or night, for weeks. The lead scientist asks one of the natives about this, and the natives only reply is "Drums good. Drums never stop. Very bad if drums stop." The drumming continues, night and day, until one night, six weeks into the trip, when the jungle is suddenly silent. Immediately the natives run screaming from their huts, covering their ears. The scientists grab one boy and demand "What is it? The drums have stopped!" The terror-stricken youth replies "Yes! Drums stop! Very bad!" The scientists ask "Why? Why? What happens when the drums stop playing?" Wide-eyed with fear, the boy responds, " . . . BASS SOLO!!!"

I've been in a couple of soul bands with 3/4 piece horn sections and never had a problem finding people. Could have been a 'London thing' I guess. In general terms it was easiest to get alto sax, followed by tenor (obviously many play both), not as many baritone players around. Trumpeters not bad, although quality sometimes patchy, and really good slide trombone players were quite tough to track down. Get a pair of saxes, trumpet and a trombone working really well together and nothing comes close

Adding a second whizzy should give you the feeling of more depth because you'll be moving more air and the cabs coupled together will be generating a bit more low end. MarkBass cabs do work well with their heads but the heads are pretty flexible and can partner lots of different cabs. I'm not a fan of mixing across brands because I like rigs to look matched (and if there are significantly different sensitivities then you can get an odd mis-match of volume with e more sensitive cab becoming more dominant). However I don't have any issues with cabs of different sizes working together. I've heard lots of great combinations of 15s and 10s for example. My current favourites for flexible setups is either the Bergantino CN12s or the Aguilar SL12s. Both of these work well on their own for smaller gigs or rehearsals and then adding a 2nd cab gives more volume and bass extension. A great, really compact, setup using MarkBass gear (as mentioned above) is the mini CMD121P combo and the NY121 cab. These work really well together and stand at a great height for gigs. I've been using these recently and am really impressed

I experimented with bi-amping for a while but didn't really like the results. I was using a simple 1x15 for the lows and a 2x10 with horn for the highs. Both were designed for full range and I'm sure this was having quite a major effect on the overall tone because they weren't specifically designed to deliver deep lows and sparkly highs. Overall I felt the core tone when bi-amped was a bit cleaner sounding but it lacked depth and bite. I'm sure it would be different with bespoke cabs though. I've also seen someone experimenting with different amps and cabs per pickup on a Sheehan Attitude. That was great fun. I think we ran the clean signal into a Carvin 2000w head and then into a Bag End 2x12. This is very deep and clear sounding combination. The second channel went into an Ampeg valve head and matching 4x10. This was set up to deliver loads of grit and grind. The combination sounded just huge! Unfortunately I think you'd need a roadie (or two!) to shift all that gear around though

[quote name='xilddx' timestamp='1384366312' post='2275790'] I thought that today too. Put me off replying to be honest. It was like a Daily Twat headline. [/quote] Same here In fact someone today told me they thought he was dead because they'd seen a thread about it on BassChat! The original headline is, of course, still visible on Google so that's what I first saw when I searched for 'Lemmy BassChat'. Not good at all.

Wouldn't a little Korg Pandora do this? You can pick them up really cheaply on the used market

£2K is absolute top of the market for an early 70's P. There's a million things to be sure of before parting with any money. Every single details that isn't 100% original will start knocking value off that price. I've seen refinished early 70's drop to as little as £1,100 on EBay. In fact I think one went last week for about £950. You really need to get it checked out properly to be sure it's what it purports to be. I'm not saying the seller isn't trustworthy but you never know what may have been done by a previous owner. I saw something earlier this year from a guy who wanted to sell a relative's bass. He was very straight and I trusted him. He had a '63 Jazz that his father had told him had been owned since '64 and hardly ever played. Had it checked over and it had a poly refinish, '80's repro guard, 'no-name replacement pickups and pots (also probably 80's) and a few other things that didn't ring true. We were pretty sure it had been subject to a massive makeover at some point in the '80's and his dad had simply forgotten about it!

I've had a similar conversation with a small rehearsal space and they chose MarkBass 2x10 because it had the option to tilt backwards in a sort of monitor format. However if you're looking for permanent installation kit then you don't need to pay premium prices for neo equipped, lightweight, cabs. My personal favourites for 'rock' cabs are Aguilar DB series. Well made, bullet-proof construction, plenty of mid-range punch and have that classic rock look. Plus you see them on stages all over the world so they are something younger players might aspire to owning. Downside is that they aren't cheap I hear good things about the latest Hartke Hydrive gear and they have a lot of high grade endorsees so another brand younger players would aspire to own.

With ease of transferring MP3 files and adjusting songs to suit vocalist requirements by using Audacity etc I think this is becoming much more everyday stuff. I know a guitarist whose band have been doing this for something like 15 years - in the early days the singer would just phone people and play the song down the phone to them and then they'd play it at the next gig

F Basses sound great in a band mix. Not always the most immediate sounding when played solo but one of those brands that just seem to work in a band format really well. Fantastic customer service if ever you need to contact them as well

I recently played a brand new Fender CS. It was a sunburst stack knob Jazz in the NOS finish. Quite simply one of the best sounding J basses I've ever heard. It didn't feel like a worn in relic, or original, Fender but it really was a cracking instrument. Much more snap and bite to it than I would have imagine for a passive bass but roll off those tone controls and it sounded immediately 'vintage'. I haven't played a recent CS Precision apart from a couple of Pinos. Both of those were very nice as well and each had some slightly different characteristics from the other (which I think is a good thing, I'm not a fan of homogenised basses!). I've only tried one Bravewood and it looked great. Tonally I felt it was a bit bland and one dimensional. Of course, if that 'dimension' was the one you're after then it would have been perfect. Just didn't blow me away I guess I've played a few Nash basses. Much patchier in terms of look and feel. Some good ones out there but also some not quite as nice. Some of the J variants have huge clubby necks which feel quite wrong to me.

[quote name='Rasta' timestamp='1384201973' post='2274004'] Mind blowing for reggae...our drummer said I loosened his teeth - Mission Complete! [/quote] Next gig you need to work on his bowels