uk_lefty

I know it's not the same pedal but I had a budget Tomsline octave pedal that added fifths, octaves up, etc. Tomsline stuff looks the same as Donner and Amoon for a lot of products. It didn't last long for me. The higher frequency sounds just sounded like an old Nokia phone having a fit, it wasn't at all natural. I have no idea why anyone would want that. I would be wary of budget pedals for octave up and go for the tried and tested stuff closer to the £80-£100 mark otherwise you could just be throwing away £25-£40 or whatever on the cheaper stuff.

I've gassed for ages over all different sorts of basses but this morning in a sleep deprived state I pulled the trigger. I like a J pickup sound but my jazz bass is very badly beaten up, I'd put a j in to my p bass but I think I'd be devaluing something special. I also have a five string fretless and my band plays tuned down half a step. This is awkward playing along with original recordings in standard tuning so a fiver would help as I can do both with it by shifting position. I want the ash body maple fretboard combination. I want something a little bit different. I want to try active electronics too. I never put much effort in to using them with previous basses, always going passive but I've heard great things about the pre amp on these so hoping this enlightens me. I don't want to spend soucb money that I'm stood like a guard dog by my gear at half time in every gig, or I get upset every time I have a headstock clash with the guitarist or the drummer yet again kicks over my bass when climbing around the stage like the monkey he is. So I bought this morning from Thomann a Sire V7 Vintage fiver in natural finish. I'm a bit skeptical on the bridge and tuners but they're easy upgrades. I love the look of it, though I toyed with the V9 (ruled out for alder body just like my other fretted basses) and also the P7 swamp ash. I want to try the five string jazz and Fender don't do it for lefties unless you spend the kind of money that could get you a good small hatchback car second hand. Very excited to receive this in the next few days....!!

My pick playing is noticeably louder. If using my p bass I roll down the volume on the bass, it's always on full for finger style. If it's my jazz bass... I haven't figured that out yet!

Would like to know your opinion. If there was a fiver I could be very interested but they're a bit too pricey to take a gamble on!

I don't think I'm there yet but I think I know where I'm going. A bass has to have a bridge pickup for me... I love my P but there's just something about the bridge pickup bite that I prefer in my tone. Amp - I love trace Elliots but they're too heavy to be practical. I have had good sounding Hartke and Gallien Krueger's but my Ashdown RM 500 does the job. Sufficient power and a good EQ for gigging. Don't need more. Cabs - 2x Ashdown RM 15 lightweight cabs. Ok my current set up is one fifteen and a two by ten but I want to go back to two fifteens as it suits me better. I can't be bothered tinkering more with Amps and cabs. The simplicity of the Ashdown works for me and I don't need more bells and whistles than it provides. I find string choice and pickup to have far more choice to faff about with and make real differences to the tone. I have a fender bronco practice amp that Sims loads of other Amps, that's great for tinkering with but I'm happy with that rather than buying an SWR or another Gallien Krueger, amp swaps only end up costing money and never fully satisfy me!

I did two gigs in a day last month, precision on the first and jazz on the second. Much preferred the jazz tonewise for that back pickup but my P is a monster. Considering one of those "double j" pickups added at the bridge of my P rather than investing in a new jazz or PJ. Don't know if it will de-value the bass, or if I should just do it...

I imported a bass from the US years ago and it has a great big scar down the back of the neck that's been varnished over. I was a bit shocked when I saw it and asked about returning but it was too much hassle. 17 years later I barely care about it, I love the bass imperfections and all. It doesn't affect playing and nobody else has ever as commented on it, whether they have noticed it or not.

That's my thinking too. My playing style isn't very consistent, different pedals give me differing volumes, and I'm never quite sure when the mood will take me to play with thumb, pick, fingertips gently or fingertips digging in. Because I am so inconsistent in the dynamics I'm sending to the amp a compressor, even the basic one knob compressor on my amp, is something I need to be using a lot.

Not true. From my experience the enhancer is great, the limiter not so much. It's probably all about what instrument, what you want from the pedal, what other stuff is in your chain. But I find the enhancer on its recommended setting out of the manual great for fretless, I want it to bring out the slides etc with a bit more emphasis and it does that for me just fine without affecting anything else. I am starting to use the limiter now in my chain after an EHX Battalion and it does more for me after that pedal so I am warming to it now, but it needs some time spending on tweaking.

Sire five string fretless now on eBay. Disclaimer, I know nothing about the seller etc. I won't be bidding on it as I've already got a fretless fiver.

I was at the Reebok stadium the night Coldplay filmed their video for "fix you". I'm a tiny dot in the crowd in that. Red Hot Chilli's sold MP3 albums of their 2012 tour. It was a great idea but sadly the biggest disappointment Ive ever had from a band (the gig, the MP3 was done so you could actually hear the vocal).

Fender jazz. Think I got mine off eBay in 2011. Should have got one far sooner. I expect had quite a few basses but the sound I favour most is the jazz with a lot of bridge pickup. Considering a j in my P soon...

Then you need a five string with wide string spacing. You can't live without the B or G so it has to be a fiver. Or a six. But more likely a five.

I use the Harley Benton flat patch cables. No complaints whatsoever, they've really helped save space and no noise issues that I would pin on them.

I don't think people realistically expect the Eastwood's to be indistinguishable from the originals they imitate. Eastwood make it clear that they are modern copies made at a budget, compromises will be made on cost and some components etc that made the originals sound unique simply won't be available any more. They also copy guitars that would cost unrealistic (for most of us) sums of money to buy originals of you're ever lucky enough to find one. Some people won't want a copy or "homage" (a nice way of putting it, I think) and that's fine, they don't have to buy one. I like Eastwood because they cater well for lefties and they make things that are that bit different, it's not fender copies but copies of things that were quirky. Hadn't seen this custom shop before though so will explore!

Warwick rockbasses come in fretless lefty. Also there's the Sire jazz bass fretless but I've only heard good things about the Vintage Icon. There was a while where a few of the Vintages came up second hand on eBay but haven't seen them for a while. You could look at brands like BaCH and Rondo Music to see if they have anything too. I haven't checked either for months but you never know what new models they bring out for short periods of time. Also, rather than de-fretting a perfectly good bass you could get a second neck as fretless... It's an option.

Do you need the low B or would a low D cover most? I've got an Xtender on my four string jazz and while I'm after a new fretted bass there's a strong argument to get a four string with an Xtender over a five string.

Has anyone used this? Seemed great, choose your body colour, neck and fingerboard etc. But then I can't find how you get a price or add it to the cart? The mailshot said "design your own left handed guitar". I did. But then I don't know how to get a price and order it?

Wouldn't be surprised if they get stopped from describing it as a "Beatle" bass either, pretty sure that something more generic like "Beat-bass" or "Mersey" etc might be less likely to get lawyers on the phone.

I'd like to try this but we don't have the kit to make it happen, sadly. Not sure if there's the option to rent out this kind of stuff in a decent rehearsal studio? Suppose in-ears aren't something you want to be renting.

I'm the only one in my band who even considers warming up. I do some runs around the bass neck, play some of the tricker riffs or changes to ensure I don't mess it up on stage. This is to get my fretting stretches in but also to get rid of any missed fingerings etc to start off with. In breaks I keep stretching out my fingers to get that balance of rest but keeping mobile. I have a can of red bull and I jump around/ move about a bit. I can't remember who but I read someone saying they jump around before going on stage to make sure they're not stood stiffly throughout the first half, if you've been bouncing around before you go on then you move more naturally on stage...

Me too

Excellent!! They do sound rather special. I use an SWR simulator constantly on my Fender Bronco for the ultra-clean sound... Which is a bit odd when my gigging amp is an Ashdown.

I had to put my foot down with the band about rehearsals. We were in tiny rooms, shoddy kit being pushed to the max, ears ringing for ages after. We now pay more to use the big studio rooms in the same place so we can play at low volumes but with real clarity. Nobody has ringing ears and the practice is far more productive, so though we pay more we are actually getting value out of it now. Why do all rehearsal rooms stink of damp??

I've got one kid. I don't practice much at all. When I do it's headphones on, playing through new songs for the band set. Most new covers I learn by ear or a quick reference to tabs or chord charts. It's hard work juggling it all, especially when there's a commute for the day job.