uk_lefty

I've already sniffed out the fretless options... Just such amazing value for money.

4.5kg almost exactly for this alder bodied fiver. I used a luggage weighing thingy I've got so trusting it to be good enough for accuracy.

I can't weigh it right now and wouldn't like to guess really. My ash bodied fiver was definitely a heavy bass, this one (alder body) has surprised me in that it's not as heavy as I would have expected, definitely lighter than the ash fiver I used to have. Sorry I can't be more specific right now, it's just not something that I worry about, though appreciate it's a big issue for a lot of others.

I loved the Sire V7 fiver I had a few years back and only sold it out of feeling guilty at spending a lot on a US Stingray. I love jazz basses but maple fretboards don't work for me, I also think the Sire preamp is fantastic. I was looking for a four string but it was somehow cheaper to get the fiver off Thomann. It arrived less than an hour ago. It looks great, the picture I've taken doesn't do it justice. The sound is very pokey, very jazz bass, excellent. I tried a US Jazz recently and felt let down a bit, active Sire jazzes are for me just so much more flexible, and still very rich in their sound. The rolled fretboard edges are nice, you know they there though it's not something I'd now insist on with any other bass. The ebony fretboard looks very dry and might need some oil. The battery compartment is NOT quick release which I'm not happy about. However, can't wait to unleash it. Wedding gig coming up a week on Saturday and this bass will be the one used.

Agree 100% I think it looks fantastic and I love the double jazz pup. I've just bought a bass this week but if this was available to me it would have been a contender. They just don't do them for left handers, typical Fender.

I think I've just seen the perfect bass for me. I've never quite liked the appearance of most ACGs before but that is stunning in every way and I love the description as "very fretless". That's just a cut above.

Regardless of whether it is any good or not I fully agree with you. It won't last, they'll be cheap on eBay for the next ten years then they'll suddenly become semi collectible and sell for about the same as they cost new right now. Forum searches in ten years time will find this and hail me as the David Dickinson of basses.

Never. Never!! "Borrow" some disco lights on a whirly thing and think it would be cool to have the mains plug sat almost in an extension lead ready for you to press it down with your foot at the end of the intro to the first song and send coloured lights swirling round everywhere like a budget Jean Michelle Jarre show. It will most probably look cheesy, but it 100% will result in your instrument cable being drawn into the whirly mechanism and being yanked out of your bass, making you look like a bellend. Kicking the lights to death doesn't help get your cable back either or continue the song. I learned this lesson so you don't have to.

Good point!

I was thinking something similar recently... I'm going to try sticking some of the soft velcro stuff to one side of a pick to see if I can maintain the speed of the attack but soften the tone a bit.... If that makes sense.

These guys are great. I got a rear routed lefty PJ bass body made of Ash from them for an excellent price. It took five weeks to arrive but it wasn't something you can get just anywhere. I'd recommend talking to them at least. I also tried getting weird and wonderful stuff from eBay suppliers overseas and despite them having exactly what I wanted and me ordering exactly what I wanted, what arrived was different and then there were annoying snags like the machine head holes not being lined up straight with each other. They knocked money off but that's not the point, I had an unusable neck to the wrong specs so having it half price or whatever didn't solve anything.

What a beaut

Known the US as a "Karen"

Well if you like the stories... For a long time I held on to the special edition fifty p and two pound coins. Last autumn I decided to get rid and sold a load over eBay on 1p seller fees or whatever it was. I sold a fifty p for £1.50 and got full payment including postage but with a note saying "I collect". I had Covid at the time and was quite sick so I dropped the buyer a note saying "let me know when you're coming and I'll put it in an envelope on the doorstep for you because I've got covid." I got a very quick and harshly worded reply "only if you're going to pay my train fare from London, why would I travel to collect a fifty p coin?". I was polite in responding over the misunderstanding and said I'll post when out of isolation. The buyer sent another message but I missed it, this is important later. Time passes and my wife also caught covid extending my isolation period, then it was Christmas with post offices closed. I posted the 50p to the buyer quite late. I got a really snotty message a few days later "I got the coin eventually but you didn't write flat 1 on the envelope. There are three flats in this building it could have gone ANYWHERE!! I am not happy...." Blah blah. I reply politely, but cheekily added, but you did get the coin so I assume all is ok, good day to you. I got more angry messages over the address issue to which I replied "I apologize for having a medical condition that meant I both physically and legally could not leave my house and delayed posting you a fifty p coming you paid £1.50 for. I further apologize for missing off a small detail from your address, while the coin could have gone to one of your two neighbours (anywhere) it did not, did it? You have the coin you paid for even though you said you'd collect it" Then I found the earlier message I had missed from the day of sale: "Show me proof of where I say I collect or I sue you for libel". Now, admittedly I am not a lawyer but I do work with contract law on a daily basis so I cannot let a threat of legal action go without response and I'd love to go to court so I really don't want to turn down the opportunity to do so. I screenshotted the "I collect" message and responded to it, "please furnish your legal team with the attached exhibit as evidence for our forthcoming trial. I look forward to hearing from them". Their response? A screenshot of their address as on the eBay account and the message: IT SAYS FLAT 1! This person must be an absolute joy to be around. As well as a terrible investor, exchanging £1.50 for 50p.

Saturday afternoon private party in a social club. Weird time to play, caused allsorts of issues with my wife having to have the kids all day with me hardly around having other commitments in the morning too. Getting more confident with the set list though, so much so that there's now joking about between us all on the stage.

I've had to say "trust me" a few times when pulling out a bass that doesn't look like it fits the bill... My "hair metal" style Kramer which is a lovely fretless, and while I had it my Washburn Status very modern sounding headless. I choose a bass that I think I can get a good sound out of for the musical situation, I like to experiment with different sounds, tones and now effects but I'm first to hold my hand up if I think it doesn't fit. I've never, ever had anyone ask for a more modern or more vintage sound. I've been told to turn up, turn down, play less notes and not to use certain effects, but never had a comment on the tone of a bass. Except for "that sounds massive!" often commented on my Stingray.

Basically, it's all this guy's fault

I've got these on my Jack Casady. Gigged it last Friday, but unfortunately the sound was poor when the singer was playing guitar so I couldn't hear it. Sounded good when he wasn't playing guitar and I could hear it. I like them so far, nothing amazing or unique about them but they feel good to me and work perfectly for that bass. I do like EB Cobalt flats but think they suit P basses superbly and basses where you still want a lot of character in the sound on top of the flatwound "hollow" tone, whereas on my Jack Casady I just want a plain flatwound and let the bass do the rest.

Am sure that would be the same with most cabs though, push them too hard and they don't like it. Why does the band need to be so loud?

Nothing to be ashamed of. It reminds me of my favourite Homer Simpson quote: every time I learn something new it pushes some old stuff out my brain.

100% BC deals are the absolute best. Unfortunately left handers are a very small market but I always try here first. I just don't understand why send a begging note. Does he think someone is just going to post a guitar to the Philippines free of charge because he's poor and can't afford it? I get loads of these, often with a lot of questions and pretending to be interested to buy before "but I've only got $100 to spend on a bass" or whatever. Bl00dy annoying.

I'm getting quite sick of chancers and beggars. Not through BC I must add, but when I have basses up for sale I often get queries from people who must be really chancing their arm on me being soft, stupid, or generous beyond any reasonable standard. I can understand a request of "if it's still available on payday I can offer you x" but I get far too many of these... Do people really post guitars half way round the world to people who just ask and have a sob story? It's not X Factor!!

I didn't even make the pdf. I just sent them a photo of the bass, a photo of the Yamaha BB basses with the pickup surrounds and asked gigink to make it for me. They sent me a PDF to print out to scale so I could check the measurements then it was all easy from there. I'm plotting what to order next from them.

You are probably more than "good enough" to gig! This sounds like 99% of bands out there doing pub gigs, and I do not mean that as a disparaging comment at all, just that we all make mistakes. Two of my old bandmates came to watch my new band last week, I made TONS of mistakes, guitarist did too, they said the only way they knew was from the apologetic looks we were all giving each other across the stage. Just because a band is gigging doesn't mean they're a highly polished and well rehearsed unit.

I get exactly what you mean! It can go stale going round the same venues, playing the same stuff. So, does anyone else want to freshen up the set? A good shortcut is "this Aerosmith song is good, so let's learn a similarly good one to switch it with" etc. For venues, where do you like going for a weekend away? Try and get some gigs there, make a weekend of it with the family or the band or both. OR... Do you like multiple genres of music? If you have time try to get into a second group playing something completely different. Change of pace, style, scene, type of gigs, new people. Even if they play songs you wouldn't normally listen to you'd get something out of it musically. As I said to a whining drummer I used to play with, if you find it boring it's your job to make it interesting.