uk_lefty

That fretless is a looker. What is it?

The real question everyone wants the answer to: have you sniffed or licked the roasted neck yet?

There's some absolute bargains in the second hand market at the moment. Ashdown is the new "Peavey" in my eyes ... What I mean by that is when my kids start bands they'll be going to damp dinghy rehearsal rooms that will have Ashdown gear from the early 2000s still going strong and sounding amazing thirty plus years later. I have used Ashdown for my revived gigging "career" in the last ten years. I like the sound of other amps, but you know where you are with an Ashdown. And as already mentioned, you can just call them and ask questions or get things sorted quickly.... Not that I've ever needed to.

I'm toying with whipping the neck off and either having a new unlined fretless neck fitted or having this one defretted. For some reason I think I need two fretless basses.... Fretless doesn't really work in the one band I'm in so.... GAS isn't it? I also saw a black BadAss bridge on the marketplace a while back and thats playing on my mind too...

Looks like the contemporary series to me. What makes you think it could be fake?

I'm the guy who measures out things twice, drills hole in the wall and STILL things don't line up. So I've only recently started to do neck adjustments myself. I'm happy doing intonation. But overall string height, neck relief and so on I just don't have the confidence or patience with.

Thanks all. I'll run it til it dies.

I'd like some opinions on servicing amps, please... There's nothing wrong with my RM500, I've lost track of how many years I've had it and it was a second hand purchase. I recently joined a new band and we have a LOT more gigs than I had before. I really can't risk something going wrong. Should I get my amp serviced to make sure it stays in great working order? If yes, what would a service of a solid state amp involve? I don't have a backup amp, if poo hits the fan I'll plug my Helix into the PA, so want to make sure all my gear is tip top. I see it a bit like taking my Stingray for a service. I can change strings, oil the fretboard and adjust the neck myself but when I give it in for a "service" to Terry the setup guy it comes back feeling brand new due to the extra stuff he does like fret leveling and polishing, he checks all the electrics and stuff... Wondering if I'm missing a trick with the amp? Any advice gratefully received.

Ooooh I think the Sire vintage White looks great with roasted maple and stuffing. Different strokes and all

Sounds crap. I'll give you a hundred quid for it, I'm feeling generous 😉

I've got Fender tapewounds on it at the mo. It sounds great with loads of character BUT I want a bit more top end out of it while maintaining the vintage vibe so it's going to have flats next when I get round to it. I think Ernie Ball chromes would be the ideal string but I've got a pack of Maruszczyk flats ready to go so it will be those.

Yaaaaaay!!! My Thomann wishlist is a long list of almost every variant of bass Sire makes. Now to find the cash and the time to play one...

So gigink produced this pickup surround for me to cover up some bad routing. It's not a standard part so there was some creativity required from them and I got a printout template to check fit and measurements. I've not even fitted it properly, but look....

A guitarist I played with a few years back uses a Jedson Tele through a really rubbish Digitech multi effects from the 90's. He sounds absolutely fantastic, even though he knows he's playing on ropey gear I think he'd just had that stuff so long he knew how to make it work for him. The bass looks like a different story though... Still, would look nice hanging on the wall.

Not sure. I'd love to try one of these bass vi versions but I just can't see me ever using it for gigs. I wouldn't even know where to get a Burns new and with three sets of strings and in what looks like good condition that's probably a decent deal. I can't remember how much the Revelation lefty bass vi costs as a comparison.

So this is my "all in one" with a Helix Stomp.... There's not enough buttons on it so I have an external tuner. And external buttons for scrolling through presets. I need a volume boost pedal sometimes on stage so I got one of those. The Helix doesn't play nicely with an expression pedal and doesn't have a bass wah anyway so I need a bass wah (plus the extra buttons are in the socket the exp pedal would plug into). The Helix doesn't do synth sounds very well so I bought a Boss SY1 and use the expression pedal with that. All these extra pedals need powering so I need a power pack. Really I could ditch the Helix for a good preamp pedal with a drive option and a good chorus pedal.

However you want I guess. There are no rules when there are no frets.

I can only talk from my own experience here... I had been playing bass for three years or thereabouts and had only just really started to accelerate my ability after a very, very slow self taught, pre internet age, starting point. It was coming up to my 18th, I was in a band and had just started to listen to Pearl Jam, hearing fretless in rock for the first time. My only "trick" on bass was to slide up an octave and play above the twelfth so when I wanted a new bass I thought a combination of my one trick and having heard Pearl Jam's Ten I thought grabbing a five string fretless would be a stretch but worth it. Playing a fretless, especially if it's your only bass, really does make you stand out when playing with new bands, but only if you can play it in tune! Mine is lined. I had an unlined for a short period and was fine up to the twelfth then it got chaotic for me. I think it builds up some fretting hand strength but also some real sensitivity, not just in your ear but in what you play too. The fretless is so expressive and so sensitive to your note choice there's not a lot of hiding if you're improvising a fill and you play a bum note. Even if you don't intend to gig it, I'd get one as a practice tool to change perspective a but keep you on your toes.

Thanks, it's enough reassurance to hear that someone else has used his stuff before. It certainly looks good, I think he does Jaco and John Deacon books which are interesting. Have you used them and what do you think?

Yup! And a new mic. And a wireless system that can be powered from my board. Big web order tomorrow.

It's getting worse....

This is not something I've ever had a preference for, never even thought about. What is the advantage or annoyance? Fear of missing out here...!