uk_lefty

I somehow convinced myself recently than an 80s Aria SB would be my dream bass. I got an Aria Pro II SB ELITE 1 from my year of birth. It was knackered to put it bluntly. A lot of time, stress and no little cash went in to getting it in to a gig ready machine and.... Well, any fretted bass I have just doesn't compare to my US Stingray. I've got too many basses and the Aria needs to be loved and appreciated by someone else. There's nothing wrong with it, it feels good, it sounds fantastic - I just can't help bashing out "poison arrow" by ABC or any Duran Duran song every time I pick it up but... Its not Stingray-good. The bar is set pretty high now. So my dream bass returns to the Fender double Ps from the 80s. I saw a blue one with gold hardware in my local music shop in my teens and could only dream of owning one. Now, even more so, I bet there was hardly ever any lefties when new and even fewer now.

Or people who stop agonising over minute details and get on with it. I still agonise over the minute details, I just think the clever guys and girls at Ernie Ball know better than me.

I understand the question, I think!! A few years ago I was contemplating what would make up my "ultimate" bass if I were to have one made, its tough for a lefty to find the right specs off the peg, and this coincided with Sire being very kind to lefties and offering loads of combinations you didnt usually get at a reasonable price, maple board 5 string active JJ bass, for example. So I bought a Sire thinking I'd sell it on soon having got more familiar with aspects I may like or dislike for a custom build. I then got a tax rebate and went to Wunjos. They had two basses I liked. I chose the one that best suited the band I was in and bought it, no need for a custom bass. There was no faffing about with colour, neck profile, wood choices, anything like that, just "I like that one best, I'll have it!" and the US Stingray is my number 1 still, though many pretenders have come and gone since. If I was given infinite choice I don't think I'd have bought that bass, but now I've got it it's top dog and it's going nowhere.

Who said this was complete? Bought a set of DiMarzio PJ pups didn't I? I've got the P in only so far, needed a bit of extra careful drilling, for which I bought a hand drill like the ones we had in primary school, but MY WORD WHAT A SOUND! That is proper, proper P bass now. Something I've not had before, big dollops of thick, rich bassiness. I've installed them upside down and got the him bucking mode working now too. I need a lie down for a while before I put the J in. Have already decided this is going to band practice tomorrow! DiMarzio pups and a Kiogon loom, perfection.

First time I've ever listened to one of these. Absolutely loved the sheer talent, quality and variety of tunes produced by you lot. You're all winners to me..

What about putting it in a storage unit? Surely they have insurance as part of the storage cost? Not something I've ever done but if the property all this kit is located at now is going to be rented out then surely you need to put all this kit somewhere safe?

The presets I've got from elsewhere for a clean sound tend to have multiple blocks of compressors and EQs. I have paid for the bass essentials pack on 3Sigma Audio because it was quite cheap and I expected it to be pretty good. I had a lot of the Dr Tone ones but frankly found most of them either unsuited to my gear and playing style or just completely unusable. I have removed all but one of the Dr Tone presets now. There are two things in the effects world that puzzle me. The assumption that every bassist wants a "dirty" sound and you don't need to create good quality clean tones, and the assumption that "synth" means the noises of industrial Middlesbrough fighting against Megatron.

I always take a spare to a gig. Even if it's left in the boot of the car, I'd rather go and get that than have to faff with fitting a new string or worse trying to find out why output has gone completely. As for a spare amp, I don't bother, I always have a DI capable pedal in case the amp develops a fault.

Can anyone recommend me a drill for doing tiny tiny works like creating the holes for installing new pups? I upgraded the pups for my bitsa but the screw holes are on different places. The drills I have are serious kit that are hand me downs from my electrician father in law, no good for small delicate works like this! Looking to do an Amazon Prime order today because I'm impatient. Thanks in advance... Would something like this do the job? https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B071G1GG8D/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_fabc_YR7MDRGXER6C07WVCFJC

Ha! It's a typo, was supposed to be "No end of stress... But a funny typo all things considered.

Thanks Mick. I'm treading carefully. I've bought a TE IR for my Helix Stomp to see if that goes some way towards scratching the itch. I've also had my fingers burned a few times recently with buying second hand tat off ebay that costs me an arm, a leg and Jo end of stress to get working... Only to be disappointed with the result. Still might get one though...

Something I'm working towards.... A room where I have a few basses but my daughter has her guitars and PA set up and my son has a drum kit. Rock n roll!

Loads of ways... Effects to thicken the sound: reverb/ delay, octave, chorus, drive. Otherwise play shed loads of fills, be sensitive to what the guitarist is playing and don't solo over them, just embellished versions of the typical line you'd be playing. Also, get the drummer involved, it's their job to fill that space too!

We had it at a 50th we were playing. Can so and so's daughter sing with you, it will make the birthday boys day... Etc etc. She was OK to be fair, very young and very shy girl but she did OK. Next there's a lad bothering our drummer for ages. Drummer hates playing a particular song so just hands the sticks to this lad, who was.... Interesting. No idea where to put fills but he just thrashed around with something that kind of fit and was OK timing wise. I wasn't happy about that at all. If anyone asks to have a go on my bass, which is rare I just say "it's left handed" as I walk away.

I think there's a few things going on here... My general experience of Ashdowns was cheap Mag combos that had been tortured in rehearsal rooms, probably with the sub pushing the speaker too hard and the teenage moshers pumping everything up to max. But it's the way Ashdown say its a subtle "always on" thing. On my Rootmaster i treat it as a built in effect to turn on and off tastefully when needed, the sub octave can sound quite separate from the original note. Always on would not sound good and be quite tiring to listen to.

That is a stunningly beautiful bass. From the list of faults... Strings, easy to change to your preference or whatever suits the bass best; neck dive, not something that's ever bothered me because I don't let go of the neck but can be sorted with a decent strap, and a bass like this should be dressed up well; Mid range honk... Shouldn't a P give you really rich mods and the J be dialled in for some bite ramping up to honk as it takes up more of the mix? Seriously, that could be my "dream bass" if it was left handed.

Interesting. Is it because being a "top class" bassist you've often got to do the things that go unnoticed rather than being showy? A but like being a "top class" referee in Footy or rugby, you've done well if nobody really noticed you're there.

I've never understood this attitude. I love playing with drummers who are not rock drummers, you get something different and less predictable to play along with. But if they can play the songs and they're not trying to play weird time signatures or something why does it matter? Anyhoo, good luck getting this sorted. A good drummer is hard to find, a guitarist without a massive ego even harder. Not sure of age ranges but perhaps try to find some youngsters who would be grateful for the opportunity to play with experienced musos and learn from you rather than people who want to pull things in their own direction? I know that I was brought in to an amazing band when I was 17 because I was young, naive, and not very good, but I learned and grew with the band. The guitarist got to swing his ego about unopposed and I got to jam with far better musicians and learn tons.

I've often wondered about setting a drum kit up on a trampoline...

Yes. Headless basses are AWESOME. Though some bands may threaten to shove it where the sun don't shine. They are quite marmite. I had a Hohner B2A, loved the sound. Active EMG pups though I only ever played it passive. I used Pyramid double ball end strings and loved the tone. This is it being played in rehearsal 4 or 5 years back on a blues track of all things: https://soundcloud.app.goo.gl/Fw9Rv They also attract photographers to you. I had to move it on because the string spacing was too tight. Though I do regret it slightly. That was until a few weeks back when I happened upon this gem, a Washburn Status. It now has new status strings and a full service from a luthier and its AWESOME. Played it with a new 80s band project last week through a Trace Elliot and I was in bass tone heaven. I may at some point upgrade the pre amp to something more sensible but for now slapping out Club Tropicana on this is the stuff dreams are made of.

I have but not made a massive feature out of it. I occasionally used it to thicken up some higher register playing, using the dial up to half way, never over, to keep a subtle octave effect. It works OK as an effect for a bit of subtle emphasis or assistance but I'd never leave it "always on". Before I went back to multi effects I bought the 2 button footswitch so I could bring in and out the drive or sub whenever I wanted. Now I have a Helix I can't see me using these functions at all, not even at home.

I get what he's saying, some amps and basses complement each other better.

Yep, done that now