Maude

Could it just be the strings not putting enough pressure on the piezo elements to work properly? Piezo pickups for doublebass bridge wing slots are hopeless if not enough or too much pressure is put on them. Maybe your piezos are particularly sensitive to this.

Buy them both and return the one you like least.

I like the Anti Nowhere League's version :D. I don't think I should be a bass player as nearly all the 'essential' albums and players are virtually unlistenable to me. Mingus, Clark, Jaco, Wooten, the list goes on. Bloody awful to my ears. Talented maybe, but talented at making a noise that makes me recoil.

Depends what call a solo. A guitar or bass 'solo' while the rest of the band are still playing I like. A true solo where it's just the one instrument showing off (not just a break down where one or two instruments hold the groove) is terrible. I once left a Whitesnake concert half way through as for no reason there was a five minute guitar solo (no one else playing, not even part of a song), then a five minute bass solo, then the drums, I couldn't take and left. I was already annoyed as Black Label Society were support, the main reason I went, and they pulled out at the last minute. The solo's were the final straw. So what do I feel audiences want? No bloody solo's.

^^^ I've not been in any of your average gig pubs where that would go down well.

Faith No More's 'The Real Thing'. I don't hear mention of Billy Gould nearly as much as I should on this forum, really upfront bass on a lot of the tracks on this album.

I had LaBella white nylons on my Variax for a while, no issues with string to string volume difference that I noticed.

I'm no authority on FM but if I was to go and see them on tour I would want to see/hear LB and SN, to me the core sound of FM. I reckon you could do away with Fleetwood and Mac and it would still sound more FM than if LB and SN were gone. I'm sorry this has nothing to do with fish or cheese.

Just seen that on fb and thought the same. UPS are either extremely sh!t or extremely bent.

I think they're called 'Cam lock straps' and yes, I use them all the time with kayaks, surfboards and paddleboards on the roof of my car with no problems. A lot easier than ratchet straps, which, quite frankly, are a pain in the Aris.

It does sound like the 'middle aisle of mystery' doesn't it.

I like 'em. I've already bagged myself a new boiler, a chainsaw, an old bike from a Police auction and a hot Polish date! What's not to like? 🤣😂

I know it's a little cheesey but open top bus tours are a great way to see a lot of the city in a relaxing manner. Last time I did it with my kids the ticket was valid for 24hrs, jump on and off where you like and it included the river boat tours as well. Buy your tickets early afternoon and do the open top busses one day and the boats the next.

Looks like it's piled up ready for the crusher. I'd wait 'til the end of the first song and dive backwards into it, sort that mess out before the intro to the second song finishes d!ckhead. 🤣

This thread has made me very happy to be in both of my bands. I couldn't be in a band where punters didn't notice the bass. First band is doublebass and lively so goes without saying that folks notice what I'm up to. Other band is Mod/Northern Soul/Ska, in songs like 'Tubestation At Midnight', 'The Real Me', 'The Night', 'Pressure Drop' etc people definitely know what I'm doing. I'm no wallflower in that band either and that's the way I like it.

But what are top quality strings? If there is a best string then we'd all be using them and the rest would go out of business. I've got a set of barely used LaBella white nylons in the drawer at home because I prefer D'Addario half rounds, but at nearly half the price are they half as good? No, they're better to me. So which of these two are the top quality?

^^ I agree but not paying through the nose doesn't necessarily mean a compromise. More expensive does not always mean better.

I'm intrigued as to what that is.

I like my necks like I like my playing......... kept in the pocket 😋

I find Chromes have that same 'grippy' feel when new. Disappears after a few weeks of playing. I haven't bought the Olympia ones as I don't actual need any at the mo. I know, I shouldn't really let something silly like not needing them stop me

There's also these from Olympia I've had in my watched items for a while but haven't committed to yet. https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F302719180784

That's why all my pieces of string are the wrong length then, I've always done half twice it's length.

I have a 'Great stuff this Bass' bar towel in my gigbag.

I haven't updated this for a while but some nice photos of last weekend have just surfaced so here we go Last weekend was supposed to be Looe Music Festival in Cornwall, probably grown to a large enough event over the years that most of you will have heard of it. Three weeks ago the management company declared themselves bankrupt leaving the small seaside town reeling as the festival is/was a massive, end of season cash injection to the local community, with a main stage on the beach and numerous other stages around the town. The Looe Saves The Day festival was organised from scratch by volunteers in three weeks. As far as I'm aware everybody involved gave their time for free to try and keep the towns event going. Here's some pics from our set on the second stage on the Friday. Great set up for such short notice, amazing sound, fantastic crew and an up for it, receptive crowd. Result!

Chromes feel a bit 'grippy' at first but just play through that and they'll soon feel slick. Possibly a coating to stop oxidisation before use.