Maude

Evening all, Now I realise that there's no substitute for actually trying the bass you want to buy and that a really good quality fully laminate would probably sound better than a really cheap partially carved bass, but. I think I'm going to be getting a new Gedo bass due to a number of factors, my dilema is which one, I'm on a very limited budget and even if I had more money to spend I couldn't justify it with a young family and an old cottage to renovate. My question is I would need to amplify it in the acoustic band I'm in (I'm currently using a Harley Benton EUB and the band are happy with the sound of that so I sure on of the cheaper Gedos will sound fine) ,would I be better getting a full laminate and use the money saved (£200ish) on a really good pickup, or get a laminate with carved top and a cheap (J tone) pickup. I suppose I'm asking will a carved top make much difference if l'm going to use a pickup. I won't be able to buy the carved top bass and an expensive pickup. I realise all basses will sound different but is there a rule of thumb kind of thing? Thanks in advance for any help or advice.

A fully laminate Gedo has just gone on ebay for £360, I would've had it but it was a nearly 600 mile round trip away, add on £100 of fuel and I've only saved £30 but lost a warranty as you can buy them for £490 delivered, it did have a set of D'addario hybrid lights on it though. I've been looking for the cheapest useable bass and decided a Gedo laminate plus a decent set of strings is the best deal I can get and it be playable, still £600 though. Thomann do one for the same price but free postage so you save £80 but the Gedos look like a nicer finish and there seems to be a lot of praise for them, quite possibly the same basses and the photos make the difference, I don't know :-)

Our drummer was Adam Ant, no hang on that's not right, our drummer was adamant that people would think we were a folk band so I suppose he was almost right if it makes you think blues, the band is rock covers band but we do try to put our own spin on things. It's so difficult getting five people to agree on one name. I saw a band advertised in a local pub whose name I think most male musicians can relate to, 'The Wives Aren't Happy'

I love OMD, should be a great night. The guitarist/mandolinist in our band did this pretty much off the cuff when he visited his brother, I like it so much I really want to do it in the acoustic band but he doesn't really like it. It's a little rough round the edges but I think it could be great, what do you think? http://m.youtube.com/watch?hl=en&client=mv-google&gl=GB&v=kpOdy5BTs2w Couldn't seem to upload it, sorry. Have a great night :0)

We've just had to rename due to having to kick the founder member out and he wanted to keep the original name. We were almost settled on 'Hoodoo Boomstick' until we found a band in the same county using boomstick in their name, what's the chances. We settled about a month ago on 'Cloud City Rebels', which is also a coincidence given the theme of this thread. While I'm posting, what genre of music does 'Hoodoo Boomstick' make you think of? It was a bit of a debate at the time within the band. Got to agree with the OP though, I 've lost count of the amount of suggestions that came up that turned out to be taken, at least we have the internet to check now.

Oh no! :-( Hearing Slayer always takes me back to a baking hot August bank holiday at Donington, thanks for the memories Jeff.

I have a Harley Benton EUB and use Slaphappy weed whackers and get a very useable tone. I guess it depends on what sound you're after, I wanted that basic, old sounding thud without much sustain so thought I'd try them as they're only around twenty quid a set. They're better than I expected and I'm really pleased with the sound, even been complemented on my sound at gigs, it's definately not a refined classical sound but that's not what I wanted, if you want to play rockabilly, country, bluegrass type of stuff then i'd definately give them a go, at worst you've lost twenty quid, at best you've got a sound you like which is easy on the fingers and pocket. Oh and a sound you like despite most folks telling you you won't get a good sound out of them.

Thanks for the replies folks, a purchase is looming. I just need to work out how much I can get away with spending against how little I have to tell the boss it cost.

How are you getting on with he bass now you've had it a while Pete, still loving it or are there any issues? I'm about ready to order one and thought I'd see how you felt about yours now you've lived with it for a while. I'll be moving on from an EUB as well and was going to get a Thomann bass after the excellent service I got from them when I ordered my EUB but I'm leaning towards a Gedo now after reading this thread, and seeing your pictures Look forward to hearing from you, or any other Gedo owners.

I picked up an Aria STB Series P bass clone a while back, stock it sound good and played lovely after a quick set up to my taste. I put a Quarter Pounder pick up in and a set of Chromes on and it is absolutely fantastic now, it became my main bass for a while and is only relegated to back up because I got a Variax which I'm liking atm. I need to sell a few basses because they're just not getting the use they deserve but the Aria will never go, only paid £40 for it.

There's one on ebay at the moment, one day left to go and only on £26, in Langford which I think is in Bedfordshire. Might be useful. [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3-4-Double-Bass-Hard-Flight-Case-/300805988861?pt=UK_MusicalInstr_Access_RL&hash=item46096f21fd&_uhb=1"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3-4-Double-Bass-Hard-Flight-Case-/300805988861?pt=UK_MusicalInstr_Access_RL&hash=item46096f21fd&_uhb=1[/url]

[quote name='bertbass' timestamp='1348524897' post='1814906'] OK, I'll be the one to ask the obvious question. What's a ghost note? [/quote] Don't ask ............... they're scary man!

so if I give 'em a tap and the sound comes out the speakers then that one is knackered? I'll check next week at rehearsal, hopefully it's just that, I bought it second hand and I've had it a good ten years so they are getting on a bit.

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' timestamp='1348152347' post='1810083'] Ding the valves with a plastic chopstick, especially the pre ones, one has probably gone microphonic, and you'll hear the sound coming out the speakers. [/quote] Not wanting to derail this thread, but I use a Peavey Max pre-amp, in the last few weeks I have been getting a high pitched noise all the time from it (if I turn it off with the power amp still on the noise stops and comes back when the pre is turned on), it started as a faint chirruping sort of sound but has steadily got worse and is now pretty much constant. AFAIK it uses 12ax7 valves, is this likely to be the same problem, I hope it's not fubared as it's an awesome pre amp.

I love my Ashdown Perfect Ten mini rig, sounds lovely, enough power for small gigs and looks amazing, all my own opinion of course. 65w head with two 10" cabs. Should be able to find one for around £100, or the Ashdown Five Fifteen mini rig (100w head with a 210 cab) for £150 [IMG]http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/jj510/Maude200/16052012290.jpg[/IMG]

I decided on a P before I even read the options ................ so it'll be a P for me please Bob.

Alright me 'andsomes . Liskeard eh Gub? We rehearse in the basement of Parade House, I'm just up the road in Pensilva.

I don't know about their bass guitars but I've got their electric upright which is the same as the Palatino, even came in a Palatino box, (bear with me ) there are a lot of known faults with the Palatino discussed on Talkbass but my HB doesn't appear to have any of them, no rattles, no buzzing etc. The finish is good, the build is solid, the only thing I would say is that the tuners feel a bit weak and vague. Overall I would say it was excellent value. I don't really know where I'm going with this now , basically at that price and from my upright experience I would jump at that one, any little niggles could be put right cheaply anyway. Thomann are very good to deal with too. It's quite a looker too .

You should be able to get a set of Chromes for around £25 which I wouldn't say is particularly expensive. That's them on my P bass in my avatar and they sound awesome. On their own you may think they're a bit muddy sounding but as soon as you play in a mix most of the top end that makes a bass sound nice by itself is lost to the guitars anyway. These sound just perfect.

Sometimes I cheat when playing my Warwick Thumb bass and use my fingers.

Thanks for all the advice . I appreciate that real guts would be better but if I wasn't on a budget then I wouldn't own a Harley Benton. I really only bought the bass as I've always fancied upright but never knew how I'd get on with it (primarily EB player). I'm not overly worried if the strings don't sound awesome as none of my playing will get an airing for a while yet, I just need it in good playable order so I can practise. If I get on with it I will upgrade to whatever suits my needs then, if I don't get on with it a £100 set of strings won't increase the resale value by £100 so I don't want to jump right in just yet. Less than £20 for 5 string bump set is viable. Having said that the weedwhackers are a lot better after playing them for week. I am going to give them a light sand as I've got to do the neck as that's a tad grippy as well so they should ok for practicing.

See, this is the trouble with forums like this. I've been slimming down my arsenal and was looking at the seven left (still trying to slim due to getting a Variax) and realised they were all rosewood necks, I was quietly thinking to myself 'do I need a maple neck', almost to the point of starting a thread to find out others preferences for maple or rosewood, and then I read this thread. That green one is as sexy as they come and I'm getting strong urges and finding it hard to resist. Help!

A lot of people think that Led Zeppelin wrote a lot of Led Zeppelin songs .

[quote name='zero9' timestamp='1346178651' post='1786206'] Changing real names to stagenames appears more prevalent amongst the guitardist community, then amongst bassists. I'm struggling to find good examples of bass players who've adopted stagenames other than Sting (I've lived a fairly sheltered life ). [/quote] Sid Vicious, although I'm not entirely sure you can class him as a bassist .

Thanks Steve, I'm not 100% sure to be honest, it's not a glossy finish at all, it's a very dark brown matt finish which I can see the wood grain through. Wether that's the natural wood colour or a stain I wouldn't like to say. If I gently run my finger over the string, as if plucking in slow motion, I get the same noise as my finger grips it and makes it resonate, I can get a arco sound from it if I use the length of my finger. I may run some 'Fast Fret' over them before sanding, lubricating should hopefully stop it if it is the strings although obviously it won't be permanent.