lownote

I've had success from I have had success from this MO. Also, oddly, by simply involving her in the decision with a rational and long winded explanation of why I need it. What doesn't work is a bass or sax shaped parcel turning up unexpectedly.

They're actually quite clever. After all they just (so far) successfully made a world class telescope out of lego, string and cling film

Bass Gallery in norf London, Wunjos in Denmark Street for a starter

I was wondering whether the E string was thru body...

I've just rejected a request to play NYE. I've avoided Covid for almost two years, not going to stick my head in its maw for a bunch of whizzed backside people. So my band days could be numbered...

Can I report that Axe Wax string oil makes a perfect lubricant for door bolts and presumably anything else you need to keep sliding in and out smoothly.

All my 40+ basses have sounded different unless of exactly the same config. String type makes a massive difference, wood type also. Pickups, active/passive. And amps and cabs are also different. There is a strong argument in the woodwind world that you will sound like you whatever your horn. I'm not entirely sure that's true, althought there is strong evidence. But I don't see how it can possibly be true with bass, where the quality of the sound wafting into peeps' 'earholes is entirely crafted by a long chain of kit bits actuated by a couple of twiddling fingers.

I am speculating here but my 40 is American ash. Is the Musicman basswood? My limited experience and almost total lack of knowledge is that ash can be heavy, and basswood not.

I've just discovered the Harley Benton. Amazing bit of kit for £138 new inc VAT from Thomanns.The Revelation is also great for a bit more money (£200). If you've more money again then a second hand Sire will likely be all you ever need. I've had four - I kept buying them to revisit that 'wow' feeling. I would join Scott Bass Lessons (SBL) for teaching and/or Talking Bass.net. You can try out SBL for free for 14 days to see if it cuts your mustard. My personal experience is that face2face tutors are expensive and rubbish in comparison but that is (obv) only my experience.

Should you be looking for a cheap jazz bass but are worried about quality, let me share my recent purchase with you. I was looking for a lined fretless to improve my high end playing, something that's very hard on the unlined fretless I usually play. So I bought the Harley Benton JB40 FL from Thomanns. I was a little nervous because of the price - £138 new inc VAT. But while I am sure there are cheapnesses somewhere - electrics, maybe? the fit, finish and performance are IMHO equal to Sire or Squier at a third or half the price (and finish actually better than two Ibanez I've had at x5 the price!) I haven't found a single feature yet where I've castigated myself for buying cheap. The fingerboard hasn't any dead spots and the markers are clean. The machine heads are tight and smooth. Trussrod was stiff to turn but did - turn that is. The bridge is thicker than the usual bent tin and the screws work smoothly enough. Amazingly relief, string height and intonation were spot on straight out of the box. It's a bit heavy by modern standards and you'll neeed a wide strap to play a three hour gig with it. If you want clever active electrics buy Sire. Otherwise get this and if you must at some point perhaps throw a ton at upgrade Tonerider pups and KiOgon loom. You'll still have a cheap bass. But for most jobs you do don't even need to do that.

I have an unlined fretless with no lines - even stubs - and side white dots where the 3/5/7/9 etc frets would be I have a lined fretless with side dots where they'd be on a fretted bass, tween the lines. The difference is throwing my muscle memory. On the lined bass I want to erase or otherwise downplay the existing dots and 'move' them to where the fret lines are positioned. Not wanting to make a messy job of this anyone got an MO which works? Paint, or drill out and fill with coloured wood filler/ cocktail sticks/sand down?

45 ish over 10 years. Most expensive single cut Ibo around £600, cheapest £20 P bass clone. Nicest to play: MiM Fender P bass / Peavey Grind 5. Most examples had: Sire / Hohner B Bass VI. Best workhorse/ value: Revelation P bass clone unlined fretless £150 s/hand, Harvey Benton Jazz clone £138 new.

I ripped the frets out of mine as a first FL exercise, working out too late that with a neck thru that's risky cos you can't shim if you're too low. But it was OK by a whisker. Sold it to Bryan Adam's manager.

Citee boy can pick and choose. Where I am deep in Ease Tanglia there's a handful of bands within 2500 square miles and empty bass chairs are rare as hens' teeth. What's more, if you cross someone (perhaps without even know it) just once the unwritten communal grudge sheet gets updated permanently.

I'm used to it. Our drummer does a bit of bass as well and is quite happy to advise me on technique. 'I play it on the open E, you know... like this'. Previous drummer was no better: Me "Hey Chris, any issues with my playing you want to air?" Him [look of bemusement] "Dunno, never listen to you."

About the right price if it's in good nick. The 5 is as rare as hen's teeth, but not really worth chasing in my opinion. The 6 comes on sale here or eBay (usually) about one a four month.

Which model, they're very different? I've had many. The B Bass 6 is a gorgeous instrument, tiny, light and well proportioned for a 6, with a thru neck of varying wood quality. Some basses are quite plain, others wouldn't look out of line in a row of Foderas. They're well made, play great with a nice thin neck. The only slight issue is that the bridge isn't quite woman enough for all those strings so it curls up 1/2 a mm or so at the ball end. But they still hold their tune and it doesn't usually get worse. The B Bass 5 is a rather different shape and generally not as nice or well made as the 6 in my experience, but YMMV. The B Bass 4 is like the 5 but rather nicer. Pretty and light, it's a great bass with lovely tone, in my experience let down by the weird drop D bridge lever which I never quite got sorted, but it was a 'rescue bass'. For the money you're getting a lot of bass whichever model. I wouldn't pay more than £250. Good luck finding spares!! Coupla sample vids, 4 and 6 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Juo-y0craU and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3T3YD9t45HA

Week 4 begins with an opening slide which contains two - TWO! - grocers apostrophe's [sic]. How bad is that? I am sure the important thing is the music but that doesn't mean we should condone a decline in standards. No. This week it's soloing and improv. Once again well thought out material, well presented. A phrase I might as well repeat every week for the next 11. But as always with Scott I'm struggling. He's super brainy and also super work ethic'd and I suspect can't quite realise that some people aren't. S'OK, I'm learning stuff. Still in for the long haul. Plus it's useful for my sax side, which is a bonus.

There is currently a Cort B5 on sale here in Glasgow but he's willing to post. Likely to be around £380 posted. That's if I don't buy it first

Feel free to rub Nigella Lawson on your fingerboard. The easy answer to many of the original OP's concerns is not to use frets, or even lines. Go Kommando with your wood. Just because I say so.