lownote

Did you miss the filter knobs?

Only time in my life a complete stranger ever enveloped me in an unexpected snog was when a very attractive woman came up to me after I played bass in the jam at the Dereham Blues Festival. My wife was genuinely impressed. I think it went some way towards reassuring her choice of me as a mate wasn't completely random.

Anyone got good or bad things to say about the Nano?

I'm the youngest in my band by between 5 and 10 years and I'm 66. The bloke who runs our local blues jam and the Dereham Blues Festival is in his 80s. If that helps.

+1 for KiOgon. For me it is now a rule: step 1, buy passive bass; step 2, commission a KiOgon loom

ah do play the blues, s'true

After 10 years of playing bass (a little) and buying and selling (a lot, 40+) I think I may have actually run out of gas, or me little pilot light's gone out, or whatever. I can honestly say I now visit the Basses for Sale pages as an occasional thought rather than hourly. I've had my Revelation unlined since July 19 and the Ibanez Portamento since last summer. Even Sire posts no longer stimulate me to further serial buys. I still hold a feeble flame for the Cabs n Heads section but unless someone throws up a Phil Jones D400 in orange for silly money that lust too may be just a dull glowing ember.

Depends on whether you want a dinky head or are OK with a big (if not that heavy) lump. Ashdown 300 (MAG evo or similar). Great tone, variety of controls, go on for ever, no worries fixing it if it goes wrong and cheap as chips. What's not to like?

IMHO the only luthier to have achieved an elegant and aesthetically pleasing single cut is Jon Shuker.

I had one o' they. Nice bass. Go through things systematically. It has to be said people vary widely in their ideal fretless settings. I like my fretlesses to sound more or less like fretted basses so the settings are not dissimilar from how I'd have a fretted. First look down the f/board to make sure it isn't twisted. Check the nut slot heights - I like the strings at the nut to be a business card thickness off the board. Check the relief - I like to have around 0.3mm at 8th 'fret' with the strings held down at 1st and 12th fret. String heights - I like similar heights to a fretted, perhaps a little less. Is string touching the pups when you're fingering the strings? After that I run out of ideas.

I've been a 5 or 6 string sort of chap almost since I got sucked into this bass thing. I do find the B useful for all the reasons given. My one caveat, confirmed by my old bass teacher who knew his stuff, is that with a multistring you have to place the note, even if that comes fairly naturally after a while. Somehow with a 4 you can just go for it, making playing more organic, easier and fun.

Gotta have 'bell-like highs'

Trouble is I'm still trying to get songs right I was working on in 2011! And working on courses I started almost as long ago. Agh, wo'ever...

What with lockdown and retirement I have all the time in the world (cue for a song), and have devoted hours days and weeks to getting good on bass and sax. Despite this investment I am still super rubbish on both instruments. It really is time for a new hobby, just can't think what.

Dunlop flats. I have an unlined fretless fiver. Dunlops flats.

Get a BF One10. So light you have to weigh it down with a beer mug to stop it floating off and good for 500w. Super hip looking too, esp with a Trace Elf. Or you could buy my 6x7 Phil Jones for not much more. Noty that I was selling it but I'm getting bored now. Must have had them 2 minutes.

I think my point was not just that my recordings could do with a tweak in post, they show I'm pretty warty at playing bass full stop, even after 10 years. This could explain why I've only ever been asked to join two bands, and then by the same bloke. If my playing is as rubbish as the recordings show I need a major rethink. Despair may not be necessary, but what the recordings indicate is I'm far too notey, and my 'delightful twiddly bits' are just awful and unnecessary. So I need to get myself back, not to the garden, but the drawing board.

Dunlop flats. Less floppy than the Dads but not stiff. Perfect for me and quite a few others. Quality strings, well smooth and lovely tone.

I went from a Markbass 1x12 to 6x7 (Phil Jones 27 plus 47). Different tonality but I like both and found them about equal in oomph. If I drop the 47 and play just with the 2x7 I find that pretty weedy. if that helps?