NickA

Tried to buy this beauty today... Beaten to it. Bit of research shows Alan was selling it a couple of years back, then it was £2600 on reverb ( with a dfm pre amp) then bass direct sold it this week ( with a u retro pre amp, by the look). for a mere £1300. How can that workmanship come at that price and then halve in value over two years??? Anyway, unless I'm missing something, seems a very good deal for the lucky buyer! I shall have an ACG one day.

About how much is "not the least expensive"? Electric wood quoted me £600 to refin a Wal Custom. I wouldn't subject it to the least expensive job, but £600 was a bit much for something that wouldn't change the sound. I passed, I'm sticking with the "gigged" look for now ...but y'know, shiny things.

It's ..... a basse de violon what once belonged to Dragonetti. Sort of super sized cello precursor, tuned in fifths but quite a long scale. https://www.rct.uk/collection/themes/trails/music-in-the-royal-collection

^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Not mine, but the only p bass I've ever had gas over:

I've been working on 5-string for a year now. The extra string issue goes away in time though my smallish hands still struggle a bit with the extra width of fingerboard. Harder is learning to play in all the new positions it opens up instead of slipping back into first position and open strings. You CAN play it as a four with extra deep notes, but I think that's not the main point. 6 weeks to learn a new instrument is perhaps a bit short? Especially if you're and old dog (like me) doing new tricks.

Is that: a walking bass-encyclopedia or a walking-bass encyclopedia? Love the workmanship on that Smith btw. Tempted to buy one just to stroke it. Incredible value for the quality of work.

" ^^^ that's just showing off " I've an unstained acoustic too but forgot I had it.

Galvanized industrial flooring scratchplate!!

Went to see soft machine last year; Roy Babbington was playing a Squire PJ bass. You don't even need a fender if you're good enough! I do like my Warwick and Wals tho. Warwick's are crazy good value too if you buy second hand, depreciate like super cars from new tho ( goodness knows why, fashion I guess ).

Look at the CBSO and everyone is using a French bow; likewise the LSO, likewise my amateur outfit; in fact I've never even met any German bow users. Look at the Berlin Phil however and they are all using German bows. French bowers need not apply. Is it easier to hold? Less crampy? Evidently works just as well as the French sort, once you get the hang of it. Looks awkward to me.

Great Basses. You can do anything with one of those. They even put the "precision" pickup the right way round!

Sanderberg California vm. Nice bass. Tried a 5-string one one in wunjo, but it was a 35" scale and too big for my short fat hands. 😞

Stealth black stingray? Going to buy one of these one day 🙂

That BB 2000 I traded for the fretless Wal. Had some stupid one in one out only need two basses policy. Nuts.

Lucky your sound post didn't fall over too. Stuff of nightmares.

What do you DO to your bass that makes the bridge fall over? Never had that happen, despite smacking it on doorways now and then! Cool solution though and if you're using a may pickup won't change the sound much I guess. I think a totally acoustic player would have a fainting fit.

I find frets difficult tbh. Your finger positioning has to be as accurate as on a fretless to get an even tone. If you're a bit out on a fretless you're a bit out of tune and can correct, with frets you get a nasty clank or buzz or a completely wrong note. Fretted basses good for chords, slapping, tapping and endless sustain, fretless for the rest. I think, if you're a good fretted player then fretless will beveasy. If you have lousy technique and/or are used to looking at your fingers to hit the right note ( instead of at the music or at your fellow musicians); then fretless might be tough.

Before I got a 5 string I didn't understand the fuss about string damping either. On a 4 I just used my left hand. On a 5 you suddenly don't have enough fingers and it's easy to set a string ringing ... had to learn right hand damping and forced to admit it's really quite useful.

Raising an interesting question about picks (I never learned) .. how do you stop strings ringing on? Edge of right hand? In which case, extra string confusion apart, shouldn't be too hard to play a 5.

I never used right hand damping on my 4-strings, the left hand handled it all. On the 5 I've adopted this "floating thumb" thing (where your thumb lies on top of all the strings below the one you're playing) - almost the opposite of your technique. Still, even with the thumb in play; like you, I usually damp the B-string separately, but doing it with my ring finger on the B string to give me a position reference and my thumb damping the higher strings! A major problem for me was the extra string and the A string being in the middle of the fingerboard; I still hit the wrong string sometimes, playing a G instead of a C for instance; it's not the narrower string spacing, just the extra string! Anyway, there are evidently many ways to kill this particular cat ... and I'll give your method a go next time I deserve a break from "working at home" (aka idly browsing Basschat!)