solo4652

Quite - the rooms are new and there are some rather nice amps, drums and guitars in there. There is a very well-equipped recording studio with all the gear. Also, bands leave their money in the piano stool since the owner leaves before the bands have finished. Suppose somebody walks in when the bands are busy and nicks something. Last band out locks up in good faith, only to be dragged into a messy insurance claim later. I'm not comfortable being put in that (potential) position.

I don't know whether we're allowed to stay late. We always leave by 11 o'clock, since we hire the room 7 - 11.

The last two rehearsal rooms we've used, we've been given the keys and asked to switch off all lights, make sure the goods lift doors are properly in place, check that nobody else is in the building and lock everything up when we leave. Now, I personally think it's the owners' responsibility to secure their own premises at lock-up time, not ours. I said this to the owner of our current rooms and he got a bit defensive, saying he couldn't see any problem. Any thoughts?

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Hi Mike, I've always struggled with J-width necks on 34" scale basses, so I'm pretty sure the 38mm J neck on the Fender will be too cramped for my hulking great paws. My Harley Benton has a 41mm neck, and that's OK, but I don't think I could cope with anything much narrower than that. The Ibanez is looking odds-on favourite at the moment.

My Harley Benton shorty is a cracking bass. However, I do miss the bite of a J pickup. So, I'm now looking for something like this: Short scale Wide neck (at least 40mm nut width) Lightweight Importantly, it must be well-balanced on the strap with no neck dive P/J, MM or P/MM pickup arrangement Budget max is £500 I'm aware of the Ibanez TMB-30 Talman short scale, and that's very close to what I'm after. All other suggestions gratefully received. Thanks, Steve

I don't know how much notice the singers got regarding their daughter's audition, but I'd be very surprised if they didn't know at least the day before. The guitarist (good friends with singers) rang me yesterday morning to say that the singers may be a bit late. I pretty much knew at that point they wouldn't be there, but I went along because I'd said I would. I pride myself on my punctuality, and doing what I've promised to do. Last night the guitarist forgot his debit card and didn't know whether he had enough petrol in his car to get home. I give up. I've let them know that I'm looking for another project.

[quote name='solo4652' timestamp='1471446378' post='3113118'] I've just jotted down the band's rehearsal history. It's a start-up band, and the full has only met 3 times: Rehearsal 1 - Went ahead without lead singer who was sick. Room costs split between those present. Rehearsal 2 - As rehearsal 1 Rehearsal 3 - As rehearsals 1 and 2 Rehearsal 4 - Cancelled. Guitarist's wife sick. No room costs Rehearsal 5 - Cancelled. Both singers (man and wife) sick. No room costs Rehearsal 6 - Cancelled. Guitarist's wife sick. No room costs At this point, I suggested a short summer break while people recovered from various illnesses, and the guitarist's wife gave birth. Rehearsal 7 - All present! Room costs split evenly Rehearsal 8 - All present, but guitarist and both singers arrived with no money. Room costs split between drummer and myself. Rehearsal 9 - All present. Room costs split between those who didn't pay the previous time. Rehearsal 10 - Due tonight. Cancelled late because guitarist's wife is sick. Guitarist has offered to pay room costs. [/quote] Rehearsal 11 - Due last night. I turned up, as arranged, Both singers absent because they were taking daughter to an audition. Drummer, guitarist and myself paid for room and played through a few songs, but a bit meaningless without vocals. I had a good moan and said that I'd be looking for an additional band/project.

I've just jotted down the band's rehearsal history. It's a start-up band, and the full has only met 3 times: Rehearsal 1 - Went ahead without lead singer who was sick. Room costs split between those present. Rehearsal 2 - As rehearsal 1 Rehearsal 3 - As rehearsals 1 and 2 Rehearsal 4 - Cancelled. Guitarist's wife sick. No room costs Rehearsal 5 - Cancelled. Both singers (man and wife) sick. No room costs Rehearsal 6 - Cancelled. Guitarist's wife sick. No room costs At this point, I suggested a short summer break while people recovered from various illnesses, and the guitarist's wife gave birth. Rehearsal 7 - All present! Room costs split evenly Rehearsal 8 - All present, but guitarist and both singers arrived with no money. Room costs split between drummer and myself. Rehearsal 9 - All present. Room costs split between those who didn't pay the previous time. Rehearsal 10 - Due tonight. Cancelled late because guitarist's wife is sick. Guitarist has offered to pay room costs.

No band rehearsal tonight because guitarist has just messaged everybody to say he can't make it. He's offered to pay for the rehearsal room. Does that seem fair? Or should everybody pay their usual share - collective responsibility, and all that?

Quick update on the Harley Benton Shorty, following rehearsal last night with stock pickups - not yet fitted the PBXN's. Not far short of extraordinary! I felt much more comfy with the short scale compared to the 34" Yamaha BB's, and was making appreciably fewer mistakes, mainly because of the closer fret spacings, and the shorter reach to the bottom frets. The band said it was the best-sounding best they's heard me play, and the best playing from me! This cheap little bass is making me have a fundamental re-think about The Herd. I'm fairly certain the BB424 will be up for sale shortly, perhaps even the BB1024, replaced with a light, 30" scale P/J - something like a Marooshthingy Jake, or a Scott Whitley SWB-1. All change here, folks but I'm feeling a lot more positive about my bass-playing prospects. Off now to get the PBXN's put into the Harley Benson by B/C's Bassbunny. That's a lovely gesture by him.

I think I can see what you mean. Looking closely at the yellow wire, I can see a number of wires emerging from it and joining to various lugs on the volume pot. If you could possibly install the Entwistle pickups for me I'd be most grateful, since I haven't got a clue (or a soldering iron!). I can't find your address - if you could send it to me via PM with a suggested meet-up time, I'll pop round. How kind you are.

[attachment=225249:100_0883.JPG] Here's the HB wiring. The yellow wire from the front pup goes to the volume pot. The black wire runs between the two pups, and is the only wire connected to the rear pup. In my naivety, I was rather hoping I'd be able to snip some wires, drop the new pickups in and reconnect using those little wire connector thingies without any soldering. Given that the HB wiring looks a bit different to the "standard P wiring" diagrams I can find online, I've already given up on that idea - could well be a trip to an instrument tech. tomorrow,

I'm replacing stock pickups on my new Harley Benton Shorty with some Entwistle PBXN's. The stock pickups have one wire to the volume pot and one wire connecting the two pickups and nothing else.The Entwistleshave an extra wire which, from the diagram supplied, looks like it may be an earth wire from the neck pickup. Is that correct? Where would I anchor this extra earth wire, please? Apologies - this is my first pickup swap and I was expecting to find exactly the same wiring.

Well - good grief! The HB Shorty arrived this morning. I cut down some used half-rounds and slapped them on. Tightened up the truss rod a half-turn, and re-set the intonation. I'm very confused - it cost under £70, complete with an instrument lead, and it plays unbelievably well. For under £70. What!? Neck pocket looks good and tight, just a couple of slightly sharp fret ends. Pickups sound better than I was expecting - not as muddy as some have suggested. Bridge looks pretty thick, and it feels solid enough. Tuners are doing their job, but are not the smoothest operators I've come across. Pots aren't scratchy, jack socket seems secure. All screws are tight. Back of neck is as smooth as any other bass I've had, so no need for wire-wool there, much to my surprise. There is a smidge of neck dive when playing. No problem, i thought - my weight-bearing waist strap will hold it up, like it does with the Yamaha BB's. Nope - the smaller body of the HBS means that no matter how much I lengthen the lower bout support strap, the strap actually drags the bass downwards. So, I'll try it without the waist strap. I've just been told that the band's meeting tonight for a short rehearsal and I already feel comfy enough with the short scale to take it along. I have £800 worth of basses sitting in the corner of the dining room, and the HBS feels easier to play. For £67. Bonkers. We'll see how we get on tonight.

@blablas. Thanks for your advice. If anybody knows their way round these basses, it's you. Remembering that I'm ideally looking for high-volume, punchy mids-forward tone and not old-school muddy-thuddy, anybody know about these pickups? [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/232010487717?lpid=122&chn=ps&googleloc=1006559&poi=&campaignid=628859225&device=c&adgroupid=28306099746&rlsatarget=pla-184492187826&adtype=pla&crdt=0"]http://www.ebay.co.u...type=pla&crdt=0[/url] [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-Wilkinson-P-Bass-Black-Pickup-For-Bass-Guitars-MWPB-Model-/371675355411?hash=item568993d913:g:T1YAAOSwzJ5XfS8g"]http://www.ebay.co.u...1YAAOSwzJ5XfS8g[/url]

I've just ordered an HB Shorty from Thomann to see how I get on with short scale and to give me a bit of a project while I wait for my neck operation. I've been reading various threads about modding these basses - Blablas' projects look really nicely done: http://basschat.co.uk/topic/253875-turning-a-harley-benton-pb-shorty-into-a-jb-shorty/page__hl__harley%20benton%20shorty Looks like the stock strings and P pickup will need to be changed. I'm aiming at a mids-forward, punchy tone, and I like halfwound strings. So, couple of questions; Dimarzio model P 122 pickup would be great, but is expensive new. What would be a cheap-but-good alternative? Any suggestions for halfwound strings to fit the short scale? I have some standard scale Status Hotwires here - shall I just trim off the ends for a first go? Any other string suggestions? Steve

@Martthebass Thank you for your understanding, and for your offer of a go on your Status Streamline. One of those would do very nicely, thank you. However, as you say, it's beyond my budget! @naxos10. Those SWB-1's do look smart. I'm not sure whether their scale length and string spacing would be just too tight, however. The 32" M[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]aruzyczk basses are pretty close to what I'm after. Isn't there anybody who offers a similar hand-built service in this country for similar prices? Can't seem to find anybody.[/font][/color]

Oooh, now then. Looks very interesting. Close look in the morning.

Folks, My medical woes continue, but I've been experimenting with different basses to find a way forward. I've found that: As suggested by many B/Cers, a well-balanced bass is just as important as a light one. Holding up a neck-heavy bass while playing very quickly leads to arm and neck pains. I've cobbled together a waist strap that takes a lot of the weight of a bass off my shoulder. I've discovered that the key thing is to have an extra strap running from the waist to an extra strap pin close to the tip of the lower bout. With my Yamaha BB's, this also really helps with the overall balance. 32" scale helps. So, my revised shopping list for a bass is: 32" scale Lightweight. Doesn't have to be as mad/creative/different as I was originally thinking. Just light, that's all. 3 Kgs would be good It[i] has[/i] to be nicely balanced on a conventional strap with no neck dive. P/J, or maybe P/MM pickup configuration. I've never really been a J-bass fan but, you never know... Budget is £500 max I thought about starting a new thread, but decided that slightly re-orienting this existing one would be a better option. Mods - please do advise if you think otherwise. Steve

Gone, unsurprisingly.

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