solo4652

[quote name='Beedster' post='656203' date='Nov 16 2009, 06:30 PM']Hey Steve If Howard (Bass Doc) will do it for £65, I'd have a chat with him. I was inferring above that you get what you pay for with this type of job. From what I've heard on here about Howard's work he sounds like the rare exception. Right, that was clear as mud, what I mean is that £65 is bloody good for quality work which is no doubt what you'd get Chris[/quote] All clear now! Just a thought - Since I'd really like to end up with an unlined fingerboard, would it be any easier/quicker to replace the existing fretted maple 'board with a new unlined 'board? Anybody know of the likely costs of that? Steve

[quote name='Beedster' post='656168' date='Nov 16 2009, 05:53 PM']I was quoted £175 by a highly respected luthier (price included getting the board flat also) but have heard of it being done for as little as £40. I think the amount you spend is a function of how much the bass is worth and how important it is to get the job done perfectly. Chris[/quote] Hi Chris, As usual, you have come up with the information I need in double-quick time. Thanks. Steve

Hi, I'm considering having a de-fret done on my G&L Tribute. Anybody have any idea how much this is likely to cost, please? Ball park figure... Cheers, Steve

Good tight feel there already. Well done to you and your bandmates.

I approached this from the opposite direction. I started with a music stand and then added a mic holder to it, like this: [url="http://www.millennium-music.co.uk/products/categories/subcategories/Superlux%20Drum%20Mic%20Clamp%20(12cm%20Gooseneck)/brands/detail/key/p/ppp/"]http://www.millennium-music.co.uk/products...tail/key/p/ppp/[/url] The mic holder clamps to the top edge of the music stand. You could use the music stand to hold lots of different things, with the mic clamped to the top. Steve

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='631466' date='Oct 20 2009, 03:13 PM']Hmmm... For the type of playing you're suggesting, I'd say the Sterling just pips the G&L, but then again I always played mine on parallel. Put it into series mode and you're really shattering the Earth's core! Again, both will do the job admirably. Whack up the bass control on the basses and you're away. Women's underwear will automatically vapourize as you play, LOL! Another to consider for that sort of sound is a Warwick Corvette $$. Same sort of concept. I loved the original one I had. Amazing sounding bass![/quote] Wow! I have a G&L and also a Stingray. Does this mean I'll be able to undress women at a distance!?

[quote name='Shaggy' post='650029' date='Nov 9 2009, 08:12 PM']Buy this: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Fender-style-carbon-graphite-fretless-bass-neck_W0QQitemZ280417758642QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item414a336db2"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Fender-style-carbon-...=item414a336db2[/url] - put your own dots on, fit it on a donor Squier (have to be black), and you've got the coolest fretless around for norra lorra cash! [/quote] Yes, I saw that and it did get me thinking. Then I remembered how I drilled through some wires in the kitchen wall, how I recently managed to wire a plug incorrectly and how my "plastering" in the shed fell down after 1 week. To me, "DIY" = Destroy It Yourself. I need to buy my basses completely built and ready to go. Steve

[quote name='Shaggy' post='648897' date='Nov 8 2009, 04:35 PM']Got exactly the same on my Ovation Magnum 1. TBH it throws me a bit, as my preference is for 1/3/5/7/9/12 dot markers [b]on[/b] the "virtual" fret-lines, whereas with this system they're of course in the usual "between the fret" positions, but after a couple of minutes I'm fine. [/quote] Aha! That's what I'm looking for - only cheaper. My unlined fretless 'Ray has side dots where the 3/5/7/9/12 "frets" would be - i.e. where the notes are, unlike where they are on a normal fretted fingerboard. This means I struggle to switch between fretted and fretless boards, so I'm looking for a back-up for the 'Ray that ticks all these boxes - fretless, unlined, side dots where the "frets" would be (unlike many unlined fingerboards that have position dots in the same places as fretted boards), wide P-style neck, costs no more than £350. All suggestions gratefully received. Steve

Here's my current favourite bass: [attachment=35332:Stingray_1.JPG]

I'm pretty much a novice with fretted and fretless but here are my thoughts, for what they are worth: I like the feel of a fretless fingerboard strung with halfwounds - smoooooth and quiet I prefer the fretless tone - smoooooth, quiet, rounded I played the fretted last night at rehearsal and the band complained - "Where's that rich-sounding bass of yours, Steve?" I find it difficult to switch between fretted and fretless - after the fretless, the fretted fingerboard seems visually and physically cluttered and confusing I tend to learn a new song on the fretted (don't have to concentrate on left-hand positioning so much, while learning tempo/rythym), then switch to fretless Personally, I'm not hugely convinced that playing a fretless will automatically make you a better fretted palyer (or, indeed vice versa), other than general practice is generally good (see Beester's comments) Have both, enjoy both for their differences Steve

And I thought it was just me - phew! I can really understand Beedster's rant. Having intonation problems with my fretless, I measured the distances from the nut to the frets on my fretted G&L to see if they were the same as the nut-to-dot distances on the fretless. They weren't, and I was instantly confused. Not knowing whether the dots on the fretless coincided with frets or notes, I used the electronic tuner to check what the dot positions corresponded to. The answer was - notes. Well, at least I then knew I should press the strings onto the dots rather than into the spaces between the dots. This is the main thing that makes it so hard to switch between fretted and fretless, I reckon. Steve

[quote name='Higgie' post='633099' date='Oct 22 2009, 03:37 AM']Probably my most watched vid on youtube. The fill at 5:00-5:02 is just awesome. Probably my favourite fill, in any song, ever Nothing very hard or technical about it...Just a fantastic piece of tasteful playing.[/quote] Just listened to that. Lordy - that's so sweet and cool. [i][/i]That's[i][/i] how I want my bass playing to turn out. Dream on.

My fretless Stingray has become my No 1 bass. I struggled to play it at first, but 2 things made it almost instantly easier: I replaced the roundwound strings with Status halfwounds. Virtually no string-hiss when sliding fingers - marvellous. Then, I put a thumbrest (disguised as a control knob!) on the bass so I didn't have to concentrate on accurate left-hand positioning at the same time as learning floating thumb on my plucking hand. As a newcomer to bass-playing, I'm often asked why I play fretless: "Isn't that a bit ambitious Steve? Isn't it hard?". Physically, I don't find it any harder to press the strings compared to a fretted bass, once I'd lowered the action a bit on the fretless. In fact, I now find it more tiring to play a fretted. My fretless is unlined with position dots at 3, 5, 7 etc. Now, when I pick up the fretted bass, I find it visually confusing with all those frets and I sometimes mis-fret as a result. The fretless fingerboard appears uncluttered and more err, [i][/i]accessible[i][/i]. My band prefers the smooth tone of the fretless to the noisiness of the fretted - but that may be more a reflection of the difference between a Stingray and a G&L (plus the fact that I'm not a good bass player on either). So far, as a beginner, I haven't played the fretless and fretted basses differently, but I'm starting to - sometimes I "walk" between semitones. My favourite song right now is Upside down, but I'm sure that works just as well on a fretted. Steve

I have a "Joyo JT-11", bought off ebay for £3, or something. Good as a back-up tuner to keep in your gigbag. Struggles a bit to recognise E string, other strings fine. Not as accurate or fast-responding as my Seiko, but small, handy, cheap and cheerful. Steve

I'm in the market for a powered mixer as the basis for a vocal PA system. Nice for it also to accept inputs from bass, guitar and keys in emergencies too. I've spotted this, which seems worryingly cheap at £150. They also do a 2 x 500W version. [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270470299282&ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:GB:1123"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...E:X:RTQ:GB:1123[/url] Anybody have any experience of them, please? Steve

Thanks for the helpful replies guys. Steve