RussFM

Pawner - Polar Bear Club. Perfect guitar tone, great chord sequence.

I had one of the very first Dirnt basses, and it didn't have a star on the neck plate so I wouldn't worry about that. But it was heavy. This one looks like it fell down the stairs!

Thanks, but while that's along similar lines, I don't need anywhere near that kind of volume, and ideally it would be much smaller.

Since picking up a Harley Benton ukulele bass I've been accompanying my father-in-law to the local ukulele club. I've been amplifying myself with a Bose Soundlink, but it's too quiet without a preamp before it, and i'm not keen on leaving £250 worth of speaker on a table with 8 pint glasses and folders of lyrics being thrown around, so I need an alternative. Battery powered isn't essential, but would be useful. I can't afford the Yamaha THR10 which would be my first choice, and the Microcube is almost as expensive, and is probably a bit bulky anyway. I don't need it to be loud, I want to be quieter than the ukuleles, I just want to hear myself and not worry about it taking up space or being kicked if I put it under the table or have a drink spilt on it. There seem to be plenty of options for guitar, Vox AC1, Orange Crush, etc, but what's good, inexpensive and small, for bass?

It arrived! Double boxed and well packaged. Opened it up and it was smaller than I was expecting. I've played a Kala and I've played the Tanglewood, my memory of the Tanglewood is hazy but I'm sure it's somewhere between the two. A couple of the frets are sharp and the finish is rough in places, but for £99 I have no complaints. The tuner works fine and the EQ has a decent range but full bass sounds best. I'll need to get used to careful finger placement, slightly over a fret and there's a nasty buzz, but correct placement gives a nice warm, deep sound. It's not loud enough for acoustic accompaniment but it's loud enough for solo acoustic practice. Very happy with it!

I ordered the Kahuna bass last night, looking forward to seeing it. It looks very similar to the Tanglewood version, I played one od those at the Birmingham Guitar Show, was tempted then, but these are half the price. Not sure if I'll play it live or if it will be a novelty thing, but it will be useful for quiet late night practice anyway.

I didn't. A full time job just helps fund better gear!

I've set up a patch on my Zoom B9. Marshall Superbass with 80% gain, mix at 30%, so there's plenty of the original tone. Then Mono Pitch at 12 (octave up), mix at 50. This gives the effect of an overdriven guitar underneath the bass. One string, admittedly, but it fills out the sound nicely when it drops out for the solo. Sounds better than my old Unibass too, tracks better and the distortion isn't so harsh.

I've had mine for a few months now and it only has one issue - the machine heads are not all the same distance apart. Which isn't a problem in the slightest, until you try to install Hipshot detuner. It went on, but with a bit of force to get it in the hole and up against the A tuner. Besides that the build and finish are perfect, so no complaints from me, definitely better than the last two Mex Fenders I've owned which had bridge, fret and electronic issues.

There's always the Sandberg Electra TT4 at £549, better quality than the last few Mex Fenders I tried. http://www.thomann.de/gb/sandberg_electra_tt4_cr.htm

I've only played a couple of gigs with it due to two quiet bands thanks to family, house moves etc, but love playing it. Great tone, nice neck, fairly light weight, don't need anything else!

I found one teacher advertising online, but they're classical only and not really affordable (not that style will mean anything at this stage, but I'd like someone open to other styles too). I've started playing along to a few songs. I think my biggest issues at the moment on thumb placement on the back of the neck, causing the space between my first two fingers to decrease as I move around the neck, and holding the bass, the angle I often find myself at, with the bass facing away from me rather than slightly towards me, makes it difficult to play the G string well with my right hand. Plenty more practising to do, enjoying it so far though!

So my Harley Benton EUB500 arrived over the weekend. I played what I could on it, and liked the tone, except for the ringing bridge and buzzing when playing around this e E on the A string. Last night I raised the action, and put a rubber pad under the pickup, then again on top, and added some more bow to the neck with the truss rod. I preferred the tone before! So maybe I'll remove one layer. The buzzing isn't gone, but it's better. So what next? I can play a basic bit of 12 bar and some root-fifth stuff, but all around G or A. What are the best resources for learning? I've started watching Geoff's videos and search online for a teacher in the West Midlands but couldn't find anyone!

On Sky Arts 1 again right now

Well, I've ordered the HB! None in stock so could be a short while before it arrives. Putting seats down in the car doesn't bother me, I couldn't fit bass cases in the boot of my estate and I only have a three door now so back seat isn't an option either! Looking forward to learning to play now!

Well I've just downsized my car from a big estate to something I wouldn't be able to transport a 4x10 in, so I definitely won't be buying a DB anytime soon, the choice of EUB will need to last me at least 5 years before my next car choice is swayed by the need for more space. Although the Stagg on sale here is now a massive bargain at £160 it is 150miles from me and has no case, so I am tempted by the HB at the moment, I like the look of it more, and it does seem as close to traditional as a budget EUB is likely to get! The preamp doesn't concern me too much if I can bypass it, but the headphone socket is still useful so we'll see. I can see myself buying something early this week whatever I decide!

Does the HB normally have that white binding or have you added that? Looks good!

Met Debs at a services and sold her my Ibanez SR Prestige, great to deal with, no problems at all, thanks!

So I've decided to learn to play the upright, as it would suit one of my bands and I've always wanted to play. I drive a small car and live in a small house, so it has to be electric, and budget doesn't stretch to NS or Baby Bass. So, do I go for the Stagg, or the Harley Benton? I prefer the look of the HB, having a DB shape to it rather than a stick, but I like the auxiliary input the Stagg has. The HB is more upgradable than the Stagg too. I'd want to learn to play bow, but I think that's possible on both? Has anyone played both, and have a preference? Or does anyone have one or the other and know the pros and cons? I'd be buying the HB blind, but I could at least try out the Eastcoast version of the Stagg in PMT.