Huge Hands

If you're a finger player, it might be worth thumbing the string downward instead of plucking upward to see if there is a difference in volume. I've had a couple of 5 string projects where the low string travels outside the pickup's range and sounds muted. If you thumb it downward, it stays within the range for the initial attack. I'm not saying to change your playing style, just do it to test the pickup

I find this comment interesting. I have an identical bass to the one in the ad, except I didn't change the tuners. I admit the they don't seem great, but it always amazes me how mine can spend over a week in a gig bag, and is still fully in tune when it comes out.

This has Spinal Tap written all over it. Surely one of Derek Smalls' collection?

Although I totally agree the firm appear to be out of order, and massive condolences to his family, I can't help but think of the amount of "xxxx courier are rubbish" threads or "how much to send an amp?" threads I've seen on here. Makes you think, doesn't it? It seems a pretty cut throat/thankless business, and we're much more of a instant/demanding society now....but am I willing to pay more/wait longer for my deliveries to ease pressure/pay to give staff better working conditions? Tricky one.... ...and before anyone shows me up- yes, I'm sure I have negatively particpated in some of those courier threads myself...

I'll second Rich's comments on the V7. I bought mine after a couple of pro mates of mine bought theirs and raved about them. I love mine, and actually like the headstock, which seems to be the main bone of contention about them on here.

Are we sure it is only 34" scale? Hard to tell in the videos. Sorry to sound like a stuck record, but it does look like it has been copied from, whoops I mean, has taken inspiration from the NS Design like mine, so would have thought it longer. *Cue someone telling me my NS Design is only 34" scale. Is it? EDIT: - The NS is 42" - I just checked. Phew!

I thought the design (apart from the bridge) looked very similar to my NS Design. I can make my NS sound like that if I mess around with gain/EQ etc (or should I say I can stop it sounding like that if if mess around). It seems more to me like someone trying to show how clever/trendy they are, rather than showing what the instrument can do, which, as evidenced by this thread, is a bit of the wrong thing to do if you want it to sell.....

Just my 10p worth... Before you get too hasty, in my experience it is rare to be in a group of 4+ people where someone doesn't wind you up, especially a band. I have played with many egotistical and fwit keyboard players and guitarists, but it has always been down to what they give to the band/music as to whether I'm willing to suffer it or not. In my experience, most really good keyboard players are egotistical fwits but they're really hard to come by and keep in the band because all the other bands want a really good keys player and so inflate their ego further by trying to steal them all the time. However, as BigRedX and others have wisely said, if you're at the point of slagging them off on a forum, then it may have gone too far. All FWIW, IMHO etc....

Whilst I wouldn't dare make a comment about his technical abilities, the guy playing the bass' shirt was sending my eyes all funny. Must....resist...the...urge....to....kill....

GRRRR!! I thought I was GAS free, but now...... Thanks a bunch!

That sounds like a standard initial stock answer from any manufacturer - send you to the "local" distributor to get it sorted. I presume Sire would then expect Thomann to offer you a replacement Sire part through the correct procedures/channels. Might be worth sending Sire the response you got from Thomann and say you're not happy with it - they should surely then get involved, if they have anything about them?

A lot do. I've played venues that have kit and guitar amps, but no bass amp, which can be infuriating when you are dragging a heavy amp in whilst the drummer waltzes in with a cymbal bag and pedal. I was unfortunate that the majority of the gigs I did were in London, but I live in Crawley, out in the sticks. Venues would often want you to play beyond the last tubes (hence the reduced crowd for the last set) and trying to plan around night buses or one train an hour was a nightmare, so would have to take the car. I had a few sweet spots to park across town, but I'm not giving away my secrets! This all ended around June last year when I had to quit my band due to surgery, so it's all probably a lot different now (I think they've finally got tubes running overnight?) Hopefully be back playing soon, so will have to relearn it all again!

This says it all to me. I had it in a previous band but for different reasons. The drummer could drive but was hopeless at navigation. He often got lost or misjudged when to leave so regularly turned up late for gigs and caused havoc with setups and sound checks. I took it on myself to always pick him up and make sure he got there on time, but after about 10 years of this it did start to get annoying that it was quite a way out of my route to pick him up and drop him off, and he was getting to kip on the way home while I was searching for matchsticks to keep my eyes open. However, I loved him like a brother so kept it to myself. It came to a head when the rest of the band got sick of his lax attitude and voted him out. I tried to help him understand why they were upset, but he lashed out at me and hasn't spoken to me since. Drummers, eh? (Sorry Dad!)

I use a small wheeled suitcase by IT luggage - I find the supermarkets often have deals on them. They fit my amp head, guitar stand and various mains extension/spare leads, and have some pockets outside and inside the lid. Their main selling point is that they're supposedly the lightest luggage available on the market, and as I was having back troubles at the time, I was trying to save weight/improve portability where I could. I'm on my second one after I broke the zip on the first trying to jam too much stuff in, but I'm really happy with mine. They also come in a range of funky colours, if you're that way inclined...

Wow, I know a lot of Chuck Rainey stuff, including the amazing Rocksteady as posted by the OP. I didn't know of this track though. Thank you Chris!

There are two private events gigs that stick in my mind: 1. As a teenager, I played drums in a soul "Commitments" type band. We played at a private event in a bar for doctors and nurses which I think was either on hospital grounds or just outside it, IIRC. We played our set, and no one seemed to care or want to dance, nothing. The minute we finished, the food was announced, and the queue went right past the band, so we thought we'd wait to pack up. We were thinking we'd bombed, and were about to start destructing everything when the DJ said "right, next it's bingo, but after that, do you want to hear the band again?" The crowd screamed yes, so we waited, and duly played the whole exact same set again, in the same order. They were all up dancing, and cheering between songs. The moral of this story? What a difference food and 5 more pints can make to a crowd.... 2. I joined a blues band as a bass player. They had just done a wedding with their previous bass player, booked by the father of the bride. That Christmas, the same booker got us to do the local council Christmas party, as he was the head of the council. As we started to play, I could see him grooving along at the back of the room, but everyone else, including lots of young staff, were staring at us as if to say "what the **** is this?" In the interval, I asked my new band colleagues if we should try and jam something Christmassy to get them in the spirit, but the reply was along the lines of "we're too cool to do that", and "if they don't like us, we'll still get paid". Well, we did get paid, but I have never been so embarrassed on a stage in my life!

That's the one, thank you!

I thought I remembered seeing a Stranglers clip on the UK TOTP wher JJ Burnel is jumping around wafting smoke away instead of playing and then Hugh Cornwell mimed the guitar solo in mid air below the guitar neck. If that's one of the already posted clips, I apologise, but I just skimmed through and couldn't see it. It made me howl with laughter when I first saw it. Then again, it could have just been some sort of perverted dream I had.... There is also the classic clip of Sting singing Roxanne and just swinging the bass, not playing it.

If only......

I remember being a bit disappointed with the filters when I first joined about 10 years ago, and there was a similar thread to this then. Ped or Kiwi (I think) then made a post about why they had done it and how the site should be available to all, including those impressionable young budding beginners thinking about getting into bass and trying to get tips and help. That made me realise straight away it was totally the totally correct way to be, although I'm sure I have pushed the boundaries of the filters when posting many times since then....

I got to work with Noel just before he died around 16 years ago. I think I've told this story on here before, but I walked up to him while he was setting up and clapped one of my big paws on his shoulder to ask him to give us a line check (I was FOH engineer in the venue, helping them get set up). I nearly broke him, he was very frail. He looked like he was very drunk, but in my naivety it could have been something stronger. He was doing a mini "supergroup" with him, Eric Bell (ex Thin Lizzy) on guitar and John Coughlan (Status Quo) on drums. When they started, someone was tuned about a tone out, and from Eric Bell's reaction, I'd say it was Noel. Eric was professional to the crowd and also pretended to retune his guitar, , but his face couldn't hide he was miffed! I remember very little of the music and how well he played. Maybe as a massive Experience fan I was watching with rose coloured glasses because here was one of my heroes, but after the initial embarrassing bit, I don't remember anything about the music, so I would guess it wasn't that great, or my cup of tea. I think EB was very loud, and JC was never my favourite drummer (IMHO only). I just remember Noel being helped into a car and driven away afterwards, it was all a bit sad to see. I don't remember hearing him speak at all either on stage or off. I think he died about a year later.

In my ears, Mr Purdie always was and always will be amazing. I love this - wish I wasn't working or I'd have it on repeat all day. There's not many drummers I would want to listen to in isolation for more than a few triplet fills....

I play in a concert band where you're often reading parts originally written for tuba or arco on a double bass, so you can often get tied held notes across multiple bars. Having said that, I don't think even the best sustaining guitars could go on for that long without dropping off dramatically in volume.

I had something similar with a 5 string set of Labella flats. Put them on the bass brand new from the packet. Something felt wrong with the B string, Felt too tight when tuned, no sustain, just a dull thud when you plucked it. I had only just bought the bass, so wasn't sure if there was something wrong with the way it handled heavy flats, as it had light gauge rounds on it when I got it. Was able to noodle around quietly in my bedroom with it, it was just weird. Two weeks later I took it to the next band rehearsal. The B string was bugging me because it was dull when hit, but was muddling through, trying not to use it. After about the 5th song, I pulled a note on the B string and heard a snap. The string went really floppy, but it was still atached at both ends. My first reaction was that the tuning peg must have slipped, so I turned it to tighten, but the string stayed floppy. I later discovered the string core had snapped, as others have alluded to above. I was able to talk to the supplier and they sent me a replacement B string out. As I don't use that bass so much any more, the same set of strings are still on it now, 10 years later!