Lfalex v1.1

(on Reddit) r/bass Is ok for general info. r/basscirclejerk Can be quite funny, is frequently irreverent. And often rather rude. You have been warned! ⚠️

Nice to hear positive feedback on retailers, but I've never been to Peach Guitars in spite of driving past it quite frequently. The whole appointment thing is just an absolute deal-breaker for me. What if I want to just pop in and grab some strings, have a look for a strap or maybe grab a couple of patch cables? Or even just browse some instruments. If it is a response to a major theft, it's understandable, but I still find it off-putting. They're not the only retailer I avoid because of a policy like this.

Thanks for that @tauzero I'll give it a go!

I have a Zoom B3, and have (whilst rummaging) found a Roland EV-5 expression pedal. It has the "usual" ¼" TRS jack on the (fixed) lead. Before I take the nuclear option and just try connecting them, does anyone have any experience of their inter- compatibility? Is there anything else I need to watch out for? (An Internet search or 3 has yielded nothing, btw) Thanks in advance!

If it's what you want (and it sounds like it is), the relief will be tangible when you're done. It was for me when I realised I didn't have to go to the browbeatings that "band practice" swiftly became. Personally, I'm not selling up. I've started to enjoy playing again. But you've got to do what's right for you.

I used the configurator. $600. Nice spec, though. Roughly what MM would use; AAA Bird's eye Maple. Ebony board. No lines or front dots. Considering that you've then got to do the dirty work at the headstock end yourself, that's quite expensive.

Almost definitely. There's an outside chance you might be able to source an original fretted neck more easily than a fretless, should you wish to do so.

Theoretically You could get a neck made with a different profile, nut width and headstock design that just so happened to fit in the neck pocket of the said Musicman. Finding a luthier willing to do it is potentially challenging. The cost might prove to be equally challenging.

For everything else, there's the older MM designs. Oh. And G&L...

@NAS Bass Thanks for reminding me of Graham Maby and Carol Kaye. Omitted from my list for sure. Carol Kaye's playing on the Dirty Harry opening section.... amazing. Given that it was sight-read.... doubly so.

Most of the ones I'd name have already been mentioned several times. Not only that, but it's hard not to like nearly all the names in here. So I'll add; Klaus Voorman Tony Butler (Big Country) Nice to see Colin Moulding getting some well-deserved attention.

I broached this subject when I joined my last band. More as an icebreaker than anything else, but also to get a feel for what they liked and admired. Neither the guitarist nor the drummer had ever been asked nor discussed it. Ever. Which I thought was weird. Their answers were good, though; John Frusciante and Stewart Copeland respectively. My response drew blank faces (and it's not like I play or sound like him!) : Tony Levin. As stated earlier- only bassists care about bass. Neither could name a songwriter that they thought was inspirational, whereas I rolled out a handful, including Stuart Adamson Elvis Costello Andy Partridge Randy Newman And got instantly tarred with the band music-geek label 🏷

From what I read, the silent jacks have a moving part which mutes the signal when plugging-in / unplugging. Fine. Until you read that it's only got a lifetime of 1000 uses. Or about a year, I guess. I'd go with the gold and just ensure that gain/ volume are down or muted before unplugging.

Not in my case. It's governed by the shape/size/ weight of the instrument. To that end, each instrument I own has its own strap adjusted to fit it perfectly. The lighter basses (EDA, B2Av) have cheapo nylon straps. The heavyweights have wide, grippy leather items to stop them from moving about.

3 bangers back to back there with Newsong The Riddle Reap the wild wind

Also necessitates you having a belt on and wearing your trousers like Simon Cowell. In addition to having to tuck your shirt in. All sticks are fashion disasters waiting to happen.

When I saved up for my first "good" bass, I ended up being quite set on a Thumb NT5. I find that they won't stay on my leg when playing seated. They almost need to be wedged in classical-style, between the legs. I didn't buy it in the end, and got something else instead.

^^ My Infinity SN4 also suffers from this. Some Warwicks throw the neck away from the player due to a combination of body shape and top horn length. Fortunately, I've got arms like a gibbon, so it doesn't affect me as much as some.

Silicone rubber wedding rings exist. They'd be less problematic. Not shiny, obviously.

Conversely, I just left the band I was in. Some aspects were great, but I would've lost 3 weeks' worth of holiday to Festival dates on Saturdays (they wanted to do 12) I didn't see anyone else making that degree of sacrifice. There was a discussion about priorities. Mine stacked up like this; 1) Partner 2) My health- I need to be alive to play 3) Job- It pays the bills and keeps a roof over my head. 4) Music Theirs were differently aligned. I left now to give them time to find a replacement, and we parted on (fairly) good terms. I lasted a month, and feel like I've offloaded another millstone. Don't think I'll be headed back to the band arena for a good while. If at all.

[YMMV!] On-board- Tweaks the core tone of the bass. Outboard Pre- Valve drive, switchable EQs (set to unity gain with bypass) DI to desk so I can have control over what they get. Amp EQ- Tailors the sound of the backline to the stage environment without it affecting the FOH sound. Same for passive basses. Just no onboard EQ.

I was referring to getting the bass itself set up by a reputable guitar/bass technician or a luthier. Some music shops may offer this as a service, but it's worth Googling around to find one with a good reputation. A good set-up (neck relief, action, intonation) can make a world of difference to an instrument. No one should be fighting to play their bass Experiencing the benefits also helps players to learn what they like and may also motivate them to learn to perform their own adjustments, a useful skill for bassists/guitarists.

Thanks Dave. That helped a lot. They seem to want me on board. When they asked me to put a bass run into a song, I just improvised something, and they were genuinely astounded. Similarly, we had a very brief jam one night. Neither of the other two had any ideas, but I had some old quasi Sabbath/Zeppelin sounding riff kicking about. So I played that. Drums- This isn't 4/4! (it's 6/8) Guitar- What scale is that? (Blues with a sharpened 7th added in) We're just VERY different people and players. First week, I asked them who their influences were (on their instrument), so I could get a feel for what makes them tick. It had never even been mentioned before...

Truer than I thought. I've let other people listen to rehearsal recordings, and have had some interesting feedback. It's not the kit particularly, more the way it's so mechanically, insistently and persistently played. There's no space. It's all filled up. Every beat. He's a good drummer, really consistent and a great timekeeper. But nothing has room to breathe. Edit- I'm assuming he has zillions of sounds available. But he only ever uses just the one. One of my third-party listeners said; "How many damn cymbals is he going to use?" "Lots"

I've just recently got back into a band. And am on the verge of leaving. The set-up is the best I've ever been in; Nice enough guys. Free rehearsals & gear storage. Not far from home. However, I'm struggling with the dynamic. The drummer and guitarist write together because their availability is better, and by the time I get to hear anything, the drummer has jammed something into every beat of the song, leaving no space for me at all. He then lectures me on how I should be emphasising this accent or that. He's using IEMs fed from my preamp DI. I'm running through amp/cab, and we're clearly not hearing the same thing. There seems to be no concept of harmony or counter- melody anywhere. The workload is intense (by my standards) I've learned 9 songs in 3 weeks, and they're piling more up. Festival dates are also being booked, and it's causing domestic and workplace difficulties, too. I can't come to terms with why they're SO committed and driven. We're all between 35 and 50, and aren't ever going to make anything of it, so why work excessively hard. Sure, be competent. Better still be really good, but it's supposed to be fun. This and a run of really poor health with inadequate support from the NHS is making bass playing a real chore. Playing (period) used to be my happy place, and it feels like that's being spoiled. /rant Thanks for listening.