thisnameistaken

My first bass came with Evah mediums on it. That was hard work as a total beginner! I also had the weichs for a while and like everybody else above I really like them. If I used the bow at all I would consider using them again, they've got a really rich bowed sound.

[quote name='Marc S' timestamp='1380794107' post='2230560']boil them in white (clear) vinegar, for 10 mins This really does work - the vinegar, being acidic breaks down the sweaty, greasy bits of skin and other muck that have accumulated in the windings [/quote] So the 'acid sweat' kills the strings and the acidic vinegar revives them. I love musician science. I'm going to look for threads about how only one type of bass 'cuts through a mix' next. :-)

Yeah it's expensive to hire an estate. Any medium sized hatch will happily swallow a 3/4 double bass, amp, couple of people, couple of bags.

[quote name='ubassman' timestamp='1380710400' post='2229219'] Search for "Double bass end pin anchor" - that ought to do it ! [/quote] Or you could poke a hole in a coffee or jam jar lid and loop some string through it, like every cellist in every school does.

I don't think that's a safe assumption tbh. Unless there's evidence of a chemical change in the strings? My hands sweat but my strings don't discolour or break or anything, there's no obvious sign that anything has changed. I think it's pretty unlikely to be honest. I think it's more likely that oil from the skin gets between the windings and deadens the strings that way. And maybe the situation can be improved by shaking it out.

[quote name='Coilte' timestamp='1380579102' post='2227528'] What I dont understand is how can slapping remove the oil build up from the strings ? Dirt and dead skin....maybe...but the natural oils in the hands help to deaden strings. I'm assuming this "trick" works by violently shaking off any excess dirt.[/quote] What does 'natural oil' do to deaden the strings? Does it chemically alter the strings or does it just make them dirty? Maybe it helps attract/attach dirt, and anything that can subsequently remove the dirt is a worthwhile exercise.

[quote name='jazzyvee' timestamp='1380571452' post='2227366'] I also play in a reggae band and do dub sessions occasionally. My bass has low pass filters built in [/quote] Every passive bass with a tone control has a low-pass filter built in. You can make it more or less extreme by experimenting with pot impedance ratings and the capacitance rating of the tone cap. Generally the bigger the tone cap, the more high frequencies you can roll off, but the higher the pot impedance the more treble you have to start with when they're all fully open. FWIW I settled on 500k pots across the board on my Jazz, with a .1uF tone cap, and I fitted a switch to put the pickups in series, all specifically for playing punk/reggae stuff with flats. I think it's worthwhile to get as close as you can to the sound you want on the instrument itself - then you've got more chance of getting 'your sound' out front if you get DI'd before your amp, or if you're using someone else's backline, or whatever.

I only ever custom order stuff if there's nothing that will do what I want on the market already, and it's always effects, and I accept that it will involve R&D and there are unknowns and so there might be delays and maybe the quote might go up. I've had some delays but nothing intolerable and so far nobody I've ordered from had let me down. I would've thought though that guitars are basically guitars and there's not much innovation going on and so no real opportunity for massive delays, excepting personal problems that might crop up. But when 'personal problems' become the norm and everything is always late you're left thinking maybe this guy isn't suited to self employment...

Flats is a good place to start. Leave the amp flat, roll off the tone on your bass, pluck near the fingerboard. Still not enough? Swap your tone capacitor for a .1uF. Still not enough? Blame your speakers.

I polished my bass before a busy weekend of gigs at the end of August and now it squeaks against the gig bag when I'm carrying it. Never again!

I wouldn't have nicked the valve heads. That's professionalism.

My 1991 Thumb 4 weighs considerably more than my mate's 1994 Stingray 5... The 'ray is so much bigger, it's quite unsettling.

I've used MAG 300 combos in rehearsal rooms and I'm not a fan, but I would have always gigged a cheap rig if I hadn't discovered Schroeder cabs through BC - so portable and loud and nice-sounding, I couldn't resist. I still played a standard Squier Jazz through it though.

Currently I've got Velvet Animas on my main bass, and I love the rich tone they've got, although I'm still not 100% sure about the G and I'm always tempted to try another Evah Weich, which I tried on my other bass and liked but haven't tried on this one. My ply/busking bass is strung with Cordes Lambert Gut Twins but previously had Silver Slaps on it. I prefer the Slaps for their lovely full pizz sound and sheer volume, but the Lamberts sound much better slapped.

[quote name='KiOgon' timestamp='1379527603' post='2213780'] Like a quality HiFi turntable/arm/cartridge, you get the sound from the source as it's intended, with passive. [/quote] Is that any passive pickup? And through what length of cable with what sort of capacitance? Because of course that makes a massive difference to the sound of a passive bass whereas it doesn't so much with an active. And what amp gives you the most natural sound, after it's been decayed the perfect amount by the perfect length of ideal cable? I guess you've worked that out or you wouldn't be so serious about having to have passive electronics on the bass. Honestly I've never heard so much nonsense written by otherwise seemingly-rational adults. It's amusing that you brought hi-fi into the discussion in the same post.

Sandberg are well worth a look. Buying new you'd be paying more than £1k but they do offer a wide range of colours you can choose from so you should be able to meet your colourful requirement. On the other hand used the 4 strings usually change hands for around £700, but lately everybody seems to have sunburst jazzes for sale. No imagination...

It's nice to have some EQ onboard especially if you use a few different sounds, but passives are fine most of the time, certainly fine for gigging. I can't see myself ever getting all political about it to be honest, basses are basses.

[quote name='Jus Lukin' timestamp='1377427466' post='2187298']I have taken a very pedantic approach to the language in this thread though- none of us 'need' effects in the way we 'need' bass strings to be able to play bass.[/quote] Oh dear. I hope we don't get into how many of those strings you 'need'. I once had a guy telling me that nobody 'needs' five strings. I told him nobody 'needs' music.

You could look at the carved basses on Gedo for around the EUR2000 mark. Nothing special in terms of tonal character but not total thumpers either.

I gigged one for a couple of years, it was great. In the end I replaced it with a micro class D amp for convenience but frankly it doesn't sound as good as the LH500. Might be the best value amp ever.

You also gradually gain confidence over the farther reaches of the board during your first couple of years. After five years I reckon you could nearly play in tune most of the time if you're really good. :-)