ZMech

if you go to the wiki then and click the setup thing, it will take you here: [url="http://garywillis.com/pages/bass/bassmanual/setupmanual.html"]http://garywillis.com/pages/bass/bassmanual/setupmanual.html[/url] i went through it myself recently as i noticed the intonation on my bass was wrong which meant the notes got slowly out of tune as i went up the fretboard.

should have also mentioned that it'd be best go to to a decent bass seller and try out various stuff. If you're a london then the gallery is the obvious choice, not sure about the other 90% of the country. Still recomend you should avoid buying new and go second hand. I wish I had known that before I got my first bass. There's also a 'buying your first bass' thread that's on a sticky i think in this section.

tried to do a simple search using both the box and the bottom of the topic list, and the button at the top, and both time got this message [quote]Sorry, an error occurred. If you are unsure on how to use a feature, or don't know why you got this error message, try looking through the help files for more information. The error returned was: There was an error processing the request. Please go back and try again, or contact an administrator for assistance. temporary searchd error: server maxed out, retry in a second[/quote] any ideas what just happened?

I'll see if I can preempt the other posts. Firstly, it might be worth using the search function, as I'd be suprised if this hasn't been asked several times before. Secondly, browse the secondhand section on here. Buying used gives you far more bang for your buck than buying new, and if you don't tell anyone they won't even know the difference! Lastly, don't forget you need an amp to go with the bass (assuming you don't have one). The advice I was given was that a good bass with a bad amp won't sound as good as a bad bass with a good amp, so perhaps you should spent that grand 60% amp, 30% beer, 10% get a decent thick strap, some strings, and perhaps a pedal. Oh yeah, and if there's a bassist whose sound you like, it's normally not too hard to find out what gear he uses, so that could be a good starting point. So yeah, well done on the choice of instrument Edit: damn, someone beat me to it! damn you witterth...

It may have been me, but I can't remember saturday night. But I both started off and woke up in north london, so it's doubtful.

I bought my first bass (rockbass) from the Bass Cellar. about 6 months later one of the pickup screws was no longer holding down the pickup. Since it was under warranty, I took it to them to get it fixed. Well the their first attempt, they did whatever, told me to wait 24 hours before putting the screw back in and it'd be fine. 24 hours later, the collet popped back out again. So another trip down to denmark street and they did a more thorough job the second time, although I'm not sure what they did each time, since two years ago I didn't care as much about my basses. Unfortunately I didn't check the bass in detail before walking out the shop, as when I got home I noticed that they'd completely stripped the screw head, so now I can't change the pickup height. Not a big deal, but it easily could have been. hence why I now am just happy to pay a bit more to go to the gallery instead.

bassists who are better than me. Unfortunately that's probably most of you. So yeah, I love to hate all of you

I'm curious what age you consider old enough to gig. If I remember rightly, wooten was playing gigs before he was ten! have to admit that megalolz is a news word to me, albeit one i doubt i'll repeat Another curiosity, what makes you want to try fretless bass for rock stuff?

was about 16 when I fiddled about with guitar, but didn't find it that good, and all my friends had had a massive headstart. So one day, sitting on the tube home the morning after a party half awake, I got a text from a mate saying 'hey zach, want to play bass for my band?' which seemed like a good idea. 3 years later I'm now a better bassist than he is guitarist ^_^

whilst I can slap, and like the sound, I just find I can do more when playing finger style.

Not sure this link'll work, but this should send you to 'seven beats' by Richard Bona on spotify: spotify:track:08oFaldyrcrUpY3f4JonCs the harmonics bit in the intro are absolutely insane. A bit like Jaco on speed.

managed to pick up a s/h spector rebop for £400, and it's brilliant.

[quote name='SteveO' post='568416' date='Aug 13 2009, 09:18 PM']I'll give them a flame-slap. [/quote] That sounds like a brilliant idea, now I just night some gloves, a lighter, and some kerosene... umm, yeah, bass amp stuff...

shouldn't there be a corresponding thread of psychological effects?

No, but he IS an awesome bassist. At the moment my favourite is Richard Bona, he is just brilliant, and a voice to match as well! I think I'm secretly waiting for a Top Trumps 'Bassists Edition'. Maybe it would be easier to make them myself, although I'm not sure what the categories would be. waist size would have to be one of them, along with weight of backline.

[quote name='ahpook' post='568102' date='Aug 13 2009, 04:00 PM']forgive me if i'm wrong, but what does sustain have to do with pickups ? surely sustain comes from the mechanical aspects of the bass - pickups just amplify what's there already. good pickups on a bass that sustains like a wet washing line will still sound like a wet washing line - just a hi-fi washing line ![/quote] If my A-level physics from last year is right, then due to a quirk of physics I can't quite remember, possibly called the lorentz force, a conductive object, i.e. metal, moving through a magnetic field will feel a dampening force due to the conservation of electricity. This will happen with the metal bass strings as they vibrate through the magnetic field of the pickups, which is why I've heard some people say your pickups shouldn't be too close to the strings.

let me guess, north london music centre? I started off taking lessons there, but like you gave up when it got to learning reading bass clef. If you hadn't guessed I also live in enfield (southgate to be specific). Welcome to the forum, there's a rediculous amount of knowledge in these pages, so good luck taking it all in!

This is one of the most extensive thread hijacks i've ever seen. I'll be impressed if richrips reads and takes in the whole thing!

A slightly different question; what do you use to trim down stupidly long strings? When putting on a set of LaBellas, they had almost foot long wrapped bits, but my dads normal wire cutters had no chance of chopping them down to size, so they're now wrapped round the posts a dozen times.

[quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' post='563523' date='Aug 8 2009, 03:18 PM']Yes, though if the front of said box isn't a solid surface you'll lose coupling output above the frequency where the elevation is equal to 1/4 wavelength. With a 3 foot lift that's about 100 Hz. However, 'boom' also occurs in the vicinity of 100-180 Hz, so if you've got a boomy room elevating the cab can help tame it.[/quote] Just to check, coupling output is when the bass makes the floor (or the box it's on) vibrate, causing the floor to generate sound, yes? So raising the amp removes boominess, but surely you can do the same thing with a decent EQ? Or is raising it just an alternative?

this may be a stupid question, but would a single 2x10 (or 1x12 in my case) therefore have better dispersal if put vertical on an empty box at chest height, instead of sitting on the floor? and also, since my 112 has a tweeter, which way up is better? tweeter above or below? sorry for the thread hijack