Funky Dunky

Weird question. I dunno why exactly, but I'm drawn to the idea of a bass with a small body. I gather this concept may go against the principles of resonance etc? But can anyone think of, or recommend, some basses with smaller bodies (not steinbergers though) for me to look into?

Making real headway with floating thumb. Muting is good and plucking speed beginning to pick up :-) I will be sticking with this, it's not 'normal' or second nature yet, but it's becoming more comfortable.

Robben Ford is one of the most wonderful guitarists on the planet IMO. Did you know he used to steal cars?

Some of the jokes in this thread are terrible and yet hilarious! The 'Depp' one wins hands down though :-)

So sad to hear this. Only 60 - not old by any stretch. Should've been a house hold name for his work with Jacko alone. Rest in peace, Louis, thanks for the magic.

Double thumbing and Chucking (Bernard Edwards) I'm a lot closer with Chucking than I am with Double Thumbing. I can't sound a note!

Absolutely bloomin' outstanding!

Right, I have everything there except the nut. I'm at work until 8pm but will upload pics tonight once I get home. cheers very much :-)

Hi guys, forgive me for this as it's for a guitar rather than a bass but hopefully the same rules should apply to repair it. I have a Squier Affinity Strat with the typical Fender-style body mounted jack, chrome plate etc. The jack has fallen inside the cavity and I can pull it through but it won't hold in place. I thought it should be matter of a washer or nut to secure it, but upon unscrewing the plate and looking inside there's nowt. Can anyone help, even post a link to a guide on how to fix this? I want to fix it myself as I'm looking to punt it but there's little money in the guitar as it is and I don't want to incur any costs for what hopefully should be a DIY job within even my grasp. It still works when plugged in, so it's just a matter of pulling the jack back through and getting it to stay in place. thanks.

Much as I like the bass, I'd rather have Rita to play with ;-)

You just like showing off your Bongo at every opportunity. If you were Silvio Berlusconi, you would have Bongo Bongo parties. When you're old, you'll hold up your arms and you'll have Bongo wings. Your favourite drink is Um Bongo. Okay, I'm out of jokes now.

I really need lessons. It seems to take incredible conscious effort to mute the strings I'm not playing. It has slowed my playing down - but that's learning, isn't it? Slowly at first and then once it becomes second nature I can get back up to speed. But Jeez, I find it really tough.

It's not falling off the neck, I know what you mean though because I had on old Telecaster with that very problem. It's not a nightmare, barely even a nuisance. I'm just being über-fussy and would've liked to have moved it a hair.

How does one do it on a Squier Precision, or can it not be done? The G string seems to be a bit off. No jokes please chaps.

Hi, big Megadeth fan here. My first gig was Megadeth at Glasgow Barrowlands in 1994. I lost interest after Youthanasia, but when I heard United Abominations I may have wet my pants. The lead guitarist's chair in Megadeth has had some stunning virtuosos over the years, Marty Friedman being my favourite. I don't count Dave Ellefson among my bass influences but he's churned out some good stuff over the years. Anyway, I...don't really have a point here. I just like Megadeth.

Cheers, that gives me a good idea of what to expect. It's a shame I can't get it repaired in the UK, Praxis insist that, as I bought it from Thomann, it must be repaired through Thomann. I would have thought it a better idea if "your local Sterling approved service centre" could handle it, but no. I don't know if I will have a right to refund at this stage if there should be any problems. I'm the type of impatient consumer who knows full well that mistakes are occasionally made and goods are occasionally faulty, but that does tend to make me lose confidence in the brand/product. That's my problem though, not Thomann's nor Sterling/Praxis'. But add this problem to the fact that the stock preamp is too 'hot' and farty anyway, and I'm not wholly impressed with the electronics on the Sterling Sub Ray4.

Did Thomann send you courier labels and packaging?

You may remember I took delivery of a shiny new SUB Ray4 in February of this year. You may also remember me posting about the battery being flat some three or four weeks later. Well, I replaced that battery, and now the second one is dead too. I'm on to my third battery snce February. That can't be right, surely? I emailed Praxis to tell them, and they replied telling me there must be a fault in the preamp - something is completing the circuit and causing battery drain. Since I bought the bass from from Thomann, I have to ship it back to Germany for warranty repair. Does anyone have any experience of this with Thomann, and if so can you tell me what to expect in terms of service and approximate turnaround? The mysterious part of the whole battery drain is this: I've only plugged the bass in a handful of times. If it were indeed a problem such as Brian at Praxis described, would it not go flat much much sooner? It's more as if the act of putting a lead in the jack somehow drains the battery, even with only an hour or so of playing time. I'm confident it will be a minor issue, easily fixed. I'd take the screws off and have a peek myself, but I don't want to risk voiding my warranty. Just wondered what happens in terms of shipping costs, packaging and turnaround if anyone knows? Thanks

I gave it a bash when practicing last night, and yes, it really does do the trick for muting the open strings. It will take me some time to get it correct, especially in terms of getting my plucking fingers up to speed from the slightly different position, and when transitioning from the low E, where my thumb still automatically comes back to rest on top of the pickup (this has very much become second nature. I would agree with your assessment of 2-3 months to get it going smoothly, I can see it taking that kind of time to adjust and reconfigure my plucking hand. It's the blink of an eye in the grand scheme of the 'journey' and even if it takes longer, it's worth it to play correctly. Thanks for sharing this info. :-)

Fraser: http://www.thebestearbuds.com/10-best-cheap-earbuds-to-buy-in-2014/

[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1431507167' post='2771946'] Kodak branded alkalines for me. I get about a year from a Duracell and about 9 months out of a Kodak. I get mine from one of those pound shops... for £1. [/quote] snap! That confirms it - I had wondered if my cheap battery had been at fault, but if you get 9 months of use from the same battery, me bass is goosed!

Nah, the extra eight hours practice would be obvious by now in my slap ;-) Brian from Praxis emailed back and said pretty much what I expected, that something is completing the circuit and causing battery drain. He asked me where I bought the bass, I told him and I await his instruction. As an aside, does anybody know if swapping out the stock preamp for a Stinger would eliminate the problem? To the OP: I apologise for hijacking your thread somewhat. To the Moderators: Please feel free to move my posts from this thread to a new one if I have breached etiquette in any way.