Marc S

I was going to say Mike Oldfield and Sting too.... And Paul McCartney.... although he played bass in the early Beatles stuff - did he also learn guitar at the time? I seem to recall hearing that he did, as that's how he and John wrote some of the early songs, with them both on acoustic guitar?

[quote name='JPJ' timestamp='1494243290' post='3294218'] I'm running the mag pickup and a pair of J-Tone Red wing pickups. OBBM made me up a stereo lead with two mono jacks on one end and I use this with a Headway EDB-1 preamp to blend the mag and the piezo's together. Regarding protection in the gig bag, the metal hoop does indeed protect the bridge to some extent, but be careful of the tailpiece. Mine took a whack and it cracked around the bolt hole. Opening the gig bag and the bridge dropping out is not a pleasant feeling I can tell you. I've managed a glue repair to the tailpiece which is holding fine for now, but as this is quite exposed, I'm thinking of making up an aluminium tailpiece to prevent further accidents. [/quote] Thanks for that info JPJ, Is OBBM the guy who sells the J-Tone pickups? Your set-up sounds like something I'd like to try. I've got a K&K preamp with inputs for both a piezo and a mic. I think it could work with a piezo and a clicky? - It's always worth exploring options, I think.... Cheers for the heads up re the potential damage to the tailpiece too - sorry to hear this happened to you An aluminium plate should do the trick in protecting and strengthening it though, good idea, so I'd go for that if I were you Cheers again

[quote name='prowla' timestamp='1494006482' post='3292607'] My first bass was a Columbus Jazz, bought in an electrical retailer (Laskys?) in the Four Seasons shopping centre in Mansfield in '76; it used to be there in the window next to some fridges & suchlike. It was a decent bass and certainly a lot better than the Kay, Top Twenty and other rubbish of the day (which seem to be going for hundreds of pounds at the moment!). I must be having a retro half-hour, as I'm just listening to Force It, by UFO; we used to play Shoot Shoot in the band I was in at the time. [/quote] Ah, I remember Lasky's - what ever happened to them? I bought some of my old hi-fi from them. A Sansui amp, and Mission speakers, which are still both going stong after 30+ years Didn't realise they sold guitars or basses though. Don't think I ever saw such things in the Cardiff branch. My first bass was a Kay (Rick copy) and it was truly, absolutely, utterly dreadful. My pals Columbus was certainly streets ahead of that - maybe it seemed like a Fender, when you compared it with a Kay

[quote name='gsgbass' timestamp='1494211347' post='3294003'] It's a Mexican made, the D'Addario Nylons play well on it. I use the ETB92's on my Ric 4003W also. [/quote] Thanks for that. It's good to know whether the MIM versions of a bass can stand up alongside US made versions. It is of course, so often the case, but we don't always hear how good they are or how they compare..... If I was looking for a short scale bass atm, I'd really be considering one of these, especially as I'm a fan of P/J's. Cheers

Whilst many 78's may not have much monetary value, and yes, they were mass produced. It's worth remembering the delicate nature of the medium - I'm sure that a very high percentage of each mass produced 78 have been broken, or got left near a radiator / sunny window and have warped... My Dad has quite a few 78's. Most of them worthless, but some of them are now quite rare, and yes, there are collectors around. Do you live anywhere near an antique dealer / centre? Are any similar titles advertised on ebay? As has been said though - don't chuck them just yet..... see if you can find a collector

[quote name='Fred Leicester' timestamp='1493900706' post='3291652'] Get yourself one ordered, Marc ;-) [/quote] Ah, I'm already at "bass capacity, plus one" sadly Fred And I love all the basses I have so much, I can't bear to part with any of them either Oh the pain, the pain!

[quote name='Jabba_the_gut' timestamp='1493837972' post='3291197'] Always good to keep a clear final assembly workspace (or 'dining room table' as I've heard my wife refer to it before....) [/quote] I genuinely laughed out loud when I read that There's no way on this earth I'd get away with using the dining room table for such things! lol

Well, that's a nice freebie I think these were made in the Matsumoko factory? Someone may know better, of course Yes, the truss-rod adjustment on these is at the heel of the neck. I think you'll find that's a replacement scratchplate - as I'm sure I've seen this model of bass with a cut-out at the heel, allowing easier adjustment without removing the neck or scratchplate... An old mate / colleague of mine (and incidentally, the 1st person to show me how to play some bass) used to have a Columbus Jazz. He loved it, and I recall it being rather nice. He bought himself a nice US Jazz, which he also liked. However, I recall him saying that the Columbus was not bad, in comparison, and great quality, given the relatively low cost of it I'd take a look at adapting that scratchplate (looking again, the shape of it is slightly "out" on the lower horn - so maybe it is a replacement) maybe consider giving access to the truss-rod. Perhaps get those frets dressed, and set the bass up nicely... maybe you'll want to keep it then? Nice freebie though in any case - very nice

Looks great Fred I played one just like it a few years back. It had a slimmer, narrower neck than most other P's And it was just awesome. It was also for sale at that time, and I needed to sell another before buying... ... I'm still sorely disappointed I let that one go! I'm jealous now lol

Oh my word! What utter loveliness

This is looking really, really gorgeous! Your work is so neat Jez, heck, even your workbench is tidier than anything I do Great progress, and as others have said, it looks nowt like a "budget bass" - looks like a top-end custom build

Not owned either a HB or a J&D, but enough BC members seem to like both, and heck, they're very reasonably priced... I must say, I do really like the look of the J&D Jazz, in surf green, with maple & blocks - looks amazing

I'm in several bands at the moment (and always seems to be the case!) With a recently formed band, in which I play double bass, and we play a bit of Bluegrass, Cajun, 30's / 40's Jazz and some blues.... We had named ourselves "The Soggy Mountain Boys" - as we all like "Oh Brother Where Art Thou?" and were trying to sound a bit like the music of that film. Another reason for the name, was the fact that 2 of us live one side of Caerphilly mountain, and the other 2 live the other side... and it's often raining in South Wales.... Unfortunately, there was already a band with that name, albeit in the US - we decided to find a new name. It took a while and there were several suggestions from each of us, but driving over said mountain, we were discussing how, in our advancing years, 3 of us had fairly recently discovered the merits of Whisky, I had an idea - and now we are called "The Old Grey Whisky Testers"

Congrats on the new role Sounds like you really enjoy what they do - so that makes it easier to learn new material But get cracking with it anyway! It is do-able, I've done it with cover bands I've depped for (mind you, I knew some of the covers beforehand) Best of luck with it

Wow, that does indeed look a stunner Paul Bet it sounds great too..... But is it your "ideal" bass? You seem to flit from one to another lol BTW. It looks even funkier on that zebra striped rug - funkay!

An excellent deal with Mike / alcytes. He even delivered to my door! We sat and had a good chat over a cuppa, and I wouldn't hesitate to buy / trade with him again Great BC member, and all round good guy Buy / trade / deal in complete confidence folks Cheers again Mike

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1493304595' post='3287323'] What's the KK like in a non-salsa situation? All the decent clips I've seen seem to fall into that bracket. [/quote] They are fine for other genres too. I bought mine from Happy Jack. He tells me that they are popular with Salsa players because at one time, the only bass available to Salsa bands in South America, was the Ampeg original on which the KK was based.... I've used mine for more folky, rootsy, bluesy stuff and it's great I recently added an additional pickup too. I had a Shadow preamp, with 2 piezo pickups (one for each side of the bridge) I replaced one of the Piezo's with a slap pickup (bought fairly cheply on ebay) and I really like the sound I get from that. It picks up more of the clicky / slap sounds when I'm playing that style. It's a great result for me too, as I've got a ready made backup pickup system - I can just revert to the KK fitted pickup if the battery in my Shadow preamp dies... The bridge fitted to the KK is unlike other EUB's, as there's a sort of metal bar around the bridge - I first thought this must be to protect the bridge. It actually does protect it when in the gigbag, but it's also part of the pickup system I'm really pleased with mine

[quote name='Tim Chapple' timestamp='1493302201' post='3287300'] ......the jazz pickup transforms it. I've heard a lot pf people are using the pbass pickup only - I've found that option lacking soundwise. Currently running both pickups with the tone rolled back just a little. [/quote] Both my fretted P's are now P/J's. I had the J pickups added by superb Cardiff luthier Dave Dearnaley I really like the tonal options a P/J arrangement gives you. As you say Tim, the J pickup can transform the sound you get. I usually set my amp flat first, then set the P pickup level, tweak the amp EQ, then dial in some J pickup to suit. I can't understand why all basses are not fitted with P/J pups I'd really like to try one of these P/J Mustangs. Thanks for posting your thoughs

Hello from just across the river Severn, in South Wales Nothing wrong with a bit of P bass GAS. I think every bass player should have a P bass in their collection I'm not familiar with that particular Aria. Although I played some old Aria's years back, and they always seemed great basses to me, and continue to have been highly rated by owners - so no reason to believe that the fretless acoustic Aria you like should be any different As for comments about acoustic basses. I owned an Ibanez electro-acoustic. It wasn't an expensive bass, but it was great quality, construction and sound, and felt lightweight & good to play. I didn't keep it only because my son loved it - and still does. Acoustic basses are great for playing along to CD's, records, MP3's, without needing an amp. If you have a quiet acoustic guitarist pal to jam with, you can usually hear the bass, but not with loud guitarists or several players... However, my old Ibanez sounded absolutely lovely through an amp - not quite like any other bass I've heard, other than a mates electro-acoustic. If you like the sound when amplified, even better. As I mentioned, they also tend to be very lightweight, despite being slightly more bulky than an electric bass guitar... Welcome to BC

Just adding a bit more here... lol But as I mentioned "playing a stadium" - I haven't done that, but I've played some outdoor gigs, in big wide open spaces... I once played a Festival with just a PJB 4x5 cabinet - again, I thought I'd be going through the PA, but on the day was asked to see if my amp could cope without being put through it... and it certainly did. Although the drummer wasn't particularly loud, we had keys, guitar, sax and a few vocals onstage, and it was a pretty big open space... Also, in my Elvis tribute backing band, we played a really big open space at a festival (Pontypool Park if you want to check it out) again, I wasn't put through the PA. Against said loud drummer, different loud guitarist and rather loud keys player. I used a Markbass CMD102 combo, with PJB 4x5 piranha cab, and again - it was more than loud enough.... When playing DB, I found the sound of 15" speakers to be rather "boomy", sometimes "muddy" and mostly with an ill-defined low end, so I sold my 1x15" as it was bigger & heavier than any of the other cabs I've used recently - and never sounded as good as a 4x5 or 2x10

[quote name='dood' timestamp='1493065606' post='3285390'] NJ asked how users of 1x12 cabinets managed "You know who you are".. Those users are either playing in bands that don't need brain cell scorching volumes, or if they do, know how to get a great tone out of kit without the onstage volume onslaught. The kit is chosen for it's job, not how cool it looks?..... *each to their own of course. [/quote] Exactly. I've done the whole punk thing, blasted out through large, heavy cabs,back in the early 80's, when I was younger and so was my back! Let alone 1x12's, I use 1x10's. Epifani 1x10's (sometimes one, combined with a Markbass 2x10) An odd combo, I know a 3x10! But it's small, compact, lightweight and works surprisingly well. Last month, I played a charity gig, on my EUB with a drummer and singer / guitarist. I was lead to believe we were all going through a large PA system and the gig was held in a quite large hall. As it was a freebie, we decided to all go in a single car - mine. So I had the 3 of us, small drum-kit, guitar, my EUB and small bass amp - TC550 head and a single Epifani 1x10 When we got there, the people running it clearly had just hired the PA and had no idea how to put my EUB through the PA and time was tight as it was over-running. So I thought I'd just try the TC head and 1x10 on its' own. Now said hall was big - we're talking 40 feet floor to ceiling! - and it was quite a long hall, full of people at that.... But guess what - the 1x10 on its' own was more than adequate. In fact, I had my volume a little over half way, and the guy who was trying to be sound engineer asked me to turn down! The PA was quite large, and loud, judging by the bands I'd heard on before & after us. OK, our drummer wasn't the loudest, but he had to hit harder than he usually would, as the sound guy didn't have time to mic him up either In another band, with a very loud drummer (ex session guy, who's done heavy rock & metal stuff too) my 3x10 rig has never not coped, and we've played some very large venues. In fact, in the Ramones tribute band I was once in, with an uber loud guitarist - my old Markbass 2x10 always coped - and that guitarist always insisted on being stupidly loud! With modern cabs and speakers, If 2x10's and even my 1x10 can cope - 1x12 or 2x12 is surely enough, unless you're playing a stadium. So I'll ask the OP this question - massive speaker cabs - why put your back / muscles / knees / shoulders through it? I could never haul the old fridge sized cabs I used to lug around - let alone get a DB and other band members in a hatchback car